Queridos todos,
Hi. So now you have a ton of pictures from my last transfer here in Kaw River. It has been FANTASTIC. This last week was literally one of the best weeks of my entire life! Not only did I get to go to the temple on Saturday to see Kathy baptized for the dead, but we also got to see Brian be baptized yesterday!
So I will go in chronological order here. Earlier in the week we found out that Kathy would be going to the temple for the first time to do baptisms for the dead. Well I love Kathy with my whole heart and I knew that I really needed to be their to support her and just less than a month ago we found out that we can go to the temple with our new converts, so we were able to(through the help of Heavenly Father) find a way to make it to the temple on Saturday. We had to plan for someone to be able to take us there(it is a 30 minute drive and most of the people in our ward are very low income so this is a VERY big deal for some of them to drive that far) and for someone to pick us up. Well a recent convert in our ward named Jennifer gave us a ride that morning and then our bishop's daughter, Karlin, picked us up and then went to teach with us afterward too! We were so blessed. When we finally got to the temple we were running a few minutes late but I prayed that I would be calm because there was nothing that we could do about the fact that we were running late, I also knew that anxiety does not come from the Lord. As we walked through the doors of the temple right away I saw my old companion, Hna Méndez and I felt so happy. Then I saw Kathy. She is a completely different person. When we first met her she seemed so dark and depressed. Every time that I see her now she is just glowing and sooo very happy. She was SO happy to see me and very surprised because the other sisters did not tell her I was coming, due to the fact that we did not know if it would be possible. Well I hugged Kathy for a very long time and I just cried I was so happy. Seeing her confirmed and then baptized was one of the absolute highlights of my entire life. She was SO excited when the man who confirmed her explained that the people she was confirmed for are people who lived in the 1800's and that is how long they have been waiting to have their work done. After we were all done in the temple with Kathy we went outside of the temple to take pictures and she was able to receive some written testimonies that her friends had done for her at her baptism. She read the one from her very best friend who has been a member for a long time and she just cried. I will never forget the way I felt that day and the way that I still feel. EVERY thing that I have done in order to serve a mission, EVERYTHING, every tear, every worry, every sacrifice, they are ALL worth every second. I knew this with my whole heart as I watched Kathy enter the holy temple of the Lord. I ensured her that when she goes to the temple to receive her endowments that I will be there. This was one of those days that I felt my heart could not contain any more joy, and then the Lord surprised me in my capacity to feel way more. Sadly I cannot put those pictures up because I transferred my pictures to my flash drive before this happened but I am sure I will get them up soon!
Okay. This was wonderful! And we also held Brian's baptism yesterday!!! He has been counting down the days, and it finally arrived!!! We worked really hard to make sure that the baptism went smoothly and honestly a ton of the things did not go the way that we had planned, but he was baptized and he was happy. I was able to do a musical number with my companion. She plays the piano beautifully and she transposed the hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth" to be lower so that I would be more comfortable singing it. We actually made it into a mix of that hymn and my very favorite hymn "God is Love". I was nervous but I think that it went well. Brian will be confirmed next Sunday! He is so excited to take the sacrament as a member of the church. I can hardly believe that it happened! He is a strong man and I cannot wait for him to receive the priesthood.
So one thing that I forgot to mention. We actually got to do a session right after Kathy left from the temple. This was something so very special to me. I have missed getting to go to the temple more than I have missed do anything else back home. I felt like I was going home. I felt like I had been really hard and that I had just a few hours to let go of it all and to remember who I am and why all of this is so eternally important. I love the temple so much.
Also before any of this other stuff happened we got to see Hermana Sant's family earlier in the week. They were driving through and President gave them permission to take us out to eat, so they did at Olive Garden(it is not actually in our area, there are not many restaurants besides hispanic ones in our area). It was really great and also a bit hard for my companion. I told her that she was tougher than me because when I see my family I am not going to want to let them go! She did well because we only had a short time with them. They are so proud of her, and it was a good reminder for me that people back home are really expecting me to work my hardest too.
I love this work. Honestly it is hard, some days more than others, but I have never felt joy like this before. Thank you for all of your love and support, I will forever remember it.
