Can you bless my son too?

The weeks out here are going by wayyy too fast. I can't believe that I am already here again writing another email. This week was awesome. We taught more lessons than we have in a long time. We really lucked out (got helped by the Lord) and made it to many of the investigators that we haven't contacted in a long time.

We also got the opportunity to work with one of the AP's. He is awesome. He leaves the mission in like 6 days, but he still works every second that he has. I learned a lot about how we don't get to choose who gets to hear the gospel. A lot of the time, I will just walk by people and politely say "hi." But, Elder Hollister would not let that happen. We talked to every single person that we past and it was awesome. I realized how easy it really is to talk to people. Rarely will people reject a short message about Christ. 

We also had a cool experience when we went to the hospital. We went to give a blessing to a member from one of the other wards. She is not from our area, but, we are the closest Elders to the hospital. So, we went to try to find them. At the hospital, at the Pediatric section, there is just a long hallway that is lined with beds on both sides. It is kind of crazy. But, we went to give a blessing to a young boy. We gave him a blessing right there in the hallway. As we were walking out, this guy came to us and asked if we could bless his son too. We didn't know if that is exactly allowed because the handbook says that we can't "solicit help at hospitals." So, we made a quick call and they said that since we didn't really solicit the help and the guy had just asked, we were allowed to. They guy was awesome. He said "I know that we aren't of the same faith, but I respect everything you do and I know that you have the power to do something good for my son." His faith was awesome. We gave him a blessing, handed him a pass-a-long card and told him to get in contact with the missionaries back in his home town. 

For those of you who saw on the news the earthquakes here in the Philippines, don't worry. I didn't feel the quakes and they didn't do any damage to the area that I serve. The prayers are felt though for all those that were affected. 

That is gonna just about do it. I love you all and send lots of prayers your way. 

Love Elder Thomas

"According to their faith"

Well... as far as missionary work goes, this week was not terribly productive. Summer started here like 2 weeks ago and this week was Holy Week. So, like everyone from Baguio went on vacation to the lowlands. And then most people that were here had lots of family and were pretty busy. But it was still a good week. We found a handful of new people that we can teach. It is a super good time of year to very easily get to a discussion about Christ. Almost everyone here in the Philippines has some kind of belief in Christ.

One thing that I kind of focused on this week in my personal study was looking for the phrase "according to their faith." It says it repeatedly as it talks about how people received different blessings at different times. Of course, we all need faith in a lot of things. If we don't have faith in Christ, in the Plan of Salvation etc. then the gospel will be able to do almost nothing in our lives. 

The scripture that I chose to be my mission scripture was Moroni 7:41. It says "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold, I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." 

This is one of my favorite times of year to really focus on where I find hope in life. There is no way for us to return to our Father in Heaven if we don't access the saving power of the Atonement. One of my favorite quotes from the last conference was "the Atonement is a never ending PRIVILEGE." I think that too often, we thing of the Atonement as almost a punishment because we have done wrong. We can have hope because we we are allowed to access the saving power of the Atonement to change and become better.  We can have hope for the next life because our loving Heavenly Father wants nothing more than for all of us to return to him. But, of course, we need faith in this plan. 

I especially think about you all during holiday seasons. I wish you all the best and send lots of prayers your way. 

Merry Easter!!!

Love Elder Thomas

Please do it NOW!! Time is running out!!!

I know that I am a week behind everyone here. So, I am sure that you have already had your fair share of conference updates. But, how 'bout another? Conference this year was seriously awesome. As missionaries, we were all pretty anxious about the "Big Announcement." We had heard all sorts of rumors. But, we came to find out that there wasn't really any huge announcement. But, all the talks did an awesome job at really focusing on the Savior and His church. It really is the last days and it is our job to prepare ourselves, our families and others for the day when Christ will return to the earth.

One the Sunday morning session, we had an investigator attend. It was awesome! I prayed harder than ever that he would receive an answer to any question that he had. The whole session was about preparing ourselves for the day when Christ comes through repentance. I know that was exactly what he needed to hear as he is preparing to get baptized so that he and his wife can go through the temple to be sealed. It was awesome!

Now I am just going to share a few of the quotes that I wrote down as I listened...

-The Lord will be with you as you summon your courage to be on His side

-Heavenly Father IS, without a doubt, preparing the minds and hearts of people everywhere

-See as He sees, be worthy of His authority, and when you teach, teach with Him

-try to imagine how you will answer to the Lord when one day he interview you

-make present sacrifice for important future goals

-We need to do better and be better because the battle with sin is real. The adversary is quadrupling his efforts and arming his minions with potent weapons. 

-Casualness can lead us away from the covenant path

-We are a peculiar people... what a compliment!

we may not be perfect, but we can be worthy

-Sometimes we don't receive answers the way we want. But, the Lord has greater blessings in store. 

-Share the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words

-it is not your job to convert people. That is the role of the Holy Ghost

-rejoice as you share Christ's suffering

-do not ever lose faith in Jesus Christ

-we are MEANT to find JOY in this life

-it will be impossible in these last perilous days to avoid the temptations of the adversary without the companionship of the Holy Ghost

-focus not on what you don't have, but on what you do have, and what you can do to use what you do have to bless the lives of others. 

