I know, I
know....I've missed like 3 weeks.....you can fire me. AND.....on top of it, the computers won't let me upload pictures sooooooo....stay posted for pics when I get it figured out:)
(I'm posting two posts today to make up for the past 3 weeks....so go check the other one out too:)
Ok moving on........
Over the past
few weeks, the medical issues have been getting worse, so I finally agreed to
go in for an MRI and an EEG. I called, scheduled an appointment, and then the
nurse explained that they wanted me sleep-deprived for the EEG. No problemo. SOML. BUT.....she had to take it
a step further by telling me that I could
only have 4 hours of sleep the night before.
kill joy
Wednesday
night was the big legal late-night.....and it
consisted of watching every church-produced movie in the apartment, writing letters
to missionaries, soaking in the tub, doodling, cleaning the kitchen, and
painting nails. That's the STRAIGHTEST
late night I'll ever have:) lol!
#holy
Needless to
say, I was more than tired the next day, but after getting to the hospital,
having over 20 electric wires attached to my head after what felt like half my scalp was scrubbed off, and
talking to the nurse for over 30 min trying to clear up her firm belief that we
practice polygamy, all the while she had "Pregnant
and I Didn't Know It" on on the tv.....it was a little more than hard
trying to sleep on command. I managed to "rest" through it though,
and ended up giving the nurse a He is the Gift card before leaving.
The MRI went
well.....no where near as bad as I thought it would be, and after that was done
we went back to the front desk to contact Peter. We'd met Peter that morning
when I went to register, and he'd been standing there talking to one of the
receptionists. When he saw our name tags, he asked us a bunch of questions about
what we did, where we were located, and some of our basic beliefs. Between
signing medical forms, getting fitted with a hospital wrist band, and showing
ID, I managed to tell him about our purpose as missionaries. When he found that
we believed in the Bible, he offered, "That's fantastic! Y'know a group of
my friends and I get together every Tuesday night for Bible study,
and we'd love to have you join and share some insight."
Where do I
sign??
hahaha! We were
surprised, but readily accepted his invitation. That very morning as I'd been
getting ready to head to the hospital, as I put my name tag on, I got the
impression that there was some one at the hospital that day that needed me
to be there. Turns out, it didn't take us 10 minutes from walking in the door, to meet Peter!! God has a
plan. And though it perhaps took a lot of stress, anxiety, worry, pain,
frustration, and lack of sleep on my end......if He needed Peter to find the
truth through me in that way....then this is all worth it.
When we finished
the tests and went back to talk with him (he works in the hospital), he met us
with, "I was hoping you'd come back!" He handed over his information
to us and announced loud enough for the entire waiting room to hear, "We'd
love to have the Latter-day Saints at our Bible study! You Mormons are great!"
He's going to make an AWESOME member missionary when he
joins:)
We're so
excited to have this opportunity and Peter just seems like one of those people
who's been prepared to receive the message! God
works in mysterious ways;)
The next
morning, I woke up early around 4am and couldn't sleep. I was
completely weak, shaky, and yet so anxious that I couldn't lie still.
Around 7:15 that morning, I passed out on my way to the living room
and had another muscle spasm episode that lasted longer than any previous
episodes. This time, Sis Carroll called 911
and the EMT's soon showed up (come to
find, one of them was the EMT we met and visited with Thanksgiving night when
we delivered goodies to the firehouse..... AWKWARD ......yep, I'm as lucky as 13, I swear:). After
taking my blood sugar, heart rate, and blood pressure, they told me I needed to
go to the hospital. Not again......
But, sure
enough, after receiving orders from my neurologist to go in, we ended up at the
ER.....again. And just like times before, they didn't find anything
seriously wrong. They even reviewed my tests from the day before and reported
that the MRI and the EEG were both clear.
*tell me, tell me, tell me something i don't know, something
I don't know*
Geez laweez.
