Visiting Teaching

I had something wonderful happen yesterday. My Visiting Teacher came over. To some this may not seem like a big deal, but I really like knowing I have a VT who actually cares enough to come every month. I was trying to figure out why it's so important to me, and I realized it was because of Sherri. About a year after Karl and I were married we moved to a new ward. I was having pregnancy problems and had been put on bedrest. I also had gestational diabetes. Karl was home a lot, but I was still bored, and I was feeling very lonely.
About 3 weeks after we moved in I got a call from my VT. She asked if she could come over and meet me. I said sure and she said she would come over later that afternoon. A few minutes later our Home Teacher called and asked if he could come over and meet us. I thought it was funny that we hadn't heard from either until that day and then suddenly they both called. Later I found out why.
My VT showed up and introduced herself, Sherri, and her husband Josh. They had been on a trip to Hawaii and had just gotten back. They had both called their HT and VT families and were planning on dropping by to see them all. As they were walking they discovered that we were on his HT list and I was on her VT list. They even brought us a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts from Hawaii.
After some talking we realized that Sherri had gone to high school with me, and that Josh had gone to high school with Von (though Josh was older than Von). We hit it off and Sherri offered to bring us dinner some night so Karl wouldn't have to cook. I was amazed that she would be so willing to help us.
Sherri continued to be my VT until a few months later when she was reassigned to teach someone else. I remember getting home and seeing a new VT assignment on my door and being really sad, until I read it and saw that I was now companions with Sherri! She was one of the best companions to do VT with because not only were we friends, but she was proactive, so it wasn't like pulling teeth like it usually is.
When we moved from the ward I was sad to leave her, but I was grateful for the experience of having a VT that cared so much for me.
A few months after we moved I was at the hospital after Von's birth. He was in the NICU and I was having a really tough time. My parents and Emily visited me. Karl came whenever he could, and my brother Von stopped by often since he worked at the hospital. One day I was sitting in the NICU watching my son lay under the biliruben lights. I heard someone say my name and I turned around and saw Sherri. She was a nurse and was working in the NICU that day. She came up and gave me a great big hug.
For the rest of the time in the NICU she came to see me whenever she was working, and did little things for me that meant so much. She got me crushed ice, which only nurses have access to, and bought me a chocolate dipped pretzel and some lotion from the gift shop. I don't think I can really explain how wonderful it was to have someone I wasn't related to come and show me they cared.
Sherri is someone who really showed what a Visiting Teacher can do.