Aug. 22, 2016
Hey family!
The past week went by crazy fast! We did a lot of stuff this week,
including going to the Oakland temple on Wednesday!! But here are the
highlights from my week!
Monday, we had half a PDay because we had a temple trip on Wednesday.
So sister Porter and I just cleaned, emailed, and grocery shopped in
the morning. During the afternoon we were out on the streets just
trying to talk to people. I feel like I'm really rusty at street
contacting because we never did it in Fairfield. Street contacting
wasn't very effective in Fairfield, that's why we never did it. Later
in the evening, we went over to the Coons to do family night. So
Corey, the mom, was just baptized about a month ago and the dad, Dave,
was a less active member. They have three kids, a 16 year old boy
named Zak, a 6 year old named McKenna, and a 3 year old named Scarlet.
They are seriously the cutest family ever. I love them! The son Zak
isn't a member so we are hoping to start teaching him!
Tuesday, we had district meeting in the morning but it went super long
because we had PPI's with our district leader afterward. And then we
had a zone lunch which is always super fun. After we got back, sister
Porter and I decided that we were going to walk everywhere the rest of
the day. So we did. Haha we even walked to dinner and then we walked
to the church right after for our scripture study class! After the
class, we started walking home, but we were so tired that we walked
back to the church and asked the bishop, who was there for a scout
meeting, to give us a ride home haha. Gotta love bishop Groesbeck!
I got my pink slip last week...it's basically like your death
certificate on the mission haha it just asks you about travel plans
for going home. All missionaries here take a picture with it when they
get it.
Wednesday, we got to go to the Oakland temple! So let me tell you how
much I love the Oakland temple...I love it. Like a lot. Haha I've had
the opportunity to go five times as a missionary and every time I go,
I fall more in love with it! I could spend all day there! I'll tell
you one of my favorite parts about going to that temple though. Inside
the celestial room, in the middle of the room, there's a giant bouquet
of white orchids. Back when I was serving in Petaluma, on my 20th
birthday and about 2 weeks before his baptism, Camilo gave me a vase
with a single white orchid plant in it. He told me that the white
orchids reminded him of me because of how pure they looked. For those
of you who don't know, Camilo was probably the biggest reason why I
got transferred to Petaluma. He was one of the people that I just
clicked with and I am so grateful for. Camilo is a dear friend to me
so the white orchids he gave me meant a lot to me. So every time I see
the giant bouquet of white orchids in the celestial room, I am
reminded of Camilo and of all the other people that I have been able
to meet on my mission. I always get a little teary eyed as I think of
all the people I've come in contact with in the past 16 months of my
life. I love each of them so dearly. The Oakland temple is and always
will be my favorite temple because of my mission.
After dinner that night, we went on splits with some of the members! I
was lucky enough to be with Jessi Groesbeck, the bishops daughter and
my super good friend! She had just gotten back from her mission when I
started mine, so I got to meet her last time I was serving in Santa
Rosa! I love her to death haha she is hilarious! She's only here until
Saturday because she is heading back to Provo for school, so I'm glad
I got to go on splits with her! We just went out finding for the night
and we had the funniest experiences, some really cool experiences, but
there was a lot of laughter that night! I loved it!
Thursday, we had interviews with President Wright in the morning! I
could talk to President Wright for hours haha we have a super tight
relationship. He makes fun of me all the time, especially in front of
other missionaries, so I do it right back to him haha. He is the
greatest! We did service in the afternoon, and then finding in the
evening!
Friday, we made flyers for our Ward BBQ this weekend in the morning,
and then we did planning. We went through and organized our area book
which took a lot longer than expected, but it was so worth it! We got
a new app about two months ago that allows us to open a map with dots
all over it. The dots represent either members, less actives, part
member families, potential investigators, formers, etc. And so it
makes finding SO nice. Because you can just open up the app and it
shows you if anyone is close to you! So we went through and made sure
all the info was correct in our area book so it would show up correct
on the area book map! I love having an iPad!
Saturday, we got to help out with the Food Rally at the Santa Rosa
Foodbank! It's where they distribute all the food to people. So we got
to stand at different stations and hand out food to people as the
walked by. It was actually super fun! Later in the evening we went
over to the Rowland's and we cooked dinner for them! Haha Sister
Rowland taught us how to make flautas! It was so good! After dinner we
had a lesson with their son David who is getting baptized soon! We
tried to get their nonmember dad to sit in on the lesson, but no luck
there. Next time haha.
Sunday, we taught the gospel principles class and we also taught a
primary class in the other Ward! Both went super well! The rest of the
Sunday we spent handing out flyers to the Ward BBQ to a bunch of less
actives. We were able to catch all of them at home which was awesome!
The highlight of the night was going to one of our investigators
houses. We had a feeling that we should stop by that night and invite
him to the BBQ also. His name is Chris and when we showed up, he was
in tears on his front porch. As we walked up, I could see cigarettes
everywhere and an alcoholic beverage in his cup. He was very very
drunk. His girlfriend was on her way out and she told us that we
couldn't have come at a more perfect time. She told us that Chris
really needed us right now. So we talked to Chris for a while. It was
my first time meeting him, but my heart just went out to him. Perks of
talking to some one who is drunk, they are very honest with you and
will tell you everything usually. So Chris opened up to us about what
was going on and his life is pretty rough at the moment. We said a
prayer with him and bore our testimonies to him and then left. He
knows that he shouldn't be drinking or smoking, but life got to him.
We are going to stop by again later this week to check up on him. I
love it when God places us exactly where we need to be.
Overall, we had a super good week! Still trying to find more people to
teach, but we are staying busy! I am so grateful for the opportunity I
had to go the temple this week. I know that what happens inside the
temple is true. I feel so close to the Lord when I am inside His
house. I look forward to the day when I can be sealed in the temple
and start my own eternal family. It brings me a lot of joy knowing
that it will all last for eternity. Families truly are forever. I love
you all so much and hope you have an amazing week!
Love always, Sister Thompson🍍
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