Sister Thomas - WEEK THREE - ARKANSAS (Well actually Tennessee!)

What an insane, crazy week!

     We left The MTC at 3:30 am Tuesday morning, and since Sister Cawley and I are such special spirits we decided it would be a good idea to pull an all nighter and just not sleep at all before heading to the airport! It was a horrible decision and it made my day really hard, but I just love Sister Cawley so  much that it's okay. The flight here was okay, when we got to the Atlanta Airport, where we were supposed to  be able to call home there were no working payphones so I missed the opportunity to call and I was really upset. I cried on and off the whole rest of the day.  

     When we landed in Arkansas President Wakolo & The AP's where there to pick us up. Most of the other missionaries were seriously dying in the humidity, but it was all too familiar to me (: We then headed to a church building there in Arkansas to have a short orientation. It was good, but I was kind of stunned so I honestly don't remember much about it. I do remember however, that there was a little boy running around in the church that sounded just like Jeb. That caused the tears to flow, lemme tell ya. I cried all the way though my interview with President Wakolo, so I think he probably was not very impressed with me, but oh well, it is what it is. We spent the night in the mission home and it was really nice. The food was great and the spirit was strong, but my head really wasn't in it. My head was at home with my family and I honestly spent the whole night feeling like I needed to go home. Thankfully other people are much better at being tools in The Lord's hands than I am. 

    As I showered that night I cried and cried and cried. Then I got in my bed and was laying there feeling  more depressed and upset and homesick than I have ever felt. As I was laying there however I felt impressed to look through the binder they had given me in orientation. At the back of the binder I found an envelope with my name written on in in what I assume was President Wakolo's handwriting. I opened it, expecting some more paper work, but instead I found a letter from my mom all about how proud she was of my decision to serve a mission and how even though she missed me, what a blessing she knew it would be. All at once I remembered why I was there, and I remembered that I also knew what a blessing it was that I have the opportunity to serve a mission. The Lord knew I would need that comfort, and thankfully my mom and President Wakolo are excellent tools in his hands. 

      The next morning was the transfer meeting. Sister Cawley stayed in Arkansas in an area called Bryant, which is pretty hick. We were really really really sad we had to separate, but we have been texting and she seems to be doing super well. I am serving in Lakeland Tennessee! It's a suburb of Memphis and our area actually has quite a bit of Memphis in it. Our ward is really interesting because we have several neighborhoods full of million dollar homes, but we also have areas that are fairly poor, which makes our ward a very interesting mix of demographics. My companion (and trainer) is named Sister Mendicino, and she's from Midvale Utah & graduated from Hillcrest! She and I don't really know any of the same people though. Our companionship has gone super well over all. We aren't best friends like Sister Cawley and I, but we get along. 

    We are reopening the area for sisters, and we don't have an apartment or car right now, so we're staying with sisters in a different area and we are relying on members for rides everywhere. Thankfully the people here are AWESOME, and so willing to help out. We did service for this woman named Sister Wilson and she's like, at least 80 years old and a recent convert. She has a lot of health problems but she's super active and I LOVE her! She's lived an amazing life and loves the gospel so so so much. There are also lots of YSA girls who are ready and excited to come out teaching with us. This is a seriously great ward.

I am so thankful and excited to be out here on my mission. I love the Lord and I love these people already, but I also love all of you so much.

Sister Thomas 

Sister Thomas - WEEK TWO 5/18/15

It's been another crazy week here at the MTC, I feel like I was JUST writing my email for the last week! I've continued to learn and grow exponentially, and I am just so thankful for the blessing to be here. The MTC really is the refiner's fire, but I can feel how much better of a person and missionary it has made me. I can't believe how much I've learned, but as I prepare to fly to Arkansas tomorrow I just really hope it's been enough. The crazy thing about the MTC is that it makes you realize how unprepared you are, but rather than that being discouraging it just motivates you like CRAZY.

Sister Cawley and I are seriously best friends. We are so devastated that in a few days we won't be companions anymore!! We are going to miss our whole district SO much though, especially some of the missionaries going to Michigan. Sister Phelps and Elder Hartley are going to be hard to say goodbye to because we have grown really close to them. Thankfully Sister Cawley, Elder Arbon, and Elder Croft are all coming to Arkansas with me and I ADORE them all! Our district has truly become a family, even our Branch President has commented on our closeness, and we are going to be so sad to split up. Thankfully there's email, right?

Sister Cawley and I have been teaching nonstop and I LOVE IT. I truly love love love teaching and I can't wait to do it all the time. We've had two role play investigators played by our teachers, but we have also had the opportunity to teach a real investigator named Jamie, and we met with her 4 times. It was an interesting experience, she was a total sweetheart and we loved her, but we never felt like she was really dedicated to her commitments and because of that she never really had a spiritual break though, so the lessons didn't go badly I guess, but I don't think we changed her life either. I'm beginning to understand what they mean when they say you will truly love the people you teach, and I'm really sad we weren't able to get Jamie to the place of baptism, but truthfully I imagine that's how most meetings with investigators go.

