Semper Fi!

     The other day we got a call from our Military Relations contact in Salt Lake.  He said that there was a wounded marine in the Portsmouth Naval Hospital who had arrived from Afghanistan and needed a blessing.  We thought that the missionaries at Virginia Beach were closer to him, but he said that he had already talked to that couple and they said it was our area.  We were told to get to the wounded marine that evening if possible. We tried calling Elders in that area to go with us, but they didn't answer.  So with permission, we picked up our local full-time Elders and took them with us.  It took over an hour to get there, but we got into the Marine Base, found the hospital, and after a wild goose chase all over the very large hospital, finally found the marine.
     We were expecting an interesting story about being wounded in battle.  It turned out that he was not wounded in an enemy situation, but while doing physical training.  His leg/ankle was badly broken.  They flew him to Germany, then to the United States, for treatment.  It took 8 days to make that whole trip.  He was on Morphine and other pain killers, so was pretty drugged and worn out.  He had a new cast, but was to be evaluated for surgery the next morning.
     I asked if he was a member of The Church and he said that he was the only member in his family, including his wife.  He had told his non-member family that he wanted a blessing, and they contacted Salt Lake, finally ending up with us.  He received the blessing and we visited a few more minutes before we left.  Then we took the Elders to a Chinese buffet.  We had to cancel FHE for the evening but this seemed more important than playing dominoes so that's how it goes!