Mission cut short - only God knows why

   We want to thank our many friends and family members who have helped us over the past two months with your prayers, phone calls, cards and gifts of flowers and food, personal visits and labor in our behalf. We love all of you.  Oh, how we miss our fellow missionaries!

The following is a rather detailed explanation of what happened to cause us to leave our treasured mission after serving only four short months at the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial near Sharon, Vermont. If you wish, just skip the story and look at the pictures!

Early in the morning on Friday, August 22, 2014 Sister Lynne Likes fell in the bathroom of our apartment in South Royalton, VT.  She landed hard on her left side, severely injuring herself. Fortunately, I was not out on my usual morning walk/jog/hill climb.  I went to her aid immediately upon hearing her scream, and found her curled up on the bathroom floor, barely breathing. Paramedics arrived only a few minutes after my 911 call.  A "stair chair" was employed to lift Lynne out of the apartment, up the steep garden level stairs and onto the front porch.  While the paramedics were pulling the gurney out of the ambulance, I gave Lynne a brief but earnest priesthood blessing. At first the paramedics stated that I could not ride in the ambulance, but they soon relented, so off we sped in a driving rainstorm to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon NH, 25 miles away.  They suggested taking Lynne to the Randolph VT Hospital just 12 miles away, but I refused because we had recently seen its less-than-adequate facilities. That was a life-saving decision. As we left Interstate 89 on the exit 18 off ramp into Lebanon, the ambulance driver had to slam on his brakes and swerve violently to avoid hitting a car that had failed to yield the right-of-way.  We nearly crashed!  With the EMT monitoring Lynne's condition and staying in constant contact with DHMC on the trip to the hospital, it was increasingly apparent that Lynne was badly hurt.  Upon arriving at the emergency entrance, hospital personnel quickly wheeled her into an examination room where a large number of medical staff were waiting.

I soon learned that DHMC is a teaching hospital, where a plethora of interns, residents, nurses and other doctors all crammed into the examination room with us.  Even Eric D. Martin, MD showed up. A very compassionate and friendly member of the Church, Dr. Martin had examined Lynne's infected finger the day before, at which time he was assigned as her primary care physician and we filled out all the paperwork required to register her as a patient at DHMC.  That act saved precious time in the emergency room because they had her information in the system the moment I revealed her name and birthdate to them. A fourth year resident stood by my side, comforting and observing me while explaining the on-going examination of my injured wife.  They soon discovered that her abdomen showed abnormalities, so they quickly wheeled her into another room for a CT scan.  They found that she was bleeding internally and needed immediate surgery to save her life.  Paul H. Kispert, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, took charge and followed the medical team who took Lynne into the operating room within minutes of reviewing the CT scan..  Dr. Kispert told me the surgery might take about 3 - 4 hours.  At that point, I called our director, Elder George Osborn to inform him of Lynne's accident so that he would know that we would not be serving at the Memorial in the foreseeable future.  He expressed his sincere regrets.  Thursday, August 21 was our last day as missionaries.

While I sat in the family waiting room, Elder Kent Harman, one of our cherished FM missionaries arrived to give me much needed support. Was I ever glad to have him there!  The surgery took about 1.5 hours, after which Dr. Kispert informed us that he had had to remove Lynne's ruptured spleen, repair her torn diaphragm, and give her two units of donated blood.  By capturing and filtering her own blood as they operated, they were able to return a significant portion of it into her body, as well. He said that she would be in recovery for several hours, so Elder Harman left to retrieve my car at the apartment so that it would be at the hospital when I needed it. He returned within two hours with his wife Tami, who followed him back in their car.  After Lynne revived a bit, Elder Harman and I gave her a priesthood blessing.  He then walked with me into the parking lot to show me where he had left my car.  As we approached it, he stated that he was going to get in the car with me and give me a blessing before he went home with his wife.  I gladly accepted as I was very distraught.

