Well, it’s been a fun morning. I’m at the Internet Shack with all the Missionaries from Iquitos and they keep looking at me and asking what happened to me. I think I’m funny, I keep responding with “What HASN’T happened to me?” We all get a good laugh out of it. It’s like Hermana Gomez said, “Hermana Simonson always seems to find a way to be made famous!”
First things first, I got the package!!!!! This goes against everything I believe, but I will admit that I love the oils. What would I do without parents to take care of me?
This week was…well…I don’t think there is a word to describe it. It was a week. Thursday night, we were walking in the rain and I was a little dizzy and wasn’t paying attention, and (please hold your laughter) I fell into a sewer. Like, a big old manhole.
I was walking and, next thing I knew, I was up to my waist in fecal matter. It hurt. A LOT. We got back to the house and, as the adrenaline passed, I realized that I was in a lot, a lot, A LOT of pain. I got washed up and laid down and my companions looked at my leg and almost died. Calls were made and at about eleven o clock at night, a nurse showed up at our house, sent by President Gomez. She saw the wound on my purple, swollen, bleeding leg and started examining it and explained that a vein was out of place and that something could be broken and talking about surgery and so many things and I was sent into complete shock and fainted as my companions carried me to the bathroom.
When I came to, the nurse was hovered over me and apologized for what she was about to do. She put a towel in my mouth and told me to bite it. As she began to pour disinfectant on the open wound, I couldn’t help but scream and cry. I have never experienced anything so painful. It must have been a sight to see. I was laying there, with a towel in my mouth, sweating and shaking and crying and SCREAMING like I have never screamed in my life. She wrapped the wound and gave me some pills and ordered us to go to the Hospital first thing in the morning.
When I got to the Hospital they put me in a wheelchair and did X-Rays and Ultrasound and just about everything possible. Long story short, there were no serious complications, but the bruising and scrape and infection was really bad. I was ordered to rest for at least a week and told to find crutches.
As we sat there, waiting for the medicine to be ready and a shot for the pain and all that stuff, the Zone Leaders called and said they were coming to the Hospital and that if I wanted a blessing they were willing to do it. When they placed their hands upon my head, I felt calm at last. The words of the blessing were so clear and incredibly powerful.
“The Lord wants you to know that he is very, very mindful of you and your situation. He knows every trial you are facing in your mission and in your life. He cares about you. That is why you are still in this Zone. This is why you are with two companions. Everything WILL be okay.” Then, after six months with me, the Zone Leaders accomplished their dream-they saw me cry.
Elder Belnap pushed me out of the room and the two of them sat down to talk to me. They looked up at me and said “Honestly, with EVERYTHING that has happened to you, how are you feeling right now? We have never seen anyone pass through so many trials at once.” They listened to everything and asked “Honestly, Sister, what keeps you going?”
I didn’t know how to respond. A few weeks ago, Hermana Gomez had told me that the things that were keeping me going and would keep me in the mission were vitamins, my testimony, and going running every morning. “Well….running is out. So I guess it’s testimony and vitamins?” We all laughed.
The next day, I remember laying there and an almost audible voice tormented me. I realized that my two companions were stuck there, unable to work, just because I was sick. The mission would have just been better off if I wasn’t here. I was just costing them money and keeping my companions from being able to work. I have never cried so much in my life. I felt hopeless. I had no point in being here. I have never felt so depressed before.
That night, the Zone Leaders came over later to give me my crutches. Elder Avila got them all adjusted for me and then Elder Belnap (who is 6’9) tried to show me how to walk up the stairs with crutches and fell over on the stairs. I almost died of laughter. In that moment, with my leaders and companions there and me laughing my head off, everything was suddenly okay. I remembered that, when I was set apart, I was promised Guardian Angels. In that moment, I was looking at a couple of them.
Sunday, we got to church just as the Bishop announced that I would be speaking. As I made my way up to the pulpit, everyone turned around to look at me with my crutches. I was so embarrassed. I got up and gave a normal talk and sat down. Everything was silent and I noticed that many members were crying. The Bishop, who wasn’t on the Program, got up and spoke tearfully about my example and faith and how I was there and as happy as every even though I was in pain.
Many members came up to me crying and committed to never miss a Sunday, even if they were sick, because of my example. That’s when I realized that, even if I can’t exactly do much right now, just being here and being who I am is changing lives. I know that I didn’t make a wrong choice when I decided to stay here. I know this is where I belong…no matter what happens.
Love- Hermana Simonson
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