Fam fam....(June 30, 2014...whew! Caught up!)

Hello, family! How's it going? I hope it's just so lovely in the 90 degree weather. All of you can just suck it up, okay? I haven't felt anything below 104 in six weeks.

So, back to the awkward contacts...we had two great ones yesterday. The first one all started because....drum roll, please...MY TIRE POPPED. It finally happened to me. We had just finished facebook, and jumped on our bikes to leave, and I notice that my front wheel is grinding and dragging, and I find a little tiny thorn wedged into it! (Spiritual parallel: even a little thorn can keep you from moving forward.) (#missionaryupinhere #spiritualparallelsforall) 

Anyway, we called Elder Brown to know what to do, he told us to call some elders in the area for help, they show up and it turns out they don't actually have the tools required, then we sit around for a really long time waiting for the other Hermanas to bring me a bike that I can use. (While I am very grateful for the help, I will admit that it was a frustrating process. IT IS SO LAME SITTING IN A CHURCH FOR THREE HOURS NOT DOING ANYTHING...) 

Anyway, I got this other bike for the day, but it's impossible to get on to, and I was struggling for a bit in front of this one house, and these two people were audibly laughing at us. So we decided to contact them. :) Well, it was super weird. He hugged us each, even when we said we weren't allowed to, then was just talk talk talking, we decided to just leave him with a card, and he asked us if we have videos on Mormon.org. We said no, and he was like, "darn, cause you two are cute......" then he points at my companion and says, "especially you," and then he turns to me and goes, "sorry. no offense."

...that's okay, I did my makeup this morning with a sledgehammer, so I get it.

(You know the talk "Lock Your Heart"? Well, every day it gets easier and easier.)

Anyway, another weird contact...last night we went up to a door and knocked, and a little boy opened it. We asked if we could talk to his parents, and he said yes...then he just went back to his kitchen table and started drawing. So here we are, standing in front of this open doorway, and anyone could just walk by and be like, "what the heck are you doing here" so we say to the little boy, "...umm...could you get your mom or dad...?" Then he gives us this big old inconvenienced look and goes to get someone. Well then two seconds later this guy walks out of another door in nothing but his underwear and long story short we are never contacting another house again.

Just kidding we totally will. #onlywhennecessary

We went bowling as a zone last week! And I got so many strikes! (A strike is when you throw it in the gutter, right?) (Just kidding I really did get a lot of strikes. I've been excited to brag about that for an entire week. Glad I got it off my chest.)

This week was a little rough with investigators...we still didn't have anyone in church, and no one really progressed and finding was pretty hard, too...but I also grew a lot personally. I studied a lot more about the Atonement. I love it! I don't think I will ever learn enough about it.

We've also been working on getting some "Personal Mission Plans" out to our ward members! It's a super awesome plan on how we can help the members share the gospel with their friends in a really simple way. 

Don't be afraid to share the gospel! It is so easy! Just invite someone to do anything! Like...family home evening! Mutual! Share a scripture! I promise it will brighten their day...and yours!

I also learned how to catch whipped cream in my mouth. I'll send the video if I have time.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. PLEASE KEEP WRITING ME LETTERS. And more than that, pray, read, go to church. You know the drill.

LOOOOOOOVE, Hermana Thomas

Howdy, y'all (June 23, 2014)

OH, WASS UP, FAMILY? (That is from Hermana Arellano. She always says "OH, WASS UP, _____?" to everything. Like, "OH, WASS UP, HERMANA THOMAS?" or "OH, WASS UP, PLANT?")

So we'll start with the kicker of the week: we almost got the cops called on us Saturday. Yep. Fo sho. 

On Friday, our District Leader (Elder Jacobson...he is dying next week! Poor guy) told us about this one part of our area that apparently had some great Spanish work. (He said.) We were like, "really?" and he was like, "oh, yeah, tons of Spanish work, you can just tell." 

As Spanish missionaries working in a nearly-all-white-people zone, we jumped on that invitation the very next day. We biked over to that apartment complex and started knocking doors. 

White people. Everywhere. Not a single door we knocked had someone who even recognized the word "hola." But we were DEFINITELY in the right place! So we kept knocking, and getting some pretty solid referrals for the English elders who work in that area, too. We even had a little miracle of running into a guy and his daughter who are inactive members of the church and said that they would LOVE if the elders went by to visit them...miracle! Good for the English elders. And everyone we talked to was pretty darn nice. But we were getting a little tired of not speaking Spanish, so we decided to try a few doors more and call it done.

So we knock on this one door, and a lady immediately opens it up, and has this super grumpy face, and is like, "what." So we just say, "oh, well, we are missionaries from the Church of--" and she just cuts us off and says, "this is a model home, and I'm showing someone around, no one lives here." Like...super grumpy. We kind of did this awkward laugh, like, oh, ha ha, sorry...? And she closes the door. 

So Hermana Johnson and I look at each other, like, that was weird, oops, and move on to the next door. As soon as we've knocked, however, the lady comes out with the two people she's showing around. The two people move on ahead, and she sticks behind, and Hermana Johnson and I are trying to avoid awkward eye contact with her, and as soon as the two people are out of earshot, this lady angrily whispers to us, "I'm going to have to ask you two to leave, you are not allowed to be here, this is a strictly no-soliciting area, and I don't want to have to call the cops, but I will, and I know that a lot of people who live here will, and you two need to leave immediately, I'm asking you not to come back, or we will call the cops, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah threat threat threat" and the whole time, like from the beginning we are both nodding our heads to show that we understand, I keep trying to say that we will leave peaceably, but this lady is just fuming, I swear smoke must have been coming out her ears, I'm like, okay, okAY, OKAY! WE GET IT. So finally we just walk away, she's still kind of telling us off, I'm like WOW. So...yeah. We left. Thanks Elder Jacobson. 

It's like...okay, lady? Sorry, it's just that I saw your little dust-pile of an apartment complex and I thought I'd offer you your salvation, but that's okay, we'll move on. I'm sorry, I just don't understand people like that. It's like...how fun is it to be you??

