April 29, 2013 (No pictures this week)

Hey mum and daddy,  

I wanted to let you know before I write my email for the week that we got news about transfers. I am being transferred to Jasper, Indiana on Tuesday where I will open an area and train a new companion. So I will be getting a greenie! And opening an area! And I only 6 weeks old. I am completely overwhelmed at the moment and more terrified than I have ever been in my life. But I am trusting in the Lord. Proverbs 3 right? So wish me luck! You'll get your full email in a bit.

Your little girl and soon-to-be-a-mom

Mom's response: 

Oh honey, that’s awesome! I really felt like you were going to train someone right away. You are just so ready. You left for your mission more prepared than most missionaries who have been out for several months. You are going to do great! 

Yes, trust the Lord. And yourself. 

Mom

Dad's response:

That is awesome news! You will do great and I have almost as much confidence in you as you Father in Heaven does! :-) You have prepared your whole life for this and with the help from above, you can do anything! Plus, Sister Earl has prepared you well from what I can tell in your letters.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart... HE WILL direct you for good... :-) 

Love you lots,

Daddy

Dear Family, 

What. A. Week! I have felt off all week and I couldn't figure out why until we got transfer calls. It's because the Lord was preparing me to make the transition from Evansville to Jasper and from student to teacher. It's been an overwhelming transition but more on that later. 

As for our investigators:

Trina and her daughter were doing wonderfully this week! We had an incredible lesson on the restoration this past week and the spirit just enveloped the room. We watched the 20 min restoration movie and she was really touched. Her daughter didn't come in to watch it so we are questionable on her... but we are really excited for Trina. But then on Sunday, we called right before church and they said that everything had been going wrong and they were going to try and make it but they would be late. We waited and waited but they never came.... so we will check up on that ASAP. This week for Trina we will be focusing on setting a firm baptismal date with her and her dsughter.  

The Savannah and her 2 daughters are doing AWESOME! We had a great lesson with them this week. We took them on a church tour Tuesday night (Summer wasn't able to come) and then sat and talked in the chapel for like an hour and a half after. Sis Earl talked to one of the daughters and I talked to the other. We finally go through to them both! AH! We also set a baptismal date with the daughter I talked to. It was so powerful and so amazing. Then, on Sunday, all three of them came to church and they are planning on coming next week. I told the daughter that Mandy wanted a pen pal and she said she doesn't write much but she would love to email Mandy and get to know her. So I was wondering if I could get Mandy's email and I'll forward it to her and then see what happens. She's has asked me if I've gotten the email maybe 5 times already this week so she is really excited to meet Mandy. Every other month sounds good to me. 

Also good news, we picked Quinn back up to progressing! We were finally able to contact him two days ago. We stopped in and he happened to be home. So we set up a time for Sunday night to meet with him, his wife Kate and a member, Erin. That lesson went really well. We are going to meet with them later on this week and hopefully get both of them to church Sunday. Kate was in and out of the lesson getting kids to bed so we weren't completely sure if she was progressing or not. We will hope to get her there by next week.

Finally, Tina is amazing. We had a member present with her and Sister Rhodes this past week. We seriously sat there and maybe said 2 sentences. Apparently, Sis Rhodes knew Tina when they were younger!!! They really connected and Tina was able to see how much of a change has come upon Sis Rhodes from when they knew each other (back before Sis Rhodes was baptized). The spirit was very powerful and Sis Rhodes is an amazing teacher. She shared her testimony with great power and authority. We are excited to teach with her again this Sunday.

We had a really good week. We had a great FHE with the Moon girls and I think we made a breakthrough with Ali. We made a breakthrough with her this week. We had an FHE with them Monday night and played board games. It was just fun and she talked to us! It was so great! I think she is figuring out that we are honestly friends and we really do love her.

