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| Hermana Escobar and I on Independence Day |
Hello Dear Family and Friends, it has been a crazy and busy week...
Monday: We had a pretty normal P-Day today. We were able to email for quite a bit and then went and did the shopping we needed to do at Walmart, Aldi's, and the Dollar Store. I had no idea before my mission but have definitely learned how awesome the Dollar Store is!!! :) We then had a little more emailing time and then spent the rest of the afternoon at home because Hermana Escobar wasn't feeling too good and we wanted her to rest up good for our crazy day tomorrow. That evening there was an INSANE storm. I had no idea how much crazier Midwest storms are than back in Utah. It was blowing and raining so hard, I couldn't believe it. That evening as I was going to sleep, I watched the room light up literally every 2 seconds as lightening flashed. It was so crazy!!!
Tuesday: CRAZY day today!!! There is so much to tell, I better just start from the beginning. We had studies and then got ready to go to Chicago Heights and our appointment with a hermano investigator. We headed out and quickly discovered that the storm last night was much, much worse than we had thought. We realized this as we got to a stoplight where we needed to turn and found that the stoplight had no power and that half of it was actually, in fact, lying on the ground. Needless to say, that road was closed and we had to take a detour. Nearly all of the stop lights were not working and we had fun driving all over the road trying to avoid the branches and entire trees lying in our path. It was SO crazy! We were finally able to get back onto an open main road, but we were going to be super late to our appointment. Luckily, he texted asking if we could meet this afternoon instead, which was perfect for us. We finally got to Chicago Heights, it took 1.5 hours verses the regular 30-40 minutes, and we discovered that the damage from the storm was even worse in Illinois than it had been in Indiana. None of the stoplights were working and most of the area didn't have any power at all. We decided to try our luck with some stop-by's. We went to one of our investigator's homes and found her there with her 6 kids and with the power being out, they were bored to death. So we played the Plan of Salvation game with them and they really enjoyed it! They asked a lot of questions and we had a lot of fun. I felt really good about the lesson because I felt like I was able to contribute and teach a lot. We then hurried back to Dyer in Indiana to have a lunch appointment with a less active hermana that surprised us by coming to Church last Sunday. It was sooooo good! She was so nice and made us some super good food. We enjoyed talking with her and getting to know her and her kids. We shared a scripture and she said she would love for us to make it a weekly thing to visit them, which is just fine with us! After that really good appointment we drove back to Chicago Heights and had a little bit of Facebook contacting time at McDonald's. It ended with Hermana Escobar getting hit on by one of the employees and we had to leave real quickly. #SisterMissionaryProblems. After that we had a great lesson with another one of our investigators. We read in 3 Nephi 11 with her and discussed baptism. That night we went to a less active family's home. We had scheduled a lesson with them but when we got there they were too busy cleaning up from the storm. So we convinced them to let us help them. We ended up stripping copper from wire for them so they could sell it, and we got some great blisters from it! That night we went home, had dinner, and had language study.
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| No Hitchhiking, especially as Sister Missionaries! |
Wednesday: Wednesday was kind of a rough day for both Hna Escobar and I. The medicine that she is on started causing her to have severe panic attacks today, not fun at all! They were kind of scary and just made it super rough for the both of us. But we went to District Meeting where we learned about how amazing the Book of Mormon is at answering questions of the soul. After a Priesthood Blessing that helped Hna Escobar so much, we headed to Chicago Heights. We were able to have a short little lesson with a hermana investigator and her kids because their power was still out! We talked about Faith and used seeds to help them plant to teach them, it went really good. We then went to our appointment with a less active. But she was asleep so instead we ended up playing the Plan of Salvation Game with her daughter who is 8 and not yet a member, and her cousin who is the same age and absolutely loves us! We had a lot of fun and the cousin, was really interested and had such a sincere desire to learn! That night we had our branch mission leader and his wife come out with us to a couple of lessons. We saw a less active family and were able to share Helaman 5:12 with them. We hoped and prayed that lesson went okay because Hno walked in there and just started calling them to repentance and talked a lot, but we think they took it okay :) We then had a quick lesson with them and one of our hermana investigators. It went good and she was really happy to talk with our ward mission leader and his wife, they are from the same place in Mexico so she gets along really well with them. That is so important because she needs all the support she can get right now!
