JOHNSON, MEGAN: UR & Cops & ER

Hola y'all!

I'm so sorry everyone, get ready for the longest email yet...

Monday was so fun this time. We chilled in the apartment in the morning, went and got groceries, came back and had lunch, then drove to Biloxi for the rest of the day. I was so bored last week that I basically forced our quad to go do something fun together jaja. We planned on going to this super cool looking place called the Sugar Factory that had cool drinks and crazy dishes with extravagant desserts. The only thing was that it's in a Casino and none of us are 21 yet but we thought we could get someone to walk us in so that was the plan. We got to the Hard Rock Casino and walked in and the lobby didn't have anyone checking for ID so we thought that we'd made it in!! Then we met this security guard dude named James and started talking to him. He called us angels, played basketball against BYU in his younger years and told us all this stuff about Biloxi. He was super cool, then he told us we'd been walking the wrong way to get to the Sugar Factory so he showed us the way around the corner and that's when we saw the ID table...we awkwardly told him we're not 21 and he said we'd have to have someone over the age of 30 escort us in and be with us the whole time and get special red bands to identify us as not being 21...so that was a fat rip. We even tried asking him to walk us in but he was getting off work so we were all pretty bummed. We did give him a Jesus card with our number on it though! Then we walked outside and went to a little Hurricane Katrina memorial which was cool and crazy to read some of the facts from what happened. Then since we were all craving dessert we drove to this place called The Yard Milkshake Bar cuz it looked like it had cool desserts too. Their milkshakes were huge! We all ended up getting bowls, mine had a whole slice of Cheesecake on top with edible cookie dough and ice cream on the bottom! It was so fun! Then we went to this place called Sharkheads, a souvenir place on the beach and got some stuff. Then we walked along the beach for the sunset before heading home. It was so fun! Then we got home and I had decided to call Sister Amos (mission President's wife) about going to the doctor for my face since it's still a little bruised from getting hit 2 weeks ago and there's a small bump on my cheek. She freaked out and said I had to go to urgent care tomorrow morning so that'll be exciting tomorrow. The rest of the night we just studied and contacted people.

On Tuesday morning we went over to Urgent Care to get my face and foot looked at. The doctor basically touched my face and said it looked like I had a previous injury or had gotten stitches because the skin was all stuck together in that area with a build up of scar tissue...basically I have a bump of scar tissue I have to rub with Vitamin E and a dimple on my upper cheek that wasn't there before I got hit in the face lol. Then I asked about my right foot because like 5 months ago I totally tripped over it and with hurricane cleanup and walking around Biloxi yesterday it was really hurting from being on my feet all day (like the top of my foot had sharp pain). She poked it and said it wasn't swollen and it happened so long ago it should be healed...so she told me to just take ibuprofen when I know I'll be on my feet and wrap it...in my head I was like "I'm just supposed to deal with this the rest of my life and take pain medication when it gets bad?!" So yup that was that. We came home, did our studies, had lunch and then went to the pharmacy to get me that medical stuff. I got Vitamin E oil for my face and an ankle compression sock thingy for my foot. When we got home I tested out my ankle thing and as soon as I walked with it my foot didn't hurt! That compression sock is a miracle! I didn't quite realize how much my foot hurt until the brace made it feel so much better. It was crazy! I think I've been walking on my foot weird to compensate for the pain and so it's just been wack! But I'm all good (for the most part) now! Then we invited a bunch more people to English class and headed out. On the way to the church building we realized we didn't have a key and the other sisters wouldn't get there until English class started...fat rip. So we just kept going and prayed that someone might be there who could open the church and there was 1 car in the parking lot! But the lady didn't have a key BUT she said her friend was on the way with her key! MIRACLE! Then her friend pulled up like 2 seconds later! The Lord really wanted us to have English class yall! So we went in and got all set up by like 5:15 for the class at 5:30 and then I heard voices in the halls. Then 2 people came around the corner! Their names are Juan and Miriam! They were super nice and Miriam even gave us hugs. Juan is from Columbia and Miriam is from Ecuador. They both knew a little bit of English but couldn't really form the best sentences and stuff. They were so sweet though and a funny pair. Miriam even started showing us pictures of all her kids and grandkids, she started getting a little emotional since they are still in Ecuador. Then Juan told us about his grandkids. So cute! Then it was 5:31 so we thought we'd get started and then 3 MORE PEOPLE walked in!!! That's 5 WHOLE PEOPLE AT ENGLISH CLASS!! MIRACLES! The 3 people that came in were Laura, Teresa and her teenage son, Yester (who already spoke English but was there to help his mom). We went over the first 2 lessons and it was so good! Although halfway through Miriam pulled up Google Translate and it said "we have to make this class enjoyable" and I died inside! She was so sweet! It was a good class! Then we printed out some more English class fliers and joined the Gulfport Ward Council. Then we all rushed over to Subway with the Elders and headed home. And yall will never guess what happened on the way home! I was driving and saw a cop behind me with his lights on, freaked out and switched lanes, he did too and then I got pulled over by this cop! It was on the main road and the speed limit was 35 and I was going like 40 and he was like "I was going 42 and you pulled ahead, gotta be cautious". I was about to tell him that we literally have a device that makes me not speed but he just warned me and then let me go. This was my very first time being pulled over!! And yall I didn't even pass him. This is what I think happened, so I took a different road than the other sisters on the way home from Subway. When I turned right onto the main road the cop was there and the sisters (in the exact same car as us) zoomed passed him and I never even caught up to them. I was next to the cop for like 5 seconds then he slowed down to talk to a lady in the middle of the road. So lowkey I think he meant to pull over the other sisters but whatever.

