Another good week has gone by. It was a little weird, but we'll get to that a little later. I am doing great and still loving it here.
Monday: P-day. We spent the day cleaning the truck and apartment that the Sisters who left this area left in complete disasters. Actually, we didn't even have time to finish cleaning the inside of the truck (that's on the to-do list today, especially since we have car inspections tomorrow at Zone Conference). And I got to experience Colorado wind. Oh boy. Idaho wind is NOTHING. We were driving out to one of our appointments that evening a few miles from town, and had very little visibility. The mountain that is a mile, maybe two had completely disappeared because of all the blowing dust. That was quite the adventure.
Tuesday: It was cold--I was bundled up in my winter coat and was really wishing that I hadn't left my scarf in my other bag. We went out tracting for several hours, and found some new English investigators.
Wednesday: I dressed for the cold, but realized that I'd made a mistake because the weather was actually quite nice. One of the Sisters in our ward called us to see if either of us wanted them to take anything up north for us, as they were heading up to Rexburg for her little brother's graduation, so I threw some things in my little suitcase and let her take that on up to save the postage. When we got to the church to meet up with her, I was able to meet a few other members of the ward. I'd only been here for a week and knew... not very many people.
Thursday: We had District Meeting. It was once again a beautiful day. I finally met the Bishop over the phone. He was out of town when I got here, was back for a day, and then headed back out of town. And he's a farmer, so it's getting into his busy season so we hadn't been able to meet up yet. We ate lunch with one of our investigators... and I thought I was going to die. He prepared fish... which I don't like anyway. He served us 2 big pieces--which was more fish than I've eaten in my life. I survived by smothering it in guacamole and beans and wrapping it in a tortilla. But then when I finished, he asked if I wanted more. I said I was fine, which really, I was full and I so didn't enjoy it, but he asked if I was sure, so I said that okay, I'd eat a little more. Well, he gave me the biggest piece, which was bigger than either of the first 2 I ate. When we walked out, Sister Shade looked at me and asked "How did you do that?" I told her that I had no idea, but that I'd probably regret it later. Boy was I grateful that we didn't have a dinner appointment that night because I was still very much full when I went to bed.Friday: We had weekly planning. We contacted a few people we've been trying to go see. And we had an appointment to meet the Bishop. I'd been here for a week and a half, so it was about time, no? Well, when we got out to his house/ hay farm, his wife was there and told us that they'd had some sort of problem on the farm (maybe a pipe burst? I don't remember what she told us) so Bishop Decker wasn't there. I was like "I'm here and I still don't get to meet Bishop." But I got to visit with Sister Decker a bit. She fixed us lunch, and we went out to see their farm. When we got back into the house, we were standing in her kitchen talking. Now here's where the "weird" that I mentioned at the first comes in. Mom, DON'T freak out, I'm PERFECTLY FINE. But I started feeling a little lightheaded and dizzy. I thought it would go away, so I ignored it. Well, their voices started to fade out a bit, which really was a little scary for me. I asked to use the bathroom so I could splash some cold water on my face, but when I took a step I almost blacked out. But this was certainly the place for that to happen, because Sister Decker is a nurse. She immediately sat me down and told me to breathe deep. When I came to a little bit, she helped me into her bed to lie down until I felt better. She gave me water and put ice on my head and gave me a popsicle and an orange. She thought it was heat stroke. She called Bishop and told him what had happened and asked him to come home so he could give me a blessing. What a way for the Bishop to meet the new missionary, huh? Laying on his bed, half out-of-it, looking whiter than a ghost (and for me, that's quite the feat to look whiter than a ghost). When I finally felt good enough to sit up, we went home and I laid back down on my bed. We called Sister Anderson and she told me that she thought it was dehydration and altitude sickness. She gave me a recipe for home-made gatorade and instructed me to get my fluids back up and call her in the morning.
Saturday: Well, I got up feeling a little better. A little. I was still a little dizzy and sick to my stomach, but thought it was probably just because I hadn't really eaten anything since the fish on Thursday (and it's possible that I was just intoxicated [I think she means toxin from the fish] from that fish--I'm thinking I'm going to avoid fish from now on). So I got up and showered and got ready and sat down to study and eat breakfast, but the longer I was up, the worse I felt. When we called Sister Anderson back, she told us it would be best to stay in for the day so I could get my energy back and water back into my system. She told me to eat things like jello and toast and rice, which I did, a little. I felt HORRIBLE because all of our appointments were first appointments or with investigators we're preparing for baptism, but I really knew that it wouldn't be safe for me to drive. So we canceled the appointments, and I actually slept for most of the day. That evening I was feeling well enough to go for a walk to the mail box (but only after I'd been sitting up for a few hours to make sure I wouldn't fall over). I drank about a gallon of water throughout the day, but it worked. I got better.
Sunday: We had church. I felt fine. Actually, I was STARVING which was a good thing because I hadn't been hungry in like 3 days. I ate a bit of oatmeal and toast. I had a water bottle with me at church. I was able to meet the Bishop looking like a missionary, not half-dead on his bed. But church was really weird. It was in English, and I haven't been to church in English for... oh about 9 months. It was actually kinda depressing. But I'm not going to let that get me down--we can work here for the same thing we worked for in Rio Rancho. They do have Gospel Principles in Spanish. And actually, the teacher was late yesterday, and it was my turn to go to the Spanish class, so guess who got to teach with NO time to prepare. Yep. Yours truly. When the teacher got there, one of the brothers in the class was like "Your salvation is here" and I told her that if she had something prepared she could take over. But no. She let me suffer. I guess it was good for me. And I did have my book in English with me too, so that helped. Good thing I know Spanish... mostly. And that evening I was finally able to meet Sister Mikkleson (we live above her garage). She's been out of town so I haven't been able to meet her yet. They've got a 4 year old daughter and 2 year old son who are adorable! Not to mention the most hilarious dog in the world, but I've met her and she tries to play with us every morning when we get out to the truck and every night when we get home.
So yeah. That's my week. Today I am feeling perfectly fine, like nothing happened. I promise. Trust me, with the way I ate this morning, I feel fine. And yes, I'm going to be sure to drink a LOT of water. Usually I do, so I don't know what happened last week that I didn't but whatever. I've learned my lesson. It helps that we can actually drink the water here and don't have to buy it. That makes our life easier.
I love you all. Have a fabulous week.
To all my friends who graduated on Friday: Enjoy your life as college graduates. Good luck finding jobs. Go out and have some fun, and I'll join you in a couple years.
And to everyone who has sent me wedding announcements recently (Leeann and John, Megan and Aaron, Jamie and Tyler) (okay, and everyone else who is engaged who hasn't sent me an announcement) congratulations! I'm excited for you!
And... okay I think that's it. Have a good one.
Hermana Good
No comments:
Post a Comment