May 28, 2013

Hey Thorne Fam!  

Oh wow. Another week has flown by. This week has been amazing. I sit here in absolute wonder of God and how He truly plays a role in our lives. This week has been a roller coaster of emotions and it just keeps going. We have found many new investigators who have been prepared for us. But so many trials have come our way; the main two being housing and the passing of our little Deacon. So many lows and highs on this incredible adventure of Missionary Work but the highs are worth every low we must work through. God's miracle's to us. 

Sis Black is such an incredible missionary and it amazes me how well we work together. We are already teaching in unity and thinking the same. She is so prepared and she trains me just as much or more than I train her. I learn something new from her every day. This week for the 12 week program, we focused on watching the District Movies because she never watched them before she came out seeing as she only had 5 weeks from the time she got her call to when she left for the MTC. So we are watching and discussing those. She is doing so much better at talking to everyone. That was one of her weekly goals. I am so proud of the missionary she is and she is going to do amazing things. 

As for investigators this week: Lor Ryn, Tammy, Nikita, Magenta, Emma, Joanna, 

We had an awesome lesson on the Law of Chastity with Lor Ryn on Saturday. We taught both her and her boyfriend and got Josh speechless at one point about getting married. The spirit was very strongly felt and I have no doubt that if we give them a couple months, Josh's heart will be softened and he will be ready to get married. Unfortunately we had to move Lor Ryn's bap date because of this problem but we will be meeting with the couple again this Saturday and we will work to set it again then.

Tammy we are a little frustrated with right now. We taught her the 15 step program. She kept it for 3 days and then relapsed. We taught her the importance of quitting again, she went for a day and then relapsed and then we did the same thing again 2 days ago. She knows this gospel is true but quitting is just "too hard" and she doesn't have the faith in herself to do it. So we are really at a loss as to what to do with her at this point. I think she needs to get into reading the Book of Mormon more. So we will meet with her again as soon as we can and work from there. 

Nikita and Magenta we are keeping. I feel very strongly about them and I know that we are to continue to read the Book of Mormon with them. I don't know how Heavenly Father is going to work to help them get baptized eventually but I have full faith in Him and His ability to somehow soften Ginger's heart.  

The last one's I want to talk about today are Emma and Joanna. They are such sweet girls. Emma is 14 and Joanna is 11. They are from El Salvador and speak both Spanish and English, which is nice because we meet so many people who speak only Spanish. We have taught them about the Restoration and a couple very cool experiences in that lesson. They are excited and eager to learn. We talked about being baptized by someone holding the proper authority and they want to do it so this week we will be focusing on seeing how their parents feel about it.  

As I mentioned before, our ward mission leader (Brother Bland)'s little 2 year old son passed away yesterday afternoon. His name is Deacon. He was the cutest little boy I think I've ever met and it's been especially hard on me because I played with him a lot. We had what Sis Junk called a "special connection". It was completely unexpected. Sis Bland laid him down for a nap and he never woke up. Sis Black and I sat outside in the rain last night and just cried together for maybe 40 minutes. The funeral will be held on Friday. Please pray for their family. Sis Bland is only 26 and she only had two boys: Evan (4) and Deacon (2). Her story reminds me a lot of Jamie Yeager. She is such a sweet young woman just like Jamie as well. She will need all the support she will be able to get. 

As for your email: Yes, we are still at the Braedon's. We are hoping to stay here permanently. But we will see how things play out this week. Yes, the roach problem went away for 2 days and then it came back again in force. They haven't left yet and so the Braedon's were kind enough to let us come stay in their basement apartment. The Braedon's live at 709 2nd Ave, Jasper, IN. We still haven't gotten a new apartment. President is working on it. Hopefully I will have more answers and such next week. You can still send things to the 675 Gieseler Rd #211 address. We run over to check mail every afternoon. No, I never did get Brandon's letter. The only mail I got the past two weeks have been one from Grandma Albiston and one from Grandma Nancy. 

It's also hard for me not to get a hug from you. I ache for one every single day but I have so many mom's here who take such good care of us. I love them with all my heart and would be absolutely lost without their guidance. 

Angela accepted a bap date but she found out this past week that her cancer may be coming back so we haven’t' been able to meet with her between her running from work to the hospital for tests. We'll see how things go next week.

The kids were technically the Elders "baptism" but realistically they were both of ours. The Elders taught them all the way through but each of those kids have taken a very special place in my heart. Especially the girls. I love them to death and each of them are very attached to us. I was honored to get to speak at their baptism. Their dad, Ben hasn't gotten baptized yet but he loves the missionaries and we have full faith that he will come around eventually. 

I don't have much time today (we are at the library) so I can't say things to each individual. But know that I love y'all infinitely and I pray for you each day. I am so proud of you and the progress you each make. You lift me up every time things get hard. Keep up the prayers! We need them. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Love eternally,

Sister Thorne 

Oh! Advice for the week: Families can be Together Forever. Never forget that. As long as we get to the temple and live worthy of the covenants we make within we can be with our families throughout all eternities. I know that. I know that if anything were to happen to me or to anyone back at home that I wouldn't have to worry because we are sealed. I used to think that was a burden. haha :) But now it is the greatest blessing I have in my life. It keeps me going day after day. Love you all!!! 

P.S. Did you get my tape and the new pictures I sent you? I think it was sent Wednesday. Either way look forward to it soon! You'll get an entire two sides of hearing my voice! haha :) Maybe we can send it back and forth. Also, I need the other thumb drive so that I have one to send to you. Also (again) maybe you could write a letter to Sister Black? She hasn't gotten a single piece of mail since she has gotten out into the field. Sad huh?

 

 The baseball field at Huntingburg Park aka where League of their Own was filmed.

 This made me think of Grandpa Thorne.

 Go Rockford Peaches!!!!! I saw this and thought of you Mom! I love you!

 I got Aviators last week because I discovered that driving towards a setting sun can be hazardous without sunglasses. Then I found these cheap at walmart. I LOVE THEM! Aren't we so cool?

This was a super cute idea I saw at a members house. It keeps track of everyone's birthday. Each chain is for a different month and the disks say the person's name and what day in that month is their birthday. Then the color's stand for each family. So the light blue is one family and the purple is another, etc. Adorable!