Learning from Friends

[May 29, 2015] Friday

We met with the Dibbs from American Fork. Molly knew Sister Dibb from her Stake Relief Society responsibility a few years ago, and had heard that they had recently returned from a mission in Bolivia. We went over to their home in American Fork to visit with them today.

They told us lots of interesting stuff. They started their mission in La Paz, and were there for thirteen months. But, due to the altitude, and some back pain, they were transferred to work in the Cochabamba Temple for the last five months of their mission. They told us about the temple, the work we'll be doing, where we'll be living (and showed us some pictures of the apartments), the climate, availability of medications, and all kinds of interesting information. It was very nice to be able to ask them questions and feel their joy in having been able to work there.

Later in the evening, we had dinner with some very dear friends. I'm not sure if I mentioned the Terry's - Steve and Jill - in a previous post, but they are two special people that I met while working at Utah Valley Hospital in the Quality Improvement Department. On our first Sunday in the Jordan Meadows Ward, I saw and recognized Jill in one of the classrooms preparing for Primary. What a surprise. Steve is a counselor in the recently called Bishopric. The ward reorganization that took place in March, just before we moved in, put us both in the same ward. We really feel that this was a tender mercy of the Lord.

Jill was the administrative assistant in the Quality Improvement Department when I left and moved to the EDW Team at Intermountain. Over the few years that we worked together, she showed herself to be a hard worker, but also to be kind and appreciative of all those around her.

After I left, she continued there for a time, and stayed with Intermountain Healthcare, but we'd lost touch until just before my retirement. In trying to let friends whom I had worked with, but who had left Intermountain for other companies, I was fortuitously connected with her again, although now she was working at Health Catalyst with a number of other friends. She came to my retirement party, where Molly and I were able to catch up a bit with her, but at that time, we didn't realize we had moved into her ward. How sweet.

So, we had dinner with her and Steve, and caught up. She told us about her brother, how he had decided to serve a mission, and the affect of that and the influence of friends on her returning to activity in the church, and the blessings of that in her life. Steve cooked a wonderful, delicious dinner of pistachio encrusted Tilapia, rice and beans, topped off with very tasty ice cream for dessert. It was a fun, sweet evening spent with these wonderful, supportive friends.