Bautismo y Tenemos Mucho Prisa ~ "We Have to Hurry!"

Baptism Day!

   

It means we have to hurry. And it could be the title of the week if this week were an episode of Senfield. ( How do you spell that? You get what I mean.)

     We had to be at the church for the baptismal interview at 6:45. Dinner was at 5:305:30. And it was 5:15 and dinner was less than 5 minutes away. Everything was working out great. But one thing we did not include in our equation was traffic. The five minute trip turned into a 30 minute trip. The game plan as we ran to dinner's porch was eat whatever it was as fast as possible. The door opened I sat down and the timer began. We shared a message and vamos-ed.  I walked out of dinner waited for elder Williams to catch up and once they couldn't see us out of the window we sprinted to the car with the shrimp tacos and salsa burning the lining of our stomachs. 

     The interview went well and V was baptized this past Saturday.  Although we taught her , her mother and her two other older sisters, she was the only one that wanted to be baptized. She was committed and her stepdad baptized her. Her sisters could come but her mom was able to come and see what Mormons are all about for the first time. Although there were not many in attendance, the Spirit was there strongly. V asked me to confirm her and asked that I do it in Spanish so her mom could understand. I was pretty nervous but the Lord helps us out His missionaries and so it went well. She is strong little girl and was so excited to be a new member of the Church. My Mom bought her a hymn book and she is probably carrying it around as we speak. She had it at church yesterday and I don't know if it has left her sight since she got it. She was so happy to have that so she could sing all the songs with her family. Afterward we all enjoyed the Walmart bargain brand cookies, while we ran off to our next appointment. That evening her step-Dad sent us a message and said that because of the baptism, her mom wants to investigate the church more and she felt the Spirit! Which is huge because she is a devote Catholic, goes every Sunday and everything. We have an appointment with them tonight and hope we can help the girls and the mom. 

     Next week are going to try to double our lessons and every other indicator. It is not going to be easy but it is President Shumway's final request in his 10 weeks of goals. He leaves this week, and he and his wife will be missed. We have set up a whole bunch of appointments and have already seen the blessing! Like just now our dinner who wasn't answering just called and said they can feed us! That means we will eat some incredible Hispanic food tonight! Many blessings and I'm super happy all the time. Especially serving with a fellow colleague from high school. It is awesome. The work of the Lord is the best and the hardest. It requires the most work and effort but rewards us with the best blessings. I love this Gospel and my Savior and my Heavenly Father and feel blessed to be part of Their work.

I love you all!

Elder Thomas 

Tulsa Apartment

Familiar Faces and a Fire

 Elder Williams is my new companion, but you probably know him as Riley as did I. It is taking some serious concentration to get the name change in my mind. I'm excited to serve with a familiar face. Now the fire...

    

 My last companion loved deep fried chicken. He made it quite often. To make this, one must use a large amount of oil. Now, as many well know, oil is EXTREMELY flammable. Extremely. It just so happened that a couple of drops of oil had dripped down the side of the pan and into a corner of the stove top every time he cooked it. Apparently, there was a build up. 

   

Elder Williams, first morning in the new abode, fancied some hard boiled eggs. I was casually catching up on some reading of the Ensign as the warm Oklahoman air came through our windows. I looked back to see how the cooking was coming along and Elder Williams had his back to the eggs and was washing his hands. But just as I looked back the bottom of the pan ignited. The build up of oil was lit and we both ran over to it and stood next to it for a few moments trying to recollect our days of cub scouts. The flames rose above the pan and I remembered what to do. I grabbed the tortilla mix we had and threw it all over the stove. Flames poking up around the sides, I dumped more out until our whole apartment was full of smoke and 'Maize'. Contrary to common belief, young elders are not inherently foolish and forgetful, and that was not the cause of this close call. The culprit was a the oil. It was not our fault, Mom. I promise that we are all ok and no damage was done.

    

The people here love missionaries and I have never understood why. In church we learned. In Elder's Quorum, they spoke of sacrifices. Someone brought up the topic of feeding the missionaries is sometimes a sacrifice. Then another said that it is worth it because when you feed the missionaries it is like giving the Savior food. I had never realized how much these people loved us. It is the entire Hispanic culture here. We had many experiences this week where complete strangers gave us food and shade from the heat in their homes. The people here are an example to me of how the Savior would act. 

I prepared myself for the Sacrament this week much more than I used would. As I took it, I felt immediate peace and strength. After I felt the Spirit more and more, I felt it in gospel principles as we talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost. I think I'm going to prepare like that more often. 

Vintage Ian

    

We have a baptism this week of a member's step-daughter who is 9. It was going to be her and her two older sister but they didnt feel ready, but "V" did! I have never meet someone more excited to be baptized! I cant wait for this Saturday!

I love you all and thank you deeply for your prayers.

Adios

elder thomas      

Horchata

"Lunatic reading Cat in the Hat" ~ Ian

And thus begins a tale of misery and woe.

