Honorable Release

Picking Andrea up at the Manchester airport 14 JUN 10

We apologize for the long gap since our last blog post. We had a bit of a surprise.

Andrea is home! Andrea's health was quickly getting worse and it was recognized that she would need to come home to recover. We are so thankful to her fellow missionaries and President & Sister Bassett for their care and support. She has been given an honorable release from her mission and has the option to complete her mission if she wants to, once she has recovered.

Andrea has seen our doctors here. She had lost a lot of ground with her fight with Chronic Lyme Disease. Since being home and getting some rest and a change of medical care, she has shown some improvement but still has a long way to go. We will try to keep everyone updated as this battle continues.

Andrea wants everyone to know she feels good about being home to get well. She is grateful for the time she had to serve as a missionary. She is now serving the Lord in many ways locally.

Thank you for your love and support,
Phil & Dianne (Andrea's parents)

I want to give my whole self to the work

Today we went to the temple. It was so nice to go again. I love the temple and it just kills me to live within walking distance and only be able to go once about every six weeks. But it's better than the poor elders in NH, so I'm grateful for what I do have.

I have been struggling a lot with pain and lack of energy and Hna Scott has actually made me take a lot of naps. I feel like the most ineffective missionary in the world right now. In the celestial room this morning it just all hit me at once. The fact that with this much pain and this little energy I really can't serve the Lord as I want to. I want to give my whole self to the work but feel as though I need to take care of my temple too and so I'm just torn. It brought on the tears in the celestial room and at some point I looked up and made eye-contact with Elder Hendrickson. Several minutes later he came over before leaving and asked me how I was. I have explained a little to the elders about Lyme Disease so he probably had an idea of what type of thing was wrong. I told him a little bit how I was feeling and he showed his sympathy. Even though he didn't really say anything special or profound, I was extraordinarily comforted. That is probably because of how much he reminds me of Daddy. Then Elder Lehman came over (the elders always go around and shake everyone's hands before they leave the celestial room) and shook Hna Scott's hand and then mine as he said "and save the best one for last." That of course made me feel really appreciated too. :/ :) I have good men and women looking out for me here. So don't let this depressing letter worry you too much. I'm okay and will be doing better soon. (I hope!) My health is the one thing I wish I had taken care of the most before my mission. That and PMG [Preach My Gospel] and the scriptures, of course.

The wonderful part is that when we are the most humble and literally giving all that is possible, he blesses us more. We were finally able to set another baptismal date yesterday. Almost all of our appointments fell through last week so we decided to work as hard as we could yesterday to earn some more blessings. Almost every one of our appointments was there and we were able to teach some wonderful lessons.
So it has been a hard and humbling week, but we are starting to see the blessings of our humility, patience, faith and increased obedience.

I feel as though I slept through the past week. It is a blur of pain, exhaustion, and HEAT. So forgive me if this isn't exactly what you wanted to hear about this week.

I love you!
Ella
[Please pray for Andrea's health.]

this gospel is a gospel of joy

We are very excited about the package. It got here exactly a week ago. (Of course!) Hna Scott is very excited about the sponges. ;) We are both super excited about the curtains. Apparently she has been waking up early too. The clocks were both fine and we love them. We don't know how we lived without them! :) And we are very excited for the games and SUPER excited for the 50MM [50 missionary moments DVD Phil made from Andrea's video for Nana & Grampa Frenches anniversary. I will try to get Phil to post it for everyone. It may be too big for all 50 moments.]! We have invited all the missionaries in the zone and Hna Ghan to watch it with us at 1 today. We'll be having chips and dip and twizzlers(eww) and we just can't wait to see how it turned out! :D

I would love to see a picture of the new car and you guys sweating it up in all that heat! :D

