Donating Plasma Disaster. But all is well.

From Sept 4, 2017:

 

Hello Mommio!!

I'm doing very very well :) It's great because I actually have sufficient time to write my emails this week, so It's a little more stress free. :D

Yeah I've gotten pretty lucky with my companions on my mission! They've all been pretty hard workers for the most part and I've enjoyed my time with all of them. I love the lesson you had on happiness. Happiness is a concept not understood very well by a lot of people. They know what it feels like, but they dont know how to achieve it long term. Adam and Eve are a great example, because they made one of the hardest decisions of all time, just for the chance to experience true happiness through the mortal experience of feeling miserable and alone sometimes. They understood the concept and took the necessary steps to find happiness. That is of course through the Savior.

 

 

We had a really good Sunday this week too. The entire ward had gone to the temple that week and testified of the importance of it and their testimonies were very sweet and powerful. I got to translate them into English for the part of the congregation that only Spoke Englisch.  

 

I found out that the day I will be released from Service is the 25th of April, 2018. This is the day I will either be sent on my way home, or the day you will be able to pick me up. I talked to President about it at interviews just to be sure. So I guess it's a little earlier than we thought. Only by a few weeks though. Speaking of which, have you guys decided if you are coming to pick me up or if I am coming home to you instead? That would probably be a good thing to know soon.

I heard about the Hurricane, but I don't know much about it. I was told it was big. What's being done to help the situation? Are the Helping Hands over there yet?

Skylar told me your Seminary class was awesome!!! She said there's no one else she'd rather have teaching, and I'm sure the feeling is shared with your students. I'm glad to hear you're not nervous, and I knew you wouldn't be. You have always been a good teacher. :) I also don't get nervous when I teach a class, but for some reason teaching a lesson to a single investigator can stress me out a little bit more. Keep goin!!

Well, this week was pretty good! And exciting!! Like I said, I've been translating every sacrament Meeting into English over our Little Translation devices. It's a challenge, and I wouldn't say I have the knack for realtime translation (I love translating documents, when I have all the time in the world) but It's definitely not bad. I was surprised at how much my german has improved since the last time I had to do a sacrament meeting translation (Like a year ago, haha.)

So I went for my second required appointment to donate Blood Plasma (They can't use your Plasma until you go a second time) and it was kind of a hilarious catastrophe. First, they made a mistake putting the needle in my arm, so they had to stick my OTHER arm as well. (No Problem at this stage) and the donation process went just fine. After the donation process, however, I felt so tired and wrecked. And a little dizzy. That didn't happen the first time at all, but it was whatever. I got home, and they had told me to wait 2 hours before taking my bandages off, so I did. I took them off, no problem. But then I stood up. THAT, my dear Mother, is when my blood just started POURING out of my arms all over everything. -_- I guess the injection points had not really sealed up, AND the bandages had been put on too tight, creating a lot of pressure in my veins (which explains the release of pressure upon removing them) 

 

So I freaked out in my true fashion and we scrambled to stop the steady flow of precious lifeblood that was currently running out of my body (My Body Needs the blood to Survive) and onto the floor and my shirt. (The floor and my shirt do NOT need my blood to survive) Eventually after scrambling with some paper towels, we stopped the flow. It was so difficult, because it was happening in both of my arms! 

 

My precious blood...

 

Elder Palfreyman thought I was going to die. Basically, I was dizzier after that, but It's all ok. I only bled profusely for about 30 seconds before it stopped. But after that my arms hurt for about 2 days and I still have huge bruises where the injection sites were. Needless to say, after a short call with the Zone Leaders and an examinaton of my personal feelings about the subject, we decided it would be a good idea NOT to donate a 3rd time. :) All is well in Zion.

We had a cool FHE at the church on Monday, where the sisters invited a friend of there's who has been taking the lessons. She's 18. During the spiritual thought, Sister Kennard bore her testimony on the power of prayer and the Spirit was so strong. She was brought to tears, and as I glanced at the investigator to see her reaction, tears had started to flow from her as well. I think someone will be baptized soon. It's just amazing to see people discover the goodness of God, and to be a part of the process.

We met some cool guys this week. The Bishop talked to us at ward council and gave us a heads up that an old investigator had called him and wanted to meet with the missionaries. He gave us his number and address. We called the man and set up an appointment for Sunday afternoon. Every time I thought about this appointment, I had the feeling that it would be really good. I felt that God was telling me that we needed to especially prepare ourselves spiritually for it. So we did. 

 

We showed up, and entered into the Apartment of a man (in his pajamas) that had lost control of his life. It was filthy, and it smelled very heavily of cigarette smoke. As we entered the living room, we were greeted by two other friends who we weren't expecting. Two of the men were about 40 years old and one boy looked to be between 14-16. They all looked very disheveled. We introduced ourselves and sat down. It was very very quiet, and they looked at us with some sort of hopeful expectancy. They were very polite. I asked them a few questions about themselves, and after a few minutes, one of them asked me what we do. 

 

When your investigators don't show.

 

 We explained to them that we were missionaries, called to preach the Gospel of Christ and invite others to find out our message was true. We asked him why they had called us, and were immediately answered with: "We are on the search for God, and we Need help." turns out, one of the men had met with Missionaries about 7 years ago, even pulling out his Book of Mormon to prove it. He hadn't read it. The conversation turned into one of the best lessons I've ever been blessed to take part in on my Mission. It was short, it was powerful, and these men were humble and listening. 

I felt power behind the words the Holy Ghost was speaking through us, and through our testimonies I felt that these men had been touched. They have problems, but are willing to search for solutions, and one man had, in his hardship, remembered the Mormon missionaries from a long time ago and had decided to contact us. They all want answers and healing. It was so cool. They're coming to church on Sunday next week, and we have another appointment scheduled with them after that. Please pray for them. They said they had met with some other religions before turning to us, and they felt very good about our invitation. That was one of my favorite experiences this week. :)

 

FROM A LETTER TO SKYLAR:   "Anyhoo, it must be weird to be the big kid in School now, huh?? I remember that strange Feeling in high School as well... Realizing that I was now the top dog, and no longer the runt of the litter. The Master, no longer the apprentice. The Boss, and no longer the underpaid secretary... the KING, and no longer the servant... THE MANAGER, and NO LONGER the BURGER FLIPPER... THE ONE SOURCE OF ALL WISDOM AND POWER IN THE UNIVERSE, AND NO LONGER THE LOWLY MORTAL!! *Cough* sorry. A Little carried away. I remember being a Senior too. Strange times."   CLASSIC TANNER - MISS THAT KID

 

 

Spare change is only good for a few things.

That's pretty much all the big stuff! it was a good week, and I can't wait to see what this next one has in store for us. :)

I love you Mom!! Thanks for the encouragement and love! And tips for working out xD I'll do my best to just be as healthy as I can. Love you so much, and I can't wait to hear from you again!!

Miss you!!

Love, Tanner