One of the sisters in my district had to go to the hospital this week because of severe side pain, and she told us they said she had an ovarian cyst, but they didn't give her any prescription pain medication so I'm not sure if that's true. She keeps taking advil and telling everyone she's hopped up on pain meds even though it's just advil, hahah. I don't know, she's funny. She's going home tonight, and she doesn't really seem sad about it so idk, maybe it's for the best.

Being sister training leaders with Sister Cawley has been so much fun! We loved having the opportunity to meet the new missionaries this week and help them get comfortable.Just this brief time has testified to me of the importance of service. I can't wait to serve the people in Arkansas. I love you all so much and I miss everyone all the time. I am so lucky because literally every single person I know is totally amazing. As much as I love you though, I know your Heavenly Father loves you so much more.

Sister Thomas

Sister Thomas - WEEK ONE – 05/11/15

WEEK ONE – 05/11/15

The past week here has been really intense. As a missionary I feel I have grown exponentially, but I have also felt that growth as a person, church member, and over all follower of Christ. This week has been such a blessing. The first day was emotional to be sure, leaving my family behind was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I have already received so many blessings for making that sacrifice.

As a missionary I have learned countless lessons since coming here, but some of the lessons that have truly stuck out to me are the importance of baptism and extending that invitation as soon as possible, what a sacred responsibility it is to be one in purpose with The Godhead, and teaching and recognizing repentance as a wonderful blessing instead of a difficult experience. I have felt blessed to come to understand the meaning and purpose of my mission and I will do everything in my power to be the best missionary I can be by helping others come unto Christ.

I have also been blessed to come to know the Spirit better as He tries to communicate with me. Our role play lessons with our teachers have been intensely spiritual experiences and even though they haven't been real investigators I have received divine inspiration several times while teaching. I am so thankful for the gift of the Spirit because I could not teach these truths on my own. The fact is I don't teach them at all, the Spirit does, and I just act as a lightning rod to allow the Spirit to bless others. 

On a more temporal note, I really love everyone here. There is one Elder in my district, and he's pretty difficult to love, but I'm working on it. Overall though my district is amazing and we all became friends really quickly. My companion's name is Sister Cawley and I LOVE HER. I was so blessed to get a companion I love and get along with. She's from LA and we're total bros. There is one other set of sisters in our district, Sister Phelps and Sister Tolson. They're really quiet, but super nice, and we've gotten along well. There are two sets of Elders; Elder Hartley & Elder Julander, and Elder Arbon & Elder Croft. Arbon graduated from Corner Canyon so we have a lot of Alta friends in common! Arbon & Croft are coming to Arkansas on the 19th with Sister Crawley & I, and the other half of our district leaves for Michigan the next day. Sister Cawley and I were also called as the Sister Training Leaders (it's kinda like the female equivalent of a Zone Leader) and we are so excited for the opportunity to serve our fellow missionaries. 

Adjusting to the schedule was a little hard, but I've gotten on track now and am no longer feeling tired. I can't believe I've been here since Wednesday. It feels like I've been here for a few hours! I taught zone Relief Society yesterday and it was a cool experience. The lesson was on Enduring to the End, and it's a really powerful subject for me now that I am serving. I thought a lot about the importance of looking at Enduring to the End in a positive light, so now every time Sister Cawley and I say our missionary purpose, which is: To invite others to come unto Christ through helping them accept the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, we add on the word CHEERFULLY. Because honestly, we are so blessed to have the opportunity to invite others to come unto Christ, and we should be over the moon that we are here doing this work. One of my teachers, Sister Karratti, and I were talking about how we are only called to invite people to baptism for these short 18 months and that's it. This is the only time in our lives we will have that blessing, and we should never squander it by pining after a boy or being home sick or sleepy or grumpy or disobedient or whatever, this is our only chance to do this work, so we better not waste it. What a responsibility and what a blessing. 

The Lord has blessed me so much, and it is the least I can do to give him this year and a half of my life in order to help him bless others, the kick is he continues to bless me constantly throughout the process. Ours is truly a loving God. 

LOVE,

Sister Thomas

Hannah's First E-Mail!

We got a short e-mail from Hannah! She was given permission to e-mail to let me know what time she would be calling for Mother's Day. I don't think I will sleep tonight in anticipation of her call!

Here is her first e-mail: (It's not a typo, she and DeDee think it is hilarious to call me Hennifer.)

HENNIFER I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND I HAVE AN AMAZING SURPRISE FOR YOU!! I GET TO CALL YOU SUNDAY AT 4:00 SO BE READY!!

THIS EMAIL HAS TO BE SHORT SO I JUST HAVE A FEW PIECES OF NEWS

I LOVE THE MTC IT HAS BEEN AMAZING, TEACHING IS MY FAVORITE. 

I LOVE MY COMPANION WE HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON THIS IS AMAZING.

MY COMPANION AND I WERE CALLED AS THE SISTER TRAINING LEADERS FOR OUR ZONE!

I LOVE YOU!!

Sister Thomas (;