November 10th

Hey Everyone!

Once there was a couple who wanted to one up their neighbor. So this woman decided she would train her cat to speak. After months of hard work, she was finally ready to show the neighbors, but she wanted the press to be there as well. With everyone gathered around, the talking cat spoke. It said, "We should leave," and proceeded to jump off the table and run outside. The reporters and neighbors were so astonished. "Oh, wow! A talking cat!" "That's so incredible!" "How did you do that?!" By that point it was too late, an earthquake erupted and the house fell off the cliff killing everyone inside. This story was given on the Saturday night session of stake conference from a ward mission leader in Kamloops (originally from South Africa). He then asked us, "Are we so excited that we have a prophet that we forget to listen to what he is actually saying?" We laughed so hard. He was so bold. :)  He went on to tell us that President Monson has told us that the Lord is hastening His work of Salvation and we need to keep pace or we will be left behind.

I've been pondering how I can be a missionary when I get home. A few ideas have come to me, and I know they will come to you as you think about them too. “Missionary work is but home teaching to those who are not now members of the Church, and home teaching is nothing more or less than missionary work to Church members”  (President Harold B. Lee, pmg ch1).

We found 8 new people to teach this week! It was a huge miracle, because on Tuesday morning I just said a prayer asking the Lord what He wanted me to do for this last part of my mission and I was just feeling a bit discouraged because I noticed our teaching pool was dwindling and it really hit me how much I want people to have this. That day we found seven new people to teach. Seven! It was miraculous.

One of them is Arlene. She is First Nations and went to a Residential school when she was younger. As we taught her with our recent convert, the Spirit really came in. Arlene now wants her daughter Jordanna to meet us as well and I'm excited for this family. We also learned our RC's concerns as well, or at least some of them, about why she does not come to church each week. She doesn't have a ride and has terrible hips and has to walk a fair distance uphill! I was so happy to find that out finally.

Sister Brook and I really talked this week. We really opened up to each other and discussed a lot of the things. I told her about weaknesses I've been working on overcoming and realized just how much I need the Atonement. As I prayed this week, I really felt Atoning grace. I feel so deeply that the Atonement is so real. I know I need it. I think Ether 12:27 sunk even deeper for me than before. Sister Brook really opened up to me as well. Which was really huge for her. I really love her.

Love each of you! Hope all is well in Zion. ;)

Sister Thomson