So we're not going back there, but not even that big of a loss because there were no Spanish-speakers there! So...jokes on her. I guess.

Now on to a new topic...I have a little something to say this week about pick up lines from random strangers. Guidelines:

If you ever consider dropping a pick-up line on someone please do the following:

1) DON'T DO IT YOU WILL LOOK LIKE A FOOL

Okay, I'm sorry, I feel like this email is turning into criticizing people. I love everyone. We are all children of God. 

But seriously, twice this week...we got some doozys. 

First, we were walking to a lesson across this apartment complex and we passed some guys talking about football or something, and one of the guys says to us, "hey, are you two from church or something?" Another one of the guys recognizes us as missionaries, and says, "man, they're sisters." So we say, "yes, we are missionaries," and then the first guy says, "...oh....well, my next question was going to be if ya'll were headed to a beauty pageant...er...somethin."

...yes, sir. I woke up this morning, threw on my bike-torn skirt and lazy shirt, smeared on some lazy mascara and purposefully did my hair to look like I just biked 4 miles in the Arizona sun with a helmet on because I'm going to a beauty pageant. Also, I feel so flattered right now.

Then the other night we had a few more minutes before we had to head home after a bit of a long day. We were debating just biking a little slower so that we could call it a day and head out, but then I felt this push of diligence inside me and we decided to contact one more house. So we knock on this door, expecting a miracle of some sort, I dunno, something AMAZING, I guess, when a white guy opens the door. He's like, "who are you guys," and we say, "we're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," and he's like "oh, wow, you are really good lookin." 

Okay, here's a card, peace out, good night.

We've had quite the experiences this week. But it's been fun! We've also done more service, helping people clean their yards mostly. It's been really fun! I love service! Even in 108 degrees!

So. More quotes:

"Fruit snacks hurt my teeth so bad." --Hermana Johnson (she claims that this was not a weird thing to say. Will someone agree with me, here?)

"You are an oven with legs and shoes!" --Hermana Arellano, after feeling how hot Hermana Johnson's hands were.

"Shame on you, Church." --Hermana Arellano, after watching a Mormon message that is way too corny to be true. 

"Ears sick me out. I think it's because I've had bad experiences with ears in my life." --Hermana Johnson (yep.)

As for teaching, things are still the same. Jesus still hasn't gone to church. :( We are pretty darn down about that. We can teach someone why something is good all day long, but you can't make someone be motivated to act. But we are going to keep working with him and do whatever we can!

Blanca and her family are still so cute! We helped her clean her yard for a party she had this Saturday, and you can just tell that service is one of the best ways to show your love for other people! We really love her so much, we are hoping they can continue to progress.

We found another family who actually have a brother who is baptized and goes to our ward! It was a complete accident. But we are teaching them, and we will see how it goes!

I have been learning a lot about the Atonement in the last few weeks. It's something that is so incredible. If anyone has some insights on the atonement, I would love to hear them! Talks, quotes, thoughts, experiences...I love it! I was studying the enabling power of the atonement yesterday, and it was amazing.

I LOVE YOU ALL TO DEATH, DID YOU KNOW? I can't wait to see you all again, but honestly, I love being a missionary so much. It's something that I can't describe. You have to have a name-tag on to understand just how special this calling is, and how precious your time is in these few months. I have learned so much in these eleven and a half months, and I know that this is still only the beginning. The atonement is for all your life! And it heals and changes your very nature! The miracle of your mission can very well be the miracle that you see within YOURSELF. 

I LOVE YOU AGAIN. READ AND PRAY AND GO TO CHURCH AND TELL ME ABOUT YOUR LIVES PLEASE. 

Con Tanto Amor, Hermana Thomas

PS: what does soliciting even mean.

Well, well, well...let's see what the cat dragged in! (June 16, 2014)

Just so you know, my subject line has nothing to do with anything.

HOLA MIS AMADOS AMIGOS. COMO ESTAN TODOS? I really miss my upside-down question marks. :( sad face.

So I did a little better with my journal this week. I promise. I wrote THREE TIMES! :) :) They were a little scatter-brained, but I managed to do it. So here is the throw-up of my brain this week:

Remember how I told you that we moved last week? Well, we're still in the process of unpacking. You just don't have any time! Anyway, we realized that we were missing a few important things from our kitchen supplies, namely a toaster, blender, a few cookie sheets, a muffin pan, (all my foreign-serving friends can roll their eyes a little bigger, yeah, yeah, I know, spoiled state-siders,) and some plates. I was fairly upset because I had just bought a bunch of awesome stuff to make smoothies in the mornings--something I have never done before. (My mom's turn to roll her eyes.) But seriously, I searched high and low for a box that we hadn't unpacked, but the items were nowhere to be found. 

Flash forward to Wednesday morning. I was in splits with Sister Roth, our sister training leader, and had just finished detailing my frustrations of the missing blender, and was about to jump into the shower when I hear Sister Roth call, "umm, what is THIS box, Sister Thomas...?" I turn around, and realize that she is standing right next to a HUGE GIGANTIC BOX THAT HAS BEEN SITTING QUITE OBVIOUSLY IN-THE-WAY in our room for this entire week. Guess what? It is filled with KITCHEN STUFF. Yep! It's all there! And more! AND IT WAS SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR ROOM THIS WHOLE TIME. Neither I nor my greenie had thought to unpack it, not to mention even WONDER what might be inside it, although I remember many a time that I had kicked it out of my way in frustration, since it was always in the way! 

So what's really important about this story is that I have been making SMOOTHIES and they are good.

Also, Friday the thirteenth happened. I noticed that much.

Another thing...so there is this McDonald's across from these apartment buildings that we work in a lot. There is this owl that sits right above the "M" and makes this AWFUL screeching noise all day. It's horrible. Anyway, when we first saw it, I was like...that's not real. But Hermana Johnson insisted that it was, and we even watched it for a minute to see if it moved, then it turned it's head toward us, and we freaked out, and we were like "IT'S REAL IT'S REAL" and ran off all nervous. 

