I Love Murcia…

Hello! So this week I wasn´t sick but my comp was throwing up so we had another couple of days of staying home. But we are both healthy now and the other elder from our district was released from the hospital so life is good! 

Can I just say that I love Murcia? I do. It´s a great area for me. The ward is actually working really well together and I am absolutely stoked about it. Yesterday we had a meeting with our ward mission leader and all the ward missionaries (yeah, you heard that right there are actually ward missionaries here!) and Hna Cerna and I gave a short training on how to teach along with a practice where we demonstrated teaching the plan of salvation for everyone so that they would get an idea of how to better teach to people´s needs. It was a bit intimidating doing it in front of the bishopric and the members but it went well. Yesterday we all taught a apartment full of people from Ghana with a Brazilian member who speaks English since my comp doesn´t. They wanted absolutely nothing to do the the BOM since it wasn´t the Bible. Oh well. 

We also had a nice little miracle this week. We stopped by a reference that we had already tried to contact but looked like the place was up for sale and the phone number didn´t work. I didn´t see the point in really going back but we stopped by and knocked and knocked and finally they opened right as we were about to leave. And it was a whole family from Bolivia! They let us in on the spot and were super nice and we got to teach them and leave a Book of Mormon! I love when surprises like that happen! 

This week I read a talk called "The Fourth Missionary" by Lawrence Corbridge. I had heard about it from others so finally decided to read it. It´s way good but also makes you really reflect on the kind of missionary you really are. But I would advise nonmissionaries to read it as well! Anyway, this week has been all about reconsecrating myself to the Lord and the work, with my heart and my head not just my behavior. So I hope you all do the same- give all you will and self to the Lord, because it really is the only thing we can give that isn´t already his. 

Oh YEAH, and guess who stopped by Murcia on Sunday? Jacob Thompson, our cousin! It was a surprise since he didn´t know I was serving in this area. He tried to hug me and I had to bend back really quick to avoid it haha it was funny, the other elders got a kick out of it. 

Well, have a wonderful week everyone! 

Love you, Hermana Thompson

fotos!

the first one is of our district in the hospital, we had our district meeting there it was weird haha

and the other is a pday at the mall with two recent converts

 

 

10 months in the Mission! and Week 2 in Murcia!

Hello! 

My 10 month anniversary is today! Woo! Also weird. And you´ll never guess what happened...I got sick again this week! Surprise surprise. This time I got blessed with the flu. Fever and lots of aches and pains, but it only lasted 2 days so I´m completely back to health already! We went on splits with members so one stayed home with me. One of the elders got really sick (we think with appendicitis) so we´ve been visiting the hospital every now and then, poor guy is in a lot of pain. Oh and we went to less active member´s house to teach, she is from Ecuador, and there was a rooster on the balcony, I asked her about it and this is what she roughly said "No it´s not a pet, I´m going to kill it later and eat it." So that was exciting. Surprising mostly since she is in a fairly nice apartment and everything. I kept watching the poor guy as we were teaching...I´m pretty sure he knew what was coming. People be crazy.

In other news not much has happened this week since I was sick and all. We have a couple solid investigators, named Juan and Mari Carmen, that are actually progressing but they are waiting for their marriage papers to come in a month or so so they can get baptized. Their 8 year old daughter is already a member and it is great to see them learn and grow. Two of the elders in our ward have spent the past week with a "mini missionary"- a 19 year old convert from Colombia who got baptized a few weeks ago. He loves being with the missionaries and every time he learns something new he gets so excited. We were in the hospital and he was reading the BOM and just said "I love this church!" Gosh I love new converts, they are always on fire. If only we could be that excited to learn and to share the gospel. He said it was one of the best weeks of his life and really wants to serve a mission. That´s one of the hard things about being a born-in-the-church member sometimes, feeling that great change and keeping the passion that comes with conversion. So I guess that would be my challenge to you all this week (and to myself), to keep your fire burning and to make sure that the Lord´s image is in your countenance. 

Well sorry this email is not as exciting, there are no pictures this week. But if you are curious you could always Google Murcia for some! Oh and sorry I forgot to send my new address last week, here it is!

Avenida Abenarabi 18, 6ºC

30008 Murcia

Spain

thanks and love you all!

Hermana Thompson

¡MURCIA!

