WEEK EIGHT - BIG STUFF!

Dear Friends and Family,

 

Well, this week some big stuff happened. Monday was pretty casual, nothing too crazy, just some hecka good Japanese food for lunch. It really is such a blessing to have the Bartlett sisters so close to us and that we have the opportunity to be such good friends with them. We had Sister Mart try sushi for the first time and she was not a fan! That's okay though, between us we had no problem finishing her meal for her.  

 

Tuesday we got to meet the father of a less active family in our ward. They recently had a family tragedy where he and his 15 year old daughter were in an accident, and they both received 3rd degree burns. It has been really hard for them, but because of the tragedy, he told us he thinks he may be ready to try and get closer to God. We are really hoping to help this family see how the gospel can bless their lives on a daily basis through the small and simple things like prayer, scripture study, and church attendance. Tuesday night we also got to see Jacob at The Smith's house. We played Phase 10 and then taught him about fasting. He agreed to fast to receive an answer about baptism, which he did this weekend... AND HE HAS MADE THE DECISION TO GET BAPTIZED!! He has asked our ward mission leader, Brother Martineau, to perform the baptism, and he is trying to get a full weekend off from work so that he can be baptized on a Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. I am just so excited for Jacob. He has been investigating the church for a long time, and he has gone through some really hard things, but I know that his decision to get baptized is going to change his whole life. What a miracle. 

 

One of the other really cool things that happened this week is that we went over to Terravik & Tenia's house to meet their mom since we are going to start teaching them this coming week, and she was super interested in what we had to say and agreed to start learning from us as well! And she is really hard of hearing and trying to learn sign language! I told her I could help her with that and she was so excited!! I was also VERY excited of course. While we were in her neighborhood we met a few other people and set up return appointments, so it's really exciting to see the fruits of regular hard work. One of the women we have a return appointment with is named Gwen, and she grew up in Baytown! She was excited when she found out I grew up just down the road in Houston. 

 

We continue to visit Sister Gonzales every week, but she and George did not come to church this Sunday like they said they would. (I was pretty sad not to see them because I know that she especially is so ready for the gospel to be in her life again ).  

 

Sister Wilson goes in for surgery on her vocal cords tomorrow, so please keep her in your prayers. The good news is her shingles have cleared up really well, and she is right on track to go get her dog later this month. 

 

The other HUGE miracle this week was on Saturday. That morning we got a text from Ron our neighbor asking us to pray for him. We asked him if he wanted us to come and pray with him, and he said yes and that he wanted "to learn about the book". We were ecstatic because when we had our first lesson with their family they had not invited us back and we didn't think they would. So we went over that night and talked to Ron about the Book of Mormon. He told us that he wanted to figure out what God wanted for him, and what he needed to do to please God, and he thought The Book of Mormon might have those answers. We told him it definitely did! We read the title page, the introduction, and 1 Nephi chapter one with him and he really liked it. After we finished reading we invited him to be baptized. He accepted our invitation and accepted a baptismal date of July 18th!! And then he made us crab legs!!! It was a wonderful, amazing night. It is going to be a challenge to have him ready by then, he has a lot he needs to change, but he is willing to do it! Now we just need to get Shenika in on the lessons and baptize both of them. The Lord is amazing. It is truly stunning what he can accomplish. 

 

That is really it in terms of big events this week, I continue to work on my faithfulness, work ethic, and obedience daily. I have a long way to go to become the missionary I want to be, but I have already seen the blessings that come when you try to do t he Lord's work consistently. The Ward continues to be excellent. The people are kind and charitable, and I love them. 

 

I would ask y’all to please continue to pray for all of our investigators, especially Ron & Jacob. Pray for Sister Wilson that her surgery will go well. Man I love that woman. She and I are already planning her trip up to Utah once I get off my mission. Her dream is to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir live. Pray for Sister Gonzales and George, and The Mullins family as the y deal with the aftermath of their accident, and pray for me. I love all of you, and I can feel the strength of your prayers and belief in me , lifting me up when I am faint, so thank you. 

