NOVEMBER 27,2016

MY FIRST TYPHOON!!


Typhoon clouds

Thanksgiving dinner

(Taco soup and Mashed potatoes)

Wow it has been a crazy week! The other day we woke up and got a phone call saying that work was cancelled for the day and we were not allowed to leave our house... well that's because a typhoon was headed our way. Oh man the rain was crazy and so strong! but nothing was hurt or ruined just lots of water and in other places of our areas it flooded but all is well now! :)

but it just happened to be the day I was doing my laundry that the typhoon came! And we don't have washing machines and dryers here we hand wash and hang dry... well ill just say my clothes didn't dry for like 3 days because there was so much rain.

We had a funny experience the other day. one of the Recent converts we are working with still has a problem with cigarettes and he was walking us down the street after buying us ice cream and then we asked him how many sticks he has smoked today and he said NONE! because he is sick but then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out one stick and says but I got this one for dinner!!! we tried to convince him to throw it away but he wouldn't then my companion says "Its either the ice cream or your cigarette which one do you want me to throw???" Before she even finished her sentence he had thrown the cigarette far away! Oh man we laughed so hard!

We have been rejected A LOT this week! sometimes it is frustrating but I know that heavenly father has a plan for all of his children and one day they will accept the gospel. but we had a lesson with the Cepeda family the other day! and we asked them if they have prayed to know if the Book of Mormon was true and she said that she asked and had a dream that Jesus Christ told her that she needed to read the book and keep listening! Oh my goodness when she told us that we wanted to jump up and down we were so excited she had received her answer!!! she says that she feels Jesus so strongly around her since she started listening to us! She says how she loves what we have to say and wants to keep listening and wants to come to church! 

It was a good week! I hope all of you are doing good too!!! 

Love you all!!!

-Sister Thayn


 

NOVEMBER 20, 2016

OUR ADVENTURES


It has been another great week! To start out I have a funny story! Last Monday we were going home when I realized I forgot the key to our house. And to get into the gate to go inside you need a key and the fence is like 8 feet high or higher! We waited outside for like an hour because nobody was home to let us in. Then we realized we had to go out to work so we really needed to find a way in... So we had a genius idea and I lifted my companion to get up to the top of the fence and she got down on the other side and yay were able to get in! oh man that was a funny experience!!!

Christmas Lights

We have been having a challenging week with lots and lots of rejection but we had an amazing zone training where we learned about Miracles and prayer. I would encourage you all to read from the Bible Dictionary about Miracles and prayer. After learning about all that it really changed my mind set on missionary work and how I can be doing it better and more effectively! We are excited to put what we learned into action!!!  Also we had a dinner at a members house last week and she said something to me that really stood out! she was telling us of their life story and how the started with nothing and now they have a nice house and a car. She said "As long as you are worthy and living righteously god will give us blessings we need and want down to every detail if we just ask specifically in prayer." It just requires us to be worthy and living a righteous life! 

We had a funny experience we were talking to a little boy while we were out proselyting and we were speaking to him in English and we told him to say "we are friends right?" and his response was "We are French Fries!" oh man we got a good laugh out of that!

I also tried some crazy food! I at Chicken blood at a BBQ stand. Yeah grilled chicken blood. It was not that awful tasting but the idea of me eating blood freaked me out more than anything! HAHA

I love and miss you all! hope you all have a great week!

I know the gospel is true!!!!

Love, Sister Thayn

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

SURPRISE APOSTLE VISIT!!

We had a good week this week. Earlier this week we had exchanges with our STL's and had such a fun time! It was fun because one of our STL's is my first trainee so it was fun being with both of my trainees and then working together!

On our splits we went to this super yummy restaurant and we ate Oysters and Catfish! oh man that catfish is the best fish I have ever eaten in my whole life!!!! it is so yummy!!!

This week we did not have much success with our investigators we actually got quite rejected this week but we did have success with our Less Actives and it was so awesome seeing them come into church with their whole families. It was a great feeling having members return back to church! What a blessing! 

A funny story we were eating at an outdoor restaurant and the roof and building was made out of bamboo and while we were waiting for our food I felt something drop on me... but I looked around and nothing... then I heard the people behind me laughing so I turned around and come to find out that they were laughing at me!!! then they started pointing at me and I am not sure why they didn't tell me what was going on (probably they thought I didn't know how to speak their language) but then I come to find out that the thing that had fallen on me was a TIKI or a lizard. I guess it was crawling around my back but I couldn't find it to get it off but it ran down my skirt and finally jumped off!! that was a funny experience! 

