Sept. 5, 2016
Hi family!
Do you know how much I love being a sister missionary? A lot. I love
it! There is truly nothing better than sharing the good news of the
gospel with people! Especially with people who are hearing it for the
first time! Watching the spirit touch them is truly amazing! Good
things are happening here in the Rincon Valley Ward!
Last week on Monday, we went to the redwood forest called Armstrong
Woods with the Coons! It was my first time ever seeing a redwoods
forest and oh my goodness gracious....those tress are HUGE! Haha I was
in such awe and wonder the whole time! Such an awesome experience!
Tuesday we had zone meeting in the morning! It was super good! Sister
Bender and I team taught the section about using the scriptures more
effectively! We are trying to memorize scripture references for each
of the 42 principles in preach my gospel, so we played a few games to
help them start memorizing! Super fun! In the afternoon, we had a
lesson with a less active and then we went and tried visiting a
potential family! They couldn't meet right then so we set up a return
appointment with them for this week! But as we were walking back to
the car, we stopped to talk to a man out walking with an old lady. He
basically stopped us haha he started asking us questions about what we
were doing, why we do it, and why we were dressed so nice! Haha his
name is Gabriel and he works as a care giver for the older lady he was
out on a walk with! We ended up having a super spiritual street lesson
with him. Gabriel said he would normally never talk to people like us
and that he usually just throws away whatever pamphlets or books
religious people give him, but he said this time was different. He is
going through a hard time right now and he's been praying for a way to
get closer to God and Jesus Christ....God heard his prayers because it
was no coincidence that we crossed his path. While we were sharing a
short lesson with him, you could physically see the spirit entering
his heart. He looked at us, with tears in his eyes, and told us he was
speechless. He couldn't believe that God had answered his prayer. We
bore strong testimony to him of the reality of our Heavenly Father and
how much He loves him. We got his contact info and we've been texting
back and forth with him all week. He's been reading the Book of
Mormon! But here's the down side...we don't know where he lives. Which
could mean that we might have to pass him off to other missionaries if
he lives in a different Ward boundary. But Gabriel was an answer to my
prayers. I needed to meet him and be reminded of what it's like to
share the gospel with people who are hearing it for the first time. It
brings so much joy to my heart. My heart needed to meet him.
Wednesday I was on exchanges with Hermana Bazzelle in the Spanish
area! It was so fun! I tried to participate as much as I could during
the lessons with my broken Spanish, but for the most part, I just sat
and enjoyed the spirit haha I did get asked to sing at dinner though.
That took me by surprise haha but it was overall a great exchange!
While I was on exchanges though, the other sisters picked up a couple
new investigators! Woo! They were trying to find some potentials, but
ended up finding two new people! Their names are Alan and Jenna! They
are a couple and we are going to see them again tomorrow!
We spent the rest of our week just finding and visiting less actives!
We also did service for brother coons Saturday morning which was fun!
We helped him paint pieces of a bunk bed that they are going to build
soon! Church yesterday was incredible. Wow. Fasting+prayer=spirit
revealing things to you. It was awesome! I posted something about our
relief society lesson on Facebook because it really hit home for me
and I knew of some people on Facebook it would help too. Jesus Christ
is the one who will heal our broken hearts and contrite spirits. We
just have to reach out to Him. I feel like I've hit rock bottom
multiple times on my mission, where I was truly broken hearted,
humble, and reaching out for my Savior. And each time, He has taken my
hand and made me whole again. Ive gone through a lot in the past few
months, but with each step of faith, whether they be big or small
steps, Christ is making me whole again. "Daughter, thy faith hath
made thee whole." And that's something I am eternally grateful for.
I love you all so much. I am so thankful for your prayers. Those carry
me throughout the day! Also, thank you mom for sending me the talk,
The Character of Christ! I needed it this week for sure! It was an
answer to my prayers! God is real, Christ lives, and They love us all
so much! Never forget that!
Love always, Sister Thompson🍍
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