November 25, 2013 - I've Got the Late Night Munchies!

OK - So all I can say is I TOLD YOU SO!  Read on!  Julie's rash is going to clear up!  YAY!!!  Excited for her.  Sounds like she is doing great and hanging in there! 

 

Hello! This week has been beyond crazy. I have good and bad news.

 

First, I solved the mystery of the rash!!!! I have been praying like crazy to know what is causing it. But as soon as I stopped asking about the WHY and starting asking for help in overcoming the itch to stop scratching, Heavenly Father helped me figure out what the cause is! WOOOO!

 

And now for the bad news.

 

Ater having lived in the area for a week, mysterious bumps started showing up on my arms, neck and legs. My first initial reaction was that there were lots of mosquitos out. Mosquitos love me. After a few weeks, more and more itchy bumps started spreading up my arms and legs. Since I'm a missionary, I don't have permission to search Google whenever I want, so I asked around.  Kinda freaking out, I asked the elder couple missionaries in my zone what it could be. They asked the basic questions that everyone else asks which include, "Could it be bed bugs? Have you changed soaps? What kind of detergent do you use?....." and so on. I went home and checked all around and under my mattress. No bed bugs. I didn't change soaps or detergents...so that wasn't the case. I didn't change any of my eating habits... It was so confusing! And scary! What in the WORLD. Nothing made sense until just this last week.

 

Back to the beginning. The very first night that I slept in my apartment, I saw a little beatle crawling on the wall next to my bed. I got some toilet paper, squished it, and flushed it down the toilet, only thinking that it was some sort of bug native to Virginia. I didn't see another beatle for a few weeks. Over time, I would see more and more of these odd little beatles crawling up, down and sideways all over the wall. Could these weird little bugs be the cause of my allergic reaction? They definitely weren't bed bugs, because I had check my mattress multiple times. If they were bed bugs, wouldn't Sster McKenna be eaten too? She didn't have a single bump on her anywhere! It was so baffling. The six weeks of my first transfer came and went, during which time, my "condition" continued to worsen. Then Sister Hansen moved in. Sister Hansen does NOT like bugs. At all!! She doesn't even like lady bugs! She just gets creeped out. Right around this time, I was praying for help to follow Mom and Dad's advice to just stop scratching so that I can heal. We saw a few of these beatles crawling around and immediately, Sister Hansen said that we needed to tell the front desk of the apartment complex. So we went and told them of the problem. The maintenance guy showed up (he's a really good potential investigator. He always asks really good questions about the gospel! So I like when we have problems with our apartment, because he comes to fix them. I read him a scripture one day when he came to fix our stove. And I asked him if he believed what I read was true. He said YES! And then I said, that scripture is from the BOOK OF MORMON! HAHAHAHA totally shocked him. He's African American and has a great accent. He always says, "Ya'll are tryin' to GET me!" with a big smile on his face! He's a fun guy.) So the maintenance guy shows up and sees a bug on the wall. He didn't have the slightest idea what it could be! He put the bug in a cup and took it downstairs. Five minutes later he was back with the manager of the building. She came back into our room, saw another bug on the wall and announced, "Yep. You have bed bugs."

 

It was as though someone slapped me in the face. I was really hoping that I actually was allergic to something because the thought of little bugs feasting on me every night is repulsive. I almost cried. So they left and we were alone in our room with the little blood suckers. I lifted up my mattress. Nothing. Then I was prompted to lift my box spring. DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER. Bed bugs.

 

I told Sister Hansen that this is the most disgusting blessing that I have ever had in my entire life. I mean seriously, I didn't even go to a foreign country! And I have BED BUGS? Really?! Hahahaha. Oh my goodness. The blessing is that I know why I have bumps all over...so that's good right? Haha.

 

Also, what I thought was mold right in the place where the wall meets the ceiling turns out to be bed bug babies waiting to hatch. Talk about nasty. I don't even want to live in that apartment any more!!!!! YIKES.

 

So this week has involved a lot of DEEEEP CLEANING. We had an exterminator come and tell us that our beds are toast and we should throw them away. So the office elders came and got rid of them for us. I super vacuumed the carpets and every corner of the room. I got the bleach bathroom cleaner (the only cleaner we had at the time) and scrubbed all the "mold" larvae from the walls. We went and blasted all our clothes with heat from the dryers and are currently sleeping in another sister's apartment. Our ward members are great. They gave us blow up beds that we're sleeping on. So life is a little crazy right now. I can't wait to get rid of the bed bugs for good so that I can just focus on the work that I was sent her to do. :) I realize bed bugs are hard to get rid of. Don't worry, literally EVERYONE and their dogs have told me that. So we're doing what we can. It's under control right now. When I'm done emailing today, I'm going to go home and clean everything all over again.

 

Haha. Can you believe I've been living with bed bugs for SEVEN WEEKS?! Makes me just want to throw up!!!! It's a trial of our faith. It's a disgusting miracle. If I wasn't a missionary, I don't think I'd be so positive about this whole situation. The Lord is really helping me with my patience with this entire situation. I know I'm going to enjoy life so much more when it's all over with!

 

Julie and her bites

Julie's empty room--Cleaning time!

 
 
 

 

 



Sis Anderson and Sister Brady

Sis Anderson and Sis Hanson

I'm attaching some pictures of the bugs and their larvae. And the other pictures are of me and Sister Hansen and with a Less Active lady named Susan Brady. We took Susan to the temple visitor center and the sister missionaries there gave us a guided tour. We watched a movie about eternal families.. During the movie, I got a little nervous. This movie portrayed the "perfect mormon family", which is what Susan doesn't have. She's divorced and has two children and a crazy hard life. I was so worried that she would have negative feelings about coming, and that she'd be upset that we made her watch that movie. BUT! God knows what he's doing. He knows so much better than I do. The spirit helped her see and hear what she needed in that moment. We asked her questions about what she thought when it was over, and what she said amazed me. The spirit of the Lord is so individualized for each and every one of us. It really does teach us what we need. It shielded her from comparing her life to the family life that was shown. After the movie, we all had a lesson about the atonement. The spirit was just so strong! That was probably the first time that I've really cried in a lesson. I was asked to bear my testimony in the end. I testified of the importance of her example to her children. I told her that I've never been a mother before, but I have experience being a daughter. I told her that because of the example of my parents, I am able to have a strong testimony rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I talked about my mom and dad and how I really appreciate their love and their teachings. So, Mom and Dad, thank you for teaching me about Jesus Christ and the importance of patterning our lives after Him. Thank you for your great example. Thank you for your love. That is the number one thing I am grateful for this Thanksgiving. I love you so much.

 

This Thanksgiving we were asked not to tract or street contact because we don't want to disrupt anyone and their families. So we're going to a member's home. He's awesome. I think he's throwing a big party for a bunch of the other singles from the ward who couldn't make it home for the weekend. I'm excited. Have fun with Grandma and Grandpa K! Give them a bear hug for me!!! Thanks for the little medical care package. I really appreciate it. Though I'm not allergic to anything, I have put most of the things to good use. :) haha.

 

I just finished reading Mosiah 24 and a few chapters before. It's the story of the people of King Limhi and the people of Alma and both of their stories involving being in bondage by the Lamanites. In both cases, the Lord delivers his people! We WILL be delivered from this bed bug situation! All is well! :)

 

I love you! Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,
Sister Anderson