December 31, 2012 - Christmas overview for you

Hola todos!

It is I, Hermana Thorne still alive here in Missouri. There is currently a big snow storm coming in and we are all nice and cozy in the basement of the VC typing away to our loved ones back home. Is there snow where you are? I pray that it does not get super icey because we have got some big plans for this New Year's Eve! Actually we are having dinner with a family and then going over to a New Year's party for a bit where there will be a man that we got to talk to about the gospel on Christmas day at dinner. 

SO. My last week was quite wonderful. Christmas on the mission is so different than I have ever experienced it in my whole life. I did not lay awake the night before wondering what I was going to get for Christmas but I did feel real joy feeling like I was actually making a difference in the lives of those around me. I did miss my family, I cannot lie, but at the same time I just felt so very grateful that I have such a wonderful family who has taught me about the gospel and with who I will get to spend next Christmas with. I got to use Skype to talk to them and it was good to get to see their wee faces(literally wee especially with my Dad, Heather, Ryan, cousins and grandparents because I was using an iphone to Skype with them while we were driving in the car). When I start to feel like I miss my family I just think about someone that we are teaching or ways that we can find new people and it no longer is hard. Lets be honest here, I don't have a ton of time left on my mission. Tomorrow will be 2013!!! I finish my mission in that year! This makes me feel a bit queasy...I am not sure if I know how to ever be anything but a missionary every again...the Lord will help me as He always has. I do have plenty of time to work as hard as I can right now though and I plan on finishing with a bang. 

Christmas Eve was fantastic. It was our P-day so we got all of the things done that we needed to and then we headed over to Sandy's house for dinner. We brought a recent convert to the church with us named Rick. I think that Rick and Sandy would be the perfect couple. I call Rick the "bubble bath biker". He is a big guy with long grey hair and a beard and he loves riding his motorcycle. Sandy thinks that he is good looking. Wouldn't that be awesome if they got married?! Who knows what will happen. Speaking of Sandy, she was not baptized this last Saturday because she had to drive to Arkansas last Friday for a family emergency. I was SO bummed out by this but I decided not to let it ruin our day. After we got the news about Sandy we ended up finding 2 new investigators who I got to teach in Spanish! You know, sometimes we experience big let downs but the Lord always has a way to cheer us up and keep us going. It was nice to see that I still speak Spanish and to remember the passion that I have for it. Sandy is going to be baptized this Saturday instead and all will be well. She is still progressing and reading from the Book of Mormon. I love her so much! 

Christmas day was really fun as well! We got to go to a breakfast with all of the missionaries in the local area along with President Keyes. He read the children's Christmas book that he wrote to us again like he did last year. We also had wonderful performances by the missionaries and the food was FANTASTIC! Right after this breakfast we went over to another breakfast that we had been invited to at a member's home. This breakfast with the Rogers family was so much fun. They did a gift exchange game and they treated us SO well! I really appreciate them. They helped us to feel so at home and to not remember that we were not able to spend this Christmas with our families. Before our shift at the VC that night we had a Christmas dinner with the Thieme family. They had invited a man who is not a member named Mark. Mark is this incredible man who has overcome so much in his life. We were able to teach him quite a bit and we could tell that he really was interested. Isn’t that so awesome! I got to spend my Christmas day dinner teaching a man about the gospel. I could not ask for more. I do have to say that it beats going off of the road just outside of Tremonton in my mom’s little grand am car and having to get towed back to a hotel in the little town and stay the night snowed in with my little sister. Although it doesn’t beat it by much because that was a VERY memorable Christmas too, wasn’t it Heather? :D

So what are you all thinking of doing for your New Year’s resolutions? Might I make a suggestion? My companion told me that last year she decided to make a theme instead of a ton of goals. She said that one year her theme for the year was “Be the hands of Christ” so the whole year that was her personal motto. I am going to do this because I think that it is a splendid idea. So what would your theme be? I am going to think over this and let you all know what mine will be. I know that it will focus on being who the Lord would have me be though. I love getting to start a fresh, new year!!!! It is a clean slate!!!

Hooray for fresh starts and new beginnings!!!!!!!

I love you all very much!!!

con amor,

Hermana Thorne

December 24, 2012 - Unexpected Changes...

Hola todos!


