Exciting News!

So much to tell so little time!!            
                                                                                            
     1.  I ate bear meat! It was sooooo good! (I still haven't seen a bear though... I wonder why? Oh, because they all know its winter time and are doing the sensible thing and sleeping through it!) In fact I learned yesterday that I've actually been eating bear meat for about two months now, and I didn't even know it! We were over at the B's house for dinner last night, and don't know how it came up, but just as we were about to leave with Brother B to go teach R, when Sister B let it slip that they never use actual hamburger meat, it’s always bear meat. Needless to say Elder M and my jaws dropped. And then we cheered. It was great, it also explains why everything we eat over there tastes so good. 

     2. M (of M and J) got baptized in PR! First A and now M! It’s so wonderful to see that we are actually getting something done out here, even though it seems like we're just running in place sometimes. I just hope that S and J come 'round soon. 

     3. A cop thought were looked super sketch walking around people's houses in the dark so he drove up to us and was like "Good evening gentlemen" turns out he had already figured out that we weren't dangerous (just weird) even before he had started talking to us, but it was still kinda scary (for us at least). He said he had talked to some missionaries before, we asked if we could come share a message with him sometime. He said we were always welcome at his house. He gave us his address. We've been too scared to go by. But we’ll work up the courage eventually. :)

     4. We got a media referral! A church media referral is when someone sees an ad or a card or goes on http://mormon.org/ and some way or another says they want to talk to missionaries or would like some material (i.e. Book of Mormon, Bible, DVD, etc.) We got one this morning! I was beginning to think I would never see one, but I got one! Yaaaaaaay!

     5. Elder M turned twenty. We made cupcakes. We lit some candles, he blew them out. It was kinda fun so we lit them again and he blew them out again. We ate some cupcakes. We got fatter. Sister Tilleman called; she wished Elder M a Happy Birthday. It was kinda sweet... but mostly anticlimactic and just a tiny bit sad. For my birthday I want some pictures of Elder Bear having a great time, okay? ;D

Probably the most amazing of all the things that happened to us was that we were able to find six new investigators this week, which is a first, I think, for my missionary career.  We have indeed been blessed of the Lord exceedingly. 

R. We are still working with him to help him overcome his addictions. However he didn't make it out to church, but we went over last night with Brother B, and had a very good lesson with R. We taught the Ten Commandments, the Law of Chastity and the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, and stressed the importance of putting forth our best effort and Christ’s Atonement being there to pick us back up when we can’t do any more.  

K is still facing heath challenges, and her common law husband, K, is still not interested in meeting with us at all, but the R Family is still doing an wonderful job of fellowshipping and being there for K whenever she is in need. She was able to make it to church yesterday, and hopefully she will be feeling well enough to meet with us again this week. 

K, is still on hold until after her marriage to B (Less Active Member), we took both of them on a tour of the church building. They seemed to enjoy themselves and K was talking about getting a ride up to church with Sister W who lives near her. We learned yesterday morning that Sister W's phone has been down so K couldn't get a hold of her, which was disappointing because, we were really hoping that K would have finally been able to come to church. Oh well, there is always next Sunday! :D

I love you all so much and wish I had all day to tell you about all the weird, wonderful, and exciting things that happen to me, but I guess we'll both just have to be content with a highlights reel. 

Until next time….. My prayer is that we will all be able to do our own best, and that we will be able to see the hand of the Lord making the difference in our lives. 

Love,

Elder Thomson

Pops, JC & The Spook

            The title of this email is how one of the less active members described the Godhead to his nonmember fiancé.  It’s a little more than irreverent, but I had a good chuckle when he said it, so I thought I'd share. 

This week was somehow really slow and really eventful at the same time. All week it seemed like nothing much was happening but looking back a ton of really cool stuff was going on the whole time. I guess I've just been seeing so many miracles that I've stopped noticing them when they are right in front of me. 

One really cool thing that we got to do this week was go on splits with Mini-Missionaries. The Stake has a program every year with the Young Men.  It is where the Priest age Young Men have the opportunity to go out with the Missionaries for a whole day and just do what Missionaries do. So Friday evening a couple of young men showed up at our apartment and the adventure began! Planning was nightmare because we had to work out two days’ worth of plans... but for the same day, and be sure that we wouldn't be bumping into each other or trying to talk to the same people. In the end we just went with the really simple solution of kicking the other companionship off our turf. Elder M and Brother J went south of town and Brother W and I stayed north of town. Our day together was fairly uneventful for which I was a little sorry, you don't want to go on a Mini-Mission just to stop by people who aren't even home, or knock on doors to have people tell you that they are busy and can’t meet today. When all was said and done we only got into someone’s house one time all day, and were able to share a brief message, but both of the people there became new investigators though, so not a total loss. 

By the sound of things Elder M and Brother J's day was by far more exciting, they almost died while driving south. Apparently the car spun out, and they were headed into oncoming traffic but Brother S, who was driving them, was able to recover control of the vehicle and they survived unscathed.

