GREAT NEWS!!!

I HAVE THE BEST NEWS IN THE WHOLE FLIPPIN WIDE WORLD!!!!!

 

I think you will like this news this week......I got a call from my zone leaders here in Palmar, at around 11 last night. I recieved news that I really was not expecting to hear...so, guess who is going to be a trainer for the next 12 weeks??? I am!!!!!I just got called to train. And if you remember me talking about hermana peterson, she has been called to be a trainer as well this change. And my mom, well she has again, been called to be a trainer this change for her third time in the mission. She is only a change ahead of me. So crazy, I am overwhelmed with emotion. I honestly dont feel ready, but I think that it is natural to feel that way. But I am grateful president has enough trust in me, to call me to train a new missionary. Not only am I training a new missionary, but I am also opening up a brand new area here. This is such a blessing, really. I remember the scripture that says something like, you recieve the blessings only after the trial of your faith. I have finally recieved this blessing of this sacred call of being a trainer.

Being close to president was great...this area is so beautiful, and we have so many strong members here. I sat next to hermana cordon in gospel principles with the other missionarys and our investigators. And I love here so much, she is a great mission mom!! But this change I have no idea where I am going, so I will let you know on my next p day. I will find out tommorow where I go.

I will miss working with hermana beltran, besides my mom, she was probably the best friend I have had in the mission so far. We worked so hard, and talked to so many people. And with her, in this one week I got to enjoy with her, I learned so much about what the mission really is all about. And I really felt the spirit every time I worked with her. I will miss her very much.

Hmmm what else.....oh so, I had an ingrown toenail, that got taken out on monday in the hospital. Gosh, that hurt worse than having dengue, i swear it did. haha I had pain in my toe for about 3 months, but never said anything, because we never really had time to get it checked. But when the doctor cut my toe open, the ingrown toenail was HUGE!! ha i rested on monday, and then started to work again on tuesday. It hurts a little, and this week I have been walking like a zombie down the street in my little flipflops. haha "hola, yo soy hermana thomas...y yo soy un zombie tambien..pero tenemos un muy importante mensaje para usted y su familia, queremos compartir este mensaje ahora se su familia es esta." hehe, people think i am a weirdo. But i talked to the doctor again, because it is still hurting, and is now infected. He said that if it still hurts next monday, they will have to cut off my whole toenail. NASTY. we will see, I am praying it gets better, so that I will be ready to train my newbie comp.

This week we had a good experience, well, we have them every day, but i think this one is good to share. We always take a certain bus to get to the church. And for some reason we always have the same bus driver. He is a big fan of the Spain Barcelona soccer team, and it shows, because he has his whole bus decorated of flags and other things that represent this team. Anywho, every time we take the bus with him he lets us on for free. He never allows us to pay him. We dont know why, because he is not a member. So the other day, me and herman beltran were like, "what can we give him?" We had a snickers bar, so we gave that to him when we got off. Then the next day, again we took the same bus he was driving. Again, he did not let us pay him. Hermana Beltran looked at me, and asked, "what can we do for him?" Well, I looked down at my lap, and I saw the Book of Mormon that I had in my hands. I smiled really big and said, "lets give him this." We wrote out testimoneys in it, and our number, also with a pamphlet of the restauracion. When we gave it to him, we smiled really big, and was kind of suprised, and yelled a big "THANK YOU!!!!" as we got off the bus. Well the next day, we got on the same bus. We asked him if he had read the promise found in Moroni. He said yes, and yet again gave us a really big smile. I know the Lord has something in store for him....and I know he is ready to hear the gospel. Its funny what the Lord does to put people in your path, but I was so grateful for that opportunity to hand out the book of mormon to him. :) 

that is my experience for this week, and I hope you are all doing wonderful at home. Let me know how everything is, and again, thank you so much for all of your support at home. I will write you more next week!!

 

hermana thomas

New Area, New Companion, New Everything..... :)

hey family and friends,

I now have my pdays on Fridays, because I am now in a new area with a new companion, and a completely new zone. Let me explain why....I had some problems in my old area, with a recent convert . For these past three weeks, I was given 13 love letters from him, and I would find them in front of our house when we would go out to work, or when we would return home. He would find us in the streets up to four or five times a day on his bicycle. It started to get bad..and as much as I dearly loved my area, I asked president for a change. He called me on Tuesday morning at 8 o clock, and told me to pack my things and to come to the office as fast as I could for an emergency change. I was out of my area by 11. I had about an hour to say bye to all the people I had been teaching, and all the people I had gotten to know. I have to admit, that was completely heart wrenching. To say goodbye to your loved ones, kinda like your family, and to know that you are probably never going to see them again in this life. Wow.....it has been an emotional week!! But I am grateful for the opportunity I had to work there, and I know that the people there truly changed me, and my testimony grew, and the love for these people grew a ton. Goodbye Metapan...you were my first area of my mission, and I will always have a very special place in my heart for you.