I love being in Murcia so far! The city has been foggy lately with some rain and it´s a bit colder than Málaga too. The ward is a bit bigger from what I can tell and there is us and two other sets of Elders. They just changed the bishop and the ward mission leader the week before I came too. The bishop is younger and was reactivated last year so he is fresh and excited to work, so it´ll be good!  Like I said last week my new comp is Hermana Cerna, oh my gosh I love her! She has only been a member for 2 years and I am super impressed with her. She is from Peru but lives in Madrid so has a Spanish accent which is good :) Her parents don´t support her serving a mission and only her sister is a member but isn´t very strong in the church. She is a great missionary and we work reallyyy well together, so I am stoked to be her companion. It is so nice having a native comp again. She also says I have no American accent (yay!) and is really willing to answer all my questions about the language. I am the senior comp since she has been out one transfer less than me, so it´s official I´ll never have more than one senior comp in the mission since all the older ones are leaving this transfer. Hna Cerna still has a lot to learn about doctrine and singing hymns in the morning is interesting because she still doesn't´t know a lot of them and get to sing solos haha. But I´m going to try and help her as much as possible.  Before leaving Málaga I got to say goodbye to all the people I wanted to see so I´ll include some pictures. The Patars (the Romanian family) were the sweetest! They had us over for an FHE, fed us, and wrote me notes- and one of the daughters (Lorena) cried! Aww they melt my heart. They better all serve missions one day and it would be a dream of mine to see them sealed in the temple. What else? Oh yeah our study table here in Murcia is a pool table! Cool huh? But if we want to play we have to go out and buy the balls.  Oh man and you´ll never guess what I ate willinging. Worms. Sea worms. Disgusting. We went to our new bishop´s house (they´re from Murcia) to eat and they fed us this seafood soup because according to them we never get the privilege. I didn´t know the word for worms soooo that´s the good part, I didn´t know what I was eating (but I knew it was something sketchy). They look kind of like pasta but I knew they weren't´t from the coloring. Anyway, I am still grossed out by it. Hna Cerna laughs at me every time I bring it up. Her trying to speak English is so cute too! She doesn't´t know much and understands a little bit but every time she says "fetch!" I crack up. It´s a missionary word that every picks up even the natives.  Well got to go! And as for all you slackers who didn´t write me, you can still do it! I´ll forgive you! ;) Hope you all are having a lovely year!  Love,  Hermana Thompson fotoooos! 1. me and Hayat (the recent convert from Morroco) and her kids 2. Patar family 3. The daughter of the family with whom we skyped (Sandra y Juan) drew us while looking for accuracy hahahaha  

 

my new comp and I in the internet café

Me voy de Malaga! (I'm leaving!)

So change of plans everyone! I´m being transferred this Wednesday to Murcia. I´m leaving after 2 transfers and Hna Andrew will be staying a 4th. It´s not what everyone expected but I had a feeling it might happen. My new companion will be Hermana Cerna. I have been told she is from Peru and lives in Madrid, so I am soooo excited to have a native companion again! YES! I get to perfect my Spanish even more. I´m excited. And it´s ironic because it´s where my trainer, Hna Martín served too. So if I follow this pattern I´ll be going to all her areas haha. Murcia is about 2 hours away from Benidorm where I was before. It´s not on the coast and it´s a bit farther south. There are two wards, I´ll be in the 1st with some other elders. I´m excited for a new change.

Well, let´s see. Oh yeah New Years happened! We ate a member´s place and it was pretty classy actually. Maribel made the BEST meal I´ve had in Spain so far. Man. Mashed potatoes and some sort of meat I´m thinking it was lamb maybe but who knows. So good. We played some games too while we waited. So here they eat 12 grapes at midnight with each bell. I failed. I tried but got behind on number 4. I laughed once and then it all went down hill from there (plus the grapes here all have seeds so it´s harder than you think ok). I had 5 left which means I get 5 months of bad luck...

