November 5, 2012 - Kansas Bliss

Hola todos, 

Como estan?! I pray you are all healthy, happy and living life to the fullest. I am still here in Kaw River but rumor has it that I will be transferred this week on Thursday. We will see how accurate these rumors really are. I do feel like I will be leaving though because I have been here six months now. I can hardly believe that I have been here so long! I am forever thankful for my time here it has been the best experience of my life. 

This last week was a pretty great one. We were able to teach Lawanda and Tiauna about temples, eternal marriage and family history work. I was SO excited to teach them about this, especially Lawanda because she will LOVE the temple. She did really like what we taught her but we didn't have a chance to really talk as one on one as I would have liked because Mariah(her youngest and my little baby girl) was sick and kept crying. We gave here this video called "Between Heaven and Earth" and she is excited to go to the temple to do baptisms in the next few weeks and then to go to the temple in a year. I assured her that Sister Castellano and I will be in attendance when she goes through the temple in a year here in Kansas City.

Yesterday at church I got up to share my testimony in sacrament meeting and just about five minutes later Lawanda got up too to share hers! As I sat and listened to her say "My testimony starts with the sisters, they came at a time when my life was so full of sadness..." and then she just cried and bore the most beautiful testimony that I have ever heard. Tears streamed down my face as I listened to her tell of how lost she really was and how at home she feels in the gospel. I wish I could put in accurate words the way that I felt at that moment and the way that I feel now but honestly words cannot fully describe it. I know with all that I am that Lawanda was my friend before I was born and I very much look forward to the future and seeing her 6 children raised in the gospel, having lives so different than that would have had otherwise. Lawanda's family actually came to the Trunk-or-Treat that we had last Tuesday night. The kids had a blast! They are all starting to develop friendships in the ward and they love coming to the church activities. I will send a picture of all of us at the Trunk-or-Treat.

So I have some other wonderful news! We are now teaching Lawanda's son Mikey and the kids grandma Becky. Mikey is ready to be baptized within the next few weeks and Becky should be ready within the next month! It was funny because Becky almost always listens in on the lessons but did not want to fully participate so we decided to make a special visit to the house just to see her this last Thursday. The Lord blessed us with a miracle because not only was Becky there, but she was alone without any kids which is something that I don't think that I have ever seen in the whole almost five months that I have known them. The Lord really blessed us to have that quality time with Becky. I felt like she just needed us to be upfront with her so I just said "Becky we know that you like to listen to what we have to say even though you pretend like you are not listening sometimes, can we now teach you please?". She just laughed and said yes and then told us her only problem was being baptized because she already has been in the Catholic church. We then were able to talk a bit more about this concern and to show her that the Lord loves her and we set up a return appointment. It was awesome! I am so thankful for this beautiful family.

My year mark is on the 9th of this month. This does not even seem real to me. There is no way that I have been a missionary for a whole year. It feels like I have only been here for a very short time but it also feels like I have always been a missionary. I want to use every moment more that I have left to the fullest because time is not slowing down at all, more often than not it seems to be speeding up. 

I found a gem in my scripture study this morning. It is found in Alma 32:23  " And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned." The Lord "comparteth his word by angels". Are you choosing to be an angel of God? 

I love you all, have the best week of your lives! 

con amor, 

Hermana Thorne 

October 29, 2012 - Best. Week. EVER.

Hola todos! 


This last week was a wonderful one full of us trying hard to find new people to teach and also working every day with Lawanda and Tiauna to get them all prepared for their baptismal interview and for their baptism. Everyday that we went over to their house to teach them I was blown away by how ready Lawanda was to be baptized. She just kept getting more and more excited about her baptismal day and I could see the light in her growing. Her home is such a different place to visit now. She has become such a great example for her children. She gets so excited when we come over because she wants to learn more and more. So then...it HAPPENED!!! LAWANDA AND TIAUNA got BAPTIZED!!!! I can honestly say that it was the most beautiful baptismal service that I have yet experienced on my mission. This one baptism was worth all of the time, heartache, sweat, tears, and effort that a mission brings. I would totally do it all over again just to see Lawanda and Tiauna receive the gospel and watch their lives change. During the service I looked over at Lawanda(right before she was about to go to the font and be baptized) and she was crying. I have never seen her cry before, but I felt the joy that was radiating off of her and I could not help but cry myself. I have never felt so close to heaven in my entire life. I know that the service that day was packed with people, the ones that we could see and the ones that we could not. When I looked over at Tiauna I realized that she was receiving the gospel and being baptized right before she enters her teenage years. I know that this will effect the woman that she will become and that she will have so many more opportunities for success. As they both were baptized there came over the people gathered there a very very special spirit. Our ward mission leader got up to speak about the special feeling that was in the room and her got emotional as he talked about how special Lawanda and Tiauna are. He is so right. They are the most special people that I have ever met and I feel more blessed than I could possibly put into words that I have had the incredible opportunity to meet them from the very beginning and to then see them enter into the covenant of baptism. I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined that I would be a part of something so magnificent. My decision to come on a mission has been the best one that I have ever made. 

