The Day Where I Served in China

September 26th

My grandma sent me some homemade brownies 

THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!!!!!

HI EVERYONE,

OHHHH what a beautiful week. FALL IS HERE AND I LOVE IT. The trees are starting to change, the weather is getting a little chillier and man we are so happy. 

Highlights of this amazing week:

* After everyone and everything cancelled on us for multiple days in a row, we were finally able to see Sabina our amazing and wonderful investigator. Her car broke down and the charges to fix it were three times what she was expecting, and with three kids to take care of, she was left not knowing what to do. But as she continued talking about this trial she was having, her tone of voice moved from the depressed and sadden tone to a happier and lighter tone as she talked about how we have to face trials and difficulties with a humble heart. She said that she knew that God would help her through this, and that each obstacle we face is a learning experience. She was testifying to US of the reality of opposition in all things. It was amazing to see her perspective on such a crummy thing to be so positive. One of her common phrases is "you have to become better, not bitter." She is truly amazing.

*Then yesterday we had a MIRACLE OF MIRACLES. Half way through Sacrament meeting, a Chinese women and her two children walked in, and I turned to Sister Morgan immediately because I knew I had recognized them. Rewind to a month ago as we were visiting a less active member in the ward, we were leaving their apartment building as we ran into this family. We started talking to them and we found out they had moved here from China just a week beforehand. They didn't have a phone so I couldn't get their number, but I gave them a pamphlet in Mandarin (because I always carry them because we meet so many Chinese people) and we parted our ways. So you can imagine how shocked I was when I saw them in church! We went up to them afterwards along with another member of the ward who just got back from his mission to France. His family is from Taiwan and Mandarin is his second language so he was able to translate for us and talk to them and help them feel welcomed. Then we went into a classroom and started teaching the family a little more about the church, and what we do as missionaries. It turns out, the grandmother of the children (their father's mother) is a member of the church in China! And so the mother of the kids wanted them to be taught and baptized. We, of course, told them we would like nothing more than to help in that process. But we also explained, with the help of the Mandarin speaking member, that we would need to teach them a few things. She readily agreed and then we started teaching them about prayer. The kids had never prayed before, but after we taught them what it was, and what it meant, they all prayed at the end of our little lesson, and we committed them to pray together as a family. YAY! And now we have an appointment with them for tomorrow, and our member friend, Justin, is going to come and help us translate. YAY!

* But the Chinese fun doesn't end there! Later that evening, after church and all that excitement calmed down, we were walking around and found 3 more Chinese people and contacted them. Two of them were a couple that again JUST moved here like 3 weeks ago, and the husband, who spoke more English, said that he wanted his wife to go to a church. And when we asked where they lived, it turns out they live in the SAME apartment as the Chinese family that came to church! We got there information and they told us they wanted to come to church! Then as we continued walking we ran into two young Chinese men who were just sitting on a park bench. We starting talk to one, who's name is Richard and he was an exchange student studying here in Canada. He said he grew up reading the Bible in Mandarin but that he was getting "kind of bored with it," and that he "wanted something new" and we were just like HEY WE GOT IT. It was awesome. The people of China are ready to hear the gospel, everyone! 

Thank you for your prayers and your support, it means the world.

I hope everyone has a beautiful, amazing, fantastic week,

With all the love in the world,

Sister Thomas

 

 Temple trip with all of my favorite Sisters!

 Me and Sister Barnes got a picture together.

 Love my MTC companion! (and b&w makes it even more fun)

 Rosie, the cat I've fallen in love with. SHE'S SO SOFT OH MY GOSH.

 And when Costco has great prices on goose-down winter jackets, you buy them.

 BECAUSE CANADA IS COLD!!

"Hospitality at its Worst" - Sister Morgan

September 19th


Hello world!!

We had a lesson with our investigator, her name is Sabina, and she's so amazing. We've taught her a few times and each time she has opened up more to us. And she's been reading the Book of Mormon consistently and praying about it. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation, and when we explained about how we lived with Heavenly Father before this life, she started crying because everything we were teaching her was things she had thought about and believed to be true, but she just didn't know if they were right or if anyone else believed in them either. It was such a miracle. Through her tears she told us, "yes, this is true. This is what I've thought my whole life, and I now I know it's right." Ohhhhh the Spirit there was so strong as we testified and told her this was everything she had been looking for. 

