Urnaesch; couple of old European cars; view from Ebenalp.

JULY 23, 2010 FRIDAY

It has been overcast all day today, quite a bit cooler (actually cold by 10:00 this evening) and a little rain off and on. Sylvain called way early this the morning and when I left at 6:30, Diana was still giving him encouragement and council. She said he sounded good, but struggles with the people he lives with in the group home where he is staying. They stay up late playing loud music, don’t want to clean up after themselves and generally are lazy. They make fun of him for not drinking, smoking and for exercising.

My walk took me up into the woods where is was damp, but fresh and exhilarating. By the time I got home I was comfortably lathered and ready for a shower. Diana was already up and ready for the day. We had a little prep time for reading scriptures and getting our lesson ready for Emely and Katia DiPaolo. We arrived at the DiPaolo’s at 11:00 and it was good to see them again. It’s been a couple of weeks except for when we visited them while Emely was in the hospital.

Emely has been blessed through her operation and recovery. The operation went beautifully, but the doctors expected at least a two week hospital stay. She recovered so quickly that she was home in only a week and is doing fantastic. She has no pain, but needs to be careful for the next four weeks and then she can progressively become more active over the next three months. Katia showed us the x-rays of Emely’s back before and after the operation. There was a definite problem with one of her vertebra and the operation installed a brace secured with screws that will stabilize the vertebra so she will grow and function normally. Her body should incorporate the brace which is expected to remain in place permanently for the rest of her life. We had a good discussion with them using James 3 to teach how we should treat and talk to one another. Katia was grateful for the subject we had chosen for the lesson because they had had a fight (Emely said “discussion”) last night and it helped them to reflect on controlling the tongue. We asked Katia if she would give the lesson next week at our next appointment and she consented. She’s also going to fix us an authentic Italian lunch.

We returned home and got there about 1:30 and, yes, we have to admit, we both took a nap. Reading the lesson in preparation for Sunday School week after next put me right to sleep. However, we both awoke in time to prepare for and go to Schleitheim for our home teaching appointment with Silvia Gardideau at 7:00. Michael Hartig, our home teaching partner, was already there when we arrived. Michael gave the lesson and then we talked about the people we had visited during the week to bring Silvia up to date on what was happening with our missionary work. Earlier in the week Silvia said she wanted to discuss something with us when we came today and finally she told us what it was. She has been concerned about the mistakes she’s been making at work and had attributed it to stress caused by various things, but mostly by her husband’s drinking problem. She never imagined it could have been something else. She was so concerned that she visited a doctor who diagnosed her with ADDS, Attention Deficit Disorder Syndrome, and had prescribed Ritalin for her. She said that with the first pill she felt a dramatic change within her. She can now focus on her work and not be distracted by the other things that are going on around her. Her work accuracy has improved dramatically and with it, her disposition. She is much happier and sees now how this syndrome has affected her throughout her whole life. It’s sad that she has suffered so long with something that could have been changed with a proper diagnosis. Hopefully, she will be able to bring a more calming influence into the branch which is something it needs.

We got home a little after 10:00 which is much too late for us, but by tomorrow we will have recovered. Our schedule tomorrow isn’t too heavy, just a trip to Altenburg, Germany, to deliver a birthday present to Kaethe Toensmeier, and a visit to Kofi and Tito to see how his operation went and to give them a little support. We need to catch up the teaching records for the next senior couple replacing us and write a brief description of all the members which will help them understand the dynamics of the branch more quickly.

Rebecca skyped us and we had a good long conversation with her, Mack and Jared.