Mallory Meets Her Trainer- Hermana DeWitt

Dear Family of Hermana Thomas,

We are so happy that your daughter has joined us here in the Paraguay Asuncion North mission. We know that as she commits to work hard and be obedient to mission rules, and continues to study and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost, she will have a great experience on her mission. She will grow to love the people, she will be willing to pass through difficulties, and she will come to know and love her Savior in a more profound way than she has ever known.


When she was able to have an interview with President Evans so he would have the information for the inspiration for her new companion. We enjoyed time at the Botanical Garden where this country was dedicated by President Benson for missionary work and where your daughter was encouraged to take 10 minutes to privately dedicate her life for the next two years. After lunch, we had some training for mental health and physical health here in the mission while all the new trainers received instruction from President on his expectations for our trainers here in the mission.


The most anticipated moment of the day was next when your daughter received her new companion. Hermana DeWitt is ready to help your daughter learn all the skills she will need to be a good missionary. She will start her service here in Paraguay in the area of Laurelty. We hope you will enjoy some of the pictures of the first day here in Paraguay.

We already love your daughter! Thank you for raising such a fine young woman who is so willing to serve her Father in Heaven and be a blessing to the people here and to his fellow missionaries. We truly pray for them every day and are committed to working diligently to help them in whatever they need to be happy and successful.

May the Lord bless you and your daughter for the sacrifices, the faith, and the love that you are extending to the people here. Thank you for all of your support.

With much love,

President and Sister Evans

Mallory arrives safely

Hermana Thomas:

We just got back from the airport from picking up your wonderful daughter who looked as bright and happy as if she had just started her day. She seems wonderful and we are excited to have her.

In the morning we will give her time to write you a quick email. Thank you for letting us have her for the next year and a half. We will take great care of her!

Hurrah for Israel!

Pte Evans

Letter to Family- Funny Stories

HEY GUYS!!!!

oh my heck i have never been so scared and excited for anything. i am currently very tired and out of it i am usually more positive about this whole thing but guys i am SO SCARED to leave on monday. the lord protects his missionaries i know it!!! but last time i protected the missionaries in the airport, who is gonna protect me ?! lol. jk i know i will be fine.

so mom my companion is the shorter more stout girl, hermana guerrerro is the girl who speaks english. we are close because she lives right on the border in tiajuana so she is more americanized than the other girls. she loves my voice and always asks me to sing and she always wants me to sing alto she can learn how. its pretty cute.

so someone just YELLED in the computer lab *my girlfriend just dear johned me!!!* hahaha and everyone clapped and all the elders went and hugged him. hes like 3 weeks into the MTC so clearly they werent too meant to be.

sorry about fathers day dad!! HAPPY FATHERS DAY YOU ARE THE BEST DAD EVER. i seriously have a newfound respect for you and the whole mission thing, and dylan and kyle hahaha. and amanda with scout camp. i didnt realize how much i loved all of you until i didnt have you 24 7 i guess!!!

dylan i am super glad you had emotional issues too. i had a breakdown in class when i couldnt understand something that was said very slowly at least 10 times and my teachers basically became my counselors for an hour and had everyone but me go study and they showed me all these videos about stress hahahaha. it was SO embarrassing. i told my teacher, one of them speaks english but he didnt tell me that until i literally was sobbing lol, that you said you hated how dramatic hermanas are and how i dont wanna be the dramatic hermana LOL. and he was so nice and he said *every hermana is dramatic and every elder is somewhat lazy and dumb. so stop trying to fight and let yourself be dramatic* hahaha it was pretty funny. i promise that was my only breakdown this week everyone!!! hahaha. but it was a pretty embarrassing one.

my teacher served his mission in paraguay