JULY 25, 2016

YAY!  A BAPTISM!!
(note from Mom: This post is out of order, better late than never!)

This was such a great week!!! we were able to see one of our investigators Tatay Rogelio enter into the waters of baptism! He was interviewed on Tuesday then was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday!!! it was so awesome!!!

Tatay Rogelio's story is the most amazing ever though!!!! He had been taught by missionaries for a few months and when he started he had a huge smoking problem! he has been smoking 2 packs a day since he was 16 years old and he is 73 years old now. So he was very addicted! Then when the sisters committed him to stop of course it wasn't all at once but he went from 2 packs to 20 sticks a day then to 15 then to 10 then 6 then 5 then 4 then 3 then 2 then 1 then 0!!!! and now he is not smoking anymore!!! it is so amazing!!!!!

One night we came home after a HUGE rain storm and found our apartment flooded only like a half and inch or less of water but we are on the second floor but then we realized we left the windows open and my companions bed was soaking wet!!! luckily i had to mattresses on my bed so she had a dry bed to sleep on!!! We spent that night cleaning and drying our wet house!!!!

We have such a progressing investigator which is sister Harlyn! she is 20 years old and she is amazing! she came to church this week! The spirit is so strong in her lessons and she is truly prepared by heavenly father!!!

Also it is so stinking hot here now it feels like it is always about to rain so it is so humid and hot and then either rains so much or not at all and you just sweat to death!!! haha!!!

This was an amazing week!!!

Hope you all have a great week this week!!!

-Sister Thayn

AUGUST 22, 2016

NEW WAYS OF MISSIONARY WORK

This week was such an amazing week!!!

Starting out on Monday we experienced another EARTHQUAKE!!! it was much bigger than the last one we experienced and lasted about 20-30 seconds but it was still very small it just startled us!!!

This week has been so extremely hot but at the end of the week non-stop rain again!!!

We had exchanges this week and we tried a new way of missionary work!! we did a street display I was kinda worried at first how it would turn out but it was amazing!!! we talked to over 150 people and lots were very interested!!! it was one of the most successful things we have ever done!!!! Now we are going to do it in our area!!!

This week I felt the true spirit of missionary work and it was the most amazing feeling ever!!!! I love being the lords FULL TIME servant!!!

Also It has been about 1 year since I have started to read my quad from front to back and the other day I finished it!!!! i started out with the Book of Mormon then read D&C and then PofGP then I read the New and old Testament and just finished the New testament!!! it was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had and I have learned more about the savior and I know he loves us and wants the best for us all we need to do is obey his commandments and we will be blessed! 

Also yesterday we walk into church and the meeting is about to start and a member in the bishopric came up to me and said oh yeah we need you to speak today!!! UHHHH... oh man that was a fright but I was able to speak and have the spirit with me and it was a good experience!!! 

It was a week full of the spirit and miracles!!! 

I love and miss you all!!!

-SISTER THAYN

AUGUST 14, 2016

MORE RAIN!


This has been a good week!!! I am doing so much better and oh man has it been raining!!! It is seriously non-stop rain here in Iloilo!!! Also everything is flooding because of the rain! Sorry this email is short I don't have a lot of time!

This week we experienced an EARTHQUAKE!!!! Don't worry it was very small but we were in a recent converts house talking before a lesson and we were sitting on a cement floor leaning against a cement wall and well all of a sudden the floor just moved!!! it was the craziest thing i have ever experienced!!! 

We have a really progressing investigator her name is Harlyn and she is 20 years old so we are all such good friends!!! She is really accepting the gospel and very progressing!!! I love this gospel and being able to share it with all those who I come in contact with! 

I love our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ! I know this is the true and only true church here on the earth!!! i love and miss you all!!!

-SISTER THAYN

AUGUST 7, 2016

SICK!!


This has been quite the slow and unproductive week. I have been sick all week so we have not been working much but I am doing much better now!!!!

It has been raining non stop here!!! and I mean non stop!!! ok well it stops for like 15 seconds then just down pours again!!! I have never experienced rain like this ever before!!!  Yesterday we were at a members house and it was down pouring rain and all went out and rain through the rain and got soaking wet!!! good thing they live really close to our house! 

This week at our district meeting we had such a great meeting! it was all about the book of Mormon! We each bore our testimony about the book of Mormon and the spirit was so strong! One thing I know and believe so strongly is that if you don't read the Book of Mormon you WILL NOT PROGRESS IN YOUR LIFE!!!! no matter who you are if you have stopped reading the Book of Mormon you have just put yourself on hold and well you are not letting yourself progress! So please if you have stopped please start again! even if it is just 1 verse a day if you are too busy but no matter how much or little you read you will be blessed as long as you read so please read everyday as much as you can!!!

