March 3, 2014

Hello Thorne Fam!

This week went by so fast!!! Like faster than normal fast! It's already Monday can you believe it?! I feel like there just is never enough time to accomplish all that is needed.... But the Lord always provides a way!

I have been doing so wonderfully! The work is difficult here in Beckley, but for some reason, I haven't felt discouraged. It really is interesting because the rest of my mission, rejection and discouragement has been something I've always struggled with, but not here, in the hardest area I've ever been in. I just feel so happy, energetic and excited all the time! It's so amazing what the Atonement can do for us when we just let it. :)

As for investigators, we have 4 progressing: Gabe, Debbie, Tracy & Josh.

Gabe is doing well! We are struggling a little bit to make schedules all work out for his baptism. Kassie (his mom) really wants him to have his own baptism so that it's special to him, but Bishop wants to combine it with another 9 yr old being baptized that weekend. So we feel like the middle man trying to get everything to work out which is also causing a bit of stress. But we have put it all in the Lord's hands and we know that Gabe will enter the waters of baptism when the time is right. But for right now, his date is for Mar 14th.

Debbie had an awesome lesson last night! We talked to her a lot about the Apostasy and then a little bit about baptism for the dead and geneology. It was a SUPER spirit led lesson. She started out by saying, I don't believe that God would take his church off the earth and put it on the backs of us to redeem those people. I just don't believe that and you can't make me. But by the end, the spirit had completely resolved her concern and she was saying, "I just keep feeling these little impressions that this church is true." SO COOL! We are doing the 15-step program with her and a member this weekend to help Debbie quit smoking. 

Finally, we were supposed to have our lesson with Tracy and Josh at the Reasor's yesterday and they were supposed to come to church, but by 3am Sunday morning Josh was throwing up and terribly sick. So that all got canceled.... but they are still praying and reading and are super pumped for church and our next lesson. We really feel strongly about them. We are hoping to get another family more involved in their path of investigation so we are discussing that with Bro Brown.

As for your email:

1) I totally forgot to take pics of the apartment..... next week! And we have done a lot of renovation to the apartment and it looks so much better! We can actually use the dishwasher and stove, we have more cleaning supplies and the bugs have stopped! Woot! But we do need decorations.... Maybe y'all could think of something fun for St. Patrick's Day? ;)

2) I love the trees to Manda-lou! I just can't wait until they turn all green and beautiful! We got another huge snow storm last night, but everyone is saying that this should be our last one and Spring should be just around the corner! It's so close I can smell it! Well.... not smell... but I can feel it! :D

3) It is SOOOOOO nice to not train and just be a normal missionary. We both know what we're doing and we just get to focus on working hard! So much fun! Also, side not, we did an exchange with the STL's this past week and I got to spend the day with Sister Baldwin!!!!!! My old MTC comp! It's been nearly a year since we got to spend any time together and it was so amazing to see how we've both grown. It was a miraculous, super fun day. :)

4)AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just want to know Brit's call!!!!! And I have to wait until next Monday!!!! AH! I could just go absolutely insane! Take so many pictures! I want to know EVERYTHING! So will Mandy will still be home for the opening right? OH MY GOODNESS!!! I can barely breath! Deep breathes. Deep breathes. In. Out. In. Out. Can't wait!!!!!

5) Sounds like y'all had an amazingly awesome week! Can't wait to hear about the next. Tell Mandy she had better take a ton of pics of Cali and the sun!

6) Any cool thoughts you had from the fireside with Elder Nelson and his wife?

7) Accept both fb requests. :)

8) LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Love eternally,

Sister Thorne

Yes. Yes that is indeed a STEINWAY!!!! Sis Augason owns it. Cute adorable old lady who had us over for dinner this past week. And..... she let me play it! It sounded so beautiful! If there is anyway any of y'all could get this to Ben Saunders, I would really appreciate it. Steinway's are like his thing. 

 Sister Thorne being a punk because she is now the passenger for the first time in like forever and doesn't have to drive, ergo she gets bored while driving and has to be weird to entertain herself and Sister Smith.

Sister Smith being a really good focused driver no matter how hard I try to be distracting. Man. She's good.