Doctor's visit

Hello sweet friends and family-

Megan had an appointment with Dr. Buse (GI doctor) today – what a wonderful man! A little blessing that we didn’t expect – he speaks Spanish! This was very helpful as he was able to read all the documents from her stay in the hospital and read the packages from her (many) different medicines. He spent a long time talking to Megan about her symptoms and also spent 10 minutes watching the video from her endoscopy (even asked if we had brought popcorn to go with it!) He did not have any concerns about the endoscopy which is good. He was very willing to be aggressive with doing more tests right away if that is what we wanted but his recommendation was to wait 2 weeks, not take any medicine, and see how she feels. He really believes that given some time, she will feel better.  He thinks that she likely got some type of bacteria or infection that upset her digestion system and for some reason, it just couldn’t recover.

She has felt somewhat better since coming home – still nauseous and some stomach pain but not as often. She has shared lots and lots of stories and pictures which we have loved! She has connected online with some of the people from Mexico and has loved being able to stay updated on their lives. She misses them and especially misses the sister missionaries in her apartment and her amazing mission president and his wife.

We are going to follow Dr. Buse’s advice and give her a couple weeks of Mama’s home cookin’ to see what happens. If she is still having symptoms, we’ll head back to Dr. Buse’s office and start doing some follow up tests. Thank you so much for your texts, emails and phone calls. We truly feel very loved! We will send another update in a couple of weeks and let you know how she is doing. We would love your continued prayers for her recovery!

Much love~

Troy and Leslie

Coming home

Hello sweet friends and family-

We spoke to Megan along with her mission president and his wife on Wednesday night. It was a sweet and comforting conversation. We shared our thoughts, prayed together, and listened as Megan described her journey towards making a decision about what to do. We shed many tears with some laughter mixed in and talked about how we wish the circumstances could be different. Megan has loved every minute of her mission and wishes more than anything that she could stay. However, she feels like the answer to her many prayers is that she needs to come home and get well.  Her mission president and his wife are heart-broken. They love our sweet girl immensely and are so sad that she is leaving. They said “she is amazingly strong and has endured through sickness every single day for months. Despite her challenges, she has served and loved so many. There are so many here who will be so sad to see her leave. Even though we wish it were different, I am extending to her an honorable release from her mission and pray that she will return home and get healthy.”

She has been struggling with stomach issues for over 2 months and has lost 30 or more pounds. She has been on several different kinds of medicine and had an endoscopy and lab work done. Nothing has tempered the symptoms for very long and they have become increasingly worse. She feels like she needs to come home and get her body healthy again. That is our first priority – to get her healthy. The door is open for her to return on a mission if her health returns. Time will tell what might be in store for her – her desire to serve and love is very strong and she will have to decide how that might happen best going forward.

She will be arriving home today. We are excited to see her and to hear all the stories and see the pictures of her experiences there. What a marvelous day it will be to hug our sweet girl again!  We are so proud of her and all she was able to accomplish in such a short time. She has learned many things and grown in remarkable ways and I’m sure will never forget the lessons she learned there. Coming home early from a mission is never easy. There are often feelings of insecurity and worry if the right decision was made. We hope to help her see what she has accomplished and to celebrate a job well done.

  

Thank you for all you have done to support and love her and us. We are truly and deeply grateful – for the prayers, words of support, and fasting on our behalf. It has been humbling to see how much we are loved by each of you. Please know of our most sincere and heart-felt gratitude for everything you’ve done.

Troy and Leslie

Week 19: Decisions

Good morning-

Troy and I received a call on Sunday night from Megan’s mission president. He is concerned about her health and has asked us, along with Megan, to pray to understand what would be best for her to get better. We have a call scheduled tomorrow night to discuss this with he and Megan. As you can imagine, it is weighing heavily on her mind. She wants nothing more than to stay and serve her mission but realizes that she can’t be very effective if she is not well. We are still hoping and praying for a miracle but also realize that a miracle may not be what is in store for her. We will know more after our call tomorrow night and will send an update then.

Please continue to pray for her. We would love nothing more than a miracle to allow her to stay but if that’s not what should happen, we hope that her body will heal quickly if she comes home.

We love you and are very, very grateful for your love and support!

Leslie

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Hello family and friends! thank you for all of the emails, letters and prayers!

Unfortunately, I have to make a decision this week. To stay or to come home. My body isnt getting better here in Mexico. I am not healthy. The medicines arent working, I cannot get the medical treatment I need here. This has not been easy for me. At all. Actually, it has been the hardest time of my entire life. Trying to show my faith to the Lord and go walk the streets and teach while I feel horrible or laying in my bed all day feeling poopy too. This isnt how a mission should be. I have talked to my mission president and his wife a ton about my decision.They always tell me that I should be enjoying my mission, not suffering through it. Yes, there will be big trials, but not for our whole mission. With this trial, it limits me physically and has almost drained me emotionally too. I have been so confused with this trial.Why am I here if I am going to be sick and cant work? Isnt that the whole point of a mission? But I have also learned a lot about the Lords will. A lot of the time, we dont know what is best for ourselves, only the Lord. If the Lord wants me to go home, then I will. If He wants me to stay then I will. It is one of the biggest decisions of my entire life. And it is scary because I cant talk to my family too often about what they think. 

I just want to let you all know that I have no desire to come home. Except to see my family and friends of course, but to return to old life is not something I imagined right now 4 months into my mission. As a matter of fact, I have changes/transfers anyway, so I will leaving my area with either decision I make. I said goodbye to the people I love yesterday and I cried and cried.It was the hardest thing. I absolutely love the people of Mexico City. Loooove them. There is so much work still to be done here and so many people that need the gospel. I love them dearly.

As I am packing, I dont know if I am packing to only change areas or to go home. Either way, it is a sad and hard process. I really dont want to leave, but if it is the will of the Lord that I come home then I will. I have learned so much about the Lord and His love while I have been on my mission and I think He would be dissapointed in me if I didnt show my faith and follow his will. I have learned that. 

If I do go home, I end my mission with the best way possible. A baptism. We have a baptism tonight, Victor. He is so excited and so prepared. He is progressing so much in the Book of Mormon and praying. He has the sweetest heart. He said that he wants to get baptized to be an example for his family. Wow! He has so much faith and such a strong desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ. He is an example to me! So tonight we have that baptism and the bishop told us that so many people in the ward are coming and we are going to have a family night after. so excited for this and if I do go home, this is the perfect way to end.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. I will have a conference call with my parents and my mission president on Wednesday night and that is when the final decision will be made. Please pray for me and my family to be in tune to get the right answer!

Hermana Garner


my goodbyes:

Saying goodbye to Hermana Buittron. Saddest thing.

Sweet Hermana Monrroy! I think she was sadder than me when we visited her for the last time. Such a sweet lady.

These are some of my favorite people here on my mission. My "mission mom" and her daughter. They are so fun and so loving. I will miss them so much.