Leprosy – July 20, 2015

My family!! Hello!

Fire and brimstone is nothing short of at least once a week being told to go to hell and it is actually becoming very funny. Maybe it's the fact that I was on drugs all week (explanation to come), but I actually start laughing after each time. I guess I just needed to vent last week, but it felt good to share my testimony. I'm glad you all enjoyed it. :)

I finally got the Gathering Post for January-June! Apparently it was sent to my first area and made it through the grapevine to Elder Moyer a month later. I loved it! Marissa went to prom with Jens?! And she got honors for perfect grades too. Proud of that girl! She's a babe. I'm related to her. 

I'll be missing France vacation.  But that's okay! Give everyone my love and big hugs for me! Also, the mailbox gets very empty sometimes. I would enjoy a few letters from my cousins. 

Okay, now onto this week. You probably want to know about the hives. It's actually a really funny story and I think it is appropriate to start this story off with a picture of this guy...

  

Yeah, that's basically how it felt. 

TUESDAY: So, the weather has become increasingly more hot and humid. If you want to know exactly what it feels like here I will explain. Imagine being dunked three times in the ocean, dropped in the Sierra desert, rolled in the sand for a bit, and then blowed on with a large hairdryer all day long. And you're on a bike. 

Anyway, so our schedule ended up being super wonky. We started off our day biking down to the farthest part of our area which is a 45 minute bike ride in the sun. We had started off slow so we biked harder than we probably should have to make our appointment...who ended up not being there anyway. Due to poor planning on our part our next appointment was in the early afternoon at the top of our area. That we didn't have to bike so hard to get to, but it was still hot and we were sweating buckets. We ate lunch at the apartment and Sister Griffiths was smart enough to change out of her sweat drenched clothes and take a quick cold rinse-off shower. If I had known what was going to happen to me later, I probably would have done the same. The appointment at the top ended up not being there either (flippin flip flip!) so, we biked back down to the bottom of our area in the blazing sun because we had plans. No rest for the weary. 

It ended up really great! We were able to teach a lesson to a nice old lady as she was taking a break from yard work. She then accepted a Book of Mormon. As the day went on I started feeling a little itchier than normal, but I figured it was just the sweat and I brushed it off. We met this guy named Joe who is now a new investigator of ours. He is very logical which kind of sucks, but he is a great learner. I'm excited to keep teaching him. 

Anyway, we went to the Grillett family's home for dinner and as we were eating I had an itch underneath my arms and as I touch it I felt the hives. They were underneath both my arms and as I started looking farther they were also on my shoulders. Sister Grillett started freaking out because she thought she had cooked something I was allergic to. Anymoo, so I excused my self to the bathroom and ended up stripping all of my clothes. The hives had become so massive that they had taken over my whole back, shoulders, and down my legs. It was quite disgusting if I do say so myself. It was swollen and itchy and blegh! 

That was what the underside of my arm ended up looking like when we got back. Sister Grilllett and Sister Griffiths refused to let me bike back home so she drove us. Called Dr. Alguire, the mission doctor, and he got me a prescription for 20mg of prednisone (steroids!). Took a freakishly cold shower, took my drugs (three that night), went to bed. 

WEDNESDAY: Woke up feeling great! Took only one pill like I was told. The hives were gone, everything was good, it was going to be a great and productive day! WRONG! So wrong! 

We got a ride from the Hermanas to take us to the Ronald McDonald House for our service time and there was a little hive spot on my forearm, but I figured it would go away because we weren't doing any strenuous effort and we were inside. Basically, all we did was clean and sweep. Then, I started to feel it. They started growing on the upper part of my thigh so I took a pen and drew around it to see how fast it was growing. Rapidly. Very rapidly. 

Sister Grillett picked us up after our day of service so we could grab our bikes. As we started walking (Sister Griffiths wouldn't let me bike, plus it hurt to sit anyway) they started spreading faster and they itched so bad it hurt. I have never felt that kind of pain on my skin before. There came a point where I didn't want to walk in the sun anymore. So we hid in a gas station while we called the doctor. As we were talking the hives had spread up to my face which as not the most comfortable feeling in the world. In fact it took all my willpower not to touch any part of my flesh. 

We were then told to go to urgent care. Woo hoo! Once gain we were in Sister Grillett's car and her children took possession of our bikes. When we got to urgent care I had to fill out a crap ton of paperwork whilst slowly dying. Everything's fine! Mom, you remember this part! Yes, I should really memorize my social security number. It was great to hear your voice by the way! 

Anyway, finally got in. The doctor looked at me once and said I was having an allergic reaction. Really? I didn't notice. So, she put me on 40mg of prednisone and a 24 hour allergy medication which I have been on all week. I talked to Brother Nimtz, who is a plastic surgeon, and told me I was suffering from prickly heat. Basically, I am allergic to high high and extreme exertion when they are combined. 

I will be sending pictures of just how bad it was that day. 

I have not had to worry too much about it since I've been on steroids every day. Hopefully, they won't return or I'll have to go back to the doctor again. Yesterday was my last day on steroids so we'll see how everything goes. Should be great and I'll take better care of myself this time. Promise. :) 

Sunday was the best day ever! So we went to the bottom of our area again because we have two referrals that we have been trying to see all week and I really felt we should go there. By the time we were about to head back so we could be picked up for our dinner appointment I saw this family walking inside their home from their car. We biked on over and introduced ourselves. The mom asked us a few questions, looked at the card we gave her, looked back at us and said that her girls really needed to talk to us. She invited us right in and we sat down with the family. Most of the girls were foster. There was N, S, M, and J. They were all very intrigued as we started to talk about the gospel. They were all really smart and loved the answers we had to their questions. They were even excited to have us come back! And they are all teenagers! 

As we were leaving, the mom (who had been in the kitchen during the discussion) came to us and started to get emotional. She said that normally she would never let us in her home, but as we talked to her she had felt this overwhelming peace come over her and she knew that we need to come inside. As she spoke she began to tear up and gave us a tremendous hug. We told her that it was most definitely the Spirit of God and she agreed whole heartedly. I am so freaking excited to come back! 

I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost. What a powerful influence it has! I don't think I really understood just how powerful it was until that moment. It made me super grateful to be worthy of it's presence so that it could touch the hearts of those around us. What great blessing! 

You know what else is a blessing? My legs look fantastic! I have a testimony of biking. Missionary work looks great on me, haha! 

The days are just flying by so fast! My birthday is in two weeks! Woooo! 

But seriously, I had no idea time could go this fast. July is almost over! What happened?! 

Sister Griffiths and I are extremely grateful that we only have to serve one summer in Kentucky. It is brutal. We're avoiding grass like the plague and it had kept the chiggers at bay. Not one bite this week! Yeah! 

I love you all so much and miss your guts!!! Have fun at family reunion! Get better! Get sleep!

I LOVE Y'ALL!! 

LOVE,

Raye

1-3 At urgent care
4-5 Two hours later. Those rags were in the freezer and pretty much
melted instantaneously on my boiling skin. Yay.

6-8 Biking in the Heat

9- My hive face. :) the picture doesn't do it justice. 

10- What my leg looked like on Friday. 

11- Drew this a couple weeks ago. Thought it was pretty darn funny. :)