Hermana Thompson!!

HOLA HOLA HOLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Preaching into the sunset

I just have to say that in the four months that I've been out I'm not the same person I was when I left. I love the people so much here and they have won over my heart. Tomorrow is transfers and we haven't gotten the call yet to know whether we are staying or not. I have been praying to stay in this area for at least one more transfer because I am not quite done here. We have so many great people we are working with and they have taught me so much.

This is Ashley and Angie. They are awesome. They are also our investigators and will be baptized next month. They are great!

Me and Hermana Castillo. She is the cutest lady. She is the one whose washer, dryer, oven, toaster and more things broke but she is still coming to church and knows its Satan. She is great too. She talks our ears off!

Sara emailed me last week asking if she would be able to make a dinner appointment with us because they were going to be in the area and I told her I wasn't sure but that I would ask.... And got special permission from the Mission President to have dinner with my favortistest sister!:) We ate at a little Mexican restaurant in our area. It was a good time. We took the left over food afterward to one of my favorite families. It's a single mom and 4 kids that live in a two bedroom trailer. She feeds us all the time so it was good to get to pay them back with the food. They loved it! Before we left Sara said that she was coming to our ward and asked what time it was at and I thought she was kidding! So on Sunday I got to see them again in Sacrament and sit by them:) She kept asking if it made me homesick but it did the opposite! I was able to share and show her some of the people we are teaching. I felt a different kind of love for my family and for being able to share my experiences as well. She got to meet Paco's parents and brother as well. It was good to see everyone! Thanks for coming Sara!!

Me Sara and Cora

Me and Cora

Eating with my sister Sara and the fam:)

Our district and the wegers

After church we had a baptism. Genesis who is 13, made the choice to follow in the footsteps of ChrisI and I'm very proud of her. Her mom is a member but has been inactive for 10 years. They were living in the Elder's area and they had been trying to get her baptized the past 5 months and she got talked out of it 3 or so times. Then they moved into our area and we started to teach her and I asked her if she would be baptized in ten days and she said yes!! She is so hungry to learn more about Christ and the gospel and it was awesome getting to teach her the past few weeks as well. She was so excited yesterday and you could see the light of the gospel in her eyes. She will make a great missionary one day and I'm proud of her decision and her example.

Us with the Weger family. They feed us every Sunday. We were all trying to be the same height because I'm a foot taller then all of them. The guy next to me is Eber. He is our investigator from Guatamala. I cant wait to tell his story to y'all.

After the baptism we were all kind of chatting in the hallway and Hermano Hernandez (Paco's dad) shook my hand and pulled me aside. With tears in his eyes he thanked me over and over for what my family did for Paco. He told me that Paco had told them that he didn't know how it was possible to fall in love with a family in 3 days but he did. Hermano Hernandez told me that through this experience he has learned about service and that it has strengthened his testimony so much. Sister Hernandez then came up and thanked me too. She pulled out her phone and showed me the 2 pairs of dress shoes and ties that mom had bought for Paco for his mission. I don't know why but I just started to cry!! This family was really wealthy in Mexico but they came here to America and have had some hard times in their lives especially with money but they found the Gospel and have been pushing forward ever since. They do so much for our church and for the Lord. Sister Hernandez told me that they had been searching everywhere for a dentist to go to that they could pay for, but that is when I came in and answered their prayers. I told them that they answered mine because I had been praying to know why I was in this area and I know it was to help Paco go on a mission. The Lord works in mysterious ways but in the end it all works out. Trials seem like a lifetime but it's really the time the Lord is working miracles. This week has been such a great week of service and love. I'm grateful for the privilege to be out here in south Texas to work in the Lords vineyard. I love the families in our ward and the people we are teaching. I love being able to see the Lord's hand in my life and in the lives of others. I have seen and been a part of miracles and there is nothing that can compare to the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I've seen it in my own life and in my own conversion and I've seen it in others as well. I've learned to love not only Christ but my family, friends and investigators as well in a way I can't explain.
God is our Savior. Jesus Christ LIVES and we are all here to learn and to help others to take part in the great gift of eternal life.

Got to see sara!!

