Priscilla Preaches: On the Lord's Errand

Sister Wright and Sister Daughety at church Sunday, December 6, 2015

Happy Monday everyone and happy first mass email in December! I can't believe I have been in the field five months now and how much I have grown spiritually from this experience already! This week has definitely been one for the records and I am going to be honest, I know a lot of you have already heard about the accident. Point blank, I really don't want to talk about what happened because it was/is pretty traumatic to me and I feel like reflecting a lot on it won't be helpful for me emotionally or mentally so if I don't fill you in on the details don't be offended, I just still have healing I want to go through before I really talk about it. Thank you for understanding and from there, let's talk about the week!

Monday was my crossover day with Sister Daughety! Now she has less days out than I have in! We celebrated by not really doing much, really just the usual P-Day antics and walking which was fun. Tuesday and Wednesday were busier days, hitting up as many people as we could. Wednesday was particularly fun as we helped a member wrap her family's Christmas gifts so she could send them across the country. Sister Daughety and I had a lot of fun, especially since the member had two cats and it's their first Christmas so I got to play and cuddle with them which is always a highlight for me.

Thursday was a pretty effective day as well. We were able to meet up with some less active members in the ward as well as have a lesson with our investigator who had to drop her baptismal date due to vertigo. Good news! She has been recovering so well and we shared with her enough crazy baptismal stories that she decided she can do it and has a baptismal date set again! She is such a wonderful example of faith to me! She even bore her testimony Sunday during Fast and Testimony meeting which not only inspired me but really touched most of the congregation which was really awesome!

Thursday I also got the package my mom sent with Christmas decorations like the felt Christmas tree and the Christmas lights. I was so excited to put up the tree that it went up during dinner hour and Sister Daughety helped me hang up the ornaments. The lights have yet to go up but at least we have a tree!

Thursday night was also the night of the accident. We were walking home from a teaching appointment with some recent converts (about a five minute walk, and lighted as per the missionary handbook rules) and were crossing the street right by our apartment when the crosswalk signal said we could cross. Next thing I remember was gasping for breath on the asphalt and looking at Sister Daughety who was up and making sure I was ok. Apparently a man in a truck was making a right-turn onto the road we were crossing and didn't see us because it was night-time, rainy, and we were wearing our coats. I don't really remember much but he helped me up and Sister Daughety said he was a nice man and seemed really sorry about the whole thing. I got most of the hit because I was on the left side and didn't fly as far as Sister Daughety but basically was hit by a 4,000 lb linebacker at 10-15 mph. We were so confused, stressed, and unsure what to do in the moment though that we got up, brushed ourselves off, figured the apartment was two feet away so we went to just hide away and process what had just happened. On impact or just among the madness we lost the key to the apartment and realized we were locked out. We went back to the intersection to try to find the key but had no luck. Amidst that time our injuries decided to make themselves more apparent as the adrenaline wore off, our ward mission leader showed up to help us find the key (because we called him because we figured he had a spare), and we spoke with a police officer who said he already had the information of the man who hit us. As time went on I noticed my knee was really starting to hurt and it was hard to breathe. After we gave up the key search we conceded to going to the ER where apparently if you walk in and say you were hit by a car they put you in the trauma room, because apparently it was a tramautic experience. Everyone I talked to afterwards said I was being pretty hysterical. So that was cool. I got a cat scan and x-rays. All the bones are safe but I have a sprained knee and chest contusions (fancy work for bruised lungs). And since we didn't have a spare key to the apartment we went to the Ward Mission Leader's for the night. This all ended about 1 am Friday. So overall, a long, painful experience.

I can say I have learned a lot from this experience. I know the power of the priesthood, that power and authority to act in the name of God, is real. I know our Heavenly Father keeps an eye on his missionaries and protects them because he loves them. I would not still be here if I didn't know He was watching me through this experience. I know I am not completely healed from the experience either, and it will definitely take time before I can say I am better. But I will grow from this experience. I know this church is true and that our Heavenly Father loves each of us. I hope you have all had the opportunity to explore Christmas.Mormon.org to review why we have this blessed season and have shared some of your thoughts on why the Savior was born. I know He was born so we can be born again. I love and appreciate all your prayers and hope you have a blessed week.

Love, Sister Wright

Christmas Tree that Mom sent