Halfway Mark/Back Surgery

March 3, 2014

Dear Friends and Family, 

     Whoa...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... I'm half way there.... whoa ............ohhhhhhhhhhhh, I'm livin' on a prayer.

     I've reached my halfway mark... I dunno where the past 9 months have gone.... they have seriously flown by. I can remember like it was yesterday saying goodbye to my family and headin into the MTC and starting out on that journey for the next 18 months of my life where I would devote all my heart, might, mind, and strength to serving the Lord. So much has happened in the past 9 months. I am pretty sure a mission is 20 years of life experience crammed into 18 months. You learn SOOO much on your mission. I am so glad I decided to serve it has forever changed my life and the lessons I have learned, and the people I have met will have a lasting impact on me for the rest of my life. 

     This week has been pretty crazy. I got the flu that has been going around.... along with that my back  starting hurting again from my bike accident in september (6 months ago). After about 5 doctors appointments, xrays, an MRI, lots of anti-inflammatory drugs, and a priesthood blessing the doctors where able to diagnose me with a herniated disk in my back and I should be going in for surgery tomorrow. The doctors are pretty amazed I'm not hurting more than I am and everyone's pretty amazed I made it 6 months with this and still am doing missionary work. Anyways I am going to the hospital tomorrow for my back surgery and then I will be out of commission for a few days and then it will be back to working like a dog. 

     That's about it for this week. We also had an ice storm so Dr. Miles had to move my surgery to tomorrow instead of today because none of the doctors could get to the hospital to do it. We got about a foot of snow here in Jackson and it is crazy how cold it is here. It is 20 degrees but with the humidity you will get frostbite in a few minutes if you are outside for longer than 15 minutes. This week we also went to the Chili cook off fundraiser for the young women. We got to be the judges. It was pretty good.We also got some pretty awesome cupcakes that a member made for the auction. I love Jackson.... my heart is still in Memphis but I am loving Jackson and the people here. 

 Love, 

~Hermana Larissa Johnson