October 28, 2013

Hey Thorne Fam!

Missionary work is such a once in a lifetime experience. I always think that weeks can't get more crazier and then... they do. :P This Sunday, basically everything that could go wrong did. More on that later. But we also have some really fun and amazing plans for this upcoming week so of course, things go on!

As for our investigators: progressing are Kat, Cory, Nancy and Deandra.

Kat is amazing as always. She came to church yesterday and loved it. :)

Cory is a new investigator. He is 10 years old and his 3 older siblings are baptized but he is not. His Dad is less active but still loves the church. We met Cory this past week and talked to him about what the Book of Mormon is and read with him and his siblings. He then came to church with his two older brothers! He is so young but he has a natural curiosity and he already has so many questions. We talked about being baptized and he expressed a desire to be baptized. So we will be talking about that with him and his father this week!

Nancy is someone we met quite a while ago and then lost contact with. But we dropped by the other day and she expressed a desire to still have us come over! So this past week we talked to her about the Restoration. She said that a part of her is skeptical because it seems so far fetched but a part of her says why not? So we talked to her about praying to know the truth and she is doing that this week. She also gave the closing prayer in our lesson! She has a real desire to know if this is true and I'm really excited to meet with her again. :)

DeAndra is married to Gustavo. They have one daughter Elena and she has a son to be born on October 30th. We've met with them twice and by the second time she had already started reading in the Book of Mormon. She says it is slow going because it's hard to understand but we are going to read with her to help her start to "get the language". She also has a great desire to find the truth for her family. 

As for Bill, he is no longer progressing. He didn't come to church yesterday and we called him and he said that "The Mormon isn't for him". I felt like I was in the District 2 with Jynx! He expressed a lot of concerns with WoW and Tithing. We will be meeting with him and Bishop tomorrow night. I'm not really sure what is going to happen.

Stephen and Jeannie's appointments both fell through but we are meeting with Stephen this Friday evening and Jeannie tonight. 

So it's been a crazy weekend! But I guess I kind of deserved it. I decided on Friday that I was going to work on Patience and Diligence this week. :P Which brings me to my thought for this week. It comes from Alma 26:27. When I think of the Sons of Mosiah, I think of the pretty much the very best missionaries this world has ever seen (other than Christ of course). They converted thousands and were so amazing! But in verse 27 we read, "Now when our heart were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: go amongst thy brethren and bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give unto you success." There was even a time when the Sons of Mosiah wanted to turn back. They got depressed and discouraged and even worse as we read. But, nevertheless, they were comforted and they DID see success. So this week I speak of Enduring to the End with Patience and Diligence. It's not easy. It's not meant to be easy. But it definitely is worth it. 

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

Sister Thorne

October 21, 2013

Hey Thorne Fam!

We didn't have as great a week as we did last week... things really slowed down and we weren't really sure why. But we fasted yesterday and got a lot of inspiration as to what we should be fixing and working on. So we are excited to really get started this week!

As for me: I am doing so wonderfully! I always seem to have the hardest time on Saturday each week. I don't know why but Saturday's are always the hardest days. That's usually when I have my little mini breakdowns. :P But then I get to Sunday and I go to church and I feel the spirit and I just love it so much!!! And then I am ready to head into another awesome week. :)

As for investigators: we have 3 progressing, Kat Bill and Stephen.

Kat has a legit bap date for November 30th. Her parents are not very happy with her and may not come to it, but she knows what she has to do and she is set in her decision. She will not waver. I am so very proud of her. She is an amazing girl. Also, she is is most likely getting married either in December or next June. Her and Aric want to be sealed together before they get married legally. But Kat's parents said that if they do, they won't pay for a bit of the wedding. So Kat and Aric said oh well and they are most likely going to be sealed and married this December. Awesome huh!

Bill wasn't able to come to church because he got super sick, but he is planning on coming next Sunday and that is the primary program so he should really like it. We addressed his concern about not feeling "spiritually nourished" at church and talked about how as we study in the scriptures daily, we prepare ourselves to be spiritually fed at church. We gave him a study journal and he will be writing in it as he reads and comes to church. That should help.

