June 17, 2013

Hello Thorne Family! 

Week already finished eh (that's just for you Justin Hill!)? It has been a really long week. I have completely exhausted myself every single day and it has been really difficult. I go to bed tired and wake up tired. Maybe I need to start taking some Iron supplements..... It's hot as heck itself and it's going to get worse, but I honestly love humidity! It makes my skin so soft and I love the taste of it. That sounds weird, but the air really does taste like water! It's awesome!

As for Sister Pack, she's doing really well. She does excellently in role plays and she really does talk to EVERYONE already. She says hi to everyone and just loves to get to know everyone she can. She is very bold and she already knows all the lessons forward and backward and can apply them to people and teach to their needs very well. She has the gift of the discernment of spirits and she follows what the spirit tells her. She teaches with power and authority and is basically just amazing.

As for our investigators: we only have 3 progressing right now. I think that we are going to have to drop most of our current investigators this next week and go on a finding scavenger hunt. They don't make meeting with us a priority and they just don't keep commitments. It's been really stressful for me right now, but I think that that is the direction we need to be going. We will shoot for our 20 contacts a day and 5 hours of tracting and work on finding this week to enlarge our investigator pool.

For progressing: we first have Tammy. She is doing SO well! We had an incredible lesson with her and her two girls today. She is down to just 5 cigarettes a day (from 15/day) and we set a new baptismal date for July 27. We really think she'll be able to keep this one this time. Her daughter Dara wants to get baptized as well but Tammy doesn't have guardianship, the grandpa does and he doesn't like Mormons at all and won't let them come to church. It's a sticky situation.

Next is Emma and Joanna. They are still reading from the Book of Mormon, well at least Emma is. Joanna is very floaty, as expected of an 11 year old. But Emma is very serious about this and knows the church is true. She has been reading and praying with real intent. The only obstacle now is getting a member into the home who speaks Spanish so we can try and meet with their Mom (who doesn't speak English). We will make that a goal this week.

Finally is Kent. We met him last week and he is prime! We had an awesome member present lesson with him this week and he has been searching for the truth for many years. He is already asking about the requirements to get baptized and wants to go on a mission. I am excited to see where he goes.

As for your letter:

Wow! Sounds like you all have had an insane week! So many adventures!

Apartment: WE GOT A NEW APARTMENT!!!!!!!!! The new address is 550 Kirkwood Dr #507, Jasper, IN, 47546. It is absolutely stunning. There are no bugs whatsoever. It's all white and clean and we scrubbed everything today so it's all sparkly. I just love the place. It's already starting to feel like home. We moved in Friday night. We've got everything moved and up on the walls. I'll try and take pictures this week and send them. You can google it though. It's the Geoplex Apartments in Jasper, Indiana. They are super nice.

Package: Yes, I got it! Thank you so much! I loved the candy and especially the letter from Dad and the rose from Brit. I also got Brit's graduation announcement, Hillary's letter, a letter from Ryan and a letter from President Spackman. I started recording on the tape today. It will be a Father's day tape and I will get it to y'all as soon as I finish it. Probably next Monday.

Brit: Happy birthday my love! I sent your b-day present today! Sorry it's late.... please forgive me? I really think you'll like it. I also have some other things in the package as well as letters for everyone but Daddy because he got his special letter this week. Also congrats on the pageant! I won most tickets too! I think I gave my piggy bank to Kadi for her birthday though... hmm.... I don't really know where it is... oops. :) But that must have been so fun! I expect a letter with all the deets soon okay?

Dad was in Indianapolis on Friday right? I was thinking about him all day! My Daddy was only 2 hours away! It's crazy to think that he was so close and was even in the same time zone! I miss him so much. I miss you all so much.

I'm glad Pop got my Father's Day letter. Did he show it to you? I saw that card at walmart and I simply could not pass it by. I knew I had to send it to him. I didn't mean to make him cry. Tell him I'm sorry please? But I would love to get a letter from him sometime. I get some from Nancy lots and I love them to death! They make my week! But I'd love to hear from my Grandpa too. Same goes for all my Grandpa's. :)

I'm glad you are going to Hillary's farewell. You can go proxy for me. I wish I could be there. Please tell her that I will be thinking of her and that I love her to death. I also told Cam to look out for her at the MTC so she'll have someone looking over her there. Just look for some Argentina missionaries and they might know him. I think he leaves the MTC July 6...

I think that's all for today! I love and miss you all so much! Be good okay? Make good choices! Also, if you get a fb invite from a Joshua Nielson, accept it. He was my zone leader who just went home this last Wednesday. He's awesome. :)

LOVE YOU!!! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! 

Love eternally,

Sister Thorne

Sister Pack and I

 

 

June 10, 2013

Hello my lovely eternal family!      

