All fairy tales and fables start this way. I decided that our story should start the same as it is a dream come true. This blog serves the purpose of keeping our memories written down for posterity, and for personal purposes. We invite you to share in our fairy tale. So let's begin: Our story begins July 2011, in Mexico City, in a small church congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) called Barrio Oriente. I played the piano for this ward as they didn't have anyone to play the piano. On one of the first Sundays that I was there our eyes met, briefly; however, we both smiled and blushed and this is where it all started. I was serving a two year LDS mission for the church and in this time I left my family, school, my job and friends to serve my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The role of a missionary is to invite others to come unto Him by way of Repentance, Baptism, The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. I had been in Mexico almost a whole year and it was the most amazing experience of my life. Little did I know that God had other plans for me, and that I would meet my future wife. The ways that God prepares us from even before we experience things is amazing and an amazing miracle. For example, when you go to a Ward (congregation) you go to a specified one depending on where you live. Violeta lived in a different area and so where she went to church wasn't the Ward that she would have normally assisted but she went there because they also had a house in Iztapalapa (part of Mexico City). This was my last area of the mission, but I didn't know that at the time. I was in the middle of being in a different area when we got a call from the Mission President telling me that he would like me to change to Oriente to help instruct a new missionary there named Elder Fiedler. Elder is a title that missionaries carry for the two years of service. The smiles that were exchanged were innocent but there was a fire or a feeling of something more in them. But, she knew that I was in the service of God and so she respected me as such. We both agree now that other ward members and her mom realized that there was something more in those smiles and realized it even before we did. Every Sunday we ate with a different member of the Ward to get to know them better and leave a message from the scriptures with them. I heard that Viole's mom, also named Violeta and that is why we call my future spouse Viole, was an amazing cook and so I began to wonder why they had never invited us to eat with them. After the last meeting I went up to her mom and asked if they would be able to invite us to eat with them when they had time on Sunday. She invited us and put her name on the list for another time. When we ate with them that Sunday, they had totally forgotten that we were coming over, and so didn't have much prepared for us but I was amazed to see how fast they could whip up some tacos at the last minute and they were so good! I was very surprised, however, that while we were waiting to eat they served us Chapulines, or Grasshoppers. This is a treat for many as you go south of Mexico City into the smaller pueblos and countryside. It is prepared by frying the grasshoppers alive and then putting lemon juice, salt, and salsa valentina on top. I didn't know what to do and so it took a lot of courage to eat a spoonful. My missionary companion was even more nervous about trying them even after I took my first bite, but we finally convinced him to do so and he didn't want any more. I ate about three spoonfuls; the flavor and texture really weren't all that bad, but it was the thought of what we were eating that made me cringe. We ate tacos afterwards and made small talk with the family. I remember that she was wearing jeans and a white shirt when we met her at the house. We talked about her studies and how she was studying to be a dentist. I mentioned that I, too, wanted to be a dentist when I was younger but that I had decided to do Nursing instead. I did notice that the smiles were still there, but I tried to keep focus on what my mission was. I am not proud to admit that even though I thought she was beautiful, I did not want to pursue a relationship with anyone from my mission because of the difficulty of Marriage and an international marriage. So I kept her in the back of my mind. Little, did I know that I wouldn't be there for much longer in this area. A week or so later I started to get major migraines that lasted for long periods of time; this is a very unusual thing for me because if I get migraines they don't last all day or for continuous periods of time. I decided to go to the doctor and see what was going on. He recommended that I go see the neurologist and have them do some tests. The neurologist thought it could be a number of things and so she prescribed high blood pressure pills, depression medication, and a whole pill container of other medicines to try and see what it could be. Luckily, the medicine is a lot cheaper in Mexico or it would have been a very expensive diagnosis indeed. She also prescribed a CAT scan and MRI as well as a couple heart tests. After the results were in and we met with her, I was beginning to be a little desperate for an answer. She looked at the tests and said they were conclusive with a disease called