Miracles

SOOOO this week was... interesting...

I think God still hasn't forgiven me for saying that "we didn't have trials." haha.

But, I also feel like He took really good care of me this week, and I saw a lot of miracles in the way things worked out. On Monday, I woke up feeling kinda sick, but I was supposed to go to Teotihuacan with all the missionaries that are going home with me, and I was bound and determined to go. So my comp and I got all ready and left the house to get on public transportation.

It was a very bumpy ride, which was absolutely miserable, because if you have heard something about appendicitis, you know that it doesn't really get along with bumps and movement. BUT I also felt like it was a huge blessing because it made me realize that I was really sick. So that was the first miracle.

The second miracle was that He helped me get back to my house (pyramids weren't going to happen, we got off and went back home.) I like, actually thought that I was going to pass out in the combi from the pain... but somehow we survived... haha.

We got home and I went to sleep for like 4 hours, and when I woke up, I was actually feeling better, overall... but I also noticed that the pain was more concentrated in the lower right hand corner.... which made me think that it may be appendicitis. This was the next miracle - I feel like God told me what was wrong with me... I didn't even actually have all the symptoms of appendicitis. I went through all of the common ways to check for it and made my comp hit my leg and lift it up and see if I had rebound pain, but I really didn't... And yet, for some reason, I still felt like it might be appendicitis. 

I wanted to call the mission doctor and talk it over with him and see if he thought I should go to the hospital or not... but, I couldn't get a hold of him. So I called President and started to tell him, "I don't feel very good... I feel like it could possibly be appendicitis... it's probably not, but I'm not sure...." And he told me later that he felt strongly that they needed to get me to a good hospital, quick. So he told us to pack an overnight back, just in case, and he sent an Uber for us. Our overnight bags were pretty lame... we only had like 5 minutes to pack, and I wasn't super mobile, so I basically packed a toothbrush, lotion, and deodorant... ALLL the essentials haha... Also, we were pretty sure that this was just a precautionary measure, and that we weren't actually going to be staying at the hospital.

There was a ton of traffic so it took us 2.5 hours to get to the hospital. The next miracle is that I did not die, nor did I feel horrible during the Uber ride. I was starting to convince myself that we had overreacted...

The next miracle is that we got into the clinic and we saw the NICEST, most thorough doctor ever. I told him that I was in a lot of pain and wanted to check to make sure it isn't appendicitis. We were talking, and he told me that it would be very strange with appendicitis to be feeling better and not worse, and that it probably isn't. But, when he pressed on my stomach, he realized that I really was in a lot of pain... and so he decided to send me in for tests at the emergency room to make it faster, just in case. Which was really really awesome of him because a couple months ago I went to the doctor with another Hermana who had appendicitis, but who also didn't have the whole rebound pain in her leg. The doctor that checked her, didn't take those kinds of precautions and they just sent her home with medicine... only to have her return later and find that it really was appendicitis. So it was really awesome that he sent me in for tests. 

At first, everything was pretty easy-going. They look some X-rays and put me on an IV, and everything was pretty calm. And then they did an ultrasound. I was watching the doctors faces and I saw their brows furrow and then the lip-purse that said to me, "This doesn't look good." So I asked them if everything looked okay. Which is when they told me that my appendix was about to rupture, and that they were going to call the surgeon so that they could take it out before things got more serious. At this point, I started to cry because I just felt super alone. My comp wasn't with me at that point because they wouldn't let her into the ultrasound room, and my family was so far away.... 

They took me back to the emergency room and I called President to let him know that I was going into surgery in less than an hour... and he told me he was going to do his best to drive quickly to make it there on time, before they started my surgery... Then everything started moving really fast. Before the ultrasound, everyone was super calm and taking turns talking to me and touching me and then all of the sudden, there were like a bunch of people coming in to get my consent to do surgery, having me sign things, talking to me about the surgery, and who knows what... 

I was trying to sort out all of my emotions and come to terms with all that was about to happen, when in came the nice doctor who had first seen me - such a good guy. He talked to me about how the surgery was going to go, even though he wasn't actually the surgeon who was going to operate, and then he asked me about my family. I told him that I hadn't been able to tell them, and then he lent me his phone to be able to call you all (President gave me permission, of course). Another miracle.

