My Birthday, Miracles, and GIBRALTAR!

OKAY, sorry for the wait folks! But finally you have my double email for this and last week! A lot has happened and there are a lot of photos coming your way!

LAST WEEK´S PORTION:

Well I am now 22 years old people! Can you believe that? I sure can´t. It sounds pretty dang old to me but I will have to live with it now. I guess it´s not so bad. My comps decorated a bit for my bday and gave me some small gifts. That day we ate with Juani a member who feeds us a TON but she´s the best. (but seriously you can´t walk after eating at her place). All the appointments basically fell through that day but oh well haha. And like a good and true American I treated myself by buying root beer, chocolate cake mix, and pancake mix from the American shop here! wooohooo! So I made us all pancakes and my own cake for my bday haha :) And we went to this really cool tapas place where it´s like a buffet of small appetizers

On Friday we went to the branch of San Lucar to do a "cosecha" or harvest with the other missionaries. We all went on splits with members and contacted in the streets to try and help move the work along there. It was fun, my comp and I didn´t have much success at least, but they they got contacts out of it and there was a lot of support from the members. 

On Saturday we had the coolest lesson ever with Isi! It started out with her asking us A TON about Book of Mormon history (let´s be honest, I didn´t even remember all of the answers to her questions...I have forgotten a lot of details on the mission haha) and the lineage of all the prophets. Then we talked about the spirit and receiving answers. Anddd then she said something that surprised us all! She said that the law of chastity hadn´t been a problem for her the last two weeks and her and his desires have changed! I was stunned. It was a specific answer to our specific prayers. She was talking about her baptism again and we set a date. She said that an overwhelming feeling comes over her when she thinks about baptism, it´s almost paralyzing. She is nervous but in a good way. The elders gave her a blessing and she described in detail what she felt- smoke that filled her mind, went throughout all her body, went back up, left her head and all she felt was a warm happy feeling left over. Cool huh? I´ve never heard anyone describe it like that. She is progressing really well. She whipped out her old baptismal calendar from the beginning and it was all marked up with stickers and tons of details. She is truly something else.

Sunday we had a Music and the Spoken Word type of fireside and sand Savior Redeemer of My Soul. Others sang and played piano and violin. Isi read the scriptures for us :)

OH AND MARICARMEN GOT BAPTIZED ON WEDNESDAY! If you remember she is Juan´s wife from Murcia and he got to baptize her :) it´s such a miracle. She is going the the other ward´s sacrament meeting and in the meantime hopefully she will change her job!

THIS WEEK´S PORTION

So Monday we went to Gibraltar and it was definitely worth it. A member took us up in his van with the elders and also the Hnas from San Fernando. We officially left Spain and entered into British territory! It was weird. Everyone spoke both English and Spanish fluently and it had lots of little shops from England with British products :) We took a cable car lift thingy up to the top of the rock to see the gorgeous view and monkeys. And the funniest thing of the day happened. Hna Fumero had her back to one of the monkeys on the rail and since her backpack was open it hopped on her back and she started screaming and crying and ripped the bag off. Everyone on the planet was watching and laughing. The rest of the day she held her bag around the front and freaked out every time she saw a monkey. It was hilarious and made the whole trip worth it (for us at least hahaha).

Friday we went to Chiclana to help with a girl´s camp activity. Half of the sister missionaries went on splits to contact in the streets and Hna Fumero and I went to and elderly home to talk with them and write mini bio´s in handmade journals. That night one of our plans fell through and so we stopped by an inactive family that had recently moved and the bishop had been able to talk to on the street. Normally when we do this they either aren´t home or don´t want anything to do with the church. The mother, Angelita, opened up, and first said she didn´t have time but after talking a bit let us in. She began to talk about how she completely regrets leaving the church over small thing and that she feels in her chest this great feeling of sadness and longing to come back. She had been reading the bible the day before and thinking about it and said that it was a miracle that we came the day after. Her husband later came in along with her sons and other family members. Her youngest son, Javier, was extremely nice. He had been sealed in the temple at one time and everything and also regrets what happened. They both gave really sincere and beautiful repentative (is that right?) prayers and invited us to come back and eat this Tuesday. I LOVE MIRACLES! They are the best. 

This week we have also been contacted by three homeless people, 2 members and one investigators. One´s name is Jose and since he is sincere, we are trying to help him repent, quit drinking, and turn his life around. We will see what happens! Today we went bike riding with a lot of other missionaries to the two castles. We are now a combined district with San Fernando.

