Fantastic Week!

Our week has been fantastic! I would say that all of my hopes and prayers this week have been answered because of the miracles that occurred and the spirit that I have felt working in my life. I would also like to thank my parents for the wonderful emails that they sent me this week. Whenever I have a big decision to make, a trial to go through, or a question to be answered they are there for me no matter what!

This will most likely be the last week that Elder Nordwald and I serve together, we will be getting transfer news this Saturday night and I am guessing that I will be leaving because I have served in 7 out of the 9 wards in the stake and have been here for 6 months. To top it off I have been with my companion for 2 transfers now and I haven't been with a companion for longer than that yet. I have enjoyed my time with him and he is a super missionary! We had a great week these last 7 days, so let me tell you a little about them. We were able to go on exchanges with Elder Harper, who is one of the Assistants (we go on exchanges with them every transfer) and had a good learning experience. This was the first exchange with the assistants where the AP was younger in the mission than I was! He has been out for 15 months and is from Blackfoot, ID. (No mom, he doesn't know aunt Diantha I already checked.) The greatest thing that I learned from him was how to do simple acts of service throughout the day! I guess that was something that I overlooked, but I have set goals and am working hard to improve in that area.

We also had Stake Conference this week! It all started on Saturday night's adult session, which was really spiritually uplifting. It just so happened that during the conference a HUGE storm hit and we could hear the rain hitting the roof from inside the chapel! Then while one of the speakers was talking the lights flickered and the microphone lost power! After all the crazy weather passed it left a mess of palm tree leaves all over the roads and there was a bunch of standing water. Too bad I missed all the rain, because I think it has been close to 7 months since I have been outside while it was raining... but anyway! Stake conference was phenomenal, there was a morning meeting for investigators and new converts to the church, we brought a woman named Patricia, who we found just the day before. The Stoneburg family was also there and they all bore their testimonies about how wonderful the church is! Sister Stoneburg made water come out of my eyes because she told everyone in the room that I was like her son and that I would always have a special place in her family! Great meeting! Then the regular session of conference commenced, we had 2 investigators there - Dorathy and Patricia. Dorathy is the 94 year old woman that we are teaching. That meeting was also great! I have extensive notes to prove it!

Sunday night was probably my favorite day this week. We went over to Dorathy's house to teach her about the importance of baptism in The Church of Jesus Christ by proper authority. It reminded me of one of the lessons we had in Primary because we had 8 pictures taped to the wall and under each one we had a 1 sentence summary of the picture. The first picture was of Christ ordaining his apostles and we outlined priesthood authority there, we taught about the apostasy and how that authority was lost then we spoke of Joseph Smith and how the Priesthood was restored along with the True Church. Then we invited Dorathy to be baptized once she had understood and written all of this down. She pondered for a great while...then I literally saw the spirit touch her soul. I bear you my solemn testimony. The spirit can and will help us learn and understand things that are vital to our salvation, he can help us in any aspect of understanding truth. I have no doubt that everyone can be influence by this great power if they will just open their hearts to Him. Dorathy accepted to be baptized! Did I expect that answer? Absolutely. Not because of what we taught her, but because of the spirit and what He taught her. It is my witness that this is God's work. I am just an instrument in his hand, one of 52,000 tools that he uses everyday to bring his children home.

What a humbling week it has been, I ask for your continued prayers as I consider and decide on things that could potentially change my entire life. I desire and need all of your support, please help me continue strong as I serve my Master and my King.

-Elder Thomas

Here's some pictures from a recent Zone Activity we had at GolfLand...