Only like, 40 minutes had gone by since they did the ultrasound and made the diagnosis, when they told me that it was time, and that I had to go into surgery right now! But, President still hadn't gotten there and I was really hoping to see him first.... but they said they couldn't wait. I was trying to convince them to wait for him to arrive, but they told me that they couldn't wait. They were literally wheeling me into the elevator to take me into surgery, when my mission president came RUNNING up to the elevator... and all he did was put his hands on my head and gave me a super short blessing. The doctors were all so confused, but they didn't understand anything because he gave the blessing in English. And then he took his hands off my head, waved, and let the doctors take me... Maybe my favorite miracle of all. It's always better, going into surgery, to know that you've received a blessing with God's Priesthood.

And everything turned out great! I had laparoscopic surgery, that involves just the 3 little incisions, so I don't have any huge scars or anything and so I am healing much quicker. I think this is the standard surgery in the States, but I've met like 3 people, in these last few days, who had appendicitis just within a year or so, and went to the hospital that is closer to where we live now. They were all cut open and have like a 10 cm scar. This would have been a lot harder to recover from. I am so grateful that we had time to get me to a really good and medically advanced hospital, with a skilled surgeon. I'm feeling a whole lot better now - I can walk again and I will get my stitches out tomorrow. After the surgery, the rest of the week was pretty boring... We just hung around in the hospital, and after that, in President's house. Getting back to our area on Saturday was SO exciting. I missed it here! The only lame thing was that when we got back, our house didn't have water. Huge difference from presidents house... Haha. But we got it sorted out and we have water again.... YAY SHOWERS!!! Also a miracle.

I love you all so much. Thanks for all your love and support. Hope you all have an amazing week. Look for all the miracles. God gives us trials, but He also helps us through them. 

Love,

Hermana Aubriana Wolferts

Recovering at President Stutznegger's house. I am so grateful for Sister Stutznegger and him!

Back home again!

You are the second Tortilla...

October 3, 2016

We had a good week.... well mostly.

I made a HUGE mistake and said, out-loud, to my companion: "Sister, it's so weird. We don't have hardly any trials right now." You should NEVER say something like that!!!! All of a sudden EVERYONE started rejecting us. I feel like I really have learned how to "street contact" in a good way; and usually, my companion and I have a fair amount of people who accept us... But I think that ever since I said that, we've only had like 2 or 3 people accept us. And it's been 4 or 5 days now. Bien triste. But one awesome thing is that before in my mission, times like these would maybe get me down, but here, I've learned how to be happy even when sad things are happening. There was a talk about that in General Conference by Elder Russell M. Nelson. Elder Nelson reminded us of the scripture, "Men are that they might have joy..." He also said, "We can feel joy, regardless of what is happening or not happening in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy." ..."If we focus on the joy that can come to us, or those we love, what can we endure that which, presently, seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair or simply impossible..." GC was AMAZING, by the way. The Saturday sessions felt like they were, especially for the missionaries. In the first session, they taught the gospel basics--perfect for our investigators, in the second session, they talked about missionary work and members, and that was awesome too!! 

This week I heard a lot of jokes and cute phrases. My comp is a huge joke fan. Here's a sample of one of her jokes: 

Why do I like to ask dogs how I look? Because they always say, "Wow" 

Also, I saw an adorable bookmark. To understand it you need to know that many tacos here have 2 tortillas, because if it just has one tortilla, the taco will break. The bookmark says (in Spanish): You are the second tortilla that gives support to the taco of my life.

Good stuff. We all need that second tortilla. That's why I love my companion. And you guys. YOU are the second tortilla. Thanks for all your support!!  (:

Also.... I sent this text message to my district leader: "Pusimos una agua con vino el viernes a las 5... quieren acompañarnos?"-- We put a water with wine on Friday at 5, do you want to come with us?

