Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

It has been a wild two weeks since I have posted. Many things have happened and also many things did not happen. The plague entered the doors of our apartment and the endurance was brutal. I think that Erik was a day ahead of me with the influenza situation. I was surprised at how quickly it overcame us with it’s force. It started with a chest cough for me with no other preemptive symptoms. The next day brought aches, fever and headache. The headache was strange because it came from the base of our heads and worked it’s way to the front. As each consecutive day passed, I felt that a fresh new hell awaited as new symptoms unlocked. I do not usually get sick with viruses so I was a little peeved and also in awe of how my body was responding. Neither of us had an appetite so, very little cooking happened for a week. I was living off of chicken broth and fluids. Erik was sleeping a lot; one day he clocked 12 hours of sleep.

I have this little theory that if I have a virus, I want to sweat it out. If it’s bacterial, I should rest and let my body battle it. Thus, despite being so ill, I still wanted to get some form of exercise in each day. I wear a smart watch and as I’ve said before, it’s like a Tamagotchi but it’s keeping me alive. I love my goals of closing all my rings everyday and despite feeling like death warmed over, when the moment arrived where I felt like moving, I was up on the rebounder. Last Wednesday, I told Erik that I was going for a walk. I really needed fresh air, so he followed me and we were walking for an hour. Around 40 minutes into the walk, my brain started worrying that I wasn’t going to make it home. I had to tell myself that it would be okay to stop and rest if needed to keep going. A sweat was worked up and I felt happy that I completed my goal.

By Christmas Day, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to attend the missionary Christmas dinner. It would be wise to stay home since we were only 5 days into the flu. I was feeling sorry for myself and wondered what the issue was. As I analyzed my feelings, I realized that it was actually harder to be away from our family than I thought it would be. Two Christmas’s ago, Erik and I had nothing to do for Christmas, so we got up, started puttering and opening our stockings. We didn’t even get dressed until 2 pm. We watched football all day and ended up having grilled cheese sandwiches for Christmas dinner. It was very relaxing but coming from a family of Christmas traditions, it was hard.

I was sad not to be able to celebrate with the other senior missionaries but we didn’t want to share the flu with anyone either. Erik did put a little stocking bag together for me while I didn’t even have a thing for him to open. Instead, I decided to pull myself together and make him a Christmas dinner. I started the morning by making cinnamon roll muffins. Then I had to bake a loaf of bread for the stuffing because we didn’t have any bread in the house. Our dinner ended up with roast chicken, roasted cabbage wedges, cranberry/orange sauce and stuffing with gravy. It was tasty, but I felt like a roasted chicken by the time all was said and done. I was cleaning as I went all day long and by the end of the night I was ready to put my feet up and rest.

Thus, last week when I should have been posting, I was absolutely in the throes of the flu. Church this week was quite sparse because so many people are sick. The week before Christmas, I was able to sing in our Branch choir and we sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing (in Spanish).

In my misery, I told myself that Christmas is just one day. Instead focus on the Savior and his life and that brought me comfort and happiness. Earlier this year, I purchased a tiny pewter Nativity set comprised of woodland animals. The moose (shepherd) was what sold me on it.

A huge tender mercy for us occurred on the 17th of December. Erik and I were filling in as shift coordinators at the temple that evening. We always go over the daily checklist of patrons and ordinances that are reserved. As I approached Erik at the recommend desk, he pointed to a name on the list. My eyes got huge as I realized the significance of that name. Tears immediately came to my eyes. A gentleman’s name on the list was a very dear friend of ours from our Butte, Montana days. Erik had not seen Dan in over 30 years. Dan Wendt and his first wife Lisa are eternal friends of ours. Dan and Lisa joined in on Erik’s first missionary discussion. Two weeks after that first discussion with the missionaries, Dan baptized Erik. I couldn’t believe that we were going to have the opportunity to see Dan and his second wife, Judy, who we hadn’t met yet. About 5:55 pm, I had a thought that they weren’t coming after all so I quickly said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to please get them to the temple. They were booked for the 6:15 pm Endowment session. At that moment, they had been sitting in a restaurant in Palmyra about to order supper. They received a prompting to look at their reservation time and were shocked that the session was not at 7 pm but 6:15 pm. They quickly jumped up and drove to the temple and made it on time. As we went for supper together after the temple shift, I told them my experience and they said, “You prayed us to the temple!!” They had the same waitress as previous and we were able to eat together and have a quick visit before they headed to Syracuse for the night. Dan and Judy have both recently retired and were on a giant road trip, starting in Washington state. They didn’t know that we were in Palmyra and we didn’t know where they were living as we had lost touch with them. What a tender mercy!!

Last week, I was thinking about the news of Elder Holland being admitted to the hospital and I knew that he would be leaving us soon to join his beloved wife. I am loving all the accounts that people are sharing of their experiences with Elder Holland. He truly was a disciple of Christ. His example makes me want to be a better disciple too.

This week I am choosing to embrace my Slavic side and am learning some new recipes to switch things up a bit. I told Erik, “It’s time we embraced more of our Slavic natures!” He got a worried look on his face and said, “What does that mean!!?” A couple of summers ago, I made Olivier Salad which the Russians took from the Latvians. I absolutely loved it and will be making it again soon. Today I put together a Russian Marinated salad. It has cabbage, sweet peppers, carrots, jalapenos, garlic and I added onion. A marinade is cooked, cooled and poured over the veggies. Let it sit overnight and then it will be ready tomorrow. I love having salads around ready to eat and only thinking about putting a protein together with it.

I don’t have fire cider here or the equipment to make it but my friend Kasie found it at Sauder’s (a Mennonite store). I sent Erik to Dutchland (another Mennonite store) which is in Marion, just north of us. He bought me some “Yoder’s Good Health” which is comprised of elderberries, 20 different herbs, apple cider vinegar and 5 different juices. I’m taking 2 ounces a day to help me overcome and get my strength back.

I woke up this morning to 7C and this afternoon the wind was blowing fiercely and the house was moving. We have a winter storm warning. At the grocery store today, people were stocking up on the essentials. The storm is forecast to last three days, so we shall see what comes of it all. We also went to Marshall’s so I could look for a Dutch oven. Erik says, “Are you prepared to leave that behind?” I told him that I will carry it on my lap all the way back to Canada if I have to! So, we shall see if my Merten & Storck lives up to it’s reputation.

My Health Coach has asked me to think about new goals for the upcoming year. I feel like it’s been a roller coaster for the last little while. We’ve had big ups and low lows. I love to think about being better and how to accomplish that. The Lord opens doors for us and we need to be brave enough to take the steps that will take us out of our comfort zones and into being an even better person. Elder Holland has said, “Life has always been a little messy, but there is always a way through it as we lean on our Savior”. I want more joy, more hope, more faith in my life. Eternity is a long time to be miserable or to decide to have joy. I choose JOY!

As you ponder on where you are and where you could possibly be, don’t limit yourself. Heaven is cheering you on; the greatest army stands behind you. Trust God and believe in good things to come. Stay well and know that you are loved!