Hello from Fairfield!

Hey family!

So a lot of things have happened in the last 10 days! Like a lot haha

I don't even know where to begin! So last week on Tuesday, I went to

Santa Rosa for the day to pick up my new companion Sister Aiton! She

is most recently from Kentucky(I say most recently because her dad is

in the military and they move around a lot) but she has lived all over

the world! She even lived in Guam for a little bit! Her family lived

on the Military Base there! But she is awesome! She is hilarious and

we get along really well! But I feel bad, because this past week has

been the weirdest and craziest week ever and it was her first week on

the mission! So after we became companions we had dinner at the

mission home in Santa Rosa and then we left for Fairfield! Fairfield

is about an hour and a half drive from Santa Rosa so we got home

around 9 o'clock Tuesday night. We live with two other sisters that

are over the YSA Ward! They use to be covering the Cordelia 1st Ward

and the Ysa, but they split it up into two separate areas so now we

cover the family Ward and the other sisters(sister Ward and sister

Eyden) cover the YSA! So last week we did a lot of getting to know the

members, finding, and getting to know our area! I am proud to say that

we have not gotten lost yet haha! But Fairfield is soooo different

than Petaluma. Petaluma was a small cow town and Fairfield is a huge

sketchy city. Haha so it's different. But I love it!

So we had some crazy things happen this past weekend. So Elder Hemula

of the seventy came to our mission this weekend and spoke to us! It

was an amazing experience being able to meet him and have him speak to

us, but he threw down on us. We all felt rebuked after he spoke to us,

but in a good way haha. He spoke to us about what it means to be

"sober" and went on to tell us that it's something that our mission

needs to work on. It was an awesome conference and I have a strong

desire to improve and become better! That conference with him was on

Monday so that why pday was moved to today! But yesterday, I had the

opportunity to go to Santa Rosa for the day and attend MLC(mission

leadership council) and hear from elder Hemula again! Since I'm an STL

now I attend MLC once a month and we had the privilege of having elder

Hemula and this one! We discussed what we learned and got from the

conference with him and now what we as leaders are going to do now to

help our zones improve and become sober missionaries. Elder Hemula

talked a lot about finding desire too. So now as an STL I am preparing

to teach at zone meeting on Friday a long with the zone leaders about

what we can do with everything elder Hemula discussed with us! I am

really excited and I have preparing a lot for it! Lots of prayer and

study! Two of my favorites things now!

But the craziest thing that happened this week was that Sister Eyden

went home yesterday. So now we are in a trio with Sister Ward and we

are covering both the Cordelia 1st Ward and the YSA again! Sister Ward

is awesome so I am so excited to be in a trio with her and sister

Aiton! Sister Ward has been out on the mission for about seven months

now! I remember when she came out on the mission! Crazy how fast time

flies on the mission!

So I'll tell you about some of the people we are working with in this

area! We are still trying to meet everyone and get to know everyone

but I will tell you who I know so far! So we have an investigator

named Ally! She is 16 years old and we were able to set a baptismal

date for her last week for the 19th of March! She really likes the

church so hopefully we will be able to continue to help her strengthen

her testimony and help prepare her for baptism! We also pick up a new

investigator a couple of night ago named Shirley! Shes a lady in her

50s with a 15 year old daughter named Nelly! She was a referral we

received from Mormon.org and she is golden! We were able to teach her

the entire restoration on Monday night and she loved it! She wants us

to continue to teach her and she hoping for us to be able to teach her

daughter as well! We are also trying to start teaching the Besir

family! They were a referral from a family in the Ward and the Besirs

are also golden! We haven't been able to teach them yet because we

just went by on Sunday and they asked us to come back later this week,

but they want to learn and they are so prepared! I can't wait to be

able to teach them about the gospel! Also, we have investigators in

the YSA now! We had a Skype lesson with our investigator Heather this

morning actually! She is 30 and her bother joined the church a few

years ago and now she's interested in learning more! We had a really

good lesson with her! We are also teach a 21 year old boy named

Lindon! Right now he is praying about what date he wants to get

baptized on! There's a lot of good things happening over here in

Fairfield! The field is white all ready to harvest!

I love this gospel so much! I know that this church is true and that

we are truly happier as we live this gospel faithfully! I love you all

and hope you have a great week!

Here's my new address!

450 Pittman Rd. #231

Fairfield, CA 94534

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻

Me and Steve

Cynthia!

Amelia!

And the "back corner crew" (because we all sat in the back corner of

the chapel each Sunday!)

Saying goodbye to the Gomes family

Sister Oler

Wasdens

Schmidts

Horners

Nana

Terribilinis

Pitzaks

Dixons

Joanne

Last pday at the beach

Emily harmon(left on her mission last week to chile)

In Santa Rosa at transfers. With the fantastic four. Hermana reidhead,

elder beeston, elder frodsham

The famous giant hand in downtown Santa Rosa!