Lynne was soon taken into a private room in the ISCU where she remained for two days under constant surveillance by the hospital staff.  Once she was stabilized she was wheeled into a private room where she remained until she was released on Friday, August 29.  She suffered several frightening complications including atrial fibrillation during that stay.  Using multiple CAT, ECHO and ECG scans, it was determined that her left lung had partially collapsed and was filled with fluid. Lynne continues to this day using a breathing device to help restore a lung to its normal functions. She was released with the stipulation that she be admitted as soon as possible to the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Concord, NH, sixty miles south of Lebanon.

On Sunday, August 24, Lynne's brother Ronald P Barlow, MD, Chief Medical Officer in the Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem Utah, was sitting in church when he turned to his wife Nora and stated that they had to leave church, catch a plane and go help Lynne.  After some frustrating delays, they arrived at DHMC the next day, Monday.  Ron told Lynne that "Leroy prayed me here." He immediately began consulting with hospital personnel, boldly reviewing and suggesting procedures and treatments.  All of us were very impressed with the professional and compassionate care given by the hospital staff throughout Lynne's stay. Nora went shopping for some comfortable clothing that Lynne could wear that would give her freedom of movement with the least pressure on her stapled stomach. Lynne and I were immensely grateful to them both.  I reserved a room for them at the nearby Marriott Residence Inn.  They invited me to stay with them.  I gladly accepted after having fitfully slept in a makeshift bed in Lynne's hospital room for two nights.  Ron and Nora traveled in our car with us on Friday when we went to Concord.  After getting Lynne settled in, she bid them a tearful farewell as I drove them to the airport shuttle station in Concord.

Lynne stayed a week at Health South, undergoing painful but necessary rehab treatments.  On Friday, September 5, with Lynne still very weak and in pain, we drove to the New Hampshire Manchester Mission office where we left our car to be transported by On Call International, the facilitator of the enhanced Emergency Assistance Plan that I had purchased in December 2012.  That Plan paid for our first class airline tickets home, our car delivery to our son Rick's home in Pueblo West, Colorado, and $500 of my hotel bills for two weeks. I believe the Lord prompted me to buy that Plan, as I had never considered such a thing before in my life.  It saved us several thousand dollars! We were on our way home.

We stayed overnight in a hotel in Manchester, then flew from Manchester to Chicago on Saturday where we stayed overnight.  Sunday, September 7 was our 52nd wedding anniversary.  What a way to celebrate!  Our son Rod picked us up at the Denver airport, drove us to our home in Aurora where he and his family had been staying for a couple of weeks, where we enjoyed a brief but joyous welcome from Rod's family.  He then drove us to Colorado Springs where we spent the night.  Lynne was very sick that night from the stress of travel, but she toughed it out in the hotel room.  Our friends Ted and Elaine Ustick picked us up the next morning and drove us to Pueblo.  Rick and his wife Shauna had invited us to continue Lynne's rehab while staying in their beautiful home, so we jumped at the chance.  Their knowledge and relationships with key doctors in Pueblo made our three week stay with them very productive in getting the on-going medical care Lynne needed.  Besides, we loved being with our family where we enjoyed their loving care, especially by our grandchildren! During our stay there, Lynne was treated by a surgeon who removed her stomach staples, an internist and a cardiologist, had x-rays and blood lab work, wore a heart monitor for two weeks, and endured painful daily injections of blood thinner into her stomach administered very reluctantly by me.  I also tracked the multiple medicines she had to ingest daily. On Sunday, September 28, we returned to our home in Aurora with some trepidation, afterward going to Pueblo for medical appointments from time to time.  Lynne's recovery is continuing.  Neighbors and friends have visited and told us that we are in their prayers.  We appreciate all of you!

Missionaries enjoying breakfast at Eatons Sugar House in Royalton VT a couple of weeks before Lynne's accident.

Orange juice, hot chocolate, pancakes and maple syrup...yummy!

Elder Kent Harman aka "Navy Seal" came to the hospital in our darkest hours.   His priesthood blessings were guided by the Lord.  We shall never forget his presence when we really needed him at the hospital!

Kent and Tammy Harman and Mike and Terri Mooney brought cheer and Five Guys burgers during their visit to Lynne at Health South.

Sister Debbie Egan and Elder Rodney Egan brought gifts and love to Lynne when she needed it.  They even offered to drive our car home to Colorado for us!  

