January 10, 2022
I'm hot!!!🥵 (temperature wise😉) Last Monday was pretty slow. I finally took Hna. Marvin to go see the dam that is near our apartment. I hadn’t been back since I went with Hna. Hanson in July. I thought that there wouldn’t be a lot of water but there was! We couldn’t get over to the spot I wanted to because of the amount of water. The water was brown and dirty. It felt like we were trekking into the bayou. I compared a picture I took from July and from this time and it looks sooo different! Hna. Marvin and I didn’t have time to eat dinner at home so we picked up a pizza. I owed her 6 bucks and she wanted it paid back in a pizza, so I had no choice.
Tuesday morning we had DCM with our all Sister District (Sistrict). It went pretty good. We talked about the covenants we make in the temple. Also about how we always need to leave something behind. When someone doesn’t answer a door, leave a note, scripture, cookies, etc. To let them know that we were there. Maybe someone has a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet but they aren’t ready to accept the gospel. It is okay to move on as long as they at least have a way to find the missionaries again. For lunch, Hna. Marvin and I got Subway. Gift Cards are great because I have to use them. Afterwards, we went and taught Doris. They got a new puppy that is super adorable. I can’t hold babies, but I can hold puppies. We reviewed and taught the rest of the Plan of Salvation. It was cool because her brother-in-law was a part of the lesson. He hasn’t been to church in a long time. He wants to start coming back! After that we went and set up Hna. Marvin another appointment at Cvs to get more of her nasty mouth rinse. Hna. Marvin made us these fat hamburgers for dinner. When I just started eating the meat she told me her family calls that meat cookies. Then we went to Milvian’s house. We taught her about temples and she loved it! We raced to English class and had it all ready… and no one showed up. We were about to leave when Alex waltzed in. We hadn’t seen him for a month! He came bearing gifts from Mexico. He brought me an embroidered backpack and Hna. Marvin a shirt. He told us that it was super cheap. We taught him some English and he corrected some of our Spanish. Alex was explaining germs in Spanish and how the Mexican moms talk about them to their kids. The moms say, "No lo comes porque tiene bibis (apparently it is a slang word for germs)." Then he did the action of licking his shoe pretending to be a kid. Then he pretended to be the mom and said, "Don't do that. It's not clean, there are Germans on it." It was so hilarious! I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe.
We had a really great lesson with David and Brother Bright on Wednesday! We taught him about the freedom to choose. The spirit was super strong. Freedom to choose or agency is a gift from our Heavenly Father. Satan’s plan was to force everyone to choose the right. Heavenly Father’s plan allows us to choose, learn, and grow. After that super long lesson, we went to Walmart to get Hna. Marvin’s mouth rinse. We had no time to run home, so we got Chick-fil-a per Hna. Marvin’s request. We ate it while we waited for the stinking pharmacy that was being slow. Then we went to visit Marla and Martin. Martin wasn’t there because he got called to work. It was Gary’s birthday, so we got to join in on singing Happy Birthday and eating cake. Then we went and visited Marisol. She made us really HOT coco. We couldn’t hold it because it was burning our hands through the cups. We taught her about prophets and she really started to pay attention and participate.
On Thursday, we went and visited Maria. She is doing pretty good. We are just trying to get her to read the Book of Mormon more. Something crazy is her baby Valentina is going to be turning 6 months old. I met Maria a couple of weeks before she was born!! Maria wants a children’s Book of Mormon so she can read it with her son Diego. Afterwards, we went to Cracker Barrel with Santaigo. He wanted to try American food and we helped him out with that. We retaught him the First Vision and about the Book of Mormon. He can’t wait to dive more into it. He is just so golden!!! Then we went and knocked on some doors. The last one answered and turns out she is Sister Tilley’s mom. That was really cool. We got to know her and invited her to all Spanish church. Then we raced to dinner with the Mejias. We were running late, but they wer too. Hno. Mejia called us so we told him he told us 7pm. He said, “No, I was just joking. Do you know where liars go? They burn.” I told him, “I like the heat.” We all got a good laugh out of that. They fed us pork tacos. David was there too! He was being super sassy and doing that in Spanish. We got English Class ready and no one showed up again!! So Hna. Marvin turned on the life of President Monson and we watched it while we organized our English class papers. It took forever but it looks so much better. It cost $30, but missionaries will benefit from it for ages.