Stephen is on the fence right now. He read from the Book of Mormon! Which is a huge step for him, but we haven't been able to meet with June yet. She canceled on us and she is the biggest reason they aren't coming to church. But we should be meeting with them both tonight so we'll see how that goes.

Jeannie we will be meeting with this Thursday so I'll report on her next week. Muhammad and Abdullah we lost contact with for a while... but we've restored that and will be meeting with them this week!

As for your email:

1) Yes, I did mean one more transfer. :P But no, since I will most likely be leaving Morehead at the end of this transfer, I will be missing Thanksgiving by 2 days and Kat's baptism by 4. :( Transfer meeting is November 26th. It is so crazy to think that both Thanksgiving and Christmas is next transfer. I will get to talk to y'all again next transfer! Weird!

2) As for Stephen, we actually just prayed in his neighborhood and picked his door to knock on. Pretty cool huh? I love how the spirit works if we will just be worthy of it. Miracles are abounding! :D

3) By the way, the rules changed! I can listen to any church music that is sung by an LDS artist. Can I PLEASE get some Jessie CD's?!?!?! Also, Bill asked if there was anyway I could get him a MoTab CD. There is also a member who is really struggling (her ex is having a mental breakdown she is helping through and her current husband is in AA rehab 2 hours away) but she goes out with us probably at least 5 times a week. She has literally been our life saver and a huge help for Bill. We have both been pondering about what we can do to return all she has done for us. So we will be making her a nice dinner this week and I was also wondering if you could get her a MoTab CD as well. Is that possible Daddy? Lastly, could I get all my stocking and winter stuff sent back to me? It's is starting to get seriously cold down here. And in a skirt. haha :)

4) Thank you for your advice for Muhammad and Bill! It was actually really REALLY helpful. We will be using it in our next lessons. Inspired mom! :D

5) Sounds like Caleb is becoming an integral part of the family. ;) heehee!!! How did the fam all like him?

6) Mandy swing dances?

7) You never said anything about my dyed hair? :( Do you like it? :)

8) Sounds like you had a super fun week! So many adventures! I hope that they are all written down in y'all's journals I got ya. Brit, Mandy, Josh, Brandon, yes. That means you! haha :) I am so glad that you are really starting to get used to the area and it sounds like everyone has some really good new friends. :) Oh! I also got another email from Sister Anderton, my dear sweet visiting teacher. Tell her thanks! She is so amazing!

As for my spiritual thought: this week I have been studying Mosiah 4 which is the Book of Mormon chapter that answers the question of the soul "How can I find more peace and joy?" This is a question that everyone answers at some point in their life. Sometimes we are just rushing from project to project so quickly that we never have the chance to search for peace. Sometimes we are making wrong choices and can't seem to find any source of joy. That's because peace and joy are not offered by the world. Fake counterparts are, but never ever true peace and joy. That comes only through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. In Mosiah 4:3, 6-7 and 9-10 it gives us the path to receive salvation or the path to find peace and joy. It's something we learn from the 4th article of faith. First, we "believe in God" (vs. 9). This belief leads us to humility and "ask[ing] in sincerity of heart that [God] will forgive you" (vs.10). As we descend to these depths our Savior gives us the tools to rise to redepmtion, even a "remision of [our] sins" (vs. 3). This remision is a cleansing. It gives us that clean slate that provides us with true inner peace. The next tool we receive is the "Spirit of the Lord" which "fills [us] with joy" (vs. 3). The spirit is truly the only source of true happiness in this world. I know that with every fiber of my heart. Then finally, as we do all of these things, we "receive slavation" (vs. 7). This path has been the only path for true joy since the foundation of the world. Faith, Repentence, Baptism (or keeping those covenants aka the Sacrament), the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. This is not an easy path, but by golly it is worth it. True peace and joy are always worth it. So my invitation for this week would be to discover for yourself where on this path you are. What in your life is causing you to stray from it? Whether it is daily scripture study and prayer, family home evenings or bigger mistakes. I testify that as we come unto Christ through the path He has set out for us, we can find true peace and joy. And I say that in the name of our Savior, Amen.

