Keep the Fire Burnin' 2/11/2023

 This transfer has been jam-packed with things so far. Plenty for me to do to keep my missionary spirit alive. There's just so much it's been making me put my emails on the back burner. This'll be yet another one covering two weeks.

 

My first day in the area was pretty standard. We had our district council a day early in the morning. In the afternoon Elder Mafi and I went to the Family History Center to share a message with the people there and have some food. We also had a dinner that evening with the Morrises in our ward. 

 

My second day in the area was really interesting. Elders Unga and Best came to my area on exchanges since all our comps were away in leadership meetings. I basically took us around to a few service referrals and helped them out with some cleanup after our big storm. Elder Mafi and I got back together and visited our weird convert friend Manny, who I'd met at the institute before while I was in the YSA. He claims to have Satan, Angel, and Jesus powers, so we're helping him through that.

 

Thursdays we have a food truck service at another church, this time we go with our entire district. It was a lot of fun getting to sort out and distribute food yet again, and then be able to talk with the district at lunch afterward. We got to stop by a few of our friends in the afternoon, and in the evening we knocked a referrals door we had gotten in the morning, and met Lisa and Melinda who were awesome and loved to see us since they had met with the Sisters in the past, like when I had first gotten to Texas.

 

In the morning on Friday, we picked up Elder Unga from the ZLs to "babysit" him for a day. He just was butting heads with them in a quad so we said we'd be happy to have him come with us. We took him out knocking doors and stopping by referrals, and we also helped Brother Romero move some stuff. We also went to the ward Family Home Evening/Game Night to share a message and play games with some members and recent converts. 

 

Saturday was spent knocking lots of doors and contacting referrals. We did see some kids playing basketball at an apartment complex, so we decided to join. We of course destroyed them, even though they kept talking smack before and after. We also got to give them each Book of Mormons and shared a quick message. That evening, we had another really great lesson with Lisa and Melinda, and then we met the ZLs at the Friendswood building to give them Unga back. 

 

We went to all of our missionary meetings and church on Sunday. I had the chance to introduce myself and share my testimony over the pulpit as well since i'm new to the area. We called and texted a bunch of friends in the afternoon before Elder Mafi got tied up with stewardship calls.

 

Monday was not our pday, since it got moved to Thursday. In the morning, we helped a family move from their apartment in Alvin to a new one in Friendswood, we were with the Sisters in our district and the Zone Leaders who are in the Friendswood area. In the evening, we had a bizarre "lesson" with our friend Stacey, her kids, and her friend. The lesson didn't really happen until the end, and it was just the kids watching a Book of Mormon video. During our time before that, she kept saying the whole time how much she just loved Elder Mafi and everything about him, she even asked if he would take her 10 yr-old daughter to a father-daughter dance. It was strange, and although I've been around a lot more dangerous and wild people, places, and things on my mission, that was the time I've felt the most scared, out of place, and awkward. After that experience, I went with Elder Peterson on exchanges to the Alvin Spanish area. We talked on and on about BYU football that night which was a very nice change of pace.

 

In the morning we went to help the Sisters teach English class, but sadly no one showed up. We spent most of the day walking around trailer parks and taking breaks to call a bunch of people. We did have one guy tell us he had a "pistola", which is I guess a pistol in Spanish. I'm pretty sure it was a threat to shoot us, but the way it came out was too funny so we just walked away. We also went to Burger King, which was pretty funny because the workers there all recognized our name tags when we walked in, and revealed to us that the Sister missionaries go there all the time for dinner, so that was some fun dirt to have on them. We exchanged back later that evening.

 

Wednesday we had a solid district council in the morning. In the afternoon we were all over the place grabbing stuff for our apartment. We had good lessons with our friends Corinna and Andres in the evening. When we taught Andres, Brother Cain was there to be a miracle worker, he shared really good testimony and related well to our friend and his life experiences. It was an amazing time. 

 

Pday was on Thursday this week. We met as a zone in the morning for a quick breakfast, then headed up together to go to the temple. That was an awesome experience as the temple always is, and I can't wait to go again in the near future. In the evening, we stopped by institute quickly, and I got to see all my YSA friends again. That was pretty fun being around all of them. 