Love you all!

Hermana Thompson

photos- Gibraltar!

In the lift

Hna Moreno and I with the monkey that attacked Hna Fumero haha

the Rock of Gibraltar!

Hnas Brown, Moreno, Fumero, me, Ridlisbacher

 

Hna Moreno and I on the path

 

look closely in the last photos i sent and you can see Africa!

the crazy monkeys

and we met some American tourists that served their mission in Spain!

 WAIT…. THERE’S MORE….

our old district with Elder Queriolo and Mercado

new district on the castle with elders Buttars, Adamson, Mercado, Queirolo, and Hnas Brown and Rindlisbacher

paintball flashback! i finally got the photos!

the group

and me on the hunt!

 

 What a way to scope out contacts!

Hello!

So we went to Gibraltar today and got stuck in a ton of traffic coming back out from customs so that´s why I´m getting on late. I won´t be able to write my normal weekly email but I´ll make up for it next week! My birthday went really well and I got the packages from Amber and Carola, Audrey´s still hasn´t gotten to me so I´m not sure what´s up with that. But know that everything is well! Hna Moreno is getting transferred to the Sevilla zone on Wednesday and Hna Fumero and I are staying here together. Have a good week! Pray for Isi, Chari, and Antonio, they all have baptismal dates :D

Love you all!

Hermana Thompson

Baptismal Dates!

Hello! This week was intense in many ways but ended well because we set two baptismal dates on Saturday and then they both went to church on Sunday! We celebrated Chari´s birthday on Tuesday and decorated some pre-bought cakes for her with her daughter. They are still having problems but are doing a lot better. Chari has changed a ton since the priesthood blessing she got. Her daughter Ana has problems with drugs and is only 16. We were talking about faith, hopes, and dreams, and she told us she never has had hopes or dreams because everyone her whole life has always told her she is worthless. We assured her that she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father, that he loves her, and she has great worth. We had her think of dreams and write them down. Her mom says that she has been reading our dedicatory note in her Book of Mormon ever since. We take for granted sometimes things that are simple but mean a lot. I had never supposed that someone could never have hoped or dreamed. It´s incredibly sad because it´s free and one thing that everyone can do. But oh how things change when a person understands who they are and that with the Lord all things are possible!

Chari accepted her baptismal date of July 12th with enthusiasm and wrote alongside it in her calendar "be baptized with someone that holds the authority of God" haha we were so surprised at the change that has been affected in her! At church it comes to find out that she already had a lot of connections with the people but they remember her as a completely different person and some had their doubts but we know that it is true progression. 

Antonio is the other. He has a date for the same day. We found him last week through another investigator in park and the first time we taught him I invited him to be baptized and he said yes. He´s from the Dominican Republic and truly has a desire to listen and learn. He showed up to church just like he said he would! So here’s to praying that he will keep progressing!

This week I will turn 22 on Wednesday and then complete 15 months in the mission on Thursday. It´s hard to believe. But oh I still have so much to learn and so much to improve on. Just when I think I am doing really well on attributes like patience, love, and humility, the Lord shows me that I still have a long way to go. But lucky for me I have good examples for companions that truly show me how to do all three of those things. And of course the best example of all is Jesus Christ. 

Love you all! And thank you all so much for sending me your love for my birthday! 

Hermana Thompson

ps- Hna Fumero cut my hair for me this morning and well...since it hadn´t been cut in over a year it was pretty ragged. So my hair is now quite a bit shorter :/ I´ll send a pic next week.

pps- photos!

me, Ana, Chari, Sara (YW from the ward), Hna Fumero, Hna Moreno

Exchanges, Tourism, and More Miracles!

So this Friday we had a zone meeting and then afterwards I went to Jerez for exchanges with Hna Cameron and Hna Johnson went to Cádiz with my comps. It was fun but there isn´t anything out of the ordinary to share. On Tuesday we went with the elders to give Chari and her home a blessing. It went really well and she cried a lot. You can tell that she is feeling better and is wanting to progress more and more. Wednesday was her bday so we heart attacked her door. When we went back on Thursday as first she said she wasn´t feeling up to letting us in and then stopped, thought, and said "Okay, maybe just a prayer." God told her to let us in and she opened up as we talked and we all knew that we came at just the right time. She and her 16 year old daughter, Ana, had been having a lot of problems and we were able to counsel them through it and talk about true love and forgiveness. It came with tears and kind words and now the daughter wants to go to church and listen to us :) We have faith that they will get baptized once we can get them to church a few times...and once they both quit smoking! (She also said the heart attack was the best part of her bday. Little things really do make big differences.) 

