ONE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

February 22, 2016

Making my way through the palms

I'm so ancient! I can't believe that it was a year ago that I was dumped off at the good ole MTC. This week and year went by so-- so fast! I don't know where time is going! It kind of makes me ill to think about. Man I've turned into such a square. 

Mowing the Elders' yard

Sister of Mary

Well we JUST picked up our car today! I just want to say HALLELUJAH!! We had lots of exchanges this week and I was in our area for all of them so I got the fancy privilege of getting to bike all the way to our area everyday! One of the days we figured we biked about 21 miles. I'm guessing I biked well over 70 miles in the last few days. Our area is forever away; it's fine it builds character. I got to work with Sister Castro for one of the days and that was a lot of fun. We biked all the way to our area and I took a wrong turn and so we ended up on this random street that I had never been to before. It was a lot like a little country road in Idaho. We locked our bikes up to a pole and knocked on this door and nobody was there. We decided to cut clear across their yard, which was pretty big and ended up on another street. We walked up to this little pink trailer and some dogs were barking at us and this lady came out.  I thought she was going to yell at us. She told us they weren't her dogs and so we just walked past them and we talked with her on her porch. Her name is Janie. Turns out her son is a member of the church but he is in the military. We got to know her. It's a cool feeling to talk with random people and all of a sudden you feel like you have known them forever. We have been going by her and teaching her. She is super cool. Last night we taught her about the Restoration and the Book Of Mormon. I'll keep you updated on her. 

Exchanges with Sister Castro.  We found some cool hats!

The other 2 sisters we live with- Sisters Eggett and Stanfill.  All of our bikes on one pole!

On Friday we got a call saying that there would be a mission meeting in McAllen the following day and that we all needed to be there at 9 a.m. Which has NEVER happened. Usually the whole mission never gets together and they would have told us way in advance. The only time that has happened was at Christmas. I was convinced that we were all going to get an iPad! I was a little disappointed to find out afterwards that we weren't. We had one of the 70 come and talk with us. He is the one that wrote "The Fourth Missionary".  It was really good to hear from him.  His name is Elder Corbridge.  He talked about being converted and how to set baptism dates with people making sure they know exactly what they are getting into and the purpose of helping others to come unto Christ. It was a nice answer to my prayers because since becoming a leader they drill us on "numbers, numbers, numbers" and so I have been struggling with that. My district leader asks where my faith is if I don't ask everybody to be baptized and it was nice to have one of the 70 to back me up!  It's hard because there is no one way to do missionary work. Like life, there is no instruction book to doing things. Yes, there are guidelines and rules but we still have our individuality and agency.  Sometimes I feel as though i am trying to please SO many people; The sisters we are over, our district and zone leaders, the members, the ward mission leader, the bishop we work under, our investigators, our mission president and endless others. How often in life do we forget our purpose as to pleasing God? How easy it is to just do things so people will be off your back and how easy it is to just do things to not be criticized or yelled at. One thing I have come to learn is there are two kinds of fools in this world. Those who don't do what they are told and those who ONLY do as they are told. 

My fancy study area

People think we actually do things!
I didn't realize how much I lay down in random places until I was going through all of my pictures!
 Not even my bed is fine.

This area is awesome. The members are so good to us. I love this ward and the people we have to serve with. It's funny how you just fall in love with your area over and over. I love the opportunity to have this new calling to help more people. The sisters we are over are awesome. It's frustrating sometimes because i have no idea whats going on in our area but it's nice because we get to change things up a lot. I've learned that everybody and I mean EVERYBODY has something to offer and how we can learn from each and every one of them.  No matter how uneducated, poor, rich, smart, unsuccessful, hard working or lazy, we can learn something new from them. Learning to listen is the key to life, then everybody becomes your guru. 

Waiting for church
Our lives in a candid picture
Eggett smiling, Tervort studying, Stanfill praying, and me dead asleep on the floor!

