24. I Shouldn't Have Joked About Fever Dreams...

Buckle up and get ready for the weirdest week of my mission so far. I'll start with the good stuff of this week.

 

 

This week started off really well to be honest. I had a better attitude about everything and Spanish was making more sense (except the Bracco family who probably hold the world record for fastest speakers alive). 

 

 

I have some new fun Argentina things to share:

-Mayo really does go on everything.

-There's no stop signs, it's all a big game of chicken.

-We eat Milonesa all the time which is just like super flattened out chicken nuggets, and yes we put mayo on it

 

 

I think my companion doesn't like my elbows. Last week,  she pointed out how dry they were and then this week she gave me lotion and sternly told me to put it on my elbows on 2 separate occasions.

 

 

I also had one of the most touching visits with my new friend, Ilse. She's an old German woman who has lived in Argentina most of her life. She had us over for lunch and I immediately fell in love with all the German decor and books she had. Plus she spoke really slow so I understood every single word perfectly. 

 

 

While we were visiting with Ilse she told us about a song she remembered from her childhood that always reminded her of the war. She said she heard the melody many years ago and it made her cry just remembering her homeland and all the things her family went through. She hummed the song and I immediately recognized it as "Be Still, My Soul". So I told her I have the song from a choir I used to sing in and she asked me to play it. 

 

 

There, in a tiny German house, in the middle of Argentina, we listened to that special song. I held Ilse while she cried and I definitely cried too. Ilse is a special person to me, Be Still, My Soul is a special song to me, and now Argentina became just a little more special. 

 

 

Now that I've gotten all the mushy stuff out of the way, I'll tell you what I'm sure you're all wondering. I got sick. Not just a stuffy nose or an itchy throat. I mean 102⁰ fever and stomach bug and body aches and misery. It started on Thursday and just went downhill from there. Luckily, there's a lot of people who care about the missionaries out here so we got medicine, food, and lots of other things dropped off. 

 

 

It all came to a head on Saturday night when my companion woke me up to tell me the doctor was here to visit me. So I stumbled out of bed and went and sat in a chair while a random guy examined me. There were probably 5 people there speaking rapid fire Spanish and I was just trying to figure out if my most recent dream really was a dream or not. Somewhere in the middle of it all I was pulled away to get a shot right in the butt. I honestly still have no idea what it was for, but I feel a lot better now, so I guess it worked. 

 

 

Being sick out here wasn't fun, but I had so much peace at the same time. I was told when I got set apart as a missionary that when I got sick, healing would quickly follow, and that it would be a blessing for following the Word of Wisdom (the rules we follow about what to eat and drink). It's so true. I knew that because I had followed God's commandments I would be blessed, so I had no reason to fear! The words to my new favorite hymn, Be Still, My Soul, come to mind: "Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change, He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heavenly friend thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

 

 

I hope you know how much God loves you. He's rooting for you! I'm rooting for you! Stay safe out there in the wild and don't forget to Light the World this Christmas season!

 

 

Love,

Hermana Thrasher

 

 

PS- I just learned I can't message my friends on pdays (oops) so email me instead! Love ya'll!

 

 

PICS! (There's not many)

1. I just really liked this random flower that bloomed in our backyard this week

2-4. Shout out to my main man Victor for getting us AMAZING chicken sandwiches

5. Ilse :')