After we left to go back to the apt it sounded like bombs were going off in a war. Here everyone and their dog sets off firecrackers and fireworks. ALL THE TIME. Ever since December it has started and it scares me every single time. This last week was super slow as well do to the holidays, no one wants anything in our area. Today is also another holiday. Called Los Reyes (you know the 3 Kings) so it´s like a second Christmas but ever since Santa Claus came not as many people celebrate it anymore. While we were at a member´s house yesterday in a suburb of ours (Churriana) a little parade passed by (Cabalgata) with the three kings and other people dressed up singing and throwing candy so we went out for a few minutes to look. A giant Minnie Mouse came up and hugged us...I think it was actually a man...awkward.

We also had a zone conference this week on New Year´s Eve with a talent show so that was fun. Oh yeah, and Amber I got your package! You guys are the BOMB. Seriously, the pictures look so good and the chocolate is being well used.

Well, I will let you all know how the new area goes! And now a lot of pictures!

Love, Hna Thompson

1. well one is blurry but that was the group on Christmas eve (Maribel, Emilio, and Gustavo a recent convert)

2. one is just being goofy on new years eve (b/c obviously we are only ever serious haha)

3. and us with Patricia and Viergela from Haiti

 

  

 Us and a family at church, Rosemeire from Brazil and Noemy and Jose from Spain

Hna, Andrew and I in front of the chapel on Sunday

One of the kings from the parade

us and Estela (from Argentina, she cooks so well) and her daughter

me and Patricia and Oliver

 

Happy New Year

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great Christmas! I forgot to mention in my past emails but I reached my halfway mark on the 20th of Dec! Crazy, right?
So this week was weird. Well I mean it felt weird, mostly because I can´t believe Christmas was only a few days ago! For Christmas Eve we all watched the Christmas Devo from SLC, then later we went downtown with the Elders and saw the lighthouse and some other pretty sites. At like 6:30pm we got all the missionaries from the zone together downtown where all the lights are (my idea haha) and sang Christmas songs to all the people passing by doing their shopping :) it was fun and the missionaries contacted while we sang. A lot of people stopped to listen. That night we went over to a Spanish family´s house from the ward to eat dinner. It started out with shrimp, seafood tarts, bread, cheese, and cured ham. Then we ate a traditional spanish soup, then stuffed beef roast of some sort. After that was an ice cream cake-ish thing and christmas candies. We were really full. We were allowed to stay out until midnight that night so afterwards we stayed and played games.

Christmas day we got to sleep in a little bit and then we all went to the chaple with the other missionaries and played games. For lunch we ate Chinese. Then I called you lovely people and spoke at a member´s place. I loved being able to talk to Carola and Phil in Spanish, she was freaking out, it was funny :) We didn´t open any presents on actual Christmas day since I opened all my packages early and the rest got here late, but that´s okay because it didn´t feel like Christmas anyway. It felt like a normal day in which we just didn´t have to work haha. And talking with you all was surreal.

What else happened? Not much honestly as far as missionary work is concerned since most people were busy with the holidays and didn´t want to meet with missionaries. So I will leave you all with a funny observation. Perhaps you all think I walk beautiful spanish streets lined with culture and sunshine but that´s just postcards. There was actually a garbage worker strike this last week so there is more trash than normal EVERYWHERE (in addition to all the presents the dogs here leave). And there is a huge population of weirdos and handicapped people. Just yesterday we saw this man pushing himself everywhere sitting on a skateboard and using two plastic things as paddles of some sort. I had a good laugh for a while. Gotta love Spain! Have a good week and send me Christmas photos!

Love,

Hermana Thompson

ps- lots of photos!

downtown málaga, lighthouse, christmas tree lights

The Week When Everything Fell Through

Hello everyone! Merry Christmas!

This has been one of my hardest weeks in the mission, maybe except for the first one. A trial of faith and of perseverance. Last week I mentioned that the mission had a goal of finding 800 new investigators (meaning 8 per companionship) just this last week. I knew we could do it, we are in Málaga after all! We hadn´t had much set up at the beginning of the week but we set a goal to contact and knock as many doors as possible. We talked to more people this week than I ever had, we filled up our future investigator page and set up appointments with enough people to reach the goal. And then one by one each plan fell through. Not only investigator lessons but even ones with converts and less actives. People weren´t home, some had given us fake addresses, some were "busy". But I was determined that we would get a miracle because we were trying to show faith and we were working our hardest. Every time plans fell through we knocked more doors, we talked to more people on the streets and buses and got more plans, that later fell through as well. It didn´t help that my back has been killing me everyday and we were exhausted and discouraged.