This was on the way to go help someone move this morning.  They didn't have enough room for all four of us and my bum was too big to sit on the ground so they made sure I was nice and safe!
 (My awesome new shirt of the one and only Hermana Browning)

The gospel is true. This life is so precious and short. Time really does fly. The days are going to pass by anyway so we may as well make the most of them.  

Chillin with the pigs

Horse selfies

I love you all. Thank you for the love and support. Have a good week!

Love Sister Thompson 

Happy Valentines Day!

February 15, 2016

 Sister Tervort and the other two sisters we live with, Eggett and Stanfill

I'm super "Hangry" today. This morning we got up and took our car into the Chevy dealer to get it fixed. We got there at 9 am and sat around until 2pm for them to tell us that it's going to take longer because they can't get to some wire. We hitched a ride and made it back here to Calallen to the library. I'm not sure how we are going to do anything or even get home since our area is so huge! Also I'm starving. 

Sister Tait and I at 3 day

McAllen was good. We had 3 day. My companions for those days were Sisters Tait and Smith. It was really fun and I learned a lot from them. We sat in meetings from 7 am until 4 pmand then went out and worked for the night. I have still been super sick and so it was a little miserable. One of the nights I couldn't fall asleep until 4:30in the morning and every day we had to get up at 5:30. I may have cried in the middle of the meeting but I'm just hoping everyone all thought that it was because I am SO spiritual. I sometimes feel like I'm in a Nazi concentration camp. It's okay though. It builds character and I need a lot of that! 

Sister Tupou and I 

I literally don't even know what to write! I feel like we do literally the same thing everyday lately and it's been hard. I've been bored out of my mind. I only got to work in my area for a day this week so I don't know what's going on with the people we have. I went on an exchange up to Beeville which is a small little town. It was kind of a cute town with a lot of rednecks there. We talked with some great people. I literally am at a loss of words today. I'm hungry and tired. 

My companion Sister Tervort and I

Things are going well. I don't feel like I'm making all that much of a difference because it's hard to measure progress if I'm not working with the same people! I'm learning a lot about patience and how to be a leader this transfer. 

I love you all. The gospel is true!

Love Sister Thompson 

The Crazy Life

February 8, 2016

Biking in the middle of nowhere

I literally feel like I am living in a dream! We have been so busy that I don't even have time to think! Today we are leaving to another meeting down in McAllen. My companion and I have to give a training in Spanish. It will be good I hope. We will get home later on Thursday.  I won't get to work in my area until Saturday because we have exchanges with some of the sisters. We had three exchanges this past week. I have learned a lot. Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing anything because I'm working with so many sisters in different places that it's hard to see the progress I'm making. So that's been a struggle lately. 

                                                           Sunsets in the new area

On one of the exchanges one of the sisters asked me how she can have more faith and we talked about that for awhile. I told her that faith isn't measured by success but by action. I talked with her about doing the small and simple things and the Lord will trust us in doing the bigger things and that's when miracles happen. It just starts with a willingness to follow the Spirit. We had a great exchange and I think I learned more than she did!

Last week my companion and I were knocking doors at this complex that apparently is "golden" (It is) and we were walking around and these chihuahuas from a second floor balcony started barking at us like crazy so we talked to the people that were sitting out there. We were yelling up to them and they were yelling down. The lady's name is Ruth. Turns out she dated an RM five years ago and was going to church with him up in the middle of the Corpus area. I asked which building the street was on and it ended up being the building/ward that I had just come from!  She said she was never baptized but that it was the only church that she ever liked. We got to talking and it turns out that she is a dental assistant and that she was getting her wisdom teeth out the next day. I asked her if she got a sweet deal on paying for them and we got talking about it and I told her my dad is a dentist and she was so shocked by that point at all the things that happened to be "in common." It was a tender mercy from the Lord. I told her that it wasn't a coincidence and she agreed. She then invited us back after she recovers from her surgery for her wisdom teeth. So I'm excited to get to teach her! (Whenever I make it back to my area to work) 

It was 87 degrees the other day!!

