Rats! What a week!

Monday afternoon I was sitting at the kitchen table visiting with Sister Fershtut while the Elders were outside working on a plumbing problem. All of the sudden I sensed movement and low and behold a RAT ran around the side of our kitchen cabinet and into a hole in the front of it. Now, we are not talking about your garden variety Indiana Jones rat, we are talking about a RAT! When the Elders came in I was describing the incident and Elder Smith (no longer my husband and friend Darrel) suggested that we n eeded to go to the store for a dinosaur trap because it sure sounded like Godzilla was loose in our kitchen. It had come up through the drain in our CR (bathroom) so was a real sewer rat. I’m not kidding; I really think this rat could have given Mo a run for his money! We weren’t able to catch it so hopefully it found another hole and left the premises.

The (Godzilla) rat holeMonday afternoon we went to WalterMart (no, that’s not a typo, it really is WalterMart!) It’s a small mall about 20 miles from here. There is always a guard at the entry to check purses and give you a quick pat down. Standard procedure here at any mall or larger store. Anyway, this time he was holding what looked like a speed gun that cops use. As we approached the entry he pointed it at our forehead. It was a thermometer! If you had a temperature you couldn’t enter. The flu (influenza) is a problem so they’re checking to see how healthy you really are. If your temp is too high they send you to the hospital and you’re not shopping at WalterMart that day!

Darrel hadn’t been feeling well for a few days and it really hit with a vengeance on Monday evening. He had diarrhea, vomiting and general yuck! It had been going off and on for over a week so finally we called our District President (who just happens to be a Doctor/Surgeon) and he had us come right over. After visiting with Darrel and checking things out he said to head to the hospital. His kidney’s were shutting down. He finally decided that if we could get the runs under control and get him hydrated enough to urinate that he’d delay the order for a few hours. Let me tell you, Elder Smith can guzzle water and meds when he has to! By about 4 pm he was doing better so the trip to the hospital in Manila was canceled. He spent the next several days drinking, resting and recuperating. He is doing great now and hopefully has built up a Philippine immunity. We missed a couple of meetings in Manila while he was recovering so I spent the time sweating, finishing the Book of Mormon (2^nd time this year) and playing Boggle. I know, I’m evil!

Saturday evening we went to a triple wedding and baptism in Carissa Branch. Three couples have been taking the lessons and wanted to be baptized. However, none were married (a common situation here), so, we had a triple wedding. Afterward, one of the couples changed clothes and got baptized. None of their children are 8 years or older so was just the two of them. The other two families and several of their kids will be getting baptized next Saturday.

Couple baptism 7/11/09

Sunday night was the best! The Elders in our zone wanted to have a farewell for the Fershtuts who were leaving the 13^th so, we had a party! Fixed sloppy joes, fruit, cake, chips, soda etc. for 25, and it was great fun. President Pipit and his family joined us along with another senior couple and a member who brought 2 of the Elders. Our Zone Elder’s Choir performed for everyone and sounded wonderful!

Elders Choir 7/12/09

Can’t believe how much we love the Elders here. They are absolutely amazing!

Does anyone want a rat?