I am very.... excited and terrified for this coming week. I will be in an area I don't know with someone who expects me to know everything. I have felt very inadequate and overwhelmed. I feel so small and definitely not ready for this big step that is be required of me. Sis Earl was amazing. She immediately knew what I needed. So we contacted the Newburgh Car Elders and I got a priesthood blessing that night. It was exactly what I needed to calm my heart, mind and soul. I am still very scared, but I am not fearful. I have faith that my Older Brother will get me to where I and He needs me to be. I know He loves me more than I could ever understand and He has me in His hands. "Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Doubt not, for I am thy God". Isaiah 41:10. Grammy's scripture. She is with me. 

As for your letter: Thanks for using y'all! It really makes me feel at home actually. :) As for transfers, I already told Mum and Daddy, but I am being transferred. This Tuesday I will go to transfer meeting and pick up a new greenie. Then I and her will drive to Jasper, Indiana to start our next big adventure. I know crazy right? I am going to be training. And I haven't even finished my 12 weeks of training. Not only that, I am opening a new area with her. So it will be like this transfer all over again. I know that I cannot do it. But I also know that the Lord can and with Him by my side, I can do all things. Also with transfers. That means I won't know what my new address is until next Monday. So for now, please send anything to the mission address. The 1325 Easter Parkway one. Then next week I'll tell you my new address so you can get things to me that way.

As for Sister Earl, she will be staying in Evansville and she will be training 2 new missionaries!!! She is going to be amazing. Those missionaries are very lucky. 

It's great to hear about each of the kids individually! I like that format a lot. Could you keep that? As for Brit, I will email her in a bit. For the other kids:

Mandy: let me tell you a little something about the ward here in Evansville. It has 4 Young Women. Period. 2 beehives, 1 mia maid 1 laurel. They never do individual activities. They never do individual lessons. It's really hard on them. They are some amazing girls. So please make sure you give your Young Women's a chance. Give them a million chances. Christ said to forgive your brother even 7 times 70 times. I know they may be difficult to get along with and they may not be ideal. But you are so very very blessed to be in Utah where you are. You have a big beautiful Young Women's program and very active involved leaders (love you Kristie!!!) Never take that for granted. Also for Mandy, Mariah would really love to email you. You asked me for a foreign pen pal and she doesn't like writing letters and she's American.... but I really think this could be a cool missionary experience for you and she is so super psyched to talk to you. She's asked me for your email like 5 times this week already. Mom gave it to me so I will give it to her tonight. Look for that! 

Josh: Good job on your play! I love the picture! You look amazing. :) As for the priesthood, kind of what was said above. They have 10 young men in the ward. So hearing about 15 in the deacons quorum kind of blew my mind for a little till I remembered "Oh. Right. They're in Utah." haha :) Don't take a single second for granted buddy! And don't forget to write about it all in your journals. 

Brandon: Sounds like you are doing awesome dudie! I love and miss you SO much! Keep being a good boy for mom and dad okay?  

I got an awesome email from Kadi so I knew her little girls name. I am very happy to hear that she is doing better though. I will continue to keep her in my prayers. I'm sorry about the stress for Ragnar and the house. Keep going! It will get better! 

Phrase of the week: pitch: to throw away. Don't worry, I'll just pitch it in the garbage.

Advice: "Fear thou not, My Child." Those two added words onto the first part of Isaiah 41:10 came to my mind as I was really struggling with transfers. We are His children. Any perfect father would not leave us alone. Trust in his perfect love and charity. Trust completely.

More next week! Love eternally,

Sister Thorne

P.S. 1 transfer down, 12 to go!!! :D

April 22, 2013

Hey Thorne Fam!

Another week down! This week has been really long but I know that's because this next week is going to be incredible.

First off, I loved interviews! President and Sister Woodbury do such a wonderful job on knowing and individually loving each missionary. I know they care and love me personally. They are such incredibly people.

As for our progressing investigators:
First is Trina and her daughter. They came to church this past Sunday!!! They also brought Trina's other daughter. They have a lot of good questions and I am really excited to continue to meet with them. We are planning to meet with them tonight to really discuss how church went.