Well, once again, flash-forward to my split with Sister Roth. We get to this apartment complex, I see/hear this owl, and I tell Sister Roth about it. She looks over and is like, "that's not real." I was like "YES IT IS LOOK ITS HEAD MOVES." So we sit and watch it for a bit, and the whole time she's asking me questions like, "does it ever move anything but it's head?" or "is it there all day long?" and all that...well, it's head moves, but by this time, I'm like...wait. Owls don't screech like that. So then I've got Sister Roth making fun of me, and I'm just trying to figure out why I even thought it was real in the first place, then we drive past it to make sure, and YEP IT IS SOoOoOoOooOOooOoOOoOoOoOOOOOOOO plastic!!!!!!!!!!!! This owl is for real giving me stress! Then with Sister Johnson, we're like, WE HAVE TO KNOW so we used the bathroom in there, and asked the employees, and none of them even knew why it's up there! Maybe to scare away birds? I'm like...since when does McDonald's care when birds poop on their roof...? What's with the sudden sanitary-mindedness?

So that's that. I still love training! We are having a blast! We've had some hard things, sure, but the great thing is that she and I get along, and that is super important. It's hard to keep your spirits up with someone you don't consider a friend! 

Since apparently she wrote in a letter of hers a few weeks ago about me almost getting nailed by a car, I feel justified to tell you that she sometimes talks in her sleep, and last night was the greatest yet. I wake up in the middle of the night to her asking me "are you awake, Hermana Thomas?" I'm like..."I am, now..." She goes, "...WHOA. Are you standing up!??" I'm like..."no...I am laying down...I just woke up..." She's like "...oh. I have to use the bathroom." "Well go use it." She says "I don't know where it is!" all frustrated, and I'm like "IT'S OVER THERE" pointing into the pitch black space where the bathroom is. She's like "oh" and I hear her get up, take a few steps, and then a big crashing sound, I'm like "are you okay?!?!" and she's like "yeah" and then she comes back out and says to me "I'm awake, now." I'm like "good, go to bed." Well then in the morning we were talking about it, and I asked her what she tripped over, and she says "I ran into the door. It was closed."

We have so much fun.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...TODAY IS MY SIX-MONTHS-LEFT. Start picking our your best black, we're gonna have a funeral pretty soon. I'M DYING. 

Okay, just kidding. BUT I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE that I have been out for as long as I have. I get this sick feeling thinking about that I have so little time left. It's so weird. But...it's actually a lot of time, and I'm super happy about that! But I just can't believe it. It seems like just a month ago I was in La Florida being trained, teaching mi familia chilena...

This week I've been studying a lot about "hope." Sister Roth and I talked about how the world has construed the word "hope" to mean something different than it is. Like, we say, "I hope she comes" when we actually doubt she will, you know? We use it in a doubtful way. We talked about how sometimes when we knock doors, we have faith that someone COULD be prepared and let us in...but do we have HOPE that someone WILL? Hope is kind of like an expectation of something good! Not just wishful thinking!

Isn't that interesting? I've been working so hard on my hope. It's hard to tell yourself that you hope something will happen when something in you tries to dumb-down your expectations naturally...to protect yourself from disappointment. But don't do that! Expect the best, and live worthy of it! Then you will receive it!

In terms of investigators, this week was a lot of finding. Jesus had another baptismal date, but once again, didn't make it to church, so it fell through again. :( But we have hope that something will change! All out other investigators are about the same. Just keep praying for a miracle!

I LOVE YOU ALL TO DEATH TO DEATH TO DEATHHHH how is your reading and praying and going to church?

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Hermana Thomasito

So...let's see (June 9, 2014)

My chapstick is literally a puddle right now. I guess I'll just have to call the mission nurse, she has like five sticks in her top drawer. Just kidding I'm not using hers YOU SICKO.

Yeah anyway it's really hot outside. 

Speaking of the heat, my companion and I just got back from doing some service, so that's why this letter is a little late comin' today! 

First of all. I did not. Write. In my journal. All. Week. Not even last night, like I usually do, to write a list of things I am going to write in my weekly email. So I am starting from scratch right now...completely. 

In my defense, quite a lot happened this week. We moved on Friday! Hallelujah. No more cockroaches! (As far as we know...) Okay, but actually, I'm pretty sure not, because this apartment is brand spankin' new! And it's SUPER NICE. I turned to Hermana Johnson and said "you will never live in a nicer apartment than this for the rest of your mission." So pretty much we're both praying to die here in the Tempe Zone.

There are still a billion boxes in our place, but slowly we are finding time to clear them out and move on in, and I finally unpacked all of my personal things today! It's so fun rearranging furniture, too. I don't know. I enjoy it. But...the point is, there are some serious perks to a stateside mission. You get spoiled. We also have A GRILL. 

I am still totally 100% loving training. OH MY WORD, OH MY WORD, CHLOE DAVIS, I JUST TAUGHT MY GREENIE TWO DAYS AGO WHAT A PUN IS. I know. It was great. Since then, about three have accidentally escaped my lips. It's bringin' me back to the good ol' days. (I don't know what's up with me and the shortened words in this email.)

Back to training...it's so fun! I am also loving the challenge I have of really forgetting about my own Spanish and teaching the lessons. My language skills (especially in my understanding) have sky rocketed! So cool! I am so grateful for this opportunity.

Hermana Johnson and I are pretty much the same person. I am pretty sure we have almost lived the same life. Except...I do not have an irrational fear of sharks. She does. She's told me stories. But we are getting along great! I think! ;) We've been working hard to find people to teach. 

I'm going to take some time now and write down some classic quotes of this transfer and a half in the Tempe Zone:

"If Nephi can kill a man, you can lie to your parents." --Elder Forson, former zone-leader, current assistant to the president.

