Footsteps and a Fractured Foot...

My new favorite song is called Footsteps. It is in the new youth songs for 2019. I have been playing it on repeat and it foreshadowed the events that transpired this week. Last week we stayed home more than usually because of the health of my companion. God was hearing my prayers that we could go out and preach the gospel this week because the following event happened that caused a slight fracture in my foot:

As we were walking home one day we noticed a toddler wandering the busy streets by himself. There were many cars and motorcycles driving that evening. The toddler started to wander into the streets and my jaw almost dropped as a motor almost hit the child. The kid just kept on heading towards the middle of the street and I had the prompting to go and grab the kid. I ran into the middle of the street as in a game of Frogger and picked up the child right as a jeepney sped past and would have hit the kid. While the toddler was left uninjured, the jeepney hit by left foot and I was left limping to the side of the road. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and the doctors said my foot might need surgery if I was going to walk again. As I was consulting with the surgeons the parents of the child ran in crying, thanking me for saving the child's life. 

Just kidding. None of that is true....  I tripped down a stair step and landed on my foot wrong. Haha.... yeah I wish I had a cool story but that is all that happened. I was honestly pretty upset because all I wanted to do was go out and start working towards our goals. I could not put any pressure on the outside of my foot without falling to the ground. Coincidentally our roommate has the flu so we stayed together for a couple days. I refused to call the mission office because I did not want to go to the hospital again. Plus there have been times where missionaries have to go home because of a broken foot, and that is the last thing I want right now. I prayed that my foot would heal enough for me to go out and work by Saturday because we had exchanges planned with other Elders in our zone. Saturday came and my foot still hurt but was feeling a little better. We went out and I got about 2 minutes away from the house before I collapsed from the pain. Every footstep was full of pain and more than anything I was just so upset that I could not just go out and do what I was called to do as a missionary. After hobbling back to the apartment, I asked for a priesthood blessing and felt encouraged to call the mission nurse about what has been happening. I went down to the hospital and found out that I have a small fracture on my foot. It is not too bad so it should hopefully just heal by itself. They gave me crutches for the first couple of days and pain medication as well. Now I can walk more on my foot, but will probably have a limp for a while. Looks like no climbing the mountains in Montalban. I am still listening to the song Footsteps and it makes me laugh from the irony of the situation.

 " Step into the dark And don't be afraid

Every star in the heavens Is lighting your way 

If you feel like you’re lost You’re not alone 

Just follow His footsteps And He’ll lead you home"

Even if my footsteps are painful, we just need to follow in HIS footsteps and he will lead us home to our Heavenly Father. 

So this, mixed with my companion that has been struggling with health issues as well, we have been going to the hospital way too much. With the few time that we have had in our area, we still have seen some progress and we are excited for the upcoming months. We also had a busy week with zone conference where I gave a couple workshops and then exchanges with the assistants. Yesterday we also got to go to temple which was exactly what I needed this week. God will strengthen us to accomplish what needs to get done. God understands every trial and problem that we have. When challenges happen in our life, the only thing that we can control is how we act. We can choose to be upset, or to understand. To learn. To live to our potential. 

The work shall go on.

Elder Cadayong