Hope Is A Happy Thing

 6th March 2017

Hi everyone!

Me and Sister Barnes are brought together again! 

We were able to go on exchanges and she made me pancakes for my 13 month mark. 

(Her's is technically the day after mine because she entered the MTC Feb 4th 2016, 

but we love her anyway). Sooo sweet!

Hope all is well and that your March has kicked off splendidly! Montréal is Montréal. Cold and cute. And we've had a great week. So much as happened as we've tried to find people and strengthen our connections with the members who live in this beautiful area. 

We've visited a few members this week who have been struggling in a little in their faith and just needed a little re-boost. Specifically Jill, who had been a little overwhelmed with the difficulties of life both physically and spiritually. When we visited her we decided to talk about hope and to help her set some goals for the coming weeks and months to help her and her testimony. We shared the scripture in Romans 15: 4 which says, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." We added emphasis of the importance of reading our scriptures when we want to grow and cling to our hope. And we read what we should hope for in the Book of Mormon when the Prophet Mormon said, "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." (Moroni 7:41 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7) So, we are to hope for the joys of eternal life, gifts given to us by our Savior. But how are we to understand and be able to rejoice in those things? That joy is given through diligent and consistent studying of the word of God, known to us as the scriptures. Thus, hope comes as we understand God's plan for us and as we are uplifted by His Spirit, who teaches and helps us understand the His words. So with Jill, we set some goals for her to read the scriptures, specifically the Book of Mormon, and she was so excited! She expressed how she's been feeling that her fire was gone, that she felt empty and sad; but this goal excited her, it gave her something to do and by the time we were leaving she was walking on air. She had a purpose, she had something to work toward, she knew where she was going. Goals are for sure a powerful vehicle that can bring us increased motivation and increased hope. 

To follow up from last week, we saw Selena again, she is amazing. We really love her. We talked to her more about the Plan of Salvation, but then we talked more about the Book of Mormon, something she was already a little familiar with and heard about from friends in her past. But as we actually explained what it was, she realized she had been completely wrong. She had thought the book was just a book about Joseph Smith and what happened to him, but once she understood that it was actually an ancient record of a people who prophesied of and knew Christ, man, you should have seen her eyes. They were alive. They were excited, they were vibrant. She was ready to know more. We then then shared with her Moroni 10:3-5 which reads, 

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. 

She loved it. She "dog-earred" that page real quick and she expressed how much those verses meant.  We shared another scripture with her, which, of course, she dog-earred. We left her with the resolve to read and to ponder. It was a very successful lesson and we are excited to see her tomorrow. People are definitely prepared to hear about this message. 

Things are going great here. We love it and we know the Lord works with us. He works with you as well, His hand is always there. 

Me and Sister Barnes again! She is still the Sister Training Leader in the English speaking area (she's been there since before I left Kirkland, aka a long time) but  exchanges were so fun! 

Man if I could be half the missionary she is, I'd be set. Love her so much.

Have a great week!

Sister Thomas

Good Things to Come

27th February 2017

Hi everyone!

This week has been good. I'm sitting here reflecting and I'm always amazed about how fast it goes and all that happens in that one week. This week we have been contacting a lot of families in the ward, less active, and active, we have been finding a lot and knocking and street contacting and it has been fruitful. We are literally building our teaching pool and we are looking for ways to do it effectively, such as by really communicating with the members and finding through the resources we have been given. It has been going well. Everyone, I hope you know how much I love being a missionary. I really love it. It has become my life, it has become a part of me, the love of this work runs so deep and I feel my boldness and courage growing. I know that Heavenly Father has been there for us this week, we've contacted a lot of people and we still have so much work to do, but I know that He provides us with miracles.

