I had just gotten out of the hospital, after a month inpatient, and during that time, the couples ward changed buildings. I felt the bubble and went looking for a bathroom, but this chapel design was unlike any I was familiar with. It had an actual outdoor garden in the center, and the bathrooms were nowhere to be found.

I passed the back stage entrance, and thought my prayers were answered when I saw a small bathroom with a single toilet. I didn’t hesitate, but noticed right away, that the door didn’t shut all the way, and the combined class was meeting in the gym. So, I kinda went in and held the door shut with my foot, praying nobody came back there. I was also trying to be quiet, an impossible feat, in an attempt not to give the entire Gospel Doctrine class, a sound presentation of what severe, newly diagnosed IBD sounds like.

As I finished up, I couldn’t find any toilet paper (red flag #2), but fortunately had some in my scriptures case, from when I was serving in the Philippines. I went to quietly flush, only to discover that that the handle had no give. I looked in the back and saw that there was no water, and then saw that the water line had been disconnected🤦‍♂️. I was so embarrassed, and had no clue what to do, until I found an empty bucket. I took it to the kitchen, trying to hide as I walked, only to run into the Bishop as I was making the walk of shame. He was a MD, though, and had known me all my life and knew about my Crohn’s. He had a good laugh about it, was my lookout, and said I was probably the first to use that stage bathroom in years. 🤦‍♂️ Fortunately, it was still connected to the sewer, and flushed with aid of the bucket of water. I didn’t even tell my wife, I was so embarrassed. I also found the regular bathroom was only about 15 feet from where I had gone.