Fall 2

Saturday I stayed home to work on minutes, bank reconciliations and missionary expenses, while Chris headed off to Ismalya for, perhaps, the last round of shopping for the family. I reported on an earlier post that we had gotten through the entire winter last year without falling, until my fall (Fall 1), just a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday, Chris was walking off a curb and slipped and went down in the street as she was headed from the metro the shopping area. As reported, by those who were with her, great was her fall (Fall 2). She slammed to the ground, breaking her fall with her arm, resulting in a painful wrist. Her head hit the street, but, fortunately, the blow was cushioned somewhat by her knit hat. When she hit, she just laid there. Good fortune had it that Dr. Rees was part of the group going shopping. Immediately, he was able to check her out and found no evidence of concussion. With a little help from her friends, she was up to complete her mission...shopping that is!!

Chris stayed home last night and today to nurse her wrist and due to soreness in her neck. We are quite hopeful that she will be just fine in a couple of days.

I went to District Conference with the rest of the seniors and saw Dima Mikulin put in as the new District President for the Moscow District. Dima is the Family History Manager for the area. His father is a newly called Area Authority. He is a wonderful choice. We all wish him the best.

On Saturday night, Elder Paul told a story about his mother-in-law, who became a widow during WWII. Her husband had been missing for sometime, when it was eventually reportedthat he had died somewhere in Siberia. She never knew where exactly. She was left with 5 young children to raise on a meager government pension. She had been married just 7 years.

Sister Paul told President Paul that she doesn't remember ever going hungry and that her mother even managed to feed the missionaries regularly. (At that time, many people were starving.) She indicated that her mother attributed their blessings to the payment of tithes. She was threatened by the government that if she paid her tithing they would reduce her pension by the same amount. Her Branch President counseled her not to pay her tithing, but she paid it anyway.

She wouldn't know it at the time, but her little Helga would grow up to marry Wolfgang Paul who would become the first mission president in East Germany, when the iron curtain finally came down.