Love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

Sister Thorne

We had a pretty decent size rain storm this past week so naturally Sister Sperry and I decided to go tracting in it. At first, I had an umbrella and she was jumping in puddles. She looked like she was having so much fun I just had to join her. So in the end, we both got absolutely soaked! :) 

 This is Krista. I love this family to death! Krista was in the military and she now has a little boy, Ayden. I love that kid so much! Krista is now my older sister and Ayden has officially been adopted as my nephew. Isn't he adorable??? This is Krista's Halloween costume. Ayden has a little mini one.

On Sunday, I curled Sister Sperry's hair. Doesn't it look beautiful?! She is so gorgeous! I think if she was any princess, she would be Sleeping Beauty or Rapunzel. :)

October 14, 2013

Hey Thorne Fam! 

Goodness gracious time flies! This week has been so amazing! The miracles just continue to come and we are so blessed to be able to be here and be a part of them. What a huge blessing.

As for me: I am doing fantastic! I am so excited to be able to be in Morehead for another transfer! Thank you so much for this opportunity! I got a bit sick this past weekend but I'm nearly over it. I think it was just a bad sore throat. So I stayed in and slept for a bit Saturday morning because I hadn't slept at all the previous night and now I am doing much much better! The Lord certainly does watch out for His missionaries. :)

As for our investigators: progressing are Stephen, Kat, Bill, Jeannie and Muhammad.

Stephen we got to meet with again and he has started reading in the Book of Mormon. Not very much, but little by little. His main concern now is his current wife, June. She doesn't seem completely supposed nor completely supportive of this choice of looking in to the church. So we are meeting with both him and June this week.

Kat talked to her parents this past weekend and they okayed her getting baptized!!!!!! Her official date is November 30th. This is so big and I am so excited! Brother Curry told us she is doing amazingly and I am so proud of her. :)

Bill came to church on Sunday. He didn't particularly like it. He said he didn't "feel spiritually nourished." But we had an amazing lesson with him, Bishop and Sis Gibbs and we retaught the Restoration focusing more closely on what Revelation is and how we can receive it. He then ended the lesson by Bill giving his very first out loud prayer! Yay!

Jeannie watched conference and we stopped by her house. She is doing well but we won't be able to sit down and have a lesson with her again until October 24th.... so we are doing random drop by's and we will hold in there until then.

Muhammad is now progressing and Abdullah is not! Weird huh? Muhammad is reading from the Book of Mormon but Abdullah doesn't like to. Their biggest concern right now is that neither believe that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. They say they won't believe it until they see him doing some big miracle like parting the red sea or something. We told them stories about him healing people but they both say that's not big enough. We explained about faith 3 or 4 times but they don't understand... we're really not sure how to help them understand that... any suggestions?

As for your email:

1) I believe it would be from L.R. and Karla Hughes. We watched Sunday Morning with them. They are such a sweet couple. :) We call L.R. Hughes "the Colonel" because he is one and that's just what everyone in the ward calls him. :)

2) Transfer news!!! Sister Sperry and I are staying together in Morehead for another week!!! Woot!!!! I am so happy to be able to stay in this wonderful area with my wonderful companion and my non-creepy Ward Mission Leader (just for you Brother Curry!) and my fantastic ward family. :) I am so blessed!

3) Adams Canyon looks like a blast! So much fun! And Mandy and Melissa, you are so stunning! Love you!

4) You should be getting a link from Brother Curry soon. He took a video of Sister Sperry and I just talking and it putting it up on YouTube for all y'all to see! How fun! :D

5) Sounds like you had a super fun week and a blast of a weekend! You got some quality time with both Mandy and Brit! Lucky! Thanks for the pics. You are all so adorable! :)

6) YAY!!!! CONGRATS BREI AND CHRIS!!!! AH!!!! She is so very beautiful and I can't wait to meet her. :) How do you say her name? Is it like Bell or Bell-uh? So very beautiful. :)