Hey everybody! How goes it!? Today is a beautiful Christmas Eve day here in Missouri and right now I am here sitting next to my new companion, Sister Hawkins. She is FANTASTIC, and no I am not just saying that because she is sitting right next to me and may be creepily looking at my computer screen... I was not expecting to get a new companion but I have learned to not really expect things at transfer time because I usually find myself quite surprised as was the case this last Friday. So quick story about transfers. We were supposed to have them on Thursday but a big storm blew through here and the roads were quite horrible so President Keyes canceled transfers until further notice. He also asked us to not go out into our areas until he gave the go ahead. We ended up doing our studies and a few hours of weekly planning and then we just felt so weird and cooped up. I did end up getting some things done that I really had been wanting to do before my new companion came, like thoroughly clean out our bedroom. We just got a new vacuum and I used it for the first time in our room because it was in desperate need of it. I wish that you all could have seen the hair that I ended up having to cut off of the brush roll thing on the vacuum because it was wound all around it and making it not work completely right. This was on a brand new vacuum! After just one use! I was quite disgusted that I had been sitting on that floor to do my studies for so long. Have no fear, it is clean now and my new companion has no idea that it was even like that before she graced me with her presence.

When we found out that Sister Lettig would be leaving we decided to merge a couple of our appointments so that she could meet with the people that she loves here before she left. It just happened to be Dave(our recent convert)'s birthday and so I ended up writing a song that day that we could sing for him that night. It was to the tune of "I am a Child of God" and I played my guitar and sang with Sister Lettig. They absolutely LOVED it. They won't stop talking about it and apparently the video that they took of it is all the rage on facebook right now. So. I am famous! Ha ha, it was so much fun to see them get so excited. I did not realize how much it would mean to them. I know that Heavenly Father helped me with the lyrics because I was able to write it up in just a couple hours and it was so perfect for them. I am so thankful that the Lord allows my companion and I to help make people so happy. I was sad to see Sister Lettig go but at the same time I just had this feeling that it was her time. I loved serving with her though and I hope that she is doing well now. The Lord sent her to the middle of Kansas. Yeah. The flat part. She may just tract into Dorothy. Well at least she can get like a mile away from her companion and not be breaking rules because they will still be within sight... ha ha! 

So my preparation day is now on Mondays again so that is when you all should be getting my weekly letters. 

Sandy is doing FANTASTIC! She has not smoked and yet again I am happy to report that I have not eaten any sweets whatsoever. We are holding on strong! I think that my body is benefiting from this...it has been a blessing for both Sandy and I. She was really sick Saturday and yesterday with a cold and so we were not sure if we were going to be able to go over there tonight for dinner as was planned but she let us know early this morning that she is okay and is expecting us to be there tonight. I am so thankful to have her and her family this Christmas season. I love them so much and they have shown us so much love. Although I do miss my family and getting to spend the holidays with them, this Christmas season and last Christmas have been the best Christmas's of my entire life. I really understand now why my mom was always wanting to just give, give, give during Christmas time. I did not fully understand how wonderful you feel when you get to not only give gifts, but to give of yourself. I am so much happier not thinking about what I am going to get or about who is going to serve me. When we let go of ourselves and put our all to make others happy, this is wherein we find peace and joy that will last through all trials and tribulations. 

I went through a bit of a rough time this last week before we found out about transfers. I started feeling inadequate as a missionary and I allowed Satan to let me think that I have not made a difference as a missionary. I let myself get down for about one night and the next morning I woke up and I remembered wherein my happiness lies. I was feeling some bitter feelings toward Heavenly Father because of some things that had happened and I began to remember the incredible amount of blessings that he has given me my entire life. The bitterness, hurt and anger that had literally been making me sick to my stomach and my chest feel so heavy left over night. Literally I woke up and everything was okay and peace washed over me. I can hardly believe that now I feel the strength through my Savior to do all the things I need to be doing amidst the sorrows and disappointments of life with a smile on my face and real joy in my heart. It is the most beautiful thing that I have learned in my life and it has been a long time coming. I know that I am always learning in growing but this has been such a big deal for me and I feel so thankful. The gospel has made me more whole and happy than I ever thought I could be. 

Christmas is tomorrow. Have fun and be safe. Read the Christmas story and rejoice in the Son. 

Love, 

Hermana Thorne 

December 18, 2012 - Una semana llena de GOZO :D

Hola todos!

Okay so this last week was JAM PACKED! This is the reason for the MANY pictures that I sent you all. Due to the Christmas season, nights at the Visitors' Center have been hoppin'(for all you older generations this means quite busy :D) and I have been loving every minute of it. We have been having a "secret sister" (secret santa) type of thing going on at the VC between all of the missionaries and it has been so much fun to try to sneak around and serve the sister that I was given. Seeing as how I got Sister Park and I have been serving with her since the MTC and writing her that whole time too, she figured out that it was me withing the second day(we did it for twelve days). Ha ha! It's alright though, I just tried to love her and serve her and it has really helped me to feel joy and to forget about myself this holiday season. The funny thing is that Sister Park got my name too so we were both serving each other. We had a party last Wednesday night at the VC to exchange our final gifts and to divulge who we had been serving. She gave me a ton of stickers(this was heaven, I LOVE stickers...you know this if I have sent you a letter, I normally cover my letters in them) and a cute set of earrings. Oh man I just LOVE her!

