...And a Happy New Year

This week was awesome!! It went by way too fast and was full of food and parties. But, the highlight was the 3 baptisms that we had. 3 of the grand-daughters of our recent convert were baptized. She was probably more excited than all 3 of them. There was also another kid baptized from the group that is under our branch. And an 8 year old kid whose family are members. So, it was an awesome service. Super cool to be a part of. 

We also went around for Christmas and handed out little bouncy balls to all of the kids. It was probably one of my favorite things that we did this whole week. It really is so cool how even the littlest things mean the world to people who have so little. People out here are all so happy and it has little to do with the material things that they have. 

This week, we spent a lot of time talking about making new year's resolutions. The new year is a good time to take a look at our lives and make sure that we are heading in the direction that we want to be. If we aren't, then it is a good time to change. 2020 will definitely bring some awesome changes. 

One that I am really excited for is the Come Follow Me topic. It will be so fun to really focus even more on the Book of Mormon for a whole year. And the new Book of Mormon videos are awesome. We have used them a ton as we share with members and investigators. It has given lots of them a new desire to really read from the Book of Mormon.

I hope that you all have an awesome New Year and find a way to be just a little bit better. 

Love Elder Thomas

-Baptism of LJ, MM, and Mariel

-my shoes have done well until now and a little tape might let them last just a little bit longer :)

 

Merry Christmas

This week was awesome!! It is so fun to go around and talk to everyone. Talking about the gospel is sooo easy and natural as we get closer and closer to Christmas. 

One of our biggest successes this last week was actually with an inactive couple. They have only been members for like a year and a half, but haven't been to church since 2018. I have been teaching them on and off for the last 5 months. We finally decided to watch the new Book of Mormon videos that the church has produced. We went twice a week until we finally got to the video of the tree of life. They easily related to the video and realized that they were part of the group who had once tasted of the fruit, but had wandered away. They actually came to church on Sunday!! It was awesome! 

I was also one of the speakers on Sunday. I read a little bit from the accounts of the time that Christ was born from Luke 2 and 3 Nephi 1 (and Helaman 13-15). I talked about the message that both Samuel (in America) and the angel (in Jerusalem) brought to the people. They both said that they had good/glad tidings. They both told the people that Christ would be born. And because of that, we need not fear. 

That is the amazing message this Christmas. That Christ was born. He grew up and Atoned for our sins. Eventually, he died for us and was then Resurrected 3 days later. I hope that at sometime this Christmas season (behind all the presents, food, and traditions) that you will take a second to remember why we celebrate Christmas. He is the reason. And He is the way for us to have hope and light in a world that continues to get darker and darker. I love you all and hope that you have a Merry Christmas!!

Love Elder Thomas

Jesus is the reason

Whelp... I am not sure how it happened. But, we just made it through another week. 

This week was solid. We started with our Christmas Conference which was awesome. We met with half of the mission which is always super fun. We had presentations, games, lots of food, gifts, and watched the movie "Coco." It was super fun.

Then we got right back to work. It is seriously an awesome time to be a missionary!! The holiday season makes it so easy to naturally talk about the gospel. Everyone focuses on our Savior during this time of year. We found a lot of awesome new people this last week just asking people about what they are going to do to celebrate Christmas. Then we ask them 'why' they celebrate Christmas. It has led to some awesome discussions about why we do what we do this season. If it weren't for the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, then we really wouldn't have a reason to celebrate Christmas. 

So, behind all of the awesome traditions, food, and gifts, make sure that you take some time to remember why we celebrate!! Jesus is the reason. I know, without a doubt, that Jesus is our Savior. He suffered for all of our sins and died on the cross. But, then, 3 days later... he rose again. He showed us what to do and then prepared the way for us to do it. The gospel and plan of salvation lay out the steps and give us the ability to live happily in a world that is getting ever more wicked. 

Go Light the World!! Take your light and this knowledge and share it with someone. Merry Christmas!! 

Love Elder Thomas

Ingat Dox

Well... I am not sure how, but I am back here again in the computer shop. This week went by super fast, but we really didn't do a ton of work in our area. Last Monday, I got my new comp (Elder Urmeneta). He is awesome!! He is my first Filipino companion and we get along super well. He is the only member in his whole family and has been a member since he was 14.

Then Wednesday we met the rest of our zone where we introduced our new goal of "every companionship bringing a new disciple to the waters of baptism per transfer." It is super exciting. Our mission is on a huge upswing and the work is definitely hastening out here.

Thursday night we traveled to the mission office for our meeting with all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders. Friday was our meeting and it was awesome!! The big focus was on the new handbook that the church released for missionaries. It will be super cool to see how this new direction will be implemented in our mission. 

Saturday we had our branch activity which was super cool. It was at a resort way up in the mountains and we had 5 of the people that we are teaching attend. Then on Sunday, we had 7 of them at church. We were super excited!!

The work is hastening and it is an awesome time or year to really focus on the reason. Christ is the reason and should be the very focus of our lives, not only during the holiday season. Find ways to 'light the world." I love you all!! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. 

Love Elder Thomas

-Elder Urmeneta

-travel to the branch activity

-we got kidnapped and taken back to our area in the trunk of a car

17 months later

Well... Transfers came and my comp took off to Australia. He was super excited the whole time leading up to the day that he would leave, but as he was packing the night before, he was definitely a little bit scared haha. But, I will finally get my first Filipino companion. The sisters in my batch will go home in the next transfer. So, I almost made it 18 months with straight American companions (and 1 Australian). But, I am super excited. It will be a good experience. I will hopefully start to learn more and more about this awesome culture and language. 

Other than that, we also had a baptism this week. Elder Maurer baptized Genalyn Blaza on his last full day in the field. It was super cool. We are also still teaching her dad who is slowly progressing at his own rate, but attends church almost every week. We also put 3 of the grandkids of our recent convert officially on date. They hope to be baptized on the Saturday after Christmas.

Not gonna lie, I hardly even realized that Thanksgiving was last week and it just kind of passed by. Sad. But I am excited now that it is December and we can focus on Christmas. We are now in our 4th month of Christmas out here which means that we are close.

We also watched the Light the World video which is awesome!! Go out and find the 'one.' They are out there and it is our job to help them. 

Sorry it is kind of short. We are about to go find some of the missionaries showing up to our zone right now. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers!

Love Elder Thomas