Goldsboro, NC

Elder Thompson called home again on Monday.  He was also going to send an email but we received a short note stating that he ran out of time before he could finish it and so he will write next Monday.

Since Rachel and Reene were home from school today they were able to talk to Josh. Renee asked Josh, "What do you do every day?" Josh told them that he does service every day, he does some tracting (walks around trying to talk to people about the gospel), visits with ward members as he eats dinner in their homes and also studies his scriptures. When asked if there was something different that he has eaten, he said he did have some shrimp and grits which he liked.

Josh has a piano in his little apartment. It is a one-bedroom apartment. The piano is in his kitchen. He is trying to remember how to play hymns so he can play some for the seniors at the senior center. They go each week to play games with the seniors. They have about 15 seniors who will walk out and play with them. They will play cornhole or bingo or any other game the seniors want to play. The sister missionaries have set up a Spanish class for the seniors and Josh and his companion are trying to plan a set schedule of something they can do for the seniors.

I sent Josh a simplified hymn book last week. He gave me his address because he still hasn't received his Valentine's package that I sent to the mission home. We looked up his address on google maps. (His address:  312 Perkins Road, Goldsboro, NC) I have decided that I would like to live there with all the greenery. Josh says he does live in the rural part of Goldsboro. His area is on one side of the interstate where there is no city. The other side of the interstate has all the shopping and the city. So he drives in a car to get everywhere. This has made it a challenge to contact people. This is why they have gone to parks and the YMCA to find groups of people they can talk to. The two people they contacted two weeks ago didn't answer their doors when they went back this past week.

There is an investigator who is friends with the youth in the ward. He comes out to play basketball with the youth. In their ward, their youth night consists of basketball practice for the boys and girls. We do not have church ball here in Elk Grove. My boys would have loved to play church ball and I am sure my girls would have loved that too.

As I talk to Josh he seems to be very happy and glad to be serving a mission. Here are some pictures he sent. He said that he got a haircut last week and it is a lot shorter than he usually likes. He hasn't had his hair that short since he was in junior high.

 
 

Feb 24th

I'm glad to hear from everyone and all your different experiences. I've been busy with so many things I don't know where to start. 

Tuesday we got to go around town looking for people to talk to in the stores, and we found a YMCA in our area, so we're going to go there to play basketball and sports contact. Brother Kimbrell was taking us around after dinner to find people in our ward that we could share a cake he made with. 

Wednesday morning I believe we helped Brother Clark tin roof his new patio, and Brother Aycock took us to Chik-fil-A afterward. We went around more stores afterward looking for a new pair of basketball shoes for me while we talked to more people in the stores. We had dinner with a member I believe, but I honestly can't remember a lot of this week which is fine because I'm keeping a daily journal. I really liked reading your journals dad and I want to read more.

Thursday we helped build another ramp in the morning, then went and played games with the residents at an assisted living home. They are all so fun to be around. After our weekly Thursday night dinner at the Cogdell's, we had to go straight home because it started snowing really hard!

Friday morning we stayed inside because of the ice and snow then went back to the old folks home to call out bingo for them. We met an inactive member there, and they all love us. I'm sort of relearning a couple hymns on the apartments piano because they want to see if I can play for them.

Saturday I really don't remember much of what we did except for the fact that we found two new people to teach while tracking! My area has been whitewashed 3 or 4 times in a row, and has been in a teaching drought for over a year so this is big. Sunday after we talked to a new person we found another person to teach while knocking doors in their complex. We then went to visit Bro Tilton again. We had dinner at the Boneys and played basketball in their driveway with their kids for a little bit before we visited Kevin Baker, a cool member who has just been depressed and needs people to talk to.

Bro Tilton is an old gentleman who lives in a tiny house on a member's property. He is a member but he has a hard time moving around so he hasn't been to church in a while. We meet with him every Sunday and Wednesday. He loves reading the teachings of prophets and will share with us a spiritual message every time we are over there. He also makes us eat ice cream. He has two big bowls that he tells us to grab and makes us fill them to the brim with ice cream before we are allowed to go and sit back down. I love ice cream, but Elder Toso doesn't and he struggles trying to eat it all.

