How to eat fried worms

Well... this week was a good one. It was just a little bit harder to find time to teach people this week because we are in the middle of the great rice harvest. But, it did open up a lot of opportunities for service which is awesome. We helped some members on Saturday for like 7 hours harvest peanuts. I woke up the next day and could hardly walk because my hamstrings were so tight. I also had a super gnarly sunburn that made wearing a collar kind of a battle. But, life is good, and I gained even more appreciation for the people here and the way that they work just to make it by. 

This week we also had the opportunity to give a blessing to a member. He is about to take his finals in college and has been super nervous. He called us and asked if we could give him a blessing. He said that he was too scared to ask for a blessing, so he had never had one. We gave him a blessing of comfort and after the blessing, seeing him was the coolest thing. His emotions were somewhere between 'jumping up and down' and 'crying.' He said he felt super prepared and new that power from the other side of the veil is more powerful than anything we could possibly do for ourselves.

This week we also had zone conference. It was awesome!! It was super simple, but was all focused on what we can do to really use the Book of Mormon to hasten the work. Our zone saw changes in just the last couple of days. Every single companionship in our zone had people come to church this week. On Sunday, while doing followup calls with the district leaders, all of them told me about how they had simply used the Book of Mormon and they had begun to see miracles in their area and the areas of those in their districts. It was seriously awesome!!

This week, one of the people we are teaching gave us some exotic foods. We had fried worms, fish, and a coconut (that I pulled out of a tree). It was wild. The worms were actually way better than the fish that they had cooked (and I like fish). It is all just part of the experience here in the Philippines. 

I seriously love every bit of the experience, not because it is easy. The mission is by far the hardest thing that I have ever done and every single day is a grind. But, the blessing come like crazy. I know that the blessings come to me, my family, and friends. I love you all and send lots of prayers back your way from this side of the world. 

Love Elder Thomas