I'M PLAYING BASKETBALL!!

Hola!! 

This week was great! 

We decided to visit a family that we stopped visiting because they kept making excuses, but they let us in and they are on board to hear our words again! They are so great, but very evangelica so who knows! They are teaching us how to make tortillas too so dont worry world, I'm bringing them home! haha 

Well we have a new district and more elders cause they added more people. Its fun! I miss my old district though...

We have one investigator that Ive talked about her before;  her name is maribella...and her whole family listens to us. They dont speak spanish as their first language and neither do we..soo I think they just like staring at gringas and asking what america is like. I just tell them about the hamburgers.  haha

 

I got to play basketball with the relief society sisters...yes I was like two feet taller but thats okay! I played in my skirt..whoops...but it was so fun! They are actually suprisingly good!! So it was just so fun!! We completed the night with a Guatemalan bbq...do miss those barbequed hotdogs but thats okay!

 

We have been working hard as usual, but not a lot has happened this week!  There is a mormon message about a talk that President Uchdorf gave about a man who goes on a cruise, but he stays in his room the whole time because he doesn't have any more money. He brought his own food and just stayed in his cabin the whole time, doing his laundry and eating out of cans he brought on board. At the end a worker comes into ask which party he will be attending for the final night and he responded and said none because he doesn't have any money. The worker responds saying that everything on board, including food is included and its all free. The man missed out on everything he could have had because he stayed in his room.  This gospel offers so many blessings. Don't stay in your rooms, get out there and enjoy the free blessings of the gospel!!! Promise you its worth it! 

Love you!! 

Hermana Thompson

MY NEW BOYFRIEND!

MY MISSIONARY TAN LINES

THE FRUIT HERE IS SO WEIRD, BUT SO GOOD!

THIS BEAUTIFUL GIRL'S MOM HAD TO SHAVE A LOT OF HER
HAIR OFF THIS WEEK DUE TO LICE.
 I GAVE HER MY FAVORITE HAT TO EASE THE PAIN.  

SHE IS A SWEETY!

THESE GUYS ARE A LITTLE TOUGH TO HANDLE.

Hola, 

So I have to admit that no one could ever have prepared me for a mission no matter what they said. Its something you have to truly experience to understand. It was tough at first, but after 4 months I realize why people say its the best time of your life. I just needed to remember something that I had been forgetting, I needed to stop thinking about time and start thinking about every moment now. Tomorrow is gonna come no matter what so why should I even worry about it? We have to find the fun partys of every day and enjoy it while you can! The time on the mission goes by SOOOOO fast I cant even explain!! its crazy! Except days do feel like eternity, but honestly...I feel like I just left home yesterday. 

Someone was telling me about a talk by one of the general authorities. He told a story of how a gardener was cutting a plant, and the plant was saying "why did you cut me down when I was growing so well?"! He responds that its because he wants the plant to grow to what it can be and the best it can be so it needed to be cut. The Lord cuts us down by giving us hardships and does it so we can grow into a beautiful plant that we are supposed to be! I was given some hardships, but I have truly grown a lot. I am thankful I was cut down and I hope to be cut down more because the Lord knows

I am learning to cook and sadly I like everything!

Our feast!

what I can become. 

I love being a missionary! I get to be immersed in the scriptures every day, always feel the comfort of the spirit, and I get to to talk about the love our Heavenly Father has for us!!! I know im supposed to be here and I lovee every single minute of every single day!! 

We met this cowboy guy who spoke broken english and he was super positive! He lived in the elders area so we gave the reference. The next day we got a reference for our area. This old lady answers the door and we said how are you and she says bad because my daughter has an evil spirit. Yes we were a little scared. We find out that elders had visited them about 6 years ago, and the old lady had received a blessing from them because she was sick and after she felt better! They are so positive and we are excited to teach them the gospel! 

On Saturday it was easily the worst day of the mission. After lunch we started fasting because of fast sunday and we really have been praying for our investigators to progress and come to church. Well, that afternoon it was soo hot, all of our citas fell, walked 5 hours straight without sitting down, an then I got bit by a dog. It was just a series of bad events thats for sure. But it was all worth it when we found a guy who had gone to the open house of the temple in Xela three years ago and loved it! Hes already been through the temple of the Lord!! so rad!! so excited and he is excited to learn more! 

Also, we have been teaching the cutest old lady named Consuelo. She always waved at us when we passed so we finally talked to her! She came to church and was wearing a cute 70s dress with her hair all done! We had a gospel principles class about prayer and she said she always prayes before taking a shower so she doesnt fall. I just love her haah 

I have decided im going to be the missionary my mom thinks I am!!!! 

Love you all! 

Hermana Thompson

Hola Familia! 

This week was so great!!!

First of all...we have a day of kids here..like Mothers day but for kids. okay we got jipped in the states come on now I want a day of kids hahaha

On thursday we were helping a member take a cake across town and we just jumped on a crowded bus with this huge cake. There was only one seat open and come to find out it was open because there was puke all over the floor...well i had no choice. the cake would have died...so for the member and my salvation I sat in the puke. The lady next to me laughed with me and turns out she was meeting with the missionaries before and then wanted us to come visit with her! The Lord clearly blessed me there. just had to sit in puke for it!