Wednesday was a long day so I apologize for how long this is about to get...but Wednesday morning I woke up to Sister Scrogham going to the bathroom all night long...she was having diarrhea and just not feeling good. So I told her to stay in bed while I went about my usual morning routine. Then she started throwing up, at one point I had to take a shower so I was trying to do it fast and left the door unlocked and right before I got out she came in to puke...that was fun to listen to…anyways she wasn't doing too good so we called Sister Amos who said the nurse would call us. An hour passed by and the nurse still hadn't called us. So I started trying to find the mission nurse and called like 5 different past mission nurses and couldn't find the current one! After SOO long we finally got a hold of her and she told Sister Scrogham to take sips of fluid to replenish her body and stuff like that, she puked while we were on the phone, Sister Amos wanted us to go to urgent care so we made the soonest appointment for 10:57am but the nurse didn't really want us to go until this afternoon so she told us to reschedule for later...but I had a feeling I shouldn't. Then I had personal study while helping Sister Scrogham get some things. Then she said she wanted to go to urgent care now, it was 10:40 and thankfully the spirit helped me to not cancel our appointment so we drove right there. It was nice that I had literally been there the day before so I knew how to get there, what they would ask, etc. She couldn't even back our car out, had to hold on to me to walk, looked super pale and I helped her fill out all her stuff so she just signed papers with a weak little squiggle then she went to the back. They even thought I was her mom (lol probs cuz she looks so small). After a few minutes the nurse told me to pull the car up and that they wanted her to go to the ER! I was like bruh what?! So I disobediently left the building of my companion to drive the car up to the front as they wheeled Sister Scrogham out in a wheelchair and told me to go to the ER cuz her heart rate was way high, 160 resting. So I rushed over to the ER as fast, and as smooth, as I could go. When we pulled up they got her a wheelchair, also thought I was her mom lol but since I wasn't they made me leave the building. Since we only have 1 sim card, I took both our phones so I could call Sister Amos and gave her our phone number to call when everything was done. Then I walked back to the car, alone and called Sister Amos. I told her what happened and she was worried that Sister Scrogham may stay there overnight. President Amos was in the background and said that the Longbeach sisters should just come pick me up. They wanted me to just leave her there. They had me go back into the ER to see if they knew how long she'd be there so I did, but she had only just gone back. Then I called the quad, well they were on exchanges with Wiggins so it was Sister Smart and Sister Thelin. They had gone biking to an appointment and had left the keys inside and were locked out so they couldn't come pick me up...of course everything goes wrong. But they were able to talk to the apartment people, get the apartment unlocked and drive over to me. Although I was there, all alone in the hospital parking lot for like 45 minutes because it took them a hot minute. It was weird to be alone for so long, I also really had to pee but oh well. Once they finally got there I went back into the ER for the last time to see how much longer. The front desk lady said they were just waiting on her x-rays and vitals and stuff. It was funny cuz this was like my 3rd time going in there alone so Sister Thelin was outside looking through the door cuz I didn't realize I didn't have a companion jaja. Then we drove home, it was my time in a trio. The mission was starting a missionwide fast at 1 for General Conference this weekend so in the car we joined that. But once we got home I had to eat some lunch cuz it was 1:30 and I was starving. Sister Smart and I made pizzas. After lunch I called the ER and they said she was being discharged so we went back to the hospital to go pick her up! She was looking a little better and was so much more talkative like her normal self. We wheeled her out to the car and she said it was food poisoning, possible salmonella or E. coli which led to dehydration which made her heart rate go up. So they pumped her with 2 liters of fluid and ran a whole bunch of tests. It probably didn't help that she's already only like 100 pounds and so tiny. The doctor said it was probably the turkey from Subway the night before. OK crazy thing! Last night I almost ordered a sandwich with turkey, so did Sister Thelin and changed at last minute and Elder Smith ordered turkey but the dude gave him chicken! So Sister Scrogham was the only one who got turkey! Crazy! Anyways we went to CVS to pick up her prescriptions and stuff, I still had to help her walk and stuff. Then we headed home and man those 3 flights of stairs were quite the challenge for her. We went very very slowly. Then she called her family to tell them what happened so I went to talk to the other sisters in the living room about the plan because guess what yall?! My very last Zone Conference was the next day in Hattiesburg so we were staying the night in Wiggins. I was really worried I wouldn't get to go which would suck so hard but Sister Amos said she could just sit in the back. Then Sister Thelin and Sister Smart asked me how she was doing, honestly she was doing great in the car until Sister Amos said she could go to Zone Conference and all those people would have to see her, she also didn't want a Priesthood blessing because she didn't want the Elders to see her...but whatever. They said that we shouldn't go to Wiggins and stuff which totally crushed me, it was like 6pm and I was up all night with her, spent the whole day helping her, getting her the right medicine at the right time and worrying about her and they wanted us to just stay her and not go to Zone Conference. I thought that we could make the 40 minute drive to Wiggins and have her just sleep, then drive the 40 minutes to Hattiesburg and have her sleep on a couch during the meeting, I mean she's gonna be sick in the apartment or sick in the church building, which may have been insensitive but it was my last Zone Conference and I was so sad to miss that. They basically decided for me that I should stay while they go to Wiggins. I remember just sitting on the couch, starting to cry as they just looked at me...I wondered if they could take my place or do something but they just looked at me. They then hugged me, but it was more of a sad pity hug as they grabbed their suitcases to leave me alone. I felt absolutely horrible and like the most selfish person ever for wanting to go to the last ever Zone Conference. Then she finally finished talking with her family and said she could make it to Wiggins since she'd just be sick there too. I was so excited! I helped her pack up and grab snacks and fluids her body could handle and walked her ever so slowly down the stairs and into the car. She slept for most of the drive, when we got to Wiggins the whole zone of sisters were there so she talked to them all for a while and seemed pretty good. I set up her bed while they talked then helped her get ready to shower, get her meds and go to bed. As I talked to the other sisters about the possibility of not going to the Zone Conference the next morning, I got the same look of pity from before, except from Suster Burdge. She didn't hesitate to offer to exchange with me so I could go since she has 2 more conferences. That was so nice of her! I still said no though holding out hope. Then Sister Scrogham called me and had a fever (probably from her massive heated blanket but oh well), I frantically called Sister Amos over the loud sisters having fun in the other room. She told me to give her Tylenol but we didn't have any so she told us to go to the store. Then Sister Scrogham changed her mind and told us not to go. Then a while later she called me again and said to go get it, so Sister Burdge and Sister Smart went at like 9:30pm to grab some. Then she was up the rest of the night getting fluids and going to the bathroom.