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| Our Awesome July 4th cake that we made and took to the barbecue |
Thursday: Happy Birthday to my most amazing Mom!!!
Today started out VERY stressful. We hadn't been able to find the phone the night before to plug it in so we assumed it was in the car and just planned to get it the next morning. Well, that morning after showering I went searching for it. Hermana Escobar was still asleep because she just was not feeling good at all. After looking for it for nearly 2 hours, cleaning the ENTIRE car and apartment 3 times, I concluded that the phone was not in either place, just a slight problem. I finally had to wake her up to ask if she had any ideas where the phone could be. She didn't have any ideas of places that I hadn't already checked for the phone in 5 times already. So we had to wait for the apartment office to open so we could call the English Sisters and get their address to go over and use their phone to try and locate our phone. The English Sisters would not answer their phone because they didn't know the number we were calling from, even though we called them 7 times in a row. Thankfully the Hebron Sisters did answer and we were able to go over there. We used their phone to call our phone. Someone picked up and said something really garbled but then didn't respond when we tried to talk to them in English or Spanish. We tried calling the two families that we had been at last night, but neither answered their phones. So we headed to Chicago Heights to retrace our steps and try and find our phone. We stopped at the first family's place, and it wasn't there. We went to the second family we had visited and couldn't find it in their trailer. As we were getting ready to leave, at this point wondering if we would actually get our phone back, we decided to check where we had been parked on a field the night before. We hadn't checked there earlier because they had been mowing the field, a fact that had worried both of us. Hermana Escobar walked up there and found the phone lying in a field, just a couple of feet from where they were mowing!!! It had a little water damage but after a little TLC in a bag of rice, it is just fine! We couldn't believe it! We still don't know how or who answered it when it was lying in the middle of a field, but we are just so grateful that we found it! Heavenly Father definitely loves and looks out for his children! We stopped by one of our investigators to see if they needed any help in preparation for their mom coming today. They didn't so we headed to Hermana Escobar's doctor appointment. This time it was with a general practitioner to see if he had any ideas. He did. After talking with her and looking at all of the symptoms and tests, he agreed with us that fibromyalgia is VERY likely. He basically diagnosed her with it. Fibromyalgia is just hard to diagnose because it is basically a last resort diagnosis, meaning if you don't have anything else, than it is probably that. We had been thinking about it for a while and her symptoms and background match up so perfectly with that. He wanted to prescribe her about 5 different medicines right there, but she is just going to go with the headache medicine he prescribed, the psychiatrist he said she should see, and wean herself off of the medicine from the neurologist, then we will work from there. It is so nice to finally have someone that agrees with us and takes us seriously about what we have been thinking. We still don't have the answers yet, but we are headed in a direction which is definitely a plus! After that doctor's appointment, we went home and spent the rest of the evening letting Hermana Escobar rest because she wasn't feeling good at all and had a SUPER bad headache.
