We found another guy named C who's about 32. He lived in the US for 15 years and also doesn't belong to any other church. He's really interested in the Book of Mormon and being forgiven of his sins. His 14 year old brother is also pretty interested since he's madly in love with one of the youth here in the branch.
So the craziness started Thursday. Actually, more like Tuesday. Elder A's tooth started to hurt really bad, and by Thursday he couldn't take it anymore. So we went to the dentist and found out he had an infection in his tooth. It was so bad that she couldn't do anything about it right then, so he started taking pills for the infection so that it goes down a little bit. Hopefully they'll be able to operate on it this week. But it didn't stop there. It was still hurting him really bad on Friday, and to go along with it he had a fever, chills, and his body was aching all over. Not to mention the diarrhea. Friday night he couldn't sleep at all because he was so sick, which was awful since we had to get up and 4 in the morning. You may be asking why--because we were going to the temple!!! The branch had a trip scheduled that day at 5 am and we had planned to go with them. But it turns out the van we rented was just a minivan, and more people than we had planned on showed up. We weren't about to stuff 13 people into a dodge caravan in a two hour trip to Guadalajara, so Elder A and I went in the normal buses with another member (E, the one that said hi to you guys on skype.) That was good since he was able to sleep on the way.
 |
| Guadalajara Temple |
 |
| Elder A and Elder Pew with branch members at the temple |
The Guadalajara temple is beautiful! It was a great experience even though Elder A was so sick. It felt like going home...it's kind of hard to describe. It was cool doing a session in Spanish--once again, thank goodness for that little old man. I learned a lot and understood a lot better why missionaries go through the temple before leaving on the mission. Look for that when you go, Timo. Anyway, we just did one session so that we could get back to the lesson that we had at 4. We got back and went straight to the doctor because he was feeling worse. His fever had gotten worse and he had to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so. They just asked us what was happening, did a normal little checkup without testing anything, and told us to go by 4 different pills to cure his intestines. So we did. But then Sunday he was even worse. He could barely walk. I had to find someone else to teach the youth because he couldn't stay standing in Gospel Principles. After church we went to the house and he slept for a bit, then we went and left him with a member in splits while I went out with a 23 year old to go teach since Elder A couldn't do anything. It was a good experience since this kid is finally about ready to go on a mission! But then that night we had to go to G to sleep over because we had mission conference Monday in Guadalajara and we all went together as a zone in the same van. That night, Elder J and I gave him a blessing, and he woke up Monday morning (at 4 again) feeling a lot better. He said that now all that was hurting him was his stomach, but his body felt fine. Thank goodness for the priesthood! Miracle!
Mission Conference was amazing! Elder Benjamin De Hoyos of the Seventy was there along with D. Todd Christofferson!!! I got to shake his hand!!! He talked to us about repentance and how that should be the focus of everything we teach. He also promised us that in the next few days, we would have an experience to help us know that the Lord is pleased with our service. It totally happened to me yesterday. Overall, it was an experience I will never forget. I know that man has been called of God to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. The church is true!
 |
| Mission Conference with Elder Christofferson |
It was also super fun because I got to see all my friends from the mission: Elder D (who's in Auditorio!), Elder B, Elder C, Rockford, Elder S, Elder E, Elder R, Elder A, and many others. Also, we were combined with the Guadalajara East mission, so I saw Dakota Murdock from Lone Peak and my friend Mason from my BYU ward (see photo attached). It was great.
 |
| Elder Pew and BYU friend Elder S from the Guadalajara East Mission |
We talked to a mission doctor who told us that he thinks Elder A has a parasite, so he told us to by a certain pill for that and it seems to be working. Monday morning about 4 different members called us to ask how Elder Atoche was doing. It's been really cool to see all the support we have from them. I'm so grateful that they're so wonderful!
That was my nutsy week. Still don't know if there'll be 2 more missionaries in S
this transfer, so maybe this will be my last week here. How many times have I said that? We'll see. But it's been an amazing experience. I love you all! The Church is true! Christ is our Savior! Have a great week!
this transfer, so maybe this will be my last week here. How many times have I said that? We'll see. But it's been an amazing experience. I love you all! The Church is true! Christ is our Savior! Have a great week!
Elder Pew
