'Twas the Night Before Christmas

 When you hear the word 'Christmas' you imagine snow, ice and freezing temperatures. However this Christmas was one with sun and temperatures you would find in the Caribbean. It was my first Christmas like that and possibly preferable above a Christmas with snow. We went to a members home and played volleyball for hours and then had some Christmas themed games. The competitive side of me was activated and I was aiming to win. The best of the 4th annual Christmas games was speed gingerbread house making. With the materials provided, teams had to build a home in less than 15 minutes and the judges would then judge upon the level of creativity. With the timer begun, my team sped off beginning to build the walls and roof of what became a rectangular cube like structure. With a basic structure in place, we all paused and thought about what it should become. Then came a blurt of excitement from across the table, "It's a trailer in a trailer park!" We created something that would rival any sculpture in any museum across the globe. Complete with burning trash pile, a satellite on the roof, hidden liquor under snow, outhouse with cable TV, and truck missing head light and tail light, the trailer was complete. ( I will include pictures.) We obviously won.

     It came to a close and one of the English Elders sang some songs with his guitar. He sang some Christmas hymns and they invited the Spirit. From where I sat, I looked outside into the dark and there was a street light above the road. It was one of the only things out on this back country road. It reminded me of the new star that signaled the birth of the Savior. Later on that night I thought about how many years ago the Savior's first night on the Earth was spent in a manger, and I slept in a warm house. I am grateful for what He did for me and what He was willing to do for all of us. 

     We went caroling a few nights before Christmas and I have never seen so many doors opened to us. With every person we talked and sang with, we shared a moment to think about the Savior together and that is one of the greatest blessing in the world. It was an experience I will never forget. He suffered for all of us no matter our religion or race. When we talk with others who share the belief in His sacrifice and love for us, we will all be blessed.

     Thank you all for the gifts and support! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Thomas    

 photo credit for all Christmas photos - Starks family

The Starks made Christmas Eve a fun and memorable night. 

they found pictures of the boys on Facebook when they were little boys and made them into puzzles. 

 This is a photo that Sister Starks posted, it is their High School football field.

Turkeys

   

 This week, my companion came up with the idea of making dinner for a family who didn't have much. I thought it was a good idea but then second guessed it as we were at our apartment coming up with ideas on how one should cook a turkey. After determining that the turkey would be better prepared in the hands of a professional, we recruited the help of a recent convert friend, Lupita. We asked her if she could teach us how to make one. She looked puzzled but called her Mom. Her Mom, a non member and one of the nicest ladies I know, told us to bring it to her house and she would cook it. It is no easy or convenient task to cook a turkey and this woman said yes like it was something she would do any other day of the week. It took her hours to make it and we thanked her every place we could. She told us, you serve us so much and so I can do my little part. And then even when we took the turkey to our car another family member showed up, also not a member, and she gave us a cake and soda to take to the family! We tried to do service for a family and ended up being served ourselves. We took the turkey over to the family and they were very happy. The neighbor kids were over along with a cousin or two and they all devoured it. 

     We visited E this week. She explained some challenges she is experiencing and then she explained how much the Gospel has blessed her life. She thanked us for helping her. I thought about how we are weak instruments but the Lord uses simple means to bless us all.  

     I feel so grateful for being able to spread this Christmas message everyday. It isn't something reserved for the time between Thanksgiving and New Year's but something to be celebrated every day and every moment. We renew a covenant to always remember Him every week. But I am so grateful for this time we have to remember to serve others and be grateful for the knowledge we have of our Redeemer. And I do know that He lives and I am so grateful for Him and for what He has done.

I love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas

Elder Thomas  

Age Misconceptions and Motivational Speakers

Elder Henderson's mom and Jeff are cousins.  

Carthage Zone

We send him a Charlie Brown Tree...

Perfect quote for the Pizza loving Elder Ian!

We had a Zone Conference with Elder Foster of the seventy come and speak to us. When we arrived a rather tall fellow missionary ran up and gave me a hug. Assuming  he assumed I was someone else I said hi and then took off to save my seat. Later during dinner, I saw him again and he said my name and asked me if I knew who he was. I really had no idea but then in my minds eye I made him a foot shorter and realized he was my second cousin! It was awesome to see him there serving in my same mission. 

