Monday November 14^th, 2011

Hello lovely world! I don’t even know what to tell you all.....so its been an interesting week. Let me start with last Monday...

So we began to go out and work and I felt sick starting this day, but I didn’t think anything of it. I am in Argentina and I always feel sick...it was mostly a little pain in my head but I thought it would go away. We went out Tuesday and had a LONG day of hard work in the blazing heat, which did not help my head. I thought eating would make me better but I felt even worse. We kept going. We had a ton of appointments that day so we went around teaching people and they kept giving us freaking juice and not water when we were thirsty. Also this lady gave us the weirdest like natural drink that to me tasted like alcohol, and after I drank it my throat hurt SO bad and my head was pounding. We got home and I just collapsed into bed just hoping I would sleep it off. Didn’t work. First of all there was a HUGE thunder and lightening storm all night and so that made it hard to sleep and the power went out so we were just like laying in the pitch dark with one little candle lit - haha - it was great.

Then we get a call from the zone leaders and they are all pumped and tell us that we are going to have ¨Hermana camp 2¨ and they wanted us to go to Villa - the other girls area - for 2 days to work and help them out. We tried acting stoked about it and I didn’t have the heart to tell them no because I felt sick because I truly thought it would go away. Bad idea. So we go to Cosquin the next day and have this huge zone meeting with all this energy and excitement and all the elders were like counting on us to go do miracles over in their area so I kind of just ignored my pounding head ache, stomach ache, and my throat was getting worse. I felt like I was going to puke, so as we left to grab food I was like uhhhh no I cant eat I feel like death and they were all like - uhhh – ok - you should probably eat, but whatever. As we were walking around in more blazing heat I felt like I was going to faint but everyone knows…..I try to be super positive all the time and don’t like to be a buzz kill - especially after this long intense meeting with the zone leaders and everyones all like ¨whooooo hermana camp yayyy!!!¨ haha so I didn’t want to ruin it.

The one hour bus ride to their area did not make matters better....I felt like dying on the bus ride up there and as we waited for our second bus I kept getting the chills and literally felt like death. I tried pushing through but I had just had it - I couldn’t fake my dying state....we go to the apartment and I collapsed on one of the hermanas bed and I just started to cry and cry and my head was SO hot and I seriously thought something bad was happening to me. The hermanas freaked out and called the wife of president and she said to take my temp and my temp was at 102! I felt like I couldn’t breath and then the hermana freaked out and just told the hermanas to take me to the hospital. We rushed in and I just kept my eyes closed and walked around like I was dead because I seriously felt so much pain. As we got in pretty quick to meet with a doctor she took my temp and it was almost to 103 and it was rising fast!!! So she freaked out and told me that I had a terrible fever and that I was dehydrated. She said they needed to hook me up to an IV!!! I got SO scared because I hate needles ONE (I fainted when I got my shots for Africa), and TWO, I have never been in a hospital in my life… let alone in a sketchy little one in Argentina that I don’t even know if i can trust....but as I laid there panicking and just wanted the pain to go away I looked at the doctor and knew I could trust her and they took me in. I lay down and just shut my eyes SO tight because I knew if I looked I would like hyperventilate and scream and precious hermana Masters was with me - love her! She was like my mom and kept squeezing my hand and stroking my arm and told me everything would be alright. Once I got the IV in, my fever started to drop and I felt ALOT better! But that wasn’t the worse part...