Next is the Moon girls. We only included 2 of them in progressing this week. The other is not actively participating. I feel like we're not engaging or connecting with her. But I'm not exactly sure how to change that.... we are having an FHE Board Game night with them tonight. Maybe just being friends with her tonight will really help us to gain more of her trust and she'll want to be more engaged. If you have any ideas to help, please feel free to let me know.

Finally, there's the Dillworth family. That includes the mom and her two daughters. They are absolutely phenomenal. We were worried about one of the daughters because she didn't seem engaged. Well, this past week she wrote us a letter with 9 different church questions ranging from "Do you have to go back home? Can you visit us after your mission?" to "How do you know if you are going to Heaven or Hell?" That night we quickly wrote back a 9 page letter answering all her questions. She went to her church camp this weekend but we are hoping to talk to her about her questions this week. As for the other daughter, she has really connected to and trusts us. Now we just need to get her to open up about gospel subjects. That's where she gets shy again. The mom is awesome. She is reading and praying frequently. She wanted to come to church Sunday but wasn't able to make it. We will try for next week.

We also got 4 new investigators this week. I'll keep you updated as we meet with and get to know them more this week. 

Next, responses to your email. We are always careful in those areas Mum. No worries. We make sure to have appointments at night so we are not walking about and we always ALWAYS listen to the spirit. He will keep us safe. I have complete trust in Him. 

We have talked to the YW president about the girls and she has been amazing. When we finally get them to come and be involved she will be there to welcome them in. It's really hard because they only have 4 active YW right now, (be thankful for the YW's you all have!!! Seriously!) but we are planning on changing that. :) 

As for our diet, we actually got soy protein powder at walmart this morning so we make sure to keep up on our diet. I also eat yogurt every morning with breakfast so I can get my protein and some fruit in there. See! I'm being healthy! :)

As for mission calls: that's SO amazing!!! Every week there are more! And Jarom's is especially cool. Maybe he and Hillary will be in the same zone or district some time together! It's always awesome to see people from home, even from the same county. It's pretty crazy. 

I'm so glad Toby is doing better! I pray for him every day. Which sounds weird... but I love him and God loves what I love so He loves him too. :D 

YAY BRITNEY!!!! I am so proud of all you are doing right now! You sound super busy! The pageant is going to be so amazing. You will have to keep me updated on how everything goes. Too bad I can't do it with you. But I'm kind of in a pageant of my own. A missionary pageant. Hmm... I'll have to ponder that analogy further. Good job on Footloose! I knew you would be the best. I tell everyone out here that my sister has the best voice on the planet. I know you do. And you looked absolutely stunning for Cotillion. Did you all plan on matching? Tell all the girls that I love and miss them so much and I hope they join me out in the field as soon as possible!!! Haha 

Sister Earl and I are both praying for Kadi. Please keep me updated on that each week. I pray for guardian angels to protect each one of you and my friends by name every night. Grammy is there I know it. 

Congrats Mandy on violin! That is SO SUPER exciting! I know you are a complete natural at it and Emily is going to be amazed by your talent. I am so proud of you. Violin is an amazing skill to have. Keep working at it okay?

The pictures were so much fun! I can't wait to see more of the beautiful home next week.

Word of the week: y'all. My new favorite phrase in the English language. I have officially gotten into the habit of saying it and I hope I never leave it. That phrase has grown near and dear to my heart.

Advice for the week: enjoy the chapel. I think that sometimes we take the feeling of the chapel for granted. But next time you go to the church, spend some time in there quietly pondering. Take note of any thoughts that pop into your mind. The chapel is a very special room and it has an amazing feeling in it.

I think that's all for this week! Talk to y'all later! (I sincerely hope you all start using it too. That would just make my day.)

The church is true!

Love always,
Sister Thorne

P.S. You remember League of their Own? Ya, the baseball park that that was mostly filmed at is in Evansville, IN. It's about 5 miles away from me. I want to try and go on a p-day to take some pictures for you. You should look it up. I thought of you when a member told me about it.

 Using the force with the Rubics cube

Playing in the pouring rain. Utah don't get rain like that. 

