October 1, 2012

To the lovely people in my life,

What a week!!! This week was really long for me. Sister Roberts had a really bad cold so we spent a lot of our down time in the apartment. It was hard to find things to do while she rested. By the end of the week and her cold, I could not wait to get out of the apartment. Although she was sick, it did not stop us from working hard this week. We got only a few lessons short of what we usually do, Raj was Baptized, we had exchanges with the Kingsway Sisters, and we got a new investigator, Sophie, who is scheduled for Baptism on October 20th. :) Sister Roberts and I both feel so successful and blessed to see all the miracles that are coming our way. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!! I love having something to do every minute of every day and I realized this week that when I go home I'm not going to know what to do with all my free time. No wonder Return Missionaries are so weird. :) This week proved to me that I want to start school and get a job as soon as possible when I do get home.

I've already mentioned most the highlights from the week, but I wanted to go into a little more detail on each. First off, Fall is here! It's supposed to snow/ rain on Wednesday. (Which is the day before my first day in the field a year ago.) Winter is coming and I say, "Bring it on Canada!!!" I'm really excited this year for snow. We'll see if I'm still excited come January. We had exchanges with the Kingsway Sisters (aka Sister White and Sister Atkinson- both of which I served with in Innisfail.) As Sisters, we get to decide who goes where for exchanges. Usually Senior companions go with Juniors or you exchange with a sister that you haven't served with before. Since I had served with both (and not to look as though I was favoring one sister over the other) we decided to do a blind exchange. Both companionships prayed about who should go and we didn't tell each other until we met up to exchange. I ended up going to Kingsway with Sister Atkinson. It was a great time and I really enjoyed myself.

Our new Investigator is Sophie. She is amazing!!! She is from China and is studying at the University of Alberta. Her friend introduced her to the church back in the spring and she came with him a few times then. She was in China this summer and is now back. We asked her previously if she wanted to meet with us and she said she'd just ask her friend Emma and Rettie her questions. She has come to church more than 4 or 5 times and already read all of the Gospel Principles manual. She is also reading from the Book of Mormon often. Well, last Sunday she told Emma that she wants to get Baptized and Emma said, "That's great! Let's talk to the Missionaries!" We met with her three times this last week. On Tuesday we taught her about the Restoration and after reciting the First Vision we asked her if she felt anything. "No, but I will ask for a hint later." We explained what she would feel and how to recognize the Spirit. At the end of our lesson we asked her to give the closing prayer. After she did she put her finger in the air as if to stop us from saying anything. We waited for her to speak. "I feel something inside me. It feels really big!! I'm one of those crazy people!" She was so excited that she felt the Spirit. It was wonderful to help her recognize that. We met with her the next few days and she said that when she prayed on her own she felt the same feeling, but not as strong as when she is with us. During her prayer the third time we met this week she said, "I will be a faithful person for the rest of my life." That was so neat! She loves the church and is so excited to get baptized. She came to church again on Sunday. During Gospel Principles she was reading the scriptures/ manual via the LDS Tools app. It was so cute, she clicked on one of the highlighted words (such as gratitude or faith) and it took her to footnotes and cross references. As it did she got super excited "Oh! That is so cool!" She started giggling quietly as this was taking place during the lesson. She turned to me and said, "Is this how you know so many scriptures?" She thought that was the neatest thing. She kept selecting different footnotes and words as she grinned from ear to ear.

Raj is now the newest member of the Millwoods YSA Ward!!! Saturday was a fantastic day!!! Raj was beaming!!! Everything went so well. There were so many people who came. About 50 in all! Since it was such a great turn out we had to have the program in the Chapel and the Baptism in the Relief Society Room. Raj was so excited. Afterward he told us that as he went under the water it was as if everything went in slow motion. He said it was really neat. Sadly, none of his family came, but his Ward Family was there to show their support. He is sweet!!! It was awesome to teach him. Each time an investigator gets baptized it feels probably like when your child graduates from High School. You're excited for them,but they move on from needing your help. You're still their to teach, but it's different. Definitely exciting but Bittersweet.

Well, I love you all!!! I hope the weather in Utah or where ever you are is warmer than it currently is here.

 

With all my love,

Sister Thompson

P.S. the pictures are from Raj's Baptism and my Crazy District! Gotta love it!!! :)