So Tuesday, everything was great! We had a lot of lessons, and we are very excited about the progress of our investigators, especially Rosario and Lupita (Getting baptized this Saturday!) Unfortunately...after eating at a member´s house, I wasn´t feeling too fantastic. All Tuesday night, I was extremely sick. We figured it was just food poisoning though.
Wednesday morning came and I felt even worse! The Elders came and gave me a blessing, then two members in the ward took me to the doctor. The doctor said that it was just food poisoning, gave me some pills and told me I would be fine. However, that evening, I couldn´t breathe very well, and I was having a lot of pain in my chest and head. So, we went back to the doctor, and the amount of fluids I was taking in couldn´t keep up with what I was losing, and I was extremely dehydrated. She perscribed an IV for that night, told me to rest all day Thursday, then I would be fine.
Thursday. We were in the apartment all day, and I wasn´t getting better. I had more strength than Wednesday, but I was extremely dizzy all the time, even while sitting or laying down, and stil felt a lot of pain. However, Friday, we decided to get back to work, at least a little bit. The mission doctor also told us to go the doctor, because the dizzyness wasn´t normal. So we went back to the doctor (round 3!) and she gave me MORE pills, and suggested that maybe I should get a blood test the next day. We called the mission doctor again, and she told us that the next morning, we needed to go to the emergency room and get all of the tests we could possibly get.
So Saturday morning, the Bishop took us to the emergency room, and that was when the real fun started! Haha! The doctor of the emergency room said that my body was just "adjusting" to the change of living in Mexico, but she agreed to let us take the tests and check into the hospital. They took 3 different blood tests and others, hooked me up to some IVs and then checked me into a room in the hospital. Around 3 that afternoon, a doctor came in and told me that I had a parasite. Whoo, I am officially an American Missionary in a forgein country! The pills that the first doctor had been perscribing was helping with the vomiting, but didn´t kill any of the bacteria, so it had been getting worse and worse every day. So, he put me on some anti-biotics, more fluids for the dehydration and we proceeded to spend the next 3 days in the hospital with constant IVs and lots and lots of Jello. Around 11 last night, I finally came back home, and I feeling ALMOST completely normal again :) Right now, I just don´t have a ton of energy. We can only have 2 maybe 3 visits a day for the next week, and then I have to keep resting in the apartment.
Funny Story 1: When I was in the emergency room, they put me on some medicine, but didn´t equalize it with enough fluid, so apparently, I went a little coocoo. But, according to Hermana Muñoz, even when I´m totally drugged up, I can still recite the First Vision, D&C 4, and sing Hymns in Español - multiple times! And apparently, I was REALLY craving ice cream and pizza, and I was really concerned for the Elders, because I didn´t think they had food to eat that day. So concerned, that I made Hma Muñoz call them and double check that they had food. And I couldn´t stop laughing, like ever. I don´t remember any of this, but Hermana Muñoz said it definitely made her day a little brighter!
Funny Story 2: Yesterday, I was in the room with a member (Hermana Muñoz left to eat with another member) and two nuns came in! (By the way, the hospital was a Catholic one...oops!) But they wanted to pray for me, and I really didn´t know what was going on until they started praying. It was the longest prayer ever, and it was very different from how we pray. After they were done, they asked me why I was in Mexico. So I told them that I was a missionary for the church and their faces just fell. They looked at each other, gathered up their flyers, and promptly excused themselves. I love being a missionary!
But in reality...I learned a lot this week. But probably, the biggest thing I learned was patience. I´ll be honest, it was really rough constantly feeling sick for a week, and being stuck in that hospital bed. But God´s timing is perfect. And I know that there were many reasons why I needed to be in that hospital and be sick. Maybe it was because I learned to appreciate and love my companion so much more. Maybe becase I was able to get to know several more of the members. Maybe because we were able to share the gospel with many of the nurses who had questions about our church. Or maybe because I needed that time to really study the gospel, and spanish, and strengthen my own testimony. I love this work, and I am grateful for the trials that we go through. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father, and His ability to heal us - spiritually and physically - through His son, Jesus Christ.
I love all of you so much, and thank you for your prayers and testimonies! I am excited to get back to work this week, and hopefully, next weeks letter will be a bit better :) Have a great week! I love you!
Love always, Hermana Smith
PS - the pic isn´t great, but it´s all I´ve got! Haha!
No comments:
Post a Comment