Us with Paco's mom

I love you all. You mean so much to me. Thank you for the prayers and words of support. Have a great week!

me and norma one of our investigators

Genesis' baptism

                                       
Love Hermana Thompson

4 Months!!!!!!!!!

Hola yall!!!

I was lazy and didn't write down the highlights this week to remember to put in my letter so sorry if this one is a little scatter brained! My memory is getting awful; I have too many things to think about!

A wolf with a cactus art

I'll start with a little story. Last week I told y'all about having mini missionaries and how I took mine to the unknown of our area. We had met an old lady named Maria. She was super nice and I taught her about the plan of salvation while my mini missionary observed. This lady is SUPER catholic but I made a return appointment with her to go back a few days later with my mini missionary. We went back the second time and I taught her again another message but I could still tell this lady wasn't going to accept our message. Although I knew she was someone my companion would have dropped after the first lesson I decided to make a 3rd appointment with her (because the mini didn't know any better). Knowing that I'd be with my companion and my mini would not be with me.  This week I didn't tell my comp anything about this lady (for obvious reasons) and I made her bike all the way up with me up this dirt road in the hot of the day to teach this super Catholic lady.  In my mind I kept thinking "Sister Kingsford is going to kill me when she meets this lady!!" So we get there and start talking with Maria. She tells us that she wanted us to wait to share our message because her granddaughter who is 21 wanted to come by because Maria had mentioned us to her because her granddaughter is Christian.  Her granddaughter, Marcie comes by and she is the NICEST girl ever. We taught the restoration and during most of the lesson Maria kept saying "Oh... well we don't believe in that" but we continued to teach and Marcie was really receptive and said that she liked our message so we got her information. After we had left Sister Kingsford was like "What the heck, why did you keep going by that lady??" I told her I didn't know until today and now I realize it's because of her granddaughter. I had to meet Maria with my mini so that she wouldn't be dropped and also to meet her granddaughter Marcie that day with my companion. I have seen so many little miracles how the Lord has worked through me to help others and to also test my faith and my willingness to serve.

There is another investigator we are teaching named Norma. She is friends with one of our members and has had the missionaries teach her for over 8 years. This lady has seen it all. Her husband passed away with cancer several years ago, her son passed away, she is jobless as of now and lives with her daughter. She has been through the ringer. We told the member that she is friends with, that she accepted a baptism date with us and the member looked SO surprised. She said that she has never accepted a baptismal date and that she is already progressing so much. Just this last week we went over to teach Norma and she literally looked physically happier. It was like a light switch turned on in her eyes. She looks 10 years younger. I have never seen anything like it; the gospel physically changing someone. She looks incredible. It's amazing to be able to recognize when someone has been through darkness for so long that they are ready to see the light. I'll have to tell you her whole story when I get home because it's too good to write.

We are teaching the Dominquez family. The grandma adopted the two kids. She loves us and we love teaching them. They wanted to make cupcakes together. Alfonzo and I made a dinosaur one and we competed with Sister Kingsford and Mariana. They made cupcakes. 

I'm so excited for you guys to meet Paco!! He is a hoot. His parents remind me of a Mexican version of Aunt Dana and Uncle Brent. I love his family. They are all converts. They are literally the glue that holds the ward together. They have special permission from the President to be in our ward because they live in McAllen and are not in our ward boundaries. We are having dinner with them tonight and it's weird because you will be having dinner with him tomorrow night!!  I told him to have you send some cool stuff for me back with him;) jk but really. His mom yesterday after Relief Society gave me a great big hug and thanked me over and over and over and she had tears in her eyes. You guys don't realize how much you are helping this family and  helping the Lord to further his work by helping Paco to serve a mission. I have been praying to know my reason/purpose here in this area and I think it was to meet Paco's family and Paco so that dad could do his teeth! Last week we re-did a members' roof and sister K and I were up there with the nail gun and Paco's dad was so impressed he showed the whole ward that night a video of us at the ward party His dad does construction and he was over there at this members' house in the hot sun doing their roof for free. Like my dad... using his talents to help others,  to help build Zion. I have to tell you when we were getting all of this put together with the Bishop, the Bishop asked me, 'How much is your dad wanting?" I said, "Nothing!! He wants to do Paco's dental work for free."  The Bishop was like, "No really?" I  was like, "Yes!  You don't have to worry about it because that's the type of person my dad is." The look on the Bishops' face I will never forget. He was so surprised that dad would do that for a complete stranger. I  just want to thank you Mom and Dad for being an example to me growing up and especially now of service; of helping others out of the pure love of your hearts. For the church and your callings, for scouts and achievment days, humanitarian,  the list goes on. Thank you for being real parents. A lot of people don't have that down here. I have the lucky privilege  of seeing the outcome and happiness you are giving this family and I know they will share this story with others for years. Take good care of Paco.  I  know you will:)

