"Help thou mine unbelief"

I <3 Sister Gelwix

Lisa at Nathan's baptism

I love Opelousas Louisiana. I don't have a lot of time but it has been a really good week y'all! I have just been so blessed. I am seeing so many tender mercies and God is lifting me in every way possible to fulfill my calling. I am incredibly inadequate but with Him I can truly do all things. It has been beautiful to see His hand in my life this week. 

Happy moments:

 - GENERAL CONFERENCE YALL. It was an incredible weekend. Thomas s. Monson is a prophet of God. I have been inspired and humbled by the messages in conference. I have a lot of changes to make in my life! 

 - We met Paul, one of our new investigators. He plays music at his church and he is so humble and ready for the gospel! We love him a lot already. 

 - Nathan, the elders' investigator got baptized this week. A less active woman, Lisa, that we have been working with came to the baptism. She committed to quit smoking and she has been making some serious changes in her life. It is beautiful to see how the gospel is truly for everyone. I love watching the atonement at work in the lives of people here

Lately I have been pondering a lot about the Savior and I've been trying to develop a more personal relationship with Him. So it was an answer to prayers to hear Elder Bednar's talk on this very subject. I love Elder Bednar and they way he puts things into perspective. We can know about Jesus Christ but do we know Him, truly know Him personally? sometimes we can get caught in a web of believing that Christ can perform miracles, just not for us. We might think that some blessings don't apply to us. But when we give away all our sins to really know Jesus Christ we will find peace and love and joy like never before.

This gospel is real y'all. The atonement is powerful and it can enable us to become more than what we are. I love y'all and I am always praying for you. Have a blessed week!

Sister Thomas

 I love playing with sweet little Aubree (Sister Nations is in really bad shape. You can see her in the mirror on the wall)

Everyone here has like 4 dogs

Choosing Joy + Transfer News

We met this rad guy at bible study named Joseph who goes by "Moses"

Our entire district was training this transfer so of course we took a baby and mommy/daddy picture

Life is crazy y'all! We got a call this morning that Sister Amezcua will be doubled in training in another area and I will be staying and training in Opelousas! Sister Amezcua has become one of my best friends and I am heartbroken to see her leave. She will do incredible work, of course <3

I feel super inadequate to be training right now. I still feel so new and I really don't know much about missionary work. I'm just trying to trust that God knows what He is doing and He will help my fulfill my calling. I know that those God calls, he qualifies so I'm sure it will all be good! I just need to rely on Him completely. I am very imperfect but I know it will all be okay. It will be hard but I know with God I can do all things <3

Funny moments this week: 

 - A 7 year old girl anointed us with oil at bible study this week

 - The Elders dared Sister Amezcua to lick a little black frog. She did, of course, and discovered it was poisonous. Her tongue was tingling and hurting for a couple hours

 - The Opelousas Elders tried to prank us! They put Koolaid in our shower head and saran wrap in our toilets, but we caught them so it's all good

 - The Elders left a bunch of pool noodle light sabers at the church. The primary kids discovered this and we found them all whacking each other after church. At least three kids left crying, it was crazy

This week was crazy. Something that Sister Amezcua and I have been working on is seeking out peace and joy. Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in the hard moments of life. But if we stay stuck in those moments we are not moving forward! Sister Amezcua is such a good example to me of consciously choosing joy. It is not enough to allow joy to come into our lives; we are so much happier when we actively seek it. Life is crazy but God is good. 

I love y'all so much. I hope you're all doing well and loving life! I know that when we turn to God, we can find peace and joy in the hardest moments. I love y'all! Have a great week!

Sister Thomas

District pyramid

The Opelousas crew doubling as seminary substitutes

Canes canes canes

"There is Sunshine in my Soul Today"

Sweet lil Aubrey with her Grandma's hospital bed in the background

Sister Green getting ready for her zombie debut

Hey y'all! I hope y'all are happy and well! Life is good in Opelousas Louisiana. This week was crazy and beautiful. Classic.

Sister Amezcua is a warrior. She had a high fever again for a while, but that went away. We're happy about that! She's been doing physical therapy which seems to be helping. We are thankful for all of the prayers! She is positive and she teaches me about choosing to find joy in life. I love her a lot and I already know I'm going to miss her so much when we aren't together. 

Funny moments this week:

- We "pranked" the Elders! Sister Green is a sweet and crazy less active lady in our ward that we visit often. She has cerebral palsy and she is the funniest lady! She wanted to prank the Elders so we suggested we hide behind her bed and jump out with silly string when they come to visit her. She agreed...but she took it to the next level! She asked us to cover her in fake blood so she could really freak the Elders out. It was crazy, but we agreed! The blood/zombie/silly string prank was a success!

- Sister Amezcua got DUNKED! We were doing some service for a member of the ward who just gave birth. Another member was helping us out and after we were done with all the yard work he pushed Sister Amezcua into the kiddy pool in the yard and pushed her head under. I guess he didn't know we aren't supposed to swim! 