Well, another week has flown by! It has been so crazy! And we are both prepared to move on to higher adventures this week. Transfer calls came on Saturday. Sister Black will be moving to Beckley, Kentucky and whitewashing that area. She will also be training. First, whitewashing: when you take both missionaries out of an area and start again with two new missionaries. Usually they will take one missionary, leaving the other in the area so they can teach the incoming missionary about where everything is and such. So basically whitewashing is opening a new area except you already have a foundation from previous missionaries. Make sense? So Sister Black is basically doing exactly what I did 6 weeks ago. I am so proud of her. I will be staying up here in Jasper, Indiana and I will also be training a newbie. Yay! My 4th companion in 2 transfers! Yay...... haha I am excited just extremely nervous. I hope I can do a better job than when I got Sister Junk. 

As for investigators this week: We were able to meet with many of them but hardly any of them were keeping commitments we had extended (namely attending church) so none of them were really progressing. Many things seemed to have come up Saturday that didn't allow people to come. Several of our investigators had to work, a couple parents didn't give permission for them to come and many had emergencies happen. Satan is working harder than ever before. But he will be bound and we will work twice as hard to get them all there next week. But for investigators that are actually progressing we have Tammy and Dara, Emma and Joanna and Lor Ryn. 

Tammy we are seeing a lot of success with and I have high hopes for her. She attended church and loved it as always. She is quitting smoking one cigarette at a time. This past week we went from 15 cigarette's a day to only 10 and this week we are moving to 7. We meet with her every morning to give her her daily baggy of cigarette's. I fully believe that if we give her 3-4 more weeks, she will be able to bag this addiction. Dara is her daughter whom she gets almost every weekend. Dara loves the church and wants to get baptized. The main problem is that Tammy doesn't have any guardianship of Dara, but she is working on that as well. 

Emma and Joanna are doing good. We are encountering a problem with their Mom. She is very involved in the church they are in right now and she doesn't speak any English. We tried to get a member in there who also speaks spanish but they canceled on us 20 minutes before the lesson. We will work on that this next week and see if we can form a bridge of understanding in that area. 

Lor Ryn is doing wonderfully as well. She wasn't able to come to church because she didn't have a car and she lives all the way down in Dale (we don't have any members who live there nor any who can drive that far to pick her up). But she is trying to work things out with her husband where she can have the car this next weekend. 

As for your email:

I could not be more proud of my little sister right now. Britney, you made me cry. I'm still crying. I took one look at you and thought, hey, that is exactly what I looked like 2 years ago. I wore the same cap and gown, I got high honors, a PVA cord and Nation Honor Society. But this time it was my little sister.... and I couldn't be there for her.... I thought of you all night though. Just so you know. I love you Brit. I am so proud of your accomplishment. That's my girl. :) 

Mandy: I heard somethin's up. Email me please! You promised to tell me about boy stuff. You pinky promised with our secret handshake! *secret handshake* I'll talk to you next week kk? :) Also, I got Norman Mormon!!!! I laminated him and he goes with me everywhere! I will start taking pics with him so you can see. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!! :D Thank you! Your letter meant the world to me. :) 

Josh and Brandon: Keep on keepin on! That's my mission motto. Only 3 weeks left. You can do it my dudies! And I also got Brandon's letter. Thank you! 

Oh! Letters this week: I have gotten all of Grandma Kathy's. Thank her for me. Her cards always come exactly when I need them. I got a letter from each of the Taylor's!!! Ah! I loved it SO much! Let's see... Oh! I got Brandon's and I think that's it. It was such a bounty of letters this week! I feel like I took a step into paradise! It was weird going to the mailbox and actually finding something in it. haha :P For the package, I haven't gotten it yet. Did you send it to the Braedon's address? When should I have gotten it? 

I think that's all. I need to run. We have SO much to do today to make sure Sister Black is ready to move and train on Tuesday.  

I will talk to you all next week! Love you!!! :D Give Hillary an extra big hug for me! 

Loves forever,

Sister Thorne 

P.S. Oh! And a letter from Sarah. :) 

From Mom:

I’m pretty sure I sent the package to the Braedon’s on Tuesday. You should have gotten it. Hmmm. Keep your eye out for it. Are you still living there? Did you get a new apartment?

Love you dear!

Mom 

From Shannah:

We are still at the Braedon's but we move back to our old apartment today. We may be getting a new apartment some time this transfer. But we really have no control over that seeing as everything has to be done by the mission office missionaries Elder and Sister Halvorsen. The roach count is officially over 100 so hopefully within the next 6 weeks things get figured out. I just really hope that this new missionary I'm getting won't get scared off by coming into the mission field and being welcomed by this apartment. I guess we'll see.... 