Today started out VERY stressful. We hadn't been able to find the phone the night before to plug it in so we assumed it was in the car and just planned to get it the next morning. Well, that morning after showering I went searching for it. Hermana Escobar was still asleep because she just was not feeling good at all. After looking for it for nearly 2 hours, cleaning the ENTIRE car and apartment 3 times, I concluded that the phone was not in either place, just a slight problem. I finally had to wake her up to ask if she had any ideas where the phone could be. She didn't have any ideas of places that I hadn't already checked for the phone in 5 times already. So we had to wait for the apartment office to open so we could call the English Sisters and get their address to go over and use their phone to try and locate our phone. The English Sisters would not answer their phone because they didn't know the number we were calling from, even though we called them 7 times in a row. Thankfully the Hebron Sisters did answer and we were able to go over there. We used their phone to call our phone. Someone picked up and said something really garbled but then didn't respond when we tried to talk to them in English or Spanish. We tried calling the two families that we had been at last night, but neither answered their phones. So we headed to Chicago Heights to retrace our steps and try and find our phone. We stopped at the first family's place, and it wasn't there. We went to the second family we had visited and couldn't find it in their trailer. As we were getting ready to leave, at this point wondering if we would actually get our phone back, we decided to check where we had been parked on a field the night before. We hadn't checked there earlier because they had been mowing the field, a fact that had worried both of us. Hermana Escobar walked up there and found the phone lying in a field, just a couple of feet from where they were mowing!!! It had a little water damage but after a little TLC in a bag of rice, it is just fine! We couldn't believe it! We still don't know how or who answered it when it was lying in the middle of a field, but we are just so grateful that we found it! Heavenly Father definitely loves and looks out for his children! We stopped by one of our investigators to see if they needed any help in preparation for their mom coming today. They didn't so we headed to Hermana Escobar's doctor appointment. This time it was with a general practitioner to see if he had any ideas. He did. After talking with her and looking at all of the symptoms and tests, he agreed with us that fibromyalgia is VERY likely. He basically diagnosed her with it. Fibromyalgia is just hard to diagnose because it is basically a last resort diagnosis, meaning if you don't have anything else, than it is probably that. We had been thinking about it for a while and her symptoms and background match up so perfectly with that. He wanted to prescribe her about 5 different medicines right there, but she is just going to go with the headache medicine he prescribed, the psychiatrist he said she should see, and wean herself off of the medicine from the neurologist, then we will work from there. It is so nice to finally have someone that agrees with us and takes us seriously about what we have been thinking. We still don't have the answers yet, but we are headed in a direction which is definitely a plus! After that doctor's appointment, we went home and spent the rest of the evening letting Hermana Escobar rest because she wasn't feeling good at all and had a SUPER bad headache.
Friday: Happy 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! It was such a special day to be serving a missionary because I think of all of the many sacrifices that have been made, are being made, and will be made to protect us and the freedoms we so enjoy. Especially as a missionary, I recognize that I would not have this incredible opportunity to preach the Gospel if it were not for all that has gone into our liberties and freedoms and for the Lord's guiding hand of our country. I know that it is not perfect, nothing ran by man can be. But we really do live in the most blessed nation. I love this scripture: "And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose..." (D&C 101:80) God really does bless the USA and I love how this talk explains more about this Promised Land in which we live: https://www.lds.org/
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| Great members who hosted us for their 4th of July BBQ |
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| Spelling out "USA" for a photo on Independence Day |
Today was a very different, but very good, 4th. We spent the morning at home, studying and such because Hermana still wasn't feeling good at all. Then we realized we had promised that we would bring a Tres Leches cake to the barbecue we were invited to and we had totally forgotten. So we had to run to Mejier (pronounced Myer, a huge Walmart type store) and get stuff to make the cake. We made the cake together and studied then headed to the barbecue. They are the same family from the English Ward that we spent Memorial Day with. On the way there, we had the idea to decorate our cake to look like an American Flag. So we stopped at Mejier again and got stuff to do it, then Hermana Escobar decorated it on the drive there! The English Sisters were there too. It was a super fun afternoon. One of the brothers was incredible! He bought each of us Sisters a super good $12 steak and we got to choose which cut we wanted and then he grilled it up right there for us! I had a New York cut and it was SO good! We also had other really good barbecue food and I definitely ate my fill! It was fun to talk with everyone and watch the kids light off fireworks. It is so crazy how different it is here compared with Utah for fireworks. Here, fireworks are sold and lit year round. The family we were with just bought a HUGE box of all types of fireworks, most you can't even use in Utah even during the 7 days around the holidays! Of course as missionaries we couldn't have anything to do with them, but it was fun and sometimes a little scary to watch! The English Sisters also had an investigator come and he brought a chess board. Everyone had a lot of fun playing him. Although he definitely didn't let on to how good he was and he beat everyone! I also got to drive the lawn mower tractor this time, so that was fun too! When President gave us permission to go to this barbecue with the English Sisters, he asked that we stay for only 2 hours. All too soon that time was up and we had to leave. We stopped to post on Facebook really fast and then got home just in time for our July 4th 7:00pm curfew. We spent some fun time taking pictures for Facebook and then had our evening inside. I was able to see a few fireworks from our bedroom window but we definitely were not in the right place to see them real well :-) it was such a good 4th of July and I am so thankful for the special significance it was to me this year as a missionary.
