August 4, 2014

Hey Thorne Fam!

First order of business, Sister Brough (new mission president's wife) has a new blog for our mission. Here's the new address! GKLMBrough.blogsspot.com

What a crazy crazy week we have had! In case anyone hadn't heard, I am being transferred!!! So I will spend the last 6 weeks of my mission in a different area. So crazy but unfortunately also very true. I leave tomorrow. I don't know where I will be going except that I know it is a bike area! Ah! I haven't been on a bike since February because my last 2 comps couldn't ride! I will probably come home on the plane sore. XP For this weeks email, I wanted to share a little more in depth of how the Lord has guided and comforted me this week because it has grown my testimony of trusting in the Lord and His plan.

So the beginning of this story actually starts a year and a half ago in a quaint town called Syracuse. When I originally filled out my mission papers, I set my availability date for December 26th, 2012. I was so very ready to leave. But then I didn't leave for the MTC until March 6th. And those couple months turned out to be very emotionally and spiritually hard for me and carried a lot of trial and questions in them. I often found myself on my knees asking God why He couldn't have sent me out on my mission sooner. Every time I prayed, the answer that quietly came to me was, "I have something very important for you to do in August." So I have known for a year and a half that there was something very important that God needed me to do this month.

Then, last Monday, I got a blessing from Elder Benham (our district leader). In the blessing, he talked about the places I would serve in my mission. As in, I would still have another area before I went home. I was stunned. I wasn't leaving Beckley! I was going to die here! Sister Minson and I had plans! I had plans! As I talked to Elder Benham later about those words in the blessing, he told me that he was not planning on saying that and it was completely Heavenly Father speaking to me. I was so taken aback from that. So I started praying.

I prayed and I prayed and I prayed. I would go into my room and just start crying. How could Heavenly Father want me to leave this are and these people I have grown to love? I LOVE this area. I LOVE my companion. It would be so hard to have to form this love for someone new and a new area in just 6 short weeks. I felt that I couldn't do it. But every time that I prayed the same quiet voice spoke the same quiet answer to me. "I have something very important for you to do in August. And it's not here."

The answer broke my heart. Finally, on Wednesday, I accepted that this was Heavenly Father's plan. And I needed to start trusting in Him more. From that point on, I prayed for strength to overcome my circumstances instead of for my circumstance to change. It was an amazing experience to completely submit my will to the Father's and say, "Father, THY will be done." Even now, I can feel the spirit encompass me with the sweetest comfort I have felt since I prayed after Grammy died.

Since then, I have continued to pray. Harder than I have in a long time. Whenever I start to think of the future and it overwhelms me, I want nothing more than to sink to my knees and tell my Heavenly Father about it. He has truly become my very best friend. I love Him so much. :) As I have prayed this week, I have had some very powerful manifestations of the spirit giving me comfort, peace and assurance.

I want each of you to know that I know that God is real. I know that He answers prayers. And more than anything else, I know that He has a plan for each of us and, if we are willing to trust Him, we will become something more than we ever imagined ourselves becoming.

As for your email:

1) Yep. I am getting transferred. :P I have been towing my bike around to each area throughout the mission, so I still have it! And it only costs about $50 to send it home and I definitely want to send it home because I have put a lot into that bike and it's worth more than $200. I have been trying to not spend money on anything else so I can have enough to send it home.

2) We went to the chiropractor again today. It was so wonderful! My neck continues to get better and the headaches less. Yay!!! Tender mercy. :)

3) The man raking his leaves is Jim. We were in the area looking for a LA but their address didn't even exist. So Jim was in the neighborhood just raking leaves outside his house so we decided to just go up and talk to him. That's how we met him. We still don't know how to find the LA.

4) Sounds like everyone had a really fun adventure filled week! It had better be written in everyone's journals! And the Ogden temple is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Oh my goodness! It took my breath away. It doesn't even look like the same city! I can't wait to be able to go through! Hey Mom, maybe we could try for that instead of Marsh Lake. Could you call and see if there is anytime/openings they have for the first week or two where just me, you and Dad could go do a session? I would really love that. :)

5) STEPHEN HAS A DAUGHTER?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? What the flip??? I NEED PICTURES!!!! Is there anyway I could get any? And they are getting sealed! Oh my goodness! I couldn't be more proud of him. Please let him know that from me. :) AND KELSEA IS GETTING WHAT?!?!?!?!? I wish I could do a more shocked face over email. And she couldn't wait just a week more so I could be home and see it? Stinkpot. How dare she. ;D Love you Kels! Who is the lucky man?  Are they getting married in temple? How long have they been dating? I need details!!! Please? :)

Love you all so very much!!!! Have an amazing week!!!

Love always,

Sister Thorne

 Sister Minson, Judy and Me

 Elder Stohel's funeral. He's "dying" tomorrow and Elder Jergenson is holding the orphan sign because he's Elder Stohel's "son" and has only been trained for 6 weeks. So he will have to get a new dad now. Mission lingo! Gotta love it! Funeral idea inspired by Elder Cameron Waters. :)

 Elder Benham, Elder Hancock, Elder Butterfield, Elder Stohel, Elder Polson, Elder Casky, Elder Jergenson. Elder Davis is the little head below Elder Casky. Then Sister Galloway, Sister Black, Sister Thorne, Sister Minson.

We had an Arnold Palmer Picnic. Basically there is a road in our area where the median is big enough to fit a house. Kind of like they have a second front yard. So we figured we would have a picnic on the median. :) So much fun! We got White Castle and had a blast! :D