So after being
discharged, I was sent over to out-patient services to get hooked up to a 48 hr
halter monitor......classy, I know. For the first 24 hours I felt like a jihadist every time I
brushed against the device.....gawl.
Then, Saturday
night, we finally had a lesson with Harry (our referral from our Indian library
friend:). We met at the church, and began teaching him the Plan of Salvation
since he doesn't have any Christian background. We brought a member of our ward
who is also from India and it was incredible to feel the spirit and see the
unique interactions between the two of them! By the end of the lesson, HE
COMMITTED TO BAPTISM!!!! We were
blown away by his willingness to accept the challenge to follow Jesus Christ
and to change his life. We were bouncing off the walls after he'd left and
couldn't help but do the awkward hug-laugh-cry-jump up and down-and-scream
act. It was pretty legit:)
That night also
turned out to be the night of transfers. We got the news.......I'M LEAVING BG2:(
My heart literally feels like it's breaking.
After 9 months (half my mission!) in
this area, these people have become family to me, and it is ripping my heart
out to have to say goodbye. However, after we got the call, I was overcome with
peace and assurance that this is what needs to happen. I'm heading down to
south west Chicago to Westerchester. It's going to be a complete 180 from my
rural buffalo grove experience, but I'm just striving for the faith to put one
foot after the other.
Sunday I was a
wreck. SO MANY. TEARS. I seriously
don't think I've cried and hugged more in one day. I doesn't quite feel real
yet. I feel so welcome, so loved, and so.....at home.......it's SO hard to
leave it all behind!! These people have ALL of my heart.....and I wouldn't
have it any other way.
One of the last
highlight moments of our weekend (even though I was a mess trying to say
goodbye to everyone) was when we visited Rita, an investigator who's been
interested in the church for a long time, but has just never actually taken the
plunge. We stopped by and I sensed that something was wrong. She opened up to
us about some health and mental issues she's been facing, and the spirit began
pounding me with promptings: suggest
that she get a priesthood blessing. I could NOT ignore the prompting, it
was so strong, so I asked her if she'd like to receive one. We ended up having
a lengthy conversation about the purpose, organization, and strength given
through a blessing. After considering it for a while, she agreed and we
arranged for her to receive a blessing.
The next night,
at a Christmas devotional at the church, she came up to me with tears in her
eyes, took me in a hug, and said, "I got my blessing......and all I can
say is thank you! Thank you!! Because you offered that to me, I was
brought into the presence of God in a way I've never been before. It was
like, I was SO close to Him! And it was all because you were close enough to
the holy spirit, to know that that's what I needed! So thank you!! Thank you
for being obedient, for coming on your mission......for me! You have truly
changed my life and become a daughter to me!! Thank you, thank you!!" and
she and I just sat there together and cried in each others' arms!
AH!!! It's hard to describe why a moment like that means so much
to a missionary--to me! But it's moments like that that I can't help but feel, "I'm doing something right! I don't
have it all figured out, I make mistakes ALL the time, I question and doubt
myself.....but right here, right now, I did something right. I made a
difference. And it's all worth it!"
All the struggle, the pain, the heartbreak, the difficulties, the criticism,
the fears, the effort......it's not wasted. I knew in that moment that I'd made
Him proud, and that's all I want out of my mission.....to make Him proud of me.
I believe that
that experience softened the blow of transfers, because it put into perspective
for me, the fact that this work is not about me. It's not about what I want,
and that's the way it should be. Because the greatest--the purest--joy in this
work, comes not in making myself happy, but in making others happy eternally.
I can't even
express how grateful I am for the months I was able to spend in Buffalo Grove.
My heart, I know, is going to long for this place for the remainder of my
mission, and beyond, but it gives me SO much peace knowing that the
relationships I've grown, the friendships I've gained, the experiences I've
had, and even the heartache and sorrow I've endured......it's ALL been worth
it. And no one can take that from me!
Onward and
upward,
Sis Anna Parker
Here we go again.......
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