Letter from August 20, 2012

Well hi'ya!

It's been a looooonnnng week here in the 'Dell. Halfway through the week things got crazy with an insane little bike wreck I had that has left it hard to work. The problem is the curbs here in the south - rather than sloping down to meet the road, they just drop off at a 90 degree angle, and so to get off the curb you have to jump off it on the bike. When you do so, you want to be standing on your pedals to cushion the landing, and when I came down my front tire landed on a rock and caused my right foot to slip into the V of the bike frame and push the bike down, trapping me underneath the dragging bike until I came to a stop. I got up afterwards and was so dazed and in pain that I just started walking and biting my tongue, and some power line worker got off of his truck and came over to help. What a nice guy. After we washed off the blood, I started talking to him (still in my dazed state mind you) and somehow ended up giving him a pass along card. Ridiculous. Final verdict, Ruined and torn bloodstained pants (my favorite pair!), and torn up elbow that doesn't quite want to bend straight too often, a sprained wrist, and a crazy knee cap. Boom.

 

So while it sounds like some crazy experience, really I just looked stupid and make my life that much harder. I can't really ride my bike too well, so we are walking everywhere and that kinda limits where we go and stuff, but alas, we're still working!! (despite the blisters haha) And look on the brightside - I was actually able to be kneeling while praying for the first time in days yesterday! We're making progress people.

 

But in the work, we've been able to find a few people, but nothing is progressing too rapidly. Our Cajun investigator once again didn't keep her commitments, but we are really pushing to get her reading the Book of Mormon again, because it was when she did that she recognized a need to be baptized and come to church without us telling her. Revelation through the Book of Mormon is a real thing, that's for sure. But she has asked us a few questions that are stemming from the news media's coverage of Mitt Romney regarding temples, garments, and other fine points of doctrine, and she is really open to our explanations which is cool. She even invited us over to watch an hour long documnetary about the "mormons" which is good so we can help her avoid any anti-literature, etc. So hopefully she finally follows through this week. Hopefully.

 

For some reason, we keep finding a lot of old people, mostly single widows, and that is an interesting process for sure. Most of them would love to sit and talk about Jesus, but when it comes to doing anything about it, they fall short.

 

BUT - we had an epic day of finding on Saturday. It started off by teaching a lesson in the middle of a park, then contacting at a Farmer's Market and finding a former investigator who wants us to come back (don't worry, all of the vendors were more than happy to offer up free samples to the Jesus people), then ran into a biker gang holding an outdoor classic rock concert, then got pulled into some apartment by a guy who had met with missionaries in California and was crazy drunk, killer on the guitar, and unable to eat food without choking. It was crazy. Then that night we got home an hour early, and I was committed to doing something, anything, to help invite someone to learn more, but seeing as we were limited to our immediate area on foot, we sat there an brainstormed and came up with nothing.

 

 I knew that there was someone somewhere who the Lord would lead us to if we simply asked, so I offered a prayer asking for guidance and right away I had the thought "go to the gas station" "please, why would I go there" "go to the gas station!" So, I figured why not, and dragged my companion out the door into the rainy night. When we got there it was just us and the attendant, and I really didn't want to talk to her, but a similar conversation happened in my head so I just asked the first question that came to mind and voila! we had a good 20 minute conversation about tolerance and religion and left her with a mormon.org card. It went to show me that a) the Lord is willing to guide you to those he has prepared if you simply turn to him and ask and b) the spirit is absolutely neccesary in finding, because He truly is preparing people everywhere to hear the restored gospel and it is my responsibility to find those people through my own efforts, as directed by the spirit. It was a small but powerful experience that helped me to see the reality of our Lord and the Holy Ghost. The church is true, I promise!!

 

Love,

Elder Thomas

 

Letter from August 13, 2012

Howdy Y'all!

 

Boy, it sure feels like it has been forever since I wrote home. A lot has happened in that time period and needless to say, this past week has been a difficult one for me personally, but a great one for the work. My new companion and I have really put an emphasis on two things while finding - 1) using the Book of Mormon, because after all it contains the fulness of the gospel, and it truly is the keystone of our religion and 2) testifying to everyone. Anyone who has studied Preach My Gospel chapter 9 will know the emphasis put on this, and as we have implamented both of these ideas into our finding, as well as seeking the guidance of the spirit as we find, we have been able to touch more people, and gain a lot of potentials to try back, which is truly a blessing. As we testify, the Holy Ghost beares witness of what we say, and it gives people the opportunity to act on or reject our message, and it really has opened my eyes to the power that comes as a witness of truth is borne.