"Hello. I am Elder Kishimoto. I am Japanese. I don't know why." --Elder Kishimoto

(To Hermana Berbert) "We're teberculosisters." --Yours Truly

"I always ponder deep things. Like...I don't think that Eve shaved." --Hermana Arellano

"If I had to worship something, I'd take a brownie and put candles around it." --Hermana Arellano

"Shoulders sick me out." --Hermana Johnson (??what??)

"What if your last name was Bacon and you named your kid Eaton." --Mwa

"I like being tickled...just not by people I don't know." --Hermana Johnson (once again...??what??)

"Alright, you guys, when I leave, I want you to blow the popcicle stand for me." --Elder Tait, misusing the phrase "blow the popcicle stand"

"I think she's deaf. Look, she even has a dog." --Me...forgetting that seeing-eye-dogs are for blind people...

"This is how we do it in Mexico." --Hermana Arellano (long, long story.) 

"What if you just smelled like lemons and you couldn't help it, even with anti-lemon-smelling-spray?" --Hermana Johnson (okay, I'm serious, I have no idea where that came from.)

Anyway, the point is, we are quite the entertaining bunch. 

The English sisters passed on a really great investigator named Jesus (yep) and he accepted a baptismal date! But then he didn't make it to church, which means it fell through. We were pretty bummed, but we are going to keep trying to help him progress. He's 25 years old and super nice, super receptive, and super ready! He just needs to understand a little better WHY the gospel is so important. 

We are also teaching a woman named Blanca. She is the wife of a less-active member, and she has two little boys ages 2 and 1. We'd gone by twice, then one night we were contacting her street and we accidentally knocked on her house! (It was dark and we didn't recognize it.) She let us in and we met her husband and mother in law, and it turns out that they really needed to hear a gospel message in that moment. We shared a scripture with them, and then invited them to church, and they said probably not this week but the next, since he works and the two kids are too hard for her to take care of by herself in sacrament meeting. BUT THEN A MIRACLE HAPPENED! We called her on Saturday to see if we could come by the next day to teach her, and she said that they were going to come to church the next day! One of her cousins is very sick, and this made them feel the need to come to church and come a little closer to God. 

They came! It was so awesome! They are both so amazing and they already have quite a few friends in the church. Then we went today and helped her clean up her yard. IT WAS A LOT OF WORK, and it's SO hot, but you could tell she really appreciated it, especially since she's usually at home alone cleaning while taking care of her two young kids. Alex, the two year old, is rivaling Sarah Kate on the "too intelligent for your age" scale...he speaks perfect Spanish and is always getting into trouble. Whenever I see him I say "Hola, Amigo!" ("Hello, Friend!") and he always, without fail, says "me llamo ALEX" ("my name is ALEX.") Once he was kind of pushing his brother around so I said "oh, cuidado, Hermanito!" (like, "careful, little brother!") and he goes "ME LLAMO ALEX!"

Anyway, it felt really good to do some service today, even though it's our P-Day...it was a little sacrifice, but I feel awesome! But we're rushing to do the rest of our things now, so I'm sorry if this email is a little scattered! We have a lot more service lined up this week, I'm super excited! Service is one of the greatest ways to show your love for the people you come in contact with.

Did you all do your talents list last week? NOW GO APPLY IT! :) Find ways to serve! The Lord blesses those who serve Him! I know it! And Blanca was so happy at the end. You could tell how much she appreciated it. She took us to Wendy's after...first hamburger I've had in almost 11 months.

11 MONTHS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

readpraygotochurchorelse

LOVE Hermana Thomas

So...numero dos (June 2, 2014)

This week has been super busy, and let me tell you, I have never been this tired. Holy holy. I am exhausted! I think there are a lot of things factoring into this: one, I'm training...two, we are on bikes...three...

IT IS SO HOT. 

OKAY?!?!?!?! DO YOU GET THAT?!? It is SO HOT. So incredibly hot. 

My family knows that I like to sleep in an oven. I'd sneak out and turn the heat up to like 90 before we'd fall asleep. (Just kidding, not 90, don't worry.) (It was 91.) Anyway, if even a part of me is cold, it's so hard to fall asleep. Well, last night I woke up at midnight sweating like a pig, and I didn't even have the covers on. So I jumped up, turned on the fan, changed my pajamas to the coolest I possibly could, and lied on top of my blankets until I could fall asleep. That is how hot it is, ladies and gentlemen. I WAS DYING.

The day time is quite the scorcher, as well. Biking anywhere between 3-5 miles at a time in the blazing hot sun, you'd think it would start to show, right? Like...a tan, or a burn, or a sun rash, I don't know...well, everyone can just take a short little laugh because I might as well be serving in the north pole by how white my skin still is.

Can we just discuss this for a moment? I literally have seen nothing but sun for 10 and a half months. The closest thing I had to winter was when I first got to Chile, and that lasted about 3 weeks, and it was not even hot enough to wear my huge winter coat. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE IT BY NOW.

...I take it back. I have the sickest below-the-knee skirt-tan right now. At least they'll know I was obedient.

Also, Gatorade has become my hero. Gimme those electrolytes, man, I don't know what they do, but they're doing something. Oh my word, my mother would be horrified by my eating habits this last week. Pretty much I either ate Ben and Jerry's ice cream (milk and cookies flavor, quite delicious) or Gatorade or I starved. I actually did eat a package of mac and cheese. Don't worry, I've already begun the repentance process and I'm going to be a lot better. But I am not promising much will change with the Ben and Jerry's. 

Actually, I like the heat, though. It makes me feel like a legit missionary. Sometimes when we were in the car, I'd come home and feel like I didn't work as hard as I thought I did because I had so much energy still! But the other day while I was biking, I thought of Elder Holland's quote, which basically says, "when you get off the plane at the end of your mission, I want them to pick you up in an ambulance." I get it, now. When Hermana Johnson and I get home, we are wiped out! But it's such a cool feeling!

