Stitches removed!

We received this email late last night!

Brother and Sister Merrill, 

Elder Merrill is now working with the Office Elders and they have their PDay on Wednesdays.  You should hear from him on Wednesday. 

The stitches were removed on Saturday, as I mentioned in my other email, and the wounds are healing wonderfully with no signs of infection. The maxiofacial surgeon did a great job and there should be little to no scar. (President took the photo below of Elder Merrill this afternoon.)

Elder Merrill saw two specialists (endodontic & orthodontic) today and did great at his appointment. The lower tooth they thought could be repaired with a crown was found with a fracture that reached 4mm below the flat break along the backside of the tooth. Unfortunately, there is not enough good tooth left to repair with a crown. Today they also made molds of his upper and lower teeth. 

On Friday, they will pull both the upper and the lower teeth. At the same time they will install the two titanium implants, pack with bone graft material and then wait 4-6 months while the implants bond to the bone. Once they are confident the implants have properly bonded, they will then install the permanent teeth. In the meantime, he will have two temporary teeth (for cosmetic reasons). 

Elder Merrill was in no pain and when the anesthetic wore off, simple ibuprofen handled the small discomfort. Within hours, I saw him in the office eating a banana (or two) and happy to be having some solid food. 

I hope this helps to answer some of your concerns and relieves some of your worry. Should you have any questions, please let us know.  

Best Regards, 

Hermana Russell

Lookin' Good!

This is an excerpt from Elder Tanner Redding's Oct. 27 email:

As I was reading this week I read in Alma 38 about when Alma the younger was giving his son Shiblon council.  I read vs: 3 and 4 which say:

"3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites. 

4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee."

When I read this I thought of Sam. I was completely overcome with Sam's experience but more importantly Sam's response. To realize then that he may have suffered quite a bit of pain and the time but to completely direct it outward and be thankful for our Savior and for Joseph Smith is a testimony of Sam's dedication to The Lord and this work. It is very natural for us to look inward when we have things go wrong, or get drilled in the head by a rock. That is the natural man, that is not Sam. Sam has always been a great example to me as a friend and continues to be an example to me in this great work. I love what Alma says to his son. He tells him the he has had great joy in Shiblon because of his hard work and patience. I can say the same thing about Sam. I know that our Heavenly Father is proud of him and his hard work and patience. I know that he is proud of all of My greet friends and their great service. I am so grateful for the great friends I have who are amazing examples to me! 

We sure love Tanner and all of Sam's friends!