     Elder Foster showed us a video about the universe. I thought that it was just something cool he saw on the Discovery Channel but he told us to think about how much Heavenly Father loves us as we watched it. I don't remember it exactly but I'll try to explain. The Hubble telescope can see into space some crazy number of light years and can show us some really interesting finds in space.  One day scientists got bored of the same old stuff and out of curiosity decided to point it at a place where they couldn't see anything, no stars, no planets, nothing. After spending many hours and resources just getting the massive multi-million dollar telescope to point over there, they let it absorb the light for a couple of weeks. When they got the picture it showed in the nothingness millions of galaxies in deep space. They had no idea what was out there but they found more than they had thought existed . Each speck, and there were millions of them, on the picture was a galaxy like our own harboring billions of stars and trillions of planets. They called it the the most humbling picture they had ever seen. I sat amazed and Elder Foster asked, 'Do you feel small now?" He pointed out others in the scriptures that had seen things similar to that and they learned that they were children of God. Pretty incredible to think that the Creator of all those billions of stars and galaxies will listen to our prayers when we lose our iPhone. He taught that God loves us.

     Later that week, none of the people we invited came to church. In fact, none of the Spanish speaking members came. The sacrament was about to start and I prayed to ask if these people we invited, would remember what we said and feel the Spirit. I thought there might be more I could do, but heard some words. You have done enough and now I can do the rest. Right after the words came to my mind, a member that hadn't come for some time showed up just in time for the sacrament. I took the Sacrament and cried. When it ended, I heard the door open up behind us and saw another family from the Spanish group come in. They sat down behind us with the other member. I knew God had done it all. Then out of no where came an investigating family who told us they weren't coming to church. And they came and sat down with the other members. I am sure we are Heavenly Father's first priority and He will always help us when we ask Him.

Thank you for the help and support, I love you all!

Elder Thomas     

Tender Mercies that Prevented a Mental Breakdown

We watched E get baptized and confirmed this week. Both ordinances brought an inordinate amount of problems provided by the pitchfork wielding being, bifurcated tailed devil himself. I thank those who planned my baptism many years ago and overcame whatever peculiar problems arose. E's family was in attendance at the baptism and afterwards provided lots of food. I hope they felt the Spirit as well. The confirmation the following day had its far share of problems but it all went well. 

I looked back and thought how much work I had put into two simple activities that took less than 3 minutes combined. But after some comments and thoughts that were brought to my mind, I realized how much the Lord did for those brief minutes to run smoothly. 

     There were three really cool things that if someone didn't point them out they would've easily be taken for granted but all were essential. 

     The first was at the baptism. We had no piano player and it was looking like I was going to have to do it. Luckily I had my hymn book with easier hymns and so I began to practice. I did for just a few minutes and then I had to do ten other things. There was no time to practice. Then out of the avalanche of Hispanic family members and children that entered the room a voice asked me if they needed a piano player. I turned around to see a member of the ward who I had forgotten we invited. I said yes and she played for us in a time when we desperately needed her. 

     The second was on Sunday morning. A whole bunch of Elders that taught E, came to the confirmation along with another friend from Tulsa who I did service for. It was great to see all of them, but then came the call. "Hi, we aren't coming to church today," said the niece of E. After a slight freak out, I calmed myself down enough to ask more details. Their car couldn't bring E to the church. We frantically called members and a brother in the ward told us he could do it. He brought her with impeccable timing and she was confirmed. Later, he apologized for not coming to the baptism. I learned that his car had a faulting ignition but miraculously, he was able to fix it that Saturday during the time of the baptism.

     The third is the smallest. They announced E's name and we all came to the front. I walked up and suddenly realized that we might not have a chair for her to sit on and we might have to kick the deacons off the pews for a second. But with the Bishopric and organist sat an out of place folding chair which the Bishop brought down with him. 

     I don't know what prompted the member to come to the baptism, I have no idea how the other member fixed his car coincidentally on the day before the baptism and most strange of all I don't know how the chair appeared on the stand, but they were all little answers to prayers that helped others receive the Spirit in their lives and helped a 20 year old missionary from having a complete mental breakdown. The Lord is really with us in the work and we don't have to do it all alone.

