Time to Ourselves

 Another Monday has come and gone as we inch nearer the five-month mark of the second half of our mission.  Our first tour of duty lasted from September 2019 to March 2020 (six months).  We were furloughed from mid-March until late August when we got the word to return (five and a half months).  Clearly, we are on to something here with that on-again-off-again kind of a mission.

If we are granted permission to stay sometime in the next 6 weeks, there will be joy and rejoicing as we open our bottle of bubbly elderflower juice, which SK purchased four months ago for this very purpose.  And if we are granted a stay of another 6 months, we could be here through September, making it a 2-year mission!  (And of course that would require another bottle of bubbly elderflower or apple juice.)

Although we were able to see our family, which was absolutely wonderful, and although we were officially released by our stake president, we never lost the sense that we were displaced missionaries.  We waited through those months hoping against hope that we would return.  If you look at Covid stats you will see that about the time we returned both Arizona and Great Britain were at an all-time low in cases since March.  Fortunately, we were able to slip back in before the numbers began climbing again.

I did some corresponding with young people, and we attended our Zoom Family Home Evening.  The activity tonight was a simple but fun game, and we had 11 people there!  That is a good turn-out in these times.

We stay busy here in our flat, with time out for our glorious outdoor walks.  We need to start walking farther and faster to keep our health up.  Today, however, we walked less than two miles but it was beautiful and I'm sure we got our heart rates up.  SK keeps busy with Indexing.  He has set a goal of completing 3,000 records a month, which requires a fair amount of work per day.  

I think it is wonderful that he does that.  

I try other things to be useful.  Staying in touch with various individuals, and studying, (I am currently reading three books) and then of course there was today, when I spent a fair amount of time at the computer sorting out financial and medical stuff.  I wonder how we would have kept all this straight if we were very busy.  I need a prescription refill of one medication.  I brought five months worth with me, and it is illegal to send a prescription or even over-the-counter medication through the mail of any sort.

I have tried in every way to get some delivered here.  It is a blood-pressure medication that is kind of run of the mill, but you can't get it here in UK.  When we were here before, the doctors tried two different medications that were of similar makeup but each gave me severe headaches.  I don't know if it is beneficial to take it if I have to take migraine medicine to counteract the side-effects.

I spent time at the computer Saturday and today checking all possible ways of getting it here (it is legal if a pharmacy or physician sends it, but no one I contacted will do it).  I finally set up an online appointment with the doctor here to see what he can do for me.  Going in to the office costs 195 pounds for a half-hour consultation!!  A telephone consultation?  195 pounds!  It's a good thing we have insurance.  

Another two hours was spent trying to clear up a monthly charge that has been going on for six months.  I called three months ago and thought it was taken care of.  I am also trying to track down a little Christmas gift that I ordered online (and only discovered it was coming from China later - absolutely no way to know from the order page.)  They sent the wrong item and I am trying to get the right one.  Oh well.  

Good thing I have the time.