We taught Isi about tithing and fasting this week and she accepted them both readily. Less so on all the logistics of keeping the Sabbath Day holy, but that one won´t be much of a problem. On Sunday it was her birthday and her mom, Encarni, came to church! She loved it and told the whole family about it! The parents had been opposed before but God has been working on their hearts. Isi invited us to her Bday celebration and another YSA member. At the end she had us share a message and her parents and a family friend asked us all the questions they wanted. They are really great people and have basically all the same beliefs. And now the father wants to come on Sunday too! It is such a miracle! (plus a fat little bulldog was sucking on my sandals the whole time and wouldn´t leave me alone hahaha it was quite the night).

Well I have no more time, but I love you all!

Hermana Thompson

Me in front of the castle just above, and us on bikes

and on the castle (which is on its own little island) in 3 photos below

 

Chocolate Fast

Hello everyone! Well, not much has happened this week. We had interviews with President Deere, we attempted to cook cultural meals, and we went the whole week without chocolate (and boy was it ever difficult). Why would we do that? For and investigator. 

Like I mentioned last week, Isi wasn´t too convinced on the whole Word of Wisdom thing so Tuesday we explained it better and it was a very spiritual lesson as we mostly went through the scriptures talking about obedience and repentance. She is about to graduate from nursing school so she had a really important exam to take with an unfair professor. She decided to make a promise to God to obey the WoW and not drink tea that week if she could have the blessing of the test going well. We, in her support, told her we would give up the thing we love most, chocolate, during the same period of time. (The first days are the roughest but now I have chocolate in my system and life is good). She called us right after she took the exam and said it went phenomenally :D And she said that as an answer to her prayers her parents are finally listened to her explain the Joseph Smith story, and that her mom got a job! She is keeping her commitments and progressing a ton, and as a result, seeing miracles. I don´t remember if I mentioned it last week but she is already in Mosiah and loved the olive tree allegory in Jacob. She is not your ordinary investigator. But of course now there is the roadblock of chastity looming over us. So pray for a miracle!

What else? Have you ever looked at a person and could just tell that they smoke or have a problem with the WoW? I can tell almost every time now without fail. You can see it in their eyes and in there face. We taught an investigator named Chari this week. She used to be an alcoholic and smokes too. She is depressed, without hope, and has thought many times about taking her life. You can feel the influence that the adversary has on her and her home. We don´t talk about it too often in the church but especially as missionaries we see that Satan is real and has great influence over peoples´ hearts and minds. She and others come to a point so low that they are finally humble enough to accept that they need help, some don´t, but she is ready for it and desperately needs some glimmer of hope in order to keep going on. We are going by tomorrow so she and her home can receive a blessing. But I am constantly reminded everyday of how blessed I truly am. And I know everyone reading this is just as blessed. We have the gospel and we truly understand our purpose in life. We have hope and we have a way out- the opportunity of eternal happiness. 

There is a young woman here that is such a good example to me and everyone around her. Her parents are separated and no longer active and her circumstances are miserable at school as well. But she has one of the strongest testimonies I have ever seen, especially in someone of 15 years of age. She has learned what every one of us must learn to truly be converted. She has learned to grasp onto the gospel and integrate the atonement of Jesus Christ into every aspect of her being. She shares the gospel with everyone, she probably reads the scriptures more than we do, she is saving to go on a mission, and is the sweetest thing on the planet. Many times I reflect back on when I was in young women's and how I gained my testimony. I am forever grateful for choosing to read the Book of Mormon. It changed my life forever. For that, I hope that neither I nor a single one of you ever take it for granted. 

Love you all!

Hermana Thompson

ps- this email was way hard to write, Spanish is literally screwing up my spelling...

photos!

from last week in the Arabic style building

1. Hna Fumero and i in the back and Hnas Moreno, Rindlisbacher, and Brown in the front

it won´t let me send more :/

1. me, Isi, Hnas Moreno, Rindlisbacher, and Brown

2. the whole group

 

1. i made 2 tortillas de patata this week and they came out perfectly! mmm oh they are so good you guys. i´ll make em for you when i get back

2. Hna Moreno and i today eating lunch :)

 

 Who could turn these faces away?