     Thanks for everything and the prayers!

adios

Elder Thomas

Kool Aid of Death

Mom moment: We are grateful to the Starks family who had Ian and Elder Marques over for Thanksgiving dinner.  They were very kind to send us pictures of the festivities. Ian doesn't mention it, but they have 2 baptisms this weekend. Please keep him and those they teach in your prayers.  Ian and his companion, Elder Marques, would love to hear from you this Christmas season. 1631 Buena Vista Avenue Carthage, Missouri 64836 

~~~~~~~~~~~

It all started with an exchange we had. Our good friend Elder Marques went to the land of Cassville, (or in other words, the place where I got kicked in the head and got a real bad black eye), and another missionary joined me here in Carthage. It was rainy and we had to bike due to mileage restrictions to our car.

We skidded to a halt near the home of a family we would be teaching and were greeted by a middle aged Mexican man. He was dressed in the fanciest clothes and rings that the local Hispanic stores provided. He waved and told us 'Que Dios les bendiga' and wanted to talk. We spoke with the kind gentleman who expressed his gratitude for young people spreading the Word. Then in broken English he attempted to talk to the both of us about the real deal with religion. He said religion was a wall men put up and all you needed was a belief, and then he challenged me pray and see what God wanted me to do. I saw it coming from a mile away. He finally gave up on English and focused his whole lecture at me. What he said was true though. He said, "Thomas," as he got uncomfortably close to my face and I backed up, "do you know that God is writing down every single word we say right now?" I agreed and tried to testify what I knew. He practically pleaded with me to change and I did the same to him. We left inviting him to do everything we could and he did the same. I felt bad for him and I knew he felt the same. 

Then came a discovery. My companion for the day found one of the English Elders half gallon jug of Kool Aid. The sugary substance was too good to lose and so we drank a bunch of it. Fast forward two days. The owner of the Kool Aid and myself are infected. Two days later still infected with a gnarly headache. The lesson learned: Don't drink sketchy sugary Kool Aid.

I love you all and appreciate your prayers and support you send my way! 

Adios

Elder T

homas

Sincere Questions

She makes dinner for them every Tuesday. So grateful for the members who take great care of the missionaries!

We were about half way through teaching the 10 Commandments to someone who just woke up. She was trying to focus despite the exhaustion. She is going to get baptized not this Saturday but the next and had a few questions about the commandments. After a slight interruption between the fifth and sixth commandment from a small boy belly-flopping on the couch, the investigator stopped us and asked a question. It was very sincere and out of genuine concern. "How old are you?" she asked looking at me. I told her 20 and she said, "I thought you were much older, because you are loosing all of your hair. Have you gone to a doctor about that?"That is really what happened. I might purchase a toupee.  

I have felt a little bit discouraged as there have been moments this week that have highlighted my weaknesses, and not just rapid hair loss. I was feeling down and things weren't looking up. At dinner that night I asked the husband if he wanted to come on an exchange with us and even though he had a full schedule he came with us. He helped us out and helped out the investigators too. As the night went on, he changed from stressed to kind of happy. He was smiling. After another appointment fell through he stopped our usual conversation about weather patterns in Missouri and said, "You guys are great missionaries. You are making a difference and you are hard workers". It was surprising. We had just knocked on a bunch of doors with no response talked with two people and did nothing incredible. I know for certain that the Lord was working through our exchange to tell me something that He tried to tell me before. It was very kind of him. Not only was he helped but we were too. Service helps both participants. I'm glad I have felt the Savior helping me and I know He knows us all personally.

Thanks for your help and prayers!

Adios

Elder Thomas

Carthage, Missouri City Hall

Elder Vasques

Carthage Comps

Bad Eye: Take 2

The birds chirped and then froze mid flight on a chilly morning in Missouri. Elder Thomas's alarm blasted and he awoke but his left eye did not open. He did what any missionary would do and forgot about it and then fell asleep during his morning prayer. But after his companion was at a functional level of awakeness to communicate, he relayed that something was really wrong with his eye. Elder Thomas brushed it off and went back to work. The day went on and the eye changed to a crimson shade and the other missionaries told him something was amiss. He dismissed these statements and continued on. I believed I was fine and I still said I'm not sick in a futile effort to exercise the mind over matter tactic. Well, things got worse and we went to the house to weekly plan. At the close Elder Marques told me that it was really really bad but we had a dinner and so something had to be done.