Elder George Osborn and his wife Sister Sunya Osborn visit us at Health South Rehab Hospital.  They are inspired, dedicated and loving directors of the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial.  We requested and received heart-felt priesthood blessings from Elder Osborn before they returned home.

Marsha Dickerman was Lynne's roommate at HealthSouth.  A truly Christian woman, she was bright, cheerful and sang to Lynne every day!  She had double knee surgery and was discharged the same day Lynne was.

Elder George Osborn is an exceptional Director who taught us by word and deed to live a higher standard of Christian life.  

This is the Rock of Ages quarry in Barre VT from which the JSBM monument was carved.  The little blue sanihut in the right portion of the picture helps to size this quarry.  That granite face is six hundred feet deep!

We came home before the splendor of fall colors had begun.  See what we missed!  Thanks to Gayle Godfrey for this.

Lynne's sister Gayle and husband Bob Godfrey visited early in October during "leaf peepers" season.  We planned to tour with them but it was not to be.  We're glad that they took the trip anyway.  They loved touring Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

See why Sister Likes enjoyed being a missionary so much!  Such a spiritual place to serve.

Seminary and Institute teachers were eager to learn more about Joseph Smith.  Most were from Utah and had never been to Vermont before.  We enjoyed the challenge of teaching the teachers!  We enjoyed three bus loads of them on three separate days.

August 8 was a beautiful summer day as Elder Likes stood in front of the Director's Residence.  We could not have guessed how our lives would change so drastically just two short weeks later when Lynne was so badly injured in a fall in our apartment.

Elder and Sister Likes in our Colorado home on Sunday, October 12, 2014 - the day of our release as missionaries.

Denver Colorado Stake President Peter Krumholz in our home where he formally released us as missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Lynne met this servant of God for the first time that day, as he had been called and set apart as Stake President just a week after we left on our mission. 

This magnificent statue of Joseph Smith, prophet of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ will remain in our hearts as a reminder of the joy we experienced serving as missionaries at his birthplace from April 23 to August 22, 2014 - four short months of the highest spiritual order.    This life-sized statue stands in the restoration room of the Visitor Center together with a bust of Jesus Christ our Savior, a portrait of our current Church President and Prophet Thomas S. Monson and a painting depicting Joseph, son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt.

  Goodbye for now.

August splendor

"And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:
"Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes--; the rest sit around it and pluck blackberries."
(Aurora Leigh, Book VII, II, 820-23

As with virtually all temples, chapels and historical sites of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial site is resplendent with deep green lawns, colorful flowers and trees all in their summer glory.  See what we get to see every day as we serve:

Sister Likes blends in nicely, don't you think!

Our office is in the Director's Residence behind me.

Maybe you can name all these flower varieties, but I can't!

Whoops!  What happened to this one??  See below...

A little girl took a bite of these green berries, then immediately started crying with pain!  We called our EMT to the scene, who quickly examined her.  When he found that she had not swallowed any of them, her lips were not swollen and a little glass of cold milk calmed her down, we were all relieved.  It turned out to be Trillium, a non-poisonous, bitter plant.  We are all a little wiser now.

Every year while we were home, Lynne would dress up in a holstein cow outfit, go to Chick-Fil-A, and get free food.  She talked Leroy into going once or twice and even took four young Elders properly adorned with cow markings once. There are no Chick-Fil-A's in Vermont, so our granddaughters Courtney and Paige (Randy and Kirsten's girls) substituted for her this year.  They were terrific!

Summer  of 2013.  Should have brought that cow bell with us to Vermont - might have come in handy!

Summer of 2013.  Missionaries have fun too!  Notice that I made sure nobody would mistake me for a cow!

July buzz

Vermont in July.  If the biting black flies don't get you, the humidity will, in spite of the seemingly mild mid-80s temperatures!  Awe, but the beauties of this Green Mountain state never fade.  This is tour bus season, so we are getting lots of visitors, including families that are making their way across Church historical sites including Salt Lake City UT, Martin's Cove WY, Nauvoo IL, Kirtland OH, Palmyra NY and Sharon VT (that's us!).  Such diversity we never expected, but it really spices up our days with people from Canada, Africa, Europe and all over the USA.