 

Love, Love, Love,

 

Sister Thomas 

 

P.S. No matter what my email conveys, just know that I am still a total weirdo and I have NOT adopted the sister missionary voice!!!!!!!!!

WEEK SEVEN - AND THEY WILL COME

Dear Friends & Family,

Monday was P-Day so we spent some time with Sister W vacuuming for her and filling bird feeders, etc. That woman may be sweet and little, but she worked us hard! Just a side note- from now on when I am describing P-Day activities it is just safe to assume that the Bartlett sisters were with us, as they were at Sister W's house. After Sister W we all went to get lunch and ate at Steak & Shake. We then just went to the chapel and emailed forever. I have to tell you guys how much I love hearing from everyone, I really appreciate the emails, especially now that I have the opportunity to read them all week, it's such a pick me up to hear from everyone. 

Monday night we ate dinner with the S family, who are the best! They have the three cutest little boys ever, and her niece lives with them as well and she is just a doll. We had a great time eating with them and then participating in their family home evening. After we were finished at their house we went tracting in their neighborhood. 

Now is probably the time for me to mention the big change in our companionship this week. If you remember my last letter, you'll remember that I was really unhappy with the lack of work we were doing. So this week I committed myself to working as hard as I could, and when the decision was left up to me on what we should be doing, I always said finding. Another thing we implemented is that we started having nightly accountability to our district leader, so every night we text him and let him know how many lessons we taught, people we got return appointments with, etc. I know missionary work isn't about numbers, or checking boxes, or anything like that, but the numbers have been an amazing tool in helping us quantify the work we have been doing that does matter, and with accountability, I have seen our work increase exponentially. 

So Monday night tracting was super fun. We met a Hispanic guy named A that we talked to for a long time. He wasn't interested in a return appointment, but he let us pray with him, and gave us a referral for his aunt and uncle! We talked to a few other people, but the other really standout conversation of the night was with a mother and a daughter. The daughter was Catholic and the mom was Pentecostal, so we had a very passionate discussion about the Trinity and the nature of God. The cool thing was it looked like it was going to turn into a bible bash, but as we kept our focus on the love of our Savior, it ended up just being a really cool discussion between four followers of Christ. 

Tuesday we had district meeting, and it was really great, but it was also a sharp reminder of how much more we could be doing. It really is nice to just talk about our goals as a district though, and the thing about reporting your numbers to the district is that they will know the areas that you are struggling in, and everyone can pray for each other to find success. 

We taught J later that day with Sister S, and the lesson went well. He agrees with everything he's been taught, and feels good when he's at church, etc. but he is still afraid of the commitment of baptism. He is just really afraid of making the wrong choice. We talked to him a lot about the importance of taking a leap of faith sometimes, and I bore my testimony on my own leap of faith coming out on a mission. I think he connected with what we were saying and he told us he will work hard to get over his fear. I have faith J will be baptized. 

Tuesday night we had a Relief Society activity, and we got Sister G (a less active we have been working with weekly) to come!! I kind of forced her a little bit, but it worked (: The activity was a pool side get together and everyone brought salads, so I decided I would make a salad. We got Sister G to come to the activity by showing up to her house, telling her I needed a kitchen to put my salad together in, and telling her we would all drive to the activity together when the salad was finished. It worked like a charm! She was willing to come to the event and she had a great time talking to all the Relief Society women, and they all loved her. After the activity she told us that she & her son decided it would be a good idea to come to church on the 28th!! We hadn't even mentioned church, she totally did it in her own! Please, please, please pray that she and her son G will make it to church on the 28th! 

Wednesday we spent a lot of time finding, and met several really cool people. We ate dinner with The S again, and she made us sloppy joes. During the day we visited a referral with a member for a long time. She wasn't interested in hearing the lessons, but we talked to her a lot about her family and her past, which is super tragic. I think talking to us helped her, even if we didn't get a return appointment. That night we had interviews with President and it was a unique, powerful experience for sure. His spirit is so amazing, and I am so blessed to be able to receive counsel from him. Many of the things he said in our interview were answers to specific prayers of mine. It is a comfort to know that he has been called of God, and that he is here because the missionaries of the Little Rock Arkansas Mission needed him specifically to lead, guide, teach, and comfort us. 