The people here in Louisiana amaze me. I am in awe of their faith and their strength. There is one woman in the ward that has been in the hospital for kidney failure. She came home a couple days ago because she wanted to die at home. We visited her and her husband on Saturday, intending to have a short visit with them but we ended up staying all day to help them out. It was sad and heartbreakingly beautiful. We sang hymns to her, read scriptures and conference talks to her, and even planned her funeral with her. It is beautiful to see the love that she and her husband have for each other. Their love is so pure and so strong. Obviously it is a hard time for them but their consolation is they know where she will be going. This gospel is so true! Christ is with us in the hardest of times and in the happiest of times. 

This gospel is truly the remedy for everything. Jesus Christ is the answer to every problem; He is the healing needed for every wound. Sometimes I catch myself wishing I could do more for these people. I love them so much and I want them to be happy! But I am understanding more and more that this gospel is literally the most important thing I can give these people. I am so lucky to know about the gospel and I am so lucky to get to share it as a full time gig! 

I love y'all a ton! Keep on keeping on. When life gets cloudy, find the rays of sunshine through the darkness. There is always joy to find somewhere. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Thomas

"On fire for Jesus”

We made the zone jealous with our matching ties and headbands

Service gets LIT in Louisiana

We had a rad week y'all!

Yesterday was fast Sunday which is the best thing for a couple reasons. Fasting is a great opportunity to receive blessings from Heavenly Father. I've appreciated fasting so much more on my mission. It is powerful and it brings miracles! Another reason I love fast Sundays is because this ward has some really great testimony meetings. We call fast and testimony meetings "Open Mic Night" here because the members will get up front and say whatever they want. We had some good laughs!

We went to a bible study this week for another church and it was the best thing. They spent the first 45 minutes having a "party for Jesus" where everyone danced around and went ham to gospel songs. It was pretty crazy, but it was cool to see the love these people have for the Savior. One woman we met at the bible study came to church on Sunday which was really great! She bore her testimony in the meeting and talked about how she loved meeting the missionaries who are "on fire for Jesus". The elders are going to start teaching her and we're excited to see how she progresses! 

The people in this area are so good. They have pure and loving hearts. They truly care for those around them and they let their actions speak louder than words. I feel so blessed to be able to serve in this portion of the Lord's vineyard. I love Opelousas!

Have a great week y'all! I promise that when we root ourselves in Christ, nothing can shake us. Keep on doing the little things that bring us closer to Him! "Our decisions determine our destiny". We can all choose to be a little kinder and to love a little more. I'm so thankful for the love I receive from y'all! I love y'all and I'm always praying for ya!

Sister Thomas

Miss Frances holding the sweet letter my Aunt Jenny sent her <3

Disco district

I love being a missionary!

The folks go all out for watermelon here

Poor Miss Frances in her hospital bed

Steph is just the cutest thing

Hey y'all! I hope y'all are doing well. This week was wild, wonderful, and incredibly faith building.

We had a crazy experience Tuesday night. We were heading home and Sister Amezcua had the thought to visit a sweet less active member, Miss Frances. It seemed weird because we needed to get home, but we followed through anyway. Miss Frances is the cutest thing. She loves us, hugs us forever, sings to us, and calls us her "babies". We were helping her change into her night gown when all of a sudden she fell back and fainted. She started having a heart attack so Sister Amezcua held her and comforted her while I called 911. It was the saddest thing! Miss Frances just kept saying over and over that God sent us to her. She lives alone so it is scary to think about what would have happened to her if we hadn't been prompted to visit her. But she is safe now and doing well! 

Happy moments this week:

 - we went to a funeral and it took a solid 20 minutes for us to realize we were the only white people in the room (classic)

 - we played "water pong" as a district

 - we got drenched just about every day this week (I love the rain here)

 - we had stake conference yesterday and it ROCKED

 - Sister Amezcua is the best thing. She is in a lot of pain all the time but she is still so outward looking. She truly loves the people here and she gives everything for them. We appreciate all the prayers for her from y'all! It means a lot.

This week has taught me a lot about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. We've been focusing on reading the Book of Mormon with our investigators and it has been powerful. I have no doubt that this book is true. It truly can get us closer to God than any other book. 

Life is good y'all! It's a commandment to have joy so I've been trying to smile a lot more. It's amazing the difference a smile can make! I love y'all a ton. Make it a great week!

Sister Thomas

Driving to Stake Conference with cute Stephanie Nations

The graveyards are above ground here - that has been new to me!

I know that my Redeemer lives

The frog didn't turn into a prince so that's a huge bummer

President Hansen paid a surprise visit to District Meeting and treated us to lunch

Box pile or album cover?

Happy Monday, y'all!