 My chocolate experiment. We got a bunch of the dollar chocolates and I tried them all with my apparently new taste buds. You'll be proud. I loved them all! Today we got Dove chocolate. Mmmm... so delicious....

Making faces

Me, Sister Rhodes and Sister Earl. Sister Rhodes is a convert of 5 years (as of last week!) She is taking temple prep classes and should be going to do baptisms for the dead for the first time this next week. She has such a radiant light and we love her to death. :)

April 15, 2013

Hey Mom!

It has been such an awesome week! Sister Earl had some great inspiration last week to start tracting in the poorer neighborhoods instead of the bigger houses. So we've been focusing on that and seen success like I have never imagined! People are so much nicer and even if they don't want to let us in, they at least talk to us, instead of slamming the door in our faces. It has seriously helped so much. We've found some amazing investigators this way.
Trina is still doing awesome. She didn't come to church this past Sunday so we'll have to move her baptismal date. I think the main thing that kept her from church was the dress. She said she hadn't worn a dress in years. So we will talk to her this week more about how it is optional. For her daughter we are breaking down walls. She is much more open with us and we are making a really good relationship with her. She had an asthma attack Saturday night so she wasn't able to attend church either. But her, Trina and the other daughter should all be coming next week.
The next group is Savannah and her two daughters. They are an amazing family. Savannah is a great mom and does everything she can to have the best for her two daughters. She loves them infinitely. Her daughters are going to a different church right now, but they are all planning on coming to church next Sunday. We have taught them a little about the restoration and the entire plan of salvation. I feel like if we focus on families, we will really be able to click with them. We are also working on getting them involved in Young Women's.
We also got a great referral from the Elder's about Quinn and his wife Kate. We have only met Kate once and we missed Quinn but then HE called US back and apologized for missing us and explained that he is really excited to meet with us Monday (today). He has a lot of potential.
The last one is Jerry. He is an older man and a little slower. But he has such a sweet spirit. He is trying to quit smoking so we are going to go over the 15 step plan this week when we meet with him. I haven't quite figured out how to connect with him yet, but I will work on that this next week.
No word from Blaine.... none at all... :( Thank you for praying for them. They need it. :) It's wonderful to think that we are all united in our prayers to help the Evansville area.
I'm glad to hear that all is going well with the family!

I got the music and it was perfect! My little egg plant got here whole and is now growing in a sunny corner of our cute apartment. It's makes me so happy to see it! Don’t worry about the Kolob music. You got me plenty of fun stuff to play with. I don't think we can scan.... but maybe next week I can type the letters up and get it to you?
The house is looking awesome! I can't wait for all the pictures next week! I'm so happy to hear that everyone is getting used to it. :)
As for Toby, please don't give up on him. I talk to all our investigators with dogs (most of them have at least one) about my little Toby back at home. I miss him a lot. I understand if worse comes to worst. But please do all you can. I love him very much.
Tell Brit to go for the pageant! Why not? She has the chance of getting a straight money scholarship and if she gets the weber scholarship and ends up not going oh well, she had an awesome experience in a pageant! It's totally worth it and such a learning experience. As well as very helpful for a mission and everyday life. The interviewing skills have helped me more than I could count! Don't give up the opportunity to try it. You never know if you might regret it years down the road. :) Plus it's just fun to tell people that you were in a pageant. Their face expressions are priceless. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!!! *singing happy birthday song at the top of my lungs* HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!!!!! *sings again even louder* How has birthday awesomeness been? How was Josh's ordination? I want to hear all about it. Brandon: I got your letter! I also read it to Sister Earl. I am going to try to have time to write you back today. Okay? :)

Food: we eat a lot of carbs. Breakfast is delicious. New recipe: eggo's plus butter on top plus maple syrup spread all over plus brown sugar sprinkled on top of it all. Seriously delicious. It's like a breakfast cinnamon roll pastry. You gotta try it. We basically have rice, tortillas and potatoes and then we try to do stuff with them as much as we can. It's not much variety but it's cheap! We don't have much meat, but it says sparingly in the Word of Wisdom so we're just following the word of God. Right? Right. :) We also eat a lot of fruit. Yum! The food here is super normal. We get fed by the members about 1 a week. I haven't had any weird meals. The weirdest I've had was Japanese Curry this past week and then Green jello with strawberries and pears in it a couple weeks ago. It was all delicious though so no worries. :) We have a local Wal-Mart so food isn't expensive. We get the $.88 loaf of great value bread at Wal-Mart and the cheapest gallon of milk. We basically get a lot of great value stuff. It's seriously cheap! There is also a Sam's Club but we don't have memberships.

