Journey Joy-Journey Sadness-December 18, 2015

I thought I would share with you what we have been doing yesterday and today.  Thursday night we were in bed and about midnight we got a phone call from a base chaplain telling us that Whitney Thompson asked him to call and have us come to the ER. Craig and I dressed and headed out.  

Whitney is a member, her husband is not.  We have been visiting Whitney often.  She is such a sweet girl and we have had some special experiences and visits.  She made it clear in the very beginning that she wasn't interested in coming to church but we could come back and visit anytime.  Jake also made it clear he doesn't do religious things.  When we got to the ER we found her son Thor was the patient.  Whitney and Jake had been out and the kids (Thor-18 mo. and Mila 3) were at a babysitter.  When they got to the babysitters home, they called her to let her know they were there.  They pulled in the driveway and the sitter came out screaming and carrying Thor saying he wasn't breathing.  Walking in and seeing Little Thor hooked up to everything was very emotional.  Whitney melted into our arms and asked Craig to give him a blessing.  Whitney had been sitting with him for quite awhile and needed the restroom.  She asked me if I would sit with Thor so he wouldn't be alone.  I was happy to do so.  I held his foot and rubbed it and quietly talked to him.  I got to sit there for about 30 minutes.  He felt so cold to my touch.  The respiratory therapists worked on him.  Blood was coming out his nose and mouth.  Luckily it didn't affect me because I'm not very tough when it comes to medical things.  The doctors decided that Thor should be transported to university of California at Davis Medical Center.  When the medical team got there to transport him, I knew it was not good.  I just had that feeling.  We said our goodbyes with the plan that we would drive to Sacramento in the morning.  We got home Friday morning about 2:30 am.  About 8:00 am we got the phone call that Thor had passed away while in transport.  

This afternoon, Friday, about noon we went to the house to see them.  Whitney's dad and stepmom were there from southern  California, her mom and sister were there from SLC, and his parents were there from SLC, plus many military friends.  Her family members are active but Jake's parents are not members.  We visited, met the family, arranged to bring in dinner and then left.  We picked up the bishop about 4:30 at the front gate and took him to the house.  It was then that Whitney received a blessing for comfort from her dad.  It was a very tender moment.  We met up with another family and took dinner in about 6:00.  

Thor had been sick a week or so before.  He spent a couple days in the hospital but had been released the previous week.  Whitney said they had a good week.  Thor was happy, playful and didn't show any signs of being sick.  As of tonight they don't know what he died from.  The autopsy will determine when they can leave for Utah where they will bury him.  

I have thought all day wondering what I could do to help.  As you can imagine they are devastated.  I decided that I would write to all of you and ask you to pray for their family.  As we all know the situation can go both ways.  They can be even more bitter and angry with God or they can seek for peace through the understanding of the plan of salvation and our Heavenly Father's love.  Will you please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.  Jake and Whitney Thompson plus the extended Thompson family.  We love you all and are grateful for our family.  Give you kids a love tonight.  Grandmas play with those kids and loves every moment.  Life can be pretty fragile.

Journey Joy -December 2015

We are so behind this Christmas season.  By the time I get home, fix dinner and do dishes, then catch up on emails, I'm ready for bed.  Our Christmas card greetings will be pretty scarce.  Craig helps with everything but we both run out of steam.  I'll try to hit some of the highlights

• We have been volunteering at the Airman's Attic for several months now.  One of the ladies that is in charge and trained us told me today that her mother was LDS and she was raised as a Mormon until about seven or so.  At that time her mother got MS and was pretty much bed ridden.  She told us that she remembers ward members taking care of she and her sister.  Her memory is she went from house to house.  Her mother decided to give her two daughters up for adoption because she couldn't take care of them.  A nice family adopted them and she moved to Oregon. Her adoptive parents would bring the girls down to California to visit their mother every now and then.  When they did make the trip, they always stayed in member homes.  She was not raised as LDS but remembers well the people who helped her family.  We had a nice visit about the church and what we do as Military Relations missionaries.
• We also volunteer at the David Grant Medical Center.  We have been an on-call couple.  On Friday, Barbara asked us to come in.  We cancelled our trip to the temple in order to fill in.  We stayed from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  It was a long day and we served lots of coffee.  About half way through the day, a man asked us about Mormon missions.  He asked how they work, how are you called, how do you pay for it, etc.  It was a nice conversation but we didn't do any proselytizing.  After he left, the manager of the hospitality group talked to Craig in private and asked him to remove his name tag.  She said it was unfair advertising of our faith.  We did as asked, but my heart felt so sad.  We didn't do anything wrong.  The man asked us questions about the church and we answered them, of which we were told that would be OK.  I immediately felt like saying that if the name tag goes, we go.  Craig and I talked about it and decided to carry on for now.  We didn't want to do anything rash.
• We went to our first mission Christmas Devotional.  The mission president divided the mission up and belt several devotional a.  Our devotional was for four zones.  The best part of the morning was watching the elders and sisters greet each other.  They were so excited to re-connect with past companions.  I realized how close those young men and women get to each other. I too was excited to see some who were previously here but have moved on.  The other thing the mission president did was ask all the missionaries to memorize a scripture and be prepared to share it with everyone.  Even the senior couples shared one.  Yes I shared one!  I know you are surprised because I done do well at memorizing anymore.  It was a pretty special day.  When I posted a picture, Mindi responded that she remembers her mission Christmas devotionals.  It was a sweet moment as I thought about how my missionary children have experienced all the sweet things I am experiencing.  The tender mercies come to us all the time and I am grateful to be able to recognize them.
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