Don't ask, because I will tell.: The Week of the First Attempt on My Life. And it Snowed. And Our Area Is Closing.

February 19, 2015

SO! It started snowing Monday and snowed all day. They don't know how to plow here. And it's been really cold. So we've been shoveling a lot. And we're really sore. And now the Library is finally open.

I got a ride to go to Dylan's baptism in Radford.....and then we found out last night that we are closing down and the Elders are going to take over the whole ward so I'm leaving and I'll have to find a new ride in my new area :) Maybe I'll be even closer!

On Fridays we go to a Senior Assisted Living home for people with memory loss and other issues. So we play games, go on walks, or whatever is up for the day. George is the sweetest old man.......most of the time.

We were walking and Sister Maddox was right behind us. He tried to go into a lady's room so we stopped and started to go the other direction. He started forcing all of his weight on me and pushing me down the hall. I didn't know what was going on so I just tried to hold him up and he kinda swiped at my face so I held out my arm and he grabbed my wrist and started squeezing.

He looked at me very intently and started pushing me down the hall and around the corner. It hurt and I could tell something was wrong. So I yelled out, "He's hurting me. Can I get some help?" There was a guy in a uniform........ and he ran off to get help.........instead of helping.

So Sister Maddox comes over and tries to pull the old man off of me and he just keeps squeezing tighter and shoving me down the hall. Finally he looks at me and yells, "I know I can't kill you but I'm sure gonna try!" I realized that I was in trouble, because it took all my muscles keeping him where he was, it was tiring, and he was really hurting me.

So Sister Maddox really starts grabbing at him and it was getting worse so I told her to stop and get help. I asked him why he wanted to kill me and tried to help get his head back. But he just kept pushing me and hurting me. Til finally the nurse aids came running around the corner and pulled him off me and took him to his room. He broke free for a second and came after me again, but they got him under control.

It hurt. It was really scary actually. If he had been just slightly stronger I would have really been in trouble.

So yeah......all the Elders think I'm really cool now.

I haven't sent home any pictures for a while so I decided to do something exciting to take pictures of.......so I pulled a Mom move and tried to cut my finger off. There was a lot of blood and it was REALLY deep. But it's ok now. The pizza turned out wonderfully and was worth the blood, sweat, and tears. Quite literally.

We had a Zone Conference in Lexington, VA and got to drive on the National Landmark the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was beautiful because there's no leaves so you can see for miles. It was pretty awesome. Also, in that Zone Conference I recited Doctrine and Covenants section 4 at the beginning of the meeting and I cried......I'm THAT Sister Missionary.

Monday we got stuck home around 2 because of the blizzard. Tuesday we weren't allowed to drive because of the road conditions so we spent the whole day shoveling driveways for our neighbors. It was the first time I've ever shoveled snow! Maybe the last....jk.

But really. I am so sore. It was a lot of shoveling. There was so much snow we had to sled just for a little bit after a long day of shoveling so we grabbed the laundry basket and ran outside. I did the first "run" and pretty much just scooched inch by inch because I sunk right to the bottom and couldn't go anywhere. But after I cleared that path you could go pretty fast! It was mostly exciting because our path led right in between 2 cars in the lot and you really had to aim to make sure you didn't hit them.....it was so much fun! I even practiced my long boarding so one day I can be a pro at going down Provo Canyon.

And I ate it every time.

Obviously the Lord REALLY has something he wants Sister Maddox and I to learn from being stuck indoors. Because he will not let us get outside! It'll all be ok though. You just have to laugh through it! But now the roads are clear enough to drive, but Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we have to pack up our apartment and completely clear it out......yikes. It'll be fun and it'll be great.

We've been spending a lot of time with our neighbor because her Dad passed away and she's been really struggling with it. I had a really strong feeling we would be leaving at the end of this transfer so I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn't share with her what I know before I left. She tends to avoid the subject and refuse to listen because she's really stubborn....maybe that's why we like each other so much :) Anyways. I love her and I'm going to miss her loads. So I made her promise to come to church and listen to us just once before I go and she said yes. GOOD!