On Thursday morning I woke up and let her sleep in, I was so tired from not getting hardly any sleep the last 2 days. She was willing to go to Zone Conference MIRACLE so I let her sleep until the last possible moment and we got there right at 9am when it started. The STL's had an air mattress set up and a wheelchair ready when we got there. So I wheeled her and all her stuff to the room. I set up all her bedding, laid out her snacks and drinks and refrigerated a few things. She laid down and I told her I'd check on her every 20 minutes. Then I went into the meeting, it was kinda awkward since the room was full and there weren't really any open seats. President Amos found me, asked what was happening and told me to sit in the front by him and Sister Amos, so I awkwardly walked past everyone to the front of the gym and sat down, all alone since Sister Amos was presenting. Then I continued to do this every 20 minutes as I went to check on her, help her get in her wheelchair to go to the bathroom, get food, etc. She eventually fell asleep though for a solid 2 hours. Then as President Amos was giving his presentation she woke up and I zoomed her in so she could hear it over the speakers and see it. After his presentation it was the go home testimonies (missionaries going home have the chance to bear their testimony for a couple of minutes) and I was supposed to speak as the second person of 3. Then near the end of his presentation Sister Scrogham texted me saying she needed to go to the bathroom. After we were done she wanted to sneak in the back to watch but I heard Sister Hunt speaking and knew I was supposed to go after her. I told Sister Scrogham but she didn't seem to understand what I needed to do so we kept looking for a ramp on stage. Then I heard Sister Lynch speaking and was like "shoot they skipped me!" and heard Sister Lynch say "amen" and I was like crap man! Then Sister Hunt came and got us and Sister Scrogham finally realized that I had to go speak, so I helped her back into bed then went back to the gym and had to once again awkwardly walk to the front of the room while everyone stared at me. But I was used to it by then. I was able to get up and bear my testimony and sit back down. Then President Amos leaned over and was like "that was a powerful testimony" and in my head I was like "thanks it's only taken 18 months of missionary service to get there" jaja. Then Zone Conference was over, I convinced Sister Scrogham to be wheeled out for lunch and pictures, we had interviews and headed back to Wiggins. When we got to Wiggins I basically collapsed on the couch and took a 20 minute nap because I was so tired and didn't think it'd be the best to drive so tired. Then I loaded up all our stuff and we headed out. On the way back to Gulfport we had to figure out what to do for our English class that night. I had asked the Spanish Elders if they could teach it for us but they had a dinner appointment with the English Elders and told us to just cancel it. One of the senior couples, Sister West, said she could come since she served her mission Spanish-speaking. I had asked the Gulfport sisters about doing an exchange so Sister Scrogham could stay home but they said no and then called us on the way home and changed their mind. So we rushed home, slowly made our way up the stairs, I looked over the English class lesson and Sister Thelin (learning Spanish) and I exchanged and headed out. We ended up having 2 people! Juan and Lucia! So now that they've attended twice they're basically regulars jaja!

