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
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