I am now taking naps again. I was very lightly rebuked by President for not taking more care. It felt like a huge rebuke because of a guilty conscience and the disappointment of having to take naps again. Hna Scott is another very good mom. :) She is taking very good care of me. I actually had a little bit of a break-down last week and terrified a couple of the elders. I was in a LOT of pain one morning and was also just exhausted so I asked for a blessing. They showed up about 5 minutes later so I was still a mess of tears and curled up in my chair. They gave me a blessing and asked if there was anything else they could do. Then I got a call from Hna Ghan that night asking me how I was doing. I explained what happened and she explained how she found out. She saw Elder Lehman at the VC [Visitors Center at the temple] and he asked her about me and said that he had no idea that I had a disease [Chronic Lyme - see: ilads.org] and was so freaked out that he couldn't stand still or look her in the eyes. And he is one that ALWAYS looks you in the eyes when he talks to you. I felt bad for scaring him and called to apologize. The next day we had weekly planning and he and Elder Scwarze ended up bringing us smoothies. They are great zone leaders. So don't worry, I'm well taken care of. :)

I have been really bad about writing in my journal lately so I can't remember what I wanted to tell you about. I just read the first chapter of Mosiah where it talks about how grateful they are for the brass plates so they can remember things. I have recommitted myself to writing every day. ;)

Oh, so this transfer we have a goal that we are determined to meet. As a mission we are going to get 200 baptisms. We have already had 58 and have another 170something scheduled. Four of those 58 were the Galvez family. They are awesome.

Oh! We got to attend the Gila Valley temple dedication. It was amazing. And a lot of fun. I never realized how silly President Eyring and Monson are! We laughed a lot. And then I got a call from the zone leaders asking me to give a talk in our zone meeting this week on having a positive attitude. So I think I will use them as an example of how this gospel is a gospel of joy, rejoicing, fun, cheer, and just general happiness. It is so true that we get assigned to speak on the things that we need the most work on. ;) But it is also amazing how helpful it is. I never realized how many scriptures there are that command us to be happy or of "good cheer". I am excited to share what I have learned.

Hna Scott and I have a goal to lose 10 pounds each by the end of the transfer. That is June 15. If you would like to join us you are welcome. (And anyone else that wants to join us is also welcome.) We plan on drinking lots of water and being even more active. I hope your scale works better than ours. We are planning on getting a new one somehow. Hopefully digital. The one in the apartment is ancient and unreliable (we like to think that anyway ;) ).

Thank you for everything!
(((((((((((((((((((((LOVE)))))))))))))))))))))))
love Ella

We had another baptism on Thursday!

We had another baptism on Thursday! La familia Galvez. This is the family that came into the church a while ago and wanted to know how to pay tithing. Then we started teaching them and now the whole family, apart from Micky, is baptized. Joaquin (dad), Lety (mom), Michelle (14), and Joaquin (11). Micky is only three so he can't be baptized. He is also the mini-pincer pooch, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't have to be baptized. Which is a good thing because, apparently, he is terrified of water. :D Anyway, this family is amazing! We absolutely love them! Lety is going to teach us how to make tortillas today. I am so excited! I have wanted to learn how to make something that we don't make in NH so I can come home and amaze you all. That, and homemade tortillas are the BEST! They really are my favorite part of every meal. Well, only the flour ones. I really don't like the corn ones.

Have I ever told you that I have used sign-language several times? There are a couple ASL elders and so every time we find a deaf person, we send their info over to them. And I have gotten to sign in Spanish once. That was interesting. :)

I did get to play the EFY medley yesterday [on the piano] for President Bassett's last fireside. It was awesome. I prayed the whole time and I don't think I made one mistake. I was so proud.

Today is my year-left mark! I plan on reading the entire Book of Mormon in Spanish before I get home and I am starting today. I have even made a paper chain like Hna Ghan's in the 50 moments video. :)

I never thought I would have so much fun on bikes. And in skirts no less! :D Of course, they don't know what a hill is out here. It is either flat flat flat, or huge rocky mountains. So maybe the bikes wouldn't be as fun for you. But you should try them. I'm still hoping that at least half of the 15 pounds I have gained is muscle from riding the bikes. I'm not sure though. ;/

Thank you for your love and support. I really need it.
LOVE YOU!!!!!
TE AMO!!!!!

