Mexico Week 62 -- Rough Days on the Sick Train

Dear sweet family, 

Well I am a little short on stories this week as I was home Wednesday night, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.  Let’s call them rough days on the sick train! I have to tell y’all the story. 

So I thought I just had a little bit of a cold, headache, body aches, normal flu, and I was just super thirsty, or I thought it was a sore throat.  On Wednesday the stomach gets going too and we sent the text to Hermana Camarillo. She sends me to a medical center close to here and gastroenteritis is what they tell me. We’re in there with the doctor and my companion jumps in with how much rest do you recommend.  That’s about when my palm hits my face!  Never ask that question!!  He says, 48-72 hours and I said, “NO!  No way!!”  We get my meds, get on the bus and head home. I send the text to Hermana Camarillo giving her the report and I ask her if 48 hours is okay … coming from the one who never asks the doctor about rest and even says to Hermana Camarillo “I can work, I just want to go to the doctor so they give me the antibiotic”.  She responds, “Hermana Rawe, go right on ahead with your rest, but 72 hours is better. You need to completely rest and rehydrate.”  UGH!

It was about 7 at night and it’s like she really thought things through because 5 minutes later, another text comes through, “Go home! Right now!”  Ha! Ha!  I tell everyone that it is all my mom’s fault!  Heidi Junior or what? So we’re at home and I literally slept for like 3 days straight living on white bread with ham, apples, and suero.  I woke up to eat and to go to our zone meeting on Friday.  Sunday we went to church but I still just felt off and was actually getting pretty frustrated. I send her another text telling her that I still a strong pain in my stomach and not wanting to eat anything. She sent me home Sunday afternoon and at night connected me with a doctor who I don’t even remember where she told me he is, but he’s American.  We were speaking in Spanglish and I just love his American accent.  He had to be like 60 years old.  As I started telling him what the doctor gave me, he said, “Whoa!  That’s a strong dose of the nausea medicine!  That’s your problem right there! Stop taking that.  Get off that and you’ll feel better! That’s why your stomach is so angry.”  All I hear is the voice of the old lady from Enchanted, “He tried to kill me!”  Ha! Ha!  Good news is, since yesterday I haven’t taken those pills and I’m feeling much better! This week we will work so much!! 

My second family is rocking their spot on my agenda this transfer!

 We had our zone meeting this week! Sometimes we think we’re really funny! I love missionaries!

Just some more views of what my area is like! 

This is Hermila and Alfonso. She is less active and they´re both widows and they live together. They are too funny and we really do love them. He says, look we’re all in glasses! Ha! Ha! So we took a picture together.

Even without being able to visit them all week, Hermana Claudia and her daughter Natalie went to church this week! Are they just precious or what?? We really do love them and I think they can really progress more! 

Yesterday we had the coolest experience with Andoni. Remember our less active family with the rebellious teenagers that are remembering what church was like?  Well yesterday, before I got sent home, we visited them. They were ALL home. We started talking about faith and the boys starting bringing up a lot a doubts and questions about why we suffer here in life. We had an incredible lesson and we ended up at repentance and we felt the spirit so strongly. Andoni agreed to meet with the bishop and wrote his number down. I love these boys! I love them so much! They just make me happy and I just see them on missions, or passing the sacrament, but active in the church. 

So in my time at home, I read all of my journals. I remember my setting apart, when President Gottfredson talked about working a lot with less active members and also about more difficult companions but blessing with the ability to help and serve them.  I remembered the MTC, my first months here, all of my experiences, and I felt the Spirit so strong. Did you know that in my MTC one day in the temple we did sealings and I wrote that I felt like one day I would be in temple sealing of a family from Mexico?  I wrote, “Who knows if it is just wishful thinking or a real impression from the Spirit.”  Well I think it´s going to be real!! I read that and just started crying .. How cool is that??

I only have 9 weeks left as a missionary, but in these past few days, I realized how incredible my mission has been and how it has been a huge blessing for me. I love being here, I love my experiences, I love these people and I just want to keep serving and loving. 

Can’t wait to see y’all next Sunday!!  Love you!! 

Mexico Week 18 -- Vamos Mexico!!!

My dear, sweet, beautiful, kind, loving, sickly family ... Sounds like everybody is a hot mess but I love you all just the same!! 

So, it is World Cup time!!  Biggest temptation in my life!!  I would love to watch the games!  Ahh, but it is okay because we bought Mexico shirts and they are too sweet!  So we are writing in a different Internet cafe this week and I can’t send pictures, but you guys have to see the pictures we took in our Mexico jerseys!  The World Cup is sweet! It's not like everything shuts down, but you can hear people yelling from within their houses! They get so pumped and I've got my jersey and will always be a Mexico fan! 

Hermana Buttars is halfway through her training!  I am going to hit six months in the mission soon.  For real, where is the time going?!  Hermana Buttars and I had some real bonding time this week.  She is an incredible person.  I love her to death and I never want to change companions!  I was also thinking that it is totally possible that I only have six weeks left in this area.  I am not very good with changes, so that could be interesting! HaHa!  It is so incredible to grow to have so much love for companions, members, people in the street … The mission is the best! 

