Sister Roy: Hey I Went To Disneyland...sorta... :)

Okay, first of all, I really am going to try to keep these letters more simple from now on. I looked at a few of the past ones I sent and thought, "Ohhh noo.." because there was so much information packed. I will also try to talk a little less of each investigator experience for their personal privacy. I am still trying to figure out what is best for each email.

Here's some good news, both Sister Gledhill and I will be staying this transfer! We survived "the Reaping." It will be so nice to keep up with those we are teaching and help them out each step. We are both excited to be here :)

Some other things from this week:

We said goodbye to our darling mini missionary, Kyla. Luckily we are keeping in touch and we were greatly influenced by her example.

Kyla

We had what had to be one of the best Sundays in history here, as about 100 more people came. As we looked left and right, we saw many who were struggling to come to church, our investigators, and more. The spirit was so powerful I could even see our bishop in tears as the whole congregation stood while singing "the Spirit of God."

When Relief Society started, a girl asked me, "Are you Rachel?" Whoa. Missionaries never hear their first names, and I realized I knew her from back at BYU. Her name was Taylor, and she worked at my office! She was one of the member's sister, and she said she would say hi to everyone back at work. :)

The leaves are starting to change color. New England autumn is coming!! Sister Gledhill and I are stoked out of our minds!! It's going to be even more bewilderingly beautiful here.

A dear member from our ward, Sister Baer (I believe I mentioned her in one of my first emails) asked Sister Gledhill and I to go through the temple with her, as it will be her first time. We absolutely cannot wait and feel so privileged to attend with her. I know it's going to be a sacred, special experience.

A few days ago I had my first CF clinic visit. Little did I know that we would be going to the "Brigham Children's" instead of the "Brigham Women's" hospital. They said that they serve all ages, even people in their 70's. I was fine with going because they still sounded nice there. Let me tell you, Brigham Children's hospital must be the Disneyland of all hospitals...crazy, very expensive parking, people everywhere, bright colors and creative designs, happy workers and some crying children. Even our room we were assigned to wait in was Jiminey Cricket themed and there were a few Disney pics in the hallway. Truthfully, I thought it was darling. :)


The Disneyland of all Hospitals :)

We also discovered this was the Disneyland of all hospitals when the (technician?)named Brandon came bouncing in. At first he scared me a little with how bubbly and loud he was, but I soon discovered how he was one of the funniest people I've met. I don't think I've ever laughed that hard in a while. The rest of the team was also so nice and supportive. :) Their Pulmonary Function Testing system is a little different--they bring a portable cart to test them from room to room and their percentages are different from the U's. For instance, the U of U measures at a 90% level and I believe Brigham's measures at a 100% level for the FEV 1. So, my fev1 was a 100% for the first time, so if it were according to back at home it would have gone up to around a 96%, which is still great. They told me to keep up the good work, because trust me, it is a lot of work.

Near the end of the visit, Brandon came in for lab work to test vitamin levels. I was amazed because HE WAS THE VERY FIRST PERSON EVER WHO DIDN'T TRY TO PROVE ME WRONG ABOUT MY VEINS. He was half jokingly saying God was punishing him with my spider veins haha. He searched and searched, and was a genius to tell which veins would work and which wouldn't work because of dehydration, so then he gave me 5 or 6 whoppin' cups of water, and when I drink a lot of water, I shiver and sometimes turn purple. So that's what happened. We waited in the cold hospital room for an hour for my veins to hydrate while I sat there with a blanket wrapped around, skin turning purple. The other practitioners took their turns coming in, but what's better than that? At one point, Brandon tried to sneak in a conversation of how he interestingly ended up in a conversation the previous day about where we go after we die, and all the messages that the churches he went to contrasted from each other and didn't make sense. He knew that we were missionaries, and he wanted answers. He tried to pick up on the word of what we carried, which testified to him that what we have may be what he needs, and he figured that it is the spirit.

We had a short lesson on the Plan of Salvation and we handed him a Book of Mormon, with a chapter about the Plan of Salvation marked by a mormon.org card with the missionaries in his area's number. My veins ended up not working well (they got barely any from near my knuckle and may have to draw from my foot next time), since he is only allowed to draw twice, so we will come again in 2 weeks for lab work before my GI doctor appointment.

To be honest, living with Cystic Fibrosis has made my lungs a little tired lately. I started the Tobi Podhaler yesterday. As Kip in Napoleon Dynamite sang, "Yes, I love technology" I really do, but it's been making my voice very hoarse and made my lungs work harder.

A few days ago I came across a scripture that blew my mind. While reading my hardly-marked new scriptures, I came across 1 Ne 8: 29-30 while studying Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life:

"29 And now, I Nephi, do not speak all the words of my father.

"30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree."

The Tree of Life

As I have read those two verses countless times before, I never realized how Nephi introduces verse 30 by saying "To be short in writing." I then understood how Nephi heard so many more details about this group that they had to be summarized.

Nephi could have heard more of how these people pressed forward, grasping to the iron rod until they fell at the tree of life. He had to summarize what could have been details of their struggling--how they dealt with personal matters, feelings of insignificance, guilt, loneliness, heartache. There could have been details of their lifelong pursuits, and yet even though they faced the hardships of life, they held fast despite fears, how they remembered who they were even though darkness encumbered them, and much more. Their faith, their diligence, their perseverance was so immense that Nephi could not record it all down. He could have said he needed to briefly tell those who became discouraged or didn't hold on, those who mocked the believers, or those who fell away, but there must not have had as much detail revealed as about those who made it--those who held onto their faith in Jesus Christ as they fell down at their journey's end to fully feel of his love and mercies.

So if you ever feel down or discouraged, physically or emotionally broken at times, we can all remember how Nephi had to summarize this group of believers, as we are not alone as we follow our Savior Jesus Christ.

I hope you have a great week!

Take care.

Love,
Sister Roy