After interviews we had a lesson scheduled and we invited a girl I our ward who just recently received her mission call to come out with us, the scheduled lesson ended up falling through, so then we went tracting with her, and met a man named R. He talked to us for a while, scheduled a return appointment for this week, and let us pray with him. After we left he called us and asked if our church did service, because he would love to get involved. How cool is that???? 

  Thursday we went on splits with our sister training leaders again, and was really fun! Sister M and I went street contacting, taught some lessons, and got two return appointments! That night we had dinner with a less active named B, and his wife L is not a member. B has a really strong testimony, and he is a really fun guy, but he has some anxieties that are keeping him from church. We are really excited and hopeful when it comes to working with them though. 

Friday we saw Sister G again, she continues to have more and more spiritual experiences each time we read with her! We also saw a less active family named The H. They were super nice, and we will continue visiting with them, but they both work weird hours and have just gotten out of the habit of coming to church. 

Saturday we taught some lessons, one with a Hispanic family, the mom responded well but no one else was really interested, we didn't get the return appointment, but we will keep trying. We also taught our neighbors with the cute little boy. The lesson was super interesting, there ended up being five adults there, and they all had a ton of questions, so we mostly just had a discussion about different things relating to the gospel, but it was good. 

All in all, this week was so much better. I am such a thankful servant of my Heavenly Father. 

Sister Hannah Thomas

WEEK SIX - INSTRUCTION FROM ELDER KOPISCHKE!

On Monday we went with the Bartlett sisters and participated in some much needed retail therapy. I forgot all my jewelry, so we went to the mall and all spent some time (and money) at Charming Charlie's. I got several pairs of earrings and my new sunglasses, which I will include a selfie of. It was super fun just hanging out and relaxing. I love malls and I love the other sisters! That night we had dinner with the J. family; they have the five kids, three girls and two boys, all under the age of 12! They are a super great family, and they gave us a referral for their neighbor, who we will be seeing this week. 

Tuesday our Sister Training Leaders came down and went on splits with us. It was a really good day, I spent it with Sister F., who I really enjoy. She is going home next transfer, but it was really good getting to know her better. We focused mostly on less actives and recent converts, and visited both Sister W. and Sister G. Crazily enough, Sister G. now has the shingles too!:(Teaching with Sister F. was great, she is ultra-good at listening to the Spirit and allowing it to guide her to the exact thing that the person needs to hear. I really admire her closeness to the Spirit and it has really driven me to try and develop that ability. 

The next day was not as good of a day. We stayed up too late the night before because the sister training leaders stayed with us and we were talking. We were also irresponsible and didn't really plan for the next day, so Wednesday was a bunch of random knocked doors and basically no lessons. We did have lunch with the G. family though, and it was interesting. Sister G. is a super intense lady. It was cool to eat with her, because she has a lot of connections to Liberty Mississippi, and we know a lot of the same people there. This day really reminded me of the importance of working hard and being organized. It doesn't feel good to spend an entire day doing nothing of real worth or purpose. 

Thursday was a much, much better day. We met with a guy named C. who had met with the elders previously. We were able to help him with the concept of living prophets and schedule another appointment! He is a really cool guy, and he is super interested in religion, but he works every Sunday, and that is probably going to be an obstacle. We also saw Sister G. and her son G., and this visit was the real miracle of the day! First of all, G. who is really really shy, and hasn't ever been willing to talk to missionaries, has totally been opening up to us lately. He and my companion Sister M. have connected over Anime, and he and I have been able to discuss Cosplay, so now every single time we go over there to visit he comes down and talks with us for a while. We invited him to come to a family home evening with The S’s & J. our investigator, and he told us he would be willing to go! Anyway, on Thursday we went over there and he came down and asked us if he could draw us a picture. Of course we said yes, and I am so excited to see what he makes for us. THEN, we read Jacob chapter 3 with Sister G., who as y'all know, likes to be difficult and doesn't really have a testimony of the BoM or Joseph Smith. I was worried about this chapter, because while I think it is an amazing chapter of scripture, there are many opportunities to ask difficult questions.  Thankfully, however, that is not what happened. Sister G. loved the chapter. She gave spiritual thoughts on the scripture, agreed with what we taught her, and the Spirit was SO STRONG. It was a breakthrough. I am just so thankful for my Heavenly Father and his ability to soften hearts. He makes the work easy and my burdens light. 