 

Friday we went to a stake missionary breakfast all the way at the Magnolia building, which is way too far for us missionaries in Alvin to be driving at 6:30 in the morning. In the afternoon we deep-cleaned our car since it was getting way too messy and dirty. We taught our friend Ishea and then Sis. Slater took us to Whataburger for dinner. We then went again to FHE. We also stopped by Christian Correa's house to get some money from him.

 

The next morning, we bought some food with the money and had lunch with Christian at his place. It was fun catching up with him again and talking about the YSA, and the Sacramento Stake. The rest of the day we continuously invited our friends to church and were out finding new people to teach. 

 

Sunday we went to all our normal church and missionary meetings. We got fed by the Arnolds later in the evening.

 

Monday was pday again, and we spent a lot of time playing chair soccer and scatterball with our district. In the evening, we scheduled a bunch of lessons with our progressing friends.

 

There was a lot of good that came from the work we put in the last couple weeks, and I'm hoping to continue the great work and see more of the Lord's hand the rest of the transfer.

 

-Elder Thompson

Ridin' The Storm Out 1/28/2023

 This past week was fairly interesting, considering all that happened.

 

Tuesday was pretty basic, we did some biking and finding and taught the Bolanos again. 

 

Wednesday we had our last district council of the transfer and our last zone call. We spent the rest of the day sorting things out with area book and our page messaging team. 

 

We did what we thought was a deep clean of our apartment Thursday to get ready for transfers. Then we hit the bike grind again visiting some members and investigators.

 

We showed up to weekly service Friday, but after waiting for 2 hours for something to do, they told us the truck wasn't coming and that we could just take some food home with us. We got to teach a really good lesson to Anaika over zoom right before going to a baptism in the H4 Spanish ward. Elder Norris and I went on exchanges, and for the first time on my mission, I got to help teach Spanish speakers English at the English class. It was hard to communicate with them since I know zero Spanish, but it was fun tryna help them learn Spanish.

 

In the morning, Sister Richards messaged us after our inspections and said we needed to clean our apartment, so Elder Norris and I went back to my apartment to rearrange things and do another deep clean. All the Elders then came over and we got our transfer news. I found I'd be moving again for the third transfer in a row, which is really weird for a missionary to move that much, especially considering I have such a short time left. We went to the Hibberts for dinner and then we were gonna have our youth volleyball at the church, but there was something at the church so we just had to head back home.

 

Sunday was just our standard missionary and church meetings. I spent the rest of the day packing up all my stuff, which was so frustrating. I just hate having to pack my stuff. 

 

Monday we met up with a bunch of other missionaries at the mission office for transfers. It was so fun talking to all the Elders and Sisters I know, that's one positive from transfers. I met up with Elder Mafi, who's now my companion with me in Alvin. We went with some Elders to In N Out before heading to our area.  The rest of our district was busy waiting for greenies, so Elder Mafi and I just went to the church and shot hoops for a bit. In the evening, Jordan Morgan in the ward took us out to an Italian place for dinner. 

 

All in all, it was honestly a weird week, but I'm glad there were still positives to see and miracles to witness.

 

-Elder Thompson

Sk8er Boi 1/20/2023

 This week and last have been hectic, so this email will cover what's been going on the past two weeks.

 

Tuesday and Wednesday of last week were pretty uneventful, we did a lot of contacting and finding with the other Elders in our area, a pseudo-blitz. 

 

Thursday was zone conference which was ok. I honestly didn't like the trainings we did, but getting to see some of my favorite elders and sisters from past zones made it worthwhile. There was a fun activity where we learned some communication and unity by making giant spider webs with yarn led by Sister Richards. We did have an interesting discussion as a zone afterward, which was really bizarre. Apparently, in another church building some missionaries have been gathering as big groups and doing suspicious things, so that was real interesting to find out about. Later in the evening we did get to meet with one of our inactive member friends Helena. 

 

We did our regularly scheduled food truck service that Friday. What made it different was the fact that there was so much leftover bread, cheese, milk, and meat we took so much home to be fine for a while without buying too much at the store. We did our weekly planning, and sadly a couple lessons that evening were canceled on us. 

 

Saturday we helped some inactive members move out of their apartment into a moving truck. We then went to the church and did a whole bunch of brainstorming and planning out how to attack member work in the area. Afterward, we had our first missionary-run youth volleyball night. It was pretty fun. 

