Hi hi hi,
What a WOOOOONDERFUL week. It's hard to describe missionary work in any other word.
Lets get to it.
Miracle of the week:
We
had the feeling to knock on a few doors in a certain area we were in
before we had dinner with a family from the ward. I had never been to
the area before so it was exciting for me and Sister Morgan. The first
door we knocked on didn't seem to have anyone home, so we waited a
little and then we started walking away. Just then the door flung open
and this man comes out and starts asking us (in French) if we have the
gospel. Of course, we ruuuuun back up the driveway and introduce
ourselves, and he asks us what we have to give him, I was holding an
English Book of Mormon in my hands, and we had just ran out of French
copies the day before, and he kept saying "Nooo nooooo Français." We
started testifying of what the Book of Mormon contained and told him we
could get him one in French. Then he showed us the giant religious
library he had in his home and he said, "I have EVERY religious book,
and I've read them all, but I don't have the Mormon book." And as I was
looking at his library I noticed some books he had were in a Middle
Eastern language, I asked if it was Arabic, and he said "No no no,
Persian." And I was like STOP THE PRESSES. We ran out of the house and
to the car and grabbed him a copy of the Book of Mormon in Persian (the
language spoken in Iran, also called Farsi). Which is, thankfully, one
of the dozens of languages of the Book of Mormon we keep in our trunk
(except for French but just because we ran out hehe). He was so happy
and surprised that we had a book in his native language and he promised
that he would start reading it. We'll probably be going back to visit
him this week, so pray for Kashi and his family!
Follow
ups: We had our first lesson with the Mandarin family from last week.
The Zhangs. They're SO CUTE. And we brought the other returned
missionary, Justin, with us to translate and it went really well. They
really liked the Restoration and it was simple and clear because that's
all that we could do, so yup it was perfect. Keep them in your prayers
too.
Sabina: She's doing wonderful. We went
over yesterday, before the morning session of General Conference, and
brought with us one of our most recently baptized members, Helen. They
hit it off as they talked about their families and their interests and
then the Spirit rested with our happy hearts as we shared a scripture
from the Book of Mormon. Jacob 4:11:
"Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel
from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in
wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works" (https://www.lds.org/
Then
we talked about the different ways the Lord gives us counsel. He gives
us the scriptures, feelings and thoughts in our hearts, people around us
to help us, and He also has given us a Prophet and Apostles in these
days to guide us just as in times of old. We told her about General
Conference, about how every 6 months, the modern day Prophet and the
Apostles give us guidance and direction and counsel from the Lord. And
it was perfect because then Helen bore testimony of the Spirit that is
felt during General Conference, she said that watching last April it
before she was baptized, gave her the answer that she should be
baptized. Ohhhhh it was so cool. We set it up on Sabina's computer
before we left and then Helen invited her to church for next week and
even offered to come pick her up, and Sabina said "Yes! I reeaaaaally
want to come." AHHHH PEOPLE YOU CAN'T COUNTERFEIT HOW MUCH HAPPINESS WE
FELT.
Now, addressing General Conference, it
was wonderful, and I encourage all of you to watch and to study the
messages that were given. It was beautiful to see how one of the themes
of conference was the Plan of Salvation, or God's plan of Happiness for
us. Several talks were given on it, but one specifically touched my
heart. It was the first talk given on Saturday morning, I invite all of you to watch it and ponder it in your hearts. Here it is: https://www.lds.org/
Okay,
okay, this email will be long, sorry, but I wanted to include something
was I thinking about this week. Today, October 3rd, marks me being a
missionary for a full 8 months. And I made a quick list of 8 things I've
learned in that time.
1. The stereotypical
"eh" and "about" sounds made by Canadians are COMPLETELY ACCURATE OH
MAN. That's just the way things are here. People also say "PAST-a" not
pas-ta. Go figure.
Got my first ever "F'real" I guess it was a milkshake or something. It was delicious!
2. The day in the life of a missionary almost NEVER goes as we plan it.
3. That my hair actually curls naturally (a revelation that has completely changed my hair care and daily routine).
4.
That after years of failed attempts at learning French in High School,
I've learned that learning French is actually possible! And do-able with
the help of Heavenly Father. (Not saying I'm anywhere close to being good at it, but learning it, yes, that's possible)
5.
That so so sooooo so many people are lacking lives filled with any kind
of truth. Even the most basic truths. Truths like the fact that God
loves us. People don't know that! How sad that is. Remember the
scripture in 1 John 4: 19 "We love him, because he first loved us."
6. How absolutely beautiful and perfect the scriptures are. After the diligent and consistent studying
of both the Book of Mormon and the Bible in these past 8 months, I've
truly come to a greater knowledge and appreciation of them. They are
beautiful and sacred gifts that God has given us, they're a way He guides
us and directs us, a way He gives us comfort and reassurance, and a way
to let us know the truth. I love the scriptures.
7.
That maybe going up to a random person and beginning to talk about the
deepest feelings of their heart regarding religion, isn't the hardest
thing in the world. But maybe it instead is a beautiful vehicle to have
actually meaningful conversation. Conversation that sparks peoples
thoughts and helps them to re-evaluate the priorities in their lives.
Actually, it really is wonderful.
8. That I am
engaged in the most important work in the world. Nothing is more
important than letting the people around us know that there is actual,
tangible, proved truth. Truth that answers all questions and calms all
doubts. Truth that doesn't change or waver, but truth that comes from
the only perfect source in the universe, God Himself. Truth that He
wants to give His children, truth that is knowable, enlightening and
freeing. That truth is what I share with people.
Now we have a lot of great stuff coming up for this week, and I'll be excited to share it with you next Monday.
Please pray for us, that our appointments work out (and that everyone
wont cancel on us) and that the people we teach will have open hearts to
receive our glad message. Thank you in advance. :)
we went to the local Eco-Museum and
THEY HAD AN EAGEL THERE
AHHHHHH AMERICA
The District
The view off our balcony, FALLLLLLLLL
Love love love,
Sister Thomas
P.S.
We were backing up into a parking spot and
LOOK WHAT WAS ON THE CAMERA
AHHHHH WE DIED IT WAS SO SCARY.
I WENT AND SMASHED IT!!