Sister Aiton and I!

Our district!

Come What May and Love It!

Hello family and friends!

So as I'm writing this email right now, I'm surrounded by bins and

suitcases and clothes...that's right, I'm being transferred tomorrow!

My 7 1/2 months in Petaluma is coming to an end :( but not only am I

being transferred, but I have an exciting new transfer ahead of me! So

I'm being transferred to Fairfield, CA and I will be opening up a new

area! I'll be serving in the Cordelia 1st Ward! There haven't been

missionaries just in that Ward for a while now! So I will be opening

the area again and my companion will be...a greenie! Yelp, that's

right, I'm training a brand new missionary in a brand new area! I'm

super excited but I am also really nervous as well! To go from here in

Petaluma, where I know everyone and everything like the back of my

hand, to a brand new area where missionaries haven't been for a while

with a companion that has never been a missionary! This should be

exciting! But to add to everything next transfer, President Wright has

asked me to be an STL(sister training leader) which is like the girl

version of a zone leader! So I will be over the sisters and hermanas

in the Fairfield zone! Being an STL means I go on exchanges with all

the sisters, I help teach at district and zone meetings, and I go to

MLC(mission leadership conference) once a month in Santa Rosa! Talk

about a really busy and exciting transfer I have ahead of me! I'm

really excited for this new adventure! I'm excited to be pushed and

pulled by Heavenly Father and to grow and learn a lot! Come what may

and love it!

This week was good! At district meeting on Tuesday, we played chubby

bunny while trying to teach. It was hilarious haha! Our district

leader was trying to show us how things that hinder the spirit really

affect how a lesson goes. So him coming around and putting

marshmallows in our mouths was his way of "hindering the spirit"! It

was pretty funny! Saturday morning, president Wright called me and

told me what was happening with me next transfer. He was joking around

with me on the phone because he just kept on asking me if in be

willing to do things. Like "Sister Thompson, would you be willing to

train a new missionary?", "Would you be willing to open a new area?"

and so on. So he started joking around with me saying that I also

needed to find a part time job and I need to finish the Book of Mormon

by the end of next transfer! I told him I could do all of it except

find a part time job. Haha he told me I answered correctly and that my

priorities are were they should be! Haha I love president Wright!

Also, yesterday we had stake conference and sister Nelson and I sang!

We sang a duet! We were super nervous,but it turned out really well!

We also went heart attacking Saturday night and stuck a bunch of

hearts and sticky notes on the doors of our investigators and less

actives! Thanks for the Valentine's Day package you sent! You guys

know me way too well! I loved everything in it!

Its been a sad weekend though saying goodbye to everyone. My heart

breaks a little more each time I say goodbye to someone. I have come

to love and care for so many people here in Petaluma, and to think

that I won't be here anymore to see them, is heartbreaking. I asked

Brother Wasden to give me a blessing last night before I go, and I was

promised in the blessing that I would be able to move on, but that

it's going to be hard. And let me tell, it's hard. This area has

taught me so much about being a missionary, about myself, and about

the gospel. It's going to be hard leaving, and I have a really big

challenge ahead of me, but I am ready and willing! Come what may and

love it!

I love you all and I can feel all the prayers and support from home!

Thank you so much for everything! Also, ps. My Pday next week will be

on Wednesday!

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻

Where's the Cold Weather?

Hello friends and family!

Happy February! Right now, it's 68 degrees and sunny....and we are

LOVING it! In case you were wondering, yes I could hear all the

cheering from the super bowl yesterday! Haha it's crazy to think that

I was only like 30 minutes away from the Super Bowl! I think that's

the closest I'll ever get to it! Everyone was watching the super bowl

yesterday! You could hear everyone yelling and screaming at their TVs

through the town! Haha I loved it! But we are having beautiful weather

right now in Petaluma and we had an awesome week to go with it!

So on Tuesday we had a great zone meeting! They are changing a lot in

the mission! Like with Facebook, I can be friends with friends and

family members from back home now! So feel free to post things that I

can share with my investigators or less actives that I am teaching! We

can also use wifi in our apartments now, which is crazy, but they are

really trusting us! My apartment that I'm in right now doesn't have

wifi that I can use, so I don't have to worry about it just yet. But

they are really making our mission a "by the book" mission. We follow

all the rules in the White Handbook, the Safeguards for Using

Technology book, and the Missionary Work in the Digital Age book. Any

mission specific rules(like the can't be friends on Facebook with

family back home) have been abolished and we are to strictly follow

just what the book says! It really opens up more ways of using

technology, but it also puts a lot of trust in us missionaries!

Hopefully everything will go well with it!