From Mom:

Ugh! Be so brave dear. Think Merida….

From Shannah:

I see her when I wake up every morning! I love that doll! But yes, brave is exactly what will be required of me.

 

From Sister Hughlett: They are digging out for my patio.  She is working really hard.  The elders and young men were over Wednesday and will be back Saturday but they wanted to help dig today.

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From Sister Hughlett: This is our new sister missionary.  Her name is Sister Pack.  Don't know a whole lot about her yet.  

June 3, 2013

Hey Thorne Fam!

Another week gone. That's so crazy! It seems like just yesterday that I emailed you. This week has been very difficult and very very busy. We had Monday-Memorial Day, Tuesday-P-day, Wednesday-work HARD, Thursday-District Meeting, Friday-The Funeral and Sister Training Conference, Saturday-Weekly Planning and Sunday-Church. Add on top of that our studies and daily training; Wow. There was a lot to do this week. Also, last week, we actually lost contact with nearly all of our investigators. None of them would answer phone calls or doors. We were very worried. But over the past weekend we were able to miraculously contact each of them again. I say miraculously because it was never planned. We would be driving down the road and see them walking down the side. We went to the park for a lesson and saw one of them sitting on a bench. It was never planned. But we were listening to the spirit and following it. Heavenly Father knows where His children are and if we listen to Him, we will be led to them. That has probably been my biggest lesson I learned this week.

As for our investigators:

I first want to talk about Tosha. She is amazing. She has a little 6 month old and she wants to get back into religion so that her daughter can grow up with it. She has had 3 miscarriages and has lost her grandfather and brother whom she was very close to. Every commitment we have given her she has kept. She prays and reads. She's excited for baptism. She doesn't smoke. She's awesome. There's only one problem. She was supposed to come to church Sunday (we had a ride worked out for her and everything) and the ride came to church and said when they went to the house, the father came out and said that Tosha was in the hospital! She is pregnant right now so we are hoping and praying it's not the baby. We haven't been able to contact her yet but we will be calling her again today.

The next ones I'd like to talk about are Dustin and Jennifer. They are engaged and as cute as can be. We found them contacting at the park. We have taught them 2 times and they are reading in the Book of Mormon. They're only hang up is that they get caught over the little things. Little questions that don't matter. We will have to address that as we go on. Our goal for them this week is to commit them to baptism.  

Next is Tammy. We have discovered why she couldn't stop smoking! She doesn't understand the doctrine. Apparently she doesn't remember anything about the lessons she has been taught by previous missionaries. She didn't even remember that we don't believe in only Heaven and Hell! So we are reteaching her (and her 2 daughters) all the lessons. As we taught about the Celestial Kingdom and all it means to us and how it is there we can be with our families for forever and then talked about how we have to obey ALL of God's commandments to get there, you could see the wheels turning in her head. Hopefully as she better understands the doctrine, she will have a greater desire to quit smoking. 

Finally is Emma and Joanna. We had the most miraculous lesson with them and especially for Joanna. We were going to talk about the Plan of Salvation but we went in and they hadn't done their Book of Mormon reading so, like the Zone Conference training had taught us, we dropped that lesson and read from the Book of Mormon and talked about how important it is to read from it and pray about it. Halfway through talking about that Joanna mentioned how she didn't like praying. We asked Why and she said it was because she didn't feel like she was important enough to talk to God. That just broke my heart. This 11 year old girl didn't feel like her Heavenly Father loved her. So we immediately, we all got down on our knees and had her ask God if He loved her. We stayed silent for a moment and then asked how Emma felt. She said good. We talked about how the Holy Ghost is a still small voice and suddenly Joanna said, Oh! So that's what that is! We asked her what she meant and she said that there was this voice repeating in her head, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" She was very touched as were we all. We are doing a church tour with the two of them this afternoon. That was a huge testimony builder to me that God loves each of us individually and most especially His very precious daughters. Amazing.  

As for you letter: Yes, Sister Junk left the recorder with me. She is so sweet! I don't know if you know, but she is actually in Oklahoma right now working. Thankfully, she is safe. She has been doing service all week, picking up from the tornadoes.  

Sister Black and I actually talked about that this week. It's a good thing Heavenly Father knows I would have died if I had gone foreign! Bugs. Yuck. haha :) 

The funeral did go well. It was very beautiful. I played the piano from 9-11 (yes, 2 entire hours. My butt hurt SO bad!) during the visitation before the funeral. Then I played the opening and closing song. It was a lot easier for me to handle because I had been to a little 2 yr old funeral before. Anna was very close on my mind during the entire thing. Many people have not though. We found out he died by asphyxiation. While he was napping, throw up got lodged in his throat and he stopped breathing. The Bland family are amazing and such a strength to me. Each of them bore their testimony yesterday and were such examples to do so. I can't even believe they actually came to church. I will strive for the rest of my life to have the quiet dignity and strength of Sister Amy Bland. 