Also, biking gives you a lot of time to think. I've had some really cool insights and ideas in the last week during the time I've been biking myself down 48th Street. 

TRAINING IS STILL AWESOME. I really love it! President Toone told us in the beginning that we were about to see a lot of our own strengths and weaknesses really come out as we trained our own greenies, and I've definitely seen that. For example, I still need to work on my organization and goal-setting. That has become an even more magnified flaw as I've been helping another missionary along! But I've always loved giving advice, and I feel like I'm pretty good at relating to people, and I've definitely seen those attributes be so effective! 

Hermana Johnson is so awesome. She is learning Spanish so well, and like I said the last week, she is a total trooper! (And, as some of you have discovered, she is related to a few people in Springville.) We get along really well, we laugh pretty hard, and we are still wrestling with those darn bikes daily.

We move this week into our new apartment! I am so relieved. I'll finally get to kind of settle in...and my companion, as well! (Watch. I'll get transferred.) But that's okay, because the Lord's hand is in everything!

So something we've been talking about as a companionship is...talents! As missionaries, we have faith that we have been called to our areas because God needs us here. "Needs" us here. But why? What does He "need" us for? We've discussed that He "needs" us here for what He's already given us...our talents and abilities! He knows that those attributes that we possess can be such a blessing to the people who live in this area, and He is trusting that we will find ways to put them to use in inviting others to come unto Christ.

So my invitation to you all is to MAKE A LIST of your talents...and another list of things that might be a little harder for you. But make sure the talent list is bigger. Then go through each talent and write some ways that you can apply that talent to help and serve the people around you...and ultimately invite others to come unto Christ as well! Then with your weaknesses, look for opportunities the Lord has already (or will) give you to convert those weaknesses into strengths!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. Happy graduation to my little sis, Esadurb. You'll always be a durb to me

ALSO PLEASE BOMBARD MY MOM WITH TEXTS AND HUGS AND WISHES OF LOVE ON HER TWENTY NINTH BIRTHDAY COMING UP THIS WEEK PLEASE.

READ PRAY EAT SLEEP LOVE GO TO CHURCH

Looooooooooooooooooooooooooove Hermana Thomas

So.....(May 26, 2014....eeks!)

HELLO BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL WORLD. I love being a missionary! It is so fun! The gospel is so cool. It really is. Trust me.

SO I am training!! Oh, mi hija es tan linda! I just have to say...training is the greatest. I hope I can train for the rest of my mission. I know I've only been doing it for a couple days, but I think I was born to love training. My parents can just sit and laugh to themselves imagining me talking so much and giving so much advice to my greenie that I literally woke up with a sore throat from talking the day after she got here. Just imagine, guys. And it doesn't stop.

So. Hermana Arellano and I got to transfer meeting on Wednesday and I went straight into a trainers meeting with the president. He talked to us a little bit about the sacred trust that a trainer has...and I totally agree with everything he said. I have thought back so much to my first two transfers in the mission, and Hermana Pineda, and tracting, and not understanding anyone...it is a sacred trust to help a new missionary adjust to mission life! He said that our attitude about leadership with be theirs, our excitement to work will be theirs, our determination to bring people to Christ will be theirs for the rest of their missions! And it's true! I can see how a lot of my attitudes about the mission have stemmed from what I saw and learned in the first two transfers out in the field...most of them are good! Anyway, then they invited the greenies in, and they sat in the front. Then the rest of the missionaries that are getting transferred filed in behind us, and we all sat and waited for our fate to be revealed...

Anyway, President Toone talked for a while about a few mission-matters, then started listing off the new companionships of the transfer. I was getting so nervous. I was looking at all the trainees and trying to guess which would be my next companion. There were only four girls, so I had a 25% chance of guessing right. Then I realized that one of them was English speaking, so that made it 33%...anyway, long story short, I decided that I had a feeling about one of them. And all the while, the names were getting called, and my hands were getting cold since the blood was rushing out of them, and finally...

I got assigned to Hermana Johnson! And she is so totally the one I had a feeling about! She is just lovely. First of all, we are two blondies, so that's a blast. I just love it when we walk up to someone and ask if they speak English or Spanish, because they usually say Spanish and assume that that will get them out of talking to us, but then we just whip out this Spanish out of nowhere and their faces are priceless! It's awesome. 

Also, SHE IS EXACTLY HOW I WAS. Exactly. She came from el CCM en Mexico and she is pretty worried about the language...she speaks about the same amount of Spanish as I did, and understands about the same as well. (Remember one of my first emails when I said that I had the vocabulary of an "intelligent rock"?...well, she actually probably understands more than I did. So I will not compare her to a rock.) (And she is much prettier than a rock.)

But...BAD NEWS. (Well, not really...but...still...) I HAVE THE BIKING AREA. That means I had to say goodbye to all of my investigators, and we are pretty much white-washing! Ayayay! I will never not white-wash! I swear, my mission call should have said: "You are assigned to labor for 8 and a half months in Chile, Rancagua, and then switch your mission to Tempe, Arizona, and by the way, every area you ever go into will pretty much be white-washing so yeah. You leave July 17th. Also you think you're going to the Provo MTC but you can forget about that and strap on your sombrero cause you're going to MEXICOOOOOOOOO ARRIBA ARRIBA!"

Sorry about that. I think I got a little out of hand with that thought there.

Anyway, we've been on bikes. But we actually have a car to drive to our area every day until we move out halfway through the transfer (since our lease is ending this month.) So every day we strap on our bikes and head on out to work...except that makes it sound so much easier than it is...because these bikes pretty much resist being strapped onto the car with all their might, mind and strength. I'm serious...we've had the hardest time strapping our bikes to the bike rack. At one point we got so messy with so much oil all over our hands that we decided to take it down and start over, when the chain got caught on my companions skirt and ripped a little hole in the bottom of it. She's such a trooper.