In front of a recent converts home was a graduation party for her sister. The English Elders had already arrived and the Spanish Elders were no where in sight. They were ready for dinner and tacos were already being eaten. Then came a car over the hill next to the home. One of the English elders with taco in hand watched the car pull up. It was a little dark and the figures of the people inside were difficult to determine, but as the car came underneath a street light it was perfectly clear. Inside the car was Elder Marques and his companion Elder Thomas wearing a winter hat, his Mr. Mac winter coat. And an eye patch.

Mom, in my defense, the family we were eating with is really kind, I was hungry and it was the quickest solution at Walgreens. At that dinner I suddenly became the most popular Elder around. Questions varied from, 'Do you really only have one eye?' to 'Is it still Halloween?' Although one English Elder was doubled over laughing at me with my burglar hat, trench coat and eye patch, I was banished to the apartment to recover.

There I watched every 90's church made film we had, watched the Testaments in Finnish and cleaned up our area book. I learned a lesson as well. Patience. I was so frustrated at the fact that I couldn't do anything. I wanted to be out and about and not confined to my apartment with nothing but old Mormon 90s songs playing in my mind. But I prayed to know what to do and got my answer. Stay home. I was frustrated but learned some more about patience. When we are patient we show our faith in a different way.

I was able to go to just enough church to take the Sacrament and see that one of our investigators came! She asked about my eye and so did everyone else. So I was banished. Again.

Later, I called the mission nurse and she said go to a doctor. I called the doc and got a prescription of 'getoverit' which works often with this ailment. It is pink eye, she said, and it will go away soon.

Thanks for your love and support and prayers for me, my companion and my friends!

Elder Thomas

Ghost Pepper

 Before I begin I would like to take a look at last week. We all ate a habanero, except me. I chewed on it and then as a fire engulfed my esophagus I nearly vomited and spit the pepper out. But last night something nuts happened. We were all enjoying the usual dinner conversation when the conversation took a turn to hot peppers. The husband left and returned to the room with a ziploc baggy of something nefarious. It contained what is know as the Ghost Pepper. It is roughly 10 times worse than the habanero and has made people go blind. Elder Sokol, champion of spicy products, took the challenge. Now to brief you all, this Elder has eaten 10 habaneros at once before and has a stomach of a camel spider. The wife and husband of the little family urged him on and the wife even got some weird medicine mix ready to numb his mouth. But then from the corner of the table came a voice of reason. The little girl said, 'Please missionary, don't eat that'. But it was too late. He had made the decision. Before we could scare him away from the imminent pain he was already chewing it. 

     I learned I will never eat one of those. The vein in his neck bulged out, he began to sweat and then he drank a bunch of water. His reaction was surprisingly boring, but for a man of his strength and capabilities I knew if I consumed one my frail frame would shrivel up and I would get an ulcer in my brain. Twenty minutes later his red face went back to normal and it was all good. Next up the Carolina Reaper Pepper.   

     Early in the week we had a really good lesson with a less active member and her husband. He told us he wanted to know more about eternal families and we were very excited for them. We set up an appointment on Sunday morning at the crack o' dawn and when we arrived, we had a feeling they were asleep. We approached the house at around 9am and in this area of the woods that is early. These people work everyday for 14 hours and Sunday is the day of rest. No one wakes up until 1pm. 

     We approached the door and the only noise we could hear was the sound of a dead mouse trying to free itself from a glue trap. I was really trying to follow the Spirit because I didn't want to offend the family by waking them up, but I knew that we had set it up with them for that time. We called and no response. We texted and no response. My companion and I battled over what we should do, going back and forth. And after some time I knew that the Lord wasn't going to tell us and it was a time for us to learn. I prayed that they would be home and it would be alright that we were about to wake up the whole family, but then I realized they still had their choice. We decided to knock and wait. My thinking was that we at least needed to give them an opportunity to have the message and if they weren't home or they didn't come to the door it was their choice. After we knocked there was no change in scenery or noise. They didn't answer and all we could say was that we tried. 