Hermana Ghan got transfered

Hna Ghan is going to be playing the piano in RS in her new branch. :D She plunks with her right hand. We both laughed at that. And our RS is soooo grateful that I didn't get transferred. They really appreciate a decent piano player. I'm thinking of asking if I can start a little "piano for the RS sister" class. They need to have someone that can play at least a little bit for when I eventually leave. And some of the sisters have pianos or keyboards in their home, so they could easily practice. We'll see.

Hna Ghan is with a VC [Visitor's Center] sister right now, the VC sister is doing her "full-field" stint, so they have the same schedule. The VC sisters work in the VC for only a couple hours each day, then they go to their own areas and work just like we do. However, they also get at least one transfer where they go "full-field" That is when we are able to work with them. For at least one transfer, they don't work in the VC at all. So there are actually quite a few Spanish-sister-areas. Some of them are not worked in as much as the others because the sisters have to work in the VC for a couple hours each day.
So, did I confuse you? :)

We are planning on finally having a RELAXING p-day. Hna Ghan can't sit still, or in the same house for more than and hour, and that is stretching it, so we NEVER had a truly relaxing p-day. I'm very excited. We are going to lock ourselves in, turn up the Christmas tunes, and right letters all day. We may even get in a nap!

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((LOVE TO ALL)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Ella

I'll talk to you soon!

It was quite the week. Transfers, appointments, shopping lists, Mother's Day [coming], etc..

Today is transfers. Hna Ghan is leaving us! We will be having fun, but it is going to be a challenge. Her foot is doing much better. She is in a walking boot and has some awesome bruises. We've been taking pictures so you'll see it eventually. Oh, btw, it is "just" a really bad sprain. I almost decked the doctor when he checked it because he hurt her. :D

We made an amazing discovery today. It is called Superstition Ranch Market. Basically it is a huge Beans and Greens, but AZ style. That means that we got not just strawberries, blackberries and bananas, but mangoes, kiwis, asparagus, plums, etc.. And the other difference is that it is super cheap. I got 3 1lb packages of gorgeous strawberries for $1! We will definitely have to go there when you come back here with me.

We [had] two baptisms this Saturday, but they weren't crazy [like last week], just very exciting. Our neighbor got baptized. Miguel is awesome. (It's the name. He is the third Miguel that I have seen baptized.) He is Mexican and married into a huge white Mormon family. He and his wife, Andrea, :) have about four beautiful little children and we are so excited for him. We were able to go even though it was in English. I think this may be the most exciting baptism yet.

I love to study the scriptures every day. Whenever we miss some study time, I feel like I missed getting out of bed or something.

Can you believe that I have been on my mission for more than six months?!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(((((((((((((((((((((EVERYONE)))))))))))))))))))))))
I'll talk to you soon! [We really will TALK. Andrea will call home on Mother's Day! Yippee!]
LOVE
Ella

we "know in whom we have trusted"

Lots to tell you!
Let's see, the quick ones are:

Exchanges - They were really fun. Hna Ghan went back to her old area and Hna Scott and I were joined by Hna Ladd. She is great fun. We rode bikes almost all day and learned a lot of good Spanish.

NcH [FHE - Family Home Evening] - Is a lot of fun. I don't honestly remember what I wanted to tell you about that.

4 cenas [dinner appointments] - We had 4 cenas in just two days,... again. They were all really good too.

I am cruising along on my Personal Progress. I have done about 4 experiences already.

We had some super hot tamales the other day. They made Hna Scott sick so we had to leave her at a member's home while we went to our appointments for the night.

Dad should be very proud of me. I polished my shoes for the first time this week. They are soo pretty and shiny! :D

Our RS made Amish friendship bread this past week. It was quite hilarious because it was exactly like our RS activities at home, just in Spanish.