If you can, tell Malia and Nick hi and that I love them lots. :) I hope that all is going well for them and life is flowing smoothly. Yes, Cam is at the MTC. He sends me a little snip it weekly about how he is doing. Pray for him. He's struggling with the language. But he is doing amazingly. :) 

Brit: (sung to the tune of Happy Birthday) CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!! CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!!! CONGRATULATIONS DEAR BRITNEY!!!! CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm so proud of you my dear! Graduating is huge! I have thought of you especially this week and have prayed for you diligently. I hope that all these preparations are going well and that you are so excited and ready for the pageant. Never forget how much I love you and how I tell everyone out here about my gorgeous sister who is going to go on a mission and who I am so proud of. Love you!!! :) 

Manda-Lou: *secret handshake* How's my girl doing?? I haven't heard from you in forever. Syd gives me an update on you whenever she gets one. Is school almost over? Are you excited? What's it like living in Zach's ward? I bet it's a blast! If I lived that close to a cousin so close to my age, he'd be like my best friend!!! I bet that's so cool. :) Lead with power and authority and most especially by example. I have learned the importance a leader can play in your life out here. Those girls will grow to love and respect you. Don't do anything to lose that precious trust. :)

Joshua: Don't you dare quit piano dude. Just saying. I am the only piano player in the Jasper Ward right now and I played for the funeral and I play for Primary or Relief Society on Sunday. Playing the piano is such a precious talent and you will use it on your mission. I can already imagine how amazing you play. I hope to hear you play a Beethoven for me by the time I get home okay? :) I love you so much and I think about you every single day. :) 

Brandon: DUDIE! I hope you are doing okay! I love you so much! How are your adventures goin? Be good for mom and dad okay? I'm glad your hair looks good again. :) 

Also this week I got a letter from Grandma Kathy. She said she sent it to the mission home but she actually sent it to Evansville. I think she thinks my Evansville address is the mission home address. Do you think you could clear that up for me? And thank her for the letter. It came just when I needed it. I can't even put into words how much it meant to me. 

I think that's it for this week. I love you all so much! Pray for us extra this week. Transfer Saturday (June 8) is always really really hard and stressful. We'll see what happens and I'll email you next Monday. Be good! Make good choices! 

Love eternally,

Sister Thorne

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!

May 20, 2013

Hello Thorne Fam!

It was so good to hear from you! I really needed a boost today. This week has been very difficult. First, Mom, did you send any letters after yours/Josh's? I didn't get any and I don't think I got one from Brit and I was really looking forward to that. Just wondering.

Well, this week has been hard. I can't believe that it's only been one week. I feel like I've lived a life time. I think back to last Monday when I emailed y'all. Sis Junk was still here, the bugs were really terrible. Things were hard but they were going. Now I am with a new companion, I lived in a different home all weekend and Sis Junk is back with her family. So much has happened. I can barely wrap my head around it. 

This week has been really hard on me emotionally. I know that you and so many others have told me that I didn't fail, that I did my best, but I still can't bring myself to believing it. I feel like I failed Sis Junk, you all, Jasper and the Lord. I just keep thinking back to those first 2 and a half weeks and I keep thinking, "What could I have done better?" I know I shouldn't. I know I should trust in the Lord with all my heart, but my heart keeps betraying me. If that makes any sense. My head knows that her going home was logical and I did all I could or knew how to do at that time. My brain understands. But my heart feels torn in half. As you can imagine, it's been hard. But I am doing better. Sister Black, my new comp, is amazing. She is 19, from Ammon, Utah, plays the violin (amazingly Mandy!), has super tight naturally curly hair, has a quiet strong personality and I love her to death already. She has helped me through this week. The Lord has prepared her for amazing things and together we will go forth and work.

Like I mentioned before, I have been in a different home all weekend. The Braedon's (older couple, remind me a ton of Grandpa Thorne and Grandma Nancy. Bro Braedon is a bigger tease than dad and Sis Braedon is one of the sweetest little woman I have ever met) have taken us in under their wing. They have a basement apartment and they have let us live there for the weekend to de-stress and have a safe home for a while. Being in their home, I feel like I have a family again. They are so loving and supportive. They take complete care of us. Being in a home with the spirit so strong and the priesthood there 24/7 has completely recharged me. I love this couple to death and Bro Braedon is one of the best cooks I have ever met. I will be sad to go back to our apartment today.

