IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

If you can't tell by the title of this email, I'm having a baby girl!!!!

Don't worry I didn't do anything bad, I'm just TRAINING!!!!

I am freaking out!!! I found out on Saturday that not only am I training (SCARY) but I am getting doubled into a new sisters area, which I hear is

(mom don't read this part)

 the most ghetto area on the mission

(mom you can read again)

I'm excited, but I have to admit I'm a little scared.  I feel like I should still be getting trained, and yet now I'm the one thats got the ropes.....AHHHH!  I know it will all work out though.  If I can get through this transfer, I know that I will be able to finish my full mission and finish it strong!

Oh, Question? Is there anyway I could get a GPS maybe? I have noticed that would be extremely useful to have....maps don't really exist anymore we've learned, we've tried to find one, anyway if I could get one that would be SWEET!

Another reason I'm sad about leaving is because Sister Crosby and I just became best friends, and this last week has been packed full of miracles.  We have been harvesting what we planted throughout the transfer.

The biggest miracle we saw was Melvin Hershinger.  Here's his story, it was a big chain of events.

PART 1: 

So I have seen the Wilcox's name on the ward list for weeks thinking we should see them, but I'd look at the address which was on seaview ave, and I didn't know where that was so I'd ignore it....yeah, I'm the worst, ANYWAY.  We go to visit this LA family that isn't home and we see Seaview AVE!!! So we go to see Felicia Wilcox, who we were told to not contact by the way, but we felt we needed to.  So we go talk to her, and she is interested and excited about coming back to church!! She even asked for the Institute class times, we didn't know them so we told her we'd get them and get back to her.

PART 2:

We head to the Institute to find the class times.  Right as we walk in the door Bishop Monson, no close relationship to the prophet...we asked, says "MISSIONARIES!! We were just looking for you" then he asked us what ward we were in, we told him Highland Hills, and he said, "thats exactly who we were looking for!"  He went on to tell us about this man named Melvin Hershinger who had left minutes before we walked in.  He had come in looking to change his life, and he felt like he should come to the church.  Bishop Monson gave him a blessing while he was there, took down the information and told him he'd send the missionaries.  Minutes later....we walked in.  Ah man I just love God's timing!!!

PART 3:

We set up an appointment with Melvin for the next day!  We asked the Elders to come since he's a single man, and we might possibly pass him off to them.  We took Melvin on a Church Tour and it was AMAZING!! He asked so many awesome questions, we'd tell him one thing and he'd compare it to the bible and then say "yeah that makes so much sense", He absolutely LOVED the first vision picture and story.  It was Awesome!! Then we went to the baptismal font....we talked about Christ's baptism and before we were able to invite him to be baptized he said, "Well, when can I get baptized?"  WHAT?!?  talk about golden!  We put him on date for June 8, and he is going strong to this day.  We meet with him everyday bc he has addictions and he feels that meeting with us helps him not be tempted so we help where we can...

And that is the story of Melvin.  He came and saw Barbara, one of the AP's investigators get baptized, and everyone he met he just kept saying "I loved that, I get to do that on the 8th!!"  He is the miracle of the transfer for sure!! And I'm so excited to be able to come back to witness his baptism on the 8th!!  He has a wife and 3 kids he feel will follow him too, so that's exciting as well!

We had some other fun stories for the week, but I don't have the time to write them so I'll have to save those for later.

I just want you all to know that I love my mission!  I have learned more about the gospel, my savior, and more importantly myself in the last 4 months, then I have learned my entire life!  I know that it is because I am taking the time to learn.  I am putting in the hard work that is required to have this knowledge.  This next transfer is going to be extremely challenging, but I know that I'm not alone.  I know that when my faith is in God, ALL things are possible, even me training a new missionary, in a new area.

I'm so grateful for all the support I have from you all!! Especially my family! I love you all so much and can feel your prayers for me.  They get me through the days where I don't think I can go anymore.  I've been reminded a lot this transfer of Dory in finding Nemo when she says, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming" We just have to keep going, keep progressing, keep changing, and we will see the blessings that come with it.

I finished the Book of Mormon this week, and it was very bitter sweet, I just wanted it to keep going I wanted more, and I realized that I have more, there are so many talks from our modern day prophets that add on to our scriptures. 