 

Sunday was just a usual mess of church and missionary meetings to attend to, as well as a little bit of finding. 

 

We hung out with all the Elders for pday, and we played some card games and then went to the park for a bit. I've been alive for 22 years, and I finally learned on pday how to ride a skateboard. I felt very accomplished but also way behind literally every person ever. That evening Elder Rowe came to my area on exchanges with me.

 

Tuesday we did some store finding and member contacting before some of our lessons. We taught our member friend Helena again, and Bro. Hawkins took us to teach the Bolanos. Afterward, he took us to get Italian ice. 

 

We had district council and our zone meeting Wednesday afternoon. We then did some more contacts in the late afternoon and went to mutual with the youth in the evening. 

 

Thursday after the mission zoom, I spent half of the day working on a video training the zone on unity. The second half of the day we hit the bike grind and went around talking to a bunch of different people. 

 

Our service happened again Friday, this time in the afternoon. We had a zoom lesson with Anaika, then we went to the church so I could finish everything with my video.

 

Saturday we attended a funeral for Bro. Dietz in the Pecan Grove ward, who my companion knew. We did some more contacting, and actually found a new person to teach, which hasn't happened in a while. We taught our friend Martin, but then found out from his caretakers he wouldn't be allowed to come to church or even meet with us anymore. In the evening, we had another night of youth volleyball. 

 

We had church and missionary meetings on Sunday. We were gonna teach Leo in the afternoon, but he told us that he doesn't want to meet anymore. We went to a baptism of the Metcalfs in the Jones Creek ward in the evening. 

 

We went with the Elders and Sisters to the Buddhist temple for Pday, and then got food before going to their apartment complex to play pool. We went back home and played a bunch of card games with the Elders.

 

There have definitely been some ups and downs these past couple of weeks, but through it all, I've been able to see the blessings and hope God has given me.

 

-Elder Thompson

22 1/7/2023

 The last week of the year was pretty good, a pleasant way to finish out.

 

On exchanges, Elder Barnes and I went to a member's house for breakfast, where apparently the nonmember husband was bashing the member's wife and Elder Barnes in Spanish. I just got to sit there and enjoy my food without any understanding of what was happening. We had more Spanish lessons with investigators and I just got to kinda exist and be present. Later that night, like 10 pm, while we were in bed, the sisters came by begging for the packages we had grabbed for them, that was kinda funny.

 

Wednesday and Thursday weren't too exciting. We just had district council and a zone meeting, the rest of our time we tried getting in contact with and teaching some inactive members. 

 

Friday we had another food truck service, and they had way too much leftover Christmas treats, bread, and meat, so we ended up taking a couple big boxes home full of whatever food we wanted. We also got to teach our friend Deyanta who we were a bit worried about, and he is doing well. 

 

Our interviews were a little weird this transfer. We instead did them with our ZLs, and I basically just sat in a room with Elder Farris and we just joked for a solid 20 minutes. It was very bizarre, don't know what president expects to gain from what the zls gather. We did find a couple new people to teach in the afternoon. We met over zoom as a mission and watched a slideshow of the year and then the movie best two years. 

 

Sunday we had church in the morning, and then in the afternoon we joined the Wells and Bullocks for dinner. 

 

Pday was also my birthday, and it was pretty fun. I officially went a full year without any soda as well, so to celebrate of course I had to go and buy some mountain dew for the week. We went to the Hibberts in Jones Creek for kolaches and some games. In the afternoon we met as a district to play volleyball and have lunch together. 

 

It was all in all a solid week and I enjoyed quite a bit of it.

 

-Elder Thompson

Hail to the King 12/30/2022

 This past week has been great, Christmas was of course fantastic and a very special time. It was, however, some of the coldest few days I've experienced out here.

 

On Tuesday, DeGraw had to return something he bought at Kroger, and walking out a guy named Landon stopped us asking for a prayer. It turned into a really awesome lesson and we even set up return appointments and invited him to church. We also got our young friend Brayden closer to being ready for his baptism. 