As for investigators this week:

Jason. We had a really awesome lesson with him on Tuesday. He was still stuck in his ways of the bible and his heart was very hard until Sis Junk said the closing prayer. She asked that the confusion be lifted from his mind that he may be able to discern the truth. After that prayer, he looked up and said, "Do you think my learning may be keeping me from the truth?" We could have shouted for joy! We quickly opened to 2 Nephi 9:28-29 and talked about how the devil can use learning to blind people. He was very quiet and thoughtful. We then extended the challenge to study only from the Book of Mormon for one week, not the bible. He agreed to do so and we are meeting with him tomorrow to see how that week long challenge went. 

Next is Angela. AWESOME woman! We talked about the Plan of Salvation with her last Tuesday and it really touched her. She started the lesson by saying, "I believe in reincarnation." And then ended the lesson with, "I believe in everything you taught me. When can you come again?" Talk about amazing! We also set a bap date with her for June 22nd. We will meet with her again tonight. I am very excited to see how she is progressing. 

Tammy. Tammy has been meeting with missionaries for about 2-3 years now. She has had several bap dates set but could never quit smoking so she never made any of them. On Friday, we taught her the 15 step program at a member's house (The Trusty's). They take Tammy to church and have been friends with her for years. She came to church on Sunday and so far is doing really well with the stop smoking program. She hasn't touched a cigarette since I think Wednesday or Thursday. Her bap date is set for July 6. But we are meeting with her tomorrow and we hope to move it up depending on how she is doing with the program. 

Magenta and Nikita are our next 2 progressing. Their situation is hard. Nikita is 12 and Magenta is 11. We read from the Book of Mormon with them. We met them last Monday. They are amazing children. They are incredibly smart and they love reading from the Book of Mormon and they actually understand the scripture language. They feel the spirit and they want to get baptized. Really badly. But we talked to their parents and they said absolutely not..... :( Apparently they were baptized Methodist last year and their mom had a bad experience with Mormons in the past and will allow them to study with us but nothing more. Because of this and how young they are, we don't know if we should drop them or keep going. I don't know. I don't want to let down those kids, but the parents... Any advice? 

Lastly is Tasha. She wasn't progressing until our awesome lesson last night. We were supposed to meet with her last week but she kept dodging us. Every time we would go to meet her she was "just heading somewhere" or she was "really busy". We went over at least 3 times this past week and still nothing. We were getting ready to drop her when we went last night with Sister Hughlett (a member). At first, she dodged us and said come back in an hour. So we did. This time around we came up and she said, "Now is really just not a good time with my mom and everything. Maybe you all should just leave." I was about to turn around and go when suddenly I kept talking! I don't know what I said but suddenly Tasha was crying. Next thing I knew, I was wrapping her in a hug as she was crying in my arms and I was saying, "We're here for you. What's going on? You can talk to us." She then went on to explain about her mother living with them. Apparently she verbally abuses Tasha's 5 kids all the time. Tasha is woken up by her yelling and she gets the kids dressed and refuses to go back into the house until it is time to go to bed that night. That's why she hadn't wanted to meet with us at her house. We listened to her for a long time and then agreed to meet at the park with her tomorrow. She was so relieved and is really excited to come talk to us more tomorrow. That was such a testimony builder to me that God knows each and every one of His children. He knows who we are, where we are and exactly what we need, when we need it. Tasha is one of His daughters and He cares for her infinitely. I can't wait to meet with her again and talk with her more. 

As for your letter:

First, thanks for your words of inspiration Mum. They are exactly what I needed to hear. Something I've learned this past week is that the spirit is a confirmer of truth. That's why people in other churches can have spiritual experiences. When they hear of the truth, the spirit will whisper to them, "almost there" and they get excited thinking they've found something. Whenever we hear something that is true or right, the spirit will tell us so. As I was reading your paragraph to help lift me up, I felt that confirmation. I started crying actually. :P So thank you. I will try with all my soul to believe it. And yes, Sis Black was one of Sis Earl's companions. 

Oh! We had a baptism this past weekend! The 5 _____ kids finally got baptized! Desirrae, the mom, was baptized like 2-3 months ago and on Saturday 5 of her 7 kids finally got baptized. I believe that Mandy is emailing Sydney, the oldest girl, who is 12 and also a directioner. Syd is seriously my pal out here. Other than Sis Black, she's like my best friend. I love that girl to death. She is going to grow up and do amazing things. 

Thanks so much for the fb pics! Keep doing that! I love seeing my gorgeous friends and hearing a small bit about their lives. I miss them so darn stinkin much! Tell Kadi congrats. Again. Kaizi is stunning already. Tell Kei that I love the hair and it's super cute. Please? :) 

And is it only 4 weeks left for Kendall already? Wow.... did you know that your b-day, the 18th was officially my 2 month mark? I have now been in the GKLM or out in the field for 2 months and 2 days. That's also the day the Ferrara kids got baptized! Quite the awesome day! So I am 1/9 done with my mission. Time is flying by SO quickly! People always said that but you don't really understand until you are out here. 

