Sister Thomas Meets Louisiana : Miracles and cigarettes

Pictures don't do it justice but the skies here are stunning. They make me smile every time I look at them. I've never seen such gorgeous clouds or brilliant sunsets. God is so good to us!

The whole fam (aka district) on the same row at zone meeting (this didn't last very long)

Opelousas has a bunch of these rad cellos all over town

It's been a week full of miracles, testimony building experiences, and happy days. I wish I could describe the joy that comes with missionary work. There are hard moments of course but this week has been packed full of straight blessings. Life is beautiful!

Miracles of the week:

- Paul and Marcella are still on date to be baptized on the 30th! We had a lesson with them about the word of wisdom and it was powerful. Paul has smoked at least 2 packs of cigarettes a day since he was 15 (he's 56 now) and Marcella is an alcoholic. But as soon as we taught them about the Word of Wisdom they were ready and excited to live it. They were like, "well if it is a commandment from God then we need to do it." They are so prepared for this gospel! They both got a priesthood blessing from the Elders to help them and they have been praying and reading the Book of Mormon like crazy. And guess what? They haven't even had the desire to smoke or drink! The atonement is so real and so powerful. Paul and Marcella are incredible.

- We met with Becky, one of our new investigators last week, for the second time and she loves the Book of Mormon like no other investigator I've seen before. She told us she is memorizing the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith at the beginning of the Book of Mormon, which is three pages long! She really identifies with Joseph Smith and has a firm testimony of him. She had a hard time accepting that she needed to be baptized with the priesthood authority because she has already been baptized in another church but she called us the day after our lesson and told us God answered her prayers and she wants to be baptized! She's on date for November 12th.

- We were visiting Miss Frances this week and she collapsed and we were able to catch her. It has been really beautiful how God always sends us to see her right when she needs it the most. She is an angel in my life and I love her!

Funny moments:

- Nathan, a recent convert the Elders have been working with REALLY likes the sister missionaries. The first time he came to church he tried to kiss us on the lips lol. But the Elders talked to him about that and now he just gives us really long handshakes. This week the Elders told us that in his prayers he always says "And please bless the Sisters, who I love the most". Nathan is the funniest!

- Sister Gelwix made some awesome homemade Mac n Cheese for us yesterday. We ate a few bites before we realized there were little bugs crawling in it.... sweet! We found out that our flour was infested with little bugs (that goes to show how much we actually cook). But we got some good protein in the mac so no complaints here!

- We did a musical number in church yesterday and a third of the room was clapping and the rest of them just looked confused. Haha it's always funny to see LDS culture and southern culture come together

This week has helped me realize again and again that the atonement of Jesus Christ is so powerful. If it can help Paul who has been smoking for over 40 years have no desire to smoke, what miracles can it perform in our own lives? If we have that same level of conviction and faith and put our trust in Jesus Christ the atonement can continually change our hearts and change us. Our biggest weaknesses and our "favorite sins" can be improved and changed. This gospel is perfect!

God is so good y'all! He loves us and He is so happy when we turn to Him. Every good decision we make helps us change and become more like Him. So keep on serving, changing, and loving. I love y'all and I'm praying for y'all! Thank you for all the love and support <3

Sister Thomas