 

So we have spent a lot of time helping my new companion meet the members, our investigators, and as stated, finding. Yet once again I have found frustration with investigators not fulfilling committments. I just wish people could understand the importance of our message, because if they did every committment would be met without a doubt. That will be my focus this week as we teach - help everyone see how the restored gospel can be a blessing in their life and why accepting it as a part of their life is important.

 

I am really excited for the opportunites that we have been given this upcoming week to teach many people, and I have a firm hope that lives will be touched as we invite the Spirit into the lessons. One of the great things that I have realized is the principle stated in the beginning of Alma 32 - those who are humble, by circumstance or other means, are more willing to accept the gospel. I have seen some amazing reactions to the Book of Mormon as it has been an emphasis for us - those who are humble see how it really meets needs that they didn't even know they had. Gah, I just love the great opportunites afford me a missionary. Amazing.

 

Also, this past week has been a learning experience for me regarding the doctrine of grace. It is such a beautiful doctrine, and I feel like sometimes we are hesitant to discuss it because our beliefs regarding it are slightly different from the beliefs of others. The Bible Dictionary reads, "It is . . . through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means." As different trials have entered my life this past week, grace has been the crutch I have relied on to make it through them and to carry on the Lord's work. Grace truly is an "enabling power" that can help overcome whatever obstacles stand in our way, but it is only through faith in Christ and our sincere desires to serve Him that we are able to invite that grace into our lives. The instant I acknowledged a need for divine assistance, it was there in an instant, and it can be the same for all of God's children. Truly our Savior is waiting with open arms to help us in all things, but we must turn to him first. When we do, we will be able to "recieve strength and assistance" in all things because of His sacrifice. What a reasurring knowledge we have, which knowledge has come about because of the restored gospel. The Church is true, I promise!!

 

Much Love,

Elder Thomas

 

Letter from August 7, 2012

Alright alright!! How Y'all doin'?? (The typical response to the question "How are you?")

It's been a whirlwind week, that's for sure. This morning I said goodbye to my trainer and am getting ready for my next companion, Elder Peterson. It's just crazy to look back and realize how quickly time passes - it seems like just yesterday that I was driving into Slidell for the first time late at night, and now 3 months are over. Makes me realize that every moment matters.

 

The work has been slow this week - despite our efforts we found no success and our investigators didn't progress this week. I was especially bummed that our cajun investigator didn't come to church or keep her committment to read. Sometimes it's frustrating as a missionary to see people not use their agency, but in the end it's that agency that makes the restored gospel such a blessing, so I suppose there's no room to complain.

 

However, another longtime investigator (the first person I ever taught if I recall correctly) has begun to make small progression. She is a great example of the apostasy - she picks and chooses different doctrines from different religions. I don't think it is possible for someone to understand or embrace the plan of salvation better than she has. In our lesson this past week she said "I want to make it to that highest place (the celestial kingdom) but I don't agree with what you're saying (reffering to the neccesity of preisthood authority)." She just won't connect the dots. But she realizes that something is missing, and now it's up to Elder Peterson and I to help her realize that he gospel will fill the void.

 

Also, there have been some great adventures this week, like finding shelter from a storm at another church, eating alligator for the first time (SO GOOD!!), finding out that there was a gunfight at our apartment complex, hunting a possum, and many other great times. This mission sure is unique in its challanges, but it is such a great learning experience. A college for life if you will.

 

Well, that is really all for this week, but the next week promises to contain some great experiences as we diligently strive to find and teach.

 

The Church is true, I promise!! Love you all!

 

Elder Thomas

Letter from July 30, 2012

Hola!

Well once again it was another productive and phenomenal week here in the 'Dell. It's crazy how fast time passes - my companion goes home in 17 days and my Zone Leader leaves in 9. Needless to say, it has been hard to stay focused, but we are doing our best and seeing success as we do so. This week all of the crazy rain went away and was replaced with ridiculous heat and humidity. The weather in the South is bi-polar.

Things have continued moving along with our Cajun investigator, and we taught her the entire Plan of Salvation yesterday and she loved it. There wasn't a single doctrinal hangup, which was truly great for us. It was frustrating, however, because she missed our appointment on Saturday so she didn't come to church. She is just the funniest little lady - always making fun of us, giving us cooking tips, and marital advice. It really is so much fun teaching her, and it is a perfect example to me of what charity is, because I cannot feel anything but love for her. We have another appointment this week, and hopefully she progresses towards making covenants with our Heavenly Father.

In terrible news, the man that I have written about in the past who was struggling with cancer might be terminal with only 3 - 6 months to live. His quick slide from health to sickness has really reminded me that life is truly fragile and precious. But, as I have previously said, the Plan of Salvation is one of the greatest blessings in our lives - the ability to have a sure hope that we will be united again as families. I just hope that he can find peace, comfort, and joy in the remaining months.