Brit: LOVE THE PICTURES!!!! How on earth are you so beautifully stunning? I think that if the king saw you, Queen Esther would have some competition for the throne! (Hahaha! I'm so hilarious.... oh missionary puns.... :D ) And such a spiritual giant as well. I am so glad that everything is going well. Do you graduate this week? I hope I get pics! 

Mandy: I'm glad to hear that you had a party with all your friends! I hope that everything went well! You are so gorgeous and don't you ever forget how much I love you. Syd reads your emails to me and she told me how excited you were to get a random pic. She talks about you all the time. Have fun with all these new friends! How is Mariah doing by the way? 

Josh: Baptisms for the first time huh???? Wow, I am so very jealous.... Seriously, I miss the temple so bad. Enjoy every single minute you have in there. It is a precious sacred place. Don't ever take it for granted. Especially when the closest temple around here is Louisville and it’s 2 hours away. Then there is St. Louis that is 3. You have so many temples so close. Cherish them. I know that I took them for granted. Especially Salt Lake. A lot of people out here only get to go once, when they are married. Some don't even get that. That temple is very special and we are lucky enough to live so close. 

Brandon: Congrats on the race dude! And I LOVE your haircut! You look adorable as always. You are growing up so fast! When did my little boy start looking so old? Stop it silly! haha I love you! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MMMMMMOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!! (I hope that the rest of the family sang it as you read it, if not, you should do it again. :) ) Happy birthday mom. I talked about you all day Saturday. I told everyone at the baptism how amazing of a Mom I have and last Mother's day I gave my testimony in sacrament that turned into an on the spot talk (one of the speakers got sick so I took her place). I told everyone how amazing of a mom I've got and that I wouldn't be here without her. Don't you ever forget how precious you are to me. Your example of dedication and hard work keeps me going every day. I love you. 

Wow, this week was a long email! But that's because I didn't have a time limit. We're at the Braedon's instead of the library. I love you all so much! I can't wait to hear from you next week! 

Word of the week: Hardee's. It's actually a restaurant. In Utah, they are known as Carl's Jr. but here they are Hardee's.

Advice of the week: Event by Event. This is some advice that Elder Tuttle gave me. It's really helped me to get through this week because sometimes even taking it Day by Day can be exhausting and overwhelming so just take it Event by Event and soon enough, you're already 2 months done with your mission. :)

Talk to you next week!

Loves forever, Sister Thorne

Mom:

Don’t give up on Magenta and Nakita. And don’t give up on their parents. That mom needs to have a good experience with the church and that is going to be you and your companion. If you give up on them they will say that you only wanted another baptism. I think you should just be there for the whole family. Does that make sense? 

Shannah:

That really makes sense actually. I think that may have been the advice we were looking for. Thank you so much mom! Things are starting to look up. We may be able to stay at the Braedon's until Zone Conference Friday and then get a new apartment instead of going back to that other one. Pray for us to get a new apartment please! I think they are trying to get out of the lease right now but are having a difficult time. We would really appreciate it. We have to go, but I love you! Never forget it!

 Yes, yes we did tract that gigantuan house. That would be Sis Junk's idea. She wanted it to be the last house she ever tracted. No, they weren't interested. 



 BreAnna and I showing off our new necklaces. Mine has an S and hers has a B and Sis Junk's has a J. They were a gift.

 Sis Black and I

 Back row: Angel (14), Sis Black, Me, Sydney (12) Front row: Scott (8), Geanna (9) and Alex (10). This was the day of their baptism. After everything was over we went to Sis Hughlett's for ribs to celebrate. :) That was a fun night.

May 13, 2013

Hey Thorne Fam! 

What a crazy week right??? It's been a pretty stressful and difficult week. But amazingly enough, I'm really not doing that bad. One night, I think it was Tuesday this past week, I was sitting on the couch and I just started crying. I was so overwhelmed, stressed and heavy. I just couldn't do it anymore. I got down on my knees and just bore my entire heart out to my Savior. At that moment, a specific memory came to my mind. It was of the YW lifewalk. I remember walking up the huge mountain picking up some rocks from this pile and adding them to my backpack. Then I got to the top of the mountain carrying my super heavy backpack full of rocks. Then, just as I crested the hill, I remember seeing the life size picture of the Savior with His arms open. I remember Leslie Jones coming up to me saying, "Drop your burdens at His feet." That sentence came to my mind at that moment of complete sorrow. "Drop your burdens at His feet. Drop your burdens at His feet." So I started my prayer over again and begged the Savior to take these burdens off of my back. Take this away. Let me go back to being happy. Let me focus on missionary work. I went to bed, slept peacefully and woke up with more energy and happiness than I have had all this transfer. All of my burdens were gone. As each day goes along, I accumulate more burdens and every night I drop them off at His feet again. Since then, I have been so happy. Each day is a new adventure and I have found a new perspective on missionary work. So really, I am doing good. :) 