This week was wonderful. One of the best parts was we were able to do some service to help out with the flooding. The schools were reopened again today and most of the roads are clear so we are seeing some real progress! We helped out at a project organized by Our Savior's Church to provide supplies for those affected by the flooding. It was beautiful to see people in the community of all religions coming together to help those in need. The people here in Opelousas are just so good. On Saturday the governor's wife, a nun, and some other random people dropped by which was pretty cool. It was a great service opportunity.

Crazy/funny moments:

 - The bell went off at the end of Sunday School and Theodore, who came to church for the first time, jumped up and said, "See if we're having a fire drill we better run on out of here!" 

 - We were teaching Sharon about reading the scriptures and how it brings us closer to God and she started going off about how it is just better to be with God "in His presence" and how she just chills with Him all the time (this is a common occurrence with people around here)

 - We had a member present lesson (always a gamble in this area) and it went downhill fast. We were trying to teach the restoration and the member says, "Okay well let me just tell you. I can get deep. I can get real deep. I can tell you that some people don't even have birthdays!" (she went on for 20 minutes despite countless attempts to stop her)

Sister Amezcua is an angel. She is so good at lifting others up and she is a light in the lives of so many. She has some hard mountains to climb right now. This week she finally got a diagnosis: degenerative disc disease (not something she should be experiencing at 21 years old). She is in a ton of pain all the time but she is so good at staying positive and maintaining hope. We are learning how to take it slower and leave it in God's hands. I thought I understood what it felt like to let go and trust in God before my mission but now I am experiencing it like I never have before. I'm realizing that sometimes faith isn't about doing more; it's about caring less. It's about letting it go and allowing yourself to fall into God's arms. It might be hard now, but like Sister Amezcua always says, "It can't rain forever". The best is yet to come! 

We can find the beauty in every day if we will allow ourselves to do so. So find joy in the little things, smile more, and give thanks to Heavenly Father. He is so good to us. Whatever happens, this gospel is true. I promise it is true. It is perfect and it is for everyone. "Oh, sweet the joy this sentences gives: I know that my Redeemer lives!"

I love y'all!

Sister Thomas

I am head over heels for sweet Tammy

District en pointe (homemade matching ties and headbands)

The rains came down and the floods came up

Just chilling on a member's back porch (that lake was their backyard last week)

My angelic companion

I ATE A RAW EGG (pretty much just for bragging rights)

Tender mercies this week y'all.

 All the missionaries in the mission are safe! This is such a relief. The storm did a lot of damage in other areas of the mission but Opelousas did not get hit as bad. We were on lockdown here from Friday night until Sunday morning. I have never seen rain like this - it poured hard for a day and a half straight. There was quite a bit of flooding here but it is not nearly as bad as the damage in Denham Springs and Baton Rouge. We are praying for the people all over the state that have been affected by the storm. Y'alls prayers would be appreciated as well!

Funny moments this week:

 - "Well it looks like y'all have been eating REAL well" - 87 year old woman (we love being called fat by old ladies)

 - We held a pretty wild funeral for our old district leader, Elder McArthur. We had piano background music, flowers, a grave, and everything. 

 - The ceiling in the nursery room of the church building fell in! 

We saw so many miracles this week. We have been teaching a man named Glyndell for a while now but he stopped progressing. We have been praying and fasting for him because we know he needs the gospel. When we met with him this week he had totally turned everything around. He is on date again to be baptized! I have never seen the atonement working so fast and so strong with anyone else. He is making some very hard, very good decisions in his life right now. We are so happy for him! He is incredible! 

We have another investigator that we were getting ready to drop last week. She wasn't keeping commitments and we thought she was losing interest. But again, miracles this week. We have been reading the Book of Mormon with her and she is loving it. The Book of Mormon is so powerful - it answers the questions of the soul and fills us with light. I sure love that book! 

With all the flooding we were worried that church would be cancelled. The storm was supposed to turn around and hit us again Saturday night and if that would have happened we would not have had church. But again, miracles! Church was great! Glyndell came and he told us he could not sleep because he was so excited all night to come to church! He had a great experience. He took notes in the back of his Book of Mormon during Sacrament Meeting and he participated a lot in Gospel Principles. He is such a stellar guy. We love him a lot! 

I love having a front row seat to seeing the atonement change lives - including my own. This gospel is truly for everyone. If we understand grace, we know that there is never a point where we are too far from Christ. We can always find healing in and through Him. He has already paid the price for us - the entire price. When we follow Him we are not trying to repay Christ for the gift he gave to us - we are just allowing his grace to change  us. Because that's what it is all about, right? The commandments help us become more heavenly so that we will want to live in God's presence when we die. They don't force us to become something we are not; they help us become who we truly are. 

This gospel is so beautiful, so pure, so perfect. I feel so blessed to be here sharing this beautiful message every day. I am so lucky! "Men are that they might have joy". Well missionaries are that they might share joy. :)

I love y'all a ton. Y'all are always in my prayers. Keep on keeping on! 

Much love,

Sister Thomas

All out funeral for Elder McArthur

The new district doing what we do best (eating Canes)