Miracles

How’s life? How’s the new job Dad? Or is it all super top secret? Been brushing up on your nuclear engineering? ;) I bet you'll know a lot more about how stuff works here in the near future.

Election?!?! Come on!! I need to know! I had a dream about a week and a half ago, and in my dream I was talking to dad and he was telling me how Mitt had won by a hair. No such luck it seems. How did everyone take it? I bet Election Day was a mess at home. Was there yelling and screaming? ;)

How about Oregon? Did Art Robinson win? Some people were telling us how they had legalized Marijuana in Colorado and Washington, (I don't know if that's true or not, but Elder Ais still pretty upset because he's from Colorado) I know it was on the ballot for Oregon, what really happened?

How’s everybody doing on school work? I appreciated the school work that everyone sent me, and keep hoping that I’m going to get some time to write everyone back but there really isn't all that much time on P-day, what with everything else we need to get done. I do however have a research assignment(s) for somebody adventurous. There is even a prize!

These are the assignments:

1.     What is the history and meaning behind Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day in Canada, and Armistice Day... wherever it is that they celibate Armistice Day?

2.     For Remembrance Day, what is the meaning of the Poppies? Is there a poem or something? What is the poem?

3.     Why don't we have domesticated buffalo farms??? Buffaloes are huge and delicious. It would just make sense. (This question isn't as serious as the other two, but I'd still like to know.)

     Bonus question: What is a word that starts with "M" that means "Recently"? (I don't know if one exists, but if you can find one then I will be able to create an acronym the will be used all over the Canada Vancouver mission... maybe even the world?)

That's about it for questions. Again I'm sorry that I don't have time to respond to each of your letters, I had aspirations of writing you guys while I was on the plane last week (I was doing the math, I've flown 7 times in the last 3 months) but I got distracted on the way to Vancouver... and sort of fell asleep on the way back. We got to stay with the new Assistants to the President, and they had to wake up extra early so that they could drop us off at the mission office at like 6:30 and go get the new Greenies from the hotel at 7:00. So I was pretty beat. 

Other than that life is pretty good. I'm still here with Elder A for at least 6 more weeks, but I'll probably have a new companion after that (Elder A has been here for more than a quarter of his mission already and this has been his only area, he won’t be here very much longer.). I'm psyched to not be the greenest of the green anymore! ;) It was fun, to be sure, but it’s kinda cool to feel like I know what’s going on as well. ;)

We saw a couple of miracles this week, one was just today. The woman who was at the checkout at Wal-Mart, while she was scanning all of our cans of tuna, commented that we had saved her life once (not us specifically, but other missionaries) and that we had given her our number, but that she had never called. We asked if she would still like to meet with us and she said that she would, and gave us her number. 

I know that may not seem super big, but it was a miracle to us, especially since it was P-Day, in a grocery store. Were always on the lookout for people to teach, but places of business are tough because you can’t really "proselyte" the best you can do is mention the gospel or missionary work in passing, so to have one of the employees practically ask to meet with us, that was pretty cool. :D

The thing I've learned about miracles on my mission is that they always get ruined by our expectations. We expect that just because we've seen a miracle that everything is going to be sunshine and lollypops for the rest of our lives. That's not the way this works. We witness miracles every day, sometimes we're just not humble enough to recognize them, but more often we just take them for granted. Sometimes, things just work out, things we can’t explain, and things we often don't even understand our part in. These things are miracles, regardless of whether they bless us or others. Seldom are we privileged to see all the workings of the Lord in our lives, or the lives of those we come in contact with, but as we follow the promptings of the spirit, we will witness these miracles. Maybe it’s something as simple as being in the right place at the right time, to lend a hand when someone is in need. Or maybe it’s someone being there for us when we need it most. Or maybe it’s something even more wondrous than we know. But however the miracle is brought to pass, by the hand of the Lord or by the hand of his servants, who are ready and willing to follow those sacred impressions, it is the same. All we can do is our own best each and every day to stand ready to serve, to be where the Lord needs us to be, and to do what the Lord needs us to do, and we will witness miracle, no matter how small. 

Remember those miracles, keep them close to your heart, and you will always know how much you Father which is in Heaven loves you. 

All my love and best hopes as well,

Elder Thomson