August 24, 2021

 We continue with our swimming twice a week at the pool and Tom doing a little work on the stationary bike each day along with his regular exercises and the wearing of his new back brace. We went to see a new physiotherapist in Abbotsford yesterday and he gave us some interesting insights and suggestions. He claims that as Tom’s nerves begin to heal they will do so from the foot up and the pain diminish at the same time in an upward direction. We have an appointment with the Lion’s Gate Spine clinic in about a month - hopefully sooner if we can get the appointment moved up.

We attend our regular Temple session each Tuesday morning and Tom fills in as the sealer each Wednesday evening for Brother Barrett. I go along with him to help out. Our USA workers cannot come up to the Temple without a covid test at a cost of $150 for each test. We miss our Bellingham workers and patrons. We serve our own shift each Saturday afternoon. Tom is the sealer on the 3rd Saturday and fills in other times as needed. He does very well when he can sit. Our Temple is only serving at level 3B covid capacity. The new Temple Presidency started last week with all of them here together and this week the couples are beginning to work on their own. They will do great.

We have had a little rain but not nearly the amount we are needing to extinguish the forest fires and help our drought like conditions. The air quality continues to be poor in Kelowna but Liza has still tried to get out to bike ride which worries me. The Kona Iron Man has been canceled for covid reasons and Liza fears that the Penticton race will be canceled as well so she is looking for a race in the USA she could join. The world seems to be experiencing fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, war, unrest and the covid pandemic all at once. We just feel ready for the Savior’s return. 

We are grateful for the gospel and for our family. All our children were on the Sunday family zoom along with our grandchildren. ❤️ We have been called to teach the ward Temple Prep along with our music calling and we taught Zachary Temple Prep again on Sunday. The Temple, the gospel and our family - all things we love the most!