LETTER DATED OCTOBER 29, 2013

I am doing pretty good minus my back of course.  And yes, I usually do emails before I get mail.  I will usually do emails around **** on Tuesdays.

The picture of the baby is super cute!  I can't wait to find out if it is a boy or a girl!  I'm so happy for Colton and Shannon!

I am sorry to hear about Pops being so sick! :(  That's no fun at all!  But I know that you took good care of him. :)

I am also sorry to hear about ***!  Her situation is very common because a lot of the time members don't do enough at fellowshipping or the missionaries don't follow up after investigators are baptized.  That why member missionary work is so important.  Just keep doing what you are doing. :) She just needs a friend like you. :)

I can't go to firesides like that because we are only able to go to things like that on Tuesdays and Tuesdays are always super busy.  Sad I missed out, but I know it was good.

I will be sure to let Sis. "R" know how the doctor goes tomorrow. :) Thanks you so much for all that you have done to help things out! :) I know that I wouldn't have an appointment tomorrow if it wasn't for you! :)

Things are going great with ****.  We sadly have not had any progress with him.  We have stopped by multiple time but he hasn't been there.  As for ****  - she has a baptismal date!  Granted, she still needs to *******. 

**** is our only progressing investigator.  She came to church and to the Halloween activity and we have an appointment with her tonight!  **** hasn't been doing anything.  We haven't been able to see him either.  We really thought he was prepared. 

My favorite experience so far was when **** called us up and asked us we were going to teach her.  It was so awesome!

As for dropbox, unfortunately I can't use dropbox due to computer limitations.  But thanks for trying to set that up for me.

Thank you for the packages as well!  I promise not to open them until Halloween!

Thanks for all your help mom and for the amazing mother that you are!  Other missionaries are definitely jealous! And they should be!  I am SUPER lucky!  I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOMMA!

Thank you Dad for all you have done for me and all that you still do.  I love and respect you more that anything.  I'm glad we are as close as we have become.  Have a superb week!

Love,
Elder Davis

THINGS ALWAYS LOOK BETTER IN THE MORNING

Things always look better in the morning.  Or in this case, the afternoon!  Last night we asked the mission nurse to find out why the scans had not been performed and when they would take place.  She called this evening and said somewhere along the lines (due to so 3 doctors, Taylor and herself) being involved, that there had been some miscommunication. 

Taylor's platelets are low, but his platelets always run on the low side.  Same with his enlarged lymph nodes.  The fungal infection is common with missionaries serving in humid areas.  The scans were not run because the oncologist believed he was to run an MRI only and wasn't sure it needed to be done.  So that is why the CT didn't happen.

We are still not happy about the scans not being done, but are more at peace with the other things. 

Within a few minutes of receiving this information, we received an email containing a picture of Taylor's district.  It was taken by someone who was friends with a former missionary who served in the are where Taylor currently is.  She sent the picture to her friend, who then sent it to a friend, who sent it to a friend, who then sent it to us.  Taylor looks good.  Even like he may have gained some weight.  (Which would not be happening if the cancer was back.)

We know that the Lord is watching over us and our missionary son.  We know that he is mindful of what we can handle and that he sent these tender mercies to ease our minds this day.   

HAPPY 100TH DAY ELDER TAY!

The only thing that got me through the night (besides prayer) was knowing that today Taylor would be opening his 100th day care package and hoping and praying that it left him feeling loved and happy.

100 days doesn't seem like that long.  Unless you look at it in the perspective that there are still 630 more left until we see Taylor again.  There are days that I don't think I could possibly miss him more than I do. But those feelings ALWAYS fail in comparison, to the fact that he is where he should be!  That I wouldn't want him any where else and that I couldn't possibly be more proud of the work he is doing!

Thank you to the 112 people who contributed to the 100 reasons why we love Taylor book!  Happy 100th Day Elder Tay!

WARD FAST AND DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENTS

After receiving Taylor's last two emails, we have been worried.  We have planned to fast for him today ever since we found out about his testing.  As the day wore on yesterday, we felt like he needed a little more help than just our family of five could offer.  We notified our Bishop mid day about our concerns, but he didn't get the message until 8:30 p.m.  Within 30 minutes emails and phone calls went out and we were blessed with the love and support of the Harvest Hills 7th ward.

Taylor's appointment was set to happen mid morning.  Having gone through labs and scans with him more times than I care to count, I knew the process may take all day.  Shane and I decided if we hadn't heard from the mission nurse by 5:30 MST we would give her a call.  When we did, she didn't have any information.  She hadn't heard from Taylor so she said she would call him and call us back.

This is what we were told.  Taylor's platelets are low.  He has enlarged lymph nodes in his back which may be causing the pain and he has some sort of fungal infection.  Low platelets and enlarged lymph nodes are good signs that his cancer may have returned.  We were devastated! 

We were also told that the Dr. did not perform the MRI or the CT.  It wasn't clear as to why.

WEEK 14

    I am doing good this week. Besides being nervous and what not about my appointment tomorrow, I am doing well.  I hope that it isn't just a big waste of money where they just say that I need to see a chiropractor or something dumb like that because I have tried everything that I can to get it fixed.  I know that whatever happens is what needs to, but I hope that it's at least something that wouldn't be a waste of money. 

    I didn't tell you anything about the doctor because he didn't really tell me anything. He said he doesn't know what is going on but that he would try to get things set up with the oncologist so that we can get this taken care of.