Honestly, Hermana Johnson is the greatest little greenie in the world. She's excited to work, and willing to put up with all the weirdness! (I attract weirdness.) I've loved being with her, we laugh all the time! Our personalities really have clicked, which is great, because if you're not friends with your companion, it's hard to enjoy the work! I LOVE TRAINING, YOU GUYS. I so love it. You just forget yourself so much. Honestly, I don't think I've thought about something for myself for more than three minutes total for the last five days. Even eating. I keep accidentally starving myself. Thank goodness for Ritz crackers, right?

Interesting moment: the other day we went to the library to get Hermana Johnson's Facebook cleaned out, and all the sudden this big black lady across from us starts whispering to us. She says that she wants to keep all of this on the DL, but that she needs a plane ticket urgently to Washington DC, because guess who is going to be President of the United States in 2016? You guessed it. She is. Anyway, so she tells us that she really needs to get in contact with our pastor because that's how she'll get to DC. Through him. Or something. So we spent a long time trying to tell her that we don't have pastors, we have bishops, and no, they are not travel agents, but she was pretty darn insistent, so she finally demanded a number she could call and we gave her the mission office number...I really hope Sister Neysetvolt never reads this email, because she'll be the one dealing with that lady any day now...#sorry

Almost without fail, drama always goes down in the library. Someone always gets kicked out, or puts up a huge fuss because their computer deleted everything, or something or other. Tempe Community Library, man...don't mess with it.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! I am loving training. Please pray for us to get a miracle! President Toone gave us all the challenge of EVERY COMPANIONSHIP having a baptism this transfer, and I totally feel like we can do it! We just need to work really hard and find the people who need the gospel in their lives! This goal is not about numbers, it is about FINDING THOSE LOST SHEEP who have been searching for something more in their lives...something that they are missing! I know that there are so many prepared people here in our little biking area! We'll just have to brave the blistering sun to find them! (It. Is. So. Hot.)

KEEP PRAYING AND READING AND ALSO EVERYONE READING THIS EMAIL PLEASE GIVE A HUGE BEAR HUG TO MY SISTER IRELAND FOR ME WHO JUST TURNED THIRTY YESTERDAY! They grow up so fast. 

LOOOOVE, Hermana Thomas

Big News Time.....(May 19, 2014...yep, I am behind!)

I HIT TEN MONTHS. I SERIOUSLY CANNOT BELIEVE IT. I seriously cannot believe it. This transfer...flew by. Shortest six weeks of my life.

I feel like there is so much to say in this letter...first of all, we found out that we will be receiving two new sister missionaries into the ward. As of right now, there are four of us (two sister missionaries and two elders.) Now we will have four sisters and two elders. Let's hear it for outnumbering finally! (Just kidding. Not a competition. But. Yeah. Kind of.) But, with the entrance of two new sisters also comes the deal of dividing the area...again...THAT IS NEVER FUN. Dividing the area is kind of the worst. We all met together with the Zone Leaders and mapped it out. The other set of sister missionaries is going to be biking only, so we had to find a section of our area with a lot of concentrated Spanish work...that was hard, because neither of us companionships wanted to give up part of our area...but we finally found a really good balance and Hermana Arellano and I feel really good about it! I think the elders do, too. 

Also, let's get the BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK:

I NEVER HAVE TO GO TO THE DOCTOR FOR TUBERCULOSIS EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was not without it's struggles, however. Hermana Berbert and I went back for our follow-up appointment to see how the medication is going, and YES I HAD TO HAVE A BLOOD TEST AGAIN. I AM SO DONE WITH THIS. I started mini-hyperventilating, and went on this little rant about "WHY ME, HEAVENLY FATHER? WHY, OF ALL MY WEAKNESSES, WHY HAS THIS BEEN SUCH A THEME OF MY MISSION. NO ONE CAN GIVE ME A GOOD REASON OTHER THAN AWFUL LUCK. WHY MUST MY FEAR OF NEEDLES BE CHALLENGED IN THIS TIME ETC ETC ETC." Hermana Berbert simply turned to me and said, "in order to become like God, we must overcome every weakness." #spiritualslapintheface #itworked

Actually, the lady who took our blood was the best shot-giver I have ever known. I didn't hardly feel it. She's amazing. #blessings

A miracle moment: a few weeks ago some elders in our zone gave us a menos activo to go visit. We tried to find him a few times, but could never figure out how to get into his house, and eventually gave up. A few days ago, however, we decided to try again...this time, a man was outside, and informed us that the man we were looking for had recently moved a few streets away, and that his apartment number was 105. He gave us some super vague instructions on how to get there, and we hopped in the car and decided to give it a go. When we got to this apartment complex, we found out that there were six different apartment 105's in the area, so we decided to knock on all of them. None of them were correct, though, and it was SO hot outside, so we decided to call it good and go back to the car. On our way back, we walked past a lady with her back to us, sitting outside a building. I felt like we should talk to her, but before I had turned, I found that my companion was walking towards her, too! (I later found out that she had felt the same way.) 

I was surprised to find that this woman was actually crying. We asked if there was something we could do for her, and she shook her head. We stood there for a little bit, then my companion and I sat next to her and gave her a huge hug...a perfect stranger! But it didn't feel weird at all. I felt this overwhelming love for her, even though she hadn't even told us her name yet. We sat, and found out that it had something to do with her husband, and that maybe he is abusive, but that was all we could get out of her. But she seemed to appreciate having someone next to her, so we talked to her about how Jesus Christ can help to heal every relationship in a family, and how we can find peace in him. Then my companion asked me to sing "Come, Come Ye Saints" (In spanish is is called "Oh, esta todo bien"...like "all is well") so I did, and she seemed to feel better by the end. We left her with a prayer, and asked if we could come by and visit her again, and she said yes. 

Who knows if anything more will happen? We hope she will be open to our message, but maybe the Lord just needed us to search for this less active so that we would be in the right place at the right time to help this woman. I love being guided like that! It is so awesome! I really know that the Lord guides us to the people who need us. Not just missionaries! All of us can be guided by the Lord. The people around us are the people He has entrusted us with! Does that change the way you look at the people you interact with every day? It does for me.