There was a miracle just last night, we were out contacting and we went to place we had previously knocked to follow up with some people we had met. But, we were running really low on gas (like really low, I was a little concerned, and we didn't want to fill up because it was the Sabbath, but we had faith that Heavenly Father would help us make it) so we couldn't move from that place until we had decided to go home, so we decided to stay a little longer, to just walk around and try to find some people. But, on the streets there was no one, it was cold, dark, and windy and there was not a soul. So we started knocking a few doors on our way back to the car. And after knocking 3 or 4 we knocked into Selena and her son Lucas. Selena and her family are from Trinidad, but she is more Quebecois than anything, BUT she's an Anglophone (score!) and she is amazing. She is very open minded and actually had a few friends who were Mormon growing up. She has had a very interesting life, with a PhD in Anthropology and now working as a Yoga instructor, she is so open. And Lucas is only 3, and we talked about families, after a prompting from the Spirit, and she said that was something that she loved and was very important to her, and she voiced that she was very happy we talked about it and its importance. Then we talked about choices with her, and our ability to choose (after introducing our pre-earth life) and then she said, "I love that word, choose. I actually have that tattooed on my foot!" again, our conversation was completely guided by the Spirit because those things aren't usually the first things to come out of our mouth. Then we taught her a little bit more about that, about how that was a God-given gift to us, that we have that freedom, and she loved it. And then we had to lead to get home on time, so we left her with the Plan of Salvation pamphlet and with a firm appointment to meet again on Tuesday. We were so happy. Heavenly Father literally provided us with a miracle because we chose to stay where we were and to continue working. I'm happy that we have the ability to choose and act for ourselves, that God loves us enough to let us do that. It's such a sacred concept. I'm so grateful for it.

And that is just one miracle for this week there have been so many more. I'm so grateful for the Spirit and how it guides us, I'm grateful for Heavenly Father and His plan for us, I know He loves me and is working with me here.

Another thing I think I learned this week is the truthfulness of the principle - you never know how much good you do, something taught to us by President Hinckley (the former President of the church, from 1995 - 2008) . That is true. Two weeks ago at a meeting with some other missionaries, the Elders in another area were talking about their investigators, they mentioned one named Shatick, and my eyes got wide and my mouth dropped, I knew that name. Then I asked but how? I had forgotten. But then it all came back. Months and months ago, Sister Torres and I met Shatick on the metro and started teaching him, gave him a pamphlet, exchanged information and then sent off the contact to the missionaries who lived closer to him. I had completely forgotten about him. But the Elders started meeting with him, and he's come to church and now he has a baptismal date(!!!). The same story happened with the other Sisters in the area, but this time I hadn't forgotten about him at all, his name is Keith, who we had met just as he was taking out his trash last one Sunday night, and the Sisters started teaching him and now he has a baptismal date and now both are attending church. How amazing is that? Can you imagine how touched I felt to know that these people were being taught, that they were making and keeping commitments, that these people who I just happened to talk to had started progressing? There are not words. I almost started crying after I found out about Shatick. I was so happy. I had tasted of the fruit. I had done something good, and other missionaries were benefitting from it too, and best of all souls were coming back to the Savior. Oh, that was a sweet moment. And I'm so grateful for them. You really never know how much good you do.

So don't forget those principles, even though I'm explaining them in a missionary context, they are still true principles. That God is a God of miracles, and our good works never go unrewarded. Those are true and eternal principles all coming from our Perfect God, who is the source of all truth and knowledge. I love Him and I believe in Him. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and know that I will as well, even though every moment might not be happy, that the weather every day might not be the best, and there will be people who don't care about a thing we say, but know that I will have a wonderful week because I'm in the service of the Lord.

Didn't take any pictures this week, so here's a picture I just took of Sister Bascom. She's so cute. :)

 

With great amounts of love,

Sister Thomas

 

 

New Things

20th February 2017

hi from the South Shore of Montreal,

President and Sister Phillips, our wonderful Mission President and his wife, Sister Bascom and I. Ohhhh so much love.

Wow wow, what a week, it was busy and crazy but oh so successful. It all started last Wednesday as the Mission President announced the trainers for each of the eleven new missionaries, he called my name and then said "you will be receiving Sister Bascom!" and after a big hug and initial laughs and giggles our grand adventure started. We were both new coming to this area, and lucky enough Sister Zobrist (who was just leaving this area) was at the mission office as well, so she was able to give us the low down on all the things that had been happening in the Greenfield Park Area for the past six months. She was such a big blessing. She wrote out copious notes for us and gave us a detailed ward list and all the necessary information we needed to get started. And then we left the city and started the 45 minute trip to our new area. Last week it had been snowing A TON here, like ridiculous amounts of snow, well over 2 feet at least, and I had to drive it in. Before leaving I joked with the Mission President that he was trying to kill me because I've told him how much I hate driving in the snow before, and he just laughed at me. But, we are happy to report that this week we have been A-okay, because the heat wave that's hit the past few days has mettled all the snow! Today was the first time since December I've worn my lighter jacket and man, we are just loving the sun. Montreal weather is so weird.

Sister Bascom is super great. A little bit about her, she is from Alberta, she comes from a big family and has two adopted siblings (of course we bonded over that), she played rugby and soccer so she's super sporty and fun, definitely a hard worker, and she loves the French language. Basically she came pre-trained, and I just get to help her adjust. We both entered this area with a lot of energy and looking for ways to serve and help these members and investigators. They are great, we already love them so much and we are optimistic for the next three months.

 

 Found Sister Hoffmann at the mission office right before she had her closing interview with the Mission President, now she is home :( but we got a generations picture before she left. 

Grandma, mom, and grand baby (it's just weird mission lingo)

 

 

This week we have been going finding crazy. Talking with as many people as we can, running after people to ask for directions (and then talking to them about the gospel of course), knocking doors, visiting members, making little goodies for them so they like us more, and asking them to help us find people to teach. And we've seen so many miracles of Heavenly Father leading us to people who are prepared, we've found a lot, and it's been so fun. Most of the people have been French speakers, because are area is primarily French, but this week we are on the search for Anglophones!

We have to get going soon, we have a teaching appointment in a little bit, so I hope everyone has a great week, next week I'll come more prepared to get int the specifics of things, but pray for us and for the hearts of the people we work with this week. We know Heavenly Father has miracles in store for us.

Took a picture of her shovelling snow because she's a pro. She taught me how to do it. 

I'm a proud mom :)

With our new friend Wilfred. He's basically the Guinean version of Morgan Freeman. 

He sounds just like him too, we love him.

Bonne semaine! 

Sister Thomas 

Saying goodbye to Sister Dinge :'( I miss my Frenchie.

Do I Even Remeber How to Speak English

February 13, 2017

 

Hi everyone!

happy birthday to me!!! Sister Dinge went nuts with the décorations, it was so fun :)

What a week, what a week! We ended the extended exchange with Sister Poulton last Monday evening so Sister Dinge and I were reunited and got to work together again and be together for my birthday! Sister Dinge was so sweet and we set up little decoration and ballons, and I blew out some candles and it was special. It`s weird to have birthdays, or big holidays on the mission, we wake up and the mornings feel the same, we remember and know why we are here and what we are supposed to do and rarely give anything else another thought, so when these big events come around it`s a little different. But nonetheless, it was really wonderful and and it was a day I won`t forget anytime soon.

 

Some of my favorite people ever took us out to eat for a birthday dinner, it was delicious!!

 I love them.

 

Continuing on... there will be some big changes this next week because... don don don don! I`m getting transferred! I will be leaving the beloved Ville Marie area and going to the South Shore of Montréal (which means I`m finally leaving the island of Montréal for the first time my whole mission, weird) and I will be in the Green Field Park ward. Which is, as you can guess by the name, English speaking!! And I will be receiving a new missionary and welcoming her into the mission field! 

 

 Flashback!!! Took Sister Hoffmann on her last exchange this week,

 we`ve been so blessed to be so close my entire mission 

and then we got to be together one last time before she goes home this week. 

She is the best!

I am honestly so excited to be training again, and in English too! Oh man, don`t get me wrong, I love French so much and have loved these past 3 transfers (or 6 week periods) serving in this beautiful language, but there is something special about sharing the gospel in your native tongue, and I`m excited for this new Sister to experience that. I just hope that I`ll be able to remember how to speak and teach in English, because even now I sometimes have troubles with mixing French words into my English conversations or saying English prayers, but Heavenly Father will help us.

Saying goodbye to members is the saddest thing ever,

 Sister Thelemaque has my whole heart :`(

Saying goodbye to the members yesterday was bittersweet, as goodbyes on the mission usually are, because we really grow to love everyone in the ward in a very special way; but I won`t be leaving the area until this Wednesday, so there is still time to see a lot of people, exchange hugs, handshakes, and testimonies, and really enjoy the company of the spirit. I will miss this area very much, but I know that Heavenly Father still has great things in store for me and my trainee in Green Field Park.

Frère Thelamaque, the Bishop, and our recent convert Simon, they are so fun!

Anyways, this week I promise we had lots of miracles, and I know the Lord is working with us, and helping us find people who are ready to receive Him. He does guide us and direct us, and I am infinitely grateful for that.

this is like the worst picture ever, but it`s just so funny so I have to send it. 

had a little party with Daniella after we read some of the Book of Mormon Stories book

 (it`s so cute it has pictures and little summaries of the stories of the Book of Mormon, she loved it)

Have a wonderful week!

Sister (yay, I can pull my English tags out again!) Thomas

 

 Took the other missionaries car for the day and tried to find parking in the city. with the crazy snow we`ve been having it was the biggest JOKE. it was like parking in antarctica.

 

le plan est réale

Febuary 6th 2017

Hi everyone!

I tried to make my sandwich become a 1 for my 1 year mark, 

but we were too hungry so it didn`t work, but it`s the thought the counts, right?

I`ve been pondering on what to share from this last week and was having a hard time deciding what to share, but then I came across an article on lds.org about the Plan of Salvation. It was written by a young girl who recounts the expérience she had after a very dear friend of hers pasted away, she explained how difficult it was, how shocked she had been, but ultimately the peace that she was able to come to. (here`s the article: https://www.lds.org/liahona/2017/02/youth/when-the-plan-became-real?lang=eng&_r=1&cid=HP_TH_2-2-2017_dPFD_fLHNA_xLIDyI-2_) The title of the article is «When the Plan Became Real» and I was very touched by truth that this young girl presented. This week we`ve had several opportunities to teach the Plan of Salvation (God`s plan that He created for us) to members who`ve heard these truths before, and also to people who had never heard of the word Resurrection. And it was a wonderful experience as the simple truths were able to touch their hearts as well as ours.

Look at the cute cutouts!! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. they`re so perfect in lessons, really thank you Becca. (and this week I added the little French sticky notes, now even my teaching materials are bilingual now)

We taught with visual aids that were provided from this last Christmas. Rebecca (huge shoutout Becca, they`re literally perfect thank you a million thank yous) sent me little cutouts of the Plan of Salvation and it was powerful as we taught with them this week. We taught about our pre-earth life as we layed down the soft little circle, and continued to simply explain each principle. And continued to testify as we helped them understand the word «Atonement» and what it meant for us. We shared of God`s love for us as we explained there was place that He prepared for all of His children to stay after they parted with their mortal body. And we smiled as we taught that through Jesus Christ we would be able to have a perfect body one day, because He conquered both spiritual and physical death for us. And then we shared the beautiful truth about how our families can live together forever in God`s presence and know complete joy; that was when their smiles got bigger too.

God`s plan is really so beautiful and so clear, that even a child can understand it, and they did this week as we showed them and helped them come to know more about their purpose here on earth, and their amazing divine potential. I have a testimony of that. And it`s been a testimony that has grown a lot, in the year it`s been since I became a missionary, and each day I still learn something new, and I`m so grateful for that. Time flies so fast, but I`m so happy to know that there is a purpose to all of it. The Plan is real.

I hope everyone has a great, safe, and happy week.

Sister Thomas

 We brought a pizza for julie in the hospital because she kept saying that`s all she wanted in life. Challenge accepted, and the dream was fulfilled. We love her. :)

Beautiful, Cold, Snowy Montreal

January 30th 2017

Hi everyone!

It`s been a beautiful, cold, snowy week in Montréal, but we are loving it here and our hearts are happy. There have been lots of changes and moving pièces in the mission this past week and it`s keeping us on our toes! We had another team of Sister`s move into our apartment for a few days, and that was good to spend more time with them, and talk with them about each of our respective areas. And then this last Friday we started an exchange (where one of the companions comes with me to my area, and the other goes with my companion to their area) with another team of Sisters and we are not sure how long this exchange will last, but it has been so fun! So since Friday I`ve been companions with Sister Poulton, who`s from Texas and has only been on her mission about 2 months. Ìt`s been funny to see how many things we have in common and to laugh together and to work together. It`s been a blessing for the both of us.

 cute Sister Poulton 

with one of our investigators cats after we went over and painted a few rooms in her house 

(yes, the second house I`ve painted on my mission, I think I`m getting pretty good)

Speaking of how she`s only been on her mission for a few months, it`s been really fun to help her with her French, but there`s been one thing I`ve noticed about teaching with her that I absolutely love, and it`s that it doesn`t matter what I even say in the lessons, because it really is her words that the people remember. Now, what I mean by that is because I`ve had more experience in French and feel a little more comfortable with teaching, I am able to present a point of doctrine and testify and teach about it, which is great and everything, but when she talks, with her more limited and maybe a little more broken French, the people always pay attention. Each word that she uses is deliberate, and they know that, so even if she isn`t grammatically correct, the people undestand and are always so touched by the testimony she shares and the spirit that she brings. We`ve seen it over and over again in teaching scenarios and it`s been fun to help her realize the power that she has. I`ve learned a lot from her about how to teach the gospel to people, and I`m very grateful for that.

I`ll highlight one of those expériences to give you a better idea, this week we met Julie, who is a friend of a recent convert in my last area, Kirkland. And Julie has been in and out of the hospital for awhile because of some lung and throat problems she has, which has been very difficult for her. The other night we received her information from the missionaries in Kirkland and stopped by to visit her on Saturday. And, after getting lost a few times in the hospital, we found her and from the moment we walked in the door we knew something was different. As we walked in and introduced ourselves and told her we were sent by one of her friends, her whole face, which was rather solemn when we walked in, change into the biggest smile. She was so touched that we came to visit her and we were all a little teary eyed because the spirit in the room was very special. And then we started talking with her, told her about ourselves and she told us about her life, and some of the difficulties she`s been having, and then with Sister Poulton leading, we introduced the Book of Mormon to her and offered her one as a gift. Again, she was touched and could immediately feel of it`s importance. She asked us to write a little something in the front of it so she could remember us forever, and we left with happy hearts as we planned to come back the following day, Sunday. So, we stopped by before Church yesterday morning to see her again, and her countenance was just different. She was bright and happy when we walked in and it was tender as we started talking. She shared with us a powerful experience she had with the Book of Mormon the previous night, and it was then that Sister Poulton offered a very powerful testimony of the divinity, truthfulness, and power found in the Book of Mormon and in reading its pages. And I know I`m now only explaining it in very few words, but we will never be able to deny what was said and felt that Sunday morning in the hospital room. Julie now knows, after searching for something more in life for years and asking God to guide her there, the Book of Mormon will have an impact on her life, and will give her what she has been looking for.

After asking her if we could capture the special moment 

Julie let us take a picture with her in her hospital room. I really love her

That is true, the Book of Mormon is true and there is power in its pages.

I realize this email was little longer today, I apologize if it`s too long, but then again, I`m happy I can share my special expériences with everyone, because things like this don`t happen everyday.

I hope everyone has a great week! Be safe.

Sister Thomas

Some very very nice members let us come over for dinner yesterday and made us a beautiful feast of French food (because they`re from France, yay!) and it was amazing. It was a dish called raclette, which is kind of like fondu where you melt the cheese, but then we put it over potatoes and a rice and meat dish, it was so good.

It's on your face

January 23rd, 2017

hi everyone!

this week was great! lots of blessings and miracles, as usual, and we`ve been able to see Heavenly Father`s hand in every part of the work, He is definitely here with us.

The people we`ve been teaching have really intergrated themselves with members of the ward here, coming to activities with us, making friends and connections and most importantly learning and seeing how the doctrine of Jesus Christ applies in our lives and then seeing a living representation of how happy it can make us. That was so cool. Funny story, Angelique, she`s 9, and she is one of the children of a family we are teaching, and this week we started teaching her family about the Plan of Salvation, and about how we existed before this life, after asking them a few questions about what they thought and believed, Angelique`s hand shot up and she said with confidence «On a choisi de venir ici!!» which means, we chose to come here. Everyone was a little shocked and surprised that she knew that, and then the family looked at us and asked if she was right, and with big big smiles we said, yes 100%. Then they asked her where she learned that, and she said at church. How perfect is that? The whole family was taught by the youngest daughter a very simple but powerful doctrine. The whole lesson was very successful.

Another sweet experience happened on the bus just the other day. As we waited for the bus early one morning, I started talking to an elderly gentlemen who was sitting down. We continued our small talk as we boarded the bus, and as I sat next to him, he looked at me and he said, «Mormon?» and I said, «yes, how did you know?» and he said «It`s on your face.» I was a little taken back by his response, but the smile I had just grew a little bigger because I knew what he meant. He then looked at me and said, in somewhat broken English (he was from Hungary) «you want to do good.» He went on to explain how he was Jewish, but how that he`s always respected Mormons and all the good they`ve done. It was a tender experience as I ponder his words, its on your face.

The joy of the gospel is a beautiful thing, and it can be seen in our countenance, clear as day, if we don`t try and hide it, if we don`t get in the way for letting it`s blessings shine. I realized that, that day where it was a little bit more than cold outside, that no matter what is happening around us, no matter the weather, or the circumstance, who we are, and how we feel about who we are, can and will show on our faces.

So lets all try a little harder, to be a little better, myself included, because the joy is something easily detected and desperately wanted by the people around us.

Have a great week!
Sœur Thomas

 

A picture of us and Daniella after giving her a chart about how to pray. She loved it. 

She`s doing so well.