We have an older man that is less active that lives in a nursing home in our area. We went by to visit him. I die a little inside when I go into those. They are so sad! There were old people in wheel chairs all over the place! They just seemed so unhappy being there. It made me think of how precious this life is! We talked with this little Mexican man before the visit on the way in and on the way out we saw him with his family in the front lobby area. We decided to go talk with his whole family as well. They were with his father- in-law who was having really bad head aches and is 94 years old. I asked them if it would be okay if I said a prayer for him and so we all had a prayer in the front lobby of this old folks home. It was great. I love the random places that we are able to teach people whether it's at a Walmart, McDonald's, a gas station, sitting in the dirt, on the front porch or even doing yard work; the gospel is for everybody anywhere who is willing to hear it.  

A little boy we taught.  He wanted to wear my nametag.

We are still getting to know the area and the members we have here. All of the missionaries in the mission talk about the "Robstown Ward" and how good it is. I can see that this is such a great place all ready for miracles! We weren't left with any real investigators or even a map. So it's been an adventure, that's for sure.

I love you all! Thank you for your love and support to help me be down here. I hope y'all have a good week! 

Love, 

Sister Thompson 

Transfer 8

February 1, 2016

Transfers

Hello from wherever I am!!! I don't think I have much time to email today because we are leaving for a meeting down in McAllen. I'm not a huge fan of meetings because I get bored haha but it will be good. This past week I have been sick. I sound like a 12 year old little boy when I talk -- it's been great. I just want to go into a mini-coma. Most of the groceries I bought was medicine! 

Saying goodbye to Karl

Recent convert and investigators

Sister Castro's cousins we started teaching

Another family we are teaching with the Lebaron family

Saying bye to the Hulls

Not exactly sure where I am still, but this week has been full that's for sure! We are white washing, so it's been a lot of guessing and going by members houses. We live with a member. She is a single lady in her 60s.  She has a dog named Coco that looks like he is on crack. He is crazy. She got mad at me for teasing him, oops. This area reminds me a lot of Idaho but just a lot more flat! Our area is called Cal Allen and we are here in the Sinton Zone. I'm still in the same stake as my last area so that will be nice.  I will still get to see the members from there. That doesn't say much though because the boundaries down here are huge! There are a ton of fields everywhere and it definitely is Texas. When I think of Texas, I think of a place like this city. The other day we went to a members home for dinner and they have 2 pet pigs! It was the coolest thing ever! One of the sisters said, "Sister Thompson, I bet you won't lay down with them" so of course I had to! I thought that they were going to bite me for sure! 

This family had pet pigs in their home!  I was not expecting that when I got there!

They literally gave us like 20 minutes to write! I love you all. I have to go! There will be lots to write about until next time! I love you!!

Love Sister Thompson 

New Calling

January 25, 2016

Our sweet rides

This morning during personal study I was having a good ole spiritual time when the phone rings. We have a scary ring tone set for if the mission president calls!  This scary ring tone started to go off and I saw that it was president so I hurried and handed the phone to my greenie and was like "It's President, answer it!" (perks to training) She answers it and he asked for me so I talked with him for a little bit and he told me that I am called to be a STL (Sister Training Leader) which is like the girl version of a zone leader. I am being transferred to CalAllen, which is in the Sinton zone (35 minutes away). My new companion I think is Sister Tervort.  She and I lived together in San Benito. She was Sister Tovars last companion. We are in charge of the Sinton Zone Sisters and the Corpus Christi Zone sisters.  Sister Castro is staying here in our area so I will still be able to go on exchanges with her. We are going to be living in a members home.  I was on an exchange there earlier this week and had the thought "I'd hate to live here",  so God has a sense of humor. She has the UGLIEST dog too and I want to drop kick it!  It will be great.  I am excited for this next step and the things I will learn. I told the zone leaders that I probably got called by default because they had nobody else to ask. I guess I have changed a lot this transfer. The district, zone leaders and president all told me that at different times. I hope in good ways! 

