Week 104

No Email from Patrick this week.  He is flying home tomorrow, Wednesday, June 18th.  Can't wait to welcome him Home.  He served an unbelievable and amazing mission in North Carolina.  I hope you enjoyed following him during these past two years.

Week 103

My Dear Family

Monday June 9, 2014 at 12:12 PM

Hola family,

This week has been really good.  Elder Graham is a machine!  He's such a good missionary.  We have really stepped up our game, especially in terms of asking referrals from everyone, and we received about 18 referrals last week, many of which came from members.  It was great.  We also found 5 new investigators, including a Colombian lady who wants to recruit us onto her life insurance company team.  Nice lady though :)

We taught this one family this week, and it was great!  The 4 kids actually sat on the couch with the mom for most of the lesson, quietly.  The 2 younger ones got up part way through, but it was great none the less :)  It is always amazing to be able to teach a family.  We are really hoping and praying that everything continues to go well and that they will be able to attend church this next Sunday.  Oh, as a side note, just in case you aren't going to recognize me enough as it is . .. .Y'all might want to sit down for this one.  Elder Graham and I, at the prompting of myself, volunteered to sing an A Capella Duet this next Sunday in Sacrament Meeting... Okay has everyone started breathing again.  I know, I even astounded myself.  :)  

Everything still hasn't sunk in yet.  Let me paint you a picture of my mind.  I feel like I'm standing in front of a dam that is holding back all the water.  The dam is slowly disintegrating, and I'm doing everything I can to plug the holes until next Wednesday, when the rushing waves will surely overtake me.  Or another example...I am standing there, in the middle of the Sahara desert, doing everything I possibly can to keep a pool of water from evaporating by covering it with my hands...

I don't know if that correctly elucidates the state of my mind, but in other words, I know that there is a looming upheaval that is about to occur, and all I'm trying to do right now, is simply push off addressing it until addressing it won't cause the rest of my work that I need to do to become disastrous.  AKA, I can't address it now, so I simply keep pushing it off, but eventually, my brain will explode :)  Happy thoughts ;)

So, on another note, I received 1 from grams and #102.   Also, congrats on your new calling.  :)  You're the man...well...sorta :)

I don't think I really have much else to say this week.  We have 2 exchanges with other missionaries on Tuesday and Wednesday; President is coming proselyting with us Thursday evening, and Elder Corbridge addresses us Friday (and Interviews Elder Graham and me.  This week is going to be a whirlwind week.  

We had our 1st transfer training meeting this past week as well.  It went really well.  That's a really fun meeting, getting to be with all the missionaries that we picked up a month prior and their trainers.  That transfer 7 sisters and 2 elders came in. so we had 15 sisters (one trio) and 4 elders.  Then on Wednesday we had our zone training meeting where the zone leaders asked Elder Graham and myself to give our instruction that we gave at the mission leadership council meeting last Friday.  It went really well, I would say even better than the first time :)  Good stuff.  Also, as a side note, you sure do bear your testimony a lot in this period of life :)  

We have found a lot of great potential investigators also.  One great experience we had this last week was when after dinner with one of my favorite families in the ward, we asked for referrals and they had one neighbor that had moved in recently, so we were going to go by and visit them.  Well, as we left their home, and the family walked out with us because the little daughter wanted to show us how she could ride a bike without training wheels, the neighbor walked by with her mail.  The wife of the family we were with began a conversation and we stood there all talking together for about 10-15 minutes.  It was a great experience that could have gone on the Hastening the Work website.  Members, Missionaries and Non-Members all together in the same place...that's what this work is all about.  We told the lady about what we do and then the father in the family, who is awesome, invited them to come over to dinner sometime when we come.  Because of these amazing experiences...all future invitations from this family to this neighbor will be infinitely easier. why? because they have already been naturally introduced to missionaries and know that we don't bite too hard nor do we stink too much :)  Then, to make a great story fantasticer...another 2 kids were playing outside a couple doors over, so we all went over and started talking with them, and then the mom came outside, and we started talking with her, us and the members, and now we have 2 families that are so much more prepared to accept invitations into their member friend's home to hear a message from set apart representatives of Christ.  Good stuff :) 

I got to be with Elder Bagley, my companion from Fayetteville, from Saturday to Sunday.  I love Elder Bagley.  He is such a good missionary and was such a good companion.  

