Hello again everybody.
I'm happy to report that I am still in love with this work. It's the best. Hard and frustrating beyond belief but I love it!! It has been another adventurous week here in Florida. It always is. The week started out with an unexpected guest in our apartment.
There I was making myself some lunch. I walked into the pantry to grab my bread. As I moved it out of the way, there was a lizard clinging to my manderian organes! It startled me and I started screaming then laughing. I think I startled the lizard, (we named him Larry) more. Sister Montes comes running in to see what was the matter. That little guy was trying to get my peanut butter. Oh no, not my peanut butter. This has now gotten personal. He was not getting away with this. We tried to catch him and put him outside where he belonged. He is a quick little guy. He finally jumped and the gound and we went running out of the pantry screaming. Determined to get him, I went back in and he ran under the washer. I climbed on the washer and started shaking it saying, "Oh no you don't. Come out here right now Larry." He didn't listen. He has made a couple other guest appearance but I think he is playing games with me. I will get him. I will.
Well that wasn't the only crazy thing. Later that day as we were knocking on doors, I knocked on this door and there was a dog laying on the top off the couch. Well the knocked scared him and he jumped, hit the window and went sliding the the glass. Sister Montes gasped and started busting up laughing. I thought I killed him. I was kind of freaking out but then he jumped back up and started barking. Never was I so happy to hear a dog bark.
On to more important matters. We taught Kyle the Plan of Salvation (my favorite lesson to teach) and it went to well. We had our cute little visual aids, personally colored by yours truly, we had great fellowshippers, and the spirit was there. I LOVE TEACHING!! She is doing so well and just so excited to be baptized. We successfully transfered her over to the New Tampa ward which she loves and is doing well. I am going to miss teaching her but I am happy she is in a great ward and progessing in her testimony.
On Wednesday we had a few minutes before we had to be home so we decided to knock doors. We knocked on this one guy and he was so excited to have a "religious debate" with us... Oh goody I am really looking forward to the appointment. He kept talking about how Mary Magdelene was actually the thirteenth aposple and wasn't really ready to listen to what we had to say. It was the end of the day, mesquitos were eating us alive, and I was ready to be done but then... it happened. We met her! *Que triumphant music* After escaping his eternal grasp, we decided to knock one more door. We walked up to the porch, knocked and she opened the door, screamed and then said hello. I'm sitting there like, um... that was weird why is she screaming. She said she didn't hear us knock and came out to water her plants. She said that she had just been praying for God to take the anger out of her heart and then BAM.... "Hey we're the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ....." There we were standing on her door step like as if we fell from heaven. She invited us right in and we taught her the first lesson. SHE IS AWESOME and freakishly looks like my mom. Everytime I'd look at her the little voice in my head was like, "Mommy is that you, what are you doing here." Her name is Laura and she has a handicapped son and she struggles with why God would do something like that. The lesson was so great and she just had so many questions. As we were leaving she said that she, get this, "felt something" YEAH!!!! We made reference again to the Spirit and she said she hoped to feel it again when we met next time. I thought stuff like that only happened in cheesy church movies. Nope, it happened to me!! I have not had a lot of luck with the whole tracting, knock on doors things but hey it works once in a while. I was talking to her on the phone yesterday and she asked me how it was that I was so happy all the time and how she could be like that too. I explained to her that I find happiness in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. Which by the way was no coincendence that she asked me that. That was something that has been on my mind a lot lately.
I keep getting this theme in my studies about how if we keep the commandments we shall prosper in the land. It something that has really hit home to me. I know that the only way to find true happiness in the life and the life to come is by keeping the commandments. As I work with so many people daily, that has come to be my motto. People everywhere are searching, whether they know it or not but they are searching for peace and happiness. The fullness of the gospel is the way to go, I'm telling you from first hand experience. I was asked to give a talk on obedience in Zone Conference and as I prepared for it, I couldn't help but think of how true the promise is in the scriptures that "if we keep the commandments we shall prosper in the land." I was overwhelmed with the truth of the statement and the joy that comes from the gospel. As I was giving my talk, I read a favorite scripture, Mosiah 2:41 where it talks about how are blessed in all things if we keep the commandments. It was like I got struck my lightning as I read that we will be blessed in ALL things and that this is a promise from the Lord! I actaully started tearing up as I read it because then Heavenly Father was telling me that He has so many blessings in store for me. So many that He just can't wait to give me as I continue to strive to be obedient. That doesn't mean that life works out perfectly and just the way I want it to everytime but it does mean that I will be blessed and I will be happy. I am happy and I am blessed! I testify that as we keep the commandments we are blessed in all things. Heavenly Father loves us and he wants nothing more than our happiness. That is why we have the gospel!
I hope that you all can find the joy in the gospel. Find joy in the journey. I pray that you as you keep the commandments, you will live long (eternal life) and prosper!
This is me doing that spock thingy 11...11...1
Love
Sister Grace Thomas
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