On Wednesday we took a little microbus to Xela and went to the temple as a zone! We get to do that every six months and it was so amazing!! I have come to really appreciate the temple and the beauty of it all!! I love it! Its also a beautiful temple! E then had a zone meeting with president and his wife and my comp and I were chosen to do role plays aka teach a fake investigator, but it was in front of president! It was very nerve wracking but thats okay. Afterwards the president told me my spanish was coming along nicely, but I can only speak because the Lord really does help me. I am shocked when i can speak half the time. The lord blesses me sooo much and the only reason I can do this is because of him! 

On Thursday we taught Maribella and her huge family again. We taught them the restoration and they really seemed to understand it! We will see how it all went! 

they can only know of the truthfulness of this through praying so i hope they recieved their answers! E also shared the restoration video with Maria and she had such great questions and is really progressing. We have another investigator who refuses to pray. Something special about our message is that once you pray, you will know it is ture. you need to pray, meditate, and read the book of mormon and you will recieve your answers. 

We also met with Elaina this week and shared the restoration with her too. She loveddd it and prayed and got her answer! She is going to start reading the book of mormon and im so excited! 

We got to watch conference on Saturday and Sunday!!! On Saturday, we could only watch in spanish but thats okay I still understood! On sunday we got to watch it in english!!! It was sooo great! Its just different when we can hear the apostoles and prophets voices. its just so much better. I loved it! I could go on and on about conference. My favorite line was by the one and only President Thomas S Monson, he said that decisions determine destiny. Its soooo true. We truly can choose to follow the path of the Lords and return to him again. God loves us and wants us to have the gospel, thats why he gave us prophets in this dispensation. Why would he only talk to people in the bible times and not our times? He loves us and gave us a prophet in this day because he loves us. With more time we are able to see the Lords hands in things. He responds in his own way and in his own time, and its the best for us. During afflictions remember that there is a reason. We will receive lots of blessings

 

Remember to continue strengthening your testimony. Its the most valuable thing in your life. 

Love you and have a great week! 

Hermana Thompson

We had to cut up Beets!

My second Mom in Guatemala

Our zone taking a bus to the temple 

Our zone at the temple in Quetzaltenango,Guatemala

We got to watch conference in English with our treats! Not the same as moms cinnabons, but loved watching conference and hearing them speak in their own voices. 

Just another pretty sunset

Me and my companion at the temple

When you get sour cream and bananas, you're in Guatemala

Well this week was just another one full of experiences that are hard but always 
make me grateful to be a missionary and to have the opportunity to be here. 
  
Last pday we were in mcdonalds and this lady named olivia who we met for about 2 
seconds during a freak rainstorm came up to us. She lived in california with her 
family for awhile and knows english pretty well. We ended up meeting their 
family and getting to teach them, and in english. thats a miracle. only two 
gringas could make this happen haha. But I've been praying every day for the 
opportunity to teach families and we got two in one day. always lovin the 
blessings of being a missionary! So grateful! 

Tuesday was the best day because eeveryone we were supposed to teach was home 
and accpeted everything we taugh. thats the day we got two families. we were 
walking to go teach english class and someone sprayed water all over us and it 
still didnt get us down. 

On Wednesday we had to walk to the church which is probs a 20 to 30 min walk, 
super early because we had to open the church for the zone conference. the zone 
conference was great, but out of the 70 missionaries there I was one of the four 
that presidente made bear their testimony in spanish. In front of everyone. but 
thats okay because we got the best brownies for lunch. I love hearing from 
president smith and I truly know he was called of God. I believe we accpeted 
these calls before this life and these people are prepared for us. 

On Thursday I woke up with a killer cold and slept a lot but we still went out 
and it started pouring so it just made it worse. 
That  night I woke up at 2am with killer ear infections and had to call the 
nurse and stuff. Life of the mission. Im healing slowly but surely! Grateful  
for the nurses. 

On Friday we had the opportunity to visit a lady and literally fifteen people 
gathered around to hear us talk. It was amazing. I realized how amazing my 
opporutnity to be a missionary is and to get to know these people. it was 
pouring rain and they still just listened. well they also wanted to look at the 
two crazy gringas in skirts haha but still. 
  
On Saturday we were walking back from the womens conference there was this 
catholic saints parade and they would blow off fireworks every five feet it was 
sooo funny and they were always next to us with the fireworks. We probably 
looked like goofballs getting so scared. 

We met with joceline and elizabeth and they always feed us the funnies things 
and always want to eat with us. We had a hot dog. instant soup, and a pancake. I 
feel like im in college again.  Anyways these two lovely ladies truly want to 
hear the gospel. We are gonna visit them every day this week and read out of the 
book of mormon with them because thats how you can gain a testimony of these 
things. 

Anyways I was reading Alma 26 27 when peoples hearts are depressed we want to 
tun back, but we need to have patience in our afflictions because we will have 
great success. Life  is hard and we work on the Lords time but he knows whats 
best for us. It's all gonna be worth it. 

love ya 
Hermana Thompson