Happy Almost December!

Hey everyone!

Happy thanksgiving! It was so fun hearing the stories from

thanksgiving! Sounds like I have to work on my bowling skills before I

get home so I get beat dad! Thanksgiving on the mission field was

awesome! But SO MUCH FOOD. Haha we had a thanksgiving lunch with the

Terribilini family at 1pm and then we had a thanksgiving dinner at 4pm

with the Jorgenson family! Brother Jorgenson is a retired gourmet

chef, so dinner was DELICIOUS. It was so fun being around big families

and just enjoying each other's company! We did service at Sister

Flemmings farm thanksgiving morning and in between meals we did weekly

planning! So it was an awesome day!

So let me tell you what happen this week, who my cute new companion

is, and how everyone is doing! So on Tuesday morning, Sister Jordan

and the hermanas took off for Santa Rosa for the transfer meeting and

I stayed here in Petaluma and Sister Ngawharau was my companion for

the day!! I love sister Ngawharau! She is also training so we spent

the day together and then headed up to Santa Rosa Wednesday morning to

pick up our new companions! Being companions with sister Ngawharau was

definitely a tender mercy for me. I was really nervous about training

so sister Ngawharau was able to give me advice all day and help calm

my fears! Plus, since we lived together for three months, it was like

spending the day with an old friend! We had so much fun being together

again! On Wednesday morning, we left early because we went and had

breakfast with the Groesbecks in Santa Rosa! The Groesbecks are the

Rays cousins! I love the Groesbeck family! Then we went to the church

and received training from president and sister Wright and then we got

our greenies! My new companion in Sister Nelson! She is from a small

town in Wyoming called Worland! Her mom actually grew up in Preston,

ID and went to Preston High! So dad, do you know the Hatch family?

Rustin or Heidi Hatch? Well if you do, Heidi Hatch is Sister Nelsons

mom! Anyways, Sister Nelson is AWESOME! She is so willing to try

everything and to jump right into missionary work! She's a little

quiet in lessons right now, but she's warming up! Her and I get along

really well! We laugh ALL THE TIME and I love it! Couldn't have asked

for a better daughter!

On Sister Nelsons first day, we had dinner with the Schmidt family and

they made a greenie dinner for her! They put green food coloring in

all of her food! It was awesome! We also both tried oysters for the

first time there! Not too bad, but not my favorite haha. Also on her

first day, her first contact told us that we were weeds and that if we

weren't doing what we were doing that we would be flowers, but no, we

were weeds in his eyes. Haha sister Nelson got a kick out of that so

right there I knew this was going to be a great transfer! It's so fun

showing someone he ropes of missionary work! There's so many things to

teach and talk about! But sister Nelson is doing awesome and we are

having a blast! She went on her first Tracting experience on Saturday

and it was great haha she got to see what it's like to be rejected,

accepted, ignored, etc. But she really loves being a missionary, so

it's going to be a good transfer!

Our investigators are doing good! Camilo's kids are still on schedule

to get baptized on the 12th of December! And get this, Ultia called us

this morning and she told us that she wants her and her kids to be

baptized BEFORE Christmas!!! WHAT.?! That just doesn't happen! So now

we are on full throttle to get them ready for baptism!! We are seeing

miracles left and right here in Petaluma!

Everything is awesome! We are working hard and loving every second of

it! Have a great week everyone!

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Hello everyone!

What a great week we've had here in Petaluma, California! The work is

going great and we are continuing to see miracles each day! So to

start off, I'll tell you what's happening with transfers tomorrow!

First off, they did it differently this time...they normally tell us

who is going, where we are going, who is going to be our new companion

on Saturday night but this time they are only telling us who is going

and who is staying! Nobody will find out where anyone is going until

the transfer meeting on Tuesday! So on Saturday night, the zone

leaders called us and told us that Sister Jordan is going and I am

staying! And guess what? IM TRAINING! Yep, that's right!! I'm training

a BRAND NEW missionary! I'm having a baby!! And it's a girl! I am so

excited for this opportunity, but I am so nervous too! But since I am

staying, that means I'll be spending 6 months of my mission here in

Petaluma! But I absolutely love it here so I'm fine staying another

transfer! But Sister Jordan is leaving :( and we don't know where she

is going or who her companion is! I'm going to miss Sister Jordan but

I'm excited for this new opportunity and change!

Our investigators are doing good! This area is doing really well so

I'm excited to show my cute greenie how fun and awesome missionary

work is! Just a few highlights from this week: District Meeting on

Tuesday was so fun! We focused on the Book of Mormon and it was great

because the Book of Mormon is my favorite book in the entire world! I

have fallen in love with the scriptures and I am so grateful for them!

On Friday, we met with Camilo and Bear and Terri in the family history

center at our church so Camilo could start doing his family history!

He is really excited to be able to take names to the temple! Bear and

Terri are the family history specialists in our ward so it was great

because Camilo knows them both really well! Also on Friday, for weekly

planning, Sister Jordan and I went to downtown Petaluma to a little

bistro called The Water Front Bistro. It's right next to the river

that runs through Petaluma, so we sat outside, did our planning, ate

food, and just enjoyed being in Petaluma! It was great! On Saturday,

we helped a family in our ward move. We are sad to see them go, but

pray that we will be able to find another family to replace them!

