Facebook post from Sister Debby Richards 6/13/22

 President Kyle McKay and Sister Jennifer McKay visited the THSM on May 24-26, 2022. It was an incredible three days packed with powerful training. Each day we gathered 1/3 of the mission while the other 2/3 tuned in via zoom. We loved Sister McKay’s counsel and direct instruction to learn the language of the Spirit and Elder McKay’s powerful command of the Spirit as he taught from the scriptures and from history all without reading anything. President Richards and I also taught each day. We feel energized and excited about all that we learned. Some of the key takeaways were:

**How we "represent" Jesus matters. We "present him again" in the way we groom ourselves, how we dress, how we act and what we say.

**We are helping God with his work. It's "take a child to work day," and we get to be part of it! We get to see that Father's work in action.

**Being disciplined (more of a disciple) is greater than being motivated.

**Every day, be "united" with your companion in "mighty prayer" like the disciples were in 3 Nephi 27:1, fasting from sin by "hungering and thirsting after righteousness" (D&C 59:13)

**Make our message enticing. You make your message enticing, engaging, and interesting by the words you choose and the way you deliver it, like Elder Holland. Say what moves you. Say it with feeling. Practice.

We learned so so much more. This just scratches the surface. At the end of our experience Elder McKay said, "If you've had a spiritual experience, you can never be the same. God expects us to change." In our mission, we love a growth mindset!! We never stop improving!!! We are truly so grateful to be serving as disciples of Jesus Christ!!!

Down with the Sickness 5/31/2022

 I got Covid-19.

 

Well, this week would've been a positive highlight from my mission of not for the past couple of days.

 

This week was our mission tour where Elder and Sister McKay got to come and observe the mission. They also got to speak to us every morning Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Wednesday we got to see them in person, and they even decided to sit down and have lunch with us and our district. It was a pretty great experience and we all learned how to effectively and efficiently work to see our results increase.

 

Tuesday we decided we'd go to mutual for the first time since we have unbaptized youth that attend. Long story short, their adoption papers just need sorting out so we just wanted to build a relationship with them. We learned how to draw a little bit with the deacons and teachers then played dodgeball and basketball with the priests.

 

On Thursday, we had a fantastic lunch again with Peter Martinez. This time we were joined by the Eldridge Park Sisters. He does a really good job encouraging us to make good decisions after the mission and learn to love and support those we are teaching. 

 

On Friday, after another lesson with the Olatoyes, Bro. Stuckey took us to get Baskin-Robbins and I had a headache like no other. I woke up the day totally sick and have been outta commission since. I got tested for covid and found out I'm positive, so we'll be stuck here quarantining until Thursday morning. Luckily, we did get Elder Unga and Elder Longman from Jones Creek to help give me a blessing and a quick trip to Walmart.

 

It's been a wild week for sure but it'll just be another short and small memory as a part of my whole mission experience.

 

-Elder Thompson

Blue Collar Man 5/24/2022

Its been a long grindy week. We're working our tails off out biking in the heat and knocling doors, but the days have all been worth it.

 

As we've been around the neighborhoods, we've had some awesome opportunities to talk to a lot of active and inactive member families which has been a blessing to us and im sure to them as well. We've also gotten to see alot more BoMs being handed out. 

 

Nothing too much else has really happened to take note of but its been the small and simple things that have helped us to find gratitude and be happy with where we are. 

 

-Elder Thompson 

Family Tradition 5/18/22

 Nothing too interesting happened this week but I'd say it was pretty solid overall.

 

After a long zoom meeting with our bishop and mission president and a member immigrant from Nigeria, we got the go-ahead to baptize Remi, so now she is on date. She was really excited to hear things worked out. We learned as well that the traditional wedding of families in Nigeria is still valid even though it gets really confusing for families that are trying to move to the U.S.

 

The rest of our time we've been doing a lot of biking and tracting out in the hot sun. It's really tiring but it most definitely worthwhile work and I've continually seen the blessings that come from serving the Lord.

 

-Elder Thompson

Mother 5/12/22

 This week definitely had its ups and downs. It made for a weird week for sure. May the 4th was this week too so may the force be with y'all as well.

 

We had a lesson with our friend Tabitha on Tuesday. She really liked what we taught her about the Plan of Salvation and the Book of Mormon, we can definitely see her progress in the future. 

 

Wednesday really threw us off track. We got a text from our bishop saying the Olatoyes are legally divorced, meaning we can't quite baptize Remi yet. It caused a whole mess of confusion and uncertainty when we tried explaining things to them, but they still remain ultra faithful and are ready to do whatever they need to get Remi baptized asap. 

