Sister Thomas Meets Louisiana : "The Screamers"

A sneaky picture of one of "the screamers"'s signs
before the craziness began

Idaho potatoes from Sis Beck's fam

Exchanges with Sister Putoa

I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by. I think I blinked and this week was over! So many tender mercies happen every day. I'd love to tell y'all all about them.....but then this email would be forever long. I know for sure that the Savior is with us every moment in this work.

Free speech alley was a wild ride on Tuesday. A group called "The Fellowship of the Consuming Fire" (affectionately nicknamed "the screamers") made an appearance on campus. Basically they are a group of 40 or so Pentecostal extremists whose tactic of "spreading the gospel" is to scream hellfire and damnation to every single person who walks by. Like they would take shifts and scream hate repentance on a little 4 ft wall while the rest of them chased students down or tried to bash others on free speech alley. It was insane! At one point 10 or so of them surrounded Elder Adams-Hart and Sister Putoa who politely confounded them.

There were some booths next to us who pumped up their music to drown out the screamers. That was awesome! It was understandably hard to talk to students that day, but our role was to lift and reach out to everyone who walked by. It was cool, the spirit was with us and it was like having a little "spirit bubble" amidst all the craziness.

I've been thinking a lot about that this week. I'm not gonna lie, life has been pretty crazy lately. Sister Beck and I always talk about how our heads are spinning and we haven't really taken a second to breathe. I've been noticing how important it is to find moments to "be still and know that I am God" (Psalms 46:10). It's great to be busy, but when I'm rushing around I have a harder time listening to spiritual promptings and drawing nearer to the Savior. I'm setting a goal to be better this week!

I love y'all tons! Women's Conference was incredible and inspired. I can't wait for General Conference! Something I loved from the women's session:

"When we give our heart to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ we change our world, even if our circumstances don't change - Neill F. Marriott

Have an amazing week!

<3 Sister Thomas