The tooth, the miracle

How time keeps getting away from me I will never Know.
For the sake of remembering I will add my dentist experience.  This is truly an adventure to be recorded.  I broke off a tooth that had been capped by eating a peanut.  It couldn't easily be repaired so I had to have it extracted.  I made an appointment at a dentist office not far from our apartment - it had been recommended by one of the missionaries here.  I had an x-ray taken and I should have realized how old the equipment was when the dentist started reading my x-ray by holding this little 1" piece of film on a clothes pin and reading it by the light of his iPhone trying to figure out the problem. Most importantly, I should have received a blessing before the tooth was pulled instead of after so I would have been more calm through the ordeal.  I kept thinking what if my face is paralyzed, or what if he breaks my jaw after two hours of prying and drilling and getting little pieces out. I was no longer hoping they would find all the pieces and that I wouldn't get an infection I was praying that I wouldn't have to go somewhere else and start over again!  Crazy, they had to turn off the overhead light to cool it down because it was over heating - the removal was taking much longer than he thought it would. The suction tube they used was slow so we were all had blood all over us - the dentist had to change his goggles and they put rags around my neck to catch the blood running down my back. When I left, there was blood everywhere and I asked if I should help clean it up.  They just laughed.  I showered and soaked my clothes so all is clean for me I can not say about their office.  If I hadn't been so frightened it might have been humorous.  Tom tried taking a picture through the glass but it really doesn't capture the whole experience.  I did survive and I have a great story to add to my foreign mission experience.  Bad things can happen anywhere but the equipment here makes it so much more possible.  Fun times, I was hanging around while Tom was at the office.  They put in about nine stitches which needed to be removed next week.  There was so much pressure trying to pry the last root out they actually blistered and bruised my lip and chin.  So I did feel some what ready for Halloween.  The root was hooked on the jaw so he actually pushed it down and out the other side. Talk about painful. Muito dor!  Hey, be excited I learned to copy and paste.  Perhaps I can be taught.
Miracle, here is a little experience that we learned from one of our Elder's while in Aquidauana yesterday.
Elder J. Santos - is one of our Brazilian missionaries.  He hasn't been here long but was having some health problems with his eyes.  Terrible headaches and sight problems.  The doctors felt that these special glasses would cure the problems.  The glasses would cost him $500.  The mission funds do not pay for glasses so we encouraged him to try and get some help from his home branch and family.  We agreed to help him if he could come up with part of the funds for the cost. He knew that his family and branch could offer little or no help so he began fasting and praying for a solution.  After a couple weeks or so he shared this experience.  "Not knowing what to do or how I could come up with the money, one day I was going through my wallet and found an old Bank Card that I had forgotten about.  I didn't even remember having it on the mission. I had opened the account years before in preparation for my mission. I took the card to the bank to see if there was any money in the account.  When I checked I discovered there was $500 in this account!!   I was able to afford to get my own glasses!"  There are many blessings that come to us as we have faith.  When you ask with sincere faith, miracles happen in ways we least expect. 
We love you all so much.  We love every opportunity we have to skype.  Your goodness and faithfulness brings us so much joy.  We love, love, love the mission and so appreciate your support and prayers.  Com Amor, the parental units.