Yesterday they both received the Gift of the Holy Ghost during sacrament meeting which is what Lawanda said "I am most excited about!". They both came back to sit with us on the pew after having received this most wonderful gift and I could feel the change in them. I wish that you could all see them! Lawanda is so happy that she just laughs all of the time. She reminds me of myself. She just laughs at everything now and is always smiling. Their lives continue to have hardships but they have an understanding with how to handle things knowing who they really are now. Tiauna actually got to be a part of the Primary Program in sacrament meeting yesterday. She did so well although she was super nervous. All of the kids love primary and Lawanda loves Relief Society. She also already has some great friends in the ward. Thank you so much to all of you who pray for me because when you pray for me I know that it goes to those who we are teaching because it really is about them and not us. 

My companion and I both have gotten el gripe (the flu). I actually was feeling pretty lousy on the day of the baptism and yesterday but there was no WAY that I was going to miss any of the meetings. The Lord helps us to do what we need to do even when we physically don't feel up to it. We really can do anything through Christ who strengthens us.

I made this journal for Lawanda that has Christ on it and Mary at the tomb on the front and says "Facing the future with hope" and then on the back it has Jesus and it says "Never give up". So don't. Do not ever give up on your righteous desires. The wonderful thing about the fact that we are all here is that before this life we CHOSE to be here. So choose to not give up. We have the wonderful gift of progression here. I think a real definition of hell is to not be able to progress. So our lives can be our own heaven if we are continually progressing. This is not to say that there will not be heartache, because there will be, but if we are learning and growing we still have reason to rejoice. :D

I love you all! 

Hermana Thorne 

October 22, 2012 - A guitar, the Liberty Jail, and a GIANORMOUS miracle!!!

Hola todos, 


Well I am just going to just jump right in. This last week was a wee bit crazy and wonderful all in one. The first part of the week was a bit slow and my companion and I were having a bit of a hard time because we could not seem to find new people to teach and we were both running low in the motivation area. There was a very bright point to these couple of days though! Ivan gave me his guitar because he is moving so now I can play! Also one of the elders that is serving in our ward too is letting me borrow his simplified hymn book and it has guitar chords in it! I am now singing hymns with the guitar! It was such a blessing from the Lord because it really helps me to release stress and anxiety to play. Another cool thing about this hard time was that although I felt some depression and didn't know exactly how everything was going to work out I did not freak out or anything. I knew that everything would be okay and that "this too shall pass", and you know what? It really did. In fact it was followed by an AWESOME miracle! This last Saturday we fasted with Lawanda and Tiauna(our mother and daughter investigators that we have been teaching since June) with the purpose of Lawanda's boss giving her Sundays off so that they can be baptized and come to church every Sunday. We actually asked Lawanda to fast with us and she said that would. Well Saturday was a day full of tracting and trying to find new investigators for us. Now being able to eat was not really bad at all but we were both dehydrated from the heat(yeah it was warm and humid here on Saturday...the weather keeps changing!) but we stuck it out until dinner when we had planned to break our fast. We had some success in finding people and right before we went to our dinner appointment I asked my companion if we could go see Tiauna(Lawanda's 11 year old daughter that is getting baptized too!) before we ate dinner. When we got there Lawanda was home too and she told us that her boss had given her Sundays off starting this next week but that she would have to work the next day. So we planned the baptism for the 3rd of November. Well five minutes later Tiauna walks in the door coming home from the store where Lawanda works and tells her that her boss said that she actually gave her this Sunday off too! So we were able to move the baptism up a whole week! We have been praying for this to work out for so long. I know with my whole soul that fasting is what did it! They did come to church yesterday for the first time in over a month and they all loved it. Tiauna and one of her other daughter's Myqueria are both going to be performing in the Primary performance next Sunday and they are both excited. I feel like this is such a sacred experience because the Lord gave us more than we even asked for. Do you want to see miracles happen? Fast with real intent, with whole purpose of heart and the Lord WILL bless you. I know it's true because it has happened here! 

In the title of this email I wrote about the Liberty Jail. Yesterday we were so blessed to get to take our recent convert Ivan to the Historic Liberty Jail to a very special fireside that happens once a month for recent converts. It is called the President's devotional because our mission president actually puts it on. It is like a big testimony meeting of recent converts. It was so incredible! Ivan was really nervous to share his testimony in front of so many people but he ended up doing it. I felt so happy that it seemed like a dream. He is reading the Book of Mormon every day and praying. It is the most incredible feeling in the world to see someone progress and change like he is. Also he is receiving the Aaronic Priesthood this next Sunday. I know the Lord puts us in the right place at the right time when we are being righteous. I am so glad that we met Ivan! We also got to go through the presentation at the Historic Liberty Jail after the fireside with Ivan and a member of our ward here, Ramon Morinigo(he is one of my good friends here in the ward, a very kind man from Argentina). My old companion Hermana Méndez actually took us on the presentation. It was AWESOME to get to see her. I hope that I get to serve at the Liberty Jail here soon. 

I am praying that all of you out there remember how much you are loved. Keep smiling and remember who you are! 

I love you all!!!! 
 
con amor, 

Hermana Thorne

October 15, 2012 - Heeeelllllooooo outside world...

Hola todos, 

It's me again, your favorite sister missionary serving in the state of Kansas. As I write this I am thinking about all of the many different places that you all live(mostly on the west side of the country) and I am praying that in all of your many different places you are all finding joy in the journey. I love you all so very much and I am thankful that you are supporting me by reading my weekly emails.

Oh my goodness, this last week has been FANTASTIC. My companion and I worked our tails off trying to find new people to teach. Last Tuesday we had planned to tract quite a bit because we wanted to find people in a new area that we had not worked in a whole lot. That day we worked really hard to use every moment of our time talking to people and we ended up teaching 12 lessons that day! It was INCREDIBLE! By the time we got home we were so exhausted that we planned for the next day and then pretty much fell right into bed, that night I don't remember moving at all while I was trying to sleep I just zonked right out(this is pretty unusual for me on the mission because I normally lay there tossing and turning and thinking about the things that happened during the day). So. Another reason why this last week was so cool is because I know the reason why I worked so hard is because of Elder Holland's talk from General Conference. Every time that I had a temptation to be a bit lazy or let someone pass by without talking to them or every time I just felt like taking a few more minutes than I should at lunch time or being late for my studies into my mind popped the words "Hermana Thorne, do you love me?". Every time throughout the week that the Lord has sent these words to my mind I feel tears come to my eyes and I know that I need to show Him how much I love Him by my actions. It is not enough to just say that I love the Lord. I feel like a different person after this General Conference, especially after that talk. I have started to realize so much that it doesn't matter at all if I am tired, or hungry, or I don't feel confidence. If the Lord could create everything with such utter perfection He can help me change my thoughts so that although I may not feel well or even have the desire to do something I can still do it. The way that I have done things most of my life has obviously not really worked out a whole lot. I sometimes do the same thing over and over expecting to receive a different result. This is one definition of insanity...So. How hard is it for people to change? Well, how hard is it for ME to change? Before I thought it was really, really difficult. In fact I think I wondered if it was at all possible. I think this negative way of thinking came from the promises of others that they would change and then they didn't. I think it came also from me promising myself different things over and over and not keep the promises with myself. You know that part I think is the very hardest, not keeping promises that you make with yourself. If you can't trust yourself because you have let yourself down so many times then you just start to feel so alone because you don't even have you to lift you up. When you feel horrible about who you are a lot of the time you turn away from the Lord. So. I have said a lot of things here. I guess that I am writing and writing to finally make it to this point. I believe with all that I am that making and KEEPING promises is a beautiful secret to happiness. I cannot even believe that this has taken me so long to figure out! For example; we are baptized at eight years old or older into the church. Right there is our first promise that we make with the Lord. We PROMISE to take His name upon us and we are in return PROMISED blessings. If we break our promise to the Lord, how do we feel? Another example might deal more with friends or your spouse. If you make a promise and then you do not keep it how do you feel? How does the other person feel? It is very hard to develop trust within a relationship if promises are not kept. I think for me I am now realizing that before I make a promise or a commitment to someone I really need to make sure that I can fulfill this promise. Of course everyone makes mistakes but I firmly believe that making and keeping promises can not only build stronger relationships, but will also boost your confidence in yourself and the confidence that others have in your. We are a covenant keeping people, remember? This means we keep our promises. I did not know that I would be speaking so in depth about this but I hope that it helps someone out there. 

Okay so we got to go the the Gladys Knight program and it was AMAZING! Most of you who know me know that I LOVE gospel music and that was what this was. We got to dance and clap and yell amen! Not even joking you! They are trying to help people understand that the way that we sing the hymns and do some of the things that we do in the church is tradition not regulation. I felt the Spirit in abundance and we have already received 4 referrals from that night that we will be visiting this next week. I was in absolute heaven while listening to Gladys and the choir. I clapped like no tomorrow and sang my heart out. There were a TON of non members there and a good amount of them African-Americans. I think my soul may have accidentally gone to the wrong body and really I was supposed to be a bodacious black woman because I LOVE SOUL MUSIC! It was a bit funny to see some of the members not know how to react to the program because they are so used to the traditional hymns of the church. Well the First Presidency wants the church to start adopting the culture of the members because there are SO many diverse cultures within the 15 million people who are now part of the fold. I am ALL for it! :D Oh! I loved it!!!! Our recent convert Ivan also went and thought it was awesome. 

I love you all and I want you to know that if you are feeling down, nothing can help you feel better than listening to some uplifting music, praying or reading your scriptures. Before my mission I thought that these were cheesy answers that probably did not really work. I am testifying to you right now that these things really DO work. I am a witness of this because the things that I have been asked to do on my mission have been the hardest things that I have been asked to do in my life and I am the happiest that I have ever been now because I am partaking of living water through the scriptures and prayer. Sometimes we want to turn to other things but they will not quench your inner thirst. I promise if you really work first on your relationship with the Lord everything else will fall into place. Everything. 

"Shall we not go on in so great a cause?" 

con amor, 

Hermana Thorne 

October 8, 2012 - la conferencia general

Hola todos, 

Pues como estan?!!!! Esta semana pasada fue MUY bien. We had a great last week. I am learning on my mission that I am not perfect but as my companion quoted to me the other day "What do we do when we fall Bruce?"(Batman) "We get back up." I love her. That is what I am really learning. I am going to fall and I do fall but what I am really learning is to get right back up and not let the fear of falling again keep me from running harder. I am learning so much about myself and what will trigger feelings of anxiety and depression in me. I have come to realize that I absolutely adore cleaning(I know Mom, you are wondering where this part of my personality was when I lived with you :D). Whenever I am starting to feel anxiety or overwhelmed I look around and usually realize that our apartment or just my space is messy. I then take a deep breath, say a prayer and clean something. Without a doubt I feel better and then I can refocus on the task at hand and I feel like I am totally capable of doing anything the Lord asks of me. Right. CLEANING. Who knew...

Well we really had a cool miracle last Tuesday night. We had set up an appointment with Ivan(our recent convert...WOO HOO!) to teach him the last lesson that we teach them after they are baptized. On the way to the appointment my companion says "Hey we haven't really talked to Ivan about tattoos, only piercings. Let's make sure that we talk about it tonight." I told her that I had been thinking about that the week before but forgot to mention it. So while we are teaching Ivan he actually mentioned the word tattoo and we were reminded about it and we talked to him about how it was not good. He then ask about the tattoos that he already has and we told him that it was fine because he was baptized but not to get more. He then told us he had a tattoo on his back. We didn't really think anything of it until the end of the lesson when he just was acting kind of weird, like closed off to us and so we asked him what was wrong. He then told asked us why we talked to him about tattoos that night. We told him about the conversation that we had had in the car on the way to our appointment about telling him about tattoos. Well he said that he did not yet have that tattoo on his back but he had an appointment to get it that very night at his house. He had had the appointment for months. He could not understand how it was that we knew to talk about it. We tried to explain that they Lord is so aware of him and is always looking out for him. He still is talking about how we knew to talk about it. I know without a doubt that it was through inspiration. The Lord answers to the needs of others through His servants. Are you one of those servants? 
 
On Friday we had such a great day. We had a bit of a rough day on Thursday so we were really pumped to find some good investigators on Friday. We prayed for success and knew that we would be doing a ton of tracting. Due to the fact that we had district meeting in the morning then a planned dinner appointment we ended up only having about two hours of tracting but in that time period we taught 8 lessons and found 3 new investigators! It was just what we needed. We prayfully picked a place to go the night before and then stuck to our plans and found people that we know we were supposed to meet. Faith precedes the miracle. I feel so very blessed. 

Also we got to go to a Quinciñera on Saturday night for our dinner. We were only there an hour because that is how long that we can stay at dinners but and hour was enough. The music was very loud and I just really wanted to dance so it was just kind of weird because of course we can't. Also EVERYONE stared at us. EVERYONE. We are very white and obviously missionaries. Ivan really wanted us to go so we did. Hispanics know how to party, that is for sure. I think I will wait until I go home to go to another one of those parties. 

So one last really important thing!!!! GLADYS KNIGHT is coming here!!!! With her choir called "the Saint's United Voices". Some of you may have heard the CD. Anyone Gladys is a member and there is a big program going on in Independence that they have been talking about for months. You have to have tickets to go and it is a missionary thing so in order to go you are supposed to bring a non-member. Well we had set it up Lawanda and Tiana(some of our investigators) to go but Lawanda has to work. This morning we got a call from one of the assistants to the President and he asks us if we have anyone going to the program. Well I feel kind of dumb because we really don't have anyone a hundred percent sure. He just says "Oh, that's cool. Do you sisters want to be helpers with the program? We need ushers and people to help out. Only 3 companionships of elders and three of sisters can do it out of the whole mission. Do you guys want to do it?" I about died!!! I said yes of course we would love to do it. He then told us that we will get to be there all day on Satuday. I will get to see Gladys Knight! I feel so blessed. We have such a huge mission and so many sister missionaries so for us to get to do it is such an honor! I AM SO EXCITED!!!! 

I love all of you and I pray that you are all finding joy in the journey. Wasn't conference terrific? I just LOVED the Bee talk, well I loved all of the talks but that one was my favorite. 

Have a wonderful week!!! 

con amor, 

Hermana Thorne

October 1, 2012 - Familia

Hola todos, 


AAAHHH! I don't even know where to start in this email...this last week was jam-packed full of awesomeness. First of all...IVAN WAS BAPTIZED!!!! He is officially a member of the church. Last week we finished up all of the things that he needed to know before he was baptized and then last Saturday we had THREE baptisms in our ward!!! There are three sets of missionaries in the Kaw River ward and all of us had one person being baptized. It was incredible, and one of the best days that I have ever had. Ivan was so prepared to be baptized. I read through the baptismal interview questions in Spanish to him the day before his interview so that we could make sure that there was not anything else that we needed to go over, I felt such a peace come over him. He was so excited and nervous the day of. Uh...we may have forgotten to tell him to make sure to bring an extra change of undies to the baptism. So he gets to the baptism and he was all excited and ready but he had forgotten his towel and did not know that he needed extra boxers...yeah it was a bit funny...not sure how he overcame that issue and not really sure that I want to know...ha ha! Well the baptism went so well! Yesterday he was confirmed and it was one of the best days that I have yet experienced on my mission. Right after Ivan was confirmed he said that he felt and warm feeling come over him. He was grinning from ear to ear, I have never seen him smile that big before. He has been welcomed so well into our ward. I can hardly believe the change that has come over him. He is a forever friend to me. My mom does not know it yet but he is my long lost brother, it will be a bit exciting for her to know that she has a Mexican son that was lost at birth and who has a way better tan than her. Also he has no freckles or red hair. But no matter! He is still my brother and one of my dearest friends. I am so thankful that the Lord allowed us to teach him. 

We also got to go to the Relief Society General Session at out stake center Saturday night. It was just an all around beautiful weekend. They fed us this incredible food and we got to go with one of my favorite people ever, Jennifer. She is a recent convert. Well we were fed spiritually. I just cried through the whole session because I guess I had forgotten how much I love to be spiritually fed myself. Everything we do is to help the others around us learn and understand and for that short period of time I was able to just listen and try to soak in the goodness of their words. I have missed so much getting to have deep conversations about the gospel and about doctrine and yet I have grown so much in my testimony and the way that I feel about the Savior. I love the feeling of unity that I get when I am around all of these faithful women of the church. I was reminded in the session about how much the Lord loves His daughters and how very special we are to Him. Sometimes we all forget how much the Lord loves us personally because our lives are so busy. Take a moment to day to remember everything that the Lord did for you this last week then remember how much you mean to Him. He is so aware of you personally I know that it's true. I know that it is true because the Lord allows me to feel just a glimpse of the love that He has for the people of Kansas City Kansas, and believe me it is an awful lot. 

I pray all is well. Don't forget who you are in the midst of the noise of your cell phones, computers, ipads, or whatever else might drown out the whisperings of the Spirit. 

les quero muchissimo!!!!! 


Hermana Thorne

September 24, 2012- la semana pasada

Hola todos,

Oh como estan?!!!! Espero que todo esta bien y que ustedes estan leyendo sus escrituras y tratando a crecer mas circa de Dios. Les quero mucho!!! This last week was honestly AWESOME. Last p-day we went to this huge market place that is actually not at all far from our apartment. When we walked in I thought that I was in Mexico because it reminded me of shopping in Tijuana, but it was funny because it was also full of black vendors too. One of the places was selling teeth grills(golden teeth, also with jewels if you are really classy like that), don't worry I will be attaching a picture of the aforementioned grill vending. It was a nice trip to Mexico and it was not nearly as scary trying to get back into the United States as it was last year when I visited Mexico...

We are still teaching and preparing Lawanda and her daughter Tiana to be baptized although we have to move their baptismal date because of some information that we received while going over the baptismal interview questions with Lawanda last week. All will be well and we are hoping that we only have to push it back a week or two. I absolutely adore visiting their family. We have been teaching them a new primary song every time that we visit them because it is motivation for all of the kids to be quiet during the lesson. After the lesson is over we pray and the primary party starts, ha ha! They LOVE to sing these songs. The first one that we taught them was "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man". We then taught them "Head, Sholders, Knees and Toes" and this one makes them go crazy! They love it when we start out slow and do it faster and faster. Last time they begged me and Sister Castellano to have a battle together to see who could go fastest. They are amazed how fast we can do. I tell them that they will be that fast too once they have been doing it as many years as we have(thank goodness for my Primary rearing). They laugh and laugh and laugh and they love Primary so much. I never really realized how blessed I am to have had the chance to go to Primary and know all of these fun things. They are so much closer as a family and you can feel the love in their home. Can you even believe it? It is like night and day from when I first went over there. Everything that the Savior touches lives. 

So then that brings me to Ivan. Ah I love Ivan!!! This last week we have been finishing up the things that he needs to be taught because he is being baptized this Saturday. We also got to take him with us to the adult session of stake conference. Before we went to pick him up with our member friend that was driving us he asked if we could help him shop for some church clothes. We did not have a ton of time but of course we told him yes. We went to Marshalls and we were running around like mad people trying to hurry and find him church pants and shoes. He has never in his life worn a white shirt, tie, church shoes and slacks. I almost cried when he put it all on. He will be baptized on Saturday and then received the priesthood shortly after. He is a different person than when we first met him smoking outside his apartment on a bench. What a miracle. He was so prepared to hear the message of the gospel. I am so excited for his baptism!!! I will send pictures of him in his church clothes.

So stake conference was INCREDIBLE! I really would like to share with you all something that our stake president, President Priday, shared with us. These are ten keys to building a celestial home.
1) Make covenants and keep them.
2) Always be financially honest(never let money come between relationships and pay tithing first)
3) Have personal and family prayer. He said that family prayer is the best deterrent to sin and the best provider of happiness. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion.
4) Have personal and family scripture study.
5)Express love and show it. Remember how every time the Lord introduces His son He says "This is my Beloved Son". The Lord wants us to express love one to another.
6)Forgive and forget. Doctrine and Covenants 64: 9-11
7)Keep your voices down. Matthew 6:14-15
8)Be grateful
9)Make time for family.
10)Never give up. 
As I was listened to our dear stake president speak of how to create this type of home I knew within my heart that if I follow these steps I will be able to create a celestial home for my family. I do not want to settle for less. If we strive to have this, although we are not perfect we can be happy and have a save and enjoyable home for our children. I invite you all to read through these points, ponder and them, and then discuss them in your family. I know that you will see incredible results and success.

Well transfers are this Thursday. I am praying that I am not leaving Kaw River but the Lord knows my heart and where I need to be. I will of course let you all know how it turns out!

One of the pictures I am standing next to a member of our ward, Brother Netherland. He is cousins with Michael Jackson, no joke. His dad is brothers with Michael Jackson's dad. They never really hung out though because the Jacksons got rich and thought they were better than their poor family. True story. Then in another picture I am standing next to Michael Jackson...yeah it was a week of celebrities.

Les amo con toda mi corazon!

Hermana Thorne

Ps. I have to send the pictures in another email because this one is too big to send with them. :D