I Have a Friend

January 22, 2018

     I have a friend named Helene who comes to the temple with her parents. She was born with a disease that begins with the letter "M". You all remember where I work. There is not a lot of chitchat so I have forgotten the name of her disease. Helene's right side is partially paralyzed from head to toe. She wears a small badge that says, "I use my left hand". Her right shoe is built up with a brace attached so she can walk.
     It is hard to understand Helene when she speaks. Her parents were doing baptisms a while back and this is something she cannot do because of her paralysis. I was able to visit with her while she waited for them to complete their work. It was so very apparent that she adored her mother. She was so concerned about her having wet hair and getting a cold. She was so relieved when her mother was through. It is clear that her parents are her caregivers and her dearest friends.
     This week, in a session, her father escorted her to the front and sat her in a chair so she could fully participate in a prayer. Throughout that same session her mother helped her with her clothing and prompted her when she forgot something.
     Helene and her parents are some of my heroes. Wouldn't it just be easier to stay home? Their travel time is long and they pack to stay overnight in the accommodations. They bring their own food in as all three are restricted in their diet. Helene has a strict schedule of eating, bathing, and sleeping that must be adhered to. These parents have cared for their youngest daughter day and night for over forty years, never taking a break.
     My Mike and I were listening to President Nelson's October 2013 conference talk, "Decisions for Eternity" just this morning. Among other things, this stood out to me:

     "Stellar spirits are often housed in imperfect bodies. The gift of such a body can
      actually strengthen a family as parents and siblings willingly build their lives
      around that child born with special needs".

I thought of my friend, Helene. I especially thought of our dearest Elijah and his parents and siblings at home in Arizona. I have watched the battle Elijah's parents and siblings have waged to give him all he needs in this life to be a happy boy. I can look ahead and see Elijah's parents doing the same things for him as Helene's parents do for her. And what better spot to bring her than the temple. That is where we are all on the same page. Where we all learn at our own pace the role we each play in this grand plan of Happiness.  Where we are reminded that this life is a small part of the grand scheme and every wrong will be made right, every sorrow will be compensated for. Isn't it wonderful? I can picture my friend Helene someday dancing. Her mother told me this week that she relies on promises made in the temple that one day her baby girl will be made whole. She says it has been so worth it to bring her to the temple often.

My love,
Sister Seaman.....aka Mom and Grams

PROPER ENGLISH:
*bonnet - hood of your car, not to be worn on your head
*boot - trunk of your car. A trunk is an old fashioned large suitcase.
*wing - fender of your car
*windscreen - windshield of your car
*petrol - gasoline for that same car
*lorry - a big truck that takes up the whole teeny-tiny road so it may be easy to take out a mirror on  the parked cars that take up the rest of that teeny-tiny road.

A Driving Report

     Kim's blog had me thinking about my driving abilities, experiences and incidents.  I am 73 days accident free.  How about that!  That is how long I have been driving on the left side of these teeny-weeny tiny roads here in the English country-side.  I am not incident free however.  I continue to get honked at, as I cut people off in the round-abouts. 
     And they make strange allowances for parking on these very narrow roads.  In the little villages, on all roads, they allow parking on one side of the road in certain areas and you can park in either direction (what?) That means there may be cars parked out into at least half of your lane which means when you are driving, you are in the opposite lane by half.  When a car is coming from the other direction, there is often not enough room for you to pass by each other.  Which means that one car has to stop and get as close to or onto the curb as possible, or right up next to the parked cars.  Often times the other guy just keeps on coming.
     On the way home from church Sunday, I was driving through one of these narrow places as the cars were parked on my side.  The car coming the other way didn't even slow down or move all the way over.  I slowed way down but I could see that it was going to be a very tight fit.  I missed the car in the other lane, but I heard a very gentle whump, whump, whump as we passed the parked cars.  My friend Graham, in the passenger seat, says, well you got some mirrors Mike.  We kept going as you can't tell which cars were struck by my car.  Everybody's mirrors are scathed and scratched with scrapes of different colored paint.  My car is no different. It is also a good thing they are spring loaded.
     I still have bad dreams about driving and wake up drenched in sweat.  It is crazy, but I am getting better.
     We drove over to the Maritime Museum and the World's Mean Meridian Line and Observatory.  It was fascinating to me as I discovered what the big deal about the Meridian Line was all about.  Not only is it where you can stand with one foot in two different days, but you can see how they made star charts by watching the stars and moon cross the meridian and taking measurements and making calculations.  It was the beginning of how ships at sea could take siting's on the stars and moon and look in the star tables and figure out their latitude, which they had not been able to do accurately before.  We also visited the Cutty Sark, a very large 3-masted sailing ship, built in the mid-1800s.  It is preserved and maintained as a museum now.  It was big.  It was a good day, and even partly sunny.
     We had a part of a day this week where the sky was absolutely cloud free.  That has not happened since we have been here.  It was good to see the blue sky.
     We are doing well.

Sincerely,
Elder Seaman