So this week is Thanksgiving and I want to leave you all with a

challenge. This week, before thanksgiving, I want you to do a

gratitude prayer! It's a prayer where you only give thanks to Heavenly

Father and I want you to imagine that if you wake up the next morning

and the only things you had were the things that you thanked Heavenly

Father for the day before, what would you be grateful for? Heavenly

Father has blessed each of us so much and we should recognize that

everything we have is because of Him. I hope you all have a great

thanksgiving! I am so grateful for each one of you and for your

support! I love you all!

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻

Good Weekend!

Nov. 16, 2015
Hello!

So it's only been a short few days since I last wrote, but it has been

a good weekend!

We taught Camilo and his kids a couple of times! They are all doing

really well! Anna Sophia and Antonio are both still excited for

baptism and they are understanding everything! Camilo is preparing

right now to receive the Aaronic priesthood soon so he can baptize his

kids on the 5th of December! I love the Gomes family!

Our other investigators are doing good! We met with Ultia and some of

her kids on Saturday but they didn't make it to church yesterday...but

we will keep trying! Her kids are the cutest! And they are SO

Polynesian! Haha always fighting and punching each other, but they

have so much love for each other at the same time! But church

yesterday was great! And we had dinner with the Wasdens yesterday and

sister Wasden made gumbo for us! She's from Louisiana so she made

authentic gumbo! It was so good! Today for pday, Sister Jordan and I

went to downtown Petaluma and just walked around and took pictures!

Downtown Petaluma is so cute! I love it! We found some cute bistros

and cafes and cool little shops! I love Petaluma!

So this week on Saturday we find out what is happening with transfers

on the 24th...I absolutely LOVE Petaluma and all the people here and

it's more likely that I will be leaving because I've been here longer

than sister Jordan. But there is a slight possibility that I will stay

and 6-month it here in Petaluma! But the thought of saying goodbye to

the people I've met here breaks my heart...but not my will, Gods will

be done. I'll go wherever God needs me to be!

Well that's it for this weekend! Sorry it's so short, but know that I

am working hard each day, walking a lot, praying every chance I get,

sharing my testimony constantly, finding ways to serve those around

me, and loving every second of it! The key to happiness is losing

yourself in the service of others! Pray for opportunities to serve

someone this week, recognize the opportunity, and act on it! You'll be

happier as you focus on making others happy! I can promise you that! I

love you all and hope you have a wonderful week full of service!

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻

Hello!

Nov. 12, 2015
Hello from Northern California!

It's been an incredible week and a half since I last wrote! I wish I

could tell you every single detail from each day, but those stories

will have to wait! For now, I'll just tell you some of the highlights

and update you on our teaching pool!

We went on exchanges last week and I was in the Spanish area with

Hermana Navarro! We had a great time! The young women from the Spanish

branch and the Rohnert park 3rd Ward cooked us dinner! It was fun

talking with the girls and the food was delicious! We did service at

Nana's house last week too! Nana always takes us out to lunch after

service, we love it! Last Friday, we had zone conference! Normally

it's just San Rafael North and South zones that do zone conference

together, but this time Santa Rosa North and South zones joined us!

There was about 50 missionaries total there! We heard from president

and sister Wright and the assistants! It was an awesome day!

Everyone we are teaching right now is doing great! Camilo is still as

awesome as always! He has such a strong testimony of this gospel! It's

incredible to see the change in him since we met him to now! So

grateful for him! We also set baptismal dates with his kids Anna and

Antonio for December 5th! Camilo is preparing himself right now to

receive the priesthood so he can baptize his kids on that day! They

are both really excited to be baptized, especially after seeing their

dad do it and the happiness it has brought into his life! The kids

stay with their mom in Navato during the week and she's not religious

at all, but she is ok with the kids deciding to be baptized! Very

grateful for that! Antonio said the cutest thing during his prayer the

other day while we were teaching him. He asked Heavenly Father to

please help his mom have a faith in Jesus Christ so that they can go

to the temple together as a family...that melted my heart. Both Anna

and Antonio have a solid testimony of the gospel, it's just up to us

to teach them everything before baptism now! Pray for Anna and Antonio

that everything will go smoothly leading up to their baptisms! Ulita,

the Samoan mom, is doing great! I have such a strong love for the

Fifita family! They weren't able to make it to church on Sunday

because of football, but they took us out to dinner last night! Ulita

has a crazy life right now, so it's hard to catch her and her kids at

home, so pray that we will be able to teach her and her kids! We have

a new investigator named JoAnne, she is a 71 year old lady who is

looking for a new organized religion to join! She is adorable haha her

hair is always sticking up all over the place whenever we see her! I

love it! We haven't been able to teach her a lot yet, but she wants to

learn what we believe and she said, and I quote, "Even if I don't

believe what you're teaching, I still want to come to church and just

be apart of it." So hopefully she will gain a testimony of what we are

teaching and come to church on Sunday! Everyone else we are teaching

right now is doing great! We have a solid teaching pool right now, so

we are staying busy! I love it!

