I have been assigned to.....

It finally came--the envelope that I was never sure if I would actually hold finally came in the mail! So maybe I went home between classes, saw the mail man, waited for him to leave, then sneaked over to the mailbox and screeched when I found it inside...

But then I had to wait. Last week was one of the most chaotic weeks of all weeks--cleaning check, 3 midterms, a project, fafsa/scholarship applications due, meeting with advisers, and more. It felt like a train wreck. I wanted to wait until it was all done to open the call so I could fully focus on the joy of the moment with my family and friends.

The day before I opened it, of course, my mom said in the car, "You know Rachel, your disability was approved, so you could go outside of Utah." I said "No mom, I already put on the application I was covered under Utah Medicaid so I could only stay in Utah." So right then in my head I was thinking "Great. Just great. Rachel, you may have just messed up the Lord's will with where you were supposed to be by being impatient to turn your papers in, but you will enjoy it wherever you go in Utah."

So, Saturday finally came! The day was long and there were errands to be completed, but the time finally came as soon as my brother burst through the door from his choir concert. He was gone all day and I would have gone to his earlier one, but unfortunately it was too expensive and he had to drive the car to hurry home after. I had people on Skype as well as my family and friend Maddie with her sister. It was my first time Skyping so it became a little disruptive, but my dad was in Arizona and I wanted to talk to him. So after some tech chaos, were were finally able to settle down. I had already told everyone who asked about the mission I was serving in Utah, so after offering an opening prayer, hoping desperately to feel the spirit despite the tech chaos, it was quiet and I carefully opened the call, not wanting to hurt any part of it.

I started reading my name and realized it was the address, so then I read the first line with a piece of paper right below it so I wouldn't see. I couldn't stop smiling as I read "Dear Sister Roy, you have been called as a missionary of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the..." I smacked the call right up to my mouth as my eyes bulged out. I then hauled over and the tears came as my brother said, "Well, I don't think she's going to Salt Lake."

I had to take a moment to talk through my tears, "You have been assigned to the Massachusetts Boston Mission..."

Immediately the cries and cheers from my finally rang out, which seemed a little distant as I couldn't believe what I just read. I will never forget the special feeling of seeing that. It felt perfect. Absolutely perfect. I continued reading the rest of the letter, feeling overwhelmed with joy. I even did a fist pump when I saw that I will be speaking English, because to be honest, I didn't really want to take the time to learn another language and not be able to speak fluently.

I was in shock. I was expecting Utah, but instead, I was going to fly across the country to the furthest I've ever been (yes, I've been outside of Utah, and the furthest was Florida). The rest of the night was filled with more phone calls and such, and I only slept for 3 hours that night from excitement and questions flooding. I started looking up a little bit about Boston, including the hospital where the CF center is. It looks stunning! Since I felt it was special and I could already feel a close tie with the docs there, I decided to look at its ranking, as I discovered last night that it was ranked as the number one hospital in the nation last year! At this point, I'm ready to embrace whatever happens. I feel peace. If a hospital clean-out comes along,  and with all the regular clinic visits, I know I'll be in good hands. Everything is working out so well and it's no coincidence I was assigned to Boston. I look forward to sharing this gospel that has changed my life with others. I can't wait! Boston...here I come!! :) July 3rd seems far away, but I know it will come up before I know it.
 

 

 

 

So Satan, you didn't want me to go on a mission, huh?

So, Satan, you didn't want me to go on a mission, huh?

Yeah, I know that you tried to terminate my insurance, which threw me to court before a hearing officer. Well guess what? The case went through, and it was approved :)

Which also leads to you not allowing me to leave the state because of the insurance, but guess what? I'm serving where I am, here in Utah, and it's going to be fantastic.

And I know that you wanted me to get discouraged with treatments so you almost broke my compressor so treatments wouldn't be possible on a mission since they were taking 2 hours each. Well guess what? I bought a new one. My lungs are already feeling better and are back to normal.

I know you haven't wanted me to study the scriptures, but guess what? I have the scriptures and Preach My Gospel right at my desk to study every morning.

I know you didn't want the Dr./dentist appointments to work out, but guess what? I found a Groupon that I bought for $40 to see the dentist and was able to take the bus and walk up a huge hill in the rain to see him, and I found an eye doctor to see as well.

I know that I lost my Patriarchal blessing. But guess what? I went online and ordered another copy.

I know that you gave me the worst allergic reaction, making me feel like I was being attacked by fleas, as well as a massive stomach ache in the same day, but don't worry, I figured out that it started right when when my mission was assigned, because surely enough, the next day I got the confirmation it was.

