I spoke with Elder
Copeland this morning and he is happy and doing well. As I spoke to
him, he was being discharged and was headed back home to rest for a day or
so.
He cannot wait to get back to work!
When
Elder Copeland arrived at the hospital on Thursday evening, I spoke
with him at length and assured him that he was in very good hands with
Dr. Abdalah (a church member here in Managua who has an extra love for
the missionaries) and Dr. Porras. President and I know both of them
personally and they take wonderful care of our missionaries. You can
imagine Elder Copeland was a bit nervous to be in a Nicarguan hospital
after only being in the country for one week. I reassured him Vivian
Pellas was the premier hospital in Nicaragua and he would have excellent
care.
Here is a photo of Elder Copeland when I
visited with him yesterday morning around 11:30. It was right before
his personally selected lunch arrived. He was very happy for the chance
to eat steak.
The second photo is of Elder Copeland with his
companion and Zone Leader, Elder Regalizo. Elder Regalizo spent the
evening with Elder Copeland in the hospital. The hospital room was a bit
on the cool side and I mentioned it. A big smile crossed Elder
Copeland's face and he told me: "Ahh, It feels so good. I love it. At
home I always like to sleep with it cool." I told him to enjoy the
moment!
Elder Copeland and I had an opportunity
to talk for a good while. He told me all about his family. He told me
his older brother served a mission (or is serving a mission), that his
younger brother was a football player, his one younger sister was an
excellent, championship dancer and his youngest sister was a cheer
leader. He is very proud of his family. I believe serving a mission
only deepens a missionary's' appreciation for his family.
Elder
Copeland told my that your family has traveled a great deal.......to
China, England, Paris. We spoke of how traveling abroad opens our eyes
to the blessings we have in the United States. I mentioned how actually
living here, in Nicaragua, he can now completely understand what his
seminary teachers and parents meant when they said that he is so blessed
to live in the United States. I mentioned the opportunities that have
been his; including having a wonderful family and great opportunities
for education. And I reminded him that Heavenly Father will expect him
to use all his gifts, for the rest of his life, to continue to build His
kingdom. Elder Copeland agreed. He told me that in one week, he has
realized how very blessed he is and that he imagines in two years he
will feel it even more.
Please know that we are
taking good care of Elder Copeland. He is anxious to get back to work
and we need him! If you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to let
me know. I will do my best to answer them.
Thank you for raising such a wonderful son who is willing to serve the Lord here in Nicaragua. We are happy he is here.
Sincerely,
Hermana Peggy Russell
Nicaragua Managua Sur
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