It seemed like everyone was having success and seeing miracles except for us. (It doesn´t help that there has been a baptism in this area every transfer before I got here). Saturday night was the ward Christmas dinner. We invited people who said they were coming for sure for sure and so we waited expectantly. Investigators and less actives showed up but none of them were ours. I couldn´t understand it. I was obedient when some of those having success weren´t, I was trying more than ever, and yet nothing whatsoever was coming out of it. I knew it was a trial while I was in it, but that doesn´t lessen the effect of it while it´s happening. I was going through my own spiritual/emotional/physical crisis. They even sent our district leader to work in our area and one of our sister training leaders as well thinking it would change things. The plans still fell through. We even taught a whole restoration lesson on the street to a man and didn´t get a return appt so he couldn´t count either. Sunday night we were pressing the call buttons outside a building trying to get in to knock doors, no one was answering, then finally a lady let us in. We went up to her door and she claimed she was busy cooking and had talked to Mormons before anyway. There was an African man in the back and we tried to talk to him since they are always friendly to us, but rarely he was Muslim so I was thinking it was a lost cause. Hna Ramsey (our sister training leader) started to ask if we could come back another time and they just let us right in. We taught the lesson and she agreed to let us come back today. Miracle. That was actually the first time so far that someone has let me just come in right there on the spot and teach. We got one new investigator for the whole finding week and the mission as a whole reached 847. In case you are wondering that is a TON.

I am still learning the lesson from this last week, I still have things I need to work out. But mostly the Lord wants me to learn patience and faith even when I don´t see the results of that manifestation of patience and faith. That is the hard part. Submitting to the Lord´s will happily and patiently. Some days we see successes but apparently right now that is not the will of the Lord. So we wait. And we continue in obedience. I don´t understand why things are the way they are but they are that way for a reason. The mission is a refining fire, and now I am more comfortable with street contacting and knocking doors, something I have been praying for help with. So, nunca se sabe. I met many people this week, some wonderfully nice and friendly and others who claim that the Book of Mormon is fantasy and a lie- but I am happy with our efforts this week because in all cases we were able to testify with certainty that this gospel is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

The more trials and rejection we face the closer we come to our Savior and are able to feel a little more acutely what he felt when he gave his life for us. Our small daily afflictions are nothing in comparison. So this Christmas season give your all to the Lord Jesus Christ and spread the good news of His birth. He lives and he loves us with a perfect love!
¡Feliz Navidad!

Loving you all from afar, 

Hermana Thompson

ps- sorry everyone for not sending anyone anything for Christmas you´ll have to forgive me! 

Audg and Dan, got your wonderful package. Highlight: audio of Ginny singing Let it Be. Cutest thing on the planet I´m pretty sure, you are teaching her well. Say hi to the new baby for me! I heard the water just broke!

photos!

last pday we went ice skating and no one was injured or died! (i have no photos of the Christmas party as of yet because other missionaries have yet to send them to me, but if you head over to the mission blog http://thespainmalagamission.blogspot.com there are pics of us singing at the Granada Christmas concert!)

more photos!

the missionaries in our ward in the seat of the Rey mago (they have a three kings day here as tradition to celebrate Christmas)
and us missionaries banished to the hallway to eat since more people showed up than expected

Romanians, Granada, and a Christmas Concert!

Hey all! This week a lot happened so get ready for lots of pictures! But investigators-wise like nothing happened soooo this email won´t be too exciting on that front. Monday after I emailed all of you beautiful people we went bowling for one of the hermana´s birthdays, then we went to the park near our place that has kangaroos, and finished off the day with a small market that one of our members works at. And today we are supposedly going ice skating so hopefully no one gets hurt like Ashley did recently...haha. But we got permission so we´ll be careful.

Monday evening was Lucas´ birthday, one of the sons of my beloved Romanian family. He just turned 12 and missed the temple trip by like 1 day because he had to wait until Sunday to get the priesthood :/ All their extended family was there and then us. It was kind of awkward in the beginning but they all warmed up to us in the end. I felt bad because they asked if we could listen to music and we said no and so they wouldn´t put anything on for his party haha, kind of sad. All the lights in the whole building went out too at one point since there are people that steal electricity, so that was fun...at least we weren´t stuck in the elevator at the time!

