Illness: PART 2

Main Catherdal in Perigueux

Well! This week was a tad bit frustrating but it was still a good week. That is just how missionary work is. Sometimes, you just get SO frustrated but then you realize that there is no point in being frustrated because everything that is going wrong is out of your control.

A FUN TRIP TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM:

Well, I was really hoping that I never had to go back to a French hospital in my entire life but unfortunately Elder Brill's condition constituted one. It was the day of New Year's Eve. We were going about doing missionary work when Elder Brill said that his asthma was really starting to bother him. So, we call Soeur Povar (mission nurse), who tells us that she will look for a hospital that is open. She calls back to say that there aren't any hospitals open and that we are going to have to go the emergency room (which is literally the last place you want to go). 

CABIN FEVER FACES

We get a member to drive us to the hospital and we get out. I translate for Elder Brill at the front desk, they do a little test, and then we wait in the waiting room for 3 hours until his name gets called. I stand up to go with them and they won't let me--even with me telling them that he doesn't speak French... and I still get shot down. So, he goes in and I'm just sitting in the waiting room with all of these hypochondriac French people. It has been like 45 minutes and Elder Brill still isn't out yet. So decide I will try to do missionary work in the hospital! Which is totally illegal but, whatever. I start talking to these two women who are sitting next to me. They are super nice and are sad that they are celebrating New Years eve like this (because New Years is probably just as big as Christmas for French people.  Side note: they also have  Happy New Year like until February. Lol ) without being able to eat with their family or party. But we were able to talk a lot and became friends. I didn't get their numbers or anything but I am 99 percent sure that they would stop and talk to missionaries if they saw them on the street. 

Well, Elder Brill comes out and hour and a half later and he is carrying a little envelope. The first thing he says to me  "Well, that was the best three minute doctor visit I've ever had."  I literally almost died of absolute disgust. We waited close to five hours to have a doctor come in and tell him that he was fine and that the lung doctor didn't work during the holidays. Yeah.... That was really efficient. SO. Yeah. Moral of the story is to NEVER go to a French hospital. Unless you are bleeding from a stab wound out of your butt, you will wait for a good three hours. 

MISSIONARY WORK:

So, as of right now. It is pretty slim pickings as far as amis go. We have been trying really hard to find new people and to teach the ones we already have but man, it is tough! With the Holiday no one is available and then you call them afterwards and they say they can't see you because work is restarting. Ohlala. However, this week is looking pretty good already. We made a LOT of phone calls out of the area book and passed a lot of old amis, AND we have been asking members for people to teach and I think it is really starting to pay off. We have a lot of things already planned for the next few days, which is always a good feeling. 

The work is so slow here compared to Marseille. We were teaching so much everyday and here we barely teach. It has been a little hard to adjust from teaching super often to barely teaching. I remember asking President about the different pace in the work when I moved from Lyon to Bergerac and he said that you just have to be patient. That's all there is to it. Be patient. Patience is probably my weakest Christ like attribute. That is probably why I got sent here. lol. 

Despite it being hard, I feel like I'm fulfilling my purpose by inviting people to come unto Christ. So what if they say no, I've given them the opportunity and in that I can be happy. I'm giving it my 100 percent. 

Anyway! I love you all! Happy New Year!

Love,

Elder Johnson