The Dengue. 11/5/12

Dear Family and Friends, Greetings from Higuey. The temple trip was great on tuesday, even with our fevers. President Hernandez took one look at us and sent us to the mission doctor across the street. He told us we likely had a fun disease that one gets from mosquitoes called Dengue Fever. So we did some blood tests and sure enough, it was Dengue. They can tell because it lowers the platelets in the blood. They say the desired number is between 150,000 and 400,000. I was at 51,000. President made us stay with him and his wife that night, and then they told us we could not go back until we were better. The next day the Dengue hit us pretty hard. Fever, body aches, migraines, vomiting, rashes, loss of appetite, and no energy for a grand total of 7 days made quite an adventure. I lived this week off of lots of gatorade, a couple bananas, crackers, and an almost comatose amount of sleeping. President Hernandez, Sister Hernandez, and Dr. Shaver all had close eyes on us. We did lots of blood tests and took a ridiculous amount of acetomenophen. I am feeling much better now, but still dont have much energy. We still have direct orders to take it easy. However, I learned something fun. Even when we arent happy we can still have peace. I did my best to maintain my good attitude, prayers, and study, and I was still able to feel the companionship of the Holy Ghost. I also got a letter from a recent convert saying that her husband wants to come to church! Also that her son Jose, also a recent convert of mine, went to the temple to do baptisms. That made me happy. Take care my friends. Elder Nichols