Week 26

Dear Family,

I have nine minutes to write this. Here's a portion of my letter to President Tilleman:

We also met a man named Nathan this week.  We went to see a less active woman in the hospital, and her long-lost half-brother was there! He is half-Native and grew up Christian. He moved to Chilliwack to be closer to his kids (he's in his early twenties and recently separated from his wife). He said he's had nothing to do, so he's just been reading the Bible, going to the gym, and working. (I don't know how true that is, but he said he doesn't have a lot on his agenda.) We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and explained it's origin and invited him to read it. We read over some of the introduction and asked him if the Elders could come teach him, and he said yes! So we gave the Elders his number, and don't know too much beyond that, but we were really excited about it! :)

We also taught Jeanette this week and I think her heart is softening towards the idea of being baptized. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, but can't seem to get over the fact that we believe in being baptized by proper authority. But she has been reading the Book, so I think she will slowly soften.

Sister Tilleman told us at transfer meeting (I'm still in Chilliwack, but we went anyways because Sister Reed is still a greenie.) that we can always have more faith! She said she prays each time before she reads the Book of Mormon that her testimony of it will grow. Man! I thought I had a testimony of the Book of Mormon, but nothing like I have now. It really works! God grants us our righteous desires.

Other wisdom from transfers: "Seeking positions in the church is priest-crafts."--Elder Call

Being exactly obedient means we LOOK for the commandments. "We don't wait to get hit by a spiritual two-by-four at conference" in order to obey a commandment. --President Tilleman. We search out the things we think the Brethren want us to do. That's why we read the white handbook every day.

"An enduring convert is an endowed convert."--Elder Nelson

I love this church and I love God! If this wasn't true, I would have gone home a long time ago. But it is. :)

Love you all!
Sister Thomson

PS. We went to the Seik temple last Monday and ate free Indian food. And then got food poisoning. :) Moral of the story: never eat free Indian food. I'll send pictures next week.

Week 25

Dear Family,

Miracles this week:

We had a lesson with a woman in our ward who has done everything under the sun. In fact, she laundered 305 million dollars. When she went through the repentance process, she had to go to court and confess, but the only evidence they could find was $18,500 or something and so she's on probabtion for two years instead being in prison for twenty. She's told us a lot of her other past transgessions (we're not suppossed to talk about them.... but sometimes people just tell you....) and every time I see her, I feel the Spirit so strongly. She truly is a miracle and it always makes me think of the infinite and eternal sacrifice our Savior gave to us. I think it's easier to imagine Him suffering for a lie to our sibling or a petty theft, and the Atonement really taking care of that, but I think it takes a lot more faith to realize that the Atonement has worked on this woman as well. And she's letting it! If she can forgive herself, how much more should we be able to forgive ourselves! I am always amazed by the power of the Atonement when I see her. I feel it so strongly when we visit her. It is a real power, and can save anyone. It does not matter how far we've gone as long as we are sincere in coming back, no matter how hard the process may be. Repentance is worth it.

We also were going to close a lesson with a member when her roommate walked in. I invited her to come pray with us, and she did! Our member was floored. After the prayer, I started reading Alma 22 with her, and the Spirit was so strong! She got really excited, and wanted to read it really badly. She actually started reading 1 Nephi 1 on the spot. She's Native and has hated Christianity for years.... Miracle!

So....yes. Happy St. Patricks Day. Six-month mark is tomorrow. ....... So. That's all. 

Love you all!

Sister Thomson

Week 24

Dear Family,
 
On Saturday afternoon we asked our dear ward member Sister Schmidt if she'd had any missionary opportunities recently. This is what she said.
 
First she proceeds to tell us a story about how she decided to share the gospel with her friend Janice who is Buddhist and then about how she is sharing the gospel with the guy that played Jesus on Son of God. I was really starting to feel trunky about this area..... 5+ months in the bible belt.... but then we visited her and I remembered why I am here.
 
