Saturday, April 18, 2015

Sick with Dengue... and two cool updates :D

Hello Family and Friends!

Life is going great and I'm happy so that's all that matters. Yes, I have Dengue but no one should worry about it. I'm pretty sure I have Chikungunya as well but there isn't a test that you can get here to check to see if you have it. 

Dengue hasn't been that bad at all. I just had a fever but that's gone away and I'll start working again soon. I just have been soooooooooooooooo bored laying in my bed. I had to rotate from my bed to sitting in a chair every 20 minutes for 4ish or 5 days. I also said I have Chikungunya but we can't be 100% certain. When I first woke up on Wednesday, I felt paralyzed for a little bit until my joints adjusted. That symptom and the rash I've had is from Chikungunya. For a month or so, I'll be waking up in the mornings to little joint pains until it fades away. The Dengue part was just the fever and confusion. I haven't had any other symptom from what I can tell that is from Dengue. I feel great now though, just a little low on energy and ankle sores. After changes I bet I'll be working like normal again. When I went to get the blood test and got the results back, I was shocked to learn that I'd already had Dengue in the past as well. I do remember in El Sitio that I got really sick for one day and E. De Jesus gave me a blessing and the next day we were working again. Hermana Bowler said she's never heard of a one-day-Dengue Fever and that whatever it was, it was a miracle. Other than that, I haven't been sick at all on my mission. 

If you are worrying, don't worry. I'm fine. Life is still normal and I'm not dying in my bed. Even when I had my highest temperature, I just hopped in the freezing shower until it went down. :D I haven't had a fever for 2 days now. That's one plus of Honduras: cold, cold water.

In my spare time, I got to read and sleep. I read a bunch of the Book of Mormon again and the Pearl of Great Price... reading I've been wanting to get done for a while now. Elder Saucedo did a ton of reading too.  He was able to visit one of our investigators (Maria) and she committed to be baptized on the 2nd of May and Mia (her daughter) also said she'd be willing to listen to us again. Elder Saucedo told me it was an awesome lesson and that Maria started crying as she prayed about being baptized and was receiving her answer in her prayer. She is very ready to be baptized... She just needs to GO TO CHURCH! :D

On Tuesday, we had a run-in with a teen-age "hostile venue" as D. Todd Christofferson called it. We knocked on a new door the other day and a group of teenagers where there studying for school and invited us in. We asked them if they had heard rumors or jokes or anything about the church before but they didn't say anything. So I continued with the first article of faith and someone started asking the question if we worship Josè Smith or not. That was an easy question to answer. As we kept answering questions, the teenagers opened up and began asking questions freely. A few of them tried to contend and tell us lies and false perceptions about the church from what they've seen but we answered all their questions boldly and even the toughest questions they had for us, we answered. At the end of 40 minutes we invited them to learn more and they all wanted to but they were just on vacations from school that day. Every day they are at school until 10:30 pm  and they work during the day. So we pulled out all the pamphlets we had and wrote our names and number on them and they took them all. In total, I think we had a audience of 10 teenagers. One of them said we could go to his house on Sunday (yesterday) but I couldn't leave except to go to church yesterday. So, we'll go find him again and teach him again. I think we left a great impression with them. Most importantly, we felt the Holy Ghost as we were battered with questions, and the promise was fulfilled that we would have words fill our mouths as we spoke. It was a great experience. Hopefully we'll see a baptism or two from it in the near future.

Nothing else happened this week. I did get to listen to all the Oct Conference again from the MP3 you sent me, Mom. So thanks for that.

Love you all, and thanks for your prayers. Again, don't worry for me! I'm doing great and happy! :D
Elder Tuft
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Dad,
Regarding the mosquito spray... I can't use OFF spray anymore because it gives me a rash on my skin. That's why I have Dengue. The mission has been slow to get me a net for my bed until now. Hna Bowler executively ordered one for me. I've asked and asked and asked but missionaries come and go and forget and so it never happens. I just have really delicate skin so maybe a lotion would be the best solution for right now.

The scripture in Isaiah 58 was used in conference and I reflected over it afterward as well. I love the promise that God gives us that when we "shall call... He shall say, Here I am." We have a loving Heavenly Father. This week, I felt His love very clearly for me. Mostly, he shows His love for me by a warm, strong assurance that He's there for me.

Exciting news as always. Things are bustling! Glad you had some free time to yourself. :D Have a fun week! :D

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Mom,
I just wanted to clear up that Hna Bowler called because I said she should before I wrote to tell you I had Dengue and not because I'm in a bad condition. Dengue hasn't been anything but being bored and out of energy. Thanks for the prayers and fasts for me though :D I love you guys too!  

Just FYI: I can have Dengue four times and each time it's supposed to get worse. I guess I have two times to go then... ;D I won't be going to the south anytime soon either. It's really, really rare that I've had a mosquito bite here in Danli. There are more in the city areas and in the south area of the mission.

I'm glad you had a good time on choir tour. I don't know if you are still there right now but the pictures are great! Looks like you had a lot of fun. :D Phantom of the Opera was always one of my favorites for the music abilities that the actors have. It always blew me away!

I read your other letter but that was a BIG letter! WOW! No wonder it didn't send! :D Although I won't comment on it because I'm short on time, I just wanted to say that I did get and read it. :D Glad you loved conference! I loved it too!
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Kristen,
Yay for making it into the Music program! That took a long time for them to respond! I've often tried to imagine my life before the best two years and then I try to imagine going back to it. It'll be rough for me as well. It's just a new lifestyle that is necessary to provide for even more growth and more experiences and more happiness. 
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Megan, 
When did anyone tell me the gender of the baby? You may have told me but that tidbit didn't register until just now... Congrats! :D 

Love,
Elder Tuft

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