FROM LINDA
In our church we have what is called a Fast and Testimony Meeting on the first Sunday of the month. I had not been able to attend church for a few weeks and I missed it very much. We were able to go on November 5th and my sweet husband wheeled me to the microphone. It was a strange sensation, not knowing if this would be the last time I would be able to bear my testimony. My voice is starting to go and I am losing the ability to speak for very long.
I wanted to tell everyone how much my family’s and friend’s love has meant to me. We have been so blessed to receive such a warm welcome back from our mission and to receive so many meals, cards, and well wishes from our Ward family; some of whom we had never met when we left on our mission.
The service they have given us and continue to give again and again has been such a humbling, yet joyful, experience. I know service, both given and received, blesses all. I can feel the love of the Savior through the kind thoughts and actions of those who help us. I only wish I could thank them adequately, but I simply don't have the capacity to reach out to each of them any longer. I believe service is a uniting action, which if fueled by love, can bring us closer to Christ. I only wish I could return the service I have received these past two months and build better bonds with our Ward family.
FROM TED
We are sorry we have not been able to post on our blog as often as we wanted. It has been a whirlwind of activity lately as we try to keep up with Linda’s advancing ALS. We have built a new entrance to our home, a new driveway to have access with a power wheelchair, and have made some attempts to make Linda’s room as comfortable as possible. We have learned about “hoyer lifts”, home health aids, Bayada and other items we had never heard before.
Our Church friends, our family and others have made our lives more comfortable by their expressions of love and support. We are indeed grateful for our faith in our Savior and the knowledge we have of our existence after we leave this life. It is what sustains Linda and I during this time. Our children have been amazing in their support of us. Each of them seem to have seen an area of need they can fill, and they have jumped into that quickly.
Linda is now confined to bed or a power wheelchair. We laugh and cry a lot each day as we remember so many memories of our life, family, Church mission and friends. It is not what we envisioned after our mission, but we cherish every day we have together. It is a blessing to be so close to each other at this time.
Hopefully we will be able to post more often as our schedules slow down (hopefully..).
