The Itchy Adventures Of Sister Rash and Sister Spider-bite

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

So about a week ago, Sis Se and I came home from teaching and we get inside and, of course, kneel down to pray, and as soon as I kneel down the backs of my knees are on fire with itchy-ness. So I just try and focus on the prayer that Sis Se is giving, but really my mind is counting the seconds until I can stand up and itch the crap out of the back of my legs. Sis Se says 'amen' and I rocket off the ground and go over to the mirror to see what in the heck is going on down there. The backs of my knees are just all puffy and itchy and bumpy and gross. So I just say "Ewww! What is it?! Ewww! It itches!!!" Oh, it itched like you would not believe. Plus, I have developed a nice bit of heat rash that has spread all up my calves. So I am just walking around, looking like a diseased freak, all I want to do in lessons is itch my legs. Just itch and itch and itch.

So I don't know what the back of my knees is all about, and it took a good week and a half to figure out that my heat rash was indeed heat rash. But now, a jar of itch cream (that turned all my rings brown because it had sulfur in it) and some prickly heat powder later, it all seems to be clearing up. My legs still look gross, but I dont want to chop them off anymore. So yeah!

But Sis Se got bitten by a spider while we were riding in a tricie to District Meeting two weeks ago, and at first I thought she was fine, she was tearing up a little because of the pain, but as we walked into DM, she was saying she was fine, no she did not want a blessing and she is not the kind of person who likes to be fawned over when she is injured, so I just go about the normal thing, but during Elder Mabunga's training, I look over and she is fanning herself like there is no tomorrow, and she is crying and there is even a little snot dribbling out of her nose. I see all this and I just think "good gracious woman, how are you such a mess?!" Turns out that spider bite did a number on her. The place where the spider bit her swelled up to the size of a baseball and was all hard and hot and itchy and gross. But we got her some meds, and she is also healed up nicely. Needless to say, there were many a Spider Woman joke made in her honor.

Other cool thing this week, we got two new sisters in Vigan. A huge help for the work here, our area is just too big to handle, and even with the two new sisters, it is still a little big. But we are making it work, even though the six of us are crammed into the same small apartment and things are getting a little tight if you know what I mean. But it is only for one more week, then they move into their own apt and we have all our space back.

So this week, Sis Se and I taught a family that I have not been able to meet yet, they live in this little raised bamboo shack behind a nice house that is off the national high way. It was an amazing lesson, I was using all sorts of great Tagalog, and the Spirit was so there, and this sister who used to run and hide when the missionaries came by came into the lesson half way through and just sat and listened, then at the end she was like "sure sisters, I'll pray" it. Was. Awesome. Sis Se and I also looked exactly like the picture on page 60 of the September Liahona. We were even teaching a 21 year old woman and her three children. Oh Vogue, photo shop my life!

ALSO Melchor Santiago's baptism was on Saturday. He is going straight to the Celestial Kingdom I am sure. He is just so solid. He has never fallen through on a commitment, he is on time to church every week (Filipino standard time is worse than Deon Standard Time.) and he even brings his friend Darryl (who also has a baptismal date) and they are seriously golden. Melchor's wife even said at the baptismal service that she wants to be baptized, but she can never come to church because their baby has been so sick. But I am confidant that family is Temple bound. Slowly, but surely. So during Melchor's testimony, a cat got into the chapel (oh the Philippines) and was meowing and trying to jump out of closed windows and being all kinds of distracting, but you could tell that Melchor just could not even hear it, he was so intent on sharing his beliefs. It was amazing.

Last, I cleaned the dirtiest apt on Saturday. It is the one the new sisters will be moving into, and it is a nice apt, but the woman who lived there just does not know how to clean like a real person. I cleaned the bathroom and I was trying so hard not to gag/die while doing so. I think I killed 50 spiders and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed, and the floor still looked like it had dirt on it. But it smelled clean and looked a bettilyon times better than when I started. So that is a plus. I did feel super accomplished after I was done, and was dripping sweat. I didn't know I could sweat that much. It was really impressive.

Well, sure love yall!

Sis Bet