Meet Me In St Louis: Cut Pinky and Slammed Fingers. 19 Months? (Feb 13th 2017)

What a week I got a really, really good story this week. Kind of gross but I gotta tell you all about it. Other than that we have been doing some walking, just trying to save miles. The good thing about the story of the week is that it is the first day of the week.

Monday we had P-day and went to a family’s house in Marble Hill about 30 plus minutes away. Had dinner and taught a non-member family at their home. It went really well. So we drove back to the apartment. Our apartment is awesome. We each have our own shower. I have the bigger one because I am selfish. My shower is a walk in shower, not a tub shower. The difficult thing is it doesn't drain well. It pools up while you shower. It takes a little time to drain after you are done. So I got tired of it. That night I decided to try to open the drain. It was held in place by two very old screws that were covered in calcium. So I spent some time getting the calcium build up off it with some knives. I did not cut myself. We did not have a screw driver and I didn’t want to use my Leatherman because they were really tough and I didn’t want to bend it or break it. So I used a different Leatherman type tool. It had a screw driver end but a serrated blade for the blade. It also wouldn't lock in place. With a little pressure, it would fold. So I began to try to undo the screw. I got a few good tries at it. I got a little ticked and decided to try harder. The extra effort folded the blade but it did not close. My hand went straight to the floor and the blade was sitting there patiently waiting for me. This all happened within seconds. The serrated blade caught my pinky finger of my right hand perfectly. It went bone deep. I hurried and pulled the blade out and looked at my hand as it began to bleed like rushing waters. The only thing I could do was call for my companion who was in the other room. I calmly said "Elder Atterton!" No answer, I waited then I put some more panic in my voice and said "ELDER ATTERTON!!!" he came rushing in and saw the blood. It now covered the shower floor and me smiling and saying “Can you get some rags, Please?”. With a concerned look on his face, he rushed into the other room and brought me some rags. I began applying pressure and I forgot to mention this is taking place at 10 pm. So I get the bleeding for the most part to stop. So we called President Baird the director and head man at the ER. He answered and I explained the situation and he made some phone calls. He told me to stop the bleeding and put super glue on it, so I did. We went to bed on time and I kept it elevated all night. It was really deep and made a perfect V shape in my finger when you pull the two sides apart. I didn’t feel any pain.

Tuesday my finger was really sore and began to bruise at the knuckle, where you bend your finger at. It was really sore and it would open easy so we went to the Hospital and saw President Baird. He looked at it and we talked about it. He gave me some tips and Band-Aids. We had exchanges with the Poplar Bluff Elders. I was with Elder Martin. He is from Thatcher, Arizona. We saw Alecia, Ben, and James. We talked to Alecia about the story of the Israelites in Joshua 3:7-17. The Lord promises them that He will part the River Jordan so they can continue to carry the Ark of the Covenant. So they get down to the River Jordan. The connection we made was the Lord didn't part the river until they acted in faith by first stepping and moving through the water, not while they sat at shore waiting for God to do something. We asked her what her “River Jordan” is and talked about the blessings of acting in faith. James, we talked about the fall of Adam and Eve and how the Book of Mormon teaches us more of what the purpose was and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ was what they needed to now live to return to our Heavenly Father. The Gospel of Jesus Christ or the Doctrine of Christ which is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End is in all things. It was a really good lesson. We had Zone Conference the next day and needed to wash our cars for vehicle inspections. So we cleaned our car from head to toe and inside and out, she looked beautiful. Another showroom quality car. Then that night we cleaned and prepared the church building for Zone Conference the next day.

Wednesday we got down to the church and re-cleaned the car and unlocked the doors. We had vehicle inspections and Elder Mower said we had the cleanest car in the parking lot that day and the cleanest car in the mission. Totally on his good side now. Zone Conference was awesome. After Zone Conference we went with President to Burritoville, it was really good. After dinner, we had exchanges with Poplar Bluff 2 Elders. We tried some former investigators and set up some appointments for the next week. It was a great day. I saw Sister Palmer from back home (Gilbert, AZ) which was weird.... I am not used to seeing people I recognize from home.

Thursday we were still on exchanges Elder Cheney. We taught Barry, Jimmy and went to the hospital because my finger was really numb. I hit the bone and probably also cut a nerve as well. It was bruising up good. I have been elevating it a lot. After teaching Jimmy and Barry we drove down to Poplar Bluff for a baptismal interview with a lady named Faye Helton. I had the privilege to conduct the interview, it went really good. A really strong spiritual experience. For me and Faye. She was ready to be baptized. After the interview, we drove back to elder Cheney’s area in time for coordination and dinner at the Sparks. We had tacos, they were really good. The Sparks family is a great family love being with them.

Friday we had the opportunity to weekly plan it was fun. Not much to say really. After weekly planning, we tried some people and got our lesson ready for Libin that night. We brought Brother Mueller who is also a scientist. So that was good for Libin they talked about China and science. We had a good lesson we were able to talk about the Plan of salvation. My hand kept reopening which was always fun to take care of.

Saturday we saw Kerri in the morning and taught her about the Word of Wisdom. While teaching the Plan of Salvation we also helped her pray and receive answers to her prayers. We then deiced to save miles and walk the rest of the day to appointments. We came in contact with some interesting people. We walked a lot, it saved us gas and miles that we needed to save. We met with a member who works at the school and got a list of Young Single Adults who we could go see that are already members. Then we went to the church because we had some teens want to come to a dance. We showed up and the church building was tagged. Some people in the neighborhood came and drew on the outside of the building. It is unfortunate. After stopping by we went and saw Anthony we went over the Gospel Principles lesson. It was warm like 60 degrees it was nice.

Sunday we had church. We got Anthony to pass the Sacrament which was huge for him. We also had dinner at the Baird’s. They are really fun, I love that family so much. They are great. We had an awesome spiritual thought with them about praying for people by name and how there is great power in that.

We had a great week this week. We have some things moving in the right direction and we are excited to see what happens. The work is great! The weather isn’t as cold as it usually is and we are having fun. My finger is doing fine and there isn’t anymore swelling.

I love you all have a great week!!!! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is in all things. Our Heavenly Father Loves us and has given us the Gospel to help us feel Joy. I know that to be true.

Love,

Elder Washburn