I don't know what you may throw at me until I leave, but you don't fool me. I have my call and I'm opening it tomorrow. :)

It's great, ya know?

Compressor is working at its full power. I didn't realize what I was missing out on until now!

Nothing beats being able to breathe properly again and finally ridding the sticky junk.

The half marathon training takes diligence and it's not easy, but it's great.

And...the mission papers are finally in!

Life is great :)

A few happenings

A few recent updates:

First of all, I came down with a week long flu. It started out with me eating so much, which I have discovered is often one of the first signs of me getting sick because my body seems to want to pack in as many nutrients and calories as possible. Before I knew it, it took a lot of energy to do everything--whether it was walking to another class or even sitting at my desk at work. It was very hard for me to breathe and gunk joined up in my lungs, which made me even wonder if a hospital tune-up was coming soon, so I called my doc. Surprisingly, with everything I had been eating, I lost weight, and my PFTs had gone up. I sure must had been fighting for a few days to be burning calories and have my lungs working hard just from breathing. My nurse suggested they do a flu test, which came out positive. All in all, my flu could have been worst since I had a flu shot a few months ago, so lesson to you all, get your flu shot even if you don't think you will need it!!


(And thank goodness the flu only lasted a week because I got to see my lovely friend Kate before she heads off to Hong Kong.)

When I was sick I was placed on an antibiotic called Minocycline to protect my lungs. Let me tell you though, (here is another lesson learned) it's important to listen to your body in every way. The day after I started it, I felt very dizzy and couldn't walk straight. It always kicked in a couple of hours after I took the tiny pill and I would joke about how I felt like a drunk woman. I even had the Jack Sparrow swagger wherever I went. A couple of days later, the side effects worsened a little, but I put them aside, ignoring them. I couldn't concentrate on my school work. I found myself confused at whatever people would say as I couldn't comprehend things easily. In sewing one day, all the symptoms reached their peak. I couldn't sew a straight line, threading the machine made me nauseous, and I couldn't understand the simplest instructions. My eyes would burn as they looked blood shot. Before I knew it, (and I can't exactly remember everything or why things were happening), I started crying and ended up in the sewing closet, hardly able to breathe or talk as there was sensation of a hand was clasped around my throat. I remember wanting to call my doctor, but there was no service and I was about to fall over while in an emotional wreck. I don't remember all the details, especially since having an emotional meltdown in a sewing closet was very unlike me!! But luckily I was able to leave the room, feeling the strong presence of angels and having very specific promptings telling me step by step what to do (i.e. You need to drink water, you need to walk up these stairs and get to the cafeteria to get some food, you need to call your nurse Jenn and tell her such and such, etc--later that day, I also realized it was my best friend who passed away a while ago-Shanna's-21st birthday, and knew she was there helping out, on her very own birthday). So there I was, feeling so weak, lost and confused, with mascara running down my cheeks, walking late to work where I could sit down and make the phone call (in slurred, confused speech) to say I was quitting that antibiotic.

So long story short, if you have side effects from any med that are not usual or if you body is ever giving negative signals, listen before it's too late!

The day after I quit it, I felt so good and was grateful to be able to understand people around me, to learn and comprehend, to breathe, and to be in tune with the world. It felt incredible. I was able to enjoy some good times with those around me now that I was officially no longer sick or drugged out.

First of all, I was glad to feel well again at work. Here are some pictures of my super tall new co-worker and I. I believe this is why he plays football for BYU.

That night my roommies and I went out to eat for M-Dawg's birthday. She chose a place we had never been to called Studio 22 to try out. After waiting for our food for a while while we were starving, we got our food--burgers on homemade buns, fries, and chicken and waffles!! I was afraid to try them, because who in their right mind would ever put fried chicken on waffles topped with bacon, sage, and brown sugar syrup? But let me tell you, they were divine. They were indescribable. They were incredible.

The week ended with having fun with my roommates, bowling (which I desperately need to practice), and double decker Blue Bell ice cream.

Whattuh week!!! Well, I now hear people in my living room having a jam sesh with guitars and ukeleles, so I better go join. More will come later.

Cooking Blog Back into Gear

Hellooo. Just in case you didn't know, I have a cooking blog named "a College Kitchen"for healthy, yummy, nutritious, overall budget-friendly recipes. There is a good variety, including main courses, side dishes, Mexican, Italian, soups, salads, desserts, breads, and much more. I lost my camera a while back and could never find it, and ended up getting a new one over Christmas break, so now the blog is back into gear. You can check it out if you would like. I just posted one of my favorite new recipes: stuffed avacados. Enjoy :)

http://a-college-kitchen.blogspot.com/

Now that Shows True Character

A miracle happened tonight, and I cannot stop smiling.

