As you already heard from Elder M's mom, we spent all
of Friday night at the hospital. So here's the whole story. There's this rule
in the mission, that we have to be in our apartments at 9:30. Elder M
has a heart arrhythmia, which means that his heart beats 3 times instead of 2,
as well as a problem with one of his heart valves. His chest will sometimes
hurt when the condition acts up, but the doctors and cardiologist told him that
he was completely fine, and not to worry about the pains. That was before his
mission. This last week, the pains changed and came more strongly and more
frequently, and he was getting out of breath every time it happened. We got
permission from one of the mission doctors and President C to go to the
hospital to check it out. We left at 5:00 pm. We borrowed the Sisters' car,
(because the ZL's didn't answer the phone), and drove down to the
Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa. That was a good 30 minute drive from where we
are. I pretty much threw down some Tokyo Drift because the mission doctor told
us to get there fast. We got there and checked into the Urgent Care unit.
Around that time, (about an hour and a half later) the ZL's call to ask why we
called. "'Cause we're at the hospital. Thanks, bye." The doctors then
did an EKG test on Elder M to monitor his heart beat, and they found a
couple of things that made them concerned. The doctor said he was worried about
the valve "click", because it could be a very dangerous condition.
So, he sent us, (me walking, Elder M in a wheelchair being pushed by a
nurse), over to the Emergency Room. We rolled in, and got sat down in the
waiting room. 30 seconds later, we got in. After another EKG, some blood tests,
and some talking, they sat us down to wait for a bit. We sat by this woman who
was a Wiccan, and she was very loud. VERY LOUD INDEED. And I swear she was high
on speed or something. She couldn't focus on anything. She told us all these
stories about her being on drugs 'n stuff. Then I asked her what Wicca-ism was.
Her words: "We believe in the universe and stuff, and that you can take,
like, energy from the things around you, and use that energy to make magic that
puts energy back into the universe, and then it, like, makes it so that the
energy comes back to you." My words: "So what you give....you get in
return?" "Yup." And that was it. When she said magic, I was all
like "WITCHCRAFT WITCHCRAFT WITCHCRAFT SORCERY EEEEUUUUUGGGGHHHHH" in
my head. Yup. Then this other crazy lady with no teeth thanked me for saving
her. I'm still confused about where that came from. She was just sitting there,
and then, "HEY. THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME." . . . .o_______o. . . .Yup.
So they took us back to a room, put my companion on a bed, and several nurses
then came in and asked the same exact questions. I swear, Elder M must
have explained his heart condition around 5 or 6 times in that one room alone.
In the midst of all that, they took him back to get X-rayed, and left me alone
in a HUGE waiting room that was completely empty...except for a black lady who
was on the public phone at the reception desk. I kid you not, she was crazy.
She starts off the phone-call with the operator, who finds the number, and puts
her through. Then..."Yes. I would like to report a monster roaming the streets
of San Diego. (I wasn't quite sure if she'd actually said "monster",
so I started listening in.) I am calling from the Grossmont Shopping center,
and this monster is within a 3-mile radius of my location. This monster has GOT
to be stopped. It is going around the streets, calling people names, insulting
them because of their social class, putting them down, and wreaking havoc, and
it needs to be stopped, preferably by a military force. So we need to get some
tanks and soldiers or somethin' down here to apprehend this monster. It is
going around, insulting the minority and giving them a hard time for what they
represent, and it needs to be stopped. Y'all need to get some ministers down
here to do some prayers or something. Just make sure that they are Caucasian,
because the monster is racist and prefers Caucasian people. So, get some
military people and some ministers down here to take care of this monster, and
it will be appree-shee-ated. Thank you, bubye." I wish I was joking, but
I'm not. Progressively, my face changed from moderately interested, to
completely mortified. "O___________O'........ I mean, I was alone, without
my companion, it was 12:30 at night, and I was just confused. Straight up. They
then gave Elder M a quadruple dosage of Ibuprofen in liquid form, and
shot it into his thigh. They also gave him a shot to do the CAT scan which
makes you feel like you're peeing all over your body. He said it was the
weirdest sensation of the night to get that shot. They then told us that there was
nothing life-threatening about what was going on with Elder M, which
frustrated the both of us. Then we went and stayed the night at the mission
doctor's house. They gave us a huge omelet the next morning. So. Adventures for
days.
We pretty much didn't do much after that. We practically zombied around on Saturday and Sunday, we were so darn tired. Believe me. Missionary work makes you tired enough. Staying up until 4:00 am while your companion goes through tests, scans, shots, needles, and the like, makes you MUCH MORE EXHAUSTED. Yesterday, we finally had some energy to do some service and missionary work. We weren't able to meet with V because of him and his family going out for the night 5 minutes before we got to his door. We ended up going with a recent convert named E to Cold Stone, got some ice cream, and had some heart-to-heart with him now that his girlfriend is going on a mission. He's above the age to serve, and so he's kind of bummed about it, but we had some good time to just sit and chat with him.
OOH. Last Wednesday, we had an appointment to meet up with D and his family at the Mormon Battalion. It was transfer day, so we were just going to have some members meet us there to give us a ride back so that the other elders could go back to unpack and not have to wait for us. We were dropped off at the Mormon Battalion, met up with our members, and waited. We then got a text from D's sister, N, saying that a family thing had come up, and that they weren't able to make it. So...we just went on the tour with our members since it would've been a waste without them. They then took us to Carl's Jr., and we had a good talk/lesson with them. We then got home and did some contacting for a bit.
While I studied a few days ago, I found a huge connection between Joseph Smith and Mormon. (SHADOWS AND TYPES, SAY WHAAAAT) At the age of 10, they both were children who were sober and sound-minded. (Compare Mormon chapter 1 and 2, and JSH chapter 1) Lucy Mack Smith, in one of her journals, said that Joseph was pensive and melancholy at that age. Both moved south around 11 years old; Mormon to Zarahemla, Joseph from Vermont to New York. At the age of 16, Mormon took command of a Nephite army. At the age of 17, (almost the same age), Joseph Smith was called to be the prophet of the restoration, and he said that "God had a great work for me to do." At the age of 24, Mormon was called by Ammaron to find the records in the Hill Shim and begin the compilation of the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith, at the age of 24, translated the Book of Mormon into English. Mormon's calling was to be the "author" of the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith was called to be the "finisher" by translating and revealing the doctrines therein. Both were taught by prophets, Mormon by Ammaron, Joseph by Moroni. Both reluctantly commanded armies, Mormon with the Nephites, Joseph with the Nauvoo Legion. Both were of the tribe of Joseph, and both apply to the scriptures found in 2 Nephi 3:7-15. Mormon's father was Mormon. Joseph's father was Joseph. Mormon gathered his people to Cumorah for a final battle. Joseph gathered the church members to Nauvoo to strengthen and protect the church. Mormon saw the end of his people, and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Joseph saw the beginning of the gathering of Israel, and saw the end of the Dark Ages. Both sealed their testimonies with their blood, and had family members as a second witness to their testimony, i.e. Mormon/Moroni, Joseph/Hyrum.''
Other than all of that crazy stuff, not much has happened this week. Well...a lot has happened, but not much else than what has been said already.
Have a great 4th of July! I'll be spending it with you next year!
-Love, Elder Crook
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