Tulsa ~ Our thoughts and prayers are with you Brady family.

We love you Nannette and Brady family!

Helping someone move in Broken Arrow, OK

Elder Thomas' companion...

gluten free cake

Tulsa is roughly larger than Salt Lake City as far as I know. It is much more diverse than Aurora. And apparently before I got here there was a tornado.

  The Branch here is entirely Hispanic. It was overwhelmingly cool. I am so used to English but now it is full submersion. The people here are really nice to the missionaries and their food is pretty awesome, if this doesn't make me fat nothing will. 

   We received a lukewarm welcome into my first neighborhood. I struck up a conversation with some African-American kids about everyone's favorite team the OKC Thunder. The neighborhood was a little run down and I can imagine why the following occurred. The father of the home emerged from behind the curtain used as the door. He was tall and could've easily killed me by just giving me a hard stare down. I was noticeably shaken, and began to back away from the house. In a longer conversation then he said, beat it! Welcome to Tulsa.

   We met a woman about the age of 91. She talks with the missionaries often and she is the only woman that we can visit without a man as well. We went over and found her sitting down in her chair talking about her favorite team, yes you guessed it, the OKC Thunder. (I swear I'm not in Oklahoma City.) She told us that there were Cokes in the fridge and that she needed help fixing her shower curtain and putting away some bowls. She is probably one of the nicest people I've met in my life. At the close of our discussion she spoke about past missionaries and her friends then she had me sign her book and give her my parents number. So, if you get a call from Joanne, she can relay me a message. 

     Please pray for the Brady family. They will be taken care of. I watched the Because He lives video right after I heard the news. Christ does live. He is there for us whenever we need Him. I have seen Him help me every day of my mission and I know He can help us every day of our lives if we ask for His help.

     

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

delivering the cake...

The Cattleford of Kintail

Elder Thomas will miss working with Elder McKenzie!

The title is a Celtic song that has recently been played very often, due to the purchase of some instrumental music in the St. Patricks day spirit, dont worry it is approved. It is a mix between instrumental bagpipes and music from every parents' favorite video game, Minecraft. Go look it up. 

     I have much to cover and little time. I leaving the land of my mission birth and am headed to Tulsa, the big city. I will miss Aurora. It is like going on my mission again. Leaving many friends and having many pictures taken of me. Aurora in another language means the dawn. As I look back on my experiences here, not only has this area been the dawn of my mission, but it has really been the dawn of my life. I have learned so much, from my testimony of the gospel to how to be a better Spanish speaker and how to fix hot water pipes, or attempt to. I will miss this place dearly, but I believe I will be back. 

     And it was a Sunday. The clouds covered the green landscape of a place that smelled of goose droppings and Mexican laundry detergent. (Mission Tip #39: Never attempt to provoke a goose, those things can kill.)   It was the house we had gone to last week. This week something similar happened, but better. We began teaching three people, then the family arrived slowly but surely. Three, then five, then ten, then twenty, and they all were listening. The room was full of hushed voices mumbling as we reached the story of the First Vision. I prayed that they could feel the Spirit in the midst of the noise. Before Elder McKenzie said Joseph Smith's words, I jumped in and said, 'What happens next is something we think of as very sacred and special.' In anticipation, the room quieted. The words of Joseph Smith were recited by my companion; the whole room was filled with the unseen, unheard power. The Spirit touched us all. At the end we  handed a paper around and got the numbers and addresses of the family members and promised to visit back again every Sunday.  

     A woman we are teaching is about to be baptized. I wanted to be sure that she was really excited about it and not just trying to be nice. Recent lessons had shown total commitment, which is questionable and uncommon. So I asked her with a doubtful conscience, "Do you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet?" She nodded. I said "Do you believe the Book of Mormon is true?" She nodded. And then, pointing to my nametag, I asked her "Do you believe that this church is the church of Jesus Christ?" The Spirit filled the room, and she looked up at us and said "Yes". It was powerful and she knows it is true.

     This mission is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I would strongly advise all to go on a mission, not to convert thousands or just make friends in other lands far or near, but just to convert yourself and find true joy. Jesus Christ lives and Heavenly Father loves all of you, even if you mess up Spanish and accidentally ask a woman if her wife is home. He still loves you. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will always love you.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support, I love you all!

Elder Thomas

Pizza Picnic in the Park with the wonderful Nield family!

He still has his photo bomber technique.

Saying good-bye to the wonderful Nield family who have become close friends to Elder Thomas.

The Sunday Brunch with a Hispanic Family

Springfield, MIssouri Zone Converence. Ian is seventh over from the right in the middle section. (In a green tie.)

