THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

WARNING TO THE FAINT OF HEART OR STOMACH - this post contains Sister Colvin's first encounter with the Brazilian Barfs.
 

Monday December 9, 2013

Week 10 in Santa Margarida

Dearest Family,

Super exciting to hear that K. is studying the gospel!  Please let her know that the gospel brings direction, purpose, hope, and joy to our lives – something that I see and feel every day. I am so grateful for the gospel and I know that it can bless her life.

I got my Christmas package and I was able to salvage just about everything – magazines included.  The reins smelled a little weird, but I cleaned them and aired them out and now they are okay.  I must say that the weiner dog is my favorite part (and the Nutella)  I sleep with the doggie every night. Haha.  I exhibited self control and I am waiting until Christmas to open my card and stocking. 

Weekly Update time.

Monday…as you know, last Monday was a difficult p-day.  SERIOUSLY.  We wasted time looking for bags, ate lunch super late, then had to leave the house way early.  Not fun. I was in a super grumpy, ungrateful mood, but as soon as we started working and teaching again, I regained focus and drive.  We had a great evening of teaching and doing contacts.

Tuesday – Rough.

Today was terrible and comedic at the same time.  I woke up sick and my stomach was super bloated.  Most of the morning was filled with bouts of diarrhea followed by sleeping. I managed to make it through companion studies and then we left for lunch.  Sister Z was in an oddly happy mood.  Our lunch appointment fell through so we ate out – and I ate too much.  After walking for about 30 minutes, we stopped  at a members home to use their bathroom…..Eventually we decided that we better call Sister Lima (our mission president’s wife).  She asked us a series of questions, which Sister Z answered for me, while poking my ballooning abdomen.  We got directions to take a specific medicine and return quickly to our house.  Irma D., a really sweet lady in our ward, had the medicine and was really kind and tender towards me.  We paid t have a van take us back and after about 20-ish minutes the medicine started working…at least the balloon began to deflate….loudly…it was so BAD!  Thank heavens Sister Z was in a ridiculously happy mood. We returned to our house, and I proceeded to sleep like a farting log for 3-ish hours.  I couldn’t sleep anymore and wanted to leave the house to get something done, but between the farting and the nausea, we decided it was best not to work in the 90 degree plus weather.  We worked on the area book instead, which was very productive but not super satisfying. 

Zone Training Meeting

Wednesday

We had zone training in which I only had to leave once….so it was progress on the sickness.  My stomach was still not normal, but I was determined to work.  We taught M. the law of chastity and she said that she was willing to live it.  We thought it might be a problem for her because she has a one year old child and a boyfriend.  But, she stepped forward with faith and is ready to commit to changing her life.  I was able to testify of the blessing that living this law has brought to my life – one of which is that I have more self control over other temptations in my life.  

Elders from my MTC district.

Thursday

We received 7 referrals within 24 hours and ran around like mad women trying to contact all of them because we have guidelines to contact referrals within 24 hours of receiving them.

            We taught M the remaining commandments and ran through the baptismal interview questions with her.  She is so ready to take the step of baptism.  Though her understanding of the doctrines and principles of the gospel is simple, her desire to follow the Lord is great.  Her baptism is set for Sunday.

            We also taught G, who is still struggling with the Word of Wisdom.  He has such a strong desire and is faithful about everything else, but he just can’t quit smoking.  We love him so much and want to help him to be obedient, but it is hard for me to identify.  We will just keep trying to help him the best that we can. 

My feet after a rain storm!

            After G. it was about 8:15 and we decided to try and contact one more referral.   We walked deeper and deeper into an area when the wind started to pick up , the rain came, and the street lights went out.  SKETCHY!!  We asked locals where we could wait for a van, then walked the 1.2 mile in the rain to that spot, and waited under a tarp/roof thing near a bar.  We got there at about 9:00 p.m. and got pelted by the rain and the wind (because we did not want to enter the bar.)  After 15/20 minutes of waiting with NO vans coming, I entered the problem solving mode.  We called 5-6 members until 1 answered, and humbly and graciously I asked for help.  Then we called our district leader and zone leader to let them know what was going on, and then we called the other sisters in our house.  THEN, instead of standing and doing nothing, I asked if we could use one of the bar’s tables outside of the bar so that we could do our nightly planning.  We were soaked but in good spirits.  The member arrived around 10 PM and we got home around 10:30.  Luckily Sister Z and I just laughed it off and said our prayers of gratitude that we returned home safely.

