Alrighty everyone...I´ll tell ya what´s really been going
down...haha scary huh? Are you nervous?
There is an outbreak of a disease going around from
mosquitoes that is pretty darn nasty. It broke out in about January. Its new
and its a little spin off of dengue. Its called Chikungunya. I know just the
sound is horrible right? We were told as a new mission rule that we had to put
on bug spray every 3 hours. So that's what we all did but down in Tapachula it
was bad. The missionaries were kind of dropping like flies with this disease.
But only because they were in areas infested with mosquitoes. I was in Tuxtla
at the time, where, to this day it still hasn't really been hit. But it did make
it to Chahuites. (all missionaries are fine)
So to make things short, my last week in Chahuites I got bit many times on my ankles. I remember having a distinct feeling that I was
going to get the disease. I just knew it. I felt it. The symptoms don't show for
about 8-10 days. So when I made it to San Cristobal, about my 3rd day there I
started showing symptoms and it hit me very hard that day and they took me to
Tuxtla and I have been here ever since...I didn't want to tell you all anything
because I didn't know how serious it was or how long it would last and I was just waiting it out to tell you. I didn't want you all to freak out.
Anyways, the Americans seem to not react as bad as the Mexicans it has something to do with the vaccines we've had. But everybody reacts
differently, that's the thing. It does many different things to your body it's
really weird. But I´ll just tell ya what happened to me.
I had extreme pain in all of my articulations in all my
body. Like just to move my arm I had shooting pain all up and down it. My legs
too. It was pretty fun. Then I got a fever up to 103.5. I thought I was going
to die haha. My face was purple and it was swollen and my ears were too.
It was pretty scary. I had the fever for 4 days. You get a bunch of cold chills
but if you try to cover yourself with a blanket the fever would just
rise. So I had to suffer under the air conditioning with cold chills for a few
days. I´m not going to lie it was pretty horrible. Now I know you are all
probably thinking, well, why didn't they just put her on pain medication and fever
reducer? Well you cant with this disease. It only takes one type of medication.
If you take others it makes the disease worse, stronger and harder to kill off.
So you have to take medication that is less than a 200mg ibuprofen. So you just
have to wait for the pain and fever to slowly go away in weeks...it really is
like a torture haha. My fever broke in 4 days though and I still had pain. But
then a couple days later I broke out in a nasty, nasty rash all over my body for
2 days. It was really itchy. But then everything started to go away and I was
becoming my normal self. Now all that bothers me is my foot. It feels
like its going to break every time I step on it. I'm in a lot of pain just
in that one spot. Otherwise everywhere else in my body is fine. The pain can
last up to 2 years..that's the bad thing about the disease. Luckily I only have
pain in one spot. But its not too bad I just limp around everywhere haha. My
doctor actually got it 6 months ago where the pain settled in his fingers and he still can't grab his blanket. He´s
just gotta pull it between his palms. Poor guy. But I have a feeling that my
pain is going to go away pretty soon. But THEN I was on a steroid to help the
swelling in my ear and this steroid drops ALL your defenses very low. So when I
got the disease I got another infection that hurt so bad I could hardly walk
and when I barely touched it I would throw up because of the pain. Sad huh? But
they got me on more medication and it went away in like a day after I had been
dealing with it for a week. But now I can say everything is okay haha. I will be
returning back to work tomorrow.
I just want you all to know that back in February I prayed
for a trial. Ha I know crazy...anyway, afterwards I had a feeling that I was
going to have bad health because immobilizing me is just torture. I can´t stand
when there are problems with my health. I absolutely hate it. So I had this
feeling that it was going to be my health. A week later the random thing
happened with my ear. Then the disease and horrible infection. It has just been
one thing after the next after the next and I can´t help but think that it was
because of that prayer. I tell you this just so you get a heads up that maybe
something more will happen in these last 4 months and to not worry. Everything
will be okay. And this is not God punishing me or something crazy like that. Its
a very positive thing. Because I am coming to understand the Atonement in so
many different ways. I am strengthening my faith. But I really am coming to
have a relationship with my Savior that I never knew I could have. I didn't
truly know Him before, nor understand fully what He did for me.
There are many times when we want Him to take away
everything. Sometimes we think that the Atonement will take it all away, all
the hurt, pain, abandonment, everything emotionally, physically, or
spiritually. Then when it doesn't happen we lose faith. But what I have come to
learn and literally feel is that He comes to you and fills your heart with
peace and happiness as you ask for help, but its not just zap the pains gone.
Sometimes He may take away a little pain but more than usual He doesn't take it
away. But He makes you stronger to overcome it or to be able to carry the
burden just a little longer. If He took away the pain or torment or whatever
was happening, every single time would we ever learn and grow? Would it even be
important to have faith? But we aren't with the Eternal Father and Jesus
Christ every single day and we are naturally pulled to sin so that we learn to
trust in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Atonement Every Single Day.
Christ went below all things (or FELT and experienced ALL SIN and even the abandonment of the Father and Holy Ghost) and broke the bands of death so that
He could understand how you and I feel when we sin or have a sickness and so
that He can help you and I to ultimately be Saved and have eternal life. There
is no sin that He doesn't understand nor know how to help/fix it.
WE don't fix ourselves. If we could fix ourselves then the
Plan of Heavenly Father would be destroyed and would mean that there was no
reason for Christ to Atone for us. But we can´t fix ourselves and aren't
perfect so we HAVE to have the help of the Savior. That´s why His name is
Savior. Because He saves us from our sins that we may have eternal life. We may
progress in this life THROUGH Jesus Christ. It reminds me of the scripture
Ether 12:27 that He gives us weaknesses so that we are humble but then He says
that He makes WEAK things become strong. Us.
So whatever you are struggling with you NEED to turn to the
Savior. He Can Help. It Does NOT matter what it is. As sad as it sounds we are
here to struggle, to learn and grow and the only way to have true joy
and happiness is through Christ and His Atonement.
It is my plead that you turn to Him. Ask for help through
prayer and if you need to, talk to a Bishop because you can´t do somethings on
your own. I promise you He will come to help you because He loves you. That's
why He suffered in the first place. Why would He suffer for you and then just
sit back and relax and watch you suffer. That would be pointless. He wants to
help because He loves you, and so does Father in Heaven.
I know Christ truly lives and was Perfect. Because of Him we
may have Eternal Life.
I love you guys and hope you have a great week.
Hermana Grover
