December 1, 2014

So I have more time, I’m sending the group right now. And first off, I have some bad news: I kinda lost the memory card that has all my pictures..... yeeaaaahhh.... sorry. I’ll get a new one and be more careful! But that does mean that this week no pictures either. Yeah I know its been like, 5 weeks. Sorry. fortunately Elder L has a few pictures of things that I’d like to send that we’ve done, so next week when he’s not using his camera I’ll upload some. 

And jeez, I’m not sick. Everyone gets tired here. I’m okay.

Okay and now on to better things! It’s the first day of Christmas! When I first came here, I was actually a little apprehensive that I wouldn’t be able to feel the same way here. You know, that Christmas spirit that just envelops the world when December’s about to hit. But no! Fortunately it feels the same here. Even though it’s not cold and there are no pine trees. They’re actually about to have a big harvest of fruit here. Here in Mexico, they have two harvests, one in the winter and one in the summer. The fruit tastes different in the two harvests. 

So this week was super tough! But it was also pretty cool. I’ve grown a TON as a teacher this week, and I feel like things are about to start falling into place here in Baxcaxbaltepec. Last week we had 52 people in church, this week 45! That’s a LOT here. So we’re really excited for that. Other than that, we’re about to start focusing our efforts in specific places here in our area, hoping that we can begin to use our time more wisely. One story that I want to recount happened to my convert. 

So she has 3 kids, and the youngest, Junior, has some serious disabilities. He’s about 2 or 3, and needs a LOT of care in order to not die. As you can imagine, his mom has to be with him almost always, and it keeps her on her toes. She really really loves Junior, and so she’s willing to do it.

Well, this past Sunday she received the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  After being baptized correctly (how Jesus was), we are clean from all our sins, and we are prepared to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands (people with the authority of God put their hands on your head and then bestow the gift). This is the Holy Ghost that is talked about in the scriptures. It can be our most powerful guide in this life, if we are always striving to keep ourselves worthy and clean for it to be inside of us. It gives us feelings and thoughts. And if we listen to these things, we can be comforted, protected from danger, and guided to make important decisions.

Well, this week she was out walking in the street with Junior, when all of a sudden she had the thought, "Junior is going to fall." She looked down at him and saw that he was fine, so she kept on going. The thought came again, but she paid it no heed. A short time later, Junior tripped, and his head smashed against the concrete REALLY hard. His forehead was bruised and bleeding, and he was in really bad shape. Then she said a prayer, that he could be okay. Fortunately, he healed. She told us after, in tears, "I know that that was the Holy Ghost, who gave me that thought. He was trying to warn me. I know it’s real, because of this. It’s really with me. God had mercy on us. But I’m going to listen now."

This work really never ceases to amaze me. Every day I live here I’m more and more convinced that it’s true, and I’m super happy and super blessed to be a part of it.

adiós, tenga una semana de felicidad, 

Elder Thompson