 We did have an amazing experience with our recent convert, Joey, who has demonstrated remarkable change over the last two weeks. His whole demeanor has changed, and we have been able to see a deeper and clearer understanding of the principles of the gospel within him. He and his wife have found true joy together as they have committed themselves to follow the example of our Savior, and it has strengthened my testimony that the gospel truly does bless not only individuals, but families as well. Through the knowledge it brings we can find the capacity to forgive the unforgivable, apply the balm of Gilead to our wounds, and find true healing from the pains of this mortal life. Boy, I just love this gospel so much.

 As a whole, this week has been a great learning experience for me in how to answer our accusers in the Savior's way. We had a guy yell at us about Mitt Romney at a door approach and slam the door in our faces. The next day a woman started laughing at us as we taught her the restoration. Others won't even bother to say a word to us, but rather point away and direct us to leave.To quote Elder Hales,

 "When we do not retaliate—when we turn the other cheek and resist feelings of anger—we too stand with the Savior. We show forth His love, which is the only power that can subdue the adversary and answer our accusers without accusing them in return. That is not weakness. That is Christian courage."

I have truly learned that this week. Overcoming the natural reaction of anger and demonstrating Christlike love to those who would confront us takes self-mastery, but rewards us with a feeling of peace and the knowledge that we overcame the natural man and stood shoulder to shoulder with the Savior. We demonstrated Christian courage and will be blessed accordingly. What a blessing it has been for me to learn and apply this lesson in my everyday life as a missionary! The church is true, and the gospel blesses lives if we but live it, so to pull the most cliche quote possible, just do it.

 

Love,

Elder Joshua Thomas

More pictures -- finally!

Letter from July 23, 2012

G'Day Mates!

 

This past week has been absolutely crazy. We had two straight days with flooding, and rain almost every other day. As I write to you now, the library is being hammered with rain, and the forecast does not look too friendly to the work in a bike area. But, it did bring about some great stories:

 

-On the first day of flooding, we were at the Zone Leader's apartment grilling some steak that an investigator gave us on our brand new grill that we were given, and the rain was so bad that there was a good 18 inches of water in their yard. So, being the adventerous souls we are, we headed out into the flood. As we made it out to the street, we saw a car down the road that had driven into the ditch on the side of the road, and the back end was sticking up in the air. Perfect chance for service. After a concerted effort, we finally got the car out, but we were all covered in mud and water from head to toe, so, since everywhere was water, we jumped on in to rinse it all off. Not only did we help out someone in need, but we had quite the experience ourselves.

 

-The next day, we were out tracting in a constant but light drizzle, when in an instant it turned into hurricane status winds and rain. It was literally falling sideways. My companion and I ran as fast as we could to the nearest tree, but it wasn't doing a thing to help. The noise was so loud that we were yelling to hear each other within a few feet of each other. After a couple of minutes we saw a porch in the distance and ran under it and knocked on the door to see if we could stand there until the storm passed. They invited us in and offered us a towel and a ride to our apartment. We started talking about who we were, and the guy, named Fred, said he knew all about us and "your angel Moroni. I've studied about it." He politely said that he wouldn't be changing his religion, but offered an invitation to attend his Church's service the following night. Cue the next story.

 

-Saturday Night Gospel Fest at Starlight Missionary Baptist Chruch. Unbelievable. I have never seen a group of old people get up, sing, and dance with their hands in the air while shouting "amen!" and "hallelujiah!" It sure put a new spin on worship. It was actually not a service, but a music program featuring a whole slew of worship bands. It was louder than some of the rock concerts I've been to in there. At one point this older guy and his 25 year old daughter were literally screaming at each other on stage - "Amen!" "Louder!" "AMEN" "LOUDER!!" "AMEN!!!!!!!!!!" and so on. Crazy. Then this group from New Orleans gets up, and let me paint this picture for you - three very large women in velvet dresses singing "Lord deliver us" every two measures or so echoing the lead singer, who was a tall, buff, and bald guy wearing a white suit with blue plaid shorts and white kicks. After singing the first half of the song in his falsetto (to the audience's delight), he started going up to random people and making them sing. Boy, I sure wish I could paint a better picture for y'all. Classic. All about the memories.

