J. is still struggling. He seems to think that if he gets baptized he has to be perfect and he can't have any fun anymore. It's hard to help him understand the happiness he will receive from this gospel. L. is doing really well. She would progress much better in a different circumstance, but she seems to like having us over and she feeds us every once and a while. We try to get referrals from members as often as possible. Usually it is just a referral to a less-active friend or something. Something I didn't realize about missionary work is that it isn't just about finding people and teaching investigators. A big part of it is teaching less-active members. That's something that we were working on a lot this week. We actually had a couple less-active members come to church yesterday, so it felt good to know that our visits helped them return to church this week.
I was asking him how they determine which door approach they will use. We mostly focus on the Restoration when we teach at the door, unless we feel that the Plan of Salvation is something that they need. Tracting is pretty tough, and even more so now that it's so cold! (3 degrees today)
I was telling him how I met Sister Lyons online. She is a sister in his area who has been feeding him and watching over him. She is such a sweet lady! Her 2 children were baptized this past Saturday. Hermana Lyons is so nice! (Hermana is the word for sister, but it feels weird to say sister). She is always taking such good care of us and making sure we've got everything we need. Ever since she started talking to you she always tells everyone that "Elder Thayne's mom is the sweetest lady". Hermana Lyons is such a strong member of the church. If I didn't know her story I never could guess she was inactive. It just goes to show how much people can change and the happiness that the gospel can bring to their life.
That's so fun that you guys get to host thanksgiving! Oh good times. Too bad the Hess side isn't all that much into basketball so you won't have the traditional game of speed ;)
To use the Internet we just go to a library downtown.
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| This is the view of Indianapolis from the Library where I type my emails |
I asked him the difference between a zone and a district...I can never quite remember how all that works. A zone is made up of 2 or 3 different districts in an area. The zone leaders are leaders over all those missionaries. A district is a smaller group of missionaries. Like, my district is just the Spanish speaking missionaries. I don't really know how to explain it.
Probably the most interesting thing I've eaten so far is cactus. We had it from a Taqueria (taco shop) and it was actually really good! Hermana Lyons does cook some really good food! I love eating at her house!
This week was pretty slow. We're still trying to find a solid person to teach and progress in the gospel. We have gotten a lot of return appointments this week so we'll see how that goes.
I had the opportunity to stand in the circle for the confirmation of Hermana Lyons' kids. It was a sweet experience. I love how in the prayer it says "I say unto you receive the Holy Ghost". We truly must choose to receive the Holy Ghost in our lives. It is not a passive action. We have to invite the Spirit and strive to let it dwell in us.
Elder Schoeneman and I had a great experience this week! On Friday we got a text from a member in our branch that said her non-member friend needed a blessing. Her son in El Salvador had just had an operation and she wanted a blessing of comfort. I gave my first blessing in Spanish and it was way scary! Everything went OK though and she said it helped a lot. Then later we were at a members house eating dinner (we go to her house every Friday and it's my favorite meal appointment of the week). We were there for like 20 minutes and then got a call from our zone leaders saying that a member has a son who was in the ICU and she wanted someone to go and give him a blessing. So we had to leave our dinner appointment early and drive to the hospital. Now I have to admit I was a little upset we had to leave that dinner appointment early because I look forward to it so much. We got to the hospital and found the guys room and he was asleep. His mom wasn't there but she told us over the phone that he had been put on some pretty intense drugs so he would be pretty out of it. We went in to give him the blessing and as soon as I put the oil on his head he opened up his eyes and he was pretty alert for the whole thing. Elder Schoeneman gave the blessing and afterwards the man was so thankful and happy that we had come. On the way out of the hospital we called his mom and told her how it went. She was so happy to hear it went well and how glad he was that we came. She started crying because of how happy she was and it made me feel really good to know that we could help. After that I wasn't really worried at all about missing that dinner appointment because I was so happy to be able to help.
Well that's all for today! Thank you so much for all your support and your prayers. I love you and I'll keep you all in my prayers! I'll talk to you next week!
Love,
Elder Thayne
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