Week 16 - Jessica Comes Home from the Hospital

Hello everyone!!!

Oh my goodness I love you all so much! The support and love I have felt from you all is amazing and I can truly say I felt all of your prayers and that they work. So thank you thank you thank you! You all are incredible :) So as i'm sure most of you know these past 2 weeks have been a little different for me haha. I spent 10 days in the hospital, but was released on Saturday and am feeling SO much better! I get to go back to work like normal tomorrow and I'm so so so excited! So for those of you who don't know what i'm talking about or want to hear it from me here is my little adventure from last week. Who's ready for story time?? Ok, so once upon a time I woke up Aug 15 and found this big ugly rash all over me and I felt really sick like I was gonna throw up and then got really dizzy so I sat down. Next thing I know I wake up on the floor where I apparently had passed out for almost 10 minutes. Luckily my companion sister Calaunan ran and got our neighbor who has a car and they took me to the hospital. I spent my first hour there in the emergency room where they tried to jumpstart my heart because they told me later it was low and close to flatlining (yikes haha) and then I woke up later in the ICU where I spent the next 5 days and 4 nights... ya not exactly your ideal morning haha. But you know what? It really put my faith to the test and made me put my complete trust in the Lord. I know he loves me as he does all of us and is watching over me. My very favorite scripture is in the Bible- Joshua 1:9 and I had it running through my head the entire time I was there to give me strength and to help me be brave. It says "Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest." I know without a doubt that God loves us and is there for us in our times in need. We don't ever need to be afraid or feel discouraged because he is with us and will give us strength during times of trial. Sometimes we don't know why things happen to us or why life just seems so hard at times, but I know that if we stay strong and put our faith in God, everything will turn out ok. Ezra Taft Benson once said "When we put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives, all other things will fall into place or drop out of our lives." I know this to be true. When we put God first and try to live as he would have us live, he will bless us and guide us to what he knows will bring us the most joy. He knows us better than we know ourselves and knows of our great potential. He wants us to be happy and if we let him guide us, he will bless our lives and lead us to peace and joy we never imagined we could have. In Proverbs 3:5-6 in the Bible we are counseled, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths." Sometimes life just seems to hurl problem after problem at us, but if we take it with a smile, having faith and trust in our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ, I know that we will be taken care of. When we put the gospel of Jesus Christ in the forefront of our lives and let God in, he WILL direct our paths for good and we can find peace in knowing he is leading us towards light and happiness. 

Wow look how insightful i've become haha. Just kidding, but for realz, when you're stuck in a bed for 10 days it's amazing how much reading you can get accomplished in the Bible, Book of Mormon and Conference talks haha. No I wouldn't consider myself a scholar but i'm working on it ;) 

I truly am so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary here in the Philippines though, I know many of you might think i'm crazy for doing it. But I can truly say there is no greater joy than comes from serving others and sharing the happy gospel message with the wonderful Philippine people. I love you all and YES mom I am feeling SO much better and am wearing bug spray and drinking lots of water and everything else haha. I love you all so much and pray for you always! Thanks again for all the prayers- they really worked and for the emails! I probably won't be able to respond to all of them today but just know i love you :)

Mahal ko kayo!

Sister Lowe