Week 68 - My Last Christmas in the Mission - I love being a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This week flew by! It was a really rough week for the work and we weren't able to do much this week. Tuesday night we drove down to Indy and slept over with some Elders down there. Wednesday we had our mission-wide Christmas conference which was a lot of fun. We listened to stories and feelings on Christmas from the mission presidency, and later had a white elephant gift exchange. I was left with a game of battleship which was decent compared to some of the other gifts. After the gift exchange we had a talent show and it was a lot of fun! Later, we made the long drive back up to Elkhart and got home around 10. 

Christmas Eve was great! We had a baptismal interview with K and her kids, A and A. They were baptized yesterday by the Elkhart Elders. They are such a humble and converted family! After the baptismal interview we went to the Alarcon's house for Christmas festivities. In the Hispanic culture, Christmas is really celebrated on the 24th. They stay up wayyyyy late and eat and talk and then at midnight they open all the presents, eat some more, dance, and then go to bed. The next day is still recognized as Christmas, but it's not as big of a deal as Christmas Eve. At 10 we got permission from Pres. Cleveland to go to the Lutheran Candlelit mass on Christmas Eve. It was really interesting to see the differences in the Lutheran Church. After mass we went and ate a bit at Juan's house and then went home to sleep.

Christmas morning, Juan asked if we wanted to go to the Basilica of the Holy Heart, a catholic church on Notre Dame campus in South Bend. It's a beautiful and famous church and it was sooooo cool. Catholic mass was weird as well and really interesting. But just like you said Mom, the best part of my Christmas was when I spoke with my wonderful family! :) It was so good to see you all and to talk to you face to face. I love you and miss you all dearly. 

Saturday night I had the feeling to call this lady named G that we had heard about whose ex-husband is a member. I called her and she was excited to meet with us on Sunday. Juan came with us to the lesson with her and she is such a sweet lady. Her husband was deported about 5 years ago and has been a member for a long time. She used to go to church, but is now attending another Christian church every once in a while. We have another appointment with her tomorrow and we will bring the branch president and his wife with us. We're hoping she'll be our next baptismal date!

I thoroughly enjoyed my last missionary Christmas! It is one I will never forget. I love the Spirit of love and giving that permeates the air during the Christmas season and I am excited to share that with my loved ones next year. It is a blessing to share this good news with the Hoosiers here in Indiana and I love being a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. Have a great week and a happy new year! I love you Mom!

Love,

Elder Thayne

Christmas with the Alarcons

Helping cook Christmas Dinner at the Alarcons

The Basilica of the Holy Heart at Notre Dame

Juan and Elder Weese

Elder Weese rand Elder Thayne at the Basilica of the Holy Heart at Notre Dame

Chatting with the Family on Christmas day

 

Week 67 - Zone leader and Branch Christmas Party

This week has been really busy and a little crazy. My new companion is Elder Weese from Logan, UT. He's been out just one transfer longer than me. Something a little shocking happened at transfer meeting. Elder Weese and I were both assigned as new zone leaders in Elkhart. President had told Elder Weese that he was going to be a zone leader this transfer, but he didn't tell me a thing. And since I had only been a district leader for one transfer, I wasn't expecting it at all. So E. Weese and I are still trying to figure stuff out as zone leaders. We are over a zone of 8 companionships, so it's one of the smaller zones in the mission. We have a lot more meetings now as zone leaders and I hope it will be a good learning experience. 

Yesterday we had our monthly missionary coordination meeting with the stake presidency and a member of the mission presidency. It was such a powerful and spiritual meeting. The stake president testified of the power and authority of our calling and told us that when we go into people's homes they can feel it. Even though we may not realize it, we have a mantle that sets us apart from others. That was such a humbling realization to come to yesterday. 

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Our investigator pool has shrunk pretty significantly, so Elder Weese and I have been doing a lot of tracting to get things going here in Goshen. We talk to a lot of people, but we can't seem to get any return appointments lately. 

We had our branch Christmas party on Saturday and it was a great turnout! The primary president asked me and Elder Weese to participate in the primary presentation of the Christmas story in the Book of Mormon. I played the part of Samuel el lamanita (Samuel the Lamanite) and E Weese was el incredulo (the unbeliever). It was a lot of fun! We each only stood and quoted 3 lines, but we had some pretty good costumes on and people got a good kick out of it. Sadly we didn't get any pictures. (Thankfully a couple of members sent me some pictures. :))

I love the Christmas season and I'm so excited to call you on Friday! It'll be good to see the fam. On Wednesday we have our mission-wide Christmas conference in Indy so we'll be driving down tuesday night. 