     We decided to go to the local flea market. The place was full of anything you could think of, from fresh fruit to Hispanic fashions. A couple of weeks ago, our neighbor asked us if she could borrow our blender, I said sure and then never saw it again. Due to the lack of a blender in our apartment because of that slight miscommunication with our neighbor, I began our search of one. They were priced well and "guaranteed" to work. After some bargaining and bartering I left many stands empty handed and but with my planner full of people that would be interested in hearing the good word on another occasion. After all the exploring and talking I grew thirsty and a large taco stand and a crowd of people enjoying horchata were placed in my path. I approached the stand with the intent of purchasing one. The two girls running the stand were listening to whatever the junior high girls are listening to these days and said it was two bucks for a large. In response to my question how big is the large they held up a reasonably sizable styrofoam cup, and I said the large. The one they handed me was at least double the size of the one I saw. Not thinking much of it I went on my merry way. It was only until later that my companion pointed out some of the details of the encounter that led us to believe that the junior high girls were attempting to flirt with me. Kind of freaked out and tired from walking around in the sun all day we left. I put the half full mega-horchata in the back of the car and was going to get it just after, but totally forgot.Then I remembered as I opened up the back door open to get my bag. The entire rear of the vehicle and some of its contents were horchata-ed. Now Mom, don't worry because we cleaned it up pretty good. Only one thing got it pretty good and that was the back of my suit coat. I dried it out in a parking lot and scrubbed the rice milk out of it using an Avengers towel we had and a whole bunch of half used water bottles. That night we attended a Stake Conference meeting and unbeknownst to me, President Shumway and Sister Shumway were in attendance. I spent the entire evening hiding the back of my suit coat. It was particularly difficult when we came and gave me a hug. But all was well.

     We got a call and Elder Williams is coming here! Elder Williams as in the Elder Williams that I've known since 3rd grade. I'm really excited!

     P and K  have a new baptismal date. We had a really spiritual lesson with them last night. We expressed out love for them and said they needed to come to church. At the end they prayed and promised that they would be at church. It was powerful. 

     This week was difficult to start. I felt overwhelmed and discouraged as we had much to do, but as we prayed and worked hard we were blessed with that incredible lesson with P and K and many other blessings. Focusing on the Lord helped me a lot and is one of the only things we can do when times get tough. Christ is always there to help us.. Always.  

I love you all! Que Dios les bendiga!

Elder Thomas

Oklahoma Tulsa Mission "Only True Mission" (Oklahoma Tulsa Mission)
changing to Arkansas Bentonville Mission

Selfie with a Buffalo

He called this... The Progression of an Elder Thomas

One of our boys favorite words....inside joke.

A Day at the Zoo

Ian said if you find the issue in this photo you win!
Your clue is that the white thing is a used diaper next to the rock. Yuck!

He used his hand to give size reference to show how big the turtle is.

Bumpsticker found at a Bazaar

Last Zone Conference of the OTM

He called this his album cover ~ "The Fire and Me"

It was the last one. Many testimonies were shared. President Shumway and Sister Shumway bore powerful witness of the Savior. It ended with them sharing their love for us and giving us a hug. I love them a lot and it will be hard to see them go. It is sad to see the OTM go the way of all the earth. But the Arkansas Bentonville Mission will be just as sweet.

Now to explain the fire pictures. An exchange went a wee bit nuts. I was in a YSA area and there was an activity. It was a bonfire. In Utah terms, bonfire is went you burn all your homework and the fire is just a little larger than normal. In my mission, it means burning all your old mattresses, barn frames and anything else considered 'trash'. It was the biggest fire I've ever seen. 

This week we had two, of the three little girls we are teaching, at church. One didnt come because she didnt want Mom to be alone at Catholic Church. They are 8, 10, 11, and are awesome. they are ready to be baptized really soon. I cant wait. It is incredible to see this gospel work in people and I am so grateful for the changed that it has made in me. I love the Savior and His sacrifice that he made for me. 

I love you all!

Elder Thomas

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Hello, this is Rosemary speaking....We were blessed to have the Nield family visit us from Miller, Missouri.  They took great care of Ian while he served in Aurora.  We were excited to meet them and thank them in person for all they've done for Ian.  We had a great visit and we can't wait to go back with Ian to see them again.

Futbol

   

A year ago this week.......

 We are teaching a man named Pedro and his wife K. They have been taught for a while now and every lesson we have is quiet spiritual, so one may ask, 'what's the issue?'. Church. They haven't come. (The adversary will occasionally use the 'more sleep' card to cause a myriad of sins and transgressions.) So, in ward counsel we presented an idea, futbol. We planned it out with a ton of interest from ward members and a hint of hesitation from the branch president. Then the day arrived. 

     Tuesday, futbol night. I had been training for at least twenty minutes and was ready to roll. With my dress socks on and my mexico soccer jersey a little stinky I walked into the gym and was greeted by some serious futbol players. The ward members had traded in their dress shirts for jerseys and their friendly countenance for a competitive grin that only suggests the breaking of some rules from the Missionary Handbook. From deacons to high priests the members were ready, and the games began. To be short in writing, it was ridiculous. There were a couple near death experiences and I was pathetic. I will stick to swimming. 

     However there was a glimpse of hope on my team. A wild ball was kicked in my direction and the score was 3-0. Losing and having flashbacks of my last attempt, black eye and all,  I took control of the ball. A less active ran at me with fire in his eyes. I winced and threw my leg in the general direction of the ball. The crowd went silent and the ball flew forward. Passing defenders and the crowd it flew toward the goal. The crowd now on their feet, the goalie jumped to defend. The ball nicked his fingers and bounced into the goal. The crowd erupted and began to cheer for the missionary who moments before was nearly ejected from the game for causing two own goals. It was one of my proudest moments thus far in my life. (Just kidding)

     We cleaned up the game and looked for Pedro and K. They never came. We went over last night and Karen began to cry as we spoke of baptism. She said this message has changed her life. Their lives are changed but their work continues to get in the way. 

     On the other side of town 1 hour later, we taught C and A. He asked us what he needed to do to be baptized! And A, after working in an old folks home with many patrons passing away, asked for scriptures to make her happy! There are many types of people we teach but no matter who it is, they can all come closer to Christ. We can all, and I have been trying to more this week. As we come closer to Him we will come closer to us and we will see His hand more in our lives. It has been awesome to see those blessings flood us this past week as we have trying to hit some high goals! 

I love you all and hope all is well!

adios (emphasis on the a)

Elder Thomas