Our visitors have all come to see Brother Joseph's birthplace - the cradle of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We make sure that they understand that we revere and honor Joseph Smith as God's founding prophet of the last dispensation of God's Kingdom on earth, but we do not worship him.  We worship God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, just as Joseph did.  Joseph's translation of the 531 page Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ) from gold plates by the gift and power of God in under 90 days of actual work was nothing short of a miracle.  After studying the time line of the major events of Joseph's life, many visitors are truly touched by the Spirit.  I have given many copies of the Book of Mormon to those who express an interest in reading it - always with the stipulation that they promise to read it with prayerful heart and mind.

This is Sister Likes with Russell and Donna Mengel, who had just completed their facilities management mission in Nauvoo, IL.  They were fun to visit with and stayed so long that we took them out to dinner after their tour!

Elder Russell Mengel demonstrating the use of his dowsing rods, used to find water, metal and other items of interest.  He swears by their authenticity, having used them to find wells and old graves in Nauvoo while incredulous onlookers watched in unbelief.  He told us that he located a well and an old outhouse very close to where he was standing in this picture only a few feet from Joseph's monument, but we weren't about to dig up the grass to prove his point!  He gave me a pair of dowsing rods as a gift.  They are simply two copper rods bent into "L" shapes.  I seem to recall that, years ago, members of our family used what were called "witching sticks" to find water and certain kinds of mineral deposits.  Who knows, maybe they work for some people.  

The air conditioner on our 2007 Chevy Trail Blazer quit working, so I shopped around for a reliable repair shop.  The Chevy dealer wanted $800+ to replace the A/C compressor, but Ed Mitchell in the red shirt, the owner of this shop in Plainfield NH (population 2,400), told me on the phone that he thought that was too much money and to bring it in so he could see if they could fix it for less.  In about 2 hours Mike the mechanic in the black shirt had it fixed for $164.  I was so pleased I asked them to pose with me for my blog and assured Ed that he would get plenty of free advertising.  Both great guys.  Love the small town honesty!

Sister Likes standing in front of the KFC in West Lebanon NH.  This store sits on the site where Joseph Smith had leg surgery in 1813 at age 7 by Dr. Nathan Smith, founder of Dartmouth College of Medicine.

Lynne wanted to go for a train ride, so we took a 2 hour ride on the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad along the water front near Meredith NH, across the lake from Wolfeboro where Mitt Romney and the Marriotts have summer homes.  Notice how I coordinated my clothes with the train colors!

Sister Likes on an old caboose near the train we rode on.  Lots of antique things to see and touch in the Northeastern states.

142 youth and their 20 leaders from Nashua NH stake spent 3 days with us at Camp Joseph, adjacent to the Memorial.  Their activities, all planned by the youth, were superb.  They rebuilt about 100 yards of old stone wall near the Old Turnpike Road on the church property in one day using 13 teams, each assigned one section.  They lifted, moved and arranged 4 large truckloads of Vermont granite that must have weighed upwards of 20 tons, as it weighs 165 lbs/cubic foot.  They also floated down the White River together using a mass of designer inner tubes.  Fun group!

Summer activities

The humidity soars in Vermont in July.  We had our landlord bring us a dehumidifier that now runs 24/7 in our kitchen.  I empty a gallon of water out of it every 8 hours!  It has helped Lynne to breath better, as she had been struggling with bad throat and chest congestion.  Temperatures here in the mid 80s with humidity is akin to 100 degree temperatures in Colorado.

Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial visitor numbers have increased substantially with lots of vacationers and bus tours.  We keep busy visiting with lots of interesting people from all over the world coming to this outstanding Memorial.

A rare original 1830 Book of Mormon is in the Rauner Library at Dartmouth College in Hanover NH.  We were allowed to handle and photograph the book without restrictions simply by surrendering my drivers license to the librarian.

We also examined several files about Dr. Nathan Smith, the founder of the Dartmouth College of Medicine and the first resident M.D. to teach at Yale University Medical School.  He performed the surgery on Joseph Smith's left leg in 1813 that saved him from amputation due to a severe osteomyelitis infection in the bone caused by typhoid fever.