 

-We had an AMAZING experience with one of our longtime investigators on Sunday. She an old cajun woman in her early 60s, and both parties love the lessons because it feels like a group of friends talking. That's the way that I wish all investigators were. We covered Alma 36 with her, emphazing the idea of change. She read verse 3, and then stopped to say that she lost her trust in God over the last few months because of individual circumstances, but through our visits and her reading of the Book of Mormon, she has begun to rebuild that trust and feel hope again. It was amazing to hear someone open up like that. As we finished the chapter, we asked her an open ended question: "What are some things that you think you can change to come closer to Christ?" Her response was golden: "I need to start coming to church, and I want to fast for this week to understand the bible (Said while holding the BofM up) better" This was amazing because in our early lessons before she dropped us a month ago, her major concern was coming to church, and here she is asking to come to church. There was an obvious change in her heart, and the cause was easily identified - reading on her own from the Book of Mormon. She actually kept her committments to read, and as she has done so, she has become more and more receptive to the Restored Gospel. And the amazing thing about the whole situation is this - on her own the investigator started talking about being baptized, although she has made it clear to us that she does not feel ready. However, that is a huge step, because she is asking the questions herself and seeking to find what is best for her. I am just amazed by the revalatory power of the Book of Mormon.

 

This is what missionary work is all about - helping others repent, to sincerely make changes in their life to come closer to Christ - and every single experience that we have with her strengthens my testimony that the Lord prepares people to hear the message of the Restoration, and that revalation truly does come through the Book of Mormon. What a beautiful gift that we've all been given - the ability to come closer to our Savior through modern scripture, translated by the restored power of God here in the latter days. Do we use it to its full potential? Do we sincerely put forth the effort to study it and seek to find God's will for each of our lives as we do so? This experience with my investigator has recommitted me to do so in my own studies of the Book of Mormon, and already I have seen amazing results, and I know that the same can be true for each of us if we sincerely seek truth and pray with real intent - a committment to act on the guidance we recieve regardless of it's content.

 

The Church is true and the book is blue! I hope you all have an amazing week!

 

Love,

Elder Joshua Thomas

Letter from July 16, 2012

Howdy Folks!

This has been an action packed week here in Slidell, so I will try and share the highlights:

-We caught an alligator. Well, kinda. It was already dead, but still. We even skinned it and kept the leather!! It was too good to be true. As soon as my camera works again I will send the pictures.

-I caught my first fish!!! It was a huge bass down in the upscale development in our area, Eden Isles. I kept getting a ton of bites, but the fish were so big that they kept breaking my line. But finally we caught one that was about a foot long. Hopefully we can get the pictures off of the phone so I can show y'all, but man oh man, it was a blast.

-While serving a member, we ran into a 4 foot Water Moccasin (very poisonous mom ;)) and chased it with shovels, but couldn't catch it, much to the member's dismay. But as a result, I stepped into a anthill and now my leg is swollen up from the ant bites. I guess you get what you deserve, eh?

Moving past the wildlife, there were many spiritual experiences throughout the week:

-I met President McDonough! He is such a nice and wise man, and I am looking forward to serving with him. We had interviews at our individual apartments because he was touring the mission with the AP's, and so it was a humbling experience to kneel in prayer with my president by my bed (they were held in the bedroom) and to seek the Lord's guidance. Already I know that he is called of God because of the things he has shared with me. He definitely has the spirit with him, that is for sure.

-We have an investigator with a baptismal date!! :D It came out of nowhere too, which is the cool thing. He is a referral that we recieved a month and a half ago, but who we dropped this past Friday because it always fell through. Come Sunday, his grandparents invited us to their home to teach him, and the lesson was absolutely perfect. It was one of my first real experiences teaching with a member present, and it was truly a blessing. Having his grandparents bear testimony of Joseph Smith, the Restoration, and the Book of Mormon allowed the spirit, the greatest teacher of all, to testify to this young man. I truly felt the spirit bear testimony of the Book of Mormon and the blessing that it can be in our lives. There are a lot of obstacles to overcome in this situation, but I have hope that he can exert the faith needed to overcome these obstacles and come closer to his Savior. This past week we spent a significant amount of time tracting and contacting, and it bore no fruit. But we kept working and the Lord blessed us with this unexpected experience. It has taught me that our prayers will be answered according to the Lord's will and His time schedule. As with all things, patience, faith, and diligence are needed to find those that the Lord has prepared.

I love this work, and despite the constant rejection, insults, and the ever tiring bike riding, I love all that I am blessed to do as a servant of the Lord. I have been reminded throughout this past week of the blessing that the Priesthood is in my life, and the blessings that are available through it at the temple by living in a manner consistent with the covenants made therein. This gospel has changed my life and I wish that everyone would realize the blessing it could be in their life. I will forever be in debt to our Savior for his loving sacrifice, and for the blessing of living in a time where the fulness of the gospel has been restored because of the true joy that I have found along the path of discipleship. While all of us find ourselves straying from that path at some time or another for a slew of varying reasons, Christ's "hand is stretched out still," regardless of what we have done. (2 Nephi 19:21) I am so grateful for the blessing of the Atonement and for the enabling power of His grace. The Church is true, I promise!!

Love,

Elder Thomas