Our Sister missionary Christmas performance went really well. We all played these awesome bells together to a big medley of Christmas songs, and then a lot of us performed solos or duets. Sister Park and I performed "Mary Did You Know". I sang while she played and harmonized. It actually went really well. A lot of the missionaries were surprised and came up to me afterwards and said that they did not know that I had such a pretty voice. I thought that it was kind of weird because I sing all of the time but then I realized how much I have changed on my mission in this aspect. I feel so much more comfortable singing in front of large groups of people because at times I really have had no other choice. I also have really cultivated the talent to sing alto and harmonize, having listened to some of the incredible sisters here who are so good at it. At this same Christmas performance last year I was the MC but I only sang one small line of a song by myself and I actually messed up on that. I recently watched the DVD of myself last year and I realized that this year I have so much more confidence. Someone once told me that you cannot compare your progression with that of someone else, but the best thing is to look back on yourself one year ago. Are you doing better, loving more, and closer to God this year? If so you know then you are progressing, and progression is why we are here. I feel so grateful to be serving again at the VC because I have seen so much growth that I have experienced while being away. You know last night we were teaching Sandy about the symbolism in baptism, how it represents a dying of one's old self and a being born again and being clean and whole. This is what the Savior Jesus Christ has done for us. This is what He has done for me. I am not who I used to be. How can I really even describe to you all how I feel? I am here in Missouri becoming this person that I never knew I always wanted to be. I honestly don't think that I was a bad person at all before my mission, I just did not understand what I know now. I have been through moments of heartache and sorrow that before this mission would have broken me down to the ground, but since learning what I have learned and seeing what I have seen I have instead chosen to be broken down to my knees. This is where I go all of the time. I start to feel alone for even one second or I when I start to doubt my abilities or God's plan for me I call to Him. He is my everything and as I have allowed Him to play the biggest role in my life, He has helped me live more freely than I ever have in my life. He has made me whole. I am working so hard and bringing the things that I am rejoicing in to Him first, for He understands. There are so many moments when I get excited about something and no one around me thinks that was I think is incredible is even a big deal, but to me it is. You know those moments? I am trying to take them to Him and He fills me with joy and with comfort and I know that what I am rejoicing in is good and that He is celebrating with me. It's crazy how that lesson with Sandy changed me so much when I have taught it time and time again. Maybe this is the reason why I love the people we teach so much, because as much as I get to help them, they are helping me to understand the secrets of life. What an incredible calling.

So I bet all of you weekly readers are wondering about the Saga of Sandy? Well I hope you are! She is doing FANTASTIC! She has not smoked since we invited her to be baptized on the 29th of December and she accepted. This was about a week ago now! We have not ate any Christmas sweets(or ANY sweets for that matter) either and I know that this is helping her. She says she feels bad that we are giving up sweets this Christmas just for her but I also see the way her face lights up when we tell her that we have been strong right along with her. I would do it a thousand times over and for the rest of my life if it would help her to feel like she has support in this. I wish that you could all see the progression that she has made. Her home is such a more comfortable place and I see so much more peace in her. It is crazy to think that before her husband died she was dead set against the church and she really did not like that her daughter was a member. Sometimes I pray for the Lord to change the heart of someone and in my mind I just picture Him making the person stop being so stubborn by magically changing the way that they feel. Sandy has helped me to realize people's hearts are often soften by the Lord through things that occur in their lives. The death of Sandy's husband is what softened her. This realization is changing the way that I say my prayers and the way that I view others and occurrences in my own life.

By the pictures I have sent you all know by now that I was able to go to the temple! We went on Saturday with Amanda who was just baptized two weeks ago. This was such a breath of fresh air to get to be in my favorite place in the whole world. We did a session before we went with Amanda to do baptisms and as we went through I either wanted to weep with joy or just fall into a deep sleep because I was SO comfortable. Ha ha! I just feel so at ease in the temple with no worries on my mind and just one focus of learning and listening to what the Lord has to tell me. Do you live near a temple? If you do, utilize it! There is a reason why the church spends so much time, money, effort and love on these temples. They are truly the house of God and the place where you can learn who you really are and for me this is wherein my happiness lies, the knowledge that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me dearly. God to the temple, fill your lamp.