Holding the ladder for Eber. He is one of our investigators. He is amazing and we have been teaching him for three months. His story is the one I'm waiting to tell Y'all. It's long and inspiring.

As of now we have 10 people with baptismal dates. Our lessons have been incredible and I wish I could express them in words but it is almost impossible describing how the Holy Ghost testifies to people. The Lord is working miracles whether we realize them or not. It's our decision to make whether we want to be a part of them and having enough faith. What the spirit has taught me this past week and what I have been stressing to my investigators is faith and works. It's so great to have faith but if you aren't going to do anything about it, it's a waste. I compare it to getting a job. I tell people that when you want/need money you don't just sit on your couch and hope that you will receive money! Nope nope nope! You have to get off your lazy butt and go work for that money. It's the same with faith. You can't just sit around and expect the Lord to bless you with miracles and blessings. You have to get up and show God that you are willing and worthy to receive them.

Have a great week everybody! The church is true. Jesus loves you. I love you and thank you for the Love, support, and prayers!!!

Love,
Hermana Thompson

HOWDYYYYYYYY

Hola!!

Where to start! This week we got mini missionaries. My companion got one and I got one for the whole week. If you don't know what a mini missionary is; it's basically teaching a 16 year old how to work and not snap chat every five seconds. I decided I was going to have a nice fun day of hard core biking with my mini (I'm so mean) So I took her up to the very end of our area which is literally off the grid. There is no map of it and it's all dirt roads. Every person we talk to up there always asks us if we are afraid to be up there because there are no police! We literally hit our goals of contactng and receiving for the week in one day! At first I was nervous to get a mini because I had no idea what I was doing but I just made it all up as we went and it turned out well. We met some cool people. The first house we talked to we got a baptism in the first 5 minutes. I also learned that Texas can't ride bikes! I got in my first bike wreck of the mission! My mini crashed maybe 8 times! One of the times she just laid there for like 5 minutes (this was after she complained the whole day about hating biking) So I was like " K im leaving you!!" and I took off! I got like 1/4 of a mile down the dirt road and turned around to see if she was coming and she was still laying there in the sand! So I took a video of me yelling at her to "GEETTT UUUUUUUP" Poor kid. Hopefully she still wants to serve a mission;)  I told her I hope that she gets called to a biking area. She didn't think it was very funny.

I just layed there after my bike crash. No scratches though. It was my minis fault. she cut me off and just stopped!

She Loved Me!

Another day I took my mini to a retirement neighborhood to switch things up a bit. There are some rude old people out there! Someone needs to change their diapers. We met this old couple named Harold and Laura. The old man just opened the door without asking who it was and told us to come in! So we did. The old lady said "IM A METHODIST" I told her that was fine! We just wanted to share a message about Jesus. Then we got talking about gambling in Vegas with this 80 year old couple! They were a hoot. Another trailer we knocked on this little old lady opened the door and says "Who sent you?!" I was like, "Um Jesus did!" She slammed the door on us as fast as a little old woman could slam the door. (sllloooowww) We also got lost in that retirement neighborhood. Don't worry we eventually found our way out.

