Trust me, I'm a Dentist

Hellooooooo family! And friends. And the general good people of the world.

So P Day is on Tuesday this week! Last Tuesday Zone Leaders were like, "Oh by the way we have ZTM on Monday so you wont be emailing your family." 

Thanks, guys. 

So I'm emailing you now!

Also in other news, we use our landlord's washer/dryer to do our laundry and our dryer totally broke. So we have a huge wad of clothes scattered throughout our apartment. And it's hard for clothes to dry when the air is humid here. 

Anyway.

This week was SOOOOO much better! We had 11 lessons as opposed to the 3 last week! And it's so cool to see the progress we've had with our recent convert. We met with her yesterday and talked about the importance of Christ and his Atonement. At one point she paused and went, "Oh....OH....I get it!" Sister R asked, "So...has anyone explained the atonement like that to you before?" "No! Just....give me a second for me to digest that......wow....that's really nice." 

Hopefully her anxiety will ease and she'll be able to get back to church. It was really cool!

Other cool experience - Since we first got here we've been meeting with a particular woman. It was interesting how we found her. Her family hasn't been active in about 8 years. When we first got here, the Bishop gave us a list of less active family members we can visit, and their family wasn't one of them. Honestly we don't know HOW we ever knocked on their door, but we did, and she was the one that answered it. Her reaction was priceless: "HONEY! HONEY! THEY BROUGHT SISTERS BACK! THEY BROUGHT THE SISTER MISSIONARIES BACK!" So we were like cool! Someone likes us! She was taught by the last sister missionaries.........10 years ago. 

So we visited with her, and her husband kept walking in and out, saying something a little hostile, then walking out. Turns out we're the first missionaries he's even allowed IN in at least 4 years, and before that he wouldn't let missionaries in either. He has a really hard time with missionaries. I guess the ones that baptized him stopped talking to him after they got transferred and he took it really hard. It was sad. But anyway, our first 4 visits with her were really frustrating for me. They were debates. And I was getting sooo frustrated. Then two times ago, she finally opened up to us and told us everything on why she hadn't been coming to church, and the really cool thing? She totally still has a testimony. 

However, while she's finally opening up to us fully and honestly, her family was watching Lord of the Rings. Afterwards, we listened and talked with her. And she said, "You girls are the first people I've told since the last sister missionaries came to visit me." 

We visited her again yesterday, and it was incredible to see the difference in her. I guess she had a really spiritual experience the night before and told us about it. She was calm. She listened. She didn't argue. We listened to her. She talked to us and was completely open with us. And she even said the closing prayer! She hadn't ever been willing to before, but now she was. I still feel like it'll be a long road for her coming back to church, but it was AMAZING to see the difference between how she started, and where she is now. And the thing is, I feel like I didn't do ANYTHING to do that. It was totally the Spirit! All I did was listen to her. And the Spirit testified to her that she could trust us. And since then, she has grown so much. I am so grateful and completely amazed still by the power of the Holy Ghost testifying of truth and comfort. 

Oh and her husband said hi to us. We felt loved. 

ALSO ONE MORE COOL EXPERIENCE! There is a recent convert who has recently stopped going to church and EVERYONE has had a hard time contacting her - us included. Well before transfers, we texted her asking if we could see her again before transfers, just in case one of us were leaving, and she said she was willing to. It was there that she completely opened up to us again about why she stopped coming. And at one point she said, "I don't even know if I will ever come back!"......we were silent for just a few seconds, then she said, "Well.....I guess I'd LIKE to come back...." 

Thank you Spirit. 

But like seriously. 

A few days later she texted us again and asked if we'd be willing to meet/give her a missionary lesson. And we were like WOAH sure! So while we're giving her the lesson, we started talking about the temple in the middle of it, and baptisms for the dead. She started talking about how she found a huge book of old pictures of her ancestors, then in the middle she said, "....I think I need to start working towards getting back to the temple. I need to do family names." 

yyyyyyyyyEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS you do. 

Yeah I still feel like this totally isn't our doing. This is completely the Lord's work. 

On the sad news, there's a new preacher in town....whose religion will remain anonymous....but he doesn't like Mormons. One couple we were teaching used to attend this congregation....and we got a text from them saying they were no longer interested in learning about Mormons or our bible. 

Um, c'mon guys. How many times do I have to tell you? THE BOOK OF MORMON DOESN'T REPLACE THE BIBLE. YOU CAN'T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER. DEAR GOODNESS. But we sent a nice text to them back and we ended on good terms....but I was still super bummed :'(. 

But anyway. This week was a lot better, and I hope this next week will be, too. 

And now for possibly the highlight of my week. It started Friday. We were walking to the eternal investigator of Owego's house, when I looked at my foot and noticed I had a rash. Hmmm. Curious. It was itching like the devil, so I called Sister Wirthlin and was like, "Hey....I gotta rash...what should I do?" she told me a special itch cream that might help and I was like, "Thanks!" and went about my merry way.

 After our lesson, we headed over to a lady's house to give her a lesson. As we're teaching her, I looked at my foot. Completely swollen. COMPLETELY red, puffy, and swollen. And I'm like, "Well.....this can't be good." 