So she watched this movie with a girl in our ward and the girl was like, Sister Schmidt, now would be such a perfect time to share the gospel with him. He just played Jesus. Sister Schmidt looked on her facebook and remembered her friend Penelope Streisand happens to be the agent for Aaron Eckhart. Or something. Anyways she got them to have lunch. I don't know how effective it will be and I don't think half of you are even going to believe this, but it's true. Sister Schmidt used be in the entertainment business..... she says she wandered in the desert for 40 years.... anyways. Sister Reed and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. And we're teaching Janice this week. When we ran into Janice outside the apartment about a month ago, she was semi-interested, but didn't want us to come back. So pretty much I just love this woman so much. There's a reason President Kimball blessed her to be a missionary....
 
So. On that note. We taught a Seventh Day Adventist woman this week because we talk to everyone! She was walking by when we were on our way to an appointment and she told us she was strong in her faith, but then she started to cry. She asked us to pray for her husband because he's been struggling with a drug addiction and had gone missing the previous night. I was like, of course we will pray for you! Can we come back later this afternoon and pray with you in your home? :) :) So we did. And shared a Book of Mormon. And we're going back on Wednesday.
 
Also Sister Reed and I went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders this week. Sister Reed and Sister Facer went to a street that Sister Allen and I went to a month-and-a-half ago. There is a guy that is born-again and asked us a bunch of questions like, "Who is God? and "How did you come to know your church was true?" He hung on our every word looking for flaws, but we weren't confounded. :) This was the guy that got kicked out of temple square. Anyways, when Sister Reed and Sister Facer knocked on his door, he didn't even bother!!!!!! He told them Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet and the Book of Mormon was false, and before they could get a word out, he just started to pray for them. He said, "Oh God, I know I can't convert them, but you can!" Please save their souls... or something. Anyways. :) It just made me sooo happy. Sister Allen and I were in there for an hour with him and his wife wanting to attack everything, but this time he just gave up! Somehow this was so ridiculously satisfying.
 
Sister Reed is getting better at testifying. She is really amazing me all of the time. She is just so good at things! She has so much faith, and doesn't let fear get in the way of sharing the gospel, even if they aren't very nice. I'm so proud of her. :) She is seriously the best. Pre-trained.
 
That's all. The church is true. The Atonement works. Pray that I am transferred next week. Just kidding. I love Chilliwack. ish.
 
Okay quick thought about the Atonement. I really am struggling with the whole training thing. I'm just trying to be humble enough to believe that I can do this. (PMG teaches saying you can't do something the Lord asks of you is a sign of pride.) So on Sunday, (and Saturday, and Friday, and Thursday.....) I was feeling really inadequate and by Sunday I couldn't take it anymore! After letting a couple walk by while I was sitting in the car, because I was too weighed down to talk to them, I went home and repented. And it felt so good! I had strength for the rest of the day, and I really  know it's only the Adversary that wants me to be weighed down and feel like I can't do this. The Atonement is so real. It takes care of all everything.

Also I know this church is true. It's such a miracle to literally see people's faces change as we testify of the truth. People will be so mad! but as we testify of the truth, their hearts really do soften.

Love you all!
Sister Thomson

PS. Someone showed me a picture of our new mission president yesterday. No. I don't want a new one. Who is this person and why is President leaving us. Only two more transfers........

Week 23

Dear Family.

This week I met an apostle, two members of the seventy, had my first baptism, and got to hear my mission president and his wife speak THREE times. In a row. Does it get better than that? Nope. Oh and I'm twenty now.

Here is what Elder Christofferson said about President Tilleman. (I wrote it down word-for-word.)

"We don't have a better mission president and companion in this church. I don't know what it is that you did to deserve to be here, but congratulations on whatever it was."   So I can confidently say now, this really is the best mission in the world. Really.

So here was our week: Monday--Thursday: cry a bagillion times because Satan knew something awesome was coming and tried to pull out all the stops. Did he win? Nope. Friday: fast all day in preparation for Saturday and then have the first mission conference in YEARS and years because our area is so big. We went to my favorite place to go finding (Cultus Lake) and then went to our mission confrence. Then we got lost in Vancouver trying to find the apartment we were staying at.... Saturday: Sat at the feet of a legitimate apostle of God. Sunday: Special Confrence for our stake with Elder Aidukaitis and President and Sister Tilleman AND the baptism of Pierre. So.

That's what happened. I'm going to send a spiritual letter in a minute but that was the layout of our week. And here is a picture of what heaven is going to look like.