Also, my dad can do a big jump for joy, because I was asked this week to sing at the Mission President's Fireside that he gives every month. Missionaries can bring conversos recientes or investigators and listen to some really awesome messages...anyway, I sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives." It was really awesome! I love to use my talents to serve God and others. Also, it was the first time I've really sung in about...10 months...so that felt good!

So. More big news. 

I JUST GOT CALLED AS A TRAINER!!

I am SO STOKED! I am SO PSYCHED oh my word you have no idea! I am so excited. President Toone called last night and extended the call, and I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure that Hermana Arellano and I would stay together at least one more transfer. Turns out, they are dividing us up, so one of us will be in the companionship with the bikes and the other with the car! Honestly...I hope I get the car...it is getting SO HOT outside!! But, I'll do whatever they want. I'M JUST SO EXCITED TO TRAIN!!! Mi hijita esta en el CCM en este momentito y estoy TAN ANIMADA PARA CONOCERLA! 

So I will still get to live with Hermana Arellano, and I am so happy about that! She is the best. Such a great worker. I have loved being companions with her!

BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL:

HERMANA ARELLANO KILLED A COCKROACH TODAY. I WAS SO PROUD OF HER. But...she did drown it in hairspray first. And it was not without wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

ALSO MORE BIG NEWS: My little Chilean family got baptized last week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cried when I found out, I was so happy. It is the most amazing feeling in the world. I love them so much. Thank you to anyone who prayed for them way back when I was still training! 

And to top it off, one more tidbit for ya: 

Voy a estar en casa para la Navidad! Yo recibi una llamada de la oficina de la misión hace unas semanas pidiendo cual fecha yo queria regresar a mi casa entre enero y diciembre ... era angustiosa para decidir, pero despues de mucha oracion y hablar con mi presidente de mision, hemos llegado a la conclusion de que tengo que estar en casa en diciembre. Fue una decisión muy dificil, porque ME ENCANTA ser una misionera! Me encanta tener este llamamiento. Pero me siento muy confiado en mi decision, y yo voy a vivir el resto de mi mision al maximo para estas 7 meses mas!

That paragraph is for all of you to google translate...especially my sisters. I really hope I got the grammar right...if not...ask someone who speaks gringo-spanish to translate, please...

SO. LOTS OF NEWS THIS WEEK. Hope you all had a moment to catch your breath from so much news. Especially that one about the cockroach.

But I love you all so much! BEING A MISSIONARY, MAN. It's the best.

I LOVE YOU! KEEP READING YOUR BOOKS OF MORMON AND PRAYING TO GOD. He is listening!

LOVE, Hermana Thomas

Holla Back (May 12, 2014)

Well on Monday I zap-fried a sweet potato in the microwave. Walmart has neat stuff. #

sincewhenisithealthytomicrowaveasweetpotato #diditanywayz #itwasnotthatgood

Now that that's over with, I have a miracle moment to share: do you all know what a "kazukee" is? (I may or may not have butchered the spelling of that word. #youdecide #hashtagmonday #someonestopthehashtagsplease ) Well, I was introduced to it by someone a few months before they left on their mission, and let me tell you, IT. IS. HEAVEN. It's basically a GIANT COOKIE topped with ice cream and chocolate chips and except I'm pretty sure they substitute sugar with the HAPPY TEARS OF ANGELS. 

Anyway, Hermana Arellano and I decided to go to this place called "Oregano's" one night that we didn't have dinner...just to get a kazukee. (Remember how I told you I was eating healthy, Mom...?) So we sat down and the waitress took our order for one MONSTROUS COOKIE OF DELICIOUSNESS, and we patiently waited until they brought out our dessert. OH MY GOSH, BETTER THAN I REMEMBERED. So good. SOOOOOOOooOooOOoOOOOOoooo good. We didn't talk, we just ate it. So good. 

As we were finishing, the waitress came over and asked if we liked it. We said YES and she said, "that's good! And when you're done, you can just head out because someone is paying for it." 

WHAT. Yes. For real. Two possibilities: 1) a member or friend of the church recognized us as missionaries and was kind enough to pay for the cookie, or 2) some guy thought we were attractive and bought it for us. But I am just going to cancel that second one out completely as even a possibility because we were pretty much snarfing this cookie as fast as we could. #manners

But really...I have actually been eating healthy this week. Believe it or not. You know, ramen is great for a few days, but when you're absolutely starving for lunch and you look at a ramen package...well...let's just say that those moments have been some of my least-charitable in the mission. 

SO. I went way back to a few years ago when I did this healthy-eating-thing with my mom, which included oatmeal with agave and blue berries every morning with an egg on the side, then for lunch a sandwich with turkey and a ton of vegetables. I don't remember what dinner was, but honestly, YEAH RIGHT like I'm ever going to eat anything healthy at dinner for the next nine months. The members feed us so much food and it's so good but...not exactly diet-approved. 

Which brings me to another small point that I LOVE mexican food. The real stuff. So good. So spicy, though. Sometimes I feel it in my chest for a few hours after. But it's so good.

So, to the work of salvation...we had a few days this week where absolutely no one opened their door. One day, I kid you not, we had at least two or three back up plans for every half hour, and we visited EVERY name on that list, and NO ONE let us in. No one. They either didn't open the door or didn't have time. It was crazy, I couldn't believe it. 

Brenda and Gustavo are still super awesome!! But they didn't make it to church this week. We were so sad! But we ate at their house for lunch on Saturday and it was so yummy! (Back to real mexican food.) Brenda's parents were there and we talked to them a lot, and we might start teaching them, too. That would be awesome!

We had an interesting lesson with Delfino. He's really struggling. He's told us a thousand times that he doesn't drink, but the other day we drove up to his house to see him drinking with a friend and his dad. So our next lesson, he was feeling a little defensive, and said, "well, Jesus drank wine...so why can't I?"

