July 13th, 2012 "CRAZAY WEEK"

Ok there is so much to say that the introductions have to be very short, so please bear with me as a try to thank people, and if you are not mentioned i still love you.

This has been a very hard week, thank you for your love and support, I have heard from a LOT of people. Just getting a letter during this time has been an awesome thing to recieve, I'm grateful to know you are thinking about me!

Thank you for fasting for me, I am so grateful for your added faith to those of us here at the MTC. We are fasting today for my eye, we have faith that it can be made well and that I can continue to serve my mission healthy and able. Thank you for the packages! Thankyou for everything. Love you all.

Ok here is the story, please put this letter on the blog, I am going to send home my SD card so you can put photos on the blog as well. 

Tuesday we were playing basketball in the gym.  We weren't playing competitively, we were obeying all the rules, I went to block a Elder in by district as he tried to make a lay up, Im not sure exactly what happened, but his left middle finger flew up into my right eye. I ran of the court holding my eye, honestly it didn't hurt that bad after the initial hit, I think that can be attributed to adrenaline. It took awhile for my vision to come back, and when it did, there was a fuzzy ring around the area where my eye would focus.  It was wierd, but i decided that it would go away in time. When we returned from gym, my companion suggested we get my eye checked out. When I arrived for my check up at the medical center here at the MTC, they immediately said I needed to see an optometrist as soon as possible. This is when i started to be afraid. My vision had not improved, and the bruise on the white of my eye was starting to hurt very badly.  I had to wait an hour for the shuttle and my appointment, and honestly it was the longest hour of my life! Eventually we arrived at the medical office though, and I went in for my appointment. The Doctor ( Dr. Myers) Checked out my eye and gave my the low down.  The while of my eye had a very bad laceration on it, but that would heal just like any other skin tissue, so that wasn't the issue.  The problem was with the muscle that surrounds the iris, it had torn in three places.  He proceeded to tell me that his tissue did not heal very well, and that it would be likely that I would have impaired vision, distorted pupil shape, increased sensitivity to light, etc. He then told me that we needed to dialate my eyes to see if my retina and lense had been damaged, if they had I would need surgery. He left the room for a moment and I just started to bawl. I have never felt so devastated in my entire life, I never thought that my MTC experience would come with a physical impairment i would carry with me for the rest of my life.  While I was sitting in my chair, a phrase in spanish kept popping into my head, that phrase was Esta Bien, meaning ( at least to me in that moment) It is ok.  Eventually I said that out loud to my companion, and we proceeded to wait for the doctor to return. When he returned and examined my eye again, he breathed a sigh of relief and said that the internal parts of my eye had not been damaged. He perscribed four different eye drops to be taken at four different times during the day ( ya its pretty ridiculous) and sent us back.

I never expected this next part to happen, and I would call it one of the sweetest experiences of my life up to this point. While we were waiting for the MTC shuttle in the lobby of the medical center, a man began to talk to us. It was apparent that he was physically impaired, in many ways, he commented about my new sunglasses ( ya because my eyes are dialated i get to wear sunglasses around the mtc i am the sickest Elder EVER!) I said, ya i have some eye problems now i guess haha. He asked us how I got hurt, so i explained that we were missionaries playing basketball when it happened. He said " you are missionaries? Will you give me a blessing?" we were a little taken back, but we agreed.

We walked to a secluded place in the building, we couldn't find an empty room so we sat down in a stairwell.  He proceeded to tell us the difficulties he had in his life, that he was impaired and could not provide for his family, that they had lost trust in him. He was very discouraged, we could tell. He also told us that he felt his grandmother's presence and that she helped him through every day ( he had no living person who was around often enough to give him a lot of comfort) So, armed with this knowledge ( and pretty intimidated) I laid my hands on his head.  The spirit became so strong the second I began the blessing, I knew exactly what to say.  I told him that his heavenly father was grateful for his sacrifices, especially those that were physical. I told him that if he continued to have faith through his trials, he would have the ability to provide for his family and gain trust in them once again. I also told him that his grandmother loved him and wanted him to know that she was watching over him.

After the blessing, he shook my hand with tears in his eyes and said, "I feel like you know exactly who I am" We replied that it was the spirit! It honestly was the spirity, I never would have said things so bold had i not been prompted too.

My companion and i have since realized that we were meant to be in that medical center for a reason, despite the unfortunate circumstance. I am grateful that I was able to the hands of the lord, even in my time of need. That was enough to console me through this trial.  I have recieved a wonderful blessing of healing, my companion, in the blessing said " you will have the faith to be healed." I know that I can be healed, I believe in the power of the priesthood, and that I can be made whole again and serve my mission. 

I love you all! put this on the blog, tell people about it, friends neighbors, the lax parents aunts and uncles, tell laura and john pinnock, my friends parents everyone! I love you all som much, sorry this is jumbled there is no time left.  Continue to pray for me, I will talk to you nxt week.

Con mucho Amor

Elder Neff