So even before they put the dang thing in me, I had to use the bathroom and I told the people that, but she said you can use it later….Cool. So I was laying there all calm and feeling better and i told hermana masters to go to the nurse and ask her if I could please go to the bathroom because I was dying. So she gives me permission like it was nothing and of course chill Argentina hospital doesn’t give me instructions or anything and just hands me my IV bag and is all chill like yeah, just go and you will be fine. NOT! I was so awkward about having this needle in my arm and carrying around this bag of liquid but I didn’t know what else to do - when you have to go you have to go! So I got in the bathroom and locked the door and as I sat down I felt all tingly in my arm first off and then I looked down and my whole IV cord was all red and just blood...I looked at it and panicked and yelled to hermana Masters and asked her if it was normal and she said, “I think so. I ignored it but as I sat there all of a sudden I couldn’t feel MY WHOLE body and I started to black out and I FLIPPED! I started having a panic attack and yelling to hermana Masters ¨oh my gosh I cant see! I can’t see! Help me!!!¨ She sounded so nervous but trying to be calm at the same time and just kept yelling at me ¨open the door open the door!!!¨ I couldn’t move or walk or see or anything, so I started to freak out more and started to cry SO hard and just prayed I would be able to find and get the door open because I could only imagine if I fainted in their alone with the door locked! I prayed and slowly shuffled my feet around and just moved around my hands trying to get the door open. After many prayers from both sides of that locked door I got it open - I have no idea how I swear it was angels - and I just fell into hermana Masters arms like still freaking out and couldn’t see or feel anything. They took me back to the bed and the doctor came running over and saw that all my blood had gone into the tube and hooked it all back up. I was just so happy and relieved to make it out and then when the doctor found out I hadn’t eaten all day she yelled at my comp and told her to go buy me something. I got something in my stomach and calmed down and the other hermanas came to the hospital to comfort me and I felt better. Uhhh - it was the most intense and scary thing that has ever happened to me!

So pretty much the rest of the week I was in bed and just drinking A TON of water and gatorade and taking pills and sleeping alot. I hate being sick - it seriously is so depressing just sitting around and not being able to do anything, but that is what I get. I need to take better care of my health..I learned my lesson.

The good news was that Hermana Camp 2 was not completely a bust because they ended up teaching and putting a fecha with this guy and he is progressing and really excited. So I am glad we helped in some way. On our side it definitely ruined our week because we didn’t get to teach or pass for anyone and we had NO ONE IN CHURCH Sunday - there was only 20 people! It was pouring rain so that didn’t help at all but it was a huge bummer. I did get a blessing from some members and I am feeling A LOT better so that is good! We are having a zone get together today and making asado and watching movies in our chapel so I think that will be fun and then hopefully we can go out and start a whole new fresh week and work hard.

Something that has really helped me during this hard and sad and sick week in the mission is the scriptures. It was so hard to just lay in bed and be inside all day and I just felt so bad for people that are constantly sick and cant move or go anywhere. It is seriously terrible! Any time I stepped outside I just took in the air and looked around at the nature and the sun and birds and was just so grateful for God’s creations and the earth. it is seriously such a blessing to have it all around us and to enjoy it daily!

But I truly do love the scriptures so much and there is seriously so much we can learn from them and most of all just feel a deep and profound love from God that he has for us. I love the scripture in 1 Nephi 15:24-25...

24 And I said unto them that it was the ^aword of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would ^bhold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the ^ctemptations and the fiery ^ddarts of the ^eadversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give ^aheed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the ^bfaculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.

I know with all of my heart that the scriptures are given to us for our benefit to bless and help us during hard times so we can learn and grow. During this past week I have never felt so down but every time I would open up the scriptures and feast upon its profound words, I would feel the love of God so powerfully all around me and I would know that he cared for me and was there to comfort and help me. It’s like the scripture in 1 Nephi 11:22-23...

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheds itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most ^ajoyous to the soul.

Through searching and studying the scriptures this week I have found that most joyous feeling to the soul and embraced the love that God has for me. I promise and testify to each of you that if you are sick, going through a rough time, feel alone, or troubled, you can open up your scriptures and learn from their holy pages and feel of that most desirous feeling that god has to offer you. Even if it is a page a day, it will bless your life and feel those dark times with heavens light and love. As much as the mission has its extreme highs and dark and very low lows, I am so grateful for the things I am learning for my life and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to share it with others. I love the mission and love every experience I have been through because each one has come to me for a specific reason to help me grow and learn. I love you all and I cant thank you enough for your prayers. I can feel them daily! Hope you have a good week!

Love, Hermana Pond