Well yesterday after church we had an amazing experience where we all gathered all the missionaries in the mission and we were able to have Elder Quentin L. Cook come speak to us and shake our hands!! It was such an incredible experience! He is truly called of God and the things he testified about and spoke about were absolutely incredible and the blessings he bestowed on us all the the mission was so special! The spirit was so strong and my testimony grew stronger about my Savior! I know my Savior lives and I know that he loves us all! He knows us all personally and suffered for all our pains, sins, hurts and sorrows. I am so grateful to be his servant and wear his name everyday and be his representative. In the name of Jesus Christ amen!

Love you all have a great week!

Sister Thayn
 

NOVEMBER 6, 2016

2 NEW FAMILIES

Oh man it has been a crazy week! We had lots of slow and uneventful days but yesterday was such an incredible day full of success!

 

 

 

But first a funny story! On Saturday it was raining so hard and our area started to flood but that didn't stop us... so we just kept working and tried not to get wet but we found this short-cut to our next investigators house so we decided to take that but then we ended up in a rice field and the only way out was to walk through there were no pathways in the rice field that we could cross so we had to walk through the muddy rice fields. Then we decided to take another short-cut ( you would have thought we had learned out lesson by then but... NOPE!) well this short cut was very, very muddy and I was praying I wouldn't fall into the flooded muddy fields and then we got to this one part where we had to jump over this small dip in the ground and when I lifted up my one foot to cross the other slipped and BOOM I fell into the mud but luckily my hands and knees caught me and I my clothes were not muddy just all up my arms and knees down! That was quite the funny experience! now lesson learned don't do short cuts when it is raining!!! 

Yesterday we had appointments with families that we met this week and it was such an amazing experience!!! Yesterday we taught 4 whole families!!! It is such an amazing feeling when you get to teach complete families!!! We taught one family and they were so interested and said they will ask and pray to know if the message is true and if the Book of Mormon is true! and They said how they want to come to church and because they now know us they will come!!! then another family we taught and you could just see the change in their eyes while they were listening and the spirit come into their house! 

I love this gospel so much and the change and love it has brought into my life! 

It is so rewarding being a missionary!!!!

Also something weird I ate this week was Oysters! :)

Love and miss you all! See you soon!!!

-Sister Thayn

OCTOBER 30, 2016

THE WEEKS ARE FLYING BYE

Another week has past! My time here in the mission is going by so fast! I am loving the work as a missionary so much and am not excited for my time as a full time missionary to stop! I love the work of the lord so much!

This week we have contacted and met so many new people! We have 11 new investigators this week! Which consist of 2 families! we were able to teach them about the restoration and invite them to pray and know if our message is true! We are so happy to have taught these families and hope to see them progress and accept the gospel! 

Sorry for the short email but know that the church is true and heavenly father and Jesus Christ love us and will never leave us!!! Thanks for all the love and prayers!!! 

-Sister Thayn

*we found a VERY pregnant goat while proselyting! (HAD TO TAKE A PIC.)

*Me and my sweet companion while searching for new investigators!

 

OCTOBER 23, 2016

TRANSFERS ALREADY

Wow this past transfer has gone by so fast! We got the call last night and I am not transferring everything is the same with my companion and I!

We had a good week this week! We found a new investigator her name is Angel. We had a great lesson with her and felt the spirit so strongly and she asked us if it was okay that she observed our religion! Wow that was a great question!! OF COURSE YOU CAN!!!! but too bad she didn't come to church this week but hopefully next week! 

This Saturday was my companions birthday so we had fun doing a little celebration for her! 

It has been so hot this week! Earlier in the week there was a huge typhoon in northern Philippines but we were not affected luckily just a little bit of rain! 

We went to a members house to eat this week and they served crab! so I got to eat crab for my first time! it was quite the experience! but crab is super yummy!!!

Yesterday was a little rough when in the morning while getting ready for church my mission president called and told me that Uncle Wade had passed away that was quite the surprise but I have great house mates and a great companion that really helped me! 

Love you all and hope you have a great week!!

-Sister Thayn

 

OCTOBER 16, 2016

Hello everyone!

It has been another good week. Not much exciting things going on just lots of heat and rain like usual! The only bad thing is that 2 of the 4 fans in our house broke so we are 2 people to 1 fan and you could say it is sooooo hot!!!! but hopefully we will get some new fans soon! 

Yesterday in sacrament meeting us four missionaries sang A Child's Prayer. It was such a great experience. 

We have a pretty new investigator her name is Charrito and she is in her 60's she is so receptive and we invited her to be baptized and she asked so many questions about baptism because she was already baptized into the Catholic church as a baby and we explained to her about infant baptisms and she recognized we need to be baptized at the age of accountability. She then asked the question what will happen to me if i am not baptized? It was such a great discussion and she says she is going to sincerely pray if baptism is the right pathway Heavenly Father wants for her! 

Also yesterday at church the new couple missionary "Elder Thayn and Sister Hunter" came to our church and so i had to get a picture with him because Elder Thayn and I are related! 

Hope you all are doing well at home! Love you all!

-Sister Thayn