As for my spiritual thought: I found my motto for this transfer! It's FHCVKPHD aka Faith, Hope, Charity, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, and Diligence. This transfer I am really going to focus on the Christ like Attributes. Those are the 8 listed in Preach My Gospel that are also mentioned in D&C 4 but there are many many more out there. There is work we can do each and every single day to become more like our Savior. As he beckons us to "Come" unto Him, we do that by becoming more like him. That process is not always easy, but it is absolutely worth it. So this week I will be focusing on Faith and Hope since they go hand in hand. Alma 32:21 says "Faith is to hope for things which are not seen which are true." As we build our faith in Christ through daily scripture study and prayer, we will have a brighter hope for the future. I know that Christ is our ultimate example for eternal happiness. I know that as we come unto Him, we can find true joy. I invite each of you to study the scriptures and plead with your Father in Heaven each day this week and then see the difference that the simple things make. By small and simple means are great things brought to pass. Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love eternally,
Sister Thorne

This is on our hike up to Lakegee. So stunning. :) 

 Sister Thorne, Sister Bowman, Sister Sperry and Sister Bowling. This is our awesome group that did the hike.

 Sister Sperry took this one. She says AMT stands for "Amazing Missionary Trainer". She is so sweet. :)

Our bestest friend Emily got us some sweaters since we didn't have any good winter clothes. Here is us modeling 2 of them. :)

October 7, 2013

Hey Thorne Fam!

Oh my goodness! Such a long, crazy, busy, amazing, fantastic, stressful week! I feel like I've just rode one of the craziest roller coasters ever built. But, ain't that missionary work? :)

As for me: I am doing so wonderful! I had a bit of a struggle with homesickness preparing for and then seeing Daddy at conference. I did cry. Several times. The worst one was Abide with Me. I thought of Grammy the entire way through. Then of course, they had to show Dad's face on the line "I cannot commune with thee." And then I lost it. It was bad... And just as I pulled myself together for the final moment, they showed him as the final close up. Man.... I REALLY lost it. Poor Bill sitting next to me gave the most worried look and then the Elders in front of me, just laughed. Oh Elders. But the wonderful thing is that Dad is part of the big reason why I am out here. I know that he is so very proud of me and I know that he wants me here because he knows how much it will benefit me, he having been there before. And so I am doing really good now. :) I feel renewed after the many things I learned from conference and I am ready to go for this week. Let's baptize!

Oh! I also got to watch Music and the Spoken Word! A member invited us over to watch it so I could point out Dad and then we got to stay and watch Sunday Morning session with them. It was so cool because they had an in-your-face close up of Petey! It was really cool to get to see him and Dad. :)

As for our investigators: We have 2 with a bap date!!!! Stephen and Kat. Progressing is: Bill, Jeannie and Abdullah.

So we met Stephen (pronounced Stefen) late last weekend. He lost his mother in law last November, his wife last February (with only a month's notice. She had cancer) and then his father last May. We went back on Tuesday and took Sister Jex with us. We talked about being sealed in the temple and how the power of the priesthood has been restored. In every things we talked about we mentioned baptism, just as the APs taught us. Then we challenged him to be baptized! Second lesson! He said he wasn't sure yet. He was very hesitant but we got him to agree to setting a goal of November 3rd. He was going to watch conference and we are calling him to see how that went and his BofM reading as well. I love the spirit!

Kat is as amazing as ever. She is receiving the lessons again from Brother Curry and Brother Monnett. So far so good. She watched all 4 sessions of conference from her dorm room and she particularly liked Elder Dube's. She's awesome. :) And Eric is her boyfriend near fiancé.

Bill!!!!! I am 99% sure Bill is going to get baptized. He came to the church to watch all 4 sessions of conference and he watched Priesthood session from home. We fasted for him Saturday and he fasted Sunday as he received his blessing. Cool enough, there was actually a baptism of Sariah Bowman (an 8 yr old) between sessions that Bill got to watch. Then, since they were there, the bishopric all participated in giving him his blessing. So we had all 4 Elder's and the bishopric. Elder Allen was the voice and it was so beautiful. Bill said after, "Those were not his words. They were the words of God." Miracles. :)

Jeannie is an investigator. If you go back to my first email from Morehead, we helped her move into her new house with the Elders. She works with Brother Curry on campus and so he enlisted us in helping her move and from there we were able to form a friendship and start teaching her. She is probably in her 40's? She is a single lady. She's amazing. I really love her. :) And she is doing pretty good. We met with her Wednesday and talked about the Restoration. Still mentioning baptism. It's kind of like inception. She also watched conference this weekend. Her only thought we could get out of her was that it was "interesting" We plan on dropping by sometime soon to see what she thought of it all.

