Go team!

MLC with my mission sistas (all of us were trained
by the legendary Sister Amezcua <3)

 Reunited with cute Sister Smeltz on exchanges!
We brought Kimberleigh to free speech alley and she was a natural

Some moments make everything worth it. Phillip's baptism on Saturday was definitely one of those moments!

The cool thing about Phillip is he wasn't "golden" at first. We met Phillip at free speech alley on LSU campus. Sister Rogers was here with me on exchanges and we tried talking to Phillip as he walked past. He waved at us but kept on walking. A little while later he came back with a strange look on his face. As he tells the story, he saw our whiteboard with the words "Does God have a plan for me?" That question hit him hard. He knew he needed to come back and talk to us. He wouldn't give us his address and he didn't want missionaries to come by to visit him, but we got his phone number and invited him to institute. He told us he'd "check it out". Usually this means we'll never see them again. But thank goodness Phillip is different :)

He came to institute and we introduced him to Elder Teare and Elder Adams-Hart. They began teaching him! There were still a lot of bumps in the road but the elders were so good with him. They were exactly who Phillip needed. Then the ward came in...and honestly that's what made the difference. The ward embraced Phillip like I've never seen before. The ward became his best friends and gave him support, invited him to activities and even road trips, and became role models for him to follow. Because of all of these combined efforts Phillip made the brave choice to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. 

Phillip is solid! He is excited to serve a mission in a year and teach others about the good news of the gospel. It's cool how Heavenly Father arranged a "team" of the elders, the ward, and even President and Sister Varner to help Phillip get to this point. He is so mindful. Go team!

There is so much potential here at LSU. We keep working hard, praying hard, and seeking for the "one by one" progression. I'm thankful for the miracles and tender mercies we see each day. God is good!

Have a rad week y'all. I'll be praying for you!

<3 Sister Thomas

Making relief boxes for Flordia with the ward

Phillip and President Varner

The original LSU "dream team" reunited