July Missionary Update

We have had some adventures just lately!! First, we started working in Bay City one day a week. Same job, supporting the members, and visiting the less active. One of the families we visited was the Jarmin's. They are a young couple with an 18 month old son. Michael (nickname is 'Moe') works for the Bay City Police Dept. and last Sept. Moe was working traffic control and was involved in a terrible accident. Basically, a semi-truck ran into the back of some 'stopped' cars and trucks, and became airborne and landed on Moe, who was trying to run away from the whole event, and drug him the truck, they life-flighted him to a hospital in Houston, they told his wife to let them "pull the plug" because he wasn't going to make it. She wouldn't. They said "he won't last a week". He was in a coma for a month. He lasted a week, and they told her to pull the plug because he would be a vegetable. She said, no. He had 15+ operations during the time he was in the coma. Burns, and skingrafts on one arm. Broken arm , that now has a steel plate in it on the other arm. Broken fingers...he'll have to have joint replacements on two fingers!! Because of the trauma to his head, he's still working on memory and some brain damage. Then there is his leg....it was filleted from the ankle to the hip on the inside of his leg. They put it back together....his calf muscle is laying on his knee joint to protect it..... they said he would never walk again...he's walking....well, he'll only walk with a walker.....he's walking with a cane, and inside his house, without a cane. He has a "cage" drilled into the bones on either side of his knee. This has been there for awhile....his leg wouldn't go straight, so every night his wife would give him pain pills, then turns the screw to straighten his leg. His leg is straight, and his heel can touch the ground. Who knows what's next!!! They have endured all of this with a positive attitude. Both Moe and Sondra have been through a really difficult time!! The Police Dept. had to let him go, as the insurance company only insures an employee who has been on the force for 12 months or more. Moe had been there for 10 months. His job, or any desk job is waiting for him as soon as he is able to do it. They are amazing!! Moe's job around the house is to do the dishes.....so I gave him one of my handmade dishclothes to help him!!!
We've been working with a wonderful young couplle...Carrie Benevidez and Johnny Garcia. She has three young boys, and Jennifer just felt that they wanted to go to church. So we started visiting a little more, and then we challenged them to attend church every week. Well, they have been coming. Johnny isn't a member, but is taking the lessons with the young Elders. Now, he tells us that his Mom and his sister want to come to church. They are getting married on Sept. 19 by our new Branch President!!
Another great family is the Rodriguez's. Joel and Marcia. They are in their 50's and had gone inactive because of some extended family problems that had discouraged them alot. Well, we began going with the young Elders (Marcia only speaks a little english) and now they are coming regularly, and their youngest son, Jonathan, is coming to YM/YW and just spent a week at Scout Camp.
We got a new Mission President the first of this month. We met he and his wife, and their 6 children on the 4th of July. They are AWESOME!!
We're doing our best, and enjoying the HOT Texas summer!!
Hope all of you are good, too.
Sincerely, Elder and Sister Carter
Texas Houston South Mission