June 25, 2012

Helloooooo Familia...

Well, I loved your emails! Sounds like you are all doing good, being blessed, the usual hahaha. I loved getting the email from Steph, and seeing all of your comments. I am really grateful to have a close family (both immediate and extended), and also a family that has very limited "drama", that we all respect each other and accept each other. It makes all the difference! And being the youngest, I'm really grateful that I have so many examples, and that every life decision or trial that I go through, that I have so many people that I trust and that can provide guidance. More than anything, that's one thing I'm grateful for...that I have family members that I don't just love, but that I trust to teach me the right things. The end...I love you all!

So, familia, this week, was an interesting one. Well, the mermaid companion saga continues, and oh how it has evolved. So...hmm, basically, we went to the dr and they gave sister cottrell some crazy steroids to take to make the rash go away. So, last Tuesday night she took them, and then woke up Wednesday with crazy nausea. She was sick/throwing up the whole morning, and we had to leave district meeting because she was so sick. The dr told her to stop taking the meds, but she continued to get fever/chills, which made it seem like it wasn't related. Woke up Thursday with the same thing, but the good news was that her rash looked like it was totally gone. So she thought she'd be okay going to a lesson w/ me, because we had a member too. But the lesson ended up being in a little tiny trailor that was probably hot enough to bake cookies in, and so within minutes sister cottrell's rash starts up again! So it is. Then Friday she wakes up feeling better. So Friday night she decides to eat a little bit of food at the member dinner, and then that sends her right back into her nausea. And then on Sunday she wakes up and her rash has spread to her back, neck, all over. Po-bre-cita. So, she's not feeling too nauseous now, but she's probably eaten a total of like 500 calories over the last week. And we have an appt today w/ the dermatologist, and hopefully they can get it figured out. Poor thing.

So, that has proved it to be an interesting week, but I am grateful for the experience haha. First off, I am now fully prepared to help my children when they wake up in the middle of the night sick with something haha. I spent a lot of the time just like getting a wet cloth for her, rubbing her back, combing her hair, getting her water, getting her medicine, asking how she felt, stuff like that. I also learned, that being cooped up inside with a sick companion plays games with your head! We both saw how it just like sucked the desire out of us, and we just felt super discouraged and you just like start going crazy. You definitely see how Satan works on you, and it was hard to focus and you just need to get out and work in order to start thinking of someone other than yourself. So...it was an interesting experience, and I think I learned a lot about myself. And I was grateful when we finally got out and started teaching again! But Sister Cottrell is awesome, and I'm grateful for our companionship and how we've come to support one another. It will probably be weird to finally get a different companion.

So yes...that's probably the biggest news to report today. Pray that Dr. Fulkerson the dermatologist has some sort of good news! Hahahhaa.

What else...this past Tuesday (right before the heatstroke/flu/whoknowswhat fiasco really got bad), was a really cool day. One thing I've learned on my mission, is that you can't force spiritual things, you can only invite the Spirit, and some days the Lord just decides to pour out the Spirit on you, and fill you with desire. You never really know when that day's going to come. But I've totally seen that, that there are just some days when I'm out here when I just feel like I feel joy and peace and the Spirit more than anything, and I don't really know what all makes those days happen. All you know, is that the bad days and the monotony and all of that are worth it, because you know that eventually those spiritual moments will come. So, so it was on Tuesday. It was a cool day...we were in the VC in the morning, and I was on a "VC exchange" with Sister Lewis. We had these 2 ladies come in, and they said there was a young lady who was outside crying, and they wanted her to come in. So they brought her in, and I was able to sit with her in the theatre and help her out with some things. Well, she kind of ended up getting a little too weird,  hahaha saying that she feels like she's not human, etc., etc, (such is life, serving in a VC...never know who's going to come in), but it was cool because I was able to help her and pray with her and help her to feel better. And then, later on, this RM comes in with this guy named Andre, and said that Andre wanted to be taught a lesson. Andre's this guy that's currently homeless, who went to college and everything, but has just found himself in a bad place. So, Sister Lewis and I just started teaching him, and we ended up teaching him Lesson 3, about the doctrine of Christ. It was way cool, when you can see the Atonement work on people right then and there. Then, we found ourselves start migrating towards teaching him the Word of Wisdom. Sister Lewis started introducing it, and you could tell she was kind of hesitant, had no idea why. But then I just went for it and I was like "What are things that are not good for your body?" and I just told him flat out about the 5 things we shouldn't take. And he was like "Well I smoke cigarettes and weed, and everyone always says my life will be better if I don't do that, but I don't see how they're related. Why do all these bad things happen, if I just like smoking cigarettes?" and I recited the scripture I had read that morning, about how every blessing is granted, based on the law on which it is predicated. And he was like "Oh, no one's ever been able to explain that to me, that makes so much sense!" and it was way cool. So, pretty sure he went to church yesterday with the RM, and he called and left a message for us last night, so we'll follow up and see what happened!

Que mas...so, we got a sweet new investigator this week, Marta. The bishop last sunday told us to go visit some lady named "Esperanza" who apparently has been coming to church with a less active guy for 2 weeks and paying tithing...what?? So, we go to visit the less active guy, and this lady, named Marta (Who we come to later find out is "marta esperanza") is there. She says the guy had been telling her some stuff, and had been taking her to singles ward dances and stuff. We come back and teach her, and this was the lesson in the 180 degree trailor, and she doesn't seem to interested...she talks about how she "respects all religions" and she just likes going for social reasons and stuff, quien sabe. So, lo and behold, Sunday she shows up! And the elders are like "That's the lady that's been paying tithing!" and she hadn't mentioned to us at all about paying tithing. So, she stayed for all three hours, became all buddy buddy with some of the hermanas, and it was great. So, there you have it! My investigator is paying tithing. Pretty soon we'll find out why haha. The end.

What else...oh yes, Al told me she saw a pic of me and Sadie on FB. Yes, I did see Sadie! Hahaha it was so funny. I was about to present the Christus to someone, and she just like walks right in front of me and I'm like "Whaaaat?" Hahaha. She was there for the wedding of a roommate. So, we only got to talk for probably like 3 minutes total, because I was busy with something, and then her wedding party was leaving, but there you have it. What else is new, I see everyone I know on my mission. One of these days, Gretta is just going to walk in the front door of the VC all alone, and it'll be no big deal haha.

Que mas...I had another cool experience that I forgot to tell you about the last week. So, we have "posts" in the VC, and one hour, my post was to be in the art exhibit. But, for some reason I really felt like I wasn't supposed to be in there, and it was pretty slow, so I went to make phone calls in the call center. A few minutes later, a call comes in from the front desk, saying they needed someone to give a tour, could I help? It was for this lady and her 12 yr old grandson who wasn't a member. I was able to teach him the whole first lesson, and invite him to be baptized! It was way cool, and shows that you gotta be in the right place in the right moment.

Sooo...that's about it, familia. I have some more pics I'll send next week, including Sister Cottrell's extravaganzaa. I love you allll!!! A mission is hard and full of up's and down's, but you just gotta trust that it's worth it, and it really is. I love you all! Love, Sister Fors