We had a great lesson with Yessi on Friday. We have been wanting to teach her, but she has just been so busy with her new job. She told us that her dad is a member, and that she wants to start coming to church. She doesn’t have time for lessons right now, but on Sunday’s we can! We went and knocked on some houses with no answer. Then we went and visited Hna. Salinas’ sister. She let us right in and started chatting with us. Her husband and young daughters have never been to church (another part member family!!) She said we could come back and meet them! After that, we stopped and said hi to David at work. He told us he wasn’t planning on coming to church, but changed his mind when we randomly stopped by. Then we went to teach Carmen(Mariola) and were stuck in traffic for an hour!!! It was ridiculous. I was able to park on the freeway. She texted us and asked if we were okay right as we got to the door. We taught her the rest of the Plan of Salvation and she loved it. She really wants to learn more and come to church. Hopefully she will help her family have more interest. Afterwards, we drove to get Hna. Marvin a blessing from Brother Bright and Shivley. We found out earlier in the day that she now has a gastrointestinal yeast infection. That little thing in her mouth has now spread to her whole body. It went really well. I figured we were there so I might as well get one for myself. I heard a lot of things that I needed to hear. I never told Brother Bright how I was feeling physically, emotionally, or spiritually, but the things I needed to hear were given to him to say. Then we ran to Walmart to pick up more food for Hna. Marvin. She can’t eat Lactose, Gluten, or Sugar for the next month. She is going to lose weight and I am going to gain it.
Saturday morning we woke up later because I didn’t feel good. I had really bad chills and I was freezing. I got ready for the day but felt like crap. I layed down on our mattress in our living room. Hna. Marvin piled 5 blankets on top of me, a heat pack, and I was wearing long socks, and a fluffy hoody too. I slept for like two hours (Hna. Marvin was kind enough to take some pictures of that😂) and the chills went away. We went and taught David about Eternal Marriage. He told us that we always talk about the things that God has been telling him. He has come to the realization that to receive all the blessings that his Heavenly Father has in store for him, he needs a righteous wife. He is exactly correct. Families are a central part to the Plan of Salvation. We had a family before we came here, we have one now, and Heavenly Father gives us the opportunity to have it forever after this life. Afterwards, we went to Boiling Springs to pick up Hna. Marvin’s medication to get rid of her infection. I was starting to feel sick again, but she really wanted to visit Johany. We were able to finish the Plan of Salvation without Dana eating my object lesson. Also… Dana can walk!! She was walking around and giving us high-fives. It was adorable. I am seeing all these babies grow up out here. We started talking about Eternal Families and Johany and Emilio really want to get sealed in the temple. We told them it could happen, there are just things that need to happen before that. I told Johany that I didn’t feel good and she said, “I know because your eyes look sad.” Apparently, I don’t hide when I don’t feel good as good as I thought. To end the night, we went and visited Elida and her family. We showed them a video about gospel dispensations and they understood apostasies a lot better. Amanda said the closing prayer for the first time in front of us! It was so simple and beautiful. She was terrified, but did it! We got home around 10 and finally had dinner. I felt really woozy and freezing. We took my temperature and it was 100.7. I went and put on a fuzzy jacket because I was shaking from being cold. Hna. Marvin got mad at me and we argued. Not in that kind of way. She told me I was going to die, but I told her that I was soo cold. I hate being cold normally but even more when I don’t feel good. According to her I was being delirious and delusional. I ate some Spaghettios and took off my jacket. My temperature was now at 102.6!!! I put on some shorts and a t-shirt and laid down with a wet rag on my face. I fell asleep lukewarm.