I love you all, and hope you all have an amazing week!!  I pray for you daily, and miss you like crazy.  But there is no other place I would rather be, then in Tacoma, WA, soon to be Parkland, WA, in the Lakewood stake.  I know I'm where God wants me to be, and he will provide a way for all things to be accomplished. 

I love you sooooooo much!!

Love,

Sister Brittany Thomas

I get knocked down, but I get up again!

Hello Family!!  How are you all? I hope all is well!

This week has been another tough week, but there was finally light at the end of the tunnel.  The hardest day was probably park day. 

So Park Day is a day where we don't use a car, so being sisters, with no bikes, we walked.....everywhere!!

We basically walked around and tracted...all day.  We didn't see many fruits until that night when we went on exchanges with Sister Simmons (RS President) and Sister Campbell (our mom here in Tacoma).  Sister Simmons and I went to the Kovich's, and Sister Crosby and Campbell went to Sister Reid's. 

I don't know if I've mentioned the Kovich's before but here is a little background.  So Brother Kovich is a member of the church.  Sister Kovich was a member until she had her name removed years ago.  We've been meeting with her for about 3 months and have learned that she got her name removed because she felt like a number when she was baptized. (why numbers make me angry) and she never felt like she had been spiritually converted.  We asked her in the 2 meeting if we could teach her the discussions and she said "No!" very obvious that she was not interested.  We had Sis. Simmons with us that appointment and she suggested Sis. Kovich read Elder Holland's Talk, "Lord, I believe" from conference and we gave her an ensign, she said she would and we'd talk about it the next appointment.

So that leads to last Thursday, May 16 (Happy Birthday to Tiffany by the Way!).  Sister Simmons and I went over to her house to talk to her about the talk and we left with a miracle.  As we were talking Sister Kovich opened up a lot about her past. After she left the church she became Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, and like 2 other religions.  She had good and bad experiences with the church which she shared with us, and we asked her when she had last read the Book of Mormon.  She said it had been a year so we challenged her to read it again, and to read all of it this time, bc she hadn't yet.  She said ok, and Sister Simmons and her are now racing to see who can finish it first, their goal is to finish by the end of July.  She also told us she was going to stop smoking by the end of May. 

The real miracle came when we asked if we could teach her the lessons again....she said,

"Yeah!........" then quickly came in with, "but I'm not making any commitments!!" haha...we'll see, I thought to myself.  I know that she is on the path to coming back, and she is such an incredible woman.  I know that it will help her husband to come back as well, so that is always exciting. 

Oh cool news, so you remember Neal Robb, he's from Bremerton and we had him do the 'mormon experiment', well turns out it worked!  He went from being Neal the Anti, to being Neal the guy who bore his testimony on fast sunday about how excited he was to get baptized.....talk about a miracle! 

Another amazing thing that happened this week was we started up our musical firesides again.  They are so awesome because song is, to me, the greatest way to feel of the spirit.  I can't even describe the spirit that is in the room as 100+ missionaries are singing Amazing Grace with such power and testimony...it's amazing!

One thing I have learned this week that was really cool was about the Tree of Life.  So after Lehi has seen most of the groups partake of the fruit there is the group that is "holding fast" to the rod, but what hit Sister Crosby and I this week was in 1 Nephi 8:30, at the end where it says that after holding fast to the rod of iron they "came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree"  It remind us just of how living the gospel isn't easy, when we get to the tree we will fall down at the foot of the tree and partake of the fruit that we have worked so hard to achieve.  It reminds me of the end of a day as a missionary, I have never enjoyed laying down in bed quite as much as I have after a hard day of work in the service of God, knowing that I have done everything that day that the Lord has asked me.

I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to serve the Lord.  I have come to know my Savior so personally, and I feel his love everyday of my life.  I know that he atoned for my sins, and that he also atoned for all of your sins.  Never think its too late to change, because it's not.  There is always time to change, there is always time to improve.  No body is perfect.  I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ and for all they have done for me, and for the Love I feel from them daily. There is no greater feeling in the world. 

I love you all and hope your week goes well!  I find out on Saturday if I stay or go, I can't believe it's already been a transfer, it's insane how fast time goes. 

I love you soo much!!

Love,

Sister Thomas 

MOTHERS DAY!!

Hello!!! Happy Mother's Day!! I hope that all you Mother's had an amazing day!! I know mine was great!! Mostly because I got to talk to my beautiful mom, who is, despite others opinion, THE GREATEST MOM EVER!!!! I love you so much, and know that you have the best interest for me all the time!!