Oh man! Christmas is next WEEK! I am not sure what day my p-day will be because transfers are on Thursday and sometimes that changes our p-day here at the VC. Also if it is my p-day is on Christmas I will not be able to email because the library will not be open. So.......

Feliz Navidad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you all very much!!!!!!! Remember on Christmas the spirit of Christ for He is why we rejoice and celebrate! Love everyone to the fullest :D

con amor,

su Hermana Thorne

December 11, 2012- Happy Holidaaaays!

Hola todos!

 

 

We are almost halfway into December! This is madness! How can this be?! It seems that I just got here to Missouri and now look! Sometimes it seems like the time passing so fast is a blessing and a curse all wrapped into one. We had a kind of different week this last week. So many of the sisters at the VC have been getting sick so it changed our schedule around just a bit. We did not get to find as many new investigators as we would have liked but the new one that we did find is incredible! His name is Tony and I know that he prayed us to his home. It is actually a kind of a funny story really. My companion and I had an appointment set in the afternoon yesterday but our investigator actually had to work and so we decided to go find some less actives that we had talked about the night before and then also knock doors around their houses. Well let me tell you yesterday was FREEZING! It was 21 degrees and with the humidity and having to wear a skirt we were popsicles. But alas, we knew what we needed to do and that there was someone waiting for us to bring them the gospel so we tried to make an adventure out of it but pretending that we were in the Alaskan tundra(okay yes this was my idea and I had to coax my companion a bit into it ha ha) and it really helped us to laugh and have a good attitude about it. A couple hours into it we knocked on this door and a man yelled "Who is it?!". You have to understand that this is not uncommon here especially in the shadier neighborhoods. I yelled that we are the missionaries and he said (still not having opened the door yet) "oh...okay..." I felt a bit awkard so I said "We have a message about the Savior Jesus Christ that we would like to share with you.". He then yelled "Do you got a book?!", Sister Lettig and I then looked at eachother and I said "We sure do!". He then finally opened the door and we handed him the Book of Mormon and started talking to him. Turns out that he is a black guy with a pretty impressive gold and diamond grill on his two front teeth. LOVE IT. He asked us to come back in an hour so we did and we brought a member of the ward so that we could go in his house. The lesson turned out to be incredible although Tony would talk the WHOLE time if we let him. Something that really witnessed to me how important our call as missionaries is was when after I got done testifying that the message that we have to teach him will change his life he said "I know that what you are saying is true because you are glowing, you both have a bright aura around you. I can feel it." I knew that he really could too. The things that he said were a witness that he has been so prepared to recieve the fulness of the gospel. I am so excited to go back and teach him more! After the lesson I just had to stop and pray and thank the Lord that he allows us to be His messengers in this work. I am forever grateful for this calling.

 

Our stake put on a dinner for the stake leaders and missionaries this last Tuesday. It was so much fun! Some of the sisters wrote a song about serving in Independence and we performed it for everyone. Also the sisters in the house that I am living in (the Willis house sisters is our street name) performed "Silent Night" with my friend Sister Park playing my guitar. It was quite lovely if I do say so myself. Also Sister Park and I will be performing "Mary Did You Know" this Thursday at the Visitors' Center Sisters Christmas performance. I love making a "joyful noise"! Sometimes a bit too much... I am known for that around here...the VC during the holdiays is awesome. I am so blessed to be here.

 

Last Saturday my companion and I went to our investigators house to help her deep clean her room. She is a very tidy woman but since her husband died a year and a half ago she has really not dusted or deep cleaned and I just knew that if we helped her with this that she would start to progress even more because she will feel like she is starting fresh and new. Turns out that the dust was more extensive that we had first supposed so it took us a few hours but it was worth it because the results were wonderful and Sandy was just glowing as we alll stood back to admire our work. Turns out that the cleaning really did help her. We also made a deal with her. She has been trying to give up smoking and it has been a bit difficult for her. My companion came up with the brilliant idea to have us give up something too so that she would feel like she has the support that she needs. We decided to give up sweets and desserts. Yeah. During the holdiays. We told Sandy and it turned out to be just what she needed. So far she has not smoked and we have not eaten sweets. The Lord is helping us all and we have grown so much closer to her and eachother as we have given up something that we love even though it is not easy. There is not such thing as impossible, believe me...I KNOW! My mother will be proud.

