Another Holy Cow! Letter

June 2, 2014

Dear Family,

Holy cow, what a bunch of news! Jeremy sounds like he is just taking care of business. Jordan, I will pray for fervently and I hope he gets better. I am emailing Tyler and he is super optimistic and he is loving it. I also want you to know how much I love all of you.

The baptism was great but the thing we need to remember is that people choose to be baptized, and also I didn’t do much. I can hardly speak Spanish and the most important thing is that they are now qualified to be in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

 This past week was really hard. We worked really hard and we got hardly anything done. We have ten or more investigators that can be baptized like right now; however, they do not like us very much down here. We had all of them committed to come to church but none came. The important thing is getting them to church because when they come more than five times we can then baptize them. These ten investigators can be baptized but they just don’t care. I wish the people could see the importance of our message. It is not to get baptized for membership in the church, it is the salvation of their souls. This is the most important thing that we get to do:  invite others to come unto Christ. Through baptism they can have the Spirit for the rest of their lives if they are worthy of this gift. I have also learned is that salvation is never easy. That is why missionary work is so hard. I love what Elder Holland said in one of his talks when the Savior was talking to Peter. "I need someone to feed my sheep. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly loves me. And love is what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Peter do you love me? Then feed my sheep." We feed his sheep through sharing our testimonies with others and inviting them to have more faith and to repent more in their lives. I have realized that Christ died for me. I will never take the Atonement for granted. This week, yes, was hard but I am learning so much about the gospel and how to do this amazing work. I know that I can do this.

Lately, our President has asked us to memorize all the principles in Preach My Gospel,  The Articles of Faith, D & C: 4, and many other things. I have done two of the three. Holy cow, though, it has been hard work. Lane, if you want to be a great missionary, here is my advice: HOMETEACH! The better you can get at this the better you will be as a missionary. Practice what you preach.

I have been eating the strangest things too... Pigs’ feet (tasted NASTY), chicken liver, and other
things that were just downright disgusting. I am so excited for Elder Costello to get here. Seriously, it is beautiful. The buildings aren’t so much but the nature here is amazing. I am so grateful for this
opportunity. I wish you could see this place! I know that this is where I am supposed to be.

Well, Mom, I hope that your writing camp goes well and, Dad, I hope that you are practicing Spanish because when I come home I am speaking to you in Spanish!! I love you all! Have a great
week!

Con Amor,
Elder Thompson