When You Meet an Apostle...

I have to start out by saying I feel like Nephi in the Book of Mormon..."having been born of goodly parents". While I have the utmost respect and love for both of my parents, I have also been blessed with very kind and welcoming in-laws. Since both of my parents have passed away I view Jake's parents as if they were my own. From the time that Jake and I were married they have treated me like one of their daughters.

Jake's mother has been especially concerned for Nathan's welfare following this decision that was thrown upon us. Her good friend from college, Pam, is Elder Todd Christopherson's secretary. Patsy contacted her friend and told her of Nathan's plight. After several back and forth emails, last Tuesday afternoon we received a call for an invitation to bring Nathan up to Elder Christopherson on Wednesday at 4:00 for a blessing.

While we were waiting in Elder Christopherson's office, Nathan started to get a little anxious. Elder Christopherson reached into a cabinet and pulled out a Phillipino jeepney collector car that he had picked up in his travels. He let Nathan play with it while we told him of Nathan's problems and what he would be facing in the future. Nathan adored the car and made many sounds for it while he was rolling it across the furniture and the floor. Now, Nathan has had many blessings in the past from health care professionals, his father and grandfather, and from his uncles. Most of the time Nathan is crying or fidgeting or pushing away from the men. This time, Nathan quietly sat on my lap stroking the car and didn't peep a sound through a very long and sacred blessing. I won't go into the details of what was said, but after a discussion on faith with my mother in law, I have learned that I need to open my heart more and to have faith in what was spoken of. At the end of the blessing I took the car from Nathan and placed it on the desk in front of us. Nathan let out this whimper cry that would pull at any one's heart strings. Elder Christopherson wasn't anymore immune to those cries than his parents. He told us that Nathan could keep the car if he would like. I tried to decline but he said that he would be going back there someday and that he would get another one.

This was an experience that I will never forget. What an increase this has been for my testimony. The way I felt that evening gave me a glimpse into what the parents must have felt in the Book of Mormon in 3rd Nephi when the Savior took the children and blessed them. I am grateful for the love and compassion that was shown to my family on that day.

We have chosen to have Nathan's jaw distracted again on Feb. 18th. He will be hospitalized for 2-4 weeks depending on how his little body handles the surgery. Nathan had a CT scan on his head last Wednesday before the blessing and the doctors found that his bones are dense enough to hold the distractors again. They also discovered a cyst in Nathan's mandible (bone)that is causing bone deterioration and could cause a tear in his cleft repair. Nathan will have that removed at the same time he is having the jaw surgery.

This Friday, January 22nd, Nathan is going to hit another HUGE milestone in his life. Our little baby is turning 2! I will post more about Nathan then.