     I learned that the only thing we can do is provide an invitation and the people we teach or the receiver of the invitation is the one that decides if they act on it. Our Heavenly Father gives us chances to grow, learn and be blessed, it is our choice to take an act of faith and receive it.

Thanks for your prayers and help, I love you all!

Elder Thomas

Miracles with the Italian Stallion

I apologize in advance for the grammatical errors and lack of understandable words. I just ate a full habanero. That is one of the peppers higher on the Scoville Scale. My mind is in a state of disaster. 

After knocking on what seemed to be every door I had ever seen in the whole city, I remembered one final home. It was a referral of another missionary. He told us it was the 'key lime pie' colored house on a street near Little Guatemala. He told us they had talked with her before but that we should stop by.  The member we were with drove us over there and we knocked on the door. A small Latino lady answered and after a quick exchange of Spanish mumbles we determined there must be two key-lime pie colored houses on the street. We asked her if she was religious and after showing her a video about Christ, she told us her background of leaving her country. She told us of her struggles getting here and her desire to have her family together. She attended church frequently but her husband was a little less strict about his Sabbath observance. Unfortunately, I bore my testimony of an unrelated topic as I suffered from a focus lapse but luckily, my companion bore his testimony of the reality of eternal families and she was all ears. She told us to come back and was one of the more prepared people I have seen. I'm glad we have companions to back us up when distracting bugs interrupt my thought processes.

It was 10:13 and the Sacrament hymn had begun. We spent the whole morning setting up  the translating equipment and my companion sat in the back waiting to start. "E" had not arrived nor any other Spanish speaker. I silently prayed that "E" would have the opportunity to come to church. I was sad but focused on the words we sang. I had prepared more the usual this week and awaited the prayers. The time of the Sacrament passed peacefully and quickly but the moments of peace reminded me of something that our investigators missed this week. Then as the deacons shuffled to the front a door opened to let a little kid inside. He ran in and sat down next to his parents but in the open space of the door I saw one tan child. With the Sacrament over and the testimonies beginning I bolted to the other door with one of the English Elders. We ran around the Church and found in the foyer "E", her cousin, her kids, nieces and nephews entering the Chapel. Although they missed the Sacrament for the most part they stayed for the remainder of the services and loved them all. My brain stopped working after all the translating I did. Heavenly Father heard our prayers and gave them the opportunity and they took it.

Thank you for the prayers and support, I love you all!  

Elder Thomas   

This is the album cover of our smash hit rap album
"International Elders"

      

I'm Learning Portuguese

Transfer Day

"Hey mom, I washed my winter hat!"

Training my new companion Elder Marques!

This week I welcomed into the world a brand new missionary. However, unlike most of his newborn comrades, he speaks Portuguese, Italian, English and now Spanish. Raised in Italy and Brazil, his accolades as a member of the professional Brazilian Volleyball team and others surpass anything I've ever accomplished and learning English in less than a year and Spanish in 6 weeks, he has won the hearts on basically everyone we have come in contact with in the past 4 days. Needless to say, I am now learning a bit of them all and my English is getting worse and worse everyday.

     As a welcoming gift we were invited by a kind Hispanic man to his church. We haven't spoken with him much but we accepted the offer and he said he would try to attend our services as well. Saturday came and we headed to the church. The large building was a school at one point but now the auditorium is being used as a church every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. Cars filled the parking lot and the building was alive with music. We walked toward it and knew it was not the same kind of church we attended.

     Now, I will try to explain this, but I don't mean any offense with my explanation. All are permitted to worship in the way they please in this country and I don't mean to judge the use of their agency. The way we worship is just as different to them as it was for my Brazilian companion and myself. The corridor before the auditorium was lined with tables of food and behind two doors on either side of the hall was the service. We glanced through the blurry window of the doors and saw the room packed with men, women and children on their feet clapping and singing. We watched them enjoy the music, and the doors were opened by our friend who let us in and guided us to our seats. A woman in front of us couldn't stand was being supported by her two neighbors and they were all singing. During the songs she suddenly fainted. A woman to our right shouted hallelujah with the band, and the preacher at the front sang away. They all sang and many came and welcomed us with hugs and handshakes and English welcomes regardless of they multilingual capabilities. It was like a Christian concert in Spanish and I was pretty lost. It was quite the experience. 