Tell Flower I said Hi and I love him muchly! Tell him keep up the hard work and I hope to see him out here soon!

As for mission calls, I hadn't heard most of those so AWESOME!!! Also.... *drum roll please*... CAMERON GOT HIS CALL!!!!! He is going to Resistencia Argentina Spanish Speaking. He leaves May 22nd. Crazy right?! I am so proud of him and the work he has made to get to this point.

Tell Brit she had better write me soon because I wanna know what's going on! I can't receive video clips so oh well there. And I'm sure they'll all do awesome in their respective plays.

As for Mandy: I have sent a little message to each person but her so HI! I hope your week is going awesome and I miss you so much! I hope you've had fun with Lindsey and you should really look up her profile on mormon.org. K? k. Love you!

I think that's all for this week.

Phrase of the week: piller said like it sounds. I have a fluffy piller on my bed. It is really soft to sleep on. Yes, I did hear that one used. Basically for any "ow" sound, replace "er" and you'll have a pretty good Kentucky accent. Or so says Sister Earl.

Advice of the week: Take one day at a time. It's been really frustrating to me to look at my progress and think of how far I've come but then look at Sister Earl and see how far I still have to go. I feel very inadequate at times. But I've had to realize that I am really only in my first transfer. I've only been in the mission field for a month! So I take one day at a time and have patience that the Lord will get me to where I need to be.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!
And please thank Grandpa Ralph for the package. The food was very delicious and we loved the chocolates. It made me so happy to get something from him and Mary. Also thank the Duffins for their really fun letters! And Grandma Kathy. I love getting her updates. Pics will follow!

The Church is True!
Love always,
Sister Thorne

My awesome bruise from playing volleyball with the Hermanas!

Eating Grandpa's Ferrero Rocher's

 

My first exchange with Sister Mickelsen

A turtle for Kadi and Llamas for Cameron

Going to the Zoo for service! 

My apartment!

 My little egg

April 8, 2013

Hey Mom and Dad!

First to Dad, yes I got the statement. Thank you SO much! That really helped! As for me, I didn't make it through Come, Come Ye Saints or the very last song you sang (can't remember which one) because I realized that that was the last time I would see you till Mother's Day. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

