May 14, 2012

My favorite people in the world,

It was amazing, wonderful, fantastic, awesome, great to talk/ see you yesterday for Mother's Day.

Skyping home :)

 I decided to put S.T. Phone Home instead of E.T. Phone Home. ST stands for Sister Thompson (too bad I'm not an Elder, that would have been perfect!) It's crazy to think that I only have one more "phone home" before I go home. Missions go by so fast. It was weird hearing my name too. It almost sounded quite foreign to me. I'm sure I'm going to be a weird RM when I get home. ;) I thought I would start with my quote of the week. Given that it was Mother's day yesterday I thought it would be appropriate to share with you a quote about mothers. Sister Atkinson and I made Mother's Day cards for the widows/ older ladies in the ward and we included this quote. Enjoy!

"Sisters, we, your brethren, cannot do what you were divinely designated to do from before the foundation of the world. We may try, but we cannot ever hope to replicate your unique gifts. There is nothing in this world as personal, as nurturing, or as life changing as the influence of a righteous woman... All women have within their divine nature both the inherent talent and the stewardship to mother."

-Elder M. Russell Ballard

I love this quote. It is so true. There are some things in life that women/ mothers are uniquely good at. This past Sunday was a great reflection of my relationship with my mother. What an amazing woman she truly is. I am so grateful that she sacrificed for me and my siblings her time, love, space, and energy in raising, comforting, and supporting us. She truly is wonderful. While reflecting on my own mother, thoughts of my future children, as well as my Heavenly Mother brought me a great sense of my divine nature and divine potential. Being a missionary has also brought me a great desire to raise a righteous family and teach Gospel truths to them. It's amazing how meaningful life is when we have an Eternal perspective.

This last week was a busy one, yet I don't have a ton of stories to share. We had District Meeting here in Innisfail, met with a lot of ward members and less active members and were able to meet with Patrick (one of our investigators) last night. We finished teaching him the Plan of Salvation and that lesson went quite well. He still mentions that he is just trying to learn about his wife's church and has no intention of being baptized. I also took Matt's advice from our conversation and asked him to offer the closing prayer. He did it and it was wonderful. We'll see if we start actively teaching him anytime soon. It may be a while until then, but we can have faith can't we? :)

I'm excited for our Mission Tour this week. We are having Elder Walker (in charge of all the temple dedications) coming. I can't wait!!! It's going to be a blast. Also, the sun is out and it's actually gotten pretty warm 80+ F :) I even got a sister missionary tan AKA tan from just past the elbow down. Gotta love cardigans!!! :) Oh yeah, Congrats Kevin and Michelle on your marriage!!! I wish you both the best of luck in your journey through Eternity.

Oh, I forgot to mention last time a little more about Sister Atkinson. She is from Rexburg, Idaho. Her Birthday is May 29th. She has been out a transfer less than me and served in the Red Deer YSA Branch before here. She is so great. We get a long great! I love her. We've had some pretty great laughs.

Well, I love you all. Look for opportunities to share the gospel with those around you. I promise the Lord is preparing people. Open your mouth and He will fill it!

Love Always,

Sister Thompson

When in doubt eat cookies!!! :)