Well Family and Friends. It is yet another week of being a Missionary and can I just say, "I LOVE IT!!!" The people here are fantastic and I feel so much at home here. Innisfail is one of my favorite areas. (Granted, I've only had two, but still- It's wonderful!).The following might be random, but I know you will enjoy the different stories I have from this week. Hmmm... Where to start?
Tuesday while at the Food Bank (doing service) one of the ladies there and I got talking about quilting. She does a lot of quilting and invited us over to have some of her fabric. She said she had tons of fabric she isn't using and asked me to come by and take some. I thought, "What am I going to do with fabric as a missionary? But hey, this is a great opportunity to talk with her." So we went over there and she wasn't kidding. She has TONS of fabric. We talked to her as I went through fabric and took some with me. It was great to talk with her. She is a widow (almost 80 I think). She wasn't super interested in learning about the Gospel, but as we left she said, "I really appreciated you girls coming by. You are welcome anytime. It meant so much to me to have you visit." That made me feel so great. I made a new friend and planted a Gospel seed. Sometimes it's just about planting the seeds. Well, with some of the fabric she gave me I whipped up a skirt in about a half hour during lunch one day. It's super cute! I don't have a picture, but I'll send one next week.
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| Me with Iris (the lady that gave me the fabric.) |
Later this week Brother McLeod (Recent Convert) ended up in the hospital for stomach pain. While visiting there we talked briefly to a woman that was in the visiting room. She was there for a broken leg. Anyway, the next day Brother McLeod called us and said, "That lady that you spoke to briefly yesterday is a member. I didn't get her name, but she said she hasn't been to church in a while." We decided to go stop by and talk to her. We didn't know her name or her room number (or if she was even still there) but we just walked around the small hospital and poked our heads in each room that was open. As we walked past one room we noticed a broken leg in a wheel chair and decided to check it out. It was her. We started to talking to her and as she said her name I recognized it from our ward list. She is a less active that lives in Bowden and we've never been able to contact her ever. We started talking to her about the church and she explained her story. It was a great visit and we went backt the next day to take her for a walk outside. We sang " I am a child of God" to her and talked about our Heavenly Father. She loved it and was so sweet. Her name is Eva Walker and we were able to let her Visiting/ Home Teachers know she was in the Hospital.
This week we tried multiple times to get a hold of Sister Bateman (less active). She never answered her phone and wasn't home when we stopped by. We had planned on sharing a message based on a quote by Elder Oaks. Saturday morning Sister Atkinson and I were studying and I said to her, "Maybe we haven't been able to visit with Sister Bateman because we're not supposed to share that with her. Let's pray about what we should share." As we finished praying we both said at the same time, "God is our loving Heavenly Father." Sister Atkinson immediately said, "Let's test that theory." She called Sister Bateman... Two rings, "Hello?" She answered and said we could come by that day! After Sister Atkinson hung up we both shouted with joy and were astonished at how perfect that was. Our lesson with her went great and was exactly what she needed. It's great to see how the Lord uses us as instruments in His hands.
Saturday evening Sister Atkinson and I were in Penhold. We decided to do some finding. As we walked up to this one lady's house we noticed a potted plant with what looked like a real butterfly on it. We took a closer look and it was a mechanical one that looked really pretty. Anyway, we knocked on the door and the lady that answered wasn't interested. As she said goodbye I said, "I just wanted to mention that I think your plant and butterfly are beautiful." I motioned to the plant on the front lawn. "That's not my plant." "It's not? Well, it's beautiful." She followed us off the porch as she went to expect the plant. She explained that she hadn't seen it before and that she had just retired so maybe someone left it there for her. Without skipping a beat (being my silly self) I threw my arms out and shook my hands (jazz hands motion) and said, "Surprise!" The lady looked at me like I was crazy and my companion muffled a laugh. Yep, slightly embarrassing. In the end she still wasn't interested. We got a good laugh about it afterward.
As we were driving back to Innisfail from Penhold I noticed a semi truck stuck in a ditch and a man sitting on the side of the road. I mentioned what I saw to Sister Atkinson and we decided to turn around. We pulled up and started talking to this gentleman. He is originally from India, his name is Sindra (I think), and he was just headed to Vancouver from New York. We talked for a while and then he asked (kindof out of the blue actually) "Do you have a book?" "Yes!" We went to our trunk and gave him a Book of Mormon. "Do you have a smaller book. Shorter to read?" We gave him the Book of Mormon and The Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and Family Proclamation pamplets. It was great to talk to him. He said we were the only people to stop by in the whole half hour he'd been there. It's amazing how Heavenly Father puts people in our paths. If we're too busy we might let them pass by.
Lastly, we had a special Stake Conference. It was Stake Conference on Sunday for all of Canada!!! Pretty sweet. They broadcasted it from Salt Lake City to all 47 Stakes and 3 Districts in Canada. Elder William Walker who had just visited our Mission conducted and Elder Christofferson, Packer, and Sister Stephens from the Relief Society Presidency all spoke to us. It was so neat. Some of the things they focussed on were temple blessings, developing daily gospel habits, being centered on Christ, serve others, and don't be ashamed of the Gospel. It was wonderful.
Well, I have run out of time. I love you all!!!
"Here's my Heart, oh take and seal it!"
Love Sister Thompson
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