Hnos Camargo are hilarious!!! We had dinner at their house on Sunday and they just remind me of how we love and treat missionaries. I felt like I was at home with you. Hno Camargo reminds me of Dad. He is awesome. :D

We woke up at 6 [today] to go play basketball at Pioneer Park. Well, Hna Ghan played and Hna Scott and I just hung out and woke up the rest of the way. Hna Ghan screamed at about 7 and we looked over and saw her on the ground at the basketball court. Apparently she and Elder Derochie collided and his foot kicked her leg. And it HURT a lot. It swelled to twice its size, more or less, very quickly. So we went to Urgent Care and now she has a cast. They are pretty sure it is "just" a really bad sprain, but we are going to need to go to a foot specialist later in the week. Elder Derochie feels sooooooooooo bad! I feel worse for him than her because his guilt is going to take longer to heal than her pain. He doesn't have a fast-acting painkiller for the guilt. But she will be fine. We are joking about it already. :D

Saturday morning was CRAZY! At 10 o'clock we invited one of our families with a baptismal date to come to see a baptism that we forgot about. They could come so we ran out the door to meet them. Then we had an appointment at 11 so we skipped off to that. Just as we got there we got a call from Elders Lehman and Schwarze begging me to come play piano for a baptism that they didn't realize they were in charge of. So we said "just a second" to Beatrice, and ran back to the stake center. They dropped me off (luckily there were Sisters there) and went back to our appointment. After the baptism everyone was leaving, so I hurried and grabbed Hna Camargo to be my companion for a few minutes until mine got back. Okay, so the lesson went amazingly well. This woman, Beatrice, had wanted to meet with us for a while, apparently. Friday we were walking down the street and a woman called out to us and said that her friend, who was one the phone, wanted us to stop by. This was Beatrice. A true miracle. And she already believes that it is all true. We LOVE miracles!

The Vegas. Arrrrrrgh. Refugio Vega was deported about a month ago. He is a recent convert. Diana through this trial and several others (I hope I told you about the miracle with her son Antony being healed) that have happened recently, got to thinking. She finally told us that she would get baptized and that she would tell us the date when Refugio got back. However, he isn't coming back and they are all moving to Mexico ... today. We went over late last night to say goodbye. She said that she will be getting baptized down there and that Refugio will be doing it, but.... We worry and we are going to miss them soooooooo much. They are a beautiful little family and we love them to death. When we got home, Hna Ghan and I cried pretty hard for several minutes. Hna Scott doesn't really know them. It was really hard. But we "know in whom we have trusted" and we know they will be okay.

Jose Morales is my favorite man ever! He is amazing. We talked to him on the street one day and now he has a baptismal date. Our first visit back he told us that he knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true. He is a deep thinker and understands things really well. It has been a long road to get him to agree to be baptized. About two weeks after we met him, he had an accident at work and now has a slipped disc that is pinching the psyatic (spelling doesn't count) nerve. He could barely walk for a long time. Then we offered him a blessing. We explained what it is and about authority and how blessings work according to our faith. He received the blessing. The spirit was very strong and he is now walking much better. In fact he walked to church with us last week. He knows that he needs to be baptized and is getting excited. We are WAY excited!

Otai is an amazing Tongan drink. We were stopped by some Tongan members yesterday and they gave us this amazing drink. If you have this stuff, you should make some right now for N's b-day. FELIZ CUMPLEANOS NANCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you don't have any, go get some and make it. Basically it is half-and-half, a little whipped cream, and as many shredded fruits as you want, all blended together. Ours had shredded honeydew, cantaloupe, apples, pineapple, coconut, and you can do peaches and mangos and whatever else you want. It is sooooooo good!

Lots of fun this week!
I love you all!
Happy Birthday Nancy! LOVE YOU NANCY!!!
And yes I am SUPER excited to talk to you [on Mother's Day], even though we aren't going to have anything to talk about because we have such good communication.
LOVE YOU!!!!!
(((((((((((((((((((((((EVERYONE)))))))))))))))))))))))
Ella