Well that's all I really have to say. I've really enjoyed reading about the attributes of Christ in that countdown thing you sent me. I read them every night before I go to bed and it's a great way to end my day. I love you mom! Can't wait to see you and the fam! Have a wonderful Christmas and I'll see you on Friday!

Love, Elder Thayne

With the Torres Family

With Sister Miriam Torres

Helping with decorations for the Branch Christmas Party

Selfie Stick for the Win

At the Branch Christmas Party - Elder Thayne playing the part of Samuel the Lamanite

Branch Christmas Party

Week 66 - The real reason we celebrate Christmas

This week was great! We got a lot of good work done and were able to teach a lot of people. Sadly I still have a cold, but it's getting better.

We've arrived at the end of the transfer, and Elder Ebeling is getting transferred so I'll be driving from Indy with a new companion tomorrow. The weather up here has been SO good! It's been in the 50's and 60's for pretty much the whole week. So far it's been a very mild winter, but I keep hearing that when it hits, it's supposed to be bad.

This week, we picked up some former investigators that were taught a while ago. It's a young unmarried couple, F and A. They're in their 20's and they're a lot of fun to teach. We had a great lesson with them on Thursday and taught them about faith and the Book of Mormon. They talked with the missionaries a lot before, but the missionaries stopped visiting them because they weren't willing to get married or separate. It's unnerving how frequently we run into that problem with people. It just shows that the world is drifting more and more away from the idea of a family.  

That's awesome that you guys got to meet Juan! He's such a great guy. It was nice of him to visit you and he told me he had a wonderful time in Utah and that he loved meeting all of you. Thanks for meeting with him! 

I loved singing in the Christmas Fireside even though I'm not much of a singer. It was a great program and I love the wonderful spirit of the Christmas season. O Come, O Come Emmanuel has been one of my favorite Christmas songs for a while, so I loved singing that one. It was such a powerful fireside and the spirit could be felt very strongly. Between all the songs, Pres. Huxford from the Stake Presidency spoke of a Christmas on his mission when the only present he received was a bar of soap and a handkerchief. He said that looking back on that Christmas, that gift has helped him remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Just like soap, Christ cleans our sins, and as is done with a handkerchief, he wipes our tears. I love this time of year when everyone is focused on Christ. I hope you all have a great Christmas and I can't wait to talk to you guys next week! Love you!

Elder Thayne

Week 65 - Training conference with Elder Nash - our prayers are more empowered by faith after we have been obedient to the commandments of the Lord

This week was kinda slow, and I've had a cold since last Monday, but our Multi-Zone Conference was AMAZING! Elder Nash was incredible. Such a powerful speaker and you can definitely feel the power of his witness and his calling. One of my favorite things he talked about was obedience in the 2nd chapter of Ether. In this chapter, the brother of Jared is told to build some barges and we read of his obedience in his prayers to the Lord.

18 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried untothe Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the workwhich thou hast commanded me, and I have made thebarges according as thou hast directed me.

 19 And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whithershall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them wecannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; thereforewe shall perish.

Elder Nash pointed out that because the brother of Jared was exactly obedient in building the barges the way the Lord wanted him to, he was able to start off his prayer saying, "I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me". He explained that our prayers can be that much more empowered by faith after we have been obedient to the commandments of the Lord. If we don't get up on time or aren't obedient to the mission rules, then our prayers can't be like that and we can't have the faith that the Lord will bless us. 

I loved the way he explained the concept of obedience so simply and powerfully using the Book of Mormon. And then he made a direct and clear application to missionary work and things that we need to do better as a mission. It was by far the best conference I've been to on my mission. 

We had a pretty cool miracle this week too! At the Zone Conference, the Assistants to the Mission Pres. role-played a lesson with Elder and Sister Nash, where they said they were worried about their kids straying off the path. The Assistants then addressed their need and testified and left them with a commitment to pray as a family. The very next day, we were tracting and after teaching an 18 year old girl, we asked if she knew of any Hispanics that lived close by. She told us her neighbors were Mexican but she warned us that they were very rude. We were hesitant, but decided to knock anyway. On the other side of the door was a very nice lady who didn't even speak Spanish. We started talking and she almost immediately explained that she had been worried about her children getting into the wrong crowd and she's trying to keep her family together. It was literally the same exact thing they had practiced at Zone Conference! It was cool because we were already prepared on how to address that need and help her overcome her problem. We're hoping the English Elders can teach her soon!

