And the blessings continue......

August 29th,2011

Well it is sad to say but we really haven't done a great job as of late with this blog.  We are so sorry for the gaps in our story, it is just some days it is hard to write because nothing has really changed much.  Well this last few weeks we have had some significant change.  First we were sent to a Neuro Surgeon who had time for us and wanted to see Cory.  This appointment took months to set up but it was well worth the wait.    We met a gentleman who was truly interested in Cory and his situation.  After a close look at everything and ordering some new xray, Cory was given a clean bill of health.  He will only need to  go back for follow up if he starts having headaches, vision problems, or any other problems with anything.  So this was a huge thing we finally got checked off the list.  Then we had the broken leg that was still broken.  Well since it took so long for us to be seen by the Neuro Surgeon, the 3 months he needed to wait for another xray of the leg was almost upon us.  Well then Cory needed to see his regular doctor for something else and he told Cory "We can just take an x-ray of you leg and see how it is doing and send it over to the Ortho Doc, there's really no reason to wait another week.  Well the results were great and Cory broken leg was finally healed all the way through.  This was big because now he could run and jump and climb the stairs like he always has! He has been slowly jogging with Dave since he got the ok!

Next Cory had a meeting with the Stake President.  He told Cory what was needed to get himself back out into the mission field so that day Cory contacted his doctor and asked for his release papers and sent him an example of what was needed.  The Dr.  provided what was asked for from the First Presidency.  Now Cory needed to do his part and get his letter together stating why he wanted to serve.  Cory then took both letters over to the Stake President who then got his letter together and sent them all off to Salt Lake to the Missionary Department.  Now we were told that it should only take  7 to 10 days max, but three weeks later there was nothing.  The Missionary dept doctor called and asked if we had heard anything yet but no we had not.  He said that he would be working at the Missionary Department tomorrow (Monday) and that he would check into it.  Well when he got to work he went over and asked a few people if they had seen the paperwork for an Elder Cory Fife and they all said no but that they new of him and were waiting for the paperwork from his Stake President.  The Missionary Doctor then called us and let us know that they hadn't received Cory's papers yet and asked us to check with the Stake President.  Well we called and we called and we had a hard time trying to get a hold of him.  So we just figured the papers got lost in the mail and we would need to get copies and resend them.  Dave had called the Stake President's Executive Secretary to get all the papers so we could fed-x  them to Salt Lake.  Well wednesday rolls around and Dave was looking at something for church and saw that Cory's letter had been sent out that day.  About an hour later Cory gets a call from the Stake President and he says,"Elder Cory Fife you have been called to serve in the Florida Tallahassee mission and you will be departing from Salt Lake City Airport on Tuesday morning.  Oh we were all screaming and hollering and so happy that this day had finally arrived.  Cory has had a smile on his face since he got the good news! So the day after tomorrow we will be dropping Elder Fife off at the airport so he can catch up with a group of missionaries who are heading to Tallahassee from the MTC. We have found out that one of the young men is a class mate of Cory's and he is excited to serve with him.  And the blessings continue.......

We are so blessed and this has been one crazy ride.  We have had much worry and concern, many tears and a lot of fears, long nights and days, many hours wondering what was next, but through it all we had faith in God and we knew he was in charge and that if we trusted him we were all going to be ok, one way or another we were all going to be ok.

As a family we have learned much, as individuals we have learned much, and as children of a loving Heavenly Father  we have learned the most.  This experience has definitely been the refiners fire working in our home and we are all so grateful for the opportunities it has given each of us.  We will all be forever changed and this is a good thing.  We have witnessed many spiritual and holy things these past months.  We are closer because of it, we are more grateful for the small simple things because of it,  and we know the truth of the gospel more fully because of it.  We are better people because of it.  This experience is truly a gift to us on so many levels.  Please hold your loved ones tight and tell them you love them, do this everyday because you never know it could be your last chance.

Thanks you for all you have done.  We are forever grateful!
We love you all!
The Fife Family & Elder Cory Fife.