...okay, Delfino. We love you, but...two things.

1) That kind of wine was pure, not the alcoholic garbage this world has turned it into.

2) Jesus Christ also suffered and died to pay for the sins of all mankind so that one day we can all be resurrected and return to live in God's presence. Explain to me again why you're entitled to do everything He did?

Anyway...we're a little sad, because he is really struggling. At one point he said, "yeah, but like, Jesus wasn't even perfect. He made mistakes too, right?" 

...no, Delfino. We're really sorry to break it to you, but...no.

Anyway, keep praying for them! We seriously love all of the people we are teaching so much! It is really sad for missionaries when their investigators either don't get it or don't want it. 

I TALKED TO MY FAMILY YESTERDAY! IT WAS SO FUN! Ireland is SO TALL. Still not over it. Not going to be for a while.

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH. Les amo muchisimo! I can't wait to see you again!

The mission is the greatest. Keep sharing the gospel with your friends and family. Help them come to Christ. Have you ever thought about how awesome it is that serving our fellow men is actually a COMMANDMENT from God? We are literally COMMANDED and will be JUDGED as to whether or not we helped His other children come back to live with Him again. If you think you're only here to help yourself...you're wrong! That's how much God loves each of us!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH WITH ALL MY HEART. Read the scriptures and pray every morning and every night. 

LOVE, Hermana Thomas!!!!!!

May 5, 2015

May 5, 2014

Hola! Como estar? Si, yo hablar espanish!

Sometimes I feel like that when I trip over Spanish. 

IT'S MAY. WHAT IS UP. I cannot believe it. I really can't. The mission is flying by. This transfer has DEFINITELY been the shortest of all of them. (Okay, we still have two weeks together, but I've been in Arizona for 6 weeks. What?!?) 

THE MISSION IS THE BEST THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. 

I killed the MONSTER of cockroaches yesterday. You should have seen it, Mom. 

This week was interesting. Hermana Arellano and I witnessed one of our investigators, Delfino, get a giant (and full) flower pot hurled at him by his father. They were in a fight. We decided not to get out of the car, but it was an entertaining scene to drive by. 

Have you all seen the "Because of Him" video? If not: 

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng

Anyway, Hermana Arellano and I are in love with it. We have it on our iPads, and we started showing it to investigators...then to menos activos...then to conversos recientes...then to members...then to ourselves...it's almost embarrassing how many times we've watched this video. We love the music, the images, and most importantly the message! 

However, it has not quite gone as planned. We usually start off by saying that we'd like to show them a video called "Gracias a El," and we say that the video is going to have to do with the hope that Jesus Christ brings into our lives...that we'll live again, that death is not the end, that we can change and progress, etc...then we watch it. The people are always mesmerized by the video. At the end, one of us asks, "que llamo la atencion?" (I apologize for my lack of accents on my Spanish words, by the way...dumb English keyboards.) Anyway, it means "what called your attention?" or, like..."what did you like about this video?" 

The reason this video hasn't really been working is because of the responses. Here are a few answers we've gotten: 

"The inventions."

"I like how everyone is equal."

"...The colors."

The closest answer we've gotten to something that has anything to do with the actual message of the video was: 

"Jesus was in prison...? Then He was carrying something after...?"

But we're just too in love with this video to not keep sharing it. #missionaries #wedowhatwewant #justkidding

This week I went on my VERY FIRST EXCHANGE with a Sister Training Leader. (All you RM's and can go and wrap your heads around that.) That's right, 9+ months and I just got that experience. I went to her area, and her companion went to mine to work with Hermana Arellano. Anyway, these sisters work on ASU campus, so we walked around talking to people our age and sharing the gospel. IT WAS SUPER WEIRD. Honestly, it was such an interesting experience. I had to really muster up the courage to teach people who could have gone to high school with me how to pray. It was kind of hard! But those members are SO awesome! Just a bunch of returned missionaries helping the work along. It was so cool to see that.

Drum-roll, please...I GOT TO GO TO THE MESA TEMPLE THIS WEEK! Holy cow. It was AMAZING! I love that temple!! It is so different and unique. I fell in love with it. It made me want to go to every temple I can! 

Yesterday Brenda came to church again! I LOVE HER. She is so cute and so open to the gospel. It's amazing. Both she and Gustavo...we seriously love them. And her daughter, Katy! They are so amazing. Ugh. I love them. We also had a new investigator, Raymundo, come to church. He is super great, too. He has such a huge desire to learn more about the gospel. In fact, he called us to apologize for leaving right after Sacrament Meeting--he thought that there was only one hour, but when he realized there were three, he wished so bad he could have stayed. We also had two menos activo members come to church...their first time in two years. They only went to the second hour, but that is such a great step! 

I love this ward so much! We have so many great ideas on how to help them progress even more! 

GUYS THE CHURCH IS SO TOTALLY TRUE. I read a scripture today in my personal study that was SO cool. It's in Philip 4:7. It says:

7 And the ^apeace of God, which passeth all ^bunderstanding, shall^ckeep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The peace of God passeth all understanding! There are people who only turn to science to understand, or to other people, or even just to the scriptures, but never to GOD...but GOD brings the peace, and it's bigger than any understanding we could receive in this life! If you have received a confirmation from God of peace that this church is true through your own personal prayer, do not let your crave for understanding dissolve it! Sure, continue to gain wisdom and knowledge of the gospel, but remember that the greatest knowledge we can have is our own testimony of the truth! You could read to me a thousand verses of the Bible that tell me that what I believe is wrong, but it wouldn't matter, because GOD TOLD ME IT IS RIGHT. I love testimonies!

Well, I'm sorry that this one is a little short. It was a good week but...not much happened. But HEY I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH. I hope everything is sunshine and roses for you all. I really do. 

I pray for you all day every day! Please continue to pray for me! I LOVE YOU.

Looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove Hermana Thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooomas