HI EVERYONE! 

It's been another amazing week here in Kirkland! Miracles continue to abound as we share the message of the restored gospel. It's been so cool because this week I've realized how much the Lord is working with us as His missionaries. We had an amazing experience as we went to visit a less active member, named Nile. We drove to her house, and as we rang her apartment, it became clear she wasn't home, but knowing we were in the area for a reason, we went walking around and started contacting people on the street, telling them about the gospel and about the Book of Mormon. We were walking for probably about an hour and then we turned a corner and we saw Nile walking right there! We were pretty far from her house and we were about as surprised to see her as she was to see us. We then just started talking to her on the street and had a beautiful lesson about how God can rebuild us and make us stronger. We invited her to reread President Uchtdorf's talk from conference, I'll add the link in here: (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/he-will-place-you-on-his-shoulders-and-carry-you-home?lang=eng). The spirit was there so strong as we testified of how much God really does love His children. 

This week me and my companion have also been working a lot to give away Book of Mormon's to the people around us. We've been approaching people in there homes, on the street, in stores, and have been introducing them to this amazing book. Sister Hoffmann and I affectionately call it "Book of Mormon on Legs" where we testify of the Book of Mormon and the power and peace it can bring into people's lives if they read it and prayerfully seek to know if the book is true. There is an AMAZING video about the Book of Mormon on the Church's website and I invite all of you to watch it! Here's the link: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-11-018-a-book-of-mormon-story?lang=eng 

WATCH it and understand how valuable the Book of Mormon is and how essential it is in our conversions. 

 

Sis Hoffmann and I at the MONTREAL TEMPLE. It's so cute :) 

 

One thing I've also learned this week is how absolutely necessary prayer is. First, let me explain how much missionaries pray, we pray ALL the time. We haven't counted  yet but I'm guessing Sister Hoffmann and I pray about 30 times together a day. We are ALWAYS asking for divine guidance in our lives, so we know where we need to go and what we need to be doing with this short amount of time we have to be the Lord's missionaries. And let me testify of how amazing that is. When we pray to have the Holy Ghost with us,  helping us to know what to say when we are talking with people, and helping us to know who we need to visit, true miracles can happen. 

For example, a few weeks ago we were in a neighborhood and decided to knock on a certain door, a really nice lady opened and we started talking with her. She said she was busy unpacking from a trip and that she couldn't talk for long, but she let us say a prayer with her, right there on her front porch. And Sister Hoffmann gave this beautiful prayer asking Heavenly Father to help this woman, who we had only known for a few minutes, and after she finished the prayer we looked up and saw that the women, her name is Johanne, was crying. She was so touched by the way we talked with our Father in Heaven and said that it was just what she needed. Since then we have planned to visit with her and I'm excited to see how we might help add to this amazing woman's faith. 

There's a beautiful quote about prayer I found this last week from Howard W. Hunter, "If prayer is only a spasmodic cry at the time of crisis, then it is utterly selfish, and we come to think of God as a repairman or a service agency to help us only in our emergencies. We should remember the Most High day and night—always—not only at times when all other assistance has failed and we desperately need help. If there is any element in human life on which we have a record of miraculous success and inestimable worth to the human soul, it is prayerful, reverential, devout communication with our Heavenly Father." (Here's the whole talk: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1977/10/hallowed-be-thy-name?lang=eng)

 

Remember who we are talking to when we pray. Remember that God is first our Father, and He wants to communicate with us and He wants us to communicate with Him. 

Remember that God has given us the Book of Mormon as another testament of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Introduction of the Book of Mormon says, "Concerning this record [the Book of Mormon] the Prophet Joseph Smith said: 'I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.'"

I know those words to be true. I know that we can all become closer to God and to His Son as we read the Book of Mormon. It's a beautiful, miracle-working book that I love with my whole heart. 

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week,

Sister Thomas

 

 Super cute chocolate/ice cream store. Man I love Montreal :)

The Ramblings of A Missionary

Hi!

POUTINE from La Banquise

Honestly I have no idea what I want to write in this email. There is so much that happens in a week and trying to record it in an email sometimes works, and other weeks it doesn't. This is one of those weeks. But here are some bullet points. 

* Satan controls the gas prices here in Montreal. Literally every time we decide to wait a day to fill up the price jumps like 15 cents! And they do gas weird in Canada (because metric system). They sell it by the Liter and it's pretty pricey. One liter is like 115 cents and when there's almost 4 liters to a gallon, it adds up fast.

* I've decided that Canadian French sounds like a mixture of Russian and German. I'm lucky that Sister Hoffmann is here for when we talk to Quebecois people because I seriously have no idea what they're saying. Wish me luck for when I get transferred out of this area. 

* A home is not a happy home unless love is there. As a missionary I've been in so many homes where there is no love circulating between the family members. And it's sad! Especially when there are children involved. There's a reason why there are so many hymns and primary songs about speaking kindly, forgiving, and always remembering to love one another. President Monson even gave a talk in 2014 about love being the essence of the gospel. And it truly is. Every piece of doctrine we have in the church is taken back to the love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us. Without love, we wouldn't have the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement of Jesus Christ would have never been possible, and we would never be able to make it successfully through mortality. Love is the motivation factor for every good thing we have in this world. As a missionary, I've been praying for the gift of charity as I try to teach these people the happiest message they could ever hear. And it's with love and a heavy heart that I have to be okay when they decide to reject the things we teach them. Again, being a missionary is hard. We face rejection, and physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion a lot, but as I've prayed for the gift of love, I've been able to continue getting up everyday, because I know how much it is worth it. 

Sorry that was so scattered. Welcome to the brain of a missionary. Hopefully next weeks email will be better. But I hope everyone has a great week!

Love,
Sister Thomas

 Me snuggling one of our investigators Nadeja. Love these people.

Buddy the Elf's Dreamland - aka CABANE SUCRE

Hi everyone!

Me and the fab Sis Hoffmann

What a wonderful and BUSY week it's been. This week we had Zone Conference, where all the missionaries that are serving in the stake got together and we had various training's on how we can improve our missionary work, and it was amazing, but it was a WHOLE day thing. We started at 9 and we left around 5 so we didn't get much else done that day. And then we went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders who are in the city (aka Montreal, just the English speaking side of it) and I got to use the Bus & Metro system and it was SO COOL! I was constantly surrounded by a bunch of people, and I was able to talk to them all about Christ and what I get to do as a missionary. Such a cool experience. It made me less worried for the day I might possibly be transferred to a Bus & Metro area.

CABANE SUCREEEE

On Saturday Sister Hoffmann and I got to go to a Cabane Sucre (aka a Sugar Shack) with a member! IT WAS THE COOLEST EXPERIENCE EVER. The place practically worshiped maple syrup because EVERY dish was either cooked in it, or had maple syrup on it. It was awesome. I felt like I was in Buddy the Elf's Dreamworld. Coolest thing ever. We all got INTENSE sugar rushes so you can only imagine our conversations. The members here are really amazing, and every day I'm just more and more grateful for their wonderful example. Because almost EVERY member in Quebec is a convert, they all have these amazing conversion stories. It helps me know there are people here who are prepared to here this glad message and it gives me continual hope for every investigator I teach. QUEBEC IS SO COOL. 

Sister Roy, AKA an angel

I'm convinced April Fools Day extends for the whole month of April here because this months weather has been A JOKE. It's snowed 2 times in the past week and has been raining every other day besides that. Except for Sunday. Yesterday was BEAUTIFUL, the sun was out and the sky was just singing. Such a tender mercy. AH Life is so cool as a missionary. 

Okay that's all I have for now. Remember how much God loves us. The world, and the way our amazing bodies work, is a testament to that. Remember that the word of God is what nourishes us, so read the scriptures EVERY DAY. It's a NECESSITY for our spiritual well-being. 

OH and Romans has become my favorite book in the Bible. Read chapter 5. IT'S PERFECT. Here's a link to it: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/5?lang=eng 

SO GOOD.

Love you all with my whole heart,

Sister Thomas

2 Months Down AND Genreal Conference

Rebonjour Mes Amis,

Can I just rant and rave about how amazing it is to be a missionary again? Because man it just gets better and better! I can't believe I left home just two months ago. Craziness. Crazy amounts of gratitude in my heart for the opportunity I have to serve as missionary. I've gotten to meet people for all over the world here, and share with the glad message of the Restoration, what could be cooler! I've even started keeping a list of the countries these people are from.

Here's what I have so far: Chad, Nigeria, The Philippines, The Congo, Haiti, France, Madagascar, Taiwan, New Zealand, Brazil, China, Iraq, Romania, Egypt, Belgium, and Spain! And man, the list just grows every day. I'm so grateful to be in such a diverse mission. Christ's gospel is really spreading across the whole earth. Just in different ways than we think.

Us and Jye, a recent convert, 

watching the first session of conference together! 

Forever in love with General Conference!

 

Lets talk about how PERFECT General Conference was. Me and my companion have not stopped talking about it since last night. I had so many questions answered and so many troubles in my heart calmed. My love for the restored gospel of Christ grows and just about explodes when I watch men of God speaking to the entire church and telling us what we need to be doing as a people, as communities, and as individuals. I cannot express how lucky we are to live in this amazing time where we have a Prophet of God here on the earth! That is the message that I have the privilege to share with the people of Montreal, that there is a Prophet on earth once again, God does speak to us, and He is our living, LOVING, merciful FATHER in Heaven. That is something I cannot specify enough. To be close to God, we have to realize His true character, and that is that He is a real being of glorified flesh and bones who loves us more than our mortal minds can comprehend. That He is the literal Father of our spirits and wants nothing more than for us to come back to Him after this life. 

That is a truth that the restored gospel has shown to us, time and time again. Let that a doctrine be the firmest part of our testimonies. Because if it is, everything other doctrine will fit perfectly next to it, every other principle will make absolute sense, and every ounce of faith we have will contribute to that truths original glory.

I know these things to be true, both in my heart and in my mind. I'm grateful for all of you and I pray for you each day.

 Another picture from last week, 

Sister Hoffmann and I on our nature walk with Laurel. 

She's so wonderful! 

(and it's in black&white, so that's extra fun)

With all the love a mere mortal can muster,

Sister Thomas

Happy Easter!

BONJOUR TOUT LE MONDE

 

This week, we got to visit so many members, less active members, and people who are looking into the church, and it was such a blessing! The people here in Kirkland are truly amazing. 

Last Tuesday, we had the opportunity to visit a few members who live about 40 minutes away (who commute 40 minutes to church, so they're the real MVP's) and we got go on a nature walk with them through a beautiful forest. On the walk we talked about God and His wonderful creations and how appreciative we should be for all the blessing He's given us. Then when we came back to the house and had dinner but for desert they gave a special, very Canadian treat. They brought out ice cream and REAL maple syrup and just told us to go crazy. Soooo, we did. And let me tell you, the maple syrup here is AMAZING. That's just the only way to describe it. And with some vanilla ice cream and sliced almonds, it almost put me in cardiac arrest (in a good way).

 

Wilderness!!!

We also go to watch General Women's Conference on Saturday with the sisters in our ward, it was such a special experience! And with almost every talk being about serving one another, not for want of recognition but just out of pure love in our hearts, it made me THAT much more motivated to work as hard as I can as missionary. I feel like the luckiest person in the world because each day, for the next almost 16 months, I get to serve my Father in Heaven and help people come unto Christ. What better things could I be doing with my time? NOTHING, LET ME TELL YOU. Being a missionary is the best thing in the world. The hardest thing I've ever done, that's for sure. Way harder than High School or College or anything the Army has thrown at me. But, heck, am I grateful for these experiences. 

This week I've learned patience, with myself and with others, because there were some days were I just felt like I could never learn the French language, and I would just be upset, but after prayer, and humbling myself before my Father, I can see how I've been able to improve. Yesterday we taught 2 lessons in French, and I actually contributed to the lessons instead of just sitting there quietly nodding. Sooo progress is happening, people! French really is beautiful, I sure love it. Can't wait to be good at it. 

 

Finding my zen in the Canadian Wilderness

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Easter. The weather was absolutely beautiful here in Montreal, with clear skies and sunshine all day, even the weather was rejoicing in the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. 

And I hope everyone is as excited as I am about GENERAL CONFERENCE. Man I've been looking forward to this weekend for the past 6 months. I can't wait to hear the words of the Prophet and his apostles, as they testify of Christ and tell us what we should be doing to best improve our lives. 

I know that Christ lives. He is RISEN! And because He was resurrected, I know that we all can be too. That after this life our bodies and souls will be reunited, in a perfect state, and "a hair of the head shall not be lost" (Alma 40: 23. READ IT. Oh and Alma 41 and 42. Some of my most favorite chapters of scripture). I'm honored to be one of His missionaries right now. What a blessing it is that I get to wear His name on my chest everyday. 

Remember, Christ is real. He did come to earth, establish His church, and perform the Atonement so that all mankind may be saved. He is our elder brother and He loves us. 

I will never not testify of His divinity.

I love you all,

Sister Thomas

 

  There was an ice/snow storm the other day. 

Hopefully the last one, but Canada just wanted to give me a taste of it's freezingness.

Canada is real...real cold!

Bonjour-Hi!

My Mission President,, President Patrick, his wife, Sister Patrick, 

me, and my new trainer Sister Hoffman!

Guess what everyone, Canada is really a place. AND I'M HERE. Yes, it's still a little chilly, people do say words weird (like how the bathroom is called a wash-room, like what the heck, and also about is aboot, I giggled so hard the first time I heard it), and everyone really is obsessed with the maple leaf. BUT I LOVE IT! 

I met my trainer on Thursday and her name is Sister Hoffmann and she's from Arizona but she was born in Venezuela, so she speaks fluent Spanish, English and French. So yes she's amazing, and I'm making her teach me some Spanish. We have a ton in common. We tell each other we are basically the same person, but she's just a little more brown. She's the oldest of 5 too, her parents are divorced, she went to BYU-I (the semester before me) and she wants to do something in the health-care field as well! I really do love her a lot and I look forward to the next few months with her. We will be together for a total of 12 weeks so that I can finish my In-Field Missionary training, so at least I'll be suck with someone I like! 

I'm in a city called Kirkland on the east of Montreal, it's an English speaking area, with one heck of an amazing ward. Our first night here, we were contacted by some members and they invited us over for dinner. Then the same thing happened the second night, and since then we've had other opportunities to visit with these wonderful members and all I can say is I don't know how I got so lucky to be sent here as my first area. I was pretty worried about my French when I was told by my Mission President that I would be serving in an English area, but thankfully, since it is still Quebec, there are tons of people who speak French. We've had quite a few lessons in French with mostly Haitian people. Haitian people are the BEST, let me tell you. They're so humble and ready to hear about the gospel. The other night me and my companion had the opportunity to visit two Haitian's, a recent convert, Glaurie, and her cousin Elsie who is looking into the church, and they made us some rice with soup that was blended up black beans, and this pork that was seriously the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. And then we got to share with them the new Easter video the Church has made about Christ's Resurrection (if you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend you do, it's a beautiful video, here's the link: https://www.mormon.org/easter) and the spirit was there so strong as we testified of the reality of Christ's Atonement, and how because of it we can change, and be made better through Christ. What a beautiful time of year this is, where we can celebrate the Resurrection of Christ and appreciate what that means for us. 

 

In my area we have a car, because we cover Kirkland but also like 4 other towns and another island that's right next to Montreal, it's called Parrot Island, and I haven't been there yet but updates will follow on how many parrots I spot. But because we have a car, and we aren't walking around, it makes it harder to meet people and talk to them about the gospel, so are plan is to park in a general area and then just walk around and hopefully meet some people who would want to hear our message. 

Anyways, I have to go, but I hope everyone has a great week and remembers how much Christ and Heavenly Father loves us! That simple truth is really the most beautiful thing. Oh also, Quebec smells like a really heavy mix of cigarettes and maple syrup. It's splendid. 

With all the love in the world,

Soeur/Sister Thomas

 

Saying goodbye to my MTC Compainion!

Leapy Day, Month Mark, And The Day I Met Dave Franco!

Hello People from the Outside World!

What an eventful week it has been. Seriously I don't know how the days fly by so fast, yet at the same time I feel like I've spent my whole life here. It's quite the conundrum. But, as you can tell from the subject line of this email, IT HAS BEEN A BUSY WEEK. 

So. Let's do this.

* Last Monday was one of my favorite holidays, it's quite allusive and only enchants us with its presence every 4 years, and that's why it is just so darn special, but that's right, you guess it, LEAP DAY! Oh man Leap Day in the MTC was so fun. My district decided to rename it "Leapy Day" to make it even FUNNER (not a word I know), so of course, we made our teachers leap around the class before we started working and it was best thing ever. Picture a tall, lanky man from Belgium and massive, brown man from Tahiti jumping around a classroom, and you might get a taste of how enjoyable it was. We did take district pictures to commemorate the best day out of every 4 years, and one was an attempt of us all jumping, so I'll make sure to attach those pics for your viewing pleasure. 

 

 

 LEAPY DAY, YAY!

 And yes, Elder Hansen was the only one who didn't get the memo

 for not leaping, but regardless, the picture is priceless.

 

* GUESS WHO'S BEEN ON A MISSION FOR A WHOLE MONTH. ME. How the heck that happened, I have no idea. But I only hope and pray that the rest of my mission doesn't go by so fast because I just wanna be a missionary forever. These past few weeks at the MTC have taught me so much, I've learned so much more about my Savior, God's great plan for us, and how I can best share His plan with everyone around me. I feel like everyday I just get smacked up by the Spirit (in a good way) and learn so much more than I ever thought I could. Going on a mission has been the best decision I've ever made and I thank my Father in Heaven everyday for this opportunity. BEING A MISSIONARY IS THE BEST.

 

OUR VALIANT ATTEMPT. LEAPING FOR THE GOSPEL!

* Okay, I know you've probably all been skimming this email, waiting for me to talk about Dave Franco, so buckle up because here it comes... I MET DAVE FRANCO AT THE MTC... kinda. It might as well have been because we found this Elder who looks EXACTLY like him. Same height, same weight, same teeth, same everything (these things later confirmed in person, with Elder Franco himself, because yes he does know these facts about Dave Franco, because he gets it THAT MUCH). Me and the other sister first noticed him in the cafeteria, when I was dead convinced it was the real Dave Franco here for like a movie role or something, and then we started talking about it with some other sisters at our residency and it turns out, the rest of the MTC agrees with. Even the Elder's district/zone affectionately call him Dave. So, after serious deliberation and careful planning, we figured out how we would get a picture with this MTC celebrity. It was only mildly horrify asking to get a picture with him, but me and the other sisters DID IT AND WE GOT A PICTURE WITH DAVE! And I'm still not convinced it's really not him, so if you see anything in the media about Dave Franco becoming Mormon, just know that you first heard it from me. Also, I could be totally wrong and you might think he doesn't look like Dave, that's totally possible, because I have been out of the real world for a month now so my perception of celebrities could totally be tainted. But for now I'll just go on bragging about how I met Dave Franco at the MTC. 

 

THEE MTC version of Dave Franco. 

Disregard the squinty eyes, the sun was out and trying to burn our cornea's but 

EVIDENCE IS EVIDENCE

On a different, more spiritual note, man oh man is this life full of blessing. Yes hardships too, but I know that Heavenly Father is giving his children, us, blessings up the wazoo. Me and Sister Barnes had the opportunity this week to teach someone who isn't a member of the Church; we've actually taught her for a few weeks, but this week we had an extra special lesson with her. For the whole hour or so that we were with her, we talked about Christ. It was as if the scripture in 2 Nephi 25:26 came to life, "we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." Because as a missionary that is what I'm supposed to do. Testify of the Savior and His redeeming love. The love of Christ, better known as charity, that can make man whole, heal a wounded heart, and strengthen knees that are weak. As we spoke of Christ, and His love for us, I got to feel how much Jesus Christ loved her, and let me tell you, it almost overwhelmed me. I know that Christ lives, and that He loves us so much. Much more than our feeble mortal minds can comprehend. And that He is always there for us. That He has given us a path to follow, an example to look to, and a hand to hold. His love is real. Never forget that. 

So as you go about your week, remember that no matter how hard things may seem, how unfair life maybe, or how week you may feel, Christ's love is there. And it's enough to heal, make right, and strengthen anything. So remember Christ, turn to Him, and be made whole. 

That's all I got. I truly do love you all. ALSO, only 11 days to CANADA! YAY FOR THAT.

With as much sincerity as there are teeth in a shark's mouth,

Sister Thomas

 

 

District trip to the Provo Temple