Second Week

So last week I forgot to tell you my travel plans. I leave Salt Lake at 7:10 and then go to Phoenix. Then we head out to Canada. I get to wake up at 3 in the morning. I’m reeeeaaal excited about that. So last week i mentioned how elder silver was always mad dogging me. This Monday we were talking about college. As soon as he found out that I got scholarship offers from SUU and USU and that i got accepted into the Y( meaning I’m a lot smarter than him) he has respected me so much ever since! Its so funny because now he’s trying to be buddies with me. Anyway this week we learned a lot. We learned the difference between the restoration, and the restoration of the gospel of JC (Jesus Christ). The difference is that the restoration is just a story about Jos. Smith while the other is centered on JC. The latter is a better way to explain it because it can relate to the investigator better and help them see why they would need it. We have also learned a lot about being Christlike. The thing I am striving to work on is patience. My nut job companion is really pushing it! In class the other day we developed a plan on how. Sister Westover, our teacher, helped me because she wasn’t all that surprised that that was what I picked. She said ' Oh I can see that with your comp being who it is.' So my plan is to 

1. be more persistent in making him study and things like that

2. pray for understanding

3. acknowledge the good.

It’s going to be tough but I know I can do it with the help of God! We also learned that it is really important to begin a meeting well, like getting to know the Investigator and inviting the spirit. We then need to teach with our hearts and not our minds. Its really hard for me to do that because I’m just such a genius ;) but I really am very logical so it’s going to be tough to switch over to the spirit. I know I can though! This week we taught an investigator who was an atheist. I committed her to baptism in the second lesson. No biggy. and when I say that I commited her I mean that the spirit and me did. My comp seriously did absolutely nothing this week. I pulled all the weight. Honestly I almost think I’d prefer a deaf blind mute like Cameron told me I would get because he would probably work harder!

But anyway there were some funny moments this week. Two sisters in our zone are typical American girls as Duncanson puts it. They are just really blonde. Something funny happened but it wouldn’t be funny over an email. it was one of those things that you had to be there. They are just really blonde and its funny. My high of the week was probably when I taught one of my investigators. Of course we went in unprepared (as a companionship) but I was ready. She told us a story of how she was having problems with her family and how her mom had just gotten cancer. I bore my testimony and she was in tears because she felt the spirit so strong!  So the one day I got my comp to study, we went and taught our other investigator and it went really great. I wrote down in the morning that i wanted to teach completely by the spirit and I did! Last night in our zone meeting we told our biggest fears about our mission. So I said getting a comp that was lazy, didn’t study, and had a bunch of personal problems that held them back. What I’m most excited about is finding the people I told I would find in the pre eixstence and bringing the gospel into their lives. Yesterday at in field orientation I was really sick and so was Brevard. We went as comps because Elder P. had a doc app. and he had to go with a zone leader. So we just blew our noses all day. We just took the tissue boxes from the bathrooms from main campus haha. Oh and Dallin H Oaks spoke to us on Tues. it was great! One plus is I see and talk to Zach every day at meal times! And I just figured out how to reply to Dear Elders so if you haven’t gotten a response that’s why! I don’t know if I’ll be able to upload my pictures. The computers at west campus are really stupid! We have a lot of freedom on campus but its seriously like a third world country compared to main campus. And seriously someone needs to keep me updated on sports like the playoffs and football and everything. I’m going crazy! I’m turning into a dorky missionary! Keep it classy.

Elder Thompson