Well, that's a wrap, my brothers and my sisters.

If you would like to email next week, I might probably have the chance to look at them, but if you don't email, that's okay too; it won't hurt my feelings...too bad ;)

Love y'all so much

Elder Thornton #1

Week 102

All is well in Zion...

Jun 4, 2014 at 3:23 PM

for some reason I feel that we are encouraged not to use that phrase...I think Nephi has a little something something to say about that :)  makes me wonder how it got put in Come Come Ye Saints.  Seems suspicious ;)

Anyways...

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and for you Spanish folk, iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHola!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for the update on me, I'm fine.  Everything is healing up just peachy.  Thanks for the concern :)  Tis much appreciated.  

So on Sunday, we had an incognito stake priesthood meeting that nobody knew about until they announced at church, and then even then, no one still knew what was going on.  We asked a high councilor about it on Monday, and he only found out about it that Monday.  Crazy stuff, so we almost went, but then didn't, but during the time it was going on, we saw some great miracles.  We saw this miraculous change occur in someone.  Elder Graham with his ever vigilant senses, saw this lady on a porch as we were trying to knock on a neighbor’s door, so we went over to talk with her as we left the neighbor and she was semi-frustratedly stuffing stuff (ooooh, good diction, Elder Thornton) into a backpack.  We started talking with her and she quickly expressed to us that she was very busy and had to go in and cook dinner (it being about 7:30).  Needless to say, we kept talking with her.  She told us that she was going through a hard time as her husband had informed her a week ago that he wanted a divorce and apparently the laws in North Carolina stink for getting a divorce.  Elder Graham, being the ridiculously good missionary that he is, opened up to Helaman 5:12, and asked if we could share a scripture with her that he thought she would like and appreciate.  We asked if she would read it.  She consented, and proceeded to read it in her head, (not exactly what we were going for, but better than nothing) and then walked over to her backpack where she started pulling out her phone to take a picture of that verse.  We told her, obviously, that she could keep the book, and she was super excited and grateful.  She said she really liked that scripture.  After sharing that scripture and allowing the Book of Mormon to be the ultimate teacher along with the spirit, the entire tone of the conversation changed.  We had her smiling and laughing, which was a huge change from the despondent aura she carried at the beginning.  By the end of this 30-40 minute conversation, she was telling us that she would love for us to come back and share more about the Book of Mormon and she would love to have us for dinner! :)  Such an incredible change of heart we witnessed through the power of the Book of Mormon...NEVER ever ever underestimate the power and impact of the Book of Mormon.  It can and will change people's lives.  :)  Fact.  She even called down her 20 year old son from the house to come and meet us.  He said he was busy making a bowl of cereal but eventually he consented to come meet his mom's new found Mormon friends :)  Good stuff for sure :)

Here's a super hilarious definition for you that Elder Graham accidentally humorously paraphrased from our neighbor with whom he was talking. 

Affluent:  When people are comfortable even though their lives are terrible :)  hahahahaha.  I thinks this is so funnies.

I bore my testimony on Sunday.  People said it was good; although honestly, I can't really remember much of what I said, but I do know that it was centered on Christ.  BTW, we had a good testimony meeting on Sunday...too bad we didn't have any investigators there, but there was a part member family.  

We instructed last Friday in our Mission Leadership Council and that went well.  Then on Tuesday, we had our first transfer training meeting for the newest missionaries and their trainers and that went really well.  And then today, our Zone Leaders asked us to give our instruction from Friday again, but this time to the Raleigh Zone, and that went well as well.  Side note: you sure give a lot of testimonies at the conclusion of a mission.  

Over the next couple weeks, we have about 5 exchanges or so, a mission tour with Elder Corbridge, and also, exciting news, Sister Edwards, the convert from Southport, will be going to the temple to make special covenants with Father next week as well!  I am so glad that it is before I leave.  I love that lady :)

I received a letter from Grams and also 101 from mom; however, I have not yet read 101.  I will have to wait until next week :)  

We are seeing some good excitement with our ward members for missionary work.  Hopefully, it continues to grow.  Oh, and I also received DJ's email letter.  Seriously though, missionary work aka helping my brothers and sisters experience the blessings of Christ's complete Gospel, runs in my blood now.  I love it.

And I love y'all too :)

Love,

Elder Thornton