Yesterday I woke up still feeling pretty yucky. So we didn’t go to church. It is the first time on my mission that I have missed church. I felt so bad and sad. Santiago and Daniel went, but no one translated sacrament meeting. I slept all day and then got ready to go to a member meal. We didn’t want to get them sick, so we took the food to go. We thought about getting me a covid test, but needed a computer to schedule that. We went to the church to eat and schedule one. We propped up my phone and watched Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration. We ate pork roast, rice, gravy, green beans, and biscuits. I couldn’t get an appointment for a covid test. They are all full until Thursday. And the one they have for Thursday takes 1-3 days to get the results. By the time I find out it will have been a week since I started feeling sick, which means too late. We went to Walmart and looked for a at home test but the pharmacy was closed. The Cvs was all out of them. Then we had a mission wide zoom call. We talked about how to better contact people and being better in the mornings. After that, we went and checked another Cvs and it was closed. When it comes to getting medical help, the south is not the place to go.
(Also, I am sick of eating out! We ate out 4 times this week. No more!)
While I was waiting for my fever to die down, I started listening to some talks. Something really stuck out to me. "In all things, the Savior’s example is our best guide. He was not exempt from the need to prove Himself. He endured for all of Heavenly Father’s children, paying the price for all our sins. He felt the suffering of all who have and will come into mortality. When you wonder how much pain you can endure well, remember Him. He suffered what you suffer so that He would know how to lift you up. He may not remove the burden, but He will give you strength, comfort, and hope. He knows the way. He drank the bitter cup. He endured the suffering of all." I have been given strength, hope, and comfort as I go through my trials. When I am going through something hard I remember a quote, "People have the faith to ask for their burdens to be taken away, but do they have the faith to not ask them to be taken away?" (I worded that wrong, but that is pretty much the gist) I wanted to invite you all to read this talk.
Tested, Proved, and Polish by President Henry B. Eyring
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/10/51eyring?lang=eng
President Eyring teaches that enduring the trials of mortal life faithfully helps us to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. www.churchofjesuschrist.org |
It was brought to my attention that I swore in my last email. (her mom edited it for the blog post) I totally spelled THAT wrong! My brain wasn’t fully there last week. Super sorry!! We didn’t do much on Monday. I still felt pretty sick and tired. We went to the store and later Hna. Marvin cut her finger. Her bandage made it look way worse than it was. She made us this Krishnadish. It had these weird hot dogs, zucchini, and cheese. Apparently her grandfather named it after the Hindu temple near his house. Didn’t taste Hindu to me.
On Tuesday, we did DCM over zoom. I don’t really member much of what was said. I was exhausted and still half asleep. We didn’t do much because I was so tired and sleeping. We went and tried to get a covid test at this place that Hna. Ramirez told us about. We went in and it was this Indian guy and he said I had to come back the next day but fill stuff in online. That was a no go because we don’t have the internet. Then we took notes and brownies to Brother Bright and Bella. Hna. Marvin rang their doorbells and ran like the wind. I sat in the car and watched. We also listened to/watched the Phone Call. I wasn’t expecting the ending.😐
Wednesday was crazy. We went to pretty much all the Doctor’s Care trying to get a covid test done. We drove to Spartanburg and they told us that they were at full capacity and to come back at 4pm. So, we called another one in Spartanburg and they were full. We called the one in Greer and they said they had room. Half hour car ride later, and when we got there they were full. So we drove all the way back to Spartanburg, filled out my paperwork and waited until 4pm. We went in and they told us that they were full and to come back the next day at 8am. We drove home feeling pretty frustrated and discouraged. Brother Bright gave us a call and we told him I possibly had Covid. He said he didn’t care and that he wanted to take us to Wade’s for dinner. We went and I wore my mask most of the time. The food was soooo good. I hadn’t eaten really much the past couple of days. I got chicken pot pie, mac & cheese, and potatoes and gravy. I was in heaven. It ended up being good that we went because we cheered up Brother Bright. We also gave this homeless man named Keith some food and a Book of Mormon.