This story illustrates well the culture I am in. We had a set appointment with a man we just met two days prior. The only thing he knew about us was that we had a message about Christ and that I had lied about being from Mexico. We showed up after church and not only was his wife there, but also her sister, all their children, grandchildren and many other members of this lively family. The wife, Francesa, could be well described by Delmar in my favorite movie: "[She's] a live wire, ain't [she]?"She gave us an off brand of  Sprite and proceeded to invite me and my companion to her home in Mexico and and introduced us to everyone. We talked about the Gospel for a while to which they responded often. In the full house we tried to explain how Heavenly Father loves them but it was a little difficult. After a difficult lesson, she invited my companion, the more attractive of the two of us, to date her daughter. So we left, feeling like Ammon of old, with another possible family to teach.

     

I've noticed many of my friends say they love their missions and the mission president's wife asks us all the time if we are having fun, I haven't really thought about it much until now. I have really come to love my mission. I saw my reflection in a window of a car and I almost didn't recognize the balding gentleman looking back at me. He was smiling so big but he had every reason to be miserable; away from family, no baptisms, forgot to buy bread and tired. I have never smiled more in my life. And I love Aurora almost more than pizza. Even though it is one of the few areas without a Little Caesar's super close, I love it. I love telling people about the reason I can smile even though the little kid at dinner put gluten free cake all over my dry clean only suit coat. (that cake I made for his sister's birthday! Yeah, Mom, I can cook now.) Accepting Christ in your life by following his example and keeping His commandments is the key to happiness and joy. I love this mission and I feel so loved and blessed by my Father in Heaven.

Thanks for the prayers and support! I love y'all!

Love,

Elder Thomas

"Can We Help You with Anything Today?"

March 6, 2014 ~ Opening mission call.  What a year!

"Can we help you with anything today?"....This simple phrase took on a whole new meaning. I asked it to a family I have known since I came here and they usually say no. But this day they were feeling willing, or maybe just were feeling to mess with the missionaries, but they allowed this skinny white kid from Utah to help with something way out of his skills set: fixing a broken water pipe. The following day, I crawled about twenty yards underneath a home through cobwebs and insulation in a space a little taller than your microwave. Upon arriving at the desired location my eyes beheld the pipe. Wrapped in several things. Electrical tape, duct tape, plumping tape and 'as seen on TV' sealant. It didn't hold. Now, here I place a phrase from the white hand book that normally I didn't look at too much. It says, "don't begin projects that could take too much time to complete". After about three hours of cutting and taping those words entered my mind. After about five hours my arms were cramping and my legs shivering as the water dripped off the leaky toilet pipe. We worked for a while on that blasted pipe and the finally score of the match was, Elder Thomas, 0, Hot Water Pipe, 3. They felt bad about me working on it so around hour 4, they made some tacos and we had a little lesson as we ate tacos. I was underneath the floor boards yelling about the Book of Mormon and one of the English elders above talking with the kids about Moroni. The tacos were good even though the 'as seen on TV' sealant dripped on them a little but the English elders are going back to take it on for the finally time. I will let you know of the results.

We taught one of our older investigator's mothers and she is from Mexico. I told her the Book of Mormon was hers after we discussed it with her, she looked at me and was so happy and grateful. These people out her have nothing and sometimes I am not nearly as thankful as I need to be. It was a good eye opener.

I heard about Lisa Bigelow and was really sad, she was a great lady and I am grateful that she prayed for me a lot. She will be missed. 

thanks for your prayers and support it helps a lot!  

I love you all!

Love, 

Elder Thomas

Our dear friends Don and Lisa Bigelow.  Taken the day of Ian's farewell.

   

The Trombone

Immediately following my email last week, a purchase was made at the local pawn shop. (Oh a quick fact about Missouri. Imagine in your mind a place where there are pawn shops and antique shops on every corner, you got it? Welcome to Missouri.) After visiting several, and only finding one priceless beaut, The Apprentice Mad Libs, we moved to the next pawn shop. As we searched the place high and low for anything of value. I found a welding mask and almost bought it, but a greater thing was found. A trombone. My companion, being from a musically inclined family purchased it without a second thought. It was a bad idea. 

The next morning, while I was in the shower I heard a noise. It was the first of many noises as my companion attempted to relearn the instrument. That night the English elders made the discovery of the simplicity of playing the thing and Elder Wilkey took it upon himself to play it often. A few nights ago I was trying to brush my teeth but just ended up getting repeatedly hit in the head with the trombone piece you pull out to make "music". Lesson learned, never play a trombone in the bathroom. Second lesson learned, never allow the purchase of a trombone unless the person lives a zip code away from you. 

Other than that discrepancy, things are going well. Church was cancelled due to the snow and so we spent the afternoon shoveling driveways which just turned into a snow fight faster than you can say, "this shovel is giving me the worst back pain I have ever experienced in my life".

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

Elder Thomas