Week #5

Dear Family & Friends,

Let me just start off with a laugh, hahahahahahaha, because Ohio is trying to kill me! Hahahahahahaha! We had a tornado blow through this week! That was fun and nerve racking!! We also had two CRAZY rain storms, they were so severe. There was so much thunder and lighting. It was insane! Also, there is a prison in Chillicothe and TWO PRISONERS GOT OUT!  The prisoners were hiding in some shady areas of Chillicothe!! We had to follow our safety protocols.  It was also a little nerve racking.  Also, the city of Chillicothe does not believe in sidewalks or street lamps. As I was riding my bike, on the side of the road, I almost got hit by a car!  So much drama and excitement for one week! So fun!! Hahaha!  Never a dull moment in Chillicothe.

It really has been an eventful and incredible week! We have 3 progressing investigators and one in date for baptism! Our one in date for baptism is Stephen (Caitlin you would love him).  He's is 24 and he's Filipino. He moved to California from somewhere outside of Manila, Philippines when he was 11 years old. His family all moved to Ohio after that. Steven and his family belong to a Methodist church. The missionaries originally knocked on his door about a year and a half ago, but he wasn't interested. Then a new set of missionaries would come to his apartment every six months after that. Sister Asay and her last companion found him again and I guess he just argued with them for like a straight hour about the gospel. But his heart has softened sooooo much over the last few weeks! He loves the Book if Mormon and we started talking with him about the priesthood and he got so excited. He also loves temples and temple work. He wants to go to the temple and do temple work for his ancestors. He is on date for an April baptism. It is so exciting and so humbling to teach him.

We are also working with Belinda! Belinda is so great. She is a sassy grandma.  She has full custody of her two grandchildren. One is 10 years old and the other is 18 months. She is a hard working woman and she loves her grandbabies. We meet with her every Friday, and she loves to learn. I think she has some reservations about modern day prophets, but we are working on it.  Haha!  She is so cool and I love her so much. We feel she is ready and so we are going to invite her to be baptized this week! Also, the ward here is amazing and they truly know what it means to "magnify" their callings. They are so helpful with the work and they have welcomed me with open arms. They all rock so much.

Elder Stevenson is coming to speak to our mission this week!  I am very excited about it.  We will have the privilege of meeting him.  It is going to be pretty amazing.  I also have zone conference this week so it is going to be a busy one. 

I FOUND OUT WHERE TØP (Twenty One Pilots) ARE FROM! I am pretty sure that is one of the reasons the Lord has sent me to Columbus, Ohio! They lived in my companion’s last area! They live in a city right outside New Albany called Westerville! I will be in that exact area this week for zone conference!  Cross your fingers folks, I could run into them, it could happen!  Then Book of Mormon miracles could happen after that!

That's about all I have for ya'll this week. God is so good! Look for him in everything you do! He's there and He knows you! He is in every detail of your lives. I would encourage everyone to read Elder Uchtdorf’s talk called "Fourth Floor, Last Door" you won't regret it! Love you all!!! Be good!

Love,

Sister Thomas