In response to Mom, seeing Dad was both seriously awesome and seriously hard. It was like a 1 way Skype conversation! I got to see him and he got to talk (sing) to me, but I wasn't able to respond back. It was so worth it though. My entire district all looked for him. They were so supportive. I just love them all.
We watched conference as the Stake Center on Covert Ave. Yes, we got to see all the sessions. It was SO awesome! More on it later.
Yes YW was amazing. Yes, I will also sorely miss Sister Dalton and yes I recognized the Oquirrih mountain temple. That and seeing the UTA is what made me start crying. Haha funny to think about... but it's still home.
Spring Break sounds awesome! Spring Break for the kids down here was actually the week before. So we got to meet with a lot of family's during the day and that was nice. I'm glad you got to see the Duffins! I miss them all so much! Make sure you tell them hi for me.
The house sounds like it's coming along beautifully! Only 77 week till I can see it. ;) haha I loved the pictures of the closets and I can't wait to see the rooms! That picture is SO you mom. It's beautifully stunning and will go perfectly in your room.
By the way, happy birthday to Sarah! Also, Happy birthday to James (sorry I missed yours bro), Meghan and Sarah. And..... you should be getting a package later this week. Make sure you keep it safe from the boys until their designated special days. :) The package also has all of my knee highs. Apparently Sister Woodbury says they are not allowed. I wasn't aware till Sister Earl told me. Oops!
I am so blessed to have Sister Earl and I can't imagine what I'd do if I didn't have a good trainer and first companion. I have more respect for him.
Yes weeping angles has to do with Doctor Who. Long story. haha but a good one. :)
And yes I said the quote with the right accent (I've taken to talking in a southern accent when I'm bored or in the car. It makes things more fun). And I've said it multiple times since. It makes my day every time! :D
Just for Mandy. GUESS WHAT?!?! Sister Earl and I went to the mall today and guess what song came on while we were walking down the hall??? Let me kiss you! I even knew some of who was singing at certain parts. That was Sister Earl's very first 1D song she has ever heard. The mall was so much like our one at home that it felt like at any moment you were going to run around the corner, singing and dancing to the lyrics. It definitely made me smile. I think of y'all every single day. :)
Yes, we do get the ensign and I can't wait to get the conference addition. My favorite talks were Sister Dalton's "We are Daughters of our Heavenly Father", Elder Nelson's "Catch the Wave" and Elder Anderson's missionary one as well. It's really weird how different conference is when watching it from the perspective of the missionary. Oh! I also LOVED the one from the member of the seventy... I think it was Sunday morning... about marriage. I had some really interesting revelation during it. I just love when God talks to us. It's amazing. So ya. This week has been kind of difficult but conference was exactly what I needed to pick me back up. Also, we got to watch Music and the Spoken Word Sunday! It was SO much fun! By the way, never EVER take being able to watch that every Sunday for granted. It is an incredible blessing. Even more importantly, never EVER EVER take being able to actually watch conference in SLC for granted. Some people down here try all their lives to go see it in SLC and don't get to. A trip to temple square is one that is cherished for years to come. The Salt Lake Temple is a precious blessing that few get to see. I have learned that and I don't think I will ever be able to view it the same way every again.
As for missionary experiences this week, Trina told us that the one thing keeping her from going to church was her 13 year old daughter. She went to a different church last Sunday and loved it. So this week we started teaching specifically her. We knew that she would be going to that church again this week (yesterday) and we prayed that she would be able to feel the difference. Well, Trina called us this morning and told us the she didn't like that church yesterday! She said, "It wasn't what she was expecting. She didn't like it." YES! Prayers are answered! So ya. They are going out of town from Tuesday to Friday but we will be stopping in tonight for a quick second and teaching them again Saturday. They have already agreed to come to church Sunday. I can't wait. It should be amazing!
The Moon girls came to Sunday morning session of conference and Sister Earl and I made them conference bingo. They really loved that and actually paid attention through the whole 2 hours! It was amazing to watch the spirit slowly but surely work on them. Especially when President Monson spoke.
This week has gone slowly, but I think that's pretty much it! We're halfway done with this transfer. AH! Where has the time gone? I have officially been on my mission for more than a month. (My 1 month-a-versary was April 6th). Time is flying by.
My word of the week is "pitch-in". It's like a potluck. Sentence: I heard that the Halloween party at the church is going to be a pitch-in. What are you bringing?
Advice for the week: Just roll with it. It's amazing how many curve balls will be thrown your way every day in the mission field. Most are coming from Satan, some are for learning from God and others are just from the agency of people. But they come. If we can learn to just roll with the curve balls that are thrown at us. Bend around them, matrix style if needed. God will give us the flexibility to get around them. He will help us to learn and grow and become the person He can see us being. Trust in Him. Always
The Church is True!
Till next week
Sister Thorne

Oh! 1) LOVE the pics. Made my day! 2) I am on the very edge of the middle time zone so only 1 hour ahead of you. 3) Just so you know, I run a mile every morning! I really am turning in to you! Chocolate lover and a runner. Weird.. 4) Yes, there are more pictures. I have them all on my USB. But I don't want to send that home yet. Maybe you could buy a cheap 1 GB or something and send it this week. Then I can fill it and send it back. Then we can get those to you quickly. Would that work? 5) Congrats to Brayden! and tell Zach hi from me. Tell Derek at the fun center too. Tell em I'm thinking of them and sending them a mental hug. 6) I TOTALLY VOTE DISNEY PRINCESS!!!!!!!! Can you possibly find a Belle or Rapunzel one. I'm totally them anyway. THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME!!!! Seriously. Go Dad! I think that's all... Talk to ya next week!

