The Master is Calling! : Everything Happens For a Reason

Dear Familita and Friendlies,

WARNING: LONG email. Sorry, too many miracles happened this week to leave them out!

Monday was AWESOME because we went to the gym and played sports with everyone for the first time in a very long time. It was sick.

Later that evening after preparation day, we contacted our investigator named Aaron. Aaron is a very interesting man. He served in the military and he LOVES to tell stories, but it gets in the way of him staying on task. When we visited on Monday, he expressed to us that he purposefully tries to distract us because he enjoys talking to us, but not about the gospel. We had to be very bold with him and bare our testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel and the sacredness of our message. He didn't seem much changed by the meeting, but we will stop by tonight, and we are praying to see miracles.

Tuesday was AWESOME. On Tuesday we had Mission Leadership Council, one of my favorite meetings in the world. To get there on time we woke up at 3:00, were out of the apartment by 4:00 and at the mission home by 4:30, with a short detour to walmart because I owe Elder Christensen money and needed some cash haha. We then got to hop on the "space shuttle," the big mission van bus thingy and ride to Helena. This was much better than it was in Kalispell, because in Kalispell I had to drive, and that was miserable. Sleep on the way there felt impossible because it is not the most comfortable situation for that kind of thing, so I just sat there with my eyes closed. Eventually everyone woke up though and we all discussed super heroes and other geeky things the whole way there. It was SWEET. Elder Hoschouer, one of the assistants to the president is very knowledgeable about the subject of super heroes and enlightened us all! We were also each assigned a super hero, and apparently I am Robin... flattering. Too bad I don't wear short-shorts!

MLC was excellent! The focus of this transfer is on effective study and using time wisely, chapter 2 and 8 in Preach My Gospel. Both things that I could really use in my life! When Elder Dyches was here, he taught us that if we can get the principles in chapter 8 down, we would be successful for the rest of our lives! So, if you wanna be successful, study chapter 8 of Preach My Gospel! Got to see Elder Angle, Elder Tippetts, and Elder Bozue this week, some of my favorite people in the world! Also got a picture with a bunch of Zone Leaders that came out in our transfer group. They are just the coolest.

The way home was pretty fun as well, full of unbelievable stories from Elder Hoschouer (he likes to talk, we like to listen) and silly little mind games that everyone else seemed to pick up right away, but I COULDN'T FIGURE THEM OUT!!! Drove me absolutely insane haha. Then Elder Chamberlain and I tried a mind reading trick which absolutely failed and that was humiliating... anyways it was stressful, but hilarious and very fun.

Wednesday was kicked off with a very powerful district meeting from our amazing district leader, Elder Lankford. I sure appreciate the inspiration that these Elders receive. After district meeting we had the opportunity to interview for baptism two of the most intelligent kids I've ever run into in my life, though they were a little crazy. They could explain all the gospel principles required for baptism perfectly, including the law of chastity. Usually kids don't understand that as well, but these two do. It was super fun.

Later that day we stopped by the mission home for some supplies, which is always a blast! Nobody gives you a harder time than those senior couples:) We then got to help Elder Baird deliver some cars to the dealership, which is now the third time I have driven in a vehicle by myself on my mission, and is always a strange experience. But once again, I sang as loud as I could the whole way because no one was judging me, except when we hit a stop light and a lady pulled up next to me. I tried to act like a normal human being then...

Later that night as we were out tracting and street contacting, we saw a younger man and an elderly woman working on a truck engine in the front yard; we asked if we could be of any assistance and were quickly reminded that we know nothing about cars as they tried to explain the situation. The man's name was Sean, and unfortunately we have forgotten the name of his mother. Sean is probably in his early to mid 40's and is a very good example of one who has been sufficiently humbled. He was very kind and generous, with no shortage of kind things to say about Mormons! We heard him say many times, "I wish I had what you guys have," which we always answered with a, "you can!!" His mother was also very prepared and promised us that as soon as their schedule cleared up, they would have us over to share a lesson, and this was before we could even ask if we could haha! Sean asked us to stop by any time we were in the area and they both expressed that we were always welcome in their home!

