I'M PREGNANT!!!

December 14, 2015

So, Thursday night at 11pm I woke up to a lovely call from the Assistant to the President. He told me I had to be in McAllen at 9:00 in the morning for a training meeting.... I'm getting a "greenie". Everyone in our zone now calls me Mama Thompson and they all love to remind me that I'm pregnant with my "baby" (I hate mission lingo). I knew it was coming though, one of those weird intuitions, mostly because I DO NOT want to train and so I knew the Lord was going to make me do it. I still don't know whether i am staying or leaving. There is a high chance I'm staying but we will find out tonight. I wrote the president and told him I wanted to be in a trio with Sister Painter and my "greenie" haha! I doubt it will happen but I still can hope. I'm just nervous because it is so close to Christmas and thinking of how homesick she already is. I'm not good at dealing with things like that and I'm sure telling her to rub some dirt in it will make it worse! Maybe that's what I'll be learning these next 6-12 weeks. Our area has blown up so much the past week and a half. Sister Painter and I  have worked hard and we have so many prepared people we are teaching. We are having another baptism this Sunday as well. I'm just stressed because we have SO much to do and it's all on me. (the Lord too obviously) But I'm the only one who will know how and what to teach, where to go, who needs to be visited, etc. So I not only have to train,  I have to teach these people. We have so many great people and I want my "greenie" to learn by letting her make mistakes and so I'm just worried for this area now!  I'm going to learn a lot more than she will that's for sure.

These are the girls who are getting baptized this Sunday

Natalie

Hahahaha! There is this kid here at the library, he is black and has the BIGGEST fro I have ever seen in my life! It's distracting me! It looks like cotton candy; soft and luscious.
 

Ok... focusing. This week has been a really good one though! I love the Christmas season and how loving everybody is and their hospitality towards us as missionaries. The whole ward feels like our family. We had a Christmas singing fireside last night and that was really good. Sister Painter was in it and Ally Oblad conducted a really good piece with the stake choir.

Our Zone

We had a service project at the Hull's house. They are an older couple in our ward and they both have a lot of health problems. The elders set up lights and carried heavy things to the garage for them. Sister Painter helped with the tree and I dusted their house for them. It reminded me of the days of having to go and clean with you mom at your visiting teaching ladies houses and how much I hated that at the time, but being a missionary I loved every second of it. This is the lady that makes blankets for all of the sisters.  Also, while we were there we always hold hands before we eat with them and they bought us pizza so when we prayed for the food we all got in a big circle in the kitchen and were holding hands. I had to hold Brother Hull's hand and Elder Felix's hand (the most action I've gotten in 10 months haha! jk)  During the prayer I rubbed Elder Felix's hand with my thumb to try and make him laugh. I'm horrible. It was really funny! He held it in pretty good! I usually do it to Sister Painter every week. I think he was too embarrassed to correct me, so he just shook his head at me and laughed.  I need to stop being so funny.

Christmas District photo

Last week at church we had Stake Conference and afterwards this lady in the Zone Leader's ward came up to me and told me that her friend is going through a hard time and so said that we could go over there and pray with her. I got her information and told Sister Painter about it and last night we went over there. She was the most prepared and nicest lady ever! Her name is Angie. She has two girls; Emma and Addie. She is a teacher and divorced. Her mom just had surgery and there were some complications but it scared her. The mom is okay now. When we called her on the phone she told us that she wanted to make sure that her girls would be there because she knows that this was something important. We went over and shared a little message and she started to cry and told us that we were the best gift that she has ever gotten from somebody and that she was grateful for her friend to offer to have us come over. It touched my heart and made me think that we should all feel that way towards God for sending us his Son. A mission allows you to be immersed in peoples lives and problems and see how choices have affected them, how the gospel would help them, how they are missing something and most of the time they don't even know it. I love that "ah ha" moment when people feel the spirit and want to hear more of the Gospel. It makes all the bad days good and the good days better. The gospel has turned my life around 180 degrees and I love sharing our message with others. I love you all. Thank you for your love and support! 

Love Hermana Thompson