So, I also got sick this week!  I didn’t vomit in a taxi again, but whew, mama was struggling.  Every time I ate something Tuesday, I got insane cramping in my stomach.  At about 6pm, I started to get the chills and then we went to ward council and they got worse.  We got home, I put on a sweatshirt, we planned, and then Hermana Buttars asks me, “ Are you going to call la Hermana Camarillo?”  I have pride problems, and so I told her I would wait till the morning to see if I still had a fever.  Well, my fever was higher in the morning so we called and to the doctor we went!!  I got my meds and now I am whole and recovered! But, maybe it is time to send those probiotics!!  Anyways, maybe it was just my body knew Mom and Rach were down this week and I got sympathy sick!

When I was sick, we had our Zone Conference with el Presidente and of course we went!!  It was so great!  We did this activity where I pretended to be an investigator that we have and Hermana Buttars tried to figure out what my doubt was through questions.  It was an amazing experience.  I pretended to be Antonio and it hit me that he has trouble believing in God and His love because his wife is in a bed, he lost a daughter a couple of years ago, and two grandkids in a car crash a few years before that.  He just can’t see that Heavenly Father loves us. Later at home, we did the same thing for Lupe and it hit me that she’s scared to receive an answer because that means that she’ll have to change her life.  She’s scared to change because she lives in a house of less active members.  Who’s going to support her?  Who’s going to help her live a new life?? It is so important that we truly teach people, that we know their doubts and fears and then apply the gospel to their lives to help them.  Receiving revelation is so cool! 

These past two weeks have been a little bit harder for us.  If I had peso for every time somebody told me they were Catholic and were never going to change, I could buy Mexico’s soccer team!  Haha, but really!  It would be so easy just to get discouraged, but we have been really working on staying positive.  Also, in Preach My Gospel it talks about having faith in Moroni’s promise. We have to believe that if people read and pray with sincere hearts, the Lord truly will answer them.  I have been trying to put more faith in this promise, to still encourage them to read the Book and Mormon and pray about it.  I know that the Lord sent us both here to this area for a reason.  I know that there are people here looking for the gospel ... we just have to find them! 

This week I pulled out an old favorite talk of mine ... “The First and Great Commandment” by Jeffrey R. Holland.  I felt a new fire this morning, that I need to put absolutely everything I have into these 18 months and truly my whole life. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?  Do we truly love Him?  What do our actions say about this love?  He needs us, everything single one of us, missionaries or not.  He needs us to love Him and love His work.  He needs us to take care of His lambs because He can’t do it all.  He needs our help, love, devotion, and loyalty.  I pray that I can be the disciple that He needs me to be, despite my many, many faults and weaknesses!  He’s counting on me and He’s counting on you too!! 

I love you all too, too much. Be good and be disciples! 

First Doctor Visit

So Thursday this week was fun!  I woke up, we studied, I felt great and was ready to work and we get on the bus, and all of the sudden I think I'm gonna pass out.  I sit on the floor of the bus because there weren't any seats.  People are staring at the crazy American and I'm just trying not to die.  We get to our investigator's house and teach a lesson to Juan Carlos Reynaga.  My head is just spinning!  I´m not sure if I said anything intelligible in Spanish or not.  Then ... they give us ice cream ... and I can't say no to people and so I eat it.  No bueno!!

We left to eat lunch with the Abarca family.  I sit at the table and the smell of food makes me want to vomit, then my vision goes spotty.  Hermana Abarca leads me to their couch and I crash for like an hour.  My companion asks me if I want to call Hermana Camarillo (the wife of the mission president).  I have pride problems and so I say no that I'm good. Then I throw up in their bathroom, but afterward I feel better and so I say well I'm good now ... Let's go work!  This is about the time Dad is thinking I'm pulling a Mom and need to ask for help!

I bought a Sprite on the way to the bus.  About halfway to our next appointment, I'm seriously thinking death is coming and it is seriously angry .. spotty vision, my head is killing me, stomach cramping.  Hermana Valdez tells me I'm super pale and that we're going home. To go home, we catch a taxi. I'm doing okay, window down, breathing deep ... then he hits a patch of speed bumps.  Needless to say, the taxi stops, and I can't open the door fast enough, and then I'm literally throwing up gallons of water all over the inside of the taxi.  I was soaking wet!  It was so nasty and there wasn't anything I could do to help the cab driver.  Hermana Camarillo called us and told us to go straight to the doctor. 

Long and really disgusting story short .. he said I had gastroenteritis and dehydration.  He gave me some drugs and told me I had to stay down for three days days, and that I can't eat anything but white bread, white rice with nothing on it and ham.  No idea how that combination works!  I'm chuckling as we leave the office .. three days .. good luck with that! 

Turns out my body had other ideas. I slept literally all day on Friday. I was trying to study, but I could not stay away for anything.  Saturday was the same thing!  I just felt weak and nasty!  You know how Satan likes to creep on in during your weak moments?  I started thinking about how if I was home mom would make me noodles and dirty water and rub my head.  It was weird, but I just got so homesick .. on top of being really sick .. I just wanted y'all bad!  But then, I started reading my yellow service book. I read some old letters and I remembered how important my call is.  I remembered that the last person I'm here for is myself.  

I had to say some pretty heartfelt prayers about getting my mind on track.  I started to feel that this is my special time with the Lord. I'm never going to have this time again.  He has given everything for me, I think I can man up and give Him everything I have for 18 months .. and a little sickness is not going to bring me down!  I know that I can serve more, love more, be a better companion, all of these things. I just want Him to be proud of me.  

I'm all healed now, so no worries!  There's a couple of Hermanas that ended up in the hospital with the same kind of stuff, so it could be way worse!