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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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
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