Yesterday we went by a less-active members house and we had previously heard that her husband was against the church. But we went and taught them both and they were so nice and it was a great lesson! They enjoyed it and I ended up having a ton in common with their 14 year old son A. who runs XC and plays the drums! I even got to play his set yesterday which was really fun :) it's been a looooong time! We're hoping E. and A. keep learning more and that Edgar has the desires to be baptized. 

I love you Mom! Thanks for the wonderful advent calendar! I hope you guys have a great week and a merry Christmas! Love you!! 

Elder Thayne

A Member wanted us to do service and burn a bunch of branches and stuff...so
we took some really cool smoke pictures. 

A Member (Bro Juan Alarcon) bought us a selfie stick

Elder Nash - He speaks Spanish, so he was willing to take a picture with the Spanish Elders

On our road trip to Indy...with the selfie stick

Week 64 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Bowl - Thanksgiving day

With Fellow THS Alumni, Sam Dean

This week flew by! And since we pretty much had a p-day on Thursday, it feels kind of weird to be having another one today. Today after p-day, we'll be driving down to Indy to spend the night there. Tomorrow morning we'll have our multi-zone conference with Elder Nash from the Seventy and I'm really looking forward to it! It's always fun to get together with other missionaries and I'm sure we'll learn a lot.

Thanksgiving was tons of fun! We played some football in the morning and the weather was perfect! It was a warm Thanksgiving which was weird because last year it was snowing while we played football. After football we cleaned the apartment up a bit and then went bowling with Juan. It was a lot of fun, but it's safe to say that my bowling could get a little better. But I sure as cuss couldn't get any worse ;) Afterwards we ate at the Alarcon's house and a lot of the branch was there. We had pork and rice and potatoes and it was soooo good. On Saturday we had a great branch activity and it was a huge success! The non-members that came outnumbered the members and it was a lot of fun. Activities are always such a great way to make people feel comfortable in the branch. 

We got tons of member help this week and taught a lot of lessons with members. It was good to receive that help and hopefully we can get even more members involved and excited about missionary work. We've been teaching this guy named Felipe. He is super open and willing to come to church, but his family isn't as interested. He said his kids feel comfortable in the Catholic church and they don't really like when we come over. So we'll try to bring some youth with us so they can get to know them a little better.

On Friday, we were tracting and we came to this house with about 10 cars parked outside. We could see from the outside that there was a party in there. We knocked on the door and they let us right in! We taught the whole party about the Restoration, but sadly, they were all super catholic and there were two guys who were being very rude and it kind of kept the rest of the people from taking part in the message. But we taught all of them and it was about 20 people. Afterwards we left a few pamphlets for them, they gave us some food, and we left. It was a pretty cool experience to teach that many people!

My Ponderizing scripture this week is in Alma 57 21. It's one of my favorites.

21 Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.

Pres. Cleveland has been emphasizing being exactly obedient as he tries to get the whole mission entirely on the same page. Sadly, there will always be some who don't quite understand the importance of obedience to every rule or commandment, but I think it's something that takes some people a little longer to learn.

  I know that this is the work of the Lord. There is no way I could do this work myself. I've seen too many miracles to deny that this is the Lord's work and His church. I know Joseph Smtih was His prophet and that we have a prophet on Earth today. I know the Savior was born of Mary in Bethlehem and he came as King of Kings, Lord of Lords. He bled, suffered, and died for us and through his grace we not only will be saved, but we can be made perfect. 

I'm thankful for everything I have and especially for my wonderful family! I love you all so much and I'm thankful for all you do for me! Have a good week and a great Christmas season! I love you and I'll see you on Christmas! 

Love,

Elder Thayne

Peppermint ice cream especially made for Josh!   Juan Alarcon knows the owner of  "The Chief", a local ice cream shop.  He's a good friend to have when you get a late night call for a dire need for peppermint ice cream from a missionary!

Thankgiving Bowling! 

Elder Thayne OBVIOUSLY needs to work on his bowling skills!  

Week 63 - Pray always - key to any commandment is consistency

My Ponderizing scripture this week is D&C 10:5 

 5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.

I love this scripture and I think it can apply to any commandment. "Study the scriptures always", "Pay tithing always", "Love others always". I think that the key to any commandment is consistency. And I definitely see the need for prayer especially in this world and in this work.

Our week was alright. We have been having a hard time getting people to come to church lately. The only investigator we have that comes consistently is C. He's the husband of a recent convert, A, for whom I actually conducted the baptismal interview the last time I was in Elkhart. C. comes to church and prays and participates, but he still doesn't want to get baptized. He seems to talk about it as if it will happen someday, it's just a matter of when. We finally discovered that he really hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon and we told him that he definitely will not know if this church is true without reading from and gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon.