A few miracles this week! After 4 years of neck and shoulder pain I finally found out what is going on! About 3 weeks ago I finally decided to call the nurse again to go to the doctor. She told me I could go to the doctor and have him refer me to physical therapy or go to the chiropractor. I prayed about it and had the impression to go to the doctor and get an x ray of my neck. I told her that I wanted to go to the doctor and take that route. When I went he wasn't going to do an x ray but I insisted on one. He gave me the recommendation for one and I went. On Monday I had the follow up for the results of the x ray. After forever waiting we got in there and he looked at the results and told me that I have Cervical ribs and that they are super rare. People usually only have one when they have them but I have two! So I have an  two extra ribs up by my neck area! I told him that I should be in the circus! He laughed and then was like "Hey, wasn't Eve made from the rib of Adam? You could go make yourself a boyfriend!" I guess from the trauma of the snowboarding accident to the shoulder made it worse.  They are painful because where the nerves and veins come out there are ribs right there pinching them and causing neck pain.  I'll be doing physical therapy and getting a T.E.N.S unit and tough it out until I get home and then I'll have to have surgery to take them out.

We had Taryns baptism on Saturday. It was such a special day for all of us. Everyone that prayed, sang, talked and even the baptismal prayer, were in tears. The family has been waiting for a long time for that day. They had family from Houston and San Antonio come down. They were so grateful to us for teaching her and helping her to take those steps. We are very proud of her and the example she has been and will continue to be for her family and especially her dad. They all come to church and it makes me so happy! 

Taryn's Baptism on Saturday

Right now I am in a trio with two greenies.  Sister Northcott finished her mission and so I'm in charge of her greenie too. It's been nice. We have been using it to our advantage to go in our single men's houses that we have been teaching; like Karl and Robert. It's been a headache too. There have been lots of tears about transfers and so I'm already getting to practice my "comforting skills" as a STL. I kind of have a headache already! It's been such a fun transfer. I have learned so much about myself through training and being here in Corpus. It has been one of my favorite areas. I am super butt hurt to leave. We have SO many people that we have found and are teaching. They have all been progressing and coming to church but I know Sister Castro will take care of them! I have grown to love this ward so much and the people here. Everyone who has come into my path has become a little part of me. I feel like I'm going to throw up and my heart is going to explode. I really do love and care about these people and I think I have a little taste of what coming home is going to feel like! 

This work is great. There really is nothing greater than helping another person become happy. I have made so many life and eternal long friends along the way. Some old friends from the pre- mortal life too. Being a missionary is hard. You feel EVERYTHING. One lesson you go from the happiest moment ever and the next lesson you go from crying from the pains people share of their lives. I literally feel so bipolar but that's how different the people we are teaching are from each other! When I first started the mission I used to think about home a lot during lessons and things but now during lessons I'm thinking about other lessons previous and worrying about them or being happy for them. I can't even imagine the thought and care that Christ feels for all of us! Are we making Him cry or are we making Him rejoice with us? The price is already paid for us to choose!

Saying bye to the Oblads (my brother-in-law's brother)

I love you all! Thank you for your love and support! Have a great week! Sending love from Corpus.
Love Sister Thompson 

11 Months Done!!!

January 19, 2016

This was a little library thing in front of someone's house.  It was "take a book" and "give a book."  I gladly gave the Book of Mormon and traded it for my favorite childhood book, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" :)

This week was a good one! We did lots of service. I've never used a machete more in my entire life. We chopped some banana trees down and I loved every minute of it. The guy we were doing service for told me that I had the biggest grin on my face; but for reals it was awesome. 

Cutting Trees

We have another baptism! This Saturday Taryn is getting baptized. I don't remember if I have told you about her-- I think I have. Her grandpa is a bishop up in San Antonio and gave us a call a few weeks ago and pretty much told us to go make sure she receives the lessons and gets baptized. We have been working with her and we are excited for her to be baptized this week!