BUT WAIT, THERES MORE. The other day we were teaching a lesson outside her apartment complex to someone else and as were heading to our car to leave, we saw her. We literally ran over to her and gave her hugs. Lo and Behold she was holding the Book of Mormon in her hand! She said that she had been reading it and that it was a "testament" to her of God's love. OH SHE'S SO PERFECT. Then we saw her again yesterday just quickly and she had finished reading chapter 8 of the Book of Mormon where it talks about the vision of the Tree of Life, and she started relating it to herself and the experiences she's had in life and Sister Morgan and I were just sitting there SO happy about how much she loves reading the Book of Mormon. 

Okay okay, and now I have to attach some of what Sister Morgan included in her email home, because it's just too perfect and her narrative is so much funnier than mine, so here's your mid-Monday treat via Sister Morgan:

"Saturday was one of the craziest days ever. We went to the funeral of Katie's dad (Katie is the girl that the Elders baptized). It was non religious. very simple. Nice. I enjoyed some Perrier in memory of Mom. 

After the funeral, we had been invited by a potential to come have dinner with her family and some friends. Her name is Tina, she's Egyptian and really nice, but quite dramatic.

We got to her house and met her son and his girlfriend. They were drinking wine, and asked us if it was okay because they knew we didn't drink. Looking back, I wonder if the alcohol consumption had anything to do with what happened next.

Tina had made So. Much. Food. In short, a feast. 

Her son piled our plates with everything and kept saying, "these women are American, they're courageous, they'll try everything!" At one point when my plate was sufficiently filled, I turned my head only to look back and see that the son had heaped a spoonful of beats onto my plate to add to the mix. It was very overwhelming. My companion and I figured we were going to die. By this point a friend had shown up with her two daughters. There was Christmas music playing in the background, of course (just thought I'd mention that for your own imagery).

The son loved us and told us to share all we knew with his girlfriend. He kept saying how we had such high IQ's and we were so wise. Then a member of our ward showed up and sat with us. As we tried to share bits about the Gospel with Gabbi (the girlfriend), Bernie (the member) interjected and started talking about Joseph Smith's life. It was super distracting from the conversation of the gospel but we tried to bring it back the best we could. 

It was getting later and we told Tina we needed to leave. At which point she brought out a pie, fruit salad and a cheesecake followed by a Costco cake accompanied with a happy birthday song. It was no ones birthday. But because we decided attribute the birthday song to Bernie (whose birthday is in December he informed us) the son lifted him up in his arms in all the excitement. Crazy. 

We finally managed to escape and Sister Thomas and I resolved that we never wanted to eat again. Needless to say, it was a good experience.

Last night we had a cool experience. We were walking around our neighborhood (which is what we usually when we don't have anything scheduled at the end of the day) and we met this guy named Michael. There is a hospital right next to our apartment and we found him at the bus stop nearby. Apparently his brother had stabbed him in the hand by accident and he had ridden the bus to the hospital to get treatment the day before. They had kept him for a while I guess and he was just then waiting for his bus ride home. He was big, black and Jamaican. We talked to him and got an appointment to go visit him on Wednesday. It was awesome! After we left him, Sister Thomas said something like, "he had his hand stabbed, rode the bus to the hospital, was kept there for a day, and was released right then so that we would have the opportunity to talk to him." I'm not quite sure how the Lord works, but the mission has taught me that there is no such things as coincidences when it comes to missionary work."

My friends, Sister Morgan's account is true. Missionary life is crazy. BUT IT IS SOOO MUCH FUN!

Alright everyone, I believe this email is long enough, and will suffice until we meet again next week. 

Love,

Sister Thomas

 

P.S. This week we did a service project where we went around and collected a bunch of food for the local Food Drive they were having. So a bunch of missionaries were running around knocking on doors, but instead of offering salvation they were just asking for non-perishable foods. It was super fun.

 

 

Week 32

September 12th

Okay I have noooooo time today but I will try and share some awesome things that happened this week!