Well as I am writing this email, I am on my way home from the Oakland

Temple! The temple was great and SO beautiful! I seriously LOVE

Northern California. I love that I get to call Northern California

home for 18 months! Know that I am doing great and loving every second

of my mission! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻

Oakland Temple

Young Women made us dinner

With sister kilmurray, a less active. She made us a goody basket! So

we took pictures with it haha and then we just had fun taking pictures

in the car!

Wild turkeys

The Elders decorated our door

It's rainy and cold now.

A Weekend To Remember

Nov. 2, 2015
Hello everyone!

Man, oh man...what a great week! To start out, let me tell you about a

few rule changes we had this week! So we no longer have to listen just

to MoTab! That's right! We are allowed to listen to anything that is

uplifting and spiritual now! Also, just a heads up, our Pday next week

is on Thursday because we are going to the temple! I'm so excited! I

love the Oakland temple! But that means I will be emailing on Thursday

next week!

What a great week we had over here in Petaluma, California! So on

Monday night we went over to Larry's house and did a FHE with him and

his wife Alicia! The Spanish elders came too because they are teaching

Alicia the lessons right now! It was really fun! We carved pumpkins

together and then did a short lesson afterwards! On Tuesday, we had

zone meeting and that's were we learned about the music rule change!

On Wednesday, we taught Camilo his last lesson before his baptism! Oh

Thursday, we went to Sister Flemmings house in Rohnert Park in the

morning and helped shear sheep again! It was so much fun! We took lots

of pictures!

This weekend though was definitely the highlight of the week! So quick

update, remember the Samoan family we found? So I love them. Like a

lot. Haha but each time we went over this week to see them, the mom

was sleeping! Her name is Ulita and she has 8 kids ages 8 months-16

years old. But we finally caught her awake Friday afternoon! We were

able to come in and meet some of the kids and get to know them a

little bit better! Ulita reminds me a lot of Leah! Turns out Ulita has

met with missionaries before and her mom and sister are members but

she's not. She wanted to wait to get baptized until her kids wanted to

get baptized as well. She really wants her kids to be taught by us! I

showed her and her 16 year daughter pictures of Leah and Nikki and

Ulita started crying. She said it meant so much to her knowing that I

have Samoan sisters that are adopted. She said that if they would have

stayed in Samoa that they wouldn't have had a future. She was so

touched by our family and the adoption! I love her! 

On Friday Camilo had his baptismal interview with our district leader in the morning!

Our district leader said that it was one of the most spiritual

experiences of his mission. On Friday night, our ward and the second

ward did a combined trunk or treat! The second ward elders and us did

a missionary trunk together! Haha we took pictures don't worry! But it

was fun seeing everyone dressed up! On Saturday, we had Camilo's

baptism!!! What an amazing experience! The spirit was so strong and

Camilo was in tears afterwards! Sister Majors came back for the

weekend for Camilo's baptism! It was so fun seeing her again! I've

missed her! After the baptism, Camilo threw a BBQ at his house! We

never get tired of Camilo's BBQs! Haha all the missionaries love it

when Camilo throws a BBQ because he invites all the missionaries over!

I love Camilo and his family so much! Saturday night, since it was

Halloween, we weren't allowed to be out after dinner, so we had a Zone

Halloween Party at the church! We played basketball and carved

pumpkins! It was a great way to end the day!

But Sunday was by far the best day this week! Camilo was confirmed

yesterday and Steve passed the sacrament for the first time! Oh and

get this, Camilo shaved. EVERYTHING. Yeah, he shaved his beard and his

head! I could barely recognize him! But he looks good! Fast and

testimony meeting yesterday was sooooo amazing. Camilo bore his

testimony...he is so great. I want all of you to meet Camilo. Camilo's

son, Antonio, got up and bore his testimony. We were not expecting

that! But he bore the sweetest testimony I have ever heard! There

wasn't a dry eye in the room after he was done! We haven't been able

to teach Camilo's kids very much because they aren't home very often,

but Antonio's testimony yesterday, was incredible. Hopefully his kids

will be baptized soon! Camilo was in tears all during sacrament

meeting! It's moments like these that I will cherish for the rest of

my life! After sacrament meeting, a woman came up to us and said that

there was a Polynesian family in the hallways looking for the sister

missionaries! Sister Jordan and I ran out to see Ulita and four of her

kids standing there! They made it to church!!! Ulita brought her four

little ones to church, two five year old, a three year old, and her 8

months old! They are all soooo cute! When they saw me, they ran up to

me and gave me the biggest hugs! I love them so much! They grabbed my

hand and I led them to primary! Ulita and her 8 month old, Hope, came

to gospel principles! Hope is adorable and we were all distracted by

her during class! Haha then in relief society her 3 year old,

Matthias, didn't like nursery so he came and spent relief society with

us! Man, her kids are so cute! But Ulita loved church and she said

she's going to bring all of her kids next week! What a great Sunday!

I love being a missionary and I love this work! My joy is so full! I

don't have the words to express how I feel but just know that I have

never been happier! I love you all!

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