Friday

It was another painful planning session and companion inventory. I think we were both wiped from the long day before and we just really weren’t on the same page.  Things go  much better after we got to work.  We taught R. with Irma Rosne.  R. is gaining a testimony, but she won’t come to church.  She has accepted baptism, but is still having a hard time putting her faith into action.  It is interesting to notice how directly faith and action really are.  The more converted to the doctrine of Christ we are, the more we desire to act and change to have Christ at the center of our lives.

            Remember the sister C. who took care of her elderly parents?  Her mother passed away this week and we visited her with A. and C – two young, sweet girls in the ward (18-20is).  A. was amazing and really helped to mend Sister C’s heart. Sister C is going to start to do family history work.  It is really amazing how much peace different aspects of the gospel and the work of salvation can bring people. 

            Our ward is largely made up of the Curty family and their children.  They are ALL converts and each one of them has a remarkable testimony and a different spiritual gift.  We took J. out teaching for the first time. He’s a big guy, but he was nervous.  When we taught the lesson, MAN, his testimony and ability to relate to our investigators blew me out of the water!  Afterwards he expressed how he always wished that he could have served a mission, and how he needs to share his testimony more. 

Saturday

Today was an answer to prayers. I have been feeling inadequate this week in many ways. It was kindof a “crap, I’m at the end of my 12 weeks of training and have I done everything that I could have done” moment. I prayed for patience and guidance so I could feel as though there really is a reason why I am here.  And I received very specific responses. 

#1 M. had her baptismal interview and is really excited for her baptism tomorrow.  It has been a great experience to bring the gospel message to her.  #2 I am accompanying the primary program tomorrow which they would otherwise have to do with a CD player.  After practicing today, one of the leaders commented how nice it was to have the piano.  For me, playing the piano is a very ordinary, daily ting, but I can see that my ability to make music is helping this ward. #3 We taught A., a very difficult investigator.  He has an extensive knowledge of the Bible and he is afraid of reading the Book of Mormon.  Today we used Matthew 13 and Alma 32 side by side to talk about the principle of sowing a seed of faith.  Sister Z taught well, and I taught well.  A. felt the spirit…but he still didn’t get it.  All we are asking is for him to read and pray, but he has to choose to do it himself.  We can’t give him a testimony, he has to do the work himself.  A. is very kind and hospitable but he is very difficult to teach.  God heard my prayers and helped me to testify in the right moment, Portuguese came easily, ideas came to my mind, and I know that the Holy Ghost helped me. 

Sunday

I woke up at 5:00 am with intense abdominal cramps and nausea. After having diarrhea and feeling febrile I ate some bread, took some motrin, and tried to sleep.  I was ale to get some rest until my alarm went off at 6:30.  I said my morning prayers, had some more morning prayers, had some more diarrhea, and then decided to lay back down so I could hopefully be well for church.  I slept until 7:45 felt better, ate breakfast and got ready.  Then I walked to church – which is when the nausea and the cramping really kicked in.  I made it through Relief Society meeting, but then had to spend much of the 2nd hour in the bathroom.  I was determined to tough it out but it got worse towards the end of the 2nd hour.  You may be wondering why we didn’t just return to our house and sleep and rest…well, it was the primary program and also M. and E’s baptism.  It was not exactly a Sunday that I wanted to miss, especially because I was accompanying for the primary program.  So, battling intense nausea and stomach pain, I went forward. The first ½ of the program was okay, but during a hymn that the congregation sang with the primary, I  *literally* threw up in my mouth…. Not wanting to have 100 Brazilian women fuss over me, I covered my mouth with my left hand and continued playing with my right hand.  After 2 more verses, I quickly processed my options and decided to use one of the bags of candy as my throw-up bag. So, in the 2 minutes between songs, I emptied the candy and then the contents of my mouth.  It was NASTY…but, “the show must go on!”  I made it through the program and then had to tough it out through the baptism.  For some reason, the only thing that helped battle the nausea at that point was to eat/suck on hard candy.  8 hard candies later, we had a beautiful baptism and NO VOMIT!  M. was glowing and it was a perfect service. She already knows the RS presidency and has awesome visiting teachers. It was so neat to see Maykon baptize her and truly the gospel blessing a son and a mother.  (We are also teaching his sister.)