-the words of Christ will open the hearts of those who have not yet received Him

-Make a decision and move forward with trust. God will not let you go too far without a warning call if the decision is wrong.

-Christ died from a heart broken by shouldering completely alone the sins of all mankind

-such an event (sacrament) deserves our absolute and utmost respect. It is far and away the most sacred and important hour of our week

-The is no shortage of suffering in this world. So look in any direction and join the Great Healer in lifting the load of one who is downtrodden.

-blessings are never earned, but faith promoting actions are always required.

-if we do our part and repent, the Savior will unleash His protective powers on all of us

-the Atonement is infinite is scope and individual in reach

-Salvation is an individual matter. Exaltation is a family matter.

-True repentance is not an event. It is a never ending privilege

-Our Savior watches over the 99 AND goes to find the 1

-There is much more to come. Get your rest. Eat your vitamins. It is going to be exciting!

-even while we wait on the Lord, certain blessings come immediately

-the purposes of conference begin after the closing prayer

-our homes are only as strong as the strength of each of us inside

-we are at war with Satan for the souls of the children of God

-Be a disciple of the Lord. Stand up and speak for Him wherever you are

-rededicate your lives to serving His children on both sides of the veil

-Work... until the Great Jehovah says the work is done.

Well... the church is true. And it is led by a prophet who receives guidance from God. I love the short time that I have to be out here in this great work. I love you all and send lots of prayers back your way. 

Love Elder Thomas

 

The rain finally came

Well... we got a few little rain storms this. I have never been more excited to see the rain. It basically means that things start to cool off. It was kind of overcast and it felt awesome this week. One day, we didn't take umbrellas. We just got absolutely soaked. It kind of reminded me of my first few weeks in the field when we would come home every night and be soaked to the bone. It honestly feels soo good.

This week was kind of an off week. School just ended, so almost everyone from Baguio was like on vacation. It was almost impossible to make contact with any of our progressing investigators. So, we took the time to go and look through the area book. We found a ton of investigators from like a year ago. We made contact with a lot of them and have a lot of return appointments now. I am really excited for the upcoming week. 

I read a talk this week (I can't remember who it is by) about planting and harvesting as it relates to missionary work. Sometimes we are in an area where we plant and sometimes we are in an area where we nurture. And sometimes we are in an area where we harvest. Up here in Baguio, we have done a lot of planting and nourishing. I will likely leave here in a month without a baptism. But, I am more than happy about that because I know the work that we have done. No one can harvest if nothing is ever planted. I love this area and all the people that I have met. 

I am more than excited for General Conference this week. I know that all of you have already seen it. I love that the work is going forward at a pace that is always increasing. The second coming of our Savior is closer than ever and it is our job to prepare ourselves and others for when it does happen. 

I know that this gospel is true and I love it with all my heart. I love the Book of Mormon and the power that it has to change lives. That is about all for the week. Love you all!!

Love Elder Thomas

 

If it is important to us, its important to Him

Well, one of the coolest experiences was actually not with any of our investigators this week. It was on Friday. We had gotten punted at a few lessons and didn't really have anywhere to go until later in the evening. Out of nowhere (actually from the spirit) I got the thought that we should go visit a member real quick. We don't go to this family very often because they are kind of far away. But, we hiked this mountain and ended up at their house. We found them outside of their house. They had just put a new lock on their house and couldn't get in. It was one of the dial locks that you have to spin to the numbers. They told us that they had been trying for like 4 hours and had looked up all sorts of things on the internet to try to get into their house. They told me the code and within just a few seconds, the door was open. They were sooo grateful.

It seemed like just a little thing. But, it meant the world to them. They invited us to stay for dinner and we had an awesome mini lesson about following the promptings that we receive. This is one thing that I have been really working on. A lot of the time I have a hard time deciding if a thought is from the Holy Ghost or just me thinking. But, more and more, I have realized that they Holy Ghost is often the reason that we have different thoughts. So, why not follow them. The little things can make a world of difference in the life of someone else. If it invites to do good, it is of the spirit. 

Another cool experience that we had was when we were teaching the husband of a member. He just returned from working in Japan. We teach him twice a week. We taught the plan of salvation and it was awesome to just watch his face light up. We focused on how through the teachings of the gospel, we can return to live with our families in Heaven. He has the cutest little girl who is 8 months old. The message was awesome. 

But, the coolest part of the lesson, was at the end. We had kind of finished teaching and then one of the boys from the family came out to the living room. He is 16 years old and was baptized when he was 8. But, he is pretty inactive because he works on Sundays. He came out and bore the most incredible testimony to his Brother-in-law about how the gospel blesses families. I was honestly a little bit chocked up as he taught so simply that we really can, because of Jesus Christ and His gospel, return to live forever with out families in the presence of God. He then told us that he is trying to look for different work because he has seen us come to his house and he now wants to prepare to serve a mission. 

The mission is seriously AWESOME!! We are away from our families for 2 years (or 18 months) so that we can teach other families about a plan for them to live with their families for EVER. The gospel is amazing and it can and will bless anyone who will let it. I love this chance that I have to be out here. The church is true and it has blessed me in every aspect of my life. 

I love you all, think about you, and send prayers your way. 

Love Elder Thomas