Cysticercosis. This disease involves worms that migrate from the intestines into the brain and muscles and before people realize they have them it is usually too late. Luckily, she said, It seemed I only had one and that had passed away a while ago. The danger of having a worm inside the brain is two-fold. When it dies or multiplies it bursts out of the protective sac leaving a calcification deposit behind and its life ends or it dies and releases other worms. She immediately gave me anti-seizure medication, as well as medication with chemotherapy properties to make sure that I would not have any problems if it did die and leave other eggs in my brain. It was quite a scare and I didn't tell my parents for a few weeks because I wanted to make sure before I told them everything. I got sicker and sicker and it became to the point that I was very sensitive to noises, light, and daily activities. I stayed in my apartment and my companion switched off working in our area with other companions while one stayed with me. After a while, the mission doctor told me it would be good to get the treatment needed back in the states and so he was recommending to my mission president that it was time to release me from being a missionary. The next day was torture as I waited for the mission president to call me and tell me what was going on and if I was leaving, when. I told my parents that Monday to expect a call from the mission president and a few hours later I was told to pack my stuff up as I would be leaving the next morning back to Utah. I was sad to leave and sad to miss our dinner date that next Wednesday in celebration of Viole's birthday that they had invited us to, but I had my orders. I said goodbye to the people I could and left early that next morning back to Utah. It was an emotional roller coaster but it was good to be back home and seek for the answers I needed about the condition I had been diagnosed with. I had not had a seizure but I was told to continue all medication until further instruction. I got home and not even a few days later I had a friend request on Facebook from Viole. I added her and we talked for a while. In the upcoming days she told me of her feelings for her and it was hard for me to tell her that I didn't feel the same and I tried to seem disinterested in the conversation. We kept in and out of contact in the coming months until I told her that I was coming back to Mexico to visit and bringing my mom and she invited us to stay at her place if we would like to. I told her that would be fine and we would spend the end of the week we would be there at her house with her family. Viole was sad that we didn't keep in contact more often as she felt something for me, but I wasn't ready to get married or be in a relationship and so I didn't think anything more of it. I got home from Mexico the first time October 18th and went back to Mexico in June. My mom and I spent a great week visiting and seeing different sights in Mexico and I was reluctant to have to be put in an awkward situation by staying at Viole's house, but we had already made plans and so we went. The few days we were there were the best days of my life. I really felt something for her and I couldn't explain why, but I was too shy to admit to myself that it could work and to thick-headed to actually act upon my feelings. My mom and hers pushed us together when they could and let us walk together to get to know one another. I laughed with her and clicked with her a little more but didn't let myself get too close as I didn't feel it was the right thing. We took a few pictures and I was reluctant to take pictures but one look at my Mom and I knew that there was no arguing. How grateful I am that my Mom did just that, later I will explain why. Some of the moments that we shared were: talking about our likes and dislikes in the garden at Xochimilco, eating with some close friends in Lomas de San Lorenzo with Hermana Cata and with amazing food, Singing in the bus on the way to the metro, Almost getting smashed in the Subway doors as the train was about to head out and laughing so hard we couldn't breathe, having the sewer water come up after it rained and me and my mom both wore sandals and we hopped around trying to avoid sewer-water puddles, and having Viole's mom spill sauce from the Chiles Enogados on herself while in the Metro and me almost telling her about my feelings but being afraid to when we went to get Juice the last morning we were there in Mexico.
As they took us to the airport I felt like time was running out and so did she. She texted me her feelings in the car on the way to the airport and I told her that we could try being a couple but that I couldn't guarantee anything, but that I was willing to give it a try. I gave her a huge hug when we got out of the car, and we were off. I was still unsure about everything as I left Mexico, but was intrigued at the idea of what had just happened and why it had happened that way. God's hand was at work to prepare two people from different countries, cultures, and ideas- sharing one thing, a growing friendship between the distance. It would be nice to say that we lived happily ever after, but there is so much more to the story. The real question is- Where will this fairy tale end up?
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