*We went on exchanges with the Sisters in Montreal and guess who I was with... SISTER BARNES MY MTC COMPANION! She became the new Sister Training Leader last month and so we got to be companions once again and it was sooooo fun. She was brand new to the city, and I had only been there a few times so we just walked around and tried not to get too lost using the bus and metro system. But it was so fun to teach and to testify with her again. We have both grown so much since the MTC and it was awesome to share experiences and tips. We met this young man at the bus stop and he was from Rwanda, and had moved to Canada alone just 3 weeks prier and spoke very very limited English. But we told him about the gospel and about how the church could be his family here. We told him that we were his friends and that we had a message to share. He was so grateful and thankful he almost started crying (and so did we). We talked him to the church (it was like a 10 minute walk) and showed him how to get there via the metro system. It was a super cool contact. 

*We taught a lesson in half Spanish and French last night to one of our new investigators. Sister Morgan did AMAZING in Spanish and it was so perfect. We have 2 more Spanish lessons coming up this week, so I better start practicing. 

*We read scriptures with one of our less active members who we haven't gotten to see in FOREVER, and it was so beautiful. We read in Mosiah 27 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/27?lang=eng) about Alma's conversion story and we laughed and cried as we read the scriptures and applied them to our own lives. I love the Book of Mormon. It is so true and so pure. And I'm so happy I get to be here sharing it with people. The scriptures are a gift God has given us, and we get to read them and ponder them whenever we like. AH they are such a blessing. 

Being a missionary is wonderful. It is hard, but as I've tried to have a better attitude and a renewed desire to help people this week, miracles have definitely come. I'm so happy to be here. 

Have a great week everyone!

Sister Thomas

(I forgot my camera this week so no pictures, I know I'm sorry I'm the worst)

Labor day? More like Labor HOOORRAAAAY

September 6th

Hi everyone!

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day! (which yes, is the reason I didn't get to email yesterday, because Holidays are noooooot Holidays for missionaries!) It actually was the perfect day to contact people, especially families. Our ward had a Pancake Picnic in the park in the morning for breakfast, and it was a great turn out! We had a few people we invited come and they got to meet the other members and chat with them, so we were super happy. Sister Morgan and I did face-painting for the kids, and it attracted a lot of attention from other people who were just visiting the park, so we were extra happy. And by the time the picnic was over we were exhausted. I've never face-painted so much in my life. But now I can say with confidence that I can indeed make a child's face look like a wolf and/or kitty. 

 

 Caught in face painting action.

Me and Amina, who's mom came up to us and asked how much the face painting was. 

Never before have I been so excited to say FREEEEEEEE. 

She was from Yugoslavia and was really nice, 

but not interested in our message, BUT that's okay.

Me as Tony the Tiger. 

Courtesy of Sister Morgan and her face painting skills that were practiced on me.

I had to add this one because it was taken by a 4 year old (the little girls sister) 

who's family came to the picnic and had a great time meeting the other members! SUCCESS.

And right after we emailed last week, we went to a park to walk around and we ran into this family from Guatemala (and every time we meet a Spanish speaker I just throw Sister Morgan at them because she speaks Spanish) and we talked to them about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration, they were practicing Evangelicals but they were really interested. We parted ways after exchanging information (turns out they live super far away from us, and the people we thought were the parents were actually just family-friends, oops awkward) and kept walking around. Fast-forward like an hour later we stumbled across them again, and they said they were just talking about us. They were fascinated about why/how we were serving missions instead of going off and partying like other kids our age. We started explaining and it was great experience. And before we left all the kids gathered around us and they wanted to take a picture. And how can you say no to a bunch of little kids who were holding and trying to read the Book of Mormon in Spanish we gave them? Answer: You can't. 

The cute kids we contacted. 

Yes, they're holding the Book of Mormon open to the picture of Jesus, cutest ever.

