Week 59

August 5, 2013

My Eastern Coast Buddies

Hey Family,

Hope life is going swimmingly for y'all.  Life's going pretty well for me.  However, sometimes I feel like I'm working ridiculously hard and not accomplishing anything (or at least now what the Lord needs me to accomplish)...I don't know...it's hard.  There are just so many things you can and need to do and simply not enough time to do it...

So, letters last week...I don't remember...I think I got one from mom and grandma...Oh, and 2 weeks ago, I received 1 from amber and brad with a lot of great pictures in it :)  I liked it. 

Honestly I don't know what to tell you for this past week.  The Allen's are doing ridiculously well.  Bro and Sis Allen went and walked around the temple grounds last week.  They're great.  We love them to death.  Bro. Allen loves coming on exchange with us.  :) 

We had a lesson with the gypsy lady last week, where she like stared into my soul through my eyes (or at least she thought she did) and I think she thinks she unveiled the mysteries of the universe by doing so, or something to that effect.  When Elder Nelson was bearing his testimony to the gypsy lady and her actually interested cousin, she just started staring at me...like...very creepily.  I wasn't even the one talking so it made it really awkward.  Elder Nelson got super confused when he saw her staring me down mid testimony that he stopped briefly and looked at me too.  As the other companion, I'm supposed to be watching the investigators' responses etc, but it's really weird when the one person just stares you down like she's trying to turn me to stone.  I made eye contact for a few seconds and then couldn't take it anymore and broke it, looked at her cousin, then at Elder Nelson, and then back, and she hadn't moved.  Freaked me out a little.  Then after about 15 seconds of this, she breaks it, puts on this ridiculous smile like she just discovered the succeeded in untying the Gordian Knot and settles back in her chair like she's queen of the universe.  Super weird.  At the end, she says to us...you three are special (us and our exchange), then she looks at me and says, What are you afraid of...in her creepy insidious gypsy voice.  All the while bobbing her head around and staring creepily...I wish I had the whole thing recorded...it's hard to put it all into words...good stuff though...

oh...crazy story...so we ate at this member's house last week who happened to serve his mission in Colombia.  So....like a professional...I asked him if he ever happened to know an Elder Fink (I like asking these things because you just never know)...well turns out he does...in fact...Elder Fink was his trainer in Colombia.  Crazy stuff, right??  Anyways, he wants Bro. Fink's contact information if you could get me his phone number, email,.  Good story though, right?

Lastly, I will end on a spiritual note.  It's truly amazing how much the Lord cares about us.  He knows us inside and out.  He is in the details of our lives.  He never forsakes us.  Last week, we were biking to go visit an investigator of ours that we have had limited contact with over the past week...on the way there we happened to bike by this members house that the member had moved away about 2 weeks ago...(we helped her move).  Well, as were biking by, she happened to be outside, so we stopped and were able to talk with her and we said a prayer with her.  She informed us to the fact that as she was driving here from Cary, where she now lives, she just was feeling down or something, and I think she prayed about it, and felt and decided that she just needed to put it into the Lord's hands.  Not long after that 2 missionaries show up.  I want to promise anyone who reads this that if we will just strive to do the Lord's will, he will immediately bless us (see Mosiah 2:24).  When we take 2 seconds to exercise our faith, even in the smallest of degrees, He provides miracles.  I've seen it time and time again.  I know it's real.  Don't ever doubt it. 

Scriptures of the week is one I came across in my studies...I absolutely love this scripture.  It's in an Isaiah chapter to boot, which gives it bonus points :)  It's 2 Nephi 27:23.  So powerful.  "For behold, I AM GOD; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith."

Ridiculously powerful....the Lord speaking and just declaring who He is and His power.  He is God.  and You'd better believe he can and will do miracles.  He doesn't change, so he will NEVER stop doing miracles in our lives if we will simply exercise our faith in Him.  For if we do, he will work AMONG us...right here with us...helping us do what we need to do, even when it seems impossible.

I love the scriptures...especially the Book of Mormon.  If you don't love them too, start now :)

Thanks for being the best family ever...

Love,

Elder Thornton