SISTER BUENO

I want to tell you about my experience with Sister Bueno. She was two weeks away from being released from her mission when she was diagnosed with the terrible disease, lupus. She needed an escort home since she was not feeling very well. It was decided that I should go. The mission president and his wife, and Sister Bueno picked me up from my office where I work. We drove to the airport. Our gate was the second farthest away from the entrance and Sister Bueno walked as slow as a tortoise. I was afraid we would miss our plane and I searched for a wheelchair, but I couldn't see any. We persisted and eventually got there in time to walk on the flight. When they served the snack, I was touched when I saw Sister Bueno bow her head and give thanks. I'm afraind I haven't been thankful for the airline snacks for years. We flew for about an hour and arrived in Joinville. We were met by the bishop's counselor and the high priest group leader. They insisted that I go with them to take Sister Bueno home. They said I couldn't stay at the airport for five hours waiting for the flight back. We drove for about an hour and arrived at a very humble home. Sister Bueno's mother, the mother of thirteen children, greeted her and wlecomed her home. Sister Bueno is the only member of the church in her family. We were invited into the living room. The floor was bare wood and the couches were car seats. All kinds of strange things were hung on the walls including Santa Claus, the Savior, and Woody Wood Pecker all at different levels with a lot of other stuff. I patiently waited while the men inquired about all they should do to get Sister Bueno to the health facilities and doctors she needed to see in the next few days. They asked me what I knew about her and when they were completely satisfied we left. I was really impressed with these prieshood leaders who were willing and ready to help this sister. They drove me back to the airport for an hour and were not happy until they had made sure I was checked in for my flight to Sao Paulo. I offered them some money for driving me all over, abut they energetically declined. They left me wondering if I had ever been so kind and thoughtful to a stranger. I'm sorry to say, I don't think so.