As for Sister Junk, just so you all know, she is going home. She has had extreme anxiety and depression and can't do this anymore. She should be going home either this week or the next. She is very sad to go, but has prayed about it and feels that Heavenly Father understands her decision and is still proud of the work she has been able to accomplish. As am I. I will keep you updated on the changes. 

For investigators this week, we found 10 new investigators. They are: Kimberely, Tasha, Tosha, Michelle, Angie, Angela, Jason, Tammy, Magenta and Nikita. The ones that I see serious potential in are Kimberely, Angie, Angela, Tammy and Nikita. We are meeting with each of these people at least once this week. We have return appointments with everyone on Tuesday (tomorrow). From there, we are going to try to meet with them again on Friday/Saturday. By the end of this week, my goal is to have 8 of the 10 attend church, all of them progressing and have each one of them set a baptismal date. We set one with Tammy already for July 6. She is a former and has been to church numerous times, she just needs to quit smoking and she can be baptized. So we are teaching her the 15 step program on Tuesday. Our other baptismal date is Lor Ryn, who was being taught by the Elders but got handed off to us. We met her officially this past week and will be seeing her again tonight. We are hoping to confirm her bap date at that point. 

As for your email:

It was so awesome to see you as well Sunday! :D I can't even tell you how overjoyed I feel. I basically felt like I was walking on clouds all afternoon and evening. I still feel like that! I loved seeing all of your beautiful faces and that awesome surprise of seeing Hillary! That was totally legit! To be able to see you, to talk to each of you individually, to get updated on your life, to see each of your smiles, to know that you are all happy and safe. :) That will definitely hold me over for the next 7 months. :) 

Thanks for all the pics! I love each and every single one of them. Especially the one of gorgeous Ali and beautiful Kadi and Kaizi. What incredible amazing friends I have been blessed with and how wonderful to see how life is progressing for them. Sometimes I forget that everyone back at home are still going on with their lives. It just seems like everything back home will be put on pause until I come home, but alas, that isn't the case. :P  

Thank you so much for Nick's post. That made me so happy inside. I still haven't heard anything from him. So it was good to know that I haven't been completely forgotten by my big bro. haha :) not really, I know he'll always love me no matter what happens. But it really means a lot to know that I am still being a good example to those back home. I will never let down the names I represent on my tag: Thorne, Jesus Christ and The Church.

Brit: I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!! Just seeing your beautiful, gorgeous stunning face and the bright light of Christ in your eyes. It gives me the courage and strength to keep going. I think of you every day and when I get down I think, "I am the first of many. I'm going to be a strong good example for my little sister." Then I pick myself up and I move on. Thank you for always being there and making the hard choices. Have fun. Go on a mission. Live life. Enjoy college. Make memories. Have adventures. And of course, make good choices. Number 1 rule!

Manda-Lou: Thank you so much for your letter. It was so wonderful to hear from you and even better to see your face. I told Sister Junk that the first thing I thought when I got off skype was "Wow, Mandy is growing into a beautiful Young Woman." You are maturing and following the right path. Just make sure to never stray from it. Remember who you are and who you value. Always put family first. Always. Never ever let anyone come between you and family. That happens way too much in the world and that is exactly what Satan wants. Don't let him get you. Love you beautiful! *secret handshake* 

Josh: I got your letter this morning! Thanks so much dudie! I am so glad you are doing well in life and progressing. That's my boy. Honor that priesthood and have fun! 

Brandon: How's my lil boy? It was so fun to see your face! I'm so sorry about your Thor hammer. I wish I could do something to help. Just remember that I love you and I'll never forget you.  

I pray for you all every day. Be good! 

Till next week,

Sister Thorne

 

 Missionaries over for P-day lunch at Sister Hughlett's house.

 

 Jasper Indiana North Elders and South Sisters.

 

 The outside of our quaint apartment.

 

 Roaches at the bottom of a drawer.

 

 Our elders teaching a goose. :)

 

 I'll GO where you want me to go.

 

The beautiful rolling hills of Jasper, IN.

May 6, 2013 (no pics again)

Hey Thorne Fam!

