Quite a lot has happened over the last few weeks! And unfortunately I've got some bad news, I'll give you the whole story here but to summarize: I'm going to be coming home due to some health issues.
THE BAD NEWS: Lately (the last few months) I've been dealing with some heath issues, and it finally got bad enough I felt I needed to call the mission mom. I had just been feeling super tired and stiff in most of my muscle groups and it had been getting worse and worse. I could still walk around and proselyte pretty well so I just kinda ignored it for a while, but it finally got to the point where I could no longer run, do a single push up, or get out of a chair without difficulty. She thought it might've been Anemia, and I went to the ER the Saturday before last (the 9th) to get my blood tested. It turned out to be something a bit more serious, we now know that I've been dealing with an Auto Immune disease called Myositis which had gone from mild to severe over the last few weeks. I finally got to leave the hospital Sunday afternoon where my new companion and I (his name is Elder Falkner, he's from London) just for a few hours to grab some clothes and shower ect. We stayed in the hospital until Wednesday where they did all kinds of tests on me. Haha I wish I could go into more detail about the hospital and all my adventures there but there's no time! I'll just say it was the most BIZARRE experience of my entire life. My whole mission I've been visiting people in hospitals, and when they ushered me into my own room I just about had a heart attack. This is for other people! Not me!
Things were looking good until my X-Ray results came back on Wednesday morning, the Myositis had been causing all kinds of muscle inflammation and problems (which they knew about), but the doctor could see on the X-ray that there was also inflammation in my lungs and lymph nodes. That's when things got a lot more complicated and I was told that defeating this issue would require a lot more tests and a much more serious medication. After I informed President I was told that I would be going home to resume treatment and get better. They released me from the hospital last Thursday. I should be coming home this Wednesday (the 20th)
So to summarize, I have an auto immune disease that has been destroying my muscles for the past 6-8 weeks. (I've lost about 20 pounds of pretty much strait muscle) and I have a hard time doing simple tasks now, and apparently it's also in my lungs. We're not exactly how sure how long I'll be home but we're hoping for just a month or so 🙏
THE GOOD NEWS: This is NOT a permanent disease, from what my doctors have said it should be COMPLETELY (pretty much) gone in a year or two. And I will DEFINITELY be back super soon in Sweden! We're have no idea how long it'll take to get better but I have a lot of REALLY. HIGH. HOPES.
*My HOPES*
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I've basically been on an emotional rollercoaster, but I was reading the other day in Joshua 1:9 which is my unofficial mission scripture, it says ''Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.'' I bolded that last part because it doesn't matter exactly where I am or what my specific calling is as long as I know that the Lord is with me then I can do His work. I have no idea why I have to go home for a time, but I have 100% confidence that the Lord has a reason for it and is gonna make a use out of this wimpy body. I've got something important to do back home that doesn't involve me lifting anything heavy is what I'm trying to say.
I love all of you and if you have any questions feel free to email me at this email address, I doubt that they would take this down anytime soon. I have been so blessed though by some amazing doctors and nurses and a FANTASTIC companion. Elder Falkner has been great throughout this whole time and I'm going to miss him a lot! He's been sleeping on an extra bed they had in my room this whole time btw if you were wondering :) I absolutely am in love with this ward and with Sweden and I can't WAIT to get back here.
Jag kommer tillbaks Sverige! Du bara vänta!
2. This is us getting out of the hospital (finally)
3. Two guys I'm going to miss a TON!!! Nils (member) and Daniel (recent convert)
4. Me and Filip (ward mission leader)
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