There's an investigator in my ward that loves coming to church and talking to the missionaries and his friends. He's made an effort on his own to come to young men basketball and sacrament and priesthood meetings. He just started slow and with gradual introductions, to pieces of the church, he's been wanting to learn more. 

I know that if we continue in our efforts to fellowship others and bring them unto Christ, we will eventually see success. It will require some trials of faith but if we endure we will succeed. In the Book of Mormon, there are many scriptures that tell us to have faith. Mosiah 8:18 says "Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings." I know that Heavenly Father loves us and is looking out for us. He wants to help us through our trials and in our efforts to help others.

-Elder Thompson

Other Notes:

* Elder Thompson called home Monday morning and I was able to talk to him for only a few minutes. (It was a busy time trying to get kids to seminary and school when he called.) He was in very high spirits and is keeping busy with the work. We need to work out a better time for him to call so that Ethan can be here for the conversations.

white washed:  when both Elders are removed from the area when transfers occur

1st Prep Day

Sunday was eventful. We met so many ward members in their homes and got to strengthen our relationship with them so hopefully, they can find people for us. We also met Bro Tilton. He is a very old man who has a hard time getting around so we visit him every Sunday and Wednesday to talk and give him the sacrament. He gives us massive bowls full of ice cream in return. He's from the Bay Area originally and talked about the World Series earthquake for a while. He was so fun to talk to and loves all the missionaries.

Today, we went shopping at Walmart. Since then, we've been playing basketball at our stake center.

The work seems to be moving at a snail's pace, but once we get a system in to teach our members about missionary work, I know we'll get things moving along

Here are a bunch of pictures I have from the MTC as well as my travels into the field.

-Elder Thompson

 

 

 


First Companion: Elder Toso

Happy Valentine's Day

Today Josh was able to call us since it is Valentine's Day. He has been assigned to Goldsboro, NC. His companion is from Washington State. (I am not sure how to spell his last name so I will wait until I get an email.) He stated that his companion was born in Samoa and lived there for 9 years and then moved to Washington.

Between training and missionary study, he has been doing service and some tracting. On Thursday his companion and him met with other local church congregations and went and built ramps for people in need. Josh helped build a ramp for a school girl who is in a wheel chair. Today they stopped by the local senior home and were asked to come back tonight to help them with their Senior Valentine's Party.

Josh said that basketball is really big in that area, bigger than he expected. He said that the missionaries will go to parks and play basketball with the locals and talk to them that way. I think he is super excited about that.

Josh also said that he enjoyed the emails that he has received. He apologizes for not being able to respond to each of them. He also asked that if anyone has missionary journal entries that they would like to share with him, he would love to read them. He asked Ethan to send him one, once a week. So if you have any to share he would appreciate it.

Here is a picture of him with his Mission President, his wife, and all the other new missionaries. Also I have posted a link to a video of the new missionaries arriving in North Carolina last Monday.



Video of new missionaries arriving in North Carolina

Flying to North Carolina

Josh Checked out of the MTC this morning at 4:45 AM. Their route to the airport was a little crazy. They caught the bus by the MTC which took them to the Front Runner Train Stop. From there they rode to Downtown Salt Lake City and transferred to the TRAX (train) which took them to the airport. Josh's plane left at 10:10 this morning (SLC time). We have been following his flight on flightaware.com. It is scheduled to land at 4:00 PM (North Carolina time).

When Ethan left the MTC several years ago, they had a bus that picked him up from the MTC and took him straight to the airport. Reading Josh's travel instructions, we were a little stressed for him but I am sure he made it OK. Hopefully, we will hear from him when he arrives in North Carolina. Here is a picture of him by the World Map at the MTC, pointing to North Carolina.

Message from Josh:

Hello From NC!

I am emailing y'all to say that I have arrived safely and am here in the mission president's home. I will email or call on P Day, I'm not sure when that will be. I'm learning so much right now and am excited to be in the field!