S. said they've called him S. ever since he was a baby. He said he had really big cheeks so they called him that and the name stuck. S. has been attending a Pentecostal church that he really likes and it's been hard getting him to come to church. We also found out he is still on probation from when he went to jail and he has a court date for early next year. So we won't really be able to set any baptismal goals with him until he gets all that cleared up.  

Yeah, I did have to go to the dermatologist on Monday. He said it was probably poison ivy or some other allergic reaction to nature. I've been taking Prednisone and it's already clearing up a lot. Juan is on the Stake Music committee, so he's conducting a stake Christmas program and he's asked us to be in the choir. So we had a practice at the stake center last night and we're singing a lot of great Christmas songs. I'm looking forward to Christmas and the wonderful spirit that it brings!

I love you Mom! I hope you had a great birthday! Safe travels for thanksgiving and I hope you all enjoy the holidays. Love you! Have a good week!

Week 62 - "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" - thrust in your sickle!

Well since I slacked last week, I'll start off with my ponderizing scripture: 2 Tim. 1:7-8

 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but ofpower, and of love, and of a sound mind.

 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;"

I like this scripture a lot and I think it applies to sharing the Gospel really well. 

This week was great!  S. is still progressing pretty well. He was only able to go to the last hour of church yesterday because another friend invited him to a Pentecostal church and he went there during the first 2 hours. He seemed to like that church a lot but hopefully he can come to Sac. meeting next week so he can feel the spirit of the Sacrament. We ate at the Alarcon's house yesterday and we invited S. to come with us. We ate chicken and mole and it was good that he was able to meet the family and establish a relationship with some people in the branch. 

I gave a talk in Sac Meeting yesterday and I talked about sharing the gospel and more specifically, how helpful and necessary it is to have members with us in lessons. I shared 2 Cor. 13:1 which talks about how the word being established by 2 or 3 witnesses. I also shared one of my favorite stories from the Book of Mormon about Alma and the sons of Mosiah and the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. I specifically shared Alma 27:4-5

 4 Now when Ammon and his brethren saw this work of destruction among those whom they so dearly beloved, and among those who had so dearly beloved them—for they were treated as though they were angels sent from God to save them from everlasting destruction—therefore, when Ammon and his brethren saw this great work of destruction, they were moved with compassion, and theysaid unto the king:

 5 

Let us gather together this people of the Lord, and let us go down to the land of Zarahemla to our brethren the Nephites, and flee out of the hands of our enemies, that we be not destroyed.

I love this story and I've read it many times, but I never really saw it in this light. I love how verse 4 shows the love and appreciation that the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's had for the people who brought them the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ. "for they were treated as though they were angels sent from God to save them from everlasting destruction".  All of us can be an "angel" for someone as we share with them what can save them from everlasting destruction.

Last time I was in the branch when I was serving in Elkhart, I noticed it was a little hard for the Goshen Elders to get a lot of help from the members since there aren't as many members in Goshen. So I was a little worried about that as I came into this area, but we've been having a lot of success using members. I've found that if you really just ask anyone and everyone to come with you to lessons, you'll get the help. So it's been good to have a lot of help from the members in fellow shipping the investigators.

It's getting pretty chilly up here, although we haven't seen snow yet. At the end of this month, Elder Nash from the Seventy is coming to tour our mission and train us in multi-zone zone conferences. It will be cool to have him here and to listen to the counsel he will give us. 

This past week, we were tracting in a trailer park. We found ourselves talking to a white lady named J. At first, she told us she didn't believe in God at all and wasn't religious. We thought we had no hope of teaching anything to her. But I had a feeling to share the Plan of Salvation with her and to explain to her that she was taught all of this already in the Pre-mortal life and I said, "If any of this rings true to you or sounds familiar in any way, that's why." We then taught about God's plan and our part in it and by the end of the lesson she was agreeing with it and finding truth in it. It was a great testimony to me that everybody on Earth really has already learned all of this, it's just a matter of helping them come back to it. 

Yeah there are quite a lot of Amish up here. There always at the stores and stuff. We've talked to one of them one time but never really tried to teach him. And no, I don't believe there are any Mexican Amish haha.

My rash is a lot better, but still itches. It's definitely improving though. The nurse didn't even come to zone conference, so it looks like I'm on my own haha. But it's getting better and should be gone soon. 

Not much else to share this week! I love it in Goshen, but I'm not looking forward to the winter. It should be a good adventure! I love you Mom! Happy Birthday this week! I'll write a letter and send it. We'll see if it's on time... Sorry! Love you, bye!

Elder Thayne

D&C 4:4

I'm taking this whole "thrust in your sickle" thing seriously!