And... so sorry... could you post on fb that if anyone sent me a Dear Elder from March 14-19, I didn't get it. I didn't get any forwarded to me here once I got to Louisville so I don't know if they got lost or if I simply didn't get any during that time. I don't want someone to have written me and then I not respond so they think I'm ignoring them because that's def not the case. I want to write back to everyone I can! Anyway, thanks!

Trying an oreo for the first time. Yum! 

A beautiful sunset 

Flipping hamburger buns for dinner

April 1, 2013

Hey mum!

I did indeed get your package. Thank you so much! We had the peeps for our special Easter dessert and I gave Sister Earl a Reese's carrot and picture of Christ for Easter. As for packages, I need a HUGE favor. We have decided that we want to get the ward more involved. Evansville used to be the biggest ward in the stake but in the past 10 years it's gotten pretty small. So we are planning a musical fireside for (tentatively) April 28th to give the ward an activity that they can invite their nonmember friends to. Great idea right?!? Right. But... alas... I have none of my religious sheet music.... Is there any way you could copy some of that music (preferably the Kolob one not by Aaron Waite-the one I practiced a lot before I left, and some of the Aaron Waite stuff in Brit's blue binder). And any others. That would be miraculous! Then I will have something to practice and play for the musical fireside.
Sister Earl is from West Jordan. She's been out for 14 months (she only has 3 transfers left!). She said that her mom emailed her and said that Phil Johnson was your cousin. That's just what I was told. The Moon girls and Trina are progressing wonderfully! We met with Trina again this morning and taught the Plan of Salvation. She was really receptive and said that it "felt right" to her. I just love her to death. Blaine we haven't really heard from since last week... Which makes me sad. But it will be okay. He'll recognize Christ in his life and come back. Of course. :)
Brit hasn't emailed me yet but you should read this next little bit just for her. Hey sis! I want to take a second and talk just to you. Mom told me you read these at FHE and this is seriously YOUR paragraph. (Don't let anyone else get jealous, they'll get their own paragraph sometime later) :) Britney, I have prayed about you more times than I can count these past two weeks. I have grown and stretched more than I could have ever imagined and I've only been in the field for half a month! I tell each of my companions about you and how much I love you. Britney, please feel the spirit in these words. You need this. You need this experience. I have prayed and I know that you need these incredible lessons that I have learned. But not only you, but your children need this. You don't even know them yet, but they are whispering in your ear "Mom, please. Please go. We need you to become so strong so that we can learn as much as we can from you. Please." The spirit is whispering to your heart because there are people in the world who need you. They need your spirit, your testimony and your experiences. I can't stress that enough. There is a Trina out there who met you in the Premortal life and is trusting in you to find her again. So yes, I know that this is your choice. But please pray and fast fervently about it. Thanks. I love you more than I could ever write.
Anyway, haha love all y'all too! Other thoughts:
1) Thanks Mandy for your letter! It meant the world to me! I told Sister Earl all about your missionary experience and we both squealed for you. I know that as you continue to pray for them, you will have many more of these experiences. You will have the opportunity to share the gospel to so many, if only through your light and example. Keep going my little girl! And I do our handshake with ever letter I get. Just as promised.
2) Congrats Josh on all your scouts stuff! That sounds so amazing! I am so very proud of you and the choices you are making. You are going to be one amazing deacon. :)
3) I got Grandma Kathy's letter. I'm so excited for her! Tell her I pray for her always and love her lots!
4) How were all the Easter Egg hunts Brandon? Did you have fun and get lots of candy? Y'all are completely spoiled rotten I hope you know. :) It was great to see all the cousins! Tell them all hi for me and tell Justin that I am doing great and loving every second of this mission. It's harder than anything I ever done but worth every single second.