Sister Likes talking to a Republican activist during the staging of the Randolph VT parade that we participated in with a float designed just like the Memorial Monument by Elder Mike Mooney, our finish carpenter FM Missionary.  This guy hugged my bride and gave her a peck on the cheek.  Good thing he wasn't a Democrat!

Elder Ogden driving our John Deere Gator in the parade with Sister Likes riding shotgun.  There were thousands of spectators lining the streets.  We gave away all our balloons, pass-along cards and candy in the first quarter mile of the 3 mile parade route.  Community spirit in these small towns is high!

We had 100 balloons to start - not nearly enough!

This newspaper ad is what attracted everyone to the parade.

Our sister missionaries with their young women helpers walked the parade route handing out balloons and goodies.

Here's what's left of my poor old rusty Chevy after only 3 months of touring Vermont!  Only a few more years and there won't be anything left of it to haul off.  Just joking, of course.

Sister Likes leaving the Sugar and Spice Restaurant in Rutland VT.  This building was well over 200 years old.  Their breakfast was top-notch.  There are many old maple sugar houses in Vermont that have been turned into small businesses like this one.

Taiwanese refrigerator magnet  - gift from Robert Lee (see last picture)

Another parade on Saturday, July 12, this time in South Royalton - the village where we live.  It was my turn to drive this time!  The 13' float barely missed hitting the overhead electrical wires.  Sisters Smedley and Sumsion on the left, our directors Sister and Elder Osborn on the right.  A few more balloons and we would have been airborne!

Robert Lee and his wife (on the left) touring with two former missionaries who had served two missions in Taiwan.  Brother Lee had been the Stake President and his wife the Stake Relief Society President in Taiwan.  They are all very humble servants of the Lord.  The brother on the right speaks fluent Chinese.

On the road again!

Our first Saturday and Sunday off since we started our mission turned into a getaway that took us through New Hampshire to the Maine coastline last weekend - a 400 mile round trip through such beautiful lake country that it could have become boring - NOT!

Our son Randy used to play class A beach volleyball near this amusement park in Old Orchard Beach, Maine next to the Atlantic Ocean to give him a break from his medical school studies.

One of the University of New England College of Medicine (UNECOM) buildings in Biddeford, Maine where our sons Randy and Rickland received their medical degrees.  The campus is a spit and holler away from the Atlantic Ocean.

We had lunch at this cozy restaurant on a narrow neck of land just east of UNECOM.

Super delicious hard ice cream cones are sold here in Saco, Maine a few miles south of Portland.

We drove north Saturday night to Auburn, Maine, then attended Auburn Ward sacrament meeting Sunday morning before driving back to Vermont.  The Church sat high on a hill near stunning Auburn Lake, a large fresh water supply that does not allow any body contact with the water.

We packed our Sunday lunch so we didn't get to eat with this festive crowd in Meredith, New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee.  Nice break from driving, though.

Lake Winnipesaukee is huge!  Some nice yachts plied its waters. (Maybe Mitt Romney was there.)  A few inexperienced stand-up paddle boarders wobbled their way by.  One young girl about 12 years old paddled up to this dock and did a face plant on the dock while trying to stop...OUCH!

Our very first selfie!! It took me a while to figure out how to go back to regular photos on my ipad mini after snapping this photo.  Old geezers all the way!

Leroy's favorite very healthy breakfast of orange juice, shredded wheat and fruit.  Very colorful with our bright table cloth, don't you think!?

On most Monday evenings we have family home evening in the Director's residence with the adult members of our ward and all our missionaries.  We start with a program followed by a potluck dinner.  We usually have about 2 dozen attend.  The people in this picture are all missionaries except the man sitting on the left - he is Bishop Wilson.

Harmless luna (moon) moths like this are found at the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial from time to time.  Another one of God's fantastic creations. (Size comparison next to a quarter.)   I showed one of these on July 1 to a family with 4 small children.  They usually just sit there without flying, but as I tried to put the moth back on a shrub leaf it flew right into the face of the 4 year old boy.  Really freaked him out!