Toothaches and Chaotic Religion

Hello, friends and family!

First order of business: this week, in a strange twist of irony, I found out about Whitney Houston's death whilst under the influence of prescribed narcotics (too soon?). It went a little like this:

At the beginning of last week, a chunk of my lower gum swelled and my back molar started to ache like crazy. After a couple days of that nonsense, I called the dentist in our congregation, described my pain, and set an appointment for this past Monday. To manage the constant pain until I could get in to see him, he prescribed me Lortab. Yikes! To imagine what I was like on the stuff, imagine someone marijuaned out of their mind. Quite a sight. Songs were sung. Words were slurred. No video evidence exists, I hope. Anyway, Monday comes around and I'm at the dentist's office. He does all these tests to see what could be wrong with my tooth/gum area because nothing is visibly awry. He takes x-rays, the whole bit. Nothing. UNTIL, he takes his pointy-hooked instrument and roots around my gum area. Blood flows like wine. And then he exclaims, "Oh sick!" and pulls out a giant popcorn kernel. The thing had lodged itself in between my gum and my tooth and had been there, I presume, for about a week. Bingo! I felt ridiculous, but look ma, no more pain!

But seriously, I'm sad about Whitney.

In joyful news, this week I mowed a lawn for the first time ever! On a riding mower! AND I tilled a garden with an electric tiller. Call me Sister Deere.

Also, this past week was zone conference, where we got to hear from our mission president and his wife. Her message is what I want to leave you with...

There are SOOO many people we meet on a regular basis that tell us, "I don't do organized religion." I want to ask them, "do you believe in chaotic/halfway religion?"

Here's the point: any good parent prepares their young children with every needful thing when they go on a trip. Why would God be any different? Why would He send us to earth without any roadmap or organization? He wouldn't. Sis. Wilson put it so beautifully when she said that if she were looking for God's Church on the earth today, she'd look for the most organized establishment possible, with the fullest amount of blessings and provisions available. You don't send a toddler to Nairobi with a bobby pin and a piece of cheese. God wouldn't send us here to muddle through with "unorganized religion" and mediocre instructions. He loves us more than to leave us in the lurch.

This week marked my 3rd month on the mission, and because they scheduled me to go home almost a month before my 18th month mark, you get to enjoy 14 more months of this beautiful prose. Congratulations! Buckle up, people, I've only just begun.

Have a stellar week, my friends!

Love,

Sister G.P.