So yes, I am in Jasper, Indiana. My mission is the south of Jasper all the way down to Dale. My new companion is Sister Junk from Ogden, Utah. Sis Earl and I got a ride down to Transfers with Sister Robinson from Evansville. Then, Sis Earl drove back up with her two new companions and Sis Robinson. Sis Junk and I got a brand new car and we drove up to Jasper. Sister and Elder Halvorsen (two of our senior missionaries who work in the mission office) came and set up our apartment before we got to Jasper. The Jasper North Elder got us a couch so when we came we had beds, some utensils and cooking tools, oatmeal, hot chocolate and two desks. By "opening a new area" I mean that we are going into an area that has previously been basically untouched. The Jasper North Elders (previously just the Jasper Elders) covered all the way from Odon, Indiana to Dale, Indiana. Since it was such a large area, they mostly just stayed up to the north. Now, their area has been split in half so they are the Jasper North Elders and we are the Jasper South Sisters. We get a new area book and basically start from scratch. So this week we deep cleaned our house (we kind of have a roach problem) for 2 days and then we spent the rest of the week mapping out our area. So seeing what cities we cover, getting maps of the counties we are in (Dubois County, Pike County, Spencer County and Warrick County) and then getting any records that the Elders had that are now in our area and figuring our where they live and trying to visit them. Does that make sense? 

Also, crazy coincidence (not a coincidence though), Sister Olivia Horlacher from my YSA ward came in this transfer with my new companion Sister Junk. So I got to see her at transfer meeting. Not only that, Sis Junk and Sis Horlacher were MTC companions! Crazy right? It's so crazy how the Lord prepares everyone. 

As for Sis Junk, she is awesome. She is 20 like me and just a month younger than me. She has such a strong testimony. She went to Bonneville High and was a cheerleader her senior year. She is majoring in Family and Consumer Sciences at Utah State and got a year and a half of school done before coming out. She is the 4th of 6 kids and... *drumroll* craziest coincidence, her brother is companions with Elder Ryan Woodard in the Tampa, Florida Mission! CRAZY RIGHT?!?! We could barely believe it. I was just floored. So yep, that's Sister Junk.  

As for this week, we were able to get 2 new investigators: Pauly and Jessica, mother and daughter. They are both amazing. Jessica has lived through a brain tumor and Pauly is going through cancer now. But each have seen great miracles and have a very strong faith in God. Our only problem is that they don't believe in organized religion. We have met with Jessica twice but Pauly only once, she got sick and wasn't able to meet with us the second time. Jessica said that she wants to explore this religion on her own but we got her to agree to let us call her on Friday and we will probably stop by sometime this week to check up on her. 

I'm not gonna lie, please keep praying for me. This week has been the hardest and most discouraging of my mission thus far. By far. It's been so hard to keep going every day. But somehow I do. The Savior provides the strength. The hardest part is that Jasper is very very VERY catholic. Like hardcore. So we have had a lot of rude people and it's only been week 1. Please pray for the people here. Thanks. 

So yep. That's been this week. It's been awesome to get an update from you all. Especially to see the picture of little Kaizi. That seriously made my day. I have been so worried about her. I'm very grateful that Kadi is safe and all went well. Please give her my congratulations.  

For people who wrote me this week, this was actually the first week I didn't get any letter from anyone. But oh well. :) If you all would, please write Sister Junk a letter tonight and send them ASAP. She has been really struggling and the first week is always the hardest. I'm sure that would brighten her day. Thank you! 

For the AFCU statement: My tennis shoes broke and I had some problems with my feet two weeks ago. We talked to Sis Woodbury and she suggest buying shoes with more support in them. That fixed it and my feet don't hurt so badly anymore. Could you please transfer some money from savings to checking. I'm looking at a bike at walmart right now that looks really nice and is still pretty cheap. I think I may get it next week. I'll just have enough.

Phrase of the week: "which way is up"- to put someone to rights. i.e. He was into some bad stuff but then I told him which way was up and he fixed himself right up. 

Advice of the week: Rely on the atonement. I could have never gotten through this week if I didn't know that my Savior understood exactly what I was going through. He understood and because of Him, I knew that I wasn't alone. Find ways in your life where you can apply the atonement more directly.

Till next week, Sister Thorne

P.S. Also, with Mother's Day next Sunday. I will be on Skype. We have a family set up to got to. President is really strict about only spending 30-40 minutes on your call so my idea is to spend the first 5 min saying hi to everyone then spend 5 min individually with each family member so that I have a little alone time with each one of you. Then spend 5 min saying goodbye. I should be able to get on anytime from noon to 7 eastern time so I'm open from 10-5 your time. But the good news is that Sis Junk should be calling you all the night before to confirm our appointment and get my skype information. So it will all work out. Talk to you Sunday! 

Shannah

New address: 675 Giesler Rd Apt #211, Jasper, IN, 47546