We sit down on her couch and I take off my shoe cause it's totally digging into the rash and making it HURT, man. After a while I look down and see that my pinkie toe is blue. I'm guessing because A) it's become blasted cold here and B) it wasn't getting any circulation because of the swelling and I couldn't bend my toes. 

So I'm trying to listen to the lady's concerns but in reality I'm thinking, "Oh my gosh my toe's going to fall off."

After, we went into the main town of Nichols.....I mean the main cluster of houses cause there really is no such thing as a large town here..... and I REALLY had to use the bathroom. By now my toe was back to a normal color, but my foot was still nasty looking. So we stop by a member's home, who also happens to be on the high council. He let us in to use his bathroom, and I take off my shoes. At one point he asks, "So....are you having foot problems?" 

"What? Oh. Kind of. Yeah I woke up with that rash but it should go down in a day or two."

"Oh my goodness. That thing looks infected. Sit down." 

So I do, and he sits down and just starts staring at it. After a minute, he goes, "I'll take you to the hospital right now." 

"What? No, it's really okay!" 

"It looks infected. Trust me, as a doctor I really think you need to get this looked at!"

The guy's a dentist. A retired dentist. 

"It's okay," I said, "I called Sister Wirthlin. She gave me some cream to put on it." 

"Well here!" he runs over to his medicine cabinet and pulls out a BUNCH of medication and says, "What kind of allergy medication do you use? Have some Benadryl." 

"Oh, um....Benadryl makes me really tired. I'll be fine, I promise." 

"Are you sure? I know one of the doctors at the hospital and he will see you in a split second! AND he's a foot doctor."
I REALLY wanted to point out the fact that if the guy's a foot doctor, he probably knows nothing about rashes and will tell me to put some itchy cream on it. But he could probably fix my flat-feet problem. 

Instead I said, "I'm really okay! I'll call Sister Wirthlin if I have anymore troubles." 

"I'll cover any expenses." 

"Thank you, but I really think I'll be okay."

"Oh my gosh! Is it a bug bite?!" he says as he starts poking it again. 

"OW! Okay yeah it's probably a spider bite or something! I'm probably allergic, it'll be FINE." 

Meanwhile, his wife - a retired nurse- is standing by him saying, "Honey. She's fine." "Honey, take it from the retired nurse. She's fine." "Honey. She'll take some allergy medication tonight. She's fine." 

After a few more minutes of him poking at it, I think he finally was getting the point that I would NOT let him take me to the doctor. We had a nice chat with him, then we went about our merry way and I thought it was over.

Then Saturday came. 

We're driving to a less active member's house to invite him to church, when the phone rings. Who was it? Sister Wirthlin. Curious. So I answer and she says, "Hello, Sister Stimpson! How's your foot doing?" 

"Oh, it's still pretty swollen and itchy, but it's gone down a lot."

"Okay, because a member of the high council called me last night.....he said he was a dentist?"

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" 

She then proceeded to tell me how he called her last night, and proceeded to tell her how I NEEDED to go to the hospital, because he's pretty sure it's infected and that I needed to get on antibiotics ASAP. The whole time Sister Wirthlin was saying, "Okay, well we have to take certain steps first. It's probably a bug bite she's allergic to and it'll go down in a few days so we'll try basic creams and medication first." 

"All right, but it looked REALLY bad. I think she needs to get to the hospital soon! Trust me, as a dentist I would advise you to get her on antibiotics soon!" 

"If it doesn't improve in the next couple of days, THEN she'll get on antibiotics." 

Meanwhile, President Wirthlin overhears this conversation and says to her, "Her foot's infected?! We need to get her to the hospital! She should get on antibiotics!" 

"Okay now just everyone hang ON! There are rules we need to follow!" 

So she tells me all this then asks, "So is your foot REALLY okay?" 

I'm busting up by now and I'm like, "YES! It's FINE! I DON'T need to go to the hospital!" I told her about our visit with him and said, "I swear as soon as he saw that he was ready to whisk me off to the hospital." to which Sister Wirthlin said, "I KNOW. He was telling me to whisk you off to the hospital too!" 

She said she'd let President Wirthlin and our ward member know, and made me PROMISE her I'd tell her if my foot got any worse. 

I'm glad I'm at least cared about!

So then Sunday came. We're driving into the parking lot and Sister R asks, "....Is that President Wirthlin walking in the church?" 

"What? No, that's Brother H." 

Then I turn to my left and look at a man sitting in his car.

"But THAT'S President!" 

"AH! OUR CAR HASN'T BEEN WASHED! WE'RE PARKING ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE LOT!" 

We go inside the chapel and sit down, and a few minutes later President and Sister Withlin walks in. He shakes my hand and says, "How's the foot?" 

Oh my gosh. 

"Gooooood." I said. 

So glad I'm known for that. 

Sister Wirthlin came over and asked to see it. And you know the sad thing? The swelling had gone down COMPLETELY by now. So it looks so wimpy. I showed it to her and said, "I SWEAR! It was big and nasty looking yesterday!" 

Anyway. My foot's fine. We had ZTM in Owego and that's why President and Sister Wirthlin were in town....though I WISH it were to check up on my foot. That'd make me feel special. 

Hope this week brings success! I love you all SOOO much!

Hurrah for Israel,

Sista Stimpsonian