Hey! hows it going?
I'm sorry Kahmi died.
We had an awesome miracle this week. First of all, Elder Simmons and I are working hard. On Wednesday, when the transfer started we didn't have any new investigators, and our teaching pool was filled with very slow-progressing investigators. Since then, we found five new people; we put three on date, and baptized two of them on Sunday! It was so cool.
The Cookseys were baptized. They are this awesome family referred to us by the Andreasons in the American Lake Ward. Brother Andreason new me so he called me up and sent me over to teach the Cookseys the gospel. Jesse Cooksey is in the same unit as Brother Andreason, and he would ask him questions about the gospel. What started out as teasing questions about garments, polygamy, and the mountain meadows massacre, turned into sincere interest in the gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. As his curiosity grew, Brother Andreasen invited him to ask his questions to the missionaries. He was reluctant at first, and said if the missionaries found him he would talk to them. He made Brother Andreasen promise he wouldn't give the missionaries his address.
That night, Andreasen prayed that the missionaries would find his friend. Guess what? The next day, Jesse saw the missionaries tracting his neighborhood, but before they made it to his door, they were invited into another house. Long story short, he recognized that God wanted him to talk to the missionaries, so he gave Andreasen permision to send them over. The next day, I showed up on his door with Elder Bowser. We took Him and his family on a Church tour, taught them the restoration, and tried to commit them on date. They said they wouldn't mind getting baptized if they knew it was true, but that they were gonna wait till they got to Kentucky, so they could get baptized by Brother Andreasen. (He had gone there for crew chief training.) We respected that, and invited them to Church that Sunday.
Guess what. They actually came. And not only did they show up, they went and bought Sunday clothes. They stayed the whole three hours, and their three little girls went to Primary. They loved it. We met with them that week, taught them, and answered their questions. The next Sunday, they came to Church again, and their kids even sang in the Primary program, lol. Needless to say, the Ward didn't know they were non-members. They came every Sunday, we taught them all the lessons, they fed us dinner; it was awesome.
Our plan was to have them ready to be baptized as soon as they got to Kentucky, but as the day of their move grew closer I grew worried that they would fall through the cracks. The adversary is ruthlessly skilled in sabotaging.
This weekend a miracle happened. Brother Andreasen came back to help his wife move to their new home. We felt very strongly that we needed to invite the Cookseys to be baptized before they left. We talked to Andreasen about it, and he was all about it. He had been feeling similar feelings, I think. We had a lesson in the Andreasen's home with the Cookseys, and taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our focus was on the blessings of baptism and the Holy Ghost. We bore solid testimonies about the Gospel and what it has meant in our lives, and Andreasen bore his testimony also. At the end, we asked them if they believed the things we'd taught them were true. They said they new it was true. Jesse said, "I'm afraid to be baptized because I don't want to spit in God's face by messing up after I'm baptized, but I know these things are true, so if I don't change, it's basically the same thing."
The Spirit was there; they felt it, and they committed to be baptized on Sunday. Brother Andreasen baptized them and confirmed them, and the Ward showed up to show their support. It was so cool, they are such a wonderful family. They are solid, and now they have the Holy Ghost. What a wonderful blessing it will be in their life. Jesse will be able to baptize his kids in a couple of years. He'll be able to bless his family when they're sick. The Gospel is awesome, and it all starts with baptism. I am so grateful to have been a part of their life. It is a privilege.
The nine months I've been here in the beautiful land of the WA-TAC have not been a sacrifice, because I've loved every minuet of it. I left my family so I could come and find the rest of it. Everything I am, everything I have, I owe to my Savior Jesus Christ. I will serve him till I drop. This is gonna be a good transfer. Simmons is twenty months old, he is a very experienced missionary, and he's baptized over 50 people. This is an opportunity for me to be humble and learn all that I can from his experience. I'm receiving more training. Heavenly Father put us together for a reason, and he kept me in Gravely Lake for a reason. We have a great work to do.
I get to go to the temple on Thursday! I'm so excited. It's our annual temple trip. President Weaver asked us all to read the Pearl of Great Price before we go. I love it, I haven't read it as a missionary. It has so many cool things in it. Plus, it is proof that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been the same since Adam. I'm also reading the Book of Mormon. I want to finish it before I hit my year mark. This will be the fourth time I've read it as a missionary. I just finished 2 Nephi. So good. I really like Nephi -- what a stud. I
love you guys, I pray for your welfare.
Love,
Elder Thornton
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