To update you with the Fifita family, things aren't going to well with

them. The dad is really making things hard. The kids aren't allowed to

come to church or even read from the Book of Mormon anymore. It is

literally heartbreaking. Can you imagine not be able to read from the

Book of Mormon? The kids really liked coming to church and reading the

Book of Mormon but now, they are almost scared to even talk to us. We

honestly don't know what to do anymore. Ulita said she is trying to

file for a divorce right now, but we don't know how long that will

take. So until then, the kids can't come to church. We tried a lot of

times to go over to their house this week to teach them, but we

haven't been able to get in the door. It makes me so sad! They were

progress so much and they were all excited and ready for baptism! But

we will keep praying that the fathers heart will be softened!

Hopefully things will turn around with them!

Camilo's kids, Anna and Antonio, are doing great! They both seem

really happy and just loving life! Camilo is doing great too! He bore

a sweet testimony yesterday at church! It has been such an incredible

experience being able to witness his conversion! I love the Gomes

family so much!

So one of our investigators made sister Nelson and I blankets this

week! Her name is Sue, she's a lady in her 60s and she takes care of

her 94 year old mom Marianne! We've been teaching them both for a

while and they are progressing really slowly. Sue is definitely more

interested than her mom, but since she has to take care of her mom

24/7 she hasn't been able to make it to church yet. But Sue and

Marianne are literally the two funniest ladies I have ever met! And to

pay us back for all of our kindness, Sue crocheted us blankets! They

are SOOO nice! She is a pro at crocheting so she was able to make the

blanket in just a couple of days! Such an incredible gift! We love

them!

Just to let you know, we find out transfers this Saturday....and I've

been in Petaluma for 7 1/2 months so I think my time here might be up.

But who knows! I could stay another! Petaluma has become my home away

from home so it is going to be so hard to leave this place. It will be

like starting my mission all over again! But we will find out this

Saturday night, so I'll let you know what's happening next week!

So this past week I've been having some really spiritual dreams at

night. I usually never having spiritual dreams but this past week I

had a couple! The coolest part about the dreams I had were that I was

able to use them in teaching this week. Like what I dreamt about was

exactly what some of the people we were teaching needed to hear. It's

so cool being able to have experiences like that. I have never been so

close to the spirit and so close to my heavenly father than now. It

was a year ago today that I decided to serve a full time mission and

how grateful I am for that decision to serve! I have grown and learned

so much. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything! I love this

work and I know that this gospel is true! I've seen so many miracles

and prayers answered on my mission that I know, without a doubt, that

this is all true. I love you all and hope you have an awesome week!

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻

There's Nothing Better!

Hey family!

What a great week we've had here in Petaluma, CA(my home away from

home)! Sister Nelson had an awesome week! Here are some of the

highlights!

On Tuesday I was on exchanges with Sister Malmfeldt! She came here to

Petaluma and we had an awesome day! We made it a goal to hand out as

many Books of Mormon as we could and we ended up handing out five of

them that afternoon! Everyone was out because it was a beautiful day

so we were able to contact a lot of people and hand out a lot of book

of Mormons! I love missionary work! Thursday morning we went and did

work on Sister Flemings farm again! We love going to the farm, but we

get so dirty every time! We love it!

But the definite highlight of the week was Anna and Antonio's baptism

on Saturday! Such an incredible experience! So Camilo was able to

baptize his kids and Sister Nelson and I were able to watch the

baptism from right inside the font because we were in the women's

dressing room with Anna helping her get ready! We watched with Anna as

Camilo baptized Antonio and then we watched Anna be baptized! It was

so great, after Camilo baptized Antonio he looked up at the two

witnesses and said, "Did it work?" Haha everyone got a good kick out

of that. After Anna was baptized we asked her how she felt and she

said "Cold, but really good!" Haha they were smiling the rest of the

baptismal service! Camilo was in tears afterwards. He is such an

awesome guy with such a strong testimony of this gospel! So grateful

for him! We also had an awesome turn out from the ward there! So many

people showed up for the baptism that we ran out of room for anymore

chairs, so people had to stand up on the sides and the back! I

seriously love this Ward so much! The Petaluma 1st Ward has become my

home! The next day at church, we had Ward conference, and Anna and

Antonio were confirmed members of the church! They let Camilo hold the

microphone in the circle so he could feel like he was apart of it! I

am so grateful for and love the Gomes family so much! It has been such

an incredible experience being able to find Camilo, teach him and his

kids, and now see them all baptized and confirmed in the church! I

will always cherish moments and experiences like these for the rest of

my life!

Today for p-day, the Horner family took Sister Nelson and I down to

the Golden Gate Bridge! We took a hike to the Point Bonita Lighthouse!

It was SOOO beautiful and so cool! I love Northern California! It was

such a pretty hike and the Golden Gate Bridge is breathtaking in

person! All together, it has been an amazing time here in Petaluma. I

have learned so much and have fallen in love with the people I've met,

the places I've seen, and the work I'm doing everyday! I love being a

missionary in Northern California!

I hope you all have a great week! I love you all and pray for you everyday!

Love always, Sister Thompson 🌻