Operation: Lost Sheep

Greetings from the Sunshine State!

This week it has rained all week. I love it!! It so beautiful here after it rains. It smells good and everything is a dark lusicious green. We had a few good storms pass by and I still get so excited everytime I hear thunder. It never gets old. The part the freaks me out it seeing the lightning bolt strike like 4 miles aways, and then the thunder that shakes the house. I love it!

I have a new passion. Working with less actives.  This week we started what we called "Operation Lost Sheep."  We have a list of people from the bishop that he doesn't know who they are. So we prayed, planned, mapped out them all and plotted our plan of attack. I love having a purpose to each day. Not just trying to fill time and find people to teach. Since we don't have a GPS, we plotted all the people on this map using sticky notes and sharpie pens. We were so excited to get to work that about 10 minutes into it we realized we left the plotted map at home... Oops! Good thing we have the old stinky map in the car. We'd pull over like every 10 minutes and try to figure where were were and how to get to the next " sheep." We probably looked like an old married couple who is visiting Floridia for the summer who doesn't know how to use modern technology and still relies on the good old map. I sweat that map was made in the 1950's and smells like melted plastic and old man. Sister Erb just laughs at me as I sit there anaylsing the map. We've been working in Lutz which is this little country town with tons of whindy roads. With all the rain I feel like we're in the Amazon jungle and I am walking around with my compass and map. Needless to say it's been a fun week. We even had some success. We meet Karen. Karen is super inactive and hasn't been to church since she was probably 10 years old. She grew up in Utah but has left the church. On our first visit she had so many doubt about God because of all the bad things in this world. She has so many questions. You know the whole perfect questions "Who am I? Where did I come from? What is the purpose of life? Why do bad things happen to good people?"  We had some great discussion about her life and some of the things she has been through and we scheduled a time to go back and teach the plan of Salvation.

I think I've mentioned this before, the Plan of Salvation is one of the things that helped me want to go on a mission and it's my favorite thing to teach. I spent the next few days really pondering the plan of salvation and how do you help someone come to know who they truly are. I came to the realization that if Satan can convince you that you are anything less than A child of God, he wins. Once you forget who you are, everything else falls. You begin to have no purpose in your life and you see yourself and something less than a magnificant creation of an all knowing, loving God. I have a new found confidence in who I truly am and by golly, don't get in my way. I am here for a purpose and I have potential to be someone grand. No one is going to ever tell me otherwise. As we taught her I was able to testify of her potential and her purpose of life. We both were crying. I think that is the first time that I cried in a lesson. I was so afraid being one of those sisters who cries everytime she speaks but the spirit was SO strong! I love it. We're teaching her again on Wednesday but this time at a members home. YEAH!

Oh also, I read the Old Testiment in 3 days. Ok, it was the childrens book but still ha. Can I say, I love the Old Testiment. It has only strengthened my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. There are SO many churches down here it's ridiculous. There are ads and billboards... checkoutthischurch.com. I don't understand why people think it's ok to create churches founded on their own doctrines. I know that there are a lot of good people that are trying to bring people to Christ and for that I am truly grateful. I just wish some people would open the eyes, and hearts to the spirit instead of blindly follow what some Joe Schmoe tells them is what Christ wants. My favorite thing about teaching this gospel is that I have so much confidence in the truth of this message that I tell them they must ask God if it's true. They have to read the Book of Mormon, come to church, pray, etc. Those who are truly seeking truth and not just a good place to go to on sundays, they will come to know who they are, why they're here, and what they are capable of becoming. This church is true. Sometimes I feel limited by my body because every ounce of my soul is screaming it's true and it just want to pop out of my body and expand. I seriously wish people would listen to this message. Really listen! I feel like I can relate to the prophets of old who declared repentence to the "hard hearted and stiffnecked" people. I am consumed with joy as I watch those come to the knowledge of truth and I am deeply pained by those who reject it. But I stand with those who have gone before me and bare my testimony that this is Christs church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true and living church on the earth today. Stop debating doctrine and finding excuses. Take the time to read the Book of Mormon and to humble yourself, take out the trash of your pride and ask God, the Eternal Father is it's true. My sacred responsibility as a missionary to invite others to come unto Christ. I am to testify, declare repentence and warn. If you left the church becuase of some reason, I say to you what Heavenly Father said to me, " Don't let anyone tell you that you are anything less than what you are and don't let anyone stop you from receiving all my blessings." Come back, we need you. We love you and you need the gospel. If you don't have a testimony yet, get one. Lean on mine until you get one, but find out for yourself. If you have a testimony, open your mouth! Share it. Invite others to know and partake of the goodness you have. Brothers and Sisters this gospel is so true. We are preparing the world for the second coming and we don't have much time. Let's do our part!

Don't know where all the came from but please now that I love each and every person who is reading this. I pray that everyone is well and happy.

Love

 Sister Thomas

P.S Congrats Nielle Jensen on your mission call the best mission in the world!! :) I wish you got here before I leave but I can't wait to hear about all your adventures!