I love you all,
con amor,
Hermana Thorne
Hi. So now you have a ton of pictures from my last transfer here in Kaw River. It has been FANTASTIC. This last week was literally one of the best weeks of my entire life! Not only did I get to go to the temple on Saturday to see Kathy baptized for the dead, but we also got to see Brian be baptized yesterday!
So I will go in chronological order here. Earlier in the week we found out that Kathy would be going to the temple for the first time to do baptisms for the dead. Well I love Kathy with my whole heart and I knew that I really needed to be their to support her and just less than a month ago we found out that we can go to the temple with our new converts, so we were able to(through the help of Heavenly Father) find a way to make it to the temple on Saturday. We had to plan for someone to be able to take us there(it is a 30 minute drive and most of the people in our ward are very low income so this is a VERY big deal for some of them to drive that far) and for someone to pick us up. Well a recent convert in our ward named Jennifer gave us a ride that morning and then our bishop's daughter, Karlin, picked us up and then went to teach with us afterward too! We were so blessed. When we finally got to the temple we were running a few minutes late but I prayed that I would be calm because there was nothing that we could do about the fact that we were running late, I also knew that anxiety does not come from the Lord. As we walked through the doors of the temple right away I saw my old companion, Hna Méndez and I felt so happy. Then I saw Kathy. She is a completely different person. When we first met her she seemed so dark and depressed. Every time that I see her now she is just glowing and sooo very happy. She was SO happy to see me and very surprised because the other sisters did not tell her I was coming, due to the fact that we did not know if it would be possible. Well I hugged Kathy for a very long time and I just cried I was so happy. Seeing her confirmed and then baptized was one of the absolute highlights of my entire life. She was SO excited when the man who confirmed her explained that the people she was confirmed for are people who lived in the 1800's and that is how long they have been waiting to have their work done. After we were all done in the temple with Kathy we went outside of the temple to take pictures and she was able to receive some written testimonies that her friends had done for her at her baptism. She read the one from her very best friend who has been a member for a long time and she just cried. I will never forget the way I felt that day and the way that I still feel. EVERY thing that I have done in order to serve a mission, EVERYTHING, every tear, every worry, every sacrifice, they are ALL worth every second. I knew this with my whole heart as I watched Kathy enter the holy temple of the Lord. I ensured her that when she goes to the temple to receive her endowments that I will be there. This was one of those days that I felt my heart could not contain any more joy, and then the Lord surprised me in my capacity to feel way more. Sadly I cannot put those pictures up because I transferred my pictures to my flash drive before this happened but I am sure I will get them up soon!
Okay. This was wonderful! And we also held Brian's baptism yesterday!!! He has been counting down the days, and it finally arrived!!! We worked really hard to make sure that the baptism went smoothly and honestly a ton of the things did not go the way that we had planned, but he was baptized and he was happy. I was able to do a musical number with my companion. She plays the piano beautifully and she transposed the hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth" to be lower so that I would be more comfortable singing it. We actually made it into a mix of that hymn and my very favorite hymn "God is Love". I was nervous but I think that it went well. Brian will be confirmed next Sunday! He is so excited to take the sacrament as a member of the church. I can hardly believe that it happened! He is a strong man and I cannot wait for him to receive the priesthood.
So one thing that I forgot to mention. We actually got to do a session right after Kathy left from the temple. This was something so very special to me. I have missed getting to go to the temple more than I have missed do anything else back home. I felt like I was going home. I felt like I had been really hard and that I had just a few hours to let go of it all and to remember who I am and why all of this is so eternally important. I love the temple so much.
Also before any of this other stuff happened we got to see Hermana Sant's family earlier in the week. They were driving through and President gave them permission to take us out to eat, so they did at Olive Garden(it is not actually in our area, there are not many restaurants besides hispanic ones in our area). It was really great and also a bit hard for my companion. I told her that she was tougher than me because when I see my family I am not going to want to let them go! She did well because we only had a short time with them. They are so proud of her, and it was a good reminder for me that people back home are really expecting me to work my hardest too.
I love this work. Honestly it is hard, some days more than others, but I have never felt joy like this before. Thank you for all of your love and support, I will forever remember it.
I love you all,
con amor,
Hermana Thorne
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