Bright and early Thursday morning we drove to the Doctor’s Care. It was right before 8am and there were already a ton of cars there. I got on the list and was #17. They told us that they would send us a text when they were ready for us. We listened to General Conference talks and we waited, and waited, and waited. I was starting to get really hungry about an hour and a half in. So we went to McDonalds and got me some breakfast. Hna. Marvin was hungry too, so we got her lunch at 10:15am. She got a double roast beef sandwich from Arby’s without the bread, so they gave it to her in a bowl! After that, we decided to meander around Goodwill across the street (The DI is much better). Finally, they called us and said they were ready for me. They stuck a q-tip up my nose and we waited. Then this lady comes in wearing a thing like a hazmat suit and I knew I was doomed. My test came back positive!! I had/have covid!🤧🤒 I’m pretty sure that I have the Omnicrom strain of covid. Thank goodness I didn’t lose my sense of taste or smell. I lasted almost 2 years without getting it!! The lady was really nice and told us that she is a member of the church. She hasn’t been for a while because she is always tired on Sundays. She told us that she is going to start going back to church!! Hna. Marvin had to use the restroom, so I waited for her. I saw these two ladies and they were speaking Spanish. Once Hna. Marvin got out, we gave them an English Class card and talked to them. They had Covid too! One was named Catherine. She told us that she wanted our number and that she went to church with her grandma when she was little. She has wanted to go back for a little while and was so happy to see us! (We would never have met her if I somehow would’ve got my test sooner or never even had covid.) After that, we went to Hna. Marvin’s doctor appointment. She has had this yeast infection for a long time and it has spread throughout her body really bad. She went in while I waited in the car (I was told to wait in the car by our mission nurse.). So, I took a kind of uncomfortable nap for the next hour and a half. Then we went to Walmart to get her new prescription. I felt bad going in because I was supposed to be quarantining. So we were in and out as quickly as possible. We gave this guy an English class card. It was funny because this Spanish lady walked by and I saw her ears perk up. I asked her if she was interested and she came right over and took a card. Then we went home and officially started our quarantine (Even though we had been doing it since Saturday night last week.).
Friday we went on a walk and they had iced the sidewalk. We had been hearing rumors that it was going to snow a lot. We didn’t really know what to believe. We had some great video call lessons! We called Israel and taught him about prophets. We found out that he has only been learning Spanish for a year. He started when he was 16. He is from Guatemala and speaks this cool dialect called Chucksamateo (I don’t know how to spell it and I also don’t understand it.) After that, we had a lesson with David. We shared some thoughts from these little daily quotes books we have. Then it lead into repentance. It reminded me of a thing I read the other day. It quoted Brad Wilcox and said, “Remember change is possible, repentance is a process, and worthiness is not flawlessness. Most important, remember that God and Christ are willing to help us right here and now.” Then it explained, "Satan tries to discourage us, focusing on how far we have to go, while Christ encourages us, focusing on how far we have come...It’s about progress, not perfection—the slope up, not the slip up." Afterwards, we had a fantastic lesson with Santiago. We taught him about the Word of Wisdom and he thinks it is great! He loves the things we are teaching him and his prayers are so humble. It felt great to teach some lessons after such a long time.
Saturday I was super tired because of the late night on Friday. We found out church was going to be canceled. We were told that we were going to receive 4-6 inches of snow. We weren’t going to church anyway because of quarantine but now the people we teach didn’t have a chance. We called Hno. Ramirez and got permission to do a zoom Come Follow Me. We planned that and figured out how to use zoom. That took absolutely forever. Brother Bright drove 30 minutes to bring us some soup and cookies he made for us. He is just the sweetest. I love the members out here. Then we spent the rest of the night contacting people and inviting them to it. We drove our trash to the garbage and then went on a walk. This Indian guy asked us how we were doing and we told him pretty good. He asked us if we had any plans and we said that we were just going on a walk. THEN he said, “Well my friends and I are having some drinks up stairs if you want to join us.” Dun-dun-dun! I just felt the awkwardness settle down upon us. Then I said, “Well, we are in quarantine right now (like legit we were!)...” little awkward silence, “...and we don’t drink.” He told us ok and to have a great night and we did the same to him. It was pretty funny!😂 Right when I was about to fall asleep, I heard a plop, and then I hear, “It’s snowing!” It indeed was snowing in South Carolina. We put on our coats and shoes to investigate. I hadn’t seen snow for almost 2 years, but that made it just 1 year.