Van Ride with the Minis

So the Jehovah Witnesses love to come by and try and bible bash with us at our apartment. I kept trying to INSIST that she take my Book of Mormon. She wouldn't! One day I'll get her. The other lady told us "That it's good that we were young and wanting to preach the word of God but that she would feel pretty bad if she were wasting her time preaching wrong doctrine." I was so close to slapping her across the face with my Book of Mormon! The next day they had two other ones come over and try to talk with us and so we just sat in our study room and they wouldn't leave our door because they could see us through the window. So I finally got up and answered it and was like "Hello I only speak English" and they were like "What about the other girl, where is she, does she speak Spanish" I was like "What? I  don't know what you're saying?" Then they left.

i look gross but this is one of my favorite families after we helped them move

We also did a lot of service this week. We moved branches for one family and helped plant mango trees and that was fun. Then we went and helped one of my favorite families who is actually from Idaho Falls but they are stuck down here now:(  We helped move them to their new place down here.  Sister Kingsford and I moved a fridge! I was more than happy to help them but I was even more happy to wear pants! It was magical. After that we had a little time before it was 9:00 so I went and bought a strawberry Fanta at a corner store and we went and drank it outside sitting in the dirt with my favorite little family. They have a single mom who works so we usually go by when we can and play with them or help teach them things. They love it when I bring a soccer ball and they make me teach them how to rainbow. They are getting pretty close! Pretty soon I'll have the whole valley pros;)

Cactus

My little thing of inspiration this week was that as missionaries and even in life we do a lot of things that aren't accounted or recognized. Those are the things that matter. Once we are doing things out of pure love to help someone else and not out of recognition of others is such an awesome thing. It's the small things in life that count and it's also the small ways to help others that count. Whether it's taking time to drink a soda in the dirt with some kids or to smile at somebody, those are the things that keep others moving forward; little pieces of love and kindness. My challenge is to do something for someone else this week that you wouldn't normally do and you will see the blessings from it.

Another Sunset

I love you all.  Thank you for your love and support and for your prayers! Keep smiling!:)

Love Hermana Thompson

Giant frog I caught while doing service

Tejas!

Howdy yall! 

Our Area

It's kind of a sad feeling when you realize that all of your friends and everybody else all forgot about you after four months except for your parents. I can't help but wonder that I must have not made that much of an impact on anyone. 

This week.... was good. It got up to 104 a few of the days! We were chased by 44 dogs and I got bit on the ankle by a chihuahua. The food and I have a real love/ hate relationship. One of the days I was standing outside of the car enjoying a nice plum when my feet started to burn... I was standing on a fire ant hill!! Now i know why they call them fire ants. I did a nice dance for my companion!  I was also bit by a parrot on the ear and the finger! I feel like I'm six again; I have cuts and bruises all over from stupid things! I can't help but wonder sometimes that God looks down at me and puts his palm to his face! I sometimes feel bad for the angels that are looking out for me.

I wanted to tell a few spiritual stories that we have had with one of our investigators but I think I'm going to wait until I see the end results with this one. I often wonder why the Lord trusted me with this investigator because he is such a spiritual being and I  know the Lord has amazing plans for him. The Lord is definitely working miracles through us and it has been a privilege to be apart of them and to not only have my character enhanced as well as those we teach.

A few days ago I  re-learned a lesson. My companion and I had dinner at this little crappy Mexican restaurant and after we were done we went up and paid. The lady told me the price and in my mind it seemed too low for what I had ordered but I paid her all of the cash I had and didn't say anything. My companion paid and then we started to walk out the door. We got outside the door and I immediately turned around knowing I had no more cash to give if she had forgot to add on something. I went up to her and explained that I thought that she had forgot to charge me for my drink and she looked at the receipt and said "It's okay, don't worry about it!" I know that the Lord was testing me in that moment and that I was able to learn from that experience although it was something as silly and as small as a soda, the concept was much greater. 

More Art:

I don't have much else to say. It's getting hotter by the day. The dogs still hate me. My farmers tan is gnarly but I have lots of work to do so I hope y'all have a good week! Thanks for the prayers and support! 

Finally found elder browning!!!   He's the brother of one of the sisters from the MTC.

                                           
 Love Hermana Thompson

HOLA!!!

Howdy from Tejas!!! aka Mexico!

