The Quest of a Lifetime: March 24, 2014

Dear Thorne Fam,

Wow! What an amazing week this has been! We have seen a multitude of miracles and touched so many people! We have been incredibly blessed and I know that this week is going to be even better. :) This week I have put a big stress on the importance of sincere prayer ALWAYS. Having that constant sincere communication channel open with my Heavenly Father so that I can be bold knowing that I am following His spirit. In doing this, we have found 2 new investigators! Our first 2 in almost 4 weeks! :D And I know there are still more miracles to come.

As for our investigators: we currently only have 2 progressing.

Debbie is still doing well. Reading, learning and still hasn't picked up a cigarette. But we are coming to a point where we need to be bold with her. We are going to try and set a soft bap date with her and help her put the Lord and her faith to the test. We need her to act more. Hold us accountable to that and we'll give you a report next week.

The other is Tracy! We made contact with her yesterday and I was finally able to meet her!!!!! :D AND she has been reading the Book of Mormon! She is absolutely adorable and I feel so much potential and such a great spirit when in their home. Great things will come from them. Both her and Josh are working a lot lately so it's really hard to get them to sit down and have a lesson. But I have full confidence that they can be our April baptism. The Lord has promised that we can baptize monthly and He will provide a way.

We also picked up 2 new investigators as mentioned above. We had our first real lesson with them and Sister Perrero last night. It went well, but I think they are more into trying to convert us to SouthEast Christian than to listening to our message unfortunately. But we will keep up with them and see what happens! :)

We also picked McKayla back up. An investigator we had lost contact with these past couple weeks. She is really cute. We are going to teach our first lesson with her this week. So more things to come on that.

As for your email: Sounds like everyone is doing so well! Keep up the good work! I'm proud of y'all!

The majority of this email I wanted to be dedicated to this spiritual thought. I have had a ton of different thoughts and impressions come to my mind this week that I've wanted to share and need to get written down so they aren't forgotten. I wanted to take this special time and thank each and every single one of you who read this email for the role you have played in my life. Even if I don't personally know you, I guarantee you have touched me or one of my family members (who in turn touch me) and have helped get me to where I am today. This week my heart, I feel, is overflowing in gratitude. As this week began, I was very determined to see miracles. I feel like we haven't done too much in this area these past 4 weeks and I had slacked off a great deal. I was so tired and I couldn't figure out why. Then we had this incredible Zone Meeting about the Power of Faith. I was lead to a talk about faith by Elder Gene R. Cook. As I read that, I realized that my faith had been lacking, not in my Savior, but in myself and my ability to accomplish the things He had promised we could accomplish. I headed in to this week with a determination to work harder than ever and have complete faith, especially in prayer. There was one day in which we contacted for 2 hours that morning and didn't talk to a single nice person. I was really frustrated. But I reminded myself of my promise to the Lord and we kept going. We then went to a very rich neighborhood and started tracting. We had one last house, the biggest on the street, and we thought it would be funny to walk up to the big double doors to get refused and walk all the way back down the huge driveway. Good story for the future kids. But when we got up there, we met Joe and Jan. Adorable old couple who were so very nice to us. We went back for our first sit down lesson with Sister Perrero yesterday. As we sat down, we realized (as stated above) that they are more interested in converting us than learning. But they were our first 2 new investigators in about 4 weeks. I had nearly given up hope. But God provided me with that small miracle to help my faith to continue on. From that day, we have had a multitude of other miracles we couldn't have imagined. We have gotten back in contact with several lost investigators. We have been given smiles and energy to continue on each day. We have been able to feel God's love for so many of His children. Which truly is the greatest gift of all. And then.... as I opened this email and I saw my little sister, glowing with the power of the temple, endowed from on high to take over the world from Uruaguay to Paris and everything in between with 2 others whom I also consider my sisters. My cup overflows. Then to add on to that, seeing my other little sister, holding onto the righteous standards of her youth as she turns the ripe old age of 16. :) My cup overflows. Then thinking of my little brothers, holding true to the priesthood they either hold or living true to the priesthood they will hold. My cup overflows. Thinking of my parents. My Daddy and Mum. Who taught me the foundation of my faith that has gotten me to where I am today. My cup truly overflows. I am so grateful for a mighty Master and Savior who understands my potential, my weaknesses and the things I need to receive to continue each day. I am grateful for the multitude of blessings He has provided me in my life, for which I don't even begin to deserve. I am grateful for faith. For faith IS power. I Know that my Redeemer lives. What comfort this sweet sentence give. He lives to comfort me when faint. He lives to hear my souls complaint. I love each and every single one of you. Never give up on your faith.

Your sister in Christ eternally,

Sister Thorne