On Monday, Bec and her daughter Georgia from Mount Gambier showed up at the
office. They popped in for a quick hug, a short chat, and brought a
little treat. It was so fun to see them!
The rest of the week was "regular" until Friday morning at 6:30 when the phone rang as we were headed out the door to walk. President Carter's stressed voice said, " Brother Sheffield, I need you to take an Elder to the hospital. Come to the back of the church right away!"
Lee grabbed his wallet and keys and left immediately. An Elder had been riding his bike to morning " sport" and the bike chain slipped. He hit the pavement of course, and they called zone leaders with a car to get him to the church. President Carter was preparing for the afternoon meeting, knew the Elder was in pain, and delegated Lee to take the him to the ER. They spent the next 7 hours, waiting, having X-rays, being seen by an orthopedic Dr. and then a second orthopedic Dr. to confirm treatment for a fractured collarbone. OUCH!
On the way home to the Elder's flat, Lee stopped at Mcdonalds as they were both STARVED! He then rushed home to shower and dress and got to the office about 2pm.
That same afternoon at 3:30 pm was a multi zone conference with Elder O. Vincent Haleck, of the second quorum of the Seventy. The Australia Adelaide Mission is huge and the distant zones (Mildura, Darwin, Alice Springs, Kangaroo Island) were not invited to the meeting, but the near zones all attended, as did the office staff.
Elder Haleck is from American Samoa, but left home at age 10 to live with relatives in the USA to get an education. He was called on a mission to Samoa and after graduating from BYU, he and his new wife moved back to his native land. Elder Haleck served as a Bishop, Stake President, Patriarch, and Mission President in Samoa, and now travels the world as a General Authority for the Church.
As you would expect while speaking to a large group of missionaries, Elder Haleck's topic was missionary work, particularly "the Hastening" in Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands. He shared personal missionary stories and discussed how missionaries and the Ward Council should work together. Stumbling blocks to that collaboration were also discussed, and I found Elder Haleck very down to earth and encouraging.
Afterward, Sister Carter wanted a group picture of all the missionaries with Elder Haleck and that was a total "gong show" to get 100 people in place and smiling/looking at the camera at the same time.
Once the pictures were finished, Lee was asked to transport 3 Elders back to their flat and then the senior missionaries went to dinner together. Friday night at 6:30 is busy everywhere, but we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant on the Parade, which is a tree lined district of small shops and restaurants. We want to go back and explore on a prep day. Lee and I both had calzone (we NEVER order the same thing) and it was generous enough portions that we had lunch the next day also.
Saturday morning we took a missionary returning home for medical reasons to the souvenir shop. Lee had more errands after lunch before attending a cluster meeting with Elder Haleck and anyone who should attend ward council from the surrounding three stakes. As you know, Lee serves as the executive secretary to President Carter, and the whole mission presidency was invited.
I rode along to the souvenir shop and on errands, as I don't get out and about nearly as much as Lee does. It was fun to see a bit of the city. After dinner, we took a long walk and dropped by to check on the broken collarbone.
Sunday the two sister missionaries in the Firle Ward plus the office senior sister missionaries sang in Sacrament meeting. We were all glad when it was over though we were happy to oblige when asked. We sang MORE HOLINESS GIVE ME and a ward member accompanied us.
After the sacrament, the theme was the 13th Article of Faith and a young man spoke on being honest. Virtue was the subject of a young woman leaving on a mission to New Zealand in 11 days, and the Bishopric 2nd counselor spoke on chastity. The meeting was very nice and the speakers did a fabulous job, both in content and delivery.
We attended a baptism after church. We LOVE being at these meetings and especially love hearing testimonies of new members. They glow, inside and out!
It was a good week (except for the bike accident) and October is nearly over. They don't celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving, so it's countdown to Christmas for us!
The rest of the week was "regular" until Friday morning at 6:30 when the phone rang as we were headed out the door to walk. President Carter's stressed voice said, " Brother Sheffield, I need you to take an Elder to the hospital. Come to the back of the church right away!"
Lee grabbed his wallet and keys and left immediately. An Elder had been riding his bike to morning " sport" and the bike chain slipped. He hit the pavement of course, and they called zone leaders with a car to get him to the church. President Carter was preparing for the afternoon meeting, knew the Elder was in pain, and delegated Lee to take the him to the ER. They spent the next 7 hours, waiting, having X-rays, being seen by an orthopedic Dr. and then a second orthopedic Dr. to confirm treatment for a fractured collarbone. OUCH!
On the way home to the Elder's flat, Lee stopped at Mcdonalds as they were both STARVED! He then rushed home to shower and dress and got to the office about 2pm.
That same afternoon at 3:30 pm was a multi zone conference with Elder O. Vincent Haleck, of the second quorum of the Seventy. The Australia Adelaide Mission is huge and the distant zones (Mildura, Darwin, Alice Springs, Kangaroo Island) were not invited to the meeting, but the near zones all attended, as did the office staff.
Elder Haleck is from American Samoa, but left home at age 10 to live with relatives in the USA to get an education. He was called on a mission to Samoa and after graduating from BYU, he and his new wife moved back to his native land. Elder Haleck served as a Bishop, Stake President, Patriarch, and Mission President in Samoa, and now travels the world as a General Authority for the Church.
As you would expect while speaking to a large group of missionaries, Elder Haleck's topic was missionary work, particularly "the Hastening" in Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands. He shared personal missionary stories and discussed how missionaries and the Ward Council should work together. Stumbling blocks to that collaboration were also discussed, and I found Elder Haleck very down to earth and encouraging.
Afterward, Sister Carter wanted a group picture of all the missionaries with Elder Haleck and that was a total "gong show" to get 100 people in place and smiling/looking at the camera at the same time.
Once the pictures were finished, Lee was asked to transport 3 Elders back to their flat and then the senior missionaries went to dinner together. Friday night at 6:30 is busy everywhere, but we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant on the Parade, which is a tree lined district of small shops and restaurants. We want to go back and explore on a prep day. Lee and I both had calzone (we NEVER order the same thing) and it was generous enough portions that we had lunch the next day also.
Saturday morning we took a missionary returning home for medical reasons to the souvenir shop. Lee had more errands after lunch before attending a cluster meeting with Elder Haleck and anyone who should attend ward council from the surrounding three stakes. As you know, Lee serves as the executive secretary to President Carter, and the whole mission presidency was invited.
I rode along to the souvenir shop and on errands, as I don't get out and about nearly as much as Lee does. It was fun to see a bit of the city. After dinner, we took a long walk and dropped by to check on the broken collarbone.
Sunday the two sister missionaries in the Firle Ward plus the office senior sister missionaries sang in Sacrament meeting. We were all glad when it was over though we were happy to oblige when asked. We sang MORE HOLINESS GIVE ME and a ward member accompanied us.
After the sacrament, the theme was the 13th Article of Faith and a young man spoke on being honest. Virtue was the subject of a young woman leaving on a mission to New Zealand in 11 days, and the Bishopric 2nd counselor spoke on chastity. The meeting was very nice and the speakers did a fabulous job, both in content and delivery.
We attended a baptism after church. We LOVE being at these meetings and especially love hearing testimonies of new members. They glow, inside and out!
It was a good week (except for the bike accident) and October is nearly over. They don't celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving, so it's countdown to Christmas for us!
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