October 24, 2012

Hello family.  Sorry for the wait, I´ve been writing back you all from last weeks emails.  Thank you for those. 

I have to tell you, this has been quite the week.  I have to say we have had many blessings.  We have been in contact with a couple of our old Investigators.  They have been progressing a lot since we last met with them.  One of them didn´t believe in God... Now he does, and he wants to read the Book of Mormon, and wants to learn more.  He has been blessed with work as a Doctor for praying.  He now has a testimony.  How sweet it that!  That was a great lesson.  Also, I have noticed recently that I don´t have a stutter.  It's been great.  On Sunday we had a class and we were talking about talents.  I was thinking about my speech.  And I thought back to the last transfer till now and I don´t think I have stuttered much.  I have occasionally, but it is not that noticable.  Elder G knows I have one and he keeps me in check, which is nice.  But how great is that, it has been a great blessing to me.  I can speak in English and Spanish.  I just speak, without a stutter.  That was just great for me.  It gave me so much joy just thinking about that. 

I have to say this again, I love teaching.  We don´t teach a ton here, but we still do.  I just get this spirit of love for these people that I have never felt before.  It´s amazing what the Lord puts into our hearts day in and day out.  I love it!!  On a different subject, this week has been a tough one.  Elder G is fine he is doing great and getting back into shape, but now it was my turn to get really sick.  Saturday night, I was up practically all night.  I had a fever and just wasn´t good.  Sunday, I had a big stomach ache and it just wasn´t good.  Sunday night I lost it.  I woke up with the chills, but my head was on fire.  I went to the restroom and lets just say, it was bad.  Supppper bad.  I had the runs, vomiting, and a bad fever.  I took some Nyquil and went back to sleep after a good 2 hours in the restroom.  Monday we stayed low, but still worked.  I didn´t eat at all, I just drank a lot of water.  Monday night, same thing, just not getting better.  So Tuesday, We went to A Coruña for our district meeting.  I called up President's wife and told her what´s up.  I go to the doctor, They won't take my health card from the Church (we just got them, it´s a pilot program for us).  So I went to another one, and they still won't take me in.  So I went to the ER.  They took me in and I was hooked up to all the stuff.  They were rushing around and doing what they had to do.  I stayed the night and I didn´t sleep. I still had the runs, but not has bad.  They got back the tests and said I had a case of salmonella.  I think that´s how you spell it, but they said it just tore me up.  The doctors and nurses were really good.  They really liked me.  I was talking with them, cracking jokes and all that stuff.  I kept a smile on my face during this hard time.  Well this morning at 7, they let me out with 4 things of perscriptions to get.  It was a long day but I am better. 

During this time I have to say I was thinking that I was going to die.  Not DIE DIE but just not being able to get out.  Dad wrote me a letter that I read about 2 hours before I went to the ER.  He talked about Adversity.  I thought about that the whole time.  This was just another great experience that I have had.  I am not sure why I have had it, but it was for a purpose.  It gave me a ton of pain, but I got through it.  The Lord knows what he´s doing here in my life, in our lives.  We just have to submit to his will.  I have learned that a lot here.  We want lessons and baptisms.  But the Lord has a plan for us, for me.  It might not be as much as we want, but when we submit to His will, we will learn more, and and recieve more blessings.  I have to say, I still don´t know why I had this sickness, but I have to learn from it, get better from it.  I´ll find my answer in the scriptures or in a talk, but it should be fine. 

Family, I love you.  You are all the best in the world.  I am fine, Don´t worry about it, I am healthy, I am out, I am doing good.  I love you all so much!! Say hi to everyone for me!!

 

Love Your Favorite Elder In Spain!

 

Elder Alex Laubaugh!