And to continue with the Spanish theme, we meet this SUPER cute girl from Colombia last night, and it turns out her cousin actually served a mission and got married in the temple! And Jessica has only been in Canada for a few years, but she said that she'd gone to church before and that she'd be interested in learning more! Of course the whole conversation was in Spanish but I actually was able to understand a lot of it. Yay, so maybe I'll pick up some Spanish with Sister Morgan too. Anyways, Jessica has the cutest 7 month old baby ever, and right as we were leaving we got to meet her husband. Sooooo you bet your life we are going to be teaching this cute family. Wish us luck.

 

 Our Saturday Morning Breakfast Buddy, Sister Malo <3 (my favorite)

 

In honor of my 7 month mark, a member let me where her super cool wolf jacket 

and take a picture with all the squash from her garden. Oh she's my favorite!

 

That's it for this week, I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember how much God loves His children,

Sister Thomas

 

I'll [stay] where you want me to [stay]

August 29th

HI WORLD

This week Sister Morgan and I finished our first six weeks together and her first six weeks as a missionary. And man it was a busy week. We taught more lessons than we have in a while and found a handful of new investigators that we are super excited about!

And all of our new investigators were found by miracles. One, named Serif, was a surprise as we went over to teach a lesson to his mom, who had been taught a little bit before by other missionaries, but now wanted us to teach her son. He opened the conversation by asking us why we are here. HA. Easiest/best/my favorite question ever. I immediately flipped open the Book of Mormon to Alma 34 verse 32 that reads, "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." After asking him what he thought the verse meant, he pondered his question again and said that the scripture made a lot of sense. And then we started talking more about our Heavenly Father's plan for us, about how we were with Him before and are working in this life to get back to Him. He then asked why we had to leave God's presence in the first place, and Sister Morgan and I got to explain to him that it was because we had to come to earth and receive a body and have experience. It was so cool to explain that when we were with God as spirits before this life, we couldn't have progressed anymore without receiving a body. And when we finished talking, he left the lesson very satisfied, with a Book of Mormon in his hands, and with a commitment to read it and ponder it's message. 

 We also found another investigator named Jean Claude, he's an older Haitian man who had a stroke 7 years ago. He only speaks French and his stroke has left him with physical challenges and it's really difficult to understand him, so we just read pamphlets to him in French and talk to him about what they mean. We know we can keep going when he says "Oui, je crois ça" which translates to "yes, I believe/think that." We have a lesson with him and his family (a wife and three daughters) tomorrow and the other Sister Missionaries for the French area are going to take over. We are super excited.

And finally, I titled my email "I'll [stay] where you want me to [stay]" because I've been thinking a lot about the Hymn "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go" (https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/ill-go-where-you-want-me-to-go?lang=eng). Heavenly Father has asked me stay in this area for awhile. I've been in Kirkland since I got to Canada in March, and the next transfer ends in October. That's a good chunk of time but I know I'm supposed to be here, in this area, for a reason. I've learned a lot and it's obviously that Heavenly Father wants me to learn more. So sometimes in life it's not all about the going going going, but instead Heavenly Father wants us to stay, and to continue, to grow for where He has already placed us. And we shall see what this next six weeks brings to The Kirkland Adventures of Sister Morgan and Sister Thomas (copyright pending). 

Have a great week everyone! Remember that someone in Canada loves you!

Sister Thomas

 

 Our dear friend Katie got baptized on Saturday!

 Her mom, Helen (I wrote about her in May) was baptized a few months ago

 and since then Katie has been receiving the discussions and 

she decided she wanted to be baptized before she went back to college for the fall. 

She is so stellar and we love her so much. So excited to see what life has in store for her.

Week 29

August 22 2016

Woooow hellooo!

It's been a fun week here in Kirkland and I'll just catch everyone up with the highlights. 

We had some awesome dinner's with the members here and shared a spiritual thought about the Book of Mormon. We have a goal as a mission to teach more from the Book of Mormon and to teach the doctrine it contains very simply to the people we visit, members and non-members alike. We watched this video together (I know I've attached it before, but it's just too good to not share again) https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-11-018-a-book-of-mormon-story?lang=eng&country=ca and talked about how the Book of Mormon can really provide answers to the questions we have and help us learn more about Jesus Christ. And it was so fun to promise them blessings that I've seen come as I've read it in the past, and especially since I've been a missionary. Reading the Book of Mormon everyday does make a huge difference in our lives. A young man even gave a talk about it in church yesterday! He said that he made a goal to read it every day for 30 days and he said that as he did that, he came to see the scriptures with new eyes, that the stories became new and more meaningful to him as he actually read with the intent to know if the book was true. And that's a thing we promise every person we meet, we promise them that they can come to a knowledge for themselves about the truthfulness and divinity of the Book of Mormon. And that's so cool! Because it's true. And it's because Heavenly Father wants to answer our prayers. Because He loves us SO MUCH.