Friday marked my 18 months as a missionary which is so crazy and kind of a big thing in the mission. Since Sister Scrogham was obviously still dead, she slept in until like 11 and came in and out of naps throughout the day. The other sisters were also gone from 9:50am-8pm so I basically spent the day alone, trying to be productive by myself in the living room. Quite the exciting day...while Sister Scrogham was awake though, we did text our entire areabook about General Conference (a conference that happens twice a year where we get to hear messages centered on Christ from our living prophets and apostles today) and invited them to our watch party on Sunday and sent them the link.

On Saturday morning Sister Scrogham and I watched Conference at home and I loved Dallin H. Oaks' talk on the noticeable decline of attendance in all churches and the need to go to church for more than just yourself. Then we went to Sister Giuffria's house to watch the afternoon session. I liked the focus on having the love of God so we can be blessed and happy. Then we helped her move some boxes and headed home. Then Sister Scrogham went to bed and I watched the evening session of General Conference by myself and it was good. It did give me time after 9pm to then decorate the apartment with streamers and stuff before Sister Scrogham's birthday tomorrow!

Sunday morning Sister Scrogham slept in and I anticipated her waking up to see the decorations, treats (she sadly couldn't eat yet) and birthday sash and tiara I had my mom send. She eventually got up, curled her hair and put on makeup! Crazy! Then we went to Biloxi to watch the morning session of Conference with our Spanish Group and the Elders. It started at 11am and at 10:55am no one was there but the Elders...it wasn't looking good...but by the end we had 14 people watching with us! No one that we invited and half of them were members but it was sick! It was very weird watching 2 hours of them speaking in Spanish, my brain was kinda dead by the end. I definitely didn't understand all of it and at first I tried to read it on my phone in English subtitles, but the spirit was like "no" so I thought, ‘how is God gonna help me if I don't try?’ So I listened to the rest of it in Spanish with no helpers! But I think I got the main message from each talk! Then we got invited to go to the Crawley's for the last session of General Conference and dinner. They had 2 kids under the age of 4 so that was fun. We had hamburgers, talked to Brother Crawley about CA since he's from Los Angeles, and celebrated Benjamin's (the 3 year old) birthday with a golden gorilla cake jaja.

So…this was one interesting week, full of so many crazy things but I know that the Lord was with me every step of the way, especially when I didn’t feel like it, I know that He was helping me through it all.

Have a blessed week!

Smile because God loves you and I love, love, love y'all too!!

Oh and remember that "we did not come this far only to come this far"!

Love,

Hermana Johnson

October Bike Mileage: 0 miles (kinda hard to do with all the trips to medical facilities)

Pictures!!!

1. Quad pic in front of some cool frame wall at Hard Rock

2. Me in front of Casino sign ;)

3. Me and some bomb ice cream of course

4. Companion selfie on the beach

5. Me with Sharkhead