The Hard Yet Tender Things

And as is common in life, in the middle of the fun and the mundane, there are the moments of hard.  

One of our missionaries has been sick for about a month and trying to manage her health with natural methods.  Finally, through some tender mercies, she went to the ER and a week later, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  It is so sad, but also even she has commented on the sweet things she has experienced over the past month.  She will have surgery in a week and treatment will likely continue after that.  It is all very scary but she feels the love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior helping her along.  This is our second missionary diagnosed with ovarian cancer and the third one with cancer since we started our mission in 2020.

Then on December 16th, we learned that our sweet Elder Jim Stoll had passed away in his sleep on Wednesday, the 14th.  Elder Stoll was one of those loving people with a great sense of humor.  We are missing him so much.  He is such a great example of faithful and dedicated service.  He turned 90 years old in November.  All fall long, he had talked about serving his mission through his 90th birthday.  He told Sister Forman at her 90th birthday that he was right behind her.

Unfortunately, the Saturday before his birthday (we were all set for a birthday celebration with his team on the 2nd floor) he suffered a minor stroke which mainly affected his eye and created double vision.  He spent about a week in the hospital as they checked him out and added other diagnoses.  He was happy to get home to avoid finding out what else was wrong with his 90 year old body!  We visited with him in person and by phone during the following weeks as he worked to be able to drive again.  He was determined to get back to the library and to serve.  His son offered to drive him in, take a picture behind his desk, and take him home, but that wasn't what Elder Stoll wanted.  He wanted to be serving.  We talked to him on Tuesday by phone and he was in great spirits and was planning to come to the library the next week to work for at least a few hours--with his eye patch on so he could read the computer screen.  He was cracking jokes and telling stories just like usual.  That night he went to bed and passed away in his sleep, peacefully.

We attended his funeral on Monday morning, December 19th.  It was so nice to be there and to meet his family and share our thanks for his service and friendship over the past several years.  We feel so blessed to have known him.

He is the fourth of our missionaries to pass away--Sister Petersen from pancreatic cancer four months after completing her mission; Elder Burke from liver disease three months after completing his mission and Sister Burwell and now Elder Stoll as they were still serving.

Tender moments but it is true--we feel a loss because of the love that we shared together--and that is what it is all about!!!

Til we meet again, Elder Stoll---because I am sure they still have you serving on the other side--just like you would want!!!