August 4

Dear Family,

That last email was kind of a mistake... whoops.

Anyways, this week has been so good. We are in such a good area! I feel like I could be here for two years solid and still have so much more work to do. We just keep finding people who are ready. I don't really understand why. Maybe it's preparing me for 13 kids or something. (Hah. No.) But there are so many people who just need this in their lives. I feel like it's really humbling me because I just have to rely on God to help us sort through all these people that are showing real intent.

For example, we have been kind of disregarding this woman named Bonnie that was found several months ago because we never seem to make it out to her town, and when we do, we will call sometimes, but not working as diligently with her as we could have. We saw her on Saturday and had the most miraculous lesson. We taught the Restoration to her and she loved it. She even cried and told us about her relationship with God and how personal it was to her. When I invited her to be baptized, she told us, "I feel like I'm ready. I've been thinking and I think I've been ready for about a year now." And she really wants to! She came to church yesterday and loved it. And the most miraculous thing is that she was raised in a home where religion was really forced on her in a scarring way. When she prayed, she told God that she feels like she feels like she's finally found the end to her search.

We also have so many investigators that I have to constantly keep on the forefront of my mind or we might let them slip away. And there are so many more! Irma is down from staying up until 4 or 5 smoking, to going to bed at midnight! She is progressing and she finally opened a page of the Book of Mormon to read it. Our lesson with her was so powerful. We brought a recent returned missionary with us who just got off her mission in New Zealand. The Spirit was so strong you could cut it with a knife.

And Rachel is still reading the Book of Mormon! And we met her daughter Harriet who apparently saw an angel the first time someone gave her a Book of Mormon. We are going to see her on Tuesday.

And I left ten minutes to write my mission president.... but I could go on! This work is incredible. I read "Why We Share the Gospel" this morning by Elder Christofferson in this month's Ensign and it is the most perfect description of why we want to share this! I encourage you all to take the time to read it. I feel like I need to read it again and again to fully understand it.

I love this gospel. I love the Doctrine of Christ. I could be a missionary forever. I will be. :) I love you all and pray for your success in sharing the gospel in your unique ways.

Sister Thomson

PS. A certain country singer who will remain nameless was in Duncan this weekend. But it was okay, because John Bytheway is coming! And he is way better. So, we're going to his fireside in Victoria on Friday.