We are still teaching Lisa and her two girls. We had a lesson with them at our members house on Sunday. We taught them the plan of salvation with a dry erase board and I drew pictures for them. They told me afterwards they were impressed that I could draw so well upside down. We also set a baptism date for them on February 21st. They are so excited. Jalyssa asked if she could be baptized right then! It was cute! Afterwards we taught the girls and Lisa how to pray. We had them each pray and when it was Lisa's turn to pray she prayed that she could find a job. The next day she gave us a call early in the morning and she got the job at Burger King that she applied for!  She was so excited that God answered her prayer and helped her to get a job.

Gabby wants to be a missionary too!

Yesterday Sister Castro went with Sister Northcott (a sister we live with) down to go see if the Elders had flour so they could make cookies. In the parking lot this man yells "PRIMA" to sister Castro. Turns out he is her cousin who she hasn't seen in 14 years! He lives in our apartment complex! It was crazy that he even recognized her! We went to lunch with them. I don't think they are members so we are going to get them baptized too;) She was super excited about that. They are from the Virgin Islands. Their Spanish is cool sounding.

We have transfers this week on the 24th. The zone leaders keep telling me that I am going to be a STL (Sister Training Leader) next transfer. I kind of hope they are wrong. I have a hunch that I am done in Corpus but I could see myself staying to finish training too. I literally can't tell what neighborhoods I have knocked on because I feel like they all look the same and so it's been a struggle lately. Our area is doing great and we are seeing lots of great things here.

Missionary work is hard but so satisfying at the same time. I love all the people we have here to work with. They are all so different and great. I have learned so much from each of them and from this transfer too! Thank you for your love and support!

Love Hermana Thompson  

Brrrrr from Corpus!

January 11, 2016

Island Model

Another week gone! They are getting faster and faster! Today we went to the aquarium with our zone and that was fun right up until the end. I was having a joyous time petting the sting rays and one of them was doing this weird suction thing on my hand and as I was giggling it bit me! I did not know they had teeth! I can cross that off on my list of animals that hate me, right next to parrots, octopus, goats and horses. But for reals...my finger is bleeding. I was SO mad! 

My hurt finger from the stupid sting ray!

View from the aquarium

New outfits for days!

My lover- he's waiting for me!

We are teaching a single mother and her two girls. The mom is Lisa and the two girls are Jalyssa who is ten and Bella who is 6. One of our members found them and took them to the homeless shelter a few weeks ago. The mom had to go to the hospital and didn't have anyone else to call but our member. They took the girls in and watched them and brought them to church. The little 6 year old Bella loves me for some reason. She called us after church to see if we were going over to the members house they were staying at and then she was like "I will see you soon. I love you!" We went over to the members house after church for dinner because we eat with them every Sunday. We rode bikes with the kids and played hide and seek. They went and picked the mom up from the hospital and we all had dinner. Afterwards we showed them the video  "The will of God" which is a favorite of mine.  It was one of the most spiritual messages I've given as a missionary. This cute little family already has my heart. Bella called us later that night again to say, "Goodnight, don't let the bed bugs bite." It tugged at my heart strings a little bit. I was telling my companion, "Why can't we all be like little children? So accepting and loving so easily." What is it that makes us change that? I feel like the Lord feels that way towards all of us. 

Racing bikes up the street

The gang

I love all of the people we have the privilege to teach. Most times they teach me more than I teach them!  Whether it's the lessons we have that go from thinking "I'm going to getting murdered during this lesson" to people you love right from the start we are all on this earth for the same reason whether we know it or not and I love all the people we get to meet and teach.

We are in charge of the YSA Ward as well as our own Ward.  We are the only missionaries in our Ward too!  It's been good.  This is us at Institute.

Riding bikes at night

The work is great and our area is blowing up! I'm glad that the Lord is blessing us with such a successful and miracle filled transfer! I love you all! Have a pleasant week! 

Love Sister A. Thompson