Saturday: Nothing too interesting happened today. Oh I forgot, it was TRANSFER CALLS day, that was a little interesting :) We were actually at home all day because Hna Escobar wasn't feeling good at all. But that was okay because we ended up having plenty to do! So, we get this call at about 11:00 am. To our surprise it was President Woodbury, our mission president. He was calling just to check with Hna Escobar to see that what he was thinking was okay with her before he finalized any transfer stuff. Yeah, in case you are wondering, that doesn't happen very often!!! Actually, like never! But as I have learned, she is a "special" case! :-) JK But yes, my companion is being transferred :-( We had kind of been expecting it but I had been praying that it wouldn't happen because I love being her companion so much and am learning tons. But, the Lord has called her somewhere else. She is going to be serving in Rensselaer, which is actually the only other place in the Valpo Stake that Hermanas can go!!! So she is staying close, which is such a blessing to me. It is actually an English branch but they translate for the Spanish Speakers and teach in both English and Spanish. It is crazy because we met a member of that branch yesterday at the barbecue and he was like, "Maybe we will be seeing one of you sisters down in Rensselaer sometime!" So we found out she was leaving at 11:00 am but President was too rushed and couldn't tell me anything about my new companion. The rest of that day was quite painful, just waiting knowing we were changing but not knowing who I was going to be getting. Hna Escobar decided that since we were home, she might as well pack. It was so sad but I am so excited for her because President told us it is the best place in the mission for healing because the Branch Members are SO amazing. She was completely packed within an hour! We spent the rest of the day talking and preparing everything for her to leave and me to take over the area. Finally at 9:45 that night, we got a call from AP Elder Jacobs telling us what was going down with transfers. You will never believe it! Hermana Whitney is coming back to Griffith (she was here a year ago) to finish her mission (she has 1 transfer left) and she is going to be my companion!!! I love her so much and am SO pumped to be her companion! The craziest thing happened right before we got the call. We had a random number text us asking if Hermana Whitney was there. We said she wasn't but asked if we could take a message. We found out he was a potential investigator she had found here 4 months ago but hadn't ever been taught because he always wanted Hermana Whitney. Coincidence? I think not!!! So yeah, I am so sad to be losing Hna Escobar, but this is the best possible outcome I could ever think of!!!
Sunday: Was a super busy day filled with a lot of goodbye's for Hermana Escobar. Church was good, the less active family that we are working with a lot, were at Church and their son passed the Sacrament for the first time! It was the coolest thing ever! It was also amazing because the other deacon in the branch, was also there and so we had two deacons passing the Sacrament for the first time ever in the history of the branch, it was the coolest! Everyone is so sad to be seeing Hna Escobar leaving, they truly love her and she loves them so much! That afternoon we went to Chicago Heights and stopped by a lot of people to say goodbye and let her take pictures. We then had our dinner with the branch Presidente and his family. They are such a cute little family, we love visiting with them so much!
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| Happy 4th of July!!! |
So that was our CRAZY week! A lot happened and a lot is about to change! I am so excited and also so sad that Hna Escobar and I won't be companions any more. I have learned so much from her and we have been through so much together. I don't think and hope I won't ever have a relationship like this with another companion on my mission! We are tight! Thank you so much for all of your love and support! I love you all! Have an amazing week and I will talk to you all and tell you about my adventures next week!
Hermana Allyse Meanea
