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| Sister Amezcua is an angel |
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| Last district meeting! Elder McArthur is "dying", which is a mission term for going home |
Happy
August 1st, everyone! I hope y'all are doing well and loving life. Time is
flying by so fast! Next week will be the end of my first transfer (six weeks in
Louisiana) which seems crazy. I love it here in Opelousas and I am convinced I
have the best companion. Life is beautiful.
The six kids that got
baptized last week, the Papanias, are doing really well. They are some of my
favorite people. They glow and we feel at home when we teach them. Hopefully
Maverick will be getting baptized soon as well! He's on date but we are waiting
on Robyn's divorce to go through so they can get married before being baptized.
He is a solid guy. I haven't met many people here who are as grounded as he is.
He understands what is most important and he is always striving to be better.
We love seeing him grow!
We received an answer to
our prayers this week about Ms. Robyn, the Papanias mother. She had been
avoiding us for a while and we didn't know how we could help her. But she
called us one night and told us she needed to see us. Yes! We saw her the next
day hoping to share a message with her and check up on her and see how she is
doing. Our lessons never really go as we plan with Ms. Robyn though. She spent
two hours talking to us about all the guys she has been with and the drugs they
took, her party life, and who knows what else. We got a word or two in here and
there but mostly she just talked at us, not to us. We finally just stood up and
Sister Amezcua told her we had to go and we left. This was a step in the right
direction and we're grateful for it!
One of the less active
members of the ward has also been avoiding us lately. Last Monday she called us
sobbing and when we talked to her she confessed she relapsed with drugs. It is
heartbreaking. The worst part is she has a 13 year old son who witnessed the
whole thing. We met with her every day until she went to the hospital to
detox and she seemed to get grounded, but this is a cycle with her. Very sad.
But she told us she wanted to read the entire Book of Mormon while she is at
the hospital so hopefully that will help her get back on her feet. We love her
and hate to see her so down. Most of all, we hate seeing how it all affects her
son.
Sister Amezcua is still
in a ton of pain. We went to the hospital for her to get her MRI but they said
the machine broke. Classic Opelousas. Hopefully they can get her in again soon
so some real progress can be made! She is fighting many hard battles right now
but she is great at staying positive and keeping up the faith. She is an
inspiration to me.
I love studying about
Jesus Christ. One of my favorite parts about my mission has been really coming
to know my Savior better. I read a talk by Henry B. Eyring from conference
(women's session) about service that I really loved. He mentioned that when we
serve others, Jesus feels that service. When we comfort others, Jesus feels
that comfort as well. I had never thought about it like that. I love Mosiah
2:41 and I have understood that by serving others we serve God but I had never
imagined it was so direct. Knowing that makes me want to serve so much
better!
Keep loving and keep
serving everyone. Love y'all!
Sister Thomas
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| Rocking the cornrows Haley put in our hair |
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| Fried frog legs anyone? |
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