Finally Abdullah. He totally brought another Muslim friend to our lesson this week! His name is Muhammad. We went with Rachel and talked about the Restoration. Muhammad had some really good questions and we were able to follow the spirit in helping him understand the answers. He is very intelligent and Abdullah said it was a really good review for him as well because everything made more sense the second time around. I don't know if they were able to watch conference. We need to follow up on that.

Also one side note: Tung came to Saturday morning session of conference! We then had an amazing lesson with him, Bill, Sis Gibbs and Bro Nelson between sessions. We talked about what was said and connected everything to church attendance and why we go to church. He said he will be in DC this coming weekend but he is going to try to come to church the next week! I'll keep you updated on that.

And no, we aren't teaching Erin any more. She is now going to Crosspoint. You should Google it here in Morehead. I'm.... not a fan.... We have 4 different investigators that are struggling with church attendance because of that great and abominable church. Yes, we are still friends. :) Always. :) She should be asking to be my fb friend soon. We see her probably once or twice a week as we are coming and going. She may be moving soon though to a better apartment. We'll see.

In response to your email:

1) BRIT!!!! EMAIL ME BEFORE I POUND YOUR LITTLE BUTT! Anyways, sounds like you are having a lot of fun adventures and I love getting the pics. :) You are amazing and you are going to be an incredible missionary. Ask Sis Sperry, I talk about you at least once a day. I miss you tons and you one of my rocks out here. I love you, you dork. :)

2) Mandy: I got a letter from Melissa this week!!! I was so stinkin’ happy! I miss that girl like mad. I plan on writing her back today. Please tell her I love her and give her an extra big hug for me. As for you you cutie. You are more and more gorgeous each week. I know I say that all the time, but that picture of you and Melissa is stunning. Keep the boys away! haha Love you. :)

3) Josh: Good job on grades dude! You're following after your big sister huh? That's my boy. :) I'm so proud of you. Keep it up!

4) Brandon: Still being a stinkpot I hear? Good. :) haha Your hair still flips right? Good. That's how the cool kids do it. ;D

5) Mom: I think that is so cool that you looked at conference that way! It's amazing what a difference looking at things through a nonmember or less active's eyes can make. It's the same for scriptures too! They take on a whole new meaning. :)

My spiritual thought comes from conference. Here are my fav quotes:

"Never look back. Look at what we still have to do." -Edward Dube

"Come, join with us!" -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Faith over fear. Hope over despair. Light over dark." -Boyd K. Packer

"We need women who are tender, kind, refined, faithful, good, virtuous and pure." -D. Todd Christofferson

"Hope is never lost!" "We are infinitely more than our limitations." -Jeffrey R. Holland

"there is not one of us He does not desire to save. There is not one of us He has devised means to save. There is not one of us who does not have Holy Angels guarding us." "I gave them to you because you could and would love them no matter what they do." -Henry B. Eyring

"Decisions determine destiny." -Russell M. Nelson

Also, I noticed that at least 6 different talks mentioned something with the word "come". Elder Dube and President Monson said "Come unto me." President Uchtdorf said "Come, join with us." Elder Valenzuela said to "Come unto Christ." Elder Dyches said "Come follow me." And Elder Vinson said we should "Come and see." This must be important because as President Uchtdorf said we should pay attention to repetitions. So as I was pondering this, I discovered my thought and invitation for this week. Are we doing all we can to Come Unto Christ? Are we doing all we can to invite others to Come Unto Christ? What are we doing, that needs to be "prioritized" as Elder Oaks says? I would invite each of you to look at your life and discover what is keeping you from coming unto Him Who Always Beckons. He is waiting for you. He will never give up on you. His love is always there for you. It just is. I know that as we look into the tiniest of details and work to truly align our will with God's we will find the well of all peace and joy.

I love each of you infinitely! Have a wonderful week! :D

Love always,

Sister Thorne

 Look dad, it's a Japanese Pocky Stick!

 Isn't Kentucky so pretty? And the leaves are all starting to change colors. It's just breath taking.

I had extra budgeted money last month so Sister Sperry and I dyed my hair. :) It now has a reddish highlight in the sun as you can see. I LOVE IT!!!!