05-18-14 Sawadii Kha!
Hello
family and loved ones! I have a story for you. Let's begin on the 6th of May,
the day after my companion's birthday. It started well with district meeting.
Elder Watts, my district leader, had a cool object lesson about faith. He blindfolded
one of the Elders and told him to fall back several times with different types
of things/people to catch him. They even pulled cushions off of the couches for
the lesson. It was really great. But, the thing is, I hadn't been feeling too
hot during all of this. After district meeting, I felt so out of shape that I
had to lie down. My right side was hurting so bad. I called Sister Senior and
told her that I was feeling unwell and she advised that I go home and rest. We
then go to the MRT to get home and Sister Sahagun and I are separated! I got on
the train before her and the doors closed right behind me. It was the weirdest,
loneliest subway trip I ever took. And when my companion came off the next stop
(where I was waiting) she comes out with the Zone leaders and President Senior
himself! I was a little worried and scared that I would be reprimanded or
something. But, President just smiled and said, "Go home and get some
rest."
I did just
that.
After a few
hours, I still don't feel too good. Sister Sahagun calls the Zone leaders for
me and asks them to come and give me a blessing. They came right away. I got
the blessing and Elder Marshal, being the wonderful EMT he is, advised that I
should just go to the hospital to check it out. I was hesitant since I thought
it was really silly. I didn't want to waste any money either if it didn't turn
out to be anything. The Elders persisted and said they would hail a taxi for me
if I wouldn't. And so, I grudgingly went to the hospital with a lot of traffic
on the way.
Fast
forward a little bit and it's like 10:00 pm at night. A lot has happened within
3 hours of being there. I get strapped to an operating table and they are going
to take out my appendix. Yep, it built up a lot more than what I write it out
to be. But hey, my appendix did NOT explode on me. I just got a ton of tests
before they confirmed that it was appendicitis. They do the surgery within an
hour and I wake up around 1:00 am from the anesthesia. I'm in a lot of pain. I
throw my head back and forth and keep saying, "Jeb! Jeb! Jeb! Jeb!"
(It hurts, hurts, hurts!!) All the nurses and doctors around me are so confused
as to why I am speaking hysterically in Thai. They tell me to stop moving so
that I don't hurt myself. They wheel me to my room (with me still moaning and
crying out "Jeb!") and I fall sound asleep.
It was
quite the adventure. :)
The next
few days are interesting. I get a nice little sponge bath from two Thai nurses
(never again), painful pain medication, and different Sister missionaries to
switch off and look after me/keep me company. It was uncomfortable to sit in
the hospitable bed for long period of times. The first time I had to use the
restroom I had to call a nurse in to help me. It was awkward as she stood in
front of the bathroom door to watch me. I told her, "I can't go with you
standing there. Can you close the door?" She just moves to the side so I
can't see her and leaves the door wide open... yep, still awkward.
My scar is
really little. My Surgeon was really proud of himself for how tiny it was. He
kept saying, "Look! It's beautiful!" I thought he was pretty funny.
He released me from the hospital and I went home and rested for the rest of the
night. The next day, I irrationally think, "Hey! I could totally work
today!" Wrong answer. I walked SUPER slowly and had to get in taxis to
drive me to places I needed to go. When I went to the Office, the office Elders
pulled out a wheely computer chair to push me up the ramp. It wasn't a very
smooth ride. After, they didn't like the computer chair idea and needed to get
me into the Office/mission van. One of the Aps gets the idea to CARRY me to the
van. And by "carry", I mean put me into a chair and have three Elders
pick me up to the car. I was slightly embarrassed to say the least. But hey! I
got to the church and I was put into an actual wheelchair! It was a definite
needed upgrade. After our appointments at the church, I was wheeled through the
streets of Thailand by my noble district leader. His wheelchair pushing skills
could be a little improved, but I still got back to the office safe and sound.
(P.S. the streets in Thailand are NOT made for handicapped people. I'll just
leave it as that)
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The first day out of the hospital! The Elders carried me into the car!!!
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For my
birthday, I went shopping at Braddunam and got a skirt, two awesome dresses,
and some cool Thai pants. It was a good day! I even had a lot of yummy pizza
and pancakes for dinner! It was a really awesome birthday in Thailand!
We also had
a miracle baptism yesterday. This girl comes to church and she has already
learned everything from other Elders. She's gone to church a few times, and
wait for it... she wants to be baptized that day! I was so confused. I was
like, "What is happening? Who are you?" but, we reviewed everything
with her, she got her interview and was baptized that very day. It was
incredible.
On another
note, I've learned a lot these past two weeks. One thing I have learned is that
we are all built differently. Each of us has been given talents from the Lord
and all he requires is for us to use them to our best ability. Comparing
yourself will destroy you. God loves us who we are and he made us the way we
are. He knows what we can become and He is very patient with our shortcomings.
All in all, my patience has grown as well. It's been a good learning
experience.
I love you
all!
Love,
Sister
Carter
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It was a beautiful Sunday filled with white!!
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The day I went on a switch off with Sister Sawangwong. All the sisters in the house! We live in a tetras room!
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Dinner at Sunrise tacos!!!
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The Elders in my district!
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We went to a cool aquarium place for Sister Sahagun's Birthday on the 5th!
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| A pic of my favorite Elders in my District |
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A cool dog in a buggy I found! It was such a nice dog!!!
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