One quote I loved that was said in sacrament meeting was "There is no substitute in living the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I love and miss you all! thank you for all the prayers!!!

JULY 31, 2016

ITS OFFICIALLY THE RAINY SEASON!

This has been such a good week! at the beginning of the week we had exchanges with our STLS. We had lots of fun and it was fun being able to be back with my batch mates from the MTC! I came to realized that whenever I go on exchanges I usually eat something exotic!!! This time I ate fried chicken foot!!! yes the actual foot! I didn't really know you could eat that but you can!!! you pull off all the individual toes of the chicken foot and eat the meat off of that and then you eat the meat on the foot!!! it wasn't bad!!!  of course it just TASTES LIKE CHICKEN!!! haha

It has rained NON STOP the past 6 days!! currently it is raining again!!! the streets get flooded and that means we are wet all day long!!! One night we were working and then it started to rain then rain harder and harder and luckily I remembered my umbrella! Then we ran for shelter then we decided to keep walking and go to our next appointment as we were walking there was so much lightning then one struck and the thunder was ear blasting loud and it was so close to us we both screamed and waved down the nearest jeepney and decided to just go home! we were so terrified and did not feel safe! by the time we got home we were soaked from head to toe and my skirt weighed so much that I was afraid it was going to fall off!!! HAHA (See pictures)

Then it was Sunday and it was a good morning then 5 min before we are to travel to church it downpours rain again!!! we had to go out and wait for a jeepney which got us all wet then when we got out of the jeepney the streets were flooded so our Sunday shoes got all wet and oh man it was just such a wet day and everyone came in to church soaked from head to toe!!!   

IT IS OFFICIALLY NOW RAINY SEASON! 

Today in my personal study I read in Romans 12:21 and loved it so I will end my email with this verse:

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

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

-Sister Thayn

JULY 18, 2016

MISSIONARY LIFE

It has been an amazing week this week!!! We had our zone conference this week and our mission is doing a lot of changing... but changing for the good!!!! We are being more strict on things and strictly focusing on our studies but it will make us stronger missionaries!!! I love it so much!!!

I have truly learned the importance of studies this week! While I was reading this week in preach my gospel I came over this quote and I loved it so much!!! "For you to grow in the Gospel and stay on the path that leads to eternal life you NEED to develop a habit of gospel study" all of us need to read and study the scriptures as a habit every day to stay on the right path and reach eternal life!!! 

A blessing that I received this week from studies was on Sunday it was 5 minutes before sacrament was supposed to start and they said our speaker hasn't showed up so we will need you to speak and at first I was like WHAT!!!! NO I CANT DO THAT!!! but of course I accepted and then realized all I needed to do was share what I have been learning in my studies and share my testimony and that is exactly what I did and it turned out much better than I thought it would! It was such a blessing that i studied my scriptures!!! Now I encourage you all to do the same and always study your scriptures!!!!

Also I ate some very exotic this this week!!!! 

1. I ate this soup that has Cow skin and tissue in it... but the skin still had the hair on it! it looked like a bald mans head in my soup with hair sticking out the top of it! and their was hair swimming all in my soup!!! I ate as much as I could but my stomach would not allow me to finish it.... But the taste wasn't terrible the look and texture just was!

2. I finally ate Balut!!!! and that was terrifying but i did it!!! and no I did not like it I sure was gagging while I was eating!!! haha but SUCCESS!!!!

Also I took my first HOT SHOWER in my mission!! it was great!!!! 

Well that was my week but things are progressing and I am loving the work and I love being a missionary!!! I know this church is true and heavenly father loves us!!! 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

-SISTER THAYN

 

JULY 10, 2016

ONE YEAR MARK!!

Wow I just hit my 1 year mark!!! it is so crazy how fast time flies by!!!!

It has been such a great week! First of all I love my companion so much she is the best!!! and this week we were teaching one of our progressing investigators who still has a smoking problem but it has gotten so much better but we invited him to be baptized and his answer wasn't the typical yeah... he raised his right hand and said YES!!!! ahh it was the best feeling ever and he is progressing so much and we cant wait for him to be baptized! 

This week we taught a new investigator her name is Harlene! She is 20 years old and has been so prepared by the lord she has so many great questions and the spirit was there so strong when we were teaching her and she went to church this week and we also invited her to be baptized on our first visit with her and... she ACCEPTED!!!!!! Miracles are happening here in Mandurriao and I am loving the work here so much!!!

Also it was my companions birthday yesterday so we celebrated on Saturday night and we surprised her it was so much fun and she was so surprised!!!

Also our new mission president arrived and we had a meeting with him and he is so awesome! he is so full of the spirit and is exactly what this mission needs! he is truly called by God! 

It was a great week full of the spirit, lots of laughs, and fun being a missionary!!!

-Sister Thayn