Tuesday we did a FHE with this family from Cordoba and holy cow I have never heard so much noise in one house in my life. I´m pretty sure they don´t know to talk without yelling at the top of their lungs. Keeps things interesting though I suppose, and the lesson went well. This week we were committing all the members to pray for missionary experiences and for our mission wide goal of 800+ new investigators for this week starting today. So pray for that! It means 8 investigators per companionship. We had special training with Pres Deere on Friday and Saturday we went to Granada!

Granada is about 2 hours or so away from here on bus and so we were there all sat to sing for the Christmas concert. It was a bigger deal than I thought it was going to be. Us Málaga missionaries along with the zone that belongs to Granada all had been practicing for it. We sang three hymns, there were two special musical numbers and then they had this band play 2 songs. And then combined we sang Battle Hymn Of the Republic and White Christmas. The conductor of the band was one very classy Spaniard who basically wanted us to be the Tabernacle choir. Which was awkward when we missed his cue to come in on the battle hymn in front of everyone. But in our defense we never practiced with the band and he didn´t really cue us very clearly...awkward. But it turned out well enough and Pres Deere´s face during it was priceless. His mouth was open in awe and I think maybe the thought of us marching out on Spain could´ve crossed his mind. There were a lot of people there since it was a community event and I am hoping the missionaries over there will see some fruit from it. The whole way home we sang Christmas's carols on the bus :) I don´t have any pictures from it. I know Hna Deere took some but they aren´t on the blog yet. Also I was told by Hna Martin that she saw videos from it so perhaps it could be on you tube somewhere, who knows.

Well I´ll let you all know what happens with this finding week! 

Love you all and Happy Holidays!

Hermana Thompson

ps- photos!

1. bowling!

2. me in the park with the statue holding a Book of Mormon haha

3. us in the market with the elders

more photos! 

1. us and the patar family! (romanians) Lucas, Lorena, Florina, Alina, and Romeo. missing the oldest son elvis and the little girl in the front is just a cousin.

2. Me and Hna Ramsay from exchanges last week in the station/mall in málaga

A week of challenges....

Hi guys! How are you all? Freezing? 

Well, this last week included A LOT of walking because of a lot of plans falling through but that´s ok because at least I was somewhat warm in all my new winter stuff. Nothing too exciting happened this week. We had two exchanges and a zone meeting so the week went by really quickly. 

We taught Lina again finally (the Ukrainian) but we still can´t get her to come to church, she always seems to be with family every Sunday and can´t make time. Frustrating. I seriously am going blank on what to tell you all from this week. 

One of the recent converts, Hayat, had to give a talk this week. She is from Morocco and is a young single mother. We helped her prepare for it all week long. And when Sunday came it went really well! And it was so touching to hear her testimony. She is really strong despite her circumstances and past. It´s rare to find members from her country because they are usually Muslim and it is hard to change religion and culture even if you live outside of Morocco. 

We came in contact with a lot of less active members this week, they all seemed to be at home. One of which lives in a smelly apartment with dying cats. She straight out told us that Joseph Smith´s experience is a lie and that he just had a dream and made it all up. It was hard to hold back and be patient in that lesson but I managed it. Some other ones slammed their doors in our faces, one was dead as well, but one actually said he wants us to come back and that it was a miracle to find him at home, so we´ll see what happens there. Always surprises with meeting people, members or not. 

I am also using my weird talents for our benefit. Sparing the details, for those of you who know me well, remember my one talent that isn´t very lady-like? Well if my district leader finds us 5 street contacts this week in our area I told him I´d do it. Which will come in handy because next week we are supposed to find 800+ new investigators all in one week, meaning 8 per companionship. It´s a tall order so pray for our efforts! 

The gospel is true and Christ lives!

Love you all and happy holidays!

Hermana Thompson

photos!

1. we passed by these spray paint murals this week (it´s seriously the coolest graffiti I've seen in my life) and one of the tags said Las Hermanas so we took a picture with it. 

2. and the other photo is us at a Chinese restaurant with some of the other Hermanas after zone meeting. it´s at an awkward angle and i was looking at the other camera but whatever.

(also if you go on the mission blog there is a picture in there of me at the big thanksgiving dinner)