 

Wednesday after district council, I got to go on exchanges with Elder Farris to my old area in Oyster Creek. We taught one of their progressing investigators and then did some finding. I took him to meet and teach the Schaerrers, who are an awesome member family. I then showed him Chuy's, which is a really good chain tex mex place. A nonmember saw us eating there, and she introduced herself and told us she paid for our food, which was super awesome and we both really enjoyed it. It's been forever since me and Farris got to talk to each other, so without realizing it, we were up super late talking. It was a pretty fun exchange. 

 

The next day we exchanged back, and it was freezing. I think the temperature was 30 something, but the wind chill and humidity made it feel 15. The cold is awful in Texas. No matter how many layers you have on, the moisture in the air still sticks to ya and chills you to the bone. The rest of the day we convinced the other English Elders to help blitz our area by driving us around to make contacts. 

 

I felt like I almost died of frostbite the next day. We were outside doing service at the church food truck again sorting and moving boxes and crates of refrigerated food, and it was horrible. The service is usually super fun, but the weather made it practically unbearable. It seemed like every 5 minutes we were rushing inside to quickly warm up, then headed back out for another quick helping hand. We did finish it out though and successfully got people the food they needed. That afternoon we stayed in to call people and to have a couple zoom lessons.

 

Christmas Eve, we met as a district at the church to do a quick secret Santa gift exchange. We then put together plates of cookies to take with us as we went caroling to a bunch of members in our areas. In the evening, we went over to the Hawkins family. Bro. Hawkins is our ward mission leader, but he didn't get to join us since he was feeling sick, but we did get to hang out with their whole extended family and have a good dinner. 

 

Christmas we had a special combined sacrament meeting and program with the Pecan Grove Ward. In the afternoon we hung out with the English Elders and opened gifts. We went to the Murphys for a fantastic dinner. They're an older couple and Sister Murphy is a ward missionary that we get to work with. That night, we went with the English Elders to the Spanish Elders' apartment to play games.

 

We played basketball and card games as a district for pday, and then did a bunch of shopping. I then went to the H4 Spanish area with Elder Barnes on exchanges. The highlight of the evening was him buying me a fantastic torta from a taco truck.

 

Christmas week was really good. I'm so grateful for the Savior and the gift he is for every single one of us. I'm grateful for everything He has and continues to do for the whole world. I know He lives and we will get to see Him as we abide by His gospel and the way He has set for us.

 

-Elder Thompson

Coming Right Along 12/28/2022

 This transfer has started off with a bang. We are gonna see some crazy awesome blessings and miracles this transfer if everything turns out as planned. 

 

Tuesday we were out biking for over 7 hours, which was exhausting. However, we got to put both Martin and Brayden on date for baptism which was super awesome. We also got in contact with a lot of other friends as well, so it was a super successful and miracle-filled day. 

 

We went to district council on Wednesday and got to meet our district members. We also had dinner that night with the Ruiz family and went to mutual for a bit. 

 

Thursday we got in contact with a lot of people while biking around. Being seen on bikes makes finding a whole new ball game. We see a lot more success when doing so. 

 

Friday morning we went to Royalty Church and helped out with a food truck service there. That day we also had a good lesson with our friend Anaika who will hopefully be ready for baptism soon. 

 

Saturday I had a really weird, but cool experience. We went to teach the Alikas, and I remember reading out of the Book of Mormon with them. I was tired, so I drifted in and out of consciousness the whole time. Next thing I remember, we were standing up ready to leave the house and go back home. Well, thats not all that happened. I must have been taken away in the Spirit or something, cause apparently I had boldly invited them all to be baptized with suggested dates, and had said the closing prayer, neither of which I could even remember doing at any point. So that was pretty crazy.

 

Later that day, we put our friend Leo on date. His only question he asked during the lesson was if he could join our church, so of course we said yes. We also taught Martin again and met a lady named Mar to teach. 

 

Sunday I got to bear my testimony at church and introduce myself to members and friends. That evening was a stake Christmas devotional, and I got to see lots of other missionaries and members from my old areas. 

 

Monday we played basketball in the morning with the Elders in my district for a bit. In the afternoon, the Rascons invited all our zone over for a Christmas devotional and white elephant gift exchange. It was fun seeing what random junk missionaries had lying around in their apartment to give away to other missionaries. 

 

It was a super awesome week and I'm so grateful for everything God has done for me and missionary work this past week and in this area.

 

-Elder Thompson