He called me and told me that he didn't understand my text... and that he was worried that we were inviting him to break the Word of Wisdom with him. BUT no. What had happened was that the phone has T9 and I wanted to say that we put an appointment (cita, in Spanish... and it is spelled with the same keys as agua) with Tino (the name of an investigator that we have been teaching but who is actually from the elders area and we wanted to pass him off to them but that was auto corrected to vino-- wine). My district leader was a little less stressed after we explained that they were all just auto correct errors. 

But the work is going great! We have some investigators that are progressing and I was so excited that some of them could go to General Conference! I think it helped them a ton. I can't wait to read and re-read all the talks! They were all SO good!!!! It was so sad to think that this is my last conference of the mission. As I listened, I was so happy to be a missionary, as they talked so much about the work!! It is an amazing experience. 

I love you all so much! Have an amazing week!!

Hermana Wolferts

Zone Conference with Hermana Lambert and Hermana Jones

Getting our pushups in...

Who knew exercise could be this much fun in a skirt!

Living the gospel is like going up an escalator...

September 26, 2016

¡Hola!

It's been an eventful two weeks..... Here's a rundown of what's happened:

1. I got a new companion! Hna Navarro. She's from Tijuana and she's great. She's fresh from the CCM and I loveeee herrrrr (: I always say she's like a puppy... she's so sweet and comes with so much energy!) When we are in the house at night she always wants to play and I feel super lame because I just want to sleep! Haha but it's been super fun (:

2. My poor companion has really had the baptism by fire experience here in the mission. These past two weeks have been a bit challenging for her. She had a tooth break that she had to get pulled (the destist used my companion to teach me how to pull teeth and do a filling so I know know how to do it. There are actually dentists here who aren't certified... so I could probably open my own business if I wanted to... haha), a kid threw up on her in public transportation, the streets flooded the other day and the sewage overflowed and we had to wade in calf high water that was pretty much disgusting (not so new for me... but for her, it's a life-style change), our boiler broke so she hasn't had a hot shower since she got here... But she has the BEST attitude. Love her for that.

3. We went to the temple!!! Always an amazing experience and I felt so at peace and like I received so many answers. Also, we felt an earthquake while we were in the temple on Friday. It was small but I accomplished my goal of feeling an earthquake while being here! 

4. We had an investigator get baptized! I'll send a picture next week, but his story is amazing. He had been investigating the church for years but something always happened and he couldn't get baptized... until some other missionaries found him in the street and talked with him and sent us the referral. And he already got the Aaronic Priesthood and is so excited about the step he has taken! An investigator of the other sisters in my ward that I taught a couple times also got baptized. He found out about the church because his friend went on a mission and that made him curious about why he had made the decision to leave his family and everything behind for 2 years. So he got in contact with the missionaries and started learning about the church and got baptized this past week! Sooo cool. Remember that even if you aren't a missionary, you CAN do missionary work. Members really are the best missionaries. 

5. We hiked up to a waterfall..... This new part of our mission is sooo pretty. I seriously felt like I could have been in Utah in the mountains, or in Washington; it was CRAZY. And it is so clean and pure out there (unlike the city) that they use the water that falls from this waterfall for drinking water. AHHHH...

6. We had Zone Conference which, in our mission, is when President gives a really awesome, really crazy training that inspires everyone to be better. It's so fun to go to the conference and then just go back with a huge desire to work!! My comp and I got to see it all twice because I went to help translate for one of the senior missionaries in a zone where there aren't hermanas. We weren't complaining about having to see it all twice. Super awesome.

7. We watched the woman's session of General Conference!! Soooo goood I loved President

 Uchtdorf´s talk. And Sister Oscarson just made me think that we just all need to step up our game and get serious about this. These are the last days and this is the true and restored gospel and we just can't afford to not live and teach it 100%. 

These past couple weeks have been really eventful but also really good. I love this work. I love being a missionary. I love my Savior and I love this gospel. And I know it's true. Remember to do the little things every day like pray and read the scriptures. One of the assistants shared in his training that living the gospel is like going up an escalator... that is moving in the downward dirrection. If we aren't progressing and running upward, we are going to fall down. If we aren't searching to improve our testimony, we are going to lose it. Remember to strengthen your testimony every day!!!

Love you all!!

Hermana Wolferts