'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