We'll Harvest this Field from Sunrise to Sunset!

Monday, January 25, 2016

Running Out of Creative Titles

Dear Family and Friends,

A little bit about my area:

Roberts. Roberts is the small little town we live in. It has it's own
Highschool for some reason. Every little town thinks they need a
Highschool which makes for really small graduating classes. The people
in Roberts don't like us very much, probably because that's where the
missionaries live, so their doors have been knocked on so many times.

Red Lodge is where we like to go street contacting. We have a really
good friend named Lyn in one of the shops there. She is Lutheran but
she lets us come in and chat for a few minutes while she is working.
We got her to commit to watching Cokeville Miracle though! I hope she
let us teach her the lessons eventually.

We're having a hard time doing much in Columbus or Absarokee because
they are an hour away and we don't have a member to stay with in
either place right now. Normally the ward mission leader's home is
available for us but right now their grandson, who is on probation, is
staying with them. However, we did receive a referral for someone in
that area last week. Her name is Shyanne.

Joliet is our golden town. We have two investigator families there,
the Pratts, and the Hunts. This is also where we have been most
successful in contacting less-actives.

This week I got claustrophobic as I did my typical indoor morning
workout, I just wanted to go running no matter how cold it was
outside. Elder Ross refuses to work out with me in the mornings, so
when I told him I wanted to go running, he offered to drive the truck
behind me! Way better than sleeping.

We had some really cool experiences this last week. We contacted the
Referral that we received right at the beginning of the week. When we
got there, Shyanne's older sister, Eliza, answered the door. She is
super cool and she talked to us the whole time. When Shyanne came up
she didn't seem to excited to see us but slowly began to open up to
us. She has a few issues she needs to work through, but we're super
hopeful.

There was a worldwide missionary broadcast this week as well! It was
super cool. I think Elder Bednar's was my favorite talk. He talked
about the fact that we can carry the message unto there hearts, not
into their hearts. We can't make them accept the gospel, but we can
help by being worthy of the spirit and having a strong presence of the
spirit. I left that meeting feeling so excited to just go out and
serve!

We taught the Pratt's twice again. The first time they hadn't read
again but the second time, both Brother Pratt AND Kevin read! Sister
Pratt... Well she had a busy week. We read through with them once more
and were plan on moving on with the discussions next time if at least
two of them have read.

We met President Johnson in Joliet on Saturday to deliver a bed, food,
and some furniture to a family that just moved in. Sister Hunt is a
less-active single mom with two I baptized girls, an 11 and 9 year
old. They were very grateful. She doesn't have a job right now and
they are living off of food stamps and disability, but she is looking
for a job in the area. We carried the bed, mattress and furniture in
and then Elder Ross and I got to know the girls while President
Johnson and Sister Hunt talked for a minute. Soon we were all laughing
as the girls read us some US President's Trivia cards and we messed up
the answers every time. It was a ton of fun. Their mom asked if they'd
like to start meeting with the missionaries again and they both
excitedly said yes. We are excited to start meeting with them!

We've been trying to contact less-actives and former investigators. We
were able to contact a former investigator this week named Kathy. We
didn't get to talk to her for long but she said that we could come
back on Saturday.

Probably the coolest event this week was going to the Joliet vs.
Absarokee basketball game. We love going to these games because we are
able to be seen and to meet people. This last week as we walked into
the game, we went to talk to a young man in the ward named Brigham
Smith. He was sitting by all of his friends and we were a little
worried that he might be embarrassed by us. Right as we were about to
talk to him, a young 13 year old boy at a table next to him asked us
where we worked. A perfect opportunity! We told him we were
missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
"Mormons," and that we go around telling people about Jesus Christ. He
immediately said, "tell me." So we sat down and began talking. I was
telling him and a few of his friends about how the authority to run
the church was removed when the wicked people on the earth killed
Jesus and his prophets and apostles when the boy interrupted and said,
"that's wrong." I smiled at him and said, "you told us you wanted to
hear what we believed, but we can't do that if you're going to fight
with us." He changed his type of questions after that. I began
teaching the restoration and Brigham came over and sat by us. As we
taught, the boy kept inviting his friends to come listen to us.
Probably because he thought we were crazy, but something happened that
I didn't expect. Many of the young kids that were listening to us
seemed genuinely interested. It got to the point where we had about
ten kids and they all had their own questions, so Elder Ross
brilliantly went and sat by the five in the back and began answering
their questions, leaving me with the other five. We taught a lot of
the same things; things from the Word of Wisdom ("NO COFFEE?") and the
Law of Chastity and such. It was so cool. We talked after, and we
decided if nothing comes from it, it sure felt like some effective
seed planting. One young man told us afterward that he would like his
own Book of Mormon. No way!! He told us to find him at the next
basketball game! So exciting.

I love this gospel and the joy it brings into people's lives! I know
that there is power in prayer because I have seen the blessings that
have come from it. I love you all and I hope you are having a
wonderful winter! Stay warm!

Love,
Elder Thomas

This is Skipper. He is the cutest. He goes running with me in the mornings! 
I got to play a members guitar for a minute :) I have forgotten so much. 
Saw this in a thrift shop. Mister Frederickson must live in Montana!


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