-Elder Thompson 

Final Days at MTC

I am feeling better, I got released from quarantine Sunday afternoon. This week has been full of many cool experiences. I finally got a picture of the view I get to see for 6 hours a day while I'm in class. We figured out where the vending machines are in our complex, and they have things like licorice, pizza, soda, and even ice cream in them. The food has been lowering in quality, the only good thing we've had this week is Subway. We've been eating pretty much anything else besides the main courses. Later in the week, we made a basketball hoop out of a hanger in our room. We've been playing Pig with the basketball you sent before bed.

Since this is our last week, we got to do lots of different service. Monday we got to welcome the new senior missionaries by carrying their luggage and showing them their rooms. Tuesday we got to got back to the docks where the food arrives and took all sorts of ice cream and yogurt to the different fridges and freezers. Wednesday we welcomed both North American and international missionaries. The international missionary I helped spoke only Portuguese and Spanish which was a very difficult thing to do but we got him settled in. I then went down to the garage and got to help new missionaries get unloaded and led them to their rooms.

We had our last TRC week, and we were sad to say goodbye. Me and Elder Robert's taught a nonmember student at UVU named William. He's from Salt Lake City and all his friends are on their missions. His experience with the church are his friends talking to him about missions, and he loved to play church ball. Me and him talked for a while about basketball. Our meeting with him were great. We got him to pray and got him excited to read the Book of Mormon. Last night was our last meeting so we got his email and we're excited to keep talking to him while we're out in the field. 

After all the experiences I've had in the MTC, I'm so excited to go out to North Carolina and serve the people there.

-Elder Thompson

Adventures at the MTC

There has been a lot going in this week. Last we left of I had gone to the temple with my district which was a wonderful experience, and a stark contrast to what would hit later. One of my Saturday classes we learned about stress and ran up and down stairs to learn about physical stress. We then practiced teaching a nonmember who was role-played by our teacher Sister Ball. After we all had the opportunity to teach her, Sister Clark was hit pretty hard in class by the flu. The other elders and I had the great opportunity to give her a blessing before she was sent into quarantine. On Sunday we went to church and got to hangout more with our branch. Before the Sunday devotional my companion and I went to our first choir practice and then listened to a devotional by Elder Holland broadcast from Peru. Monday brought more class and workshops but we lost Sister Faleta to the flu as well. Monday night was our first TRC opportunity where we got to teach a real nonmember going to BYU. Speaking of BYU, I get great views of the Provo temple as well as the Marriot Center, Lavell Edwards Stadium, and BYU baseball field from my classrooms. Tuesday night we had Taco Bell for dinner and got to see Elder VoB(ss)ler's and Elder Veal's reactions to it. They are from Germany and the U.K. respectively and haven't had it before but said they enjoyed it.(Dad will probably know how to say VoBler by the way I typed it) Throughout the week my companions and I play basketball during our exercise time. I think I get a little too competitive though because I like to win, and the elders have been joking that I play a little too well. Our games are ended quickly and when I'm around, they all want to play knockout instead. Some nights this week the Elders on our floor have rubber band and slingshot battles with balls of paper. Thursday my companion wasn't feeling well and it turns out he has the flu so he is in quarantine but we did get Sister Clark back. I went with Elder Allen and Elder Postma in a trio and got to teach their TRC with them. All of our classes at this point include teaching a real nonmember or member or teaching one of our teachers roleplaying as a nonmember. Today, I woke up with the flu myself, but I can't check checked into isolation until 11. The rules before isolation were that I could receive and read emails all week and couldn't respond until Friday. Now that I will be in quarantine I can receive and respond to emails whenever I feel like it. I appreciate hearing all the great things that happen. They really lift my spirit and everyone else's as we are all struggling a little in the MTC.

-Elder Thompson

Note from his Mom

Josh was sent to the BYU health center to be checked for the flu since they didn't have enough room at the MTC. He is back in quarantine and will probably be there until Monday or Tuesday. He has a companion in quarantine and is only allowed to read missionary materials and watch movies from the gospel library. He would love to get email. He can check it at any time while in quarantine.