Miss Millie had her dream come true.

A few women got together, believing that they could pull a miracle together.
Miss Millie, the young girl in my home ward who fights Leukemia for the 3rd time, was going to attend Justin Bieber's concert after she was cured for the 2nd time, but her Leukemia came back and her family had to sell the tickets. I can't even imagine how much this young girl has been fighting, with new changes always coming while still holding through as best as she can.

So a few women, at the very last minute (a day or two before the concert) started a campaign to have Justin come to Miss Millie, since she is one of the biggest JB fans. She continues to fight and she not only deserved, but needed this opportunity and miracle if it could happen. Last night the campaign went flying around Facebook, on JB's Twitter and Facebook pages. We all pleaded for him to come see her. I even looked on his Facebook page, and at least 20 people posted the campaign within a half hour. People immediately started finding ways to contact him and sharing the campaign all over social media so Millie would have a surprise visit by her favorite artist.

Here is an article explaining more. http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23635873&nid=1164 This miracle actually happened after many prayers from all over, as we all believed this could happen. He delayed his concert to come visit her at the hospital, came in and surprised her, and sang Baby to her while holding her hand, and then gave her a kiss on the cheek.

That, my friends, shows true character for Justin to do this. I am amazed at how a few people started a domino effect through this campaign, helping Millie's dream come true. I love you Millie and I'm so happy for you!!

Hello 2013--Bring in the New Year :)

Guys, 2013 is going to rock. Here are a few resolutions:

Strive to get above a C in my upcoming classes, especially Stats
Become more tolerant of Provo while I'm there for this semester

Meet more people wherever I am

Watch more carefully what I eat so I don't get such bad stomach aches.

Be a better friend

I'm still thinking about a half marathon. Debating...

Sew a mustard yellow skirt or a cute striped skirt in my upcoming sewing class

Study Preach my Gospel a little hardcore for the first half of the year

Now, from a few hints from this post and the last, you probably guessed what the main thing is that I'll be doing this year. It took a while to decide on, and I wasn't one of the girls who jumped right into it (which isn't bad, it just took me longer to decide.) Let me tell you, so many worries flooded my mind regarding possibly being called "Cyster" Roy. For a basic idea: 

my vest/neb treatments in the mornings and at night

 cardio exercise-which might possibly scare the living daylights out of my companion in the mornings with how determined I am to keep my lungs clear

not being able to eat everything, because fatty or processed foods typically make me very sick

carrying "Max" in a handbag for when I don't do so well with that rule

difficult companions who may have a hard time with CF

 possible hospital tune-ups if my body takes on too much

being close to a CF clinic

etc etc etc etc etc

But guess what? Since I like to make plans A,B,C,D,E,F,G, none of my plans for next year were working out, and I have felt for some time it's supposed to be a big, good year. I never felt right about being in my hometown or Provo for this summer, too. I talked with my roommates and about it. My roommate, D$ (ok, Dana), said something along the lines of "Although you are afraid of how short life is, even if it wouldn't be as long, wouldn't it be so much better if you could just live it to its fullest and take risks?" Those words hit home, and I prayed even more about the mission, this time letting go of my fears about CF's responsibilities, and I knew that night after our conversation that it was right. If worse comes to worse, I could come home for some time or be given some accommodations from my Mission President. Even if it's a struggle and fight the whole time, it will be for the better, and hopefully I can make a difference in some peoples' lives and bring them closer to Christ. I am taking a big step, and ever since I decided to do so, so many setbacks and hard hard hard decisions have been thrown at me, to the point of having to possibly meet with lawyers and attorneys about health insurance. I won't go into details, but it's interesting how you can know something is good when the adversary tries to stop you in ways you never thought would be possible.

Although I have CF, I hope to use these experiences to help others and help them recognize that especially since this is a big sacrifice, I wouldn't be out in the mission field for no reason, and that each person is loved by our Heavenly Father, even when they go through their challenges. This gospel means so much. I can't wait to teach what has helped me in my life and bring families closer together through what they may never have known existed. I have my physical tomorrow and then (except for insurance issues), I will be done with my papers. We will see what happens, but 2013 is going to be a fantastic year. :)

I hope you all have the best year ever, no matter what comes your way.

So, any guesses of where I'll be going (stateside)?