Bike Flips, Ambulance Rides & Revelation — Leslie Hancock Real Estate

Dear family and friends,

This has been an eventful month but amidst my crazy antics we’ve felt an immeasurable outpouring of God’s love and His continued direction in our lives.

I’m sure you are all assuming it was Denny who took the bike flip, but nope……it was me! I wish I could say it was intentional as it would really impress my grandsons, but Nana’s not quite that cool. ;)

So, bikers, take note…..what happened was my back brakes had shifted out of alignment and when I had to stop suddenly only my front brakes worked. I went up on my front tire, flew over the handle bars in to a forward roll and Denny, who was behind me, said my bike did a perfect flip over top of me! It happened in a flash but thankfully I landed on a nice patch of red St. George dirt and was ok. It was several days later when I was nursing the mango size bruise on my leg that I realized how lucky I’d been. We had been biking at a good speed all morning on trails through the lava and cactus fields. I don’t even want to think what a fall in there would have been like or for that matter on any of the paved areas we had been on. Two weeks later I’m still a little sore in my shoulders but we won’t stop biking, it’s just too beautiful and amazing here. My favorite time to ride this Spring was just before dusk. I loved the warm breeze, the smell of honeysuckle trees and the frequent siting of a hummingbird. Now that summer has come, we go early in the morning or head in to the mountains where it’s 15 degrees or so cooler. This has become our primary form of exercise as Denny’s hip has progressively gotten worse. In fact, we’re switching out his hip for a new one. When just plain walking and sleeping became painful, we asked the director if he could approve a week’s hiatus, and he has. Hopefully everything will go as planned and Denny will be able to serve again within the week and be as good as new in a couple of months.

I also found myself at the hospital last weekend with an internal infection. After flu like symptoms, my temperature got to 104 degrees and I passed out. Denny called 911 and I got a sweet ambulance ride that of course I don’t remember. Anyways, Denny played nurse maid to me in the most creative ways. One of the pictures shows how he drilled a hole in the top of the water bottles so I could drink laying down. He also brought me a big pan and the knife sharpener to bang if I needed him which we shortly changed out for a harmonica. ;) And, I found a sweet love note in the funniest place that really lifted my spirit. I always hate being sick, who doesn’t, but this time it was really worth it. After about 4 doses of antibiotics when my head wasn’t pounding quite so hard, my brain started to function again. It was great at first but then I couldn’t shut it off and I hardly slept all night. But…….. it was an amazing night!!! I had strong promptings all night long about different things. One was a very specific directive regarding genealogy (think Ancestry.com) which has NEVER before crossed my mind for even a fleeting second. Another prompting regarding a specific change I needed to make here in the mission field and then the rest of the night was just a flood of gratitude around this mission. I felt like the Lord finally had me in a spot where I couldn’t go anywhere, I wasn’t distracted with anything else and He was going to tell me what I needed to know and remind me of how blessed I am. It was a powerful but exhausting evening. Needless to say, I am so grateful for the things I learned and were affirmed to me that night and ……..to finally feel better.

We said goodbye to 8 powerhouse missionaries this month from Florida, Tonga, Washington, France, Australia, Mexico, Italy and Guatemala (their picture is above). It was so hard to say goodbye. I had learned much from them, and we had grown to love them all. Their farewell testimonies were amazing. Each one of them learned different things here in the mission field, but clearly just what the Lord needed them to learn. It will be less than 4 months before Elder Hancock and I leave this beautiful place and give our farewell testimonies. I can’t imagine how hard that is going to be.

Our new sister missionary, Sister Royer, pronounced “Woyah”, arrived from France a week ago. With all the French buses that come to St. George, we have been counting the days for her arrival. She had been waiting for over 4 months to get her Visa to the US and so while waiting, she served in Belgium for a few months. Her Belgium companion was the young French girl who was the victim of the terrorist bombing at the airport. Sister Royer has continued to stay in touch with her and thankfully after a 2 month set back, this sweet girl has now re-entered the mission field. Not much stops the determination of these committed sister missionaries!

Elder Hancock and I finally found the spot we want to live (when we retire)! It’s called the Ledges and it is still in St. George, just 7 minutes north of downtown. It borders Snow Canyon and has some of the most stunning views ever . Well it was going to be the perfect place for us until we saw the price tag on one of our favorite lots. It was 1.1 million!!!! Yup that’s just the lot and it’s probably less than a ½ acre. It was kind of discouraging as we would just love to live right there so we could hop on a bike or walking trail, but apparently so would a bunch of other people! I was so hoping this little haven on earth would stay a secret to the masses, but obviously not! So, back to the drawing board……..

Last night was the final concert at the Tabernacle before it closes for two years. All of the missionaries in the St. George mission gathered for 3 rehearsals and sang for the concert. I still can’t believe what our director was able to accomplish with us. The songs and arrangements were incredible and I think we sounded pretty amazing. Denny performed a song he wrote for the Tabernacle which was awesome and the Southern Utah Heritage Choir were a flash mob in the audience and did a surprise couple of numbers including “How Great Thou Art”. When the evening was over, everyone got up and was clapping and cheering. The spirit was so strong, many felt the presence of angels. I’m sure those pioneers who sacrificed so much for that Tabernacle were cheering in heaven. This morning Denny said, “I can’t believe how blessed we were to participate in not just one but two concerts there at the Tabernacle. It was a twice in a lifetime opportunity!

The Lord continues to bless us with His wisdom and love. With His help, Denny and I have been able to share the gospel with so many people these past 8 months and so many people have tearfully shared their gratitude. I know this little season in our lives has been a sweet privilege and that when we go home, we won’t have the same opportunities. However, I am hopeful that I won’t forget how to open my mouth, share God’s love and declare what I know to be true! I included a picture of Elder Hancock (lovingly referred to now as “the singing missionary”) walking to the Visitor’s Center. I love seeing the joy in his face, he loves this work as much as I do!

President Ezra Taft Bensen says, "We are commanded by God to take this gospel to all the world. That is the cause that must unite us today. Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family."

And I can’t forget to share our visitors this month. Chris and Amanda (Bussey) Jones were here as Chris competed in the challenging ½ Iron Man. And, Seth and Mckenzie (Rands) Chatterly came to hike and stayed in the temple apartments with us. Always so grateful for familiar faces from home. Love them all.

I hope summer will come soon for all of you…..it has definitely come to St. George!

Much love,

Leslie