Called to Serve: one last hurrah from the grave

Hello, hello my cute friends and fam!! I bet none of you were expecting an email from me today, so SURPRISE!!!

I've been back home for almost three months now and thought I would give one last little update on the end of my mission and my life moving forward. I've been getting asked the same questions over and over, so this should help to answer everyone's questions all at once haha! But before we dive in, let me just say THANK YOU SO SO MUCH to every one of you for the prayers and fasting on my behalf! I have felt so much love and support from so many people and have seen miracles that I know are only because of the combined faith of so many of you! Les amo con todo mi corazon!!

FAQ

Q: What's wrong with your stomach?

A: We never found a for sure answer to that guy, but what the doctors have seemed to go with is that I got a bad infection or stomach bug that basically destroyed my stomach nerve endings. Whenever I ate, it hurt my stomach because food would just chill there and my stomach wasn't registering that anything was there to digest. So I would get nauseous and puke everything with no pattern as to what it might be. In the field, they did blood and stool testing and that super cool ultrasound, but everything came back normal. When I came home, the doctors redid the tests plus a few more. They did a scoping of my stomach where they put a camera down to look around, but all they saw was inflammation because I was throwing up all the time. Next, they fed me radioactive eggs and took x-ray photos to watch how fast I digested my food. After two hours, nothing had digested, but in the next two hours, everything digested speedy quick and just showed that my metabolism was good to go as soon as my stomach figured out there was something to digest. Still unsure what started it all, but that's the gist!

Q: What have you done about it?

A: A little bit of everything honestly. Anti-nausea pills, lots of rest, acupuncture, cupping, stomach massages, the likes. Everything has helped in their own way, but mostly time is the best medicine at this point, and it's working because I'm better and better each day!

Q: So what have you been doing?

A: The first week or so, I pretty much just chilled in bed and did my movie and music catchup real fast haha. But after that got extremely boring, I signed up for a few institute classes, started door dashing when I felt up to driving, swimming laps a couple of times a week, reading lots and lots of books, and going for walks and eventually some runs. I've been able to go to the temple a handful of times, spend lots of time with family and friends, and just enjoy the downtime that I know I'll miss in a few months.

Q: Was it hard to leave? Do you want to go back?

A: Yes! I was on the struggle bus at the beginning of the mish, but with each transfer, I was happier and happier! When I got sick, I was on that joyful mission high! Confident in teaching lessons, loving the work and enjoying the busy schedule, cracking jokes in Spanish, and so focused on serving and loving others outside myself. I did not want to go home, hence the reason it took five weeks of being sick to finally put me on a plane haha. I thought when I went home that I would heal up and be back out within a few weeks, but obviously, that's not what happened haha. After about two months home, I decided I needed to make a decision of whether I would be going back to school or back to the mission. I fasted and prayed a lot to know what to do, but was not getting an answer either way. This last week, I went down to Provo, Vernal, and Logan to spend some time visiting mission friends and family and meeting with school advisors to be in both environments and see what felt right. I met with my mission president and we had a good lil heart to heart about life and missions and school and everything. At first, it made me really miss the mission and want to be back, but as we continued to talk I felt peace and knew that my mission was complete. Bittersweet, but it was good to reflect back on good memories and at the same time be excited about all the success that the missionaries are having there now. As soon as I stepped foot on Utah State campus, I knew that is where I needed to be.

Q: Are you sad you never made it to England?

A: Yes and no. When I first got my call, it took probably a good month to finally feel like England was meant for me. But in reality, it just never seemed real. I was excited to go when I met other missionaries going to Birmingham over the summer on zoom and wanted to meet them in person. When I got my reassignment to Provo, I laughed at first, but I felt the strongest spirit and peace that it was exactly where I needed to be. When I got the email saying I was going to England, it was a bittersweet feeling. I was so excited to finally be going to my original assignment, but I also knew I would miss Provo with my whole heart. Sometimes I wish I was in England when I see all my pals out there having unique experiences that I was looking forward to, but overall I know Heavenly Father had a plan all along for me. So obviously England will just have to be the next vacation destination!

Q: What's your plan now?

A: I can definitely smell an engagement ring and wedding flowers in the near future. Just KIDDING, solo bromas jaja (that means jokes mom)! For now, the plan is to head back up to Utah State for school in January. I'm switching my studies from education to a double major in Spanish and Business (accounting, finance, econ, management, not sure quite yet...), which I'm super excited about! Being in Logan last week was so so good, so I'm looking forward to the new semester. In the meantime, Bear Lake for Thanksgiving, a girl's trip to Dallas and NYC with my sis-in-law, and Christmas with the fam! The next couple of months are going to fly!

Q: What lessons have you learned from it all?

A: buena pregunta aka good question! And I could write a ten-page essay to answer that question...oh wait I did (read on if you dare hehe), but basically, to summarize it all into a few words OUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS AND LOVES US SO SO MUCH! I have seen his hand through miracles and tender mercies, answered prayers and people, experiences and trials, and so much more during my time as a missionary. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know that he loves each and every one of you more than you can possibly imagine!! His gospel is big truths!!

LOVE YOU ALL! les amo mucho, hermana dougall :))