     When the worship band came to a close, the preacher welcomed all the new people in attendance. They all stood and the audience clapped. Then as my mind veered thinking about the food outside, a hand landed on my shoulder. I notice everyone was looking at us and the preacher had welcomed us. We stood and everyone welcomed us with applause. After the welcoming was over, a man came to the front and told his conversion story. It was much different than a testimony meeting I have seen. A lot more clapping and shouts of praise. And after he concluded his energetic testimony we decided it was best we left and went to our next appointment. We told the preacher and our friend thank you and the band began to play as we left.

     We walked away and discussed how the feeling there was familiar but not familiar in our church meetings. We left to go teach Evelyn.

     Evelyn has been taught for a while but this week she fasted. We fasted with her to help her know if this was all right. That night after the church we discussed her fasting experience. After introducing my new companion and a prayer she told us her answer. She said she got it and it is the same she received before. It is true and she needs to be baptized. The Spirit we felt there was the Spirit we had felt before in Primary and Sacrament Meetings and learned to follow. She is going to be baptized on December 5th.

Saying good-bye to my companion....

     The next night, after two hours of not finding anyone available to teach we stopped by Cecilia and she informed us that she had read all of 1 Nephi and had questions about Nephi being counseled by an angel to not write the things John the Beloved would write. Although she had doubts, we were happy. In the words of the member who came with us, 'Doubts can be overcome. Passiveness, [which many Hispanics have while reading] is much more difficult.' Her motivation and faithfulness left us with the same Spirit.

     I love being able to have the Spirit with me as a missionary and loving being able to see it work in the lives of others.

Thank you for the prayers and support, I love you all!

Adios

Elder Thomas       

My Claim to Fame

The days out here in Missouri are riddled with experiences that will be more fitting to share around a campfire in the some future day. For today, I will be explaining my claim to fame.

      The setting, a Stake Center in Monett Missouri. The occasion, a Stake Conference. The General Authority that was presided at the Conference was the newly called presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé. He was very kind, tall, and apparently spoke a handful of languages. He was giving a talk about the Sabbath Day and explaining his upbringing in the early church. 

     In France at that time, the church was young and the handful of members had a lot of responsibility. At one point in his preteen years, he even became the Sunday School President. It was very interesting. Then in explaining the history of Sabbath day observance in this dispensation, he attempted to show us the video of President Kimball announcing the combination of all Sunday meetings in one 'block'. Among the what appeared to be flawless planning for the arrival of a General Authority, someone was not assigned as the light man. There were ushers, people to pass a microphone around for testimonies, and the ever common tech man for videos. All the jobs were covered except one. The light man. 

     He began to play the video and everyone expected the lights to be extinguished. In most Mormon gatherings, that base is covered. But that night there was a moment to impress and I took it. I leaped from my seat and ran to the light box, knocking over a couple elderly attendees. Then I jumped for the lights and the job was well done. And that is my moment of fame at the Monett Stake Conference.

     Before leaving I saw in the crowd a group of familiar faces. I got closer and I recognized their voices and knew who they were. They were all from Aurora Missouri. They welcomed me with hugs and hand shakes and asked how I was doing. They were all my good friends and I had spent nearly 8 months with them and had been away from them for less than that. They are family and always will be. The joy I felt seeing faces long gone is something describable. When I was getting in the car to leave with the other missionaries I reached my arm up to wave to one of the elderly men I knew and he told me to keep him posted. I drove away feeling happier than I have in a long time. I laughed about old jokes and related stories forgotten. I thought abut how when we see those we have lost we will have a similar reunion. On those celestial shores we will hug and laugh with those we love. It made me happy to know that my family is eternal and we can joke together for the eternities.

     I love you all and I hope all is well. I pray for you all!

Elder Thomas