So this week has been a very funny, crazy, stressful week.  I got some mission-changing news, and some interesting door knocks.........

So this week my health problems have really been coming back, and it's been really hard! On Friday, we saw President and he asked me how I was feeling and I was bad and lied telling him I was fine, even though I was in so much pain I was struggling standing there.  So Saturday was interviews....and as soon as I walked in he said "Now how are you feeling? And don't lie to me."  So I told him...and the whole interview was about how I had to think about myself, and how I needed to think about how if it got worse, or didn't improve, that I needed to have in the back of my head that going home might be what is best.  He talked about Abraham and how his mission was to go and sacrifice his son Isaac, but before he was finished with the mission God said to STOP, so he did, and that was what God wanted.  He said he didn't want me to go home, and I needed to give it time, but he said to have it in the back of my mind.

Lets just say that no missionary wants to hear that.....but I realized after many tears and prayers that he was right, I need to think more about my health, but I need to fix it so I can stay out!  A lady in my ward dealt with the same things and she gave me all this stuff to help, and I know that I can stay my whole mission, because with God, anything is possible, but I have to put in the effort!! God doesn't just give you things, he blesses you AFTER all that you can do!

Anyway, less depressing news.....

The other day we knocked on this door and it was a metal door that just has little holes in it, which you can't see through.  So we knock and this guy says. "What?"  I say, "Hi we're the missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we're sharing a message about Jesus Christ" Then he said, "Cool, you wanna have sex?" and I said "NOPE!" and he said, "Well then go away"....................................................yeah....that happened....Sister Crosby and I were DYING!!! We thought it was funny, but suuuuuuper disturbing at the same time!

We also got this New Investigator named Bill, his story is pretty funny! We were knocking doors and we knocked on one door: A fat, shirtless, hairy man answers, says he has his own church and closes the door.  Next door: A fat, shirtless, hairy man answers, says he has his own church and closes the door....Next door: A shirtless man walks from the backyard with tan pants, that looks like he had nothing on, but luckily he had pants, and then we talked to him, and he is super interested, and it's super exciting!!

Our motto for that day was: Third Shirtless Guy Is A Charm! haha it's been really hot here, so sadly there are a lot of shirtless men, and women too we hear, but we haven't seen any of those so hallelujah!

We also got someone on date this week! His name is Will, he's in his 20's and in the Army.  We knocked into him, and he told us he had read the Book of Mormon and that during basic training he attended the Mormon services.  So he was excited!! We're taking him on a church tour tomorrow so we are praying he shows up!!

Speaking of Church Tours, we had an Insta-church tour the other day where we met a girl across the street and asked if she wanted to hear about our church and check it out and she said yes, so we took her over and showed her around and she loved it, she was only 17 though and said she'd have to talk to her parents and we haven't heard back from her yet, so hopefully we will! 

Anyway!! This week have been a very good but stressful week! I hope you are all well!! I love you all and appreciate your love and support, and love your prayers, the more the merrier!!  haha!! I love you!!! Have a great week!

Sister Thomas

I love to see the Temple!!

This week was the best, and most stressful week ever!!  On Tuesday we got to go to the TEMPLE!!!!!  It was so amazing, I have never felt so close to Heaven as I did that day.  It was really cool because everyone in the session was full-time missionaries, and just to see all those people that had sacrificed their life to the Lord, and to know that all over the world their were just as many, it's just amazing the increase in missionaries, it shows just how great this work is. 

The hardest part of the day was stepping outside of the Celestial Room, and coming back into the world. The feeling you get walking out of that room is just un-describable.....you can feel the difference, and it's strong! We were able to walk around the temple after that and take pictures and the peace is just so cool!

The rest of the week has been just sort of bleh compared to that, it's hard to face rejection, and for people to turn you down when you know just how blessed they would be if they would come unto Christ!! I've learned that I'm not sad that people reject me, but they're rejecting Christ, and I just feel sad for them, and sad that they don't have that peace and joy that I am able to have because of Christ and his atonement.