Thursday was another lovely day of weekly planning. The planning was great, but even better was when we had the random prompting that someone we needed to talk to was on the church grounds right then! We immediately went to the window and opened it to see if anyone was outside. Upon finding a man pulling weeds in the flower beds, we rushed out to talk to him. He was very kind and we spent a little while talking with him. We then invited him to come to church with us, which he declined but expressed that someday he might and that he had honestly been considering it! We felt strongly that we should not push him, which is kind of against our nature, but we are confident that we said what was needed to be said. It was SO cool:)

That night as we were out contacting, we got a flat tire. My first reaction was one of disappointment because I felt like we weren't going to be able to do all the finding we needed to do. However the spirit quickly reproved me and reminded me that "everything happens for a reason." So in faith, we went about changing the tire quickly as possible. A few minutes into it, a very kind Hispanic man named Daniel pulls up and says, "Do you guys need help changing your tire?" BAM. Miracles. We accepted and he came and helped us out! He was very helpful, and very talkative, getting our opinion on all sorts of subjects, from politics to raising children haha. Daniel is very family minded and loves the church's focus on family. He liked us so much that he bought us lemonade at the gas station down the street and kept telling us how excited he was to have us over for s'mores and to meet his family.

Tire miracle number two happened the next evening as we were securing the flat tire underneath the truck just in case someone felt like stealing it out of the bed of our truck. An elderly lady that lives in the same apartment complex as us was coming out to listen to a CD in her car because she doesn't have a CD player. We reached out to her and she stopped and talked to us for a little while. She told us she was going to listen to a Christian song called, "Look for me in Rainbows" because she loves rainbows and we told her we had a wonderful song about rainbows called, "When I am Baptized." we then launched into religion and she told us her whole background. She was excited to hear about not baptizing infants, but rather waiting until they were 8, the age of accountability, and baptizing them when it was there choice because she couldn't remember her baptism and felt that was wrong. She was also excited to hear that the sacrament was bread and water, not wine. It was a delightful conversation and we can't wait to keep meeting with her.

Saturday was crazy, but because I don't have much time I will just mention a few things. We had the opportunity on Saturday to join the March Against Drugs and Violence. A nonmember invites the missionaries every year to join this march around Billings downtown and the missionaries have generally supported him in it. It is a wonderful rally and the people there are all so kind and good. At one point as I stood amongst some missionaries, I could see three different missionary teaching opportunities happening at once. Opportunities like this are gold. But I do need to add, cities TERRIFY me now! I have been in country settings for almost two years, and the tall buildings and multitude of people were all making me very uncomfortable. Coming home to Utah will be interesting, I think I will stay in the mountains for a couple months.

The young boys we interviewed were baptized later that evening. I love the spirit at baptisms. The highlight of that event was definitely reaching out for a handshake and getting two hugs instead, it just melts your heart haha. Their mom quickly corrected them, but children are just so Christlike!

Sunday was awesome! Church was great and all, but the highlight of the evening was contacting an investigator of ours and getting to know her. Sister Beadling's husband was a member but he just recently passed away. Ever since then, the church has been watching over her and taking care of her in any way possible. This woman's spirit is very special and she has already taught us so much about being meek! Last night we had an awesome conversation about families and success. We read a little from Gordon B Hinckley's teachings about families and it just made me so grateful for the church and what is taught about families, marriage and eternity! It is ALL true! That night we watched the Face to Face with David Archuleta, had hot Kool-aid (Julian Smith reference) and had big bowls of popcorn. Ending the week with a BANG.

Quick spiritual/kinda funny thought:
There is a typical joke I've been hearing since I was a young boy about an American man in a boat who is sinking off the coast of Germany. In a panic, he radio's in to the coast and exclaims, "I AM SINKING, I AM SINKING!" Not knowing what to expect he hears static on the other end and then the reply, "Vhat are you sinking about??" Haha.
In missionary work however, thinking and sinking may be considered synonymous in some occasions. As you walk down the street and someone approaches from the other way, you need to make sure you don't over think the situation! Just trust the Lord and open your mouth. He will fill it.

I love you all!

Love,
Elder Thomas

Saying bye to Lori...