 

   Thanks for all your help and I will call Sister "R" today and ask her to check the things that you have informed me of.  I am really hoping that it all gets worked out because I don't want to be held back any longer.  That being said, I still have been working as hard as I can.  My companion has taken good care of me and has made me rest when I really needed to.  You know me and how I always try to do more than I can.

 

    Thank you for the encouraging words and what not.  I actually kind of do feel like it is cancer of some sort. To be honest, I am scared for what the outcome will be. I know my work here is far from over but I am worried because I feel like my health is hindering the work and I feel bad that I am bringing my companion down because we aren't able to work the whole time.  But that being said, I am giving it my all and I am doing all that I can for what is going on. I hope that tomorrow will solve everything and that I can stop stressing out.

 

    Thank you for being such a great mother and knowing exactly what to say to me.

 

   I am working really hard and doing everything I can to fulfill my purpose and I definitely have been helped a lot by the Lord. There have been times where I have been in super pain but we needed to teach a lesson and I would just go into the lesson knowing that I will have the strength that I need and be able to do what I need. I remember one time in specific that I was really hurting but I went into an appointment that we had and as soon as we started talking, the pain was taken away and we were able to have a very spiritual lesson.  I can definitely feel all the prayers and I know that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't doing the Lord's work and having faith that he would help me out.

 

    The work is going great! We have an investigator with a baptismal date!  The baptism is for *****. Don't get too excited because we don't know how it's going to  turn it but we have the faith that we can dunk her soon.  LOL.  She still needs to take that step to change so that she can be baptized.  But
 

      As for Halloween, I don't know what we are going to do.  We also have to be inside before dark but we might just make a big dinner and study and watch church movies or something like that.

 

      I have been trying really hard to consecrate myself to the work and it has really helped.  Besides my family, the thing I miss the most is music.  Yes, I have an MP3 player with music but it just feels like it's all the same.  But I am working on that.  Of course I am an easy going guy so I don't really struggle with being homesick yet.  The thing I DON'T miss would probably be the drama from high school.  

 

    Thank you for always looking out for me and being the AMAZINGLY AWESOME Mom that you are! I love you so much!

    

    Thank you so much for everything sweet Mother! I love you!

 

    Love,

    Elder Davis

LETTER DATED OCTOBER 22, 2013

First off I want to apologize sincerely that I wasn't able to take a picture of myself with a Happy Birthday sign to send in my email! :(  I feel really bad cuz I didn't get your letter until after I had already done emails.  I am really sorry mother!  I tried to send you something but I didn't have enough stamps or the right postage.  I feel so limited and lame!

This week I gave a talk in sacrament meeting.  That was fun.  I also went to the doctor of the mission to try and speed up the process.  It went ok.  I hope that things will speed up so I don't have to worry about this anymore.  It is really stressing me out.  Supposedly, Dr. Evan's is going to get in contact with Rady's to get things in order. 

For P-day we are doing beach volley ball at a park.  (I will probably just spend the whole time writing people though.)

As for my district, no it doesn't feel different at all.  But I'm glad that we can spend 6 more weeks serving together.  I doubt the weather will change so I will probably always sleep in the front room.  As for what we keep in the bedroom, just our clothes in the closet and that's about it.

As for recipes, I have no idea what to have you send.  I don't know what I'd be able to make.

My sheets and pillowcase are treating me well.  I LOVE them!

We haven't seen *******since I last talked about him.  It's pretty sad actually.  He's hard to get to return appointments with.  We are hoping to talk to him again soon and hope that he'll act on what we gave him to do last time.  Regarding *****, she came to church with us on Sunday!  It was awesome and she seemed to enjoy it.

As for by back, I was very straight with President and I am doing all I can to speed up the process.  I fell like it can't wait until next month.

When I study every morning, it's mostly bouncing around because I try to study with my investigators in mind.  But I do study my patriarchal blessing most every morning.  It's amazing how much I learn every day!  As for the color coding, something they've suggested is that we mark each reference to Christ in yellow, his words in orange, his attributes in blue and doctrines and principles in green.  I have tried this but it tends the mark the heck out of my scriptures.  I haven't figured our my specific marking technique yet.  I will let you know when I do.

You have no idea how much the thoughts and prayers mean to me.  I really have been given strength that  I could not have on my own.  It has been hard with my back the way it is.  But I have learned a lot and have been able to do a lot from all of the prayers.

Music wise, President Clayton outlawed pretty much anything that has a guitar (electric) in it.  He says that if it doesn't invite the spirit, it's not worth listening to. 

I love you with all my heart!

Love,
Elder Davis

HEALTH UPDATE

After receiving Taylor's email I was at a loss.  He saw a doctor but didn't tell me what the doctor said.  He wants me to have his records sent to the hospital.  What hospital?  I emailed him back hoping for a response, but didn't get one.  I put a call into Missionary Medical to see if perhaps they knew where I needed to have the records sent.  They called the nurse in Taylor's mission.  She then called me.  After speaking with me and hearing the info Taylor gave me, she laughed and said, "I better call your son, Sis. Davis and then call you back."  So she did. 

Apparently Taylor saw a doctor Monday.  He did an x-ray on Taylor's back and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.  He would like Taylor to see an oncologist next week.  Sis. "R" will get the appointments set up and let me know when they are.  I had already filed the correct releases with PCMC long ago so they can send whatever they need to wherever they need to and Sis "R" is working on that.