Hola todos,
I pray all is well in your various places of habitation. Today in Missouri it is foggy. Beautifully foggy. The temple open house is now over with, having ended last Saturday. I have mixed feelings at the temple house being over. I had the best time of my life working as a missionary there and yet I was so exhausted emotionally and physically that I can't help but feel a little relieved. Also I am so excited to be able to work more in our area and find some awesome new investigators. We have recieved a ton of referrals from the temple and now we are just trying to figure out how we are going to have time to visit them all! I am continually amazed at the miracles that are still coming from the temple open house. I can hardly wait for the dedication of the temple this next Sunday, and even before that the cultural celebration in which we are going to not only watch but be a part of singing "Army if Helaman". I think I already told you all this but oh well...it's awesome! We had interviews with President Keyes on Friday and he said that there is probably never going to be another opportunity for our whole mission to gather together like we will be to sing to the prophet, so needless to say our mission President is crazy excited about this too. My companion shows her excitement by REALLY wanting a new outfit. I show my excitement by peeing a little. Well, what can I say? We are very different, but we are both so very excited about this upcoming weekend!
Thinking back on this last week, the thing that I automatically think of that was most memorable was how much I improved in my Spanish. I have really been trying hard to improve in the organization of my Spanish studies and to really make an effort to study my vocab and grammar whenever I have a free second. I have noticed a bit change in how comfortable I am with speaking with native Spanish speakers. I just decided that they are my people and I am going to be comfortable with them when talk to them and so now I really do. Instead of freezing up when a native speaker looks in my direction because I am afraid that they are going to speak to me in rapid fire Spanish and expect me to answer, I now listen to them calmly and ask them to repeat what they said if necessary or to please speak a bit slower. I am telling you, I can totally pick out a native spanish speaker from a crowd of people when they come to the VC, I just look for the person who has the same body language that I have when someone is speaking spanish to me and I don't understand. I love being able to approach them and speak to them in a language that they understand and to watch the relief wash over them when they realize that I will be able to communicate with them. It is so cool!!! Mom are you sure that I am not really a native Mexican?... :D I.Love. Hispanics.
It's crazy that this month marks me being on my mission for six months. I feel as if Mom and Doug dropped me off at the MTC just yesterday and that I still have so much to learn! This time in my life is the most precious time and although I love everyone back home, I am glad that I still have a year to be with these people who have come to mean the world to me. I have pondered about why my mission means so much to me and I have come up with a few conclusions. When we give up all that we are for something, we let go of some of the things that were occupying our heart and feel them with new things. I feel as if I let go(I am still trying to let go) of things back home and replaced them with the work of the Lord. There have been so many times out here that I have wished that I was a better member, friend, daughter, sister, etc before I served my mission. I have wished that the things that I was letting "occupy my heart" were not of such little and not lasting worth. Yet when I feel this regret I can do nothing but turn to my best friend in the entire world. My dear beloved Savior. Wow. He knows. He knows it all. He knows how I am not good at balancing things out. He knows how hard it is to try and accomplish all of the many things that I want to accomplish, to try to always be like the Him, to try to make sure that I am reaching out to all of those who need it. He knows how I am learning to be better as a sister, friend, and most importantly a missionary. He knows. And through Him the pain of imperfection is taken from me, and the feelings of "not being enough" turn into feelings of "all is well". There is not other place to find this. Plus its a process. I love in the beautiful hymn "Amazing Grace" where it says "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see". This process is not just one big time where all of a sudden you can see and you are found. Its a daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly process. So. After having said all of this I found the question come into my mind, where do I turn for peace? Where do I go first? Icecream? My companion? A friend? My mother? Or will I choose to make the lasting choice? The eternal choice. I want to choose to turn to Jesus Christ and to allow the Atonement that He already suffered for me not be in vain, and as I sit here at a little library in Independence Missouri(a place that a year ago I NEVER would have guessed that I would be) I find myself wanting even more for you all to choose Him first too. There is already enough pain in the world, there can be less if we choose him first. I know this with all that I am.
I love you all so much and yes sometimes I miss home, but more than anything I am grateful. I will forever be grateful for this time in my life to serve my Lord with all that I have.
You all have the BEST week ever and smile at a stranger. It's so fun!
con amor,
Hermana Thorne
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