There was one day this week that was AMAZING!!! We handed out 8 BOOK OF MORMONS.....yeah, that's right 8!!! That's like more than we had handed out the entire transfer! And everyone seemed really interessted in it too, and there were like 3 families that we shared it with!! I'm just hoping and praying that they will stay interested, I've been beating myself us though because Mama Nanto taught me that when you place a Book of Mormon, you invite to be baptized.....and I didn't do that with any of them!!!!!  I don't know what's up with me this transfer, maybe it's because everyone here is WAY anti, but I have been so scared to ask people to be baptized, in Bremerton I did it everyday!! I just don't understand, anyway, I guess I can't change the past, I can only change the future and improve everyday!

One guy we met this week that is really cool is Willy.  We met him while we were tracting, but he was just on the street walking.  We asked if we could come teach him, and he said, "Yeah, I live right down the street, come by another day!" So we went back another day!  He lives above and works at a consignment store so he was outside watching the merchandise out there, and so we went and talked to him.  He told us all about his former life, and how he had been part of a Hilltop (the ghetto of Tacoma) gang, and had been in and out of prison, but had changed his ways when he almost killed a little girl, and he had a 4 month old daughter, and he didn't want that life anymore.  I was a little worried about it being another Ty situation, but I don't feel dangerous with him like I would sometimes feel about Ty so I 'm not worried, he has already changed, he's not in the process so thats good.  We went on to tell him about the Book of Mormon and how he could come closer to God through reading it and he really liked that.  He immediately opened it up and started reading, it was really cool.  We set up an appointment with him and he wasn't home, but hopefully we can drop by this week sometime, he really wants to come check it out.

The best miracle that has happened this transfer is our ward growth.  When we came into the ward there were about 80-90 people coming to sacrament meeting a week, and it never went above that, and our first week it was about that many.  Our second Sunday though there were over 100 people at church, which hasn't happened in this ward for like 20-25 years.  And this week we had even more!!! It made us really happy because we have been focusing alot on the less active in the ward, and they're responding, it makes us feel good, because numbers don't reflect that kind of work, I don't like numbers!!!!! Anyway, this week has been great!!  I'm finally starting to feel more like myself!!

Ok so you aren't gonna believe me, but I think I've gotten tanner here, than ever before....I know it sounds funny, sun in Washington? But it's actually gorgeous here!! It's been in the 70-80's the last week, and it's supposed to be that way this week as well.  The coolest thing is that everything here blooms, and I mean everything!!!!!  The trees, the bushes it's absolutely beautiful, and everyone says it just gets better!!!  I'm excited! President Weaver always says that Washington in the Spring is the Garden of Eden......I'll have to take lots of pictures!!

Well, I hope all is well, I'm so excited for Mother's Day!! To be able to talk to you and see your lovely, beautiful faces!!! It will be so fun, look cute ;) 

I love you all and pray for you daily!!! 

Walk, and Walk, and Walk, and Walk........

This week has been another one of those long/short weeks......what does that mean you may ask?.....well.......The days have seemed like weeks, almost years, but looking back on the week, it seems like it's been like 2 hours.....missions make time go CRAZY!!  It's been a great week though, we've continued to work a lot with the ward and strengthening them, because honestly bringing people into the church is important, and we're still trying, but with this ward they need to stay.  There are about 500 members and only about 100 that are active.  There's something wrong with that, and since we have 6 missionaries in one ward, Sister Crosby and I decided, along with the Bishop and Ward Council, that we are gonna strengthen the ward, that we are still gonna knock 5-7's and try to find people, but we're mainly going to work with Less Actives, Part Member Families, and our main focus is Single Sisters.  We wanna focus on the women because like the stripling warriors, they knew it because their mothers knew it, and they could not doubt it.  There are ALOT of single sisters.....and since we're sisters, we can get in there unlike the Elders. 

A cool example of this is last night we went and saw this family, the Kovich's.  He is a LA (less-active) member and she was a member, but then she had her records removed.  A Bro. in our ward asked us to visit her and see if we could help her.  We visited with them, and we shared a scripture from the BOM with her, and then she piped up and said, "Do you know my favorite Scripture? It's from the BOM too...it's the 'I will go and do' one."  So we talked about that a little bit, and as we were leaving she said she wanted us to come back and teach her, and she's interessted in maybe coming back to the church, which would be a miracle!!!!