I'll start with my spiritual story since the rest of my stories are... well not so spiritual but still good. So last week after I wrote home I was a little upset still from everything going down the toilet. Everything I had worked so hard for the past 2 months of being here disappeared. I know it's because we are doing what is right but it still hurt my feel goods. After we had left the library I called the sister in the mission office because I hadn't been getting my mail in almost a month! She said that there wasn't any for me and that she hadn't seen any. We worked hard that day anyway and later that night we got back to the apartment I always walk over to the mail box to check it. On the way to the mailbox I said a little pleading prayer begging for something in that mailbox to remind me of why I am out here. Thinking that there would be nothing in there as usual I reaching my hand in felt a stack of letters! Seven letters that had my name on them. The mail I had been missing the past several weeks were inside that mailbox, not by coincidence, but by the Lords hand. I got a letter from the mutual kids of the ward that Sister Hansen had sent after they had a missionary night and Mama Thompson shared some stories. I cried reading those letters. Many of the letters said that they wanted to serve a mission now or that they looked up to me. I don't think of myself as an example and I probably never will because I am far from perfect but the Lord blessed me that day not only by answering my prayer to have a letter to get me through the day but to also give me that knowledge and strength to know that I was making a difference for not just the people in Texas.

ART

Okay now for the chistes!  We have been teaching this young couple who has a baby and they are hard to get a hold of so the other day we just decided to go over to their house to see if they were home. They weren't there but the dad was. We talked to him on the porch for a bit and he was telling us about Virgin Mary. He was like "When I look at you I think of a virgin" and pointed to my companion.  I tried not to laugh because usually I'm the one the Mexicans love to pick on! Then he makes us walk over with him to look at his Virgin Mary shrine in his front yard. (these are all over the place) It was like a half of a shed and made out of bricks. He had the thing decked out with lights and statues and pictures and other random crap. He also put our cards that we gave him in there! Oh well. After that we both knew we weren't going to be able to do much here so we nicely told him we had another appointment and that we had to go. He then PALMS my forehead/face like a basketball! and says, "GOD BE WITH YOU!" I was like a deer in the headlights! Like what the freak just happened!!? Then in my mind I was thinking "Please do it to my companion, please do it to my companion" He palmed her head too! It took every fiber of my being not to laugh because he was serious!!! We had a good laugh in the car afterwards.

We also ate at a families house and the lady made us all hold hands in a circle and pray. It caught me off guard. It was kind of cool though and It was the most action I'll see in the next 15 months... holding hands! Just kidding mom.

We contacted this one house and taught a lesson. Afterward I invited the lady to church and she told me she couldn't come because she didn't have her papers and so she was afraid to drive. So we talked for a little bit more and then randomly I was like "Do you shop for your groceries at Walmart??" and she gave me a weird look and was like "Yeah we go there all the time" So then I was like "You have the faith to go shop at Walmart and not get caught but you don't have the faith to drive to church and be protected by God?" She told us she would come to church! I'm known by the missionaries in our district to be good at doubt busting (telling people nicely to get their priorities straight). It's just because I'm the youngest and blunt and sassy;  I've had lots of practice sweet talking! Another lady told me this week, " I LOVE your legs!" I probably offended her by the look I gave her when I awkwardly said thank you. It was the nicest/weirdest/ gayest compliment I've ever received. These are the reasons why I love tracting is because we literally never know who we are going to run into and what crazy stuff we are going to hear and see. There are some amazing and strange people out there but I love them all!!

we went to a bodega today which is like a giant DI that you have to dig through all of the clothes. it was gross but cool i feel like i have lice now haha

My companion and I have been noticing that every house we go to, the little kids always bring me all of their toys that they own and hand them to me! The other day we were in a lesson and by the end of the lesson when we were about to pray I had 9 stuffed Elmo dolls in my lap. Then the day after it was ponies with a different family. Then literally after was stuffed bears with another family! I told my companion that the kids can all call my bluff. They know I'm pretty much a giant kid in a big person's body, probably because I actually pay attention to them and I  teach them how to wheelie and play soccer. The other day it was pouring rain. Yes, it has been dumping down here too. I made the kids come out with me in this flash flood to jump on the trampoline! I was in a dress but we still had a good ole time. My comp just talked with the parents inside. The kids make things fun and they all have big hearts. I think that as we get older we forget to enjoy life and when life rains on you... jump on the trampoline because its going to rain anyway it just depends on how you look at it. Look at everything like a child would and life is grand! It's the small and simple things like jumping in the rain that counts:)

Have a good week everybody! Thank you for the letters, love, and support! You all are great people! Enjoy the small things in life and enjoy this week! I love you!!

Love Hermana Thompson