We also had some lessons with our investigators, and they're doing so good! We taught Salman a little about the Plan of Salvation, and we focused on the question "Where did we come from?" and it was wonderful to see him make connections with the things we taught him. He basically had all the right ideas, we just filled in the little wholes and made his puzzle complete.

I found a scripture that really resonated with me this past week, it's found in the Book of Mormon and it's a prophet, Alma, who's talking about his own missionary experience; and I found how much in common I had with him. The verse says "And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me" (Alma 29:10 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/29.1?lang=eng). I have felt that same joy Alma talks about. As I've seen people come unto Christ, I've been able to reflect and see in detail all that He has done for me! And it is soooo much. His arms of mercy really are extended out towards all us, and I have felt them in the moments I've needed them. God and Christ are aware of us, They know us and love us so much. That is something I know is true. 

I hope you all have fantastic week, and remember how much the Lord and I love you! 

Sister Thomas

beaucoup des choses

Aug 15 2016

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE PRAYERS,

They were felt, and the blessings were reaped. Both Salman and James came to church yesterday! And James wants to be baptized. We are aiming for next month, and I have complete faith that he can do it. He even told us this last week that he told his dad and his dad's side of the family (who live super far away) about it so they can come down and see it. AH SO COOL. He's progressing, he's changing, and he's becoming. And me and Sister Morgan are just sitting here in happiness.

We also had a lesson with Salman (our investigator from Pakistan), and he's doing really well. Yesterday was National Day in Pakistan (i.e. their Independence Day) and so we made a little video, because he just loves videos, at church where he taught us to say "Happy National Day!" in Urdu. It was really hard and I couldn't remember the sounds. But it worked out nicely after a few takes. He also told us he's been having experiences reading The Book of Mormon and praying. Like really good experiences. And he hasn't told us the details yet, but we have a lesson on Tuesday with him, and he said he would share then. So we are PUMPED.

This week we also had exchanges with the other Sisters in Montreal. I was with Sister Hoffmann (aka my trainer) again and it was just like old times. And I swear, it must be something about us being together, but the craziest experiences always happen to us. We were confronted by several different people in the city, all of who were almost hostile towards the church (or any organized religion for that matter), and it continued into conversations about they thought we were crazy. But I swear, I have never felt more sane, more stable, or more sure in my life, than those times where I was defending my faith and what we teach as missionaries. Truly the Lord does fulfill His promise when He says "lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men" (D&C 100:5). Neither Sister Hoffmann or I were confounded before the people who were trying to tear down our faith. 

Time after time, this week and weeks that have past, Heavenly Father has truly shown to me that He is a "God of miracles" (Mormon 9: 9-37 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/9?lang=eng). And these miracles have come to pass in many different and unexpected ways. And they happen every day! I am so grateful that God does perform miracles in our lives, and for the fact that I do know that He is there. That He is our Heavenly Father and that He does love us. Lets not make the mistake of limiting God and telling ourselves that He can't work miracles within our lives. That just results in denied blessings and missed opportunities. Instead, lets have the faith it takes to make those miracles possible. Because we know, "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith" (Ether 12: 12 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng).

Have a faith-filled week and watch the miracles unfold,

Love

Sister Thomas

 

Last Saturday Canada weather went psycho and DUMPED rain on us. 

This is a picture taken after we had just run to our car from an appointment. 

WE WERE OUTSIDE FOR 15 SECONDS AND IT WAS LIKE A SHOWER

 hehe, me and Sister Morgan wanted to buy matching night gowns and founds these raccoon ones at Walmart. We tried them on first to make sure they fit. But don't worry, we bought them!