 

That night I went on exchanges with Elder Stoddard to Pecan Grove, and the next day after district council we ended up spending way too long helping the Sisters in Eldridge Park do service for a lady. We helped cut palm leaves off, paint some stairs, and detail her garden decorations. It wasn't anything I'd ever think I'd help with.

 

On Friday Bro. Martinez from the Eldridge Park ward brought us a bunch of food and sat down at our outdoor lounge to discuss how we are in a fantastic place as missionaries and our futures will be bright and blessed. It was super nice and he wanted our moms to know that along with a heaping pile of barbeque we also had some carrots to be healthy. 

 

We got to help Bro. Boyce on Saturday with yard work. He chopped down a tree and we did the cleanup by bundling the sticks and raking leaves. We also got to see Bro. Harris again who we try and see every week as well as visit our friend Robert. We were exhausted by the end of the day being out in the hot sun working and biking. 

 

Sunday was Mother's Day and I got to lead the primary children singing in Sacrament meeting. There weren't a lot of kids, so I'm sure the congregation got to hear some of my horrendous vocals as well. I also got to lead singing time in Primary which was a blast. It's definitely something I never thought I'd do on my mission, maybe ever so I'm glad I got that chance. We then both got to help the children make some flowers for their mothers. 

 

To cap it all off, for our final p-day this transfer we went bowling as a district, so it was a great end to a turbulent week.

 

I want to end with my testimony of how much my mother has helped me get to where I am, and has helped me learn so much about the gospel and Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for her and everything she has done for me, even if I seem uncaring most of the time haha. I love you mom!

 

-Elder Thompson

Peace of Mind 5-4-22

 This week we did a ton of biking and going out to find people, and although it was tiresome, we found satisfaction in putting forth effort even with minimal results.

 

We had interviews with President Richards this week, and as much as i wanted to point out all the bad about the area, he did a good job encouraging me and my comp and thanking us for the hard work, so i didnt get the chance to remember everything I had to be upset about. Interviews are always a great way to make us feel like we're doing a great job and get advice on how to excel.

 

I'm not sure if im allowed to complain about this, but members have been giving us way too much food. Our goal as missionaries is to sit down and have a nice meal to get to know the members, then share a message to bring in the Spirit, then offer service or the ability to teach anyone they know. Our members our awesome, so much so that they all want to come by at some point to drop us off a meal. Its nice and all and appreciated, but our fridge gets overstocked and we can share a message with any of them. I know I shouldn't complain, this is spoiled missionary problems. I'm sure im gonna get transfered to an area without member support at all.

 

This week we did actually get to meet a few new people whether outside biking or inside over the phone, and we're excited to hopefully teach them in the near future.

 

My comp and I got to relax a little and have the pressure taken off of us when our friend Remi showed up to church this Sunday. That means that she will be able to be baptized on Saturday! It was all dependent on whether or not she was able to come to church. We also got to practice leading and singing with the primary kids at church for Mothers Day next week.

 

I'm grateful for all the opportunities and blessings Heavenly Father has given us as we've devoted our time to him and I know as we all put in effort to serve him we can reap the rewards of heaven.

 

-Elder Thompson

 

P.S. I couldn't get an amazing picture since we were in a car, but this is what my dream car would pretty much look like. I love all the sick cars and paint jobs here.

Monster 4/26/2022

 It was a kinda hectic week, and we did in fact witness some real-life monsters at one point.

 

Tuesday was wack. We taught our friend for a couple hours which turned into a Bible Bash, but then he decided to take us out to lunch afterward which was pretty unexpected.

 

On Thursday, we the mission got a live virtual tour of the sacred grove historical site which was super cool. We ended up having our district council at Cullinan park outside which was pretty cool since we just virtual visited a special forest and then got to be outside in a nearby forest. Elder Amrine and I went to the lake inside the park and looked around. We saw lots of birds, fish, turtles, snakes, and massive alligators. I don't think my pictures really convey how cool it was to have gators swim up to the deck and be right near your feet just chilling. There were some pretty massive ones too.

 

A couple of times throughout the week, members have had to bail us out and pick us and our bikes up since we constantly got flats. The roads here aren't biker friendly at all but we're staying positive and pushing harder.

 

Sunday we got to meet with a few members and even give a blessing to round out the week on a high note. P-day was extra awesome because we got to go to In N Out then I had a blast playing all sorts of fun guitars at the nearby guitar center.

 

It was a solid week and this upcoming one looks to be quite good as well. Keep looking towards Christ and having faith in Him.

 

-Elder Thompson