5) I also got to go to the Young Women Broadcast! The Newburgh Elders had an investigator go and asked us to look after her. That was the first time I have cried in the field. (took me two weeks! I think that's pretty good). But just looking at the conference center and knowing that my mum and sisters were watching the same exact thing I was watching, it really touched me. Plus the speakers all said things I really needed to hear. I love that God knows us each individually and He knows the words of comfort that each of us needs. I'M SO EXCITED FOR CONFERENCE!!!!!! But ya. Plus, the video of the girl going to the temple, that was really sweet. The spirit talks to our souls. That's for certain. Oh and dad! I have told my entire district about you and we will all be watching for you! Sister Woodbury said that when she was in the choir and had kids on a mission, she bribed the camera men with cookies so she could have a special conference shot for her boys. Maybe you could do that??? ;)
6) keep that contact up with the nonmembers. You never know what seeds you may be planting by your smiles and friendships.
7) Lastly, how was the Lindsay Stirling concert?!?! I love watching her mormon.org video because she plays part of Crystallize in it and that's my only pop music I can get. Seriously, look it up. It's awesome. I loved all the pics and I'm glad everyone is doing well!
As for my week:
1) there are weeping angel statues everywhere hear! (Keilee, Hill, Sar, Stephen and Cam will get that reference. Ask them about it.) But seriously. there was one man who literally had 7 weeping angels in his front yard. I was just like "What are you trying to do?!?!?! Do you want to get yourself sent back in time?!?!" I actually made Sister Earl park farther down the street because I swear they were watching me.
2) so we were driving down a street and Sister Earl said, "I want to tract this street." Not even thinking about it, I got out my little black notebook and said, "Should I write that down?" Then I stopped. I had just quoted Best Two Years without even planning it!!!! I was officially an awesome missionary!!!! AAAHHH!!! I really kind of freaked out. It was awesome.
3) Other quick favor, could you get on fb and try and get Theron Johnson's address. Please apologize to him. I wrote him a letter in the MTC and then realized his address had gotten torn off of his Dear Elder letter.... I still have the letter! I just need to send it...
4) There are wild squirrels and wild bunny's everywhere around here! I think of Mandy every time I see a little bunny hop across our path. They are super cute! Sister Earl thinks I'm crazy... but that's okay. :) Also, I saw my first dead possum on the side of the road! I think that's a right of passage or something.... :)
5) Mom, you forgot Kadi's birthday on the calendar. I wrote it in, but could you get her fav scripture or something so I can add that to it?
Phrase of the week: "off the chain" Sister Rhodes used this one. It is used when something is awesome or incredible. Example sentence: Did you go to that Lindsay Stirling concert last week? It was off the chain!
Weekly advice for missionaries: read all of Preach my Gospel before you get out here. Like every single page. Just do it. It will help you immensely.
I think that is all for this week. Thank you for the packages and I'm so glad to hear everyone is doing well! I loved the Easter picture but I didn't see my cardboard cut out. haha ;) Love y'all! I'll talk to you next week!

Family forever,
Sister Thorne

Only 1 burner on our stove worked so we got a new one. We were really excited to finally have a working stove. :)

This is our role-playing family. Flynn (Dad) is a nonmember. Rapunzel (mom) is a recent convert. We are currently teaching Merida (daughter) who is very receptive to our lessons. She wants to be Mormon.

You should be proud mom. Miracles do happen. I am growing to love chocolate. I know right?!?! I love my mug of hot chocolate before I go to bed and we got some chocolates from a member and they... they're delicious. I promise I'm as surprised as you. Sister Earl is successfully converting me.

 

Sister Hartgrove's studio

This is Sister Hartgrove's home. She reminded me of Grandpa Ralph. She paints very beautifully. This is some of her work. She also gave us a beautiful piece that is currently hanging in our apartment. She is so amazing.