Temple Trips

 Talofa everyone!

Last week and the coming week we have missionaries coming in for temple trips.  When they come for those, they come as zones and do an endowment session, then eat either breakfast or lunch (depending on whether they have morning or afternoon session) and do their district meeting in the conference room while the mission leaders interview all of them. We had 2 zones come on Tuesday and two zones on Thursday and will have that again for the next two weeks. I usually see quite a few of the missionaries because they're at the office so they come and ask me for medical supplies and advice.  On Monday, one of the new intake sisters was sick with swollen tonsils and couldn't eat or speak because she said it hurt too bad, and she insisted on going to the district hospital to see a doctor.  So that's what we did for half of that day.  After waiting for two hours to see the doctor, she got a steroid shot in her bum and an antibiotic prescription.  It helped, she was able to speak and eat the next day.  Elder Godderidge went to our district meetings in the southeast zone on Tuesday,  but I couldn't go with him because I had to take another missionary to the doctor. He took them tuna sandwiches, chips and drinks to eat at the district meeting and I baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I sent for dessert.  Next week they will come here for their temple trip so we won't have to drive there for a district meeting which will be nice!   

The rest of the week was pretty quiet.  No medical emergencies,no major housing issues.   We sort of took a p-day on Saturday, didn't go over to the office to work and spent most of the day doing laundry, cleaning, and waiting on hold for three hours for the Social Security Administration to finally answer their phone so we could ask them about appealing our medicare increase!  That was fun--listening to the same music and recordings over and over for 3 hours. We went to a new place to eat on Saturday night called Roko's.  It was pretty good.  I had chicken and chips and the fried chicken tasted pretty close to Juniper Take-out fried chicken so Elder G. says we're going to have to go there again! Too bad they don't have Turkey Steaks too, haha.  

On Sunday we put in a lot of miles-- got up early to make it to our zone on the Southeast side of the island for a 9:00sacrament meeting. Then we delivered needs to all the MQ's in our zone before heading back home. After we ate Sunday dinner at around 5:00, we had to make a medicine run all the way over to the southwest side of the Island and back home-- another two hours of driving!  

Elder Godderidge had a bit of an uncomfortable week.  He experienced his first Boil! He nursed it along all week and after a week of antibiotics it's finally starting to get a little better and will hopefuly will go away completely very soon!  He's going to be mad at me for mentioning it, but that's what he gets for making me write the emails each week!  He didn't let the discomfort slow him down much.  He just kept going like normal.  When the missionaries get them, they act like they're going to die of pain!

Elder Godderidge shared a quote from President Hinckley for me to share with you all:

"All of us have problems.  We face them every day.  How grateful I am that we have difficult things to wrestle with.  They keep us young, they keep us alive, they keep us going, they keep us humble.  Be grateful for your problems, and know that somehow there will come a solution.  Just do the best you can but be sure it is the very best." --Gordon B. Hinckley

We got a nice card in the mail from one of our missionaries' parents this week. They wrote:  "Godderidges, We wanted to express our gratitude to you for your service in the Samoa Mission and specifically to our missionary, Elder Robertson.  He has spoken very highly of you many times and is so appreciative of everything you do, big and small.  Your wisdom, experience, understanding, listening, sympathizing, encouraging make all the difference in these missonaries' experience.  God bless you and your family!  Love, Bruce and Tiffany Robertson. 

That was thoughtful of them!  Made us feel like it's all worth it!  Love you all SO MUCH, and can't wait to see you in 5 weeks!