            After the baptism we finally called Sister Lima to ask what we should do. She told us a list of medicines to buy and we walked ¼ of a mile to buy them..battling nausea along the way.  We then had “lunch” at Carlos’s house (the last thing that I wanted to do), and after feeling even more sick, Sister Z and I finally decided/admitted that we would have to return home and give up another day of teaching.  Carlos and another Irmao gave me a priesthood blessing and then Carlos drove us home.  Picture 3 women, 2 small children shoved in the back of a VW rabbit, then add heat, the lack of driving rules, speed bumps, uneven roads, etc…NOT my favorite part of my mission!)  Literally seconds after opening our gate, I finally let my determination down and let my natural physiology take over.  I vomited…and vomited….and VOMITED!  The only time I remember vomiting like this in my life was when I was traveling to Inavale with the Shanks.  It was so bad!  I tried to sleep, but ended up having more diarrhea.  I tried to drink water, but ended up vomiting some more.  I finally was able to sleep a bit, but we had everyone and their dog calling us to see how I was doing.  After several hours I was like: “Okay, this isn’t working.  We need to go to the hospital and get an IV and figure out what is going on.”  (My will power is a lot stronger that I thought.) After calling Sister Lima again and getting instruction on where to go, we had a member and her husband, Brother and Sister Valle,  drive us the 30-45 minutes to the hospital.  I have never been so sick.  Upon exiting the car near the ER I vomited again, then again when I entered the ER, then again right when my name was called.  Sister Valle was a huge help and aided in keeping Sister Z calm.  She helped fill out the paperwork and explain to the doctors what was going on. 

(side note: Hospitals in Brazil are definitely not a sterile environment, and I definitely doubted the education of the VERY young doctors. I wanted to see credentials of know if the screening process involved a real doctor, but my language skills aren’t quite there and I think it might have come across too rude.)

(Other side note: I have people fussing over especially in a foreign language. “How are you feeling?” “Sick” “Are you feeling any better?” “No.”  “What have you eaten lately?” “Nothing”  “Do you know what made you sick?” “No” – unless it is the 100 different theories of what sickness I could have under the current living conditions I an in. I tried  to smile and appreciate their signs of concern, but all I wanted was solid medical advice.)

#highpointoftheday

             The “doctor” gave me an IV with fluids and some sort of anti-nausea medication and then told us to wait with a bunch of other sick people until my name was called.  After 2 hours of trying to avoid watching a football game and having another bout of the runs we decided to ask Sister Valle to help us again.  After some persistence and patience, a VERY cute/handsome young “doctor” came and explained in ENGLISH what was going on #highpointoftheday.  He was super nice and even asked questions about our work as missionaries.  Sister Valle was such a trooper and even walked us to the drug store.  Yes, after 6 hours of pooping and vomiting, I walked ½ mile to the drug store and got Floroutil: saccharomyces boulardil and cloridrato de ciprofloxacino, which I will take 2X say for 5 days.  Brother Valle then drove us to his mom’s house to eat a little bland rice and water, and then drove us home.  Our District Leader wasn’t too happy because we got home way past 9:30, but I was past the point of caring. I took medicine and had one final trip to the bathroom before bed.  Then I actually had a good night’s sleep and I feel pretty good today.

            Through this crazy experience, I was impressed by the love and concern that was given to me.  Sister Z actually showed some motherly tender instincts, Sister Valle sacrificed a tone of time and energy, and there were so many other blessings that came from this experience.  I am grateful for not being more sick, for being on the road to recovery, and for the many growing experiences that Sister Z and I have had together.  She and I are learning to call on the Lord for help. 

            I read in the general conference ensign that my mom sent to me a story that goes along with this, “ a Young boy was trying to smooth out the dirt area behind his house so we could play there with his cars.  There was a large rock obstructing his work.  The boy pushed and pulled with all his might, but no matter how hard he tried, the rock wouldn’t budge.  His father watched for a while and then came to his sone and said, “You need to use all your strength to move a rock this large.”

            The boy responded, “I have use all my strength!’

            His father corrected him, “No you haven't., you haven't asked for my help yet.”

            They bent down and together moved the rock easily. 

The analogy is obvious, but profound.  So often we are given trial of faith, harships, and heartache. So often we don’t understand why things are so hard or why we can't overcome our circumstances…and yet the Lord promises us that we can – with His divine and ultimate power.  It is my testimony that as we call upon the Lord in our weakness and humble ourselves before Him, He will help us move the boulders in our lives and gives us forces to do things we could never do on our own.  (Ether 12:27, Alma 26:12)

           

Missions are hard work. It sucks to be so far away from home – especially when sick, but the experiences of faith and testimony far outshine the hardships. This is the Lord’s work. The church is true.  I love you all TONS and I hope that Levi has a very happy and special 18th birthday!

Ate o proximo p-day… Con amor,

Sister Colvin

PS. I will be staying in the same place but training a new missionary. I find out tomorrow who she is.  I was told that it is a mini missionary, which is what the South Americans do to “try out” what it is like to be a missionary for one transfer. I am excited and nervous about the new responsibility.