Yesterday we woke up to lots of snow. We had the zoom meeting at 9am. Good ole Brother Bright showed up, Bro. Densmore, Hno. & Hna. Ramirez, Santiago, Renhe, and Victor were in it too. We had a great discussion about Adam and Eve, the importance of agency, and Jesus Christ redeeming us. After that, Hna. Marvin and I suited up to play in the snow. We grabbed boxes to sled down the hill. The snow wasn’t working for that so we pushed each other down the hill. Then we made snow angels and rolled down the hill. It was super fun and nice to have some fresh air. After that we had a fat nap during lunch. Later, we had a lesson with Israel and his friend Omar joined in. We forgot to tell Hno. Ramirez that they don’t know much Spanish and he went off in his fast Spanish. It was still a good lesson, and Hno. Ramirez is going to bring them to church!! Afterwards, we had a lesson with Bella. We haven’t seen her for a month because she was in Mexico with her daughter. We taught her about enduring to the end and read 3 Nephi 15:9-10 and Moroni 1:3-4. As we were talking, I noticed the picture of Ryan on my desk. I felt I needed to talk about him and about what I’ve gone through. I started to get emotional. My mom and I have talked about it over and over again, and I have learned a lot from those talks. I told them we always wonder why our Heavenly Father takes good people from us. Why them when there are so many evil and bad people in the world. We needed them. I needed him. I told them, “Our Heavenly Father needs good people too. They fulfilled their mission here and He needs their help there.” After, Hna. Ramirez proceeded to tell her story. Her mom died when she was 13 years old. She had come to term with her death and living without her. She then said, “For 23 years I have been searching for the answer of why God took my mom, and I just received it. He took her because He needs good people with Him too.” The Spirit was strong and we all were crying. It was neat to be used to help answer Hna. Ramirez’s prayer and question. We invited Bella to keep reading the Book of Mormon. I am praying that she receives her answer and finds what she is looking for. Later, we had Family Home Evening as a Zone over zoom. It went really well. We called David after, and had another lesson. He is needing a lot of support right now. To end the night, we put on our boots and coats and sat out on our “balcony.” It was freezing but refreshing.
Quarantine hasn't really been driving me crazy, but it is driving Hna. Marvin nuts! She told me it hasn't bothered me because I have been sleeping the whole time, which is true!😂🤣 Out of curiousity I counted how much I have slept since I got sick and it was... around 120 hours!! Whooo!!
While we have been in quarantine, I have been pretty bored at times. We haven’t been able to go anywhere or teach anyone in person. I haven’t felt the greatest either. I decided that I wanted to start reading “Jesus the Christ” by James E. Talmage. He was one of the Apostles. I have wanted to read it since before Christmas of 2020. It is full of sooo much information!! It starts out talking about pre mortal Christ (Jehovah). I am almost to the part of his birth. While reading this, my desire to study Jesus Christ and all about Him has grown. I am in Chapter 7 right now and I have already learned so much and had things brought to my remembrance. Christ said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” I learned that “I Am” also means the same thing as “Jehovah.” So in this Christ is saying that He was Jehovah by saying “I am.” I knew that Jesus Christ was the Jehovah of the Old Testament. I just didn’t know that “I Am” is one of His names. I just wanted to invite you all to read the book. I sadly can’t send the link to the whole book, but here are the first two chapters.
Chapter 1: Introduction
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-1?lang=eng
Chapter 2: Preexistence and Foreordination of the Christ
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-2?lang=eng
Les quiero! Have a fantastic week!
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