The one bad thing that happened this day though was that we have to drop A. & D. as investigators. :( They missed our appointment again this week, and we went over there every day, and they were never home! Then, on Thursday we got a call from a woman who had seen our number on their door. She was looking for D. because he had sold her a stolen car! So I think they may have skipped town. I'm really sad, but maybe someday they will be more prepared to hear the word. 

Friday was maybe the most spiritually edifying day of my mission so far. We all headed to Little Rock  at 6:00 am and had a six hour instruction from Elder Kopischke of the 70. He structured it like one of Elder Bednar's question & answer sessions, and it was so amazing. He invited us all at the beginning of the meeting to write down questions we needed answers to, and promised us that even if we didn't mention those questions the whole meeting, that we would receive answers. I wrote down multiple questions and received answers to all of them. Heavenly Father is so good at using every situation to teach us personally and powerfully. As I listened to Elder Kopischke's words I was testified to over and over again that I need to be here right now, and that my mission is exactly what I need to be doing right now. Then, on the bus ride home, a couple of missionaries began talking to our bus driver about the gospel. Then we sang hymns and had a testimony meeting, and by the end of the bus ride we had committed our bus driver, Brother Jones, to baptism!! He set a date for  July 25th. It was such a miracle. We didn't get back to our area until almost 8:30, so we just went and got dinner with the Bartlett sisters and spent the night at their apartment. 

Saturday we visited with Sister W. again and I brought her some tea that I thought might be this African tea she used to drink a lot, but couldn't find anymore. I don't know if it was the tea she was looking for, but she loved it anyway! I left the whole canister with her. (Side Note- this tea was Word of Wisdom approved, I promise!) We talked to her for a long time, she has a short surgery on the 30th because she has a collapsed vocal cord. This is a same day surgery that is not very intensive, but if it doesn't work she will have to go in and have a more serious procedure done, so please continue to pray for her, and pray specifically that her surgery on the 30th will go well. She really appreciates the prayers.  Saturday night was the only time this month we did not have an appointment with a member for dinner, so we decided to party it up and went to this crazy sushi buffet with nine million kinds of sushi and tons of tempura and this super good miso soup and a bunch of different desserts. We stuffed ourselves, and I was feeling it all night, hahahaha. How ironic, the southern food hasn't contributed to weight gain at all, but if I keep eating sushi like that I'll gain my mission 40 in no time! We spent the rest of the night contacting less actives and it went okay, there is a lot of reactivation work to be done in this ward.

Sunday we went to church and I got to participate in my first ward council as a missionary! It was cool to be able to discuss how to better help our investigators on so many different fronts. After church we went with the priesthood to bring Sister W. the sacrament since she is still in too much pain to come to church. Man that woman has a powerful Spirit. Spending time with her makes you so appreciative of the gifts of the Spirit, while at the same time, so ashamed of how lightly you have been taking your blessings. After we finished the sacrament she started crying and told us how much love she felt from the ward and that the treatment she was receiving from everyone was better than she could have ever imagined. She is such a blessing to know. 

Sunday night we were with The N’s again, and I love those crazy kids!! She made Navajo tacos and they were AMAZING, and a really nice throw back to home. Being over there is always a blast, and Sister M. is the best, she has ordained herself my mission mom. 

Over all this was a good week. I was spiritually edified and grew a lot as a child of God, however, we did not work nearly as hard as we could have, and I am very disappointed in myself. There are too many children of God who have not heard the word yet for me to have this kind of a week. I am dedicating myself to working as hard as I can, as much as I can, this next week and I am writing this so that you all can hold me accountable come next Monday.

Please pray for me, and I continue to pray for all of you. I have the best life filled with the best people and the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I am unimaginably lucky, and I thank you all for being such a huge part of why I have the best life ever.  

Sister Hannah Thomas