But now I am in an area called Palmar, this area is a "colonia" in Santa Ana. It is all city, and completely different than Metapan. This area is huge, and I am still trying to become familiar with it all. I feel like I am a new missionary again haha...but that is okay. My companions name is Hermana Beltran, and she is the biggest spiritual giant I have ever met in the mission. Wow, she is such a powerful teacher, and she has such a love for everyone here. She truly radiates with the spirit. She has had three months in the mission, and I just completed 5 months not too long ago. We are both pretty fresh in the mission, but we work together as as team very well. I would not mind working with her the rest of my mission. I have never felt the spirit so strong before, but it just radiates from me, and I feel it every moment. And I am so happy. I think the Lord knew my struggles and I think he knew I needed a change, so I am truly blessed for this change I had, for several reasons. My zone is the most powerful zone I have been in before. Probably because I work with all the assistants, and because we are also in the ward of our mission president! (Yikes!!) haha a little pressure, but it helps us to be better missionaries and better people. We are all so strong, and everyone in this zone is always so excited to out and to work every day. It is a nice change from my old zones. :) I cannot wait to see what lies ahead of us, for me and Hermana Beltran. Oh ya!! I forgot to say, she is from Bogota Colombia!!! Woot!! Woot!!


Well, I have a message this week for all of you, and it is very important, and i think it can be useful and very special in your lives. But first I want to tell you a story that pertains to this. It is a sad one. So my old district leader ...from my first change, had an emergency change. A bad one too...he had it because his companion found out that he had a girlfriend in the area he was serving in. And then the another elder in my first district was sent home early last week, for also talking to a girl he shouldn't have been. He would go out with his companion, and go see movies all the time. He was sent home dishonorably. And then just yesterday, I found out, that an elder in metapan, my old area, just had an emergency change, because he has had a girlfriend in that area for awhile....a member. We all have temptations that surround us....everyday we have them. Especially in this day, sometimes it is hard to stay true to what you believe. When you dont have standards set for your life, it can be easy to conform, HOLD TRUE TO YOUR STANDARDS!!! You have an iron rod you can hold on to in your life....it is this gospel of Jesus Christ. It can be used your foundation in this life, and it should be used as a foundation in all of our decisions and actions you choose to make throughout your days. People are going to try and tear you down..and pull you from that rod. They are going to tell you, that you can be happy without the gospel, that you can be happy with temptations. But I am here to tell you, there is no gray area in this gospel. You cannot be happy with these temptations. You hold on to your standards....you do what you know is right. You will be blessed for your efforts. When you think you stand alone, when you stand for what is right...you need to remember that you always have a Big Brother up above that is with you always. Keep holding on, and never let go to that iron rod. :) These elders in my mission let go of that rod, and they are unhappy now, and were unable to fulfill their purpose as missionaries. But I want you to fulfill the purpose for your life. When you hold strong and true to your standards, and to this iron rod..I know you will be blessed. Not only temporally, but also for eternity. :)

Love you all my family and friends!! Hope this letter finds you well!!! Thanks for all the dear elders I received from kim, maurie and grandma kathy! And also thank you for the letters from maurie and kyle!! You are my inspiration!!! MWAAHHHH!!! Love ya all tons!! Be strong, and have a great safe week!!

Love, Hermana Thomasita :)

PICS

sorry a lot of these are coming to you late, but here you go. One is for maddi sheridan....i need you to know, that i am now in the same district as your friend elder dennis. Woot Woot!! haha and i have one of all the sistas in my new zone. and some of my old area too....enjoy!!  

more pics of my old area, one with my old comp  hermana hospina, haha.. And then i have a flippin sweet story with one picture in this email. It is of a cup, and in that cup there is a frog. This was in Metapan by the way....but after the big rain storms, we have a lot of frogs. I found one in our house, and I caught it in a cup. Hermana Chiquin saw this and freaked out!!! She was like, put it outside please, I hate frogs! So I decided to chase her with it all around the house. She locked herself in her room, and didint come out for a good 20 minutes after that. I felt like such a jerk...but it was kind of funny. we all laugh about it now! Oh, and I also have a picture of all the love letters I recieved from the weirdo. The sad thing is, is that two hours before I changed areas...the elders recieved letters from him saying that he was not going back to the church, and that he made a big mistake in joining, because he only joined to get to know me. It is bad...I felt so guilty at first, but then I realized that it is not my fault, and that everyone makes their own decisions. I hope one day he will return to the church with a will to change, and that he will return for the right reasons. Thats all I have in this email. Enjoy the pics!! :) Love ya all!!!! Look forward to a lot more next week!! And oh yeah, I have been put in the same zone as my old companion in the mtc, hermana peterson. little does president know, this was a big mistake. haha we are like a bomb when we are together!! We missed each other so much, and are glad to spend this time together. We have real changes in 2 weeks, and we will see if she changes or not. I will let yall know!