Speaking of miracles, It doesn't have to do with investigators, but we haven't really been fed much by members, mostly because the elders have the calendar and forget about it, anyway, we've been praying we'd get fed more b/c we don't have money to buy tons and tons of food to stay well fed everyday.  So the last few days have been amazing.  First Saturday the Scotts, a super awesome family, asked us (ALL 6) to come over.  Then at church on Sunday Sister Benedict, a super sweet sister, asked us to come be her guinea pigs, so we got fed. And tonight we're teaching an FHE at a Focus Families house, and when we called to solidify the plans they said, do you have dinner lined up? we told them no, and so they said, well come over a little sooner and we'll feed you!!!!  MIRACLE!!!!  I love the little things the Lord does for you every day........

The other day even, Sister Crosby was saying she needed a new toothbrush, we go to lunch with a member, and bam, they say, "Hey we bought you guys toothbrushes!"  What the random right?!? haha...it was one of those funny miracles.

Oh, big news of the week.......

don't get too excited, it's probably dumb to most, BUT.......

I ate fish the other day (cod to be exact) and I LOVED it!!!!!!!! ALOT!!!!!!

If people don't know, I absolutely HATE seafood, with few exceptions, I'd never had cod before and verdicts out, I like it! YAY!!!

So.........I absolutely LOVE this ward!!! I think thats why I want to strengthen them so bad!  On Friday they had a Ward Social that was a SKIT NIGHT!  I have learned alot on my mission that when you agree to go on a mission, you agree to do pretty much everything....even participating in skits.....

Anyway, so they split us into 3 groups.  My group was myself, Elder Price, Elder Parry, Elder Augustine, Bro. Scott, Sis. Barbier, Sis. Day, and Bro. Jole.  So most the missionaries.....they gave us a bag of props and we had to use all of them!  Ours was about the different reasons being a mormon was so cool!  The theme was stand in holy places, so after each cool thing Bro. Scott would say, "and we stand in Holy Places"  so for example we had a BYU football so they said "Well, we have a university with a killer football team!!" and Bro. Scott would walk out and say, "and we stand in Holy Places!"  It was pretty funny.....definitely some of the best skits I've seen in a while.

Oh, I don't remember if I told you about Bro. Walker yet or not, I'll just tell you, so.......

Bro. Walker is our ward mission leader, he has formerly been Bishop, Stake President, Mission President, and an Area Seventy.......yeah so he's old and inspired...haha

Anyway, he is amazing, he gives such good advice.  The only thing that is sickening, and I mean literally, is his Butter Casserole......yeah, I said Butter!  Every Sat. morning at 7:30 we go to Bro. Walkers house to have a coorelation meeting and have breakfast, and he makes, or his wife makes, this casserole that is butter with a little bit of hashbrowns........Sis. Crosby and I were sick for the next few hours......I'll have to build up an immunity to it or something.....haha, it's really funny actually, we were all just watching eachother dish it up, and all the faces were so funny!!  Oh man, I love old people, they just don't even care anymore...

I have learned alot about obedience this week........We have been tracting everyday and we've maybe taught 1 lesson b/c people just don't let us in, it's really hard to keep going b/c nothing, that we can see at least, is coming from it.....I know now why in a blessing I got last transfer it said I need to develop charity, patience, and dilligence b/c those have all been extremely tested this week, and I know they'll continue to be this whole transfer.  

I actually got a blessing the other day from President Weaver.....I love that he's so close....because I have still just been feeling blah!  and on top of everything else with the new area and such I was just so discouraged.  One thing he said in the blessing that I loved was this:

God could heal you, there have been examples in the scriptures, but God doesn't want you to be mortally healed, he wants you to be Eternally healed. so he won't take your burden away, but he will help to lighten your burden if you are obedient.

This brought so much peace to me, and it made me really want to go out and do missionary work!!

Well, I think that is about all for now, I'm sure you're tired of reading by now, but I hope you are all doing well and I hope you know how much I love you!!!!  I can't wait for Mother's Day!!!! I'm trying to find a way to skype, b/c we all know how much I hate phones, which is a problem on  a misson, but if it has to be just a call I'm fine as long as I can  hear your beautiful voices...haha :) 

Well, I hope you all have a great week, and know that I love you and I am praying for you everyday!!! Read your Book of Mormon everyday and pray!!! It will help your life so much and you will be eternally happy!  Like my momma Sister Nanto says, "your spirit will smile!"

I love you all and hope your week goes great!!!

Love,

Sister Thomas