 

Is there anything in your life that you need to deep clean? Clean it. Whether it be literal or figurative, do what you need to do so that there is not anything standing between your ability to feel the Holy Spirit. Make sure that nothing is standing between you and God because if there is, that thing is closer to God than you are. Remember the true meaning of Christmas...I know people say it a lot but it will bring you real joy this season.

 

I love you all SO MUCH!

 

con amor,

 

Hermana Thorne   

December 4, 2012 - All I want for Christmas...

Hola todos!

 

 

Okay so another week has gone by...we are currently in December! This is CRAZY!!!! The time is just flying by and when we are working hard it goes even faster! My companion and I had a great week this last week. Everyday the Raytown ward keeps on amazing me. These members really love the missionaries and they are always looking for more ways to feed us! Thankfully they are less offended if you do not eat a whole elephant every time that you come over. Do me a favor, if you feed the missionaries fix them a nice big salad with some fruit for dessert! Ha ha, but really I cannot help but feel blessed in this ward.

 

I want to share a miracle that happened to me yesterday. This may not seem to be a huge deal to you all but for me it was a testimony that I can trust the Lord to bring things to my remembrance because He promises that He will through the Holy Ghost. Yesterday I was at the Visitors' Center studying and waiting for a group to come so that I could take them through the presentations. I looked up from reading the Book of Mormon and in walks a family from my first area that I was pretty close to. As I got up to greet them a horrible blankness came over my mind and I could not for the life of me remember what their last name was. I knew the names of their two small children but I could not remember who Brother and Sister so and so were. They wanted to go through God's Plan for His Family which I was happy with because it is a movie presentation and I needed time to remember their names. This happens to me as a missionary sometimes. I just go blank on some of the most simple and easy things. As I started the presentation and was walking them through it I kept praying that I would remember their names because I love this family and I knew they would be pretty shocked if I did not remember their names. As I prayed I felt a calmness come over me and a simple thought came into my mind "I will help you remember it, stay calm, be patient." I then took a deep breath and tried to pay attention to the presentation. As I lead the family into the last room of the movie(it is a moving presentation/movie) I did not freak out that I was going to have to address these people and that it would be really awkward if I did not know their names, I knew the Lord would give it to me if I had faith. Just as the presentation was finishing the name "LaPlant" popped into my mind! I had been thinking that it started with an S so I was way off. It was a rather small and simple experience but for some reason I was overcome with emotion and gratitude. Instead of trusting in my own knowledge and wisdom I trusted that the Lord would bring it back to my mind and He did. The Lord is really teaching me patience, that He does not always give it to me right away but He does ALWAYS give me what I need. I am realizing how much sweeter it is when it takes some time and some work and most of all some faith. What great reason we have to rejoice!

 

We had a baptism on Saturday! Her name is Amanda and she has been investigating the church for over two years now. I sang at the service with my dear friend Sister Park and I was nervous out of my mind. President and Sister Keyes were there and a TON of other people. I think(I hope) it went well though. The whole service was just awesome and the ward has really been awesome about welcoming her in and helping her feel loved. We even had a huge potluck dinner afterwards...after all our ward mission leader is Polynesian. :D

 

We have an investigator named Sandy who I love with all of my heart. Sandy has been through some really hard times in the last little while. Her husband died a year and a half ago in a car accident and she has a daughter and a granddaughter living with her who do not tend to pull their weight around the house at all. Sandy is 60 years old and she works full time as a school bus driver in one of the most dangerous parts of the area. This last week a fight broke out between some elementary school kids on the bus and she stopped the bus and went back to break it up. The kids then turned on her and knocked her to the ground and proceeded to kick her while she was down. As she told us what had happened on Sunday after church she had no desire to get those kids who had done that to her into trouble, she was just worried about how their home lives must be for them to do something like that to her. I felt so angry that these kids had done that because she was so sore from the experience that it hurt her to move, but she set the example for me. She did not want revenge or for them to pay. My anger dissipated quickly as I saw how forgiving she was and how much she just genuinely cares about others before she does herself. You know I had been wondering since I met her how she has not gone insane with the stress that she has in her life but in that moment I really started to understand. She puts others before herself and does not let herself wallow in self-pity. I then thought about why I am so happy as a missionary and I know without a doubt that this is a huge part of it. I put others before myself and I have faith that I will always be taken care of and I am, and so is Sandy. Alma 7:11 states "11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." Christ, our perfect example, put others before himself and He is the holder of true joy. I pray that we can all find this true joy and progress in the journey as joyous travelers.

 

Remember through the hustle and bustle of the holdiday season to try and feel the real Spirit of Christmas...the Spirit of Christ.

 

I love you all!

 

con amor,

 

Hermana Thorne