I got to drive the car here, Elder M usually drives, and I didn't realize how much I missed driving. It had just snowed so the roads were pretty interesting but the most exciting thing that happened to us here was that we almost got stuck pulling out of a driveway once. 

Sunday was an adventure, we had a High Council member visiting again and his speaking companion was a young man who just got his call to serve his mission in Japan. Pretty exciting stuff! They both gave excellent talks, and after church the Branch had a potluck for them so they wouldn't have to drive back hungry. After the potluck Brother R took the Mini-Missionaries back home, and Brother M (The High Council member) asked us to accompany him south to see an old friend of his named B who has just recently moved there. We didn't have any appointments planned for that afternoon (just stopping by potential investigators) so we said we'd tag along. We had a good talk with B, left him a Book of Mormon and Brother M was able to bear a powerful testimony. The Spirit was there for sure and it was obvious that B was feeling it. Afterward Brother M said that he had never seen B that way before.

After B's, Brother M continued on his way south and Elder M and I were left to our own devices. We tried knocking on a really fancy looking house that said "M" on the gate (Elder M was really excited about it) but we couldn't work out how to get past the gate so we decided to go see a guy named A that Elder D and I had found on an Exchange a few weeks back. A was home and we were able to have a really good lesson with him about the Plan of Salvation, and he seemed to really enjoy it. He believes really strongly in the Bible and he hasn't been baptized in any church even though he knows that it is really important. We haven't even talked about the Word of Wisdom yet but he already knows that smoking is something he wants to give up before he gets baptized. He seems really solid and open to learning new things about the Gospel. We'll be seeing him again on Wednesday on our way to our District meeting. 

After A's we stopped by to see B and K, they just got back from a trip where they bought a shiny new orange Jeep. It’s Beautiful.  They are both so solid, B has a great testimony of the Gospel and that is helping K so much. Sister W (the RS President) lives nearby and she is going over to visit K this week so that (hopefully) K can feel comfortable coming to church (and have a ride to church). While we were there B was telling us about how he had found all of his church DVDs (Joy to the World, Finding Faith in Christ, & The Restoration) and how they had set down together and watched all of them (more than once). We will be taking them a copy of The Testaments the next time we see them (which will probably be Friday or Saturday).

Yesterday, being Monday, was supposed to be P-day, but that didn't so much happen. Right at 10:00 we had a lesson with an older lady named T, we had a wonderful talk about God and Brother D (who accompanied us) was able to bear a great (cowboy-ish) testimony. 

At 11:00 we went with our Branch President to see an elderly woman who just started her own business selling meat pies and who had come to church with us on Sunday. I just hope I feel that great when I'm her age!

In the evening we went to visit a less active member named J and her husband, P. They fed us dinner (coincidentally also meat pie). J is a very sweet lady and a joy to talk to. Both P and she are from England and just listening to them talk is the greatest. P isn't interested in religion just yet, but is a riot to talk to. He has one of the greatest senses of humor. 

To continue on with the theme of Pie (or Pi) we met this super cool guy named B, who is the art teacher here at the high school.  He invited us into his house and showed us all his art and the stuff he's working on and we talked a lot about eternity, infinity, and of course pi.

That’s about all I have time for this week guys. I love you lots and am thinking about you... occasionally. ;) 

Elder Thomson

Whoa... are you serious?

I received the Valentine’s Day package, it was a bit different shape than I have come to expect, but just as much if not more fun. There are currently paper hearts all over our apartment. I really like the tie and the smelly stuff that I sprayed all over Elder M (to see if it was safe to use or if he would die) doesn't smell all that bad either. The CDs were also greatly appreciated, especially Jesus the Christ. It’s a really good book. All the kitchen supplies and towels were greatly needed. It seems like almost every missionary apartment is without. The food is good too, don't get me wrong, I am grateful for all the love, but that doesn't stop me from being just a little like Laman and Lemuel and complaining about my blessings. "But Dad!! We don't want to go to the land flowing with milk and honey. Just think about how fat we'll get" For thus saith the Lord "Exercise [a little self-control]."  Thanks so much for all the love and letters and packages. They mean a lot.

Also, the kitchen remodel looks good. You guys somehow managed not to mess things up too badly without me around. ;) But remember that corner where you didn't know what to put there? Where is the microwave going? ;) Food for thought. 

And thanks once again for the weather reports and spiritual thoughts. :D

Lemon Heads: This is why we don’t need this much candy! Yeah, I brush pretty regular (once or twice a week). ;P The retainer is a bit more hit and miss though... 

My Belly is Jelly: Again, why we don't need this much candy: We rated all to the Jelly Belly’s 1.0 - 5.0 My rating is written in blue and Elder M’s is in green. Buttered Popcorn is one of the most amazingly accurate flavors in the box! Do you have any idea how hard it must have been to get candy to taste like popcorn?? Anyone can make candy taste like bubble gum. We can even make toothpaste that tastes like bubble gum! Ask Dad. He'll agree with me. ;)

 

We went to the only Chinese food restaurant within driving distance the other day. Afterward I asked Elder M to describe the experience with a facial expression. This was the resulting review:

 

Well... I wouldn't recommend returning there. ;)

 

That's pretty much all that I have time for today. I'll try and remember to take some more pictures this week.  And don't think because all the pictures are of us in our apartment eating lunch and being goofy that that is all we do, it’s just that we never take pictures of ourselves working because we are busy being serious. 

I leave you with these videos to check out from Mormon.org... because they're awesome.

Awesome Violin Girl. Zach, take notes: http://mormon.org/lindsey/

Lead singer for The Killers: http://mormon.org/brandon/

Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos:

http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/peter-and-john-heal-a-man-crippled-since-birth?lang=eng

http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/peter-preaches-and-is-arrested?lang=eng

http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/peter-and-john-are-judged?lang=eng

Until next time…

Love you all!

Elder Thomson

Miracles Never Cease!

            Yup, Elder M will indeed remain my companion for the next six weeks. In fact our whole District stayed exactly the same. We are all staying exactly where we are and we were told that we were all exactly where the Lord wanted us (you don’t mess with a good thing). So yeah, were staying where we are, and were working even harder! 

Thanks once again Mom for the spiritual thought and for the weather report, they really do help out, more than you know. : ) I love you too, and I know that you love each of us (your children) more than we probably can understand.

I was super excited to hear that A got baptized, she and her brother are both really people and were practically living the gospel already, they just didn’t have anything to call it. ; )

My feet are fine! They’ve only frozen solid a couple of times but they thawed right out, and aren't any worse for wear! :D

As for the Subway cards, no I have gotten them. And I think I’m going to starve to death!! KIDDING!!! I'm so fat. I have so many dollars a month that I can’t spend on anything but food and you keep sending me stuff! I did get the “Sunshine in a Box” that you sent. Thanks so much. Are you trying to give me diabetes? : P ... if only you knew what I’ve been eating. : P  No, I am not burning enough calories, not even close. I try and share all the goodies you send me. Elder M is no help at all. He's got his own candy he's trying to get rid of. I'm about ready to start throwing it at people who don’t want to talk to us! ; ) Jut kidding!... But it is nice to know that I’m loved. : )

Okay, miracle time! This week’s miracle was that we were able to find and teach 4 new investigators this week which is my personal best (so far!). Here’s a real speedy quick version of what happened with each of them:

·         D - We found tracting. When we knocked on her door she said she was sick, but that we could come back a different time. We went back after another one of our appointment fell through and we had J (a priest age young man from the Branch here) we taught the Restoration and invited her to be baptized if she came to know that the Book of Mormon was the word of God. She objected, but we were able to determine from the following conversation that she didn’t really understand the principle of authority, or even believe that authority is necessary. We left her a copy of the Book of Mormon and she said that she would read form it.

·         R - We also found tracting. She was having "one of those mornings" and said that we could come back at a different time. We also took J with us to visit her, and again taught the Restoration. We laid a heavy emphasis on Prophets, which turned out to be good because she was leery of reading "another book", but after re-explaining that the Book of Mormon was the words of ancient prophets (just like the Bible is) and that it was translated by a modern Prophet and that it was by reading these words that we could come to know if Joseph Smith truly was a prophet called of God, she finally accepted a Book of Mormon and the invitation to read.

·         W - We (again) found tracting. He said that he has visited with missionaries before but we couldn't find any record of him in our area book, so they must not have gotten very far. We talked about the Book of Mormon and about Prophets; we asked what he remembered from talking to missionaries before. We invited him to read form the Book of Mormon and to come to church with us. He declined to do either; he said that it would be too hard for him. He explained that a few years ago he fell from a roof and broke his spine. He is paralyzed from the waist down and has limited fine motor skills in his hands and arms which makes traveling and turning the thin pages of the Bible (and Book of Mormon) very difficult. Difficult but not impossible, he can do both, but must rely heavily on the assistance of his wife and he is reluctant to inconvenience her. We did however leave a copy of the Restoration pamphlet, which he will be able to read because he can turn the thicker pages. He seemed excited about it.

·         K- We found when we went to visit a less-active Member. His name is B, he is a great guy with a pretty strong testimony of the Church. K is his Fiancée and was there both times we visited with B. The first time we went over we had no idea that B was engaged, and were a little bit worried that K would be an obstacle to B's reactivation, She was a little standoffish, and it was obvious that B (while excited to have us over) was worried that we (and by association his faith) would offend her somehow. However, over the course of the visit K became more comfortable (I think she realized that we weren't there to tell her that she needed to join up or she would be going to hell), and B visibly relaxed as well.  By the end of the lesson B bore his testimony of the church and how it was the only church that could answer all of his questions, and K was the one to invite us back! The second time we went over we planned to teach K by asking B questions about what he remembered about certain aspects of the gospel (i.e. Priesthood, Apostasy, Restoration, etc.) it went very well and lead perfectly into explaining about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. We left K a Book of Mormon, and committed them both to reading Moroni 10, and praying about the Book of Mormon for a witness (in B's case for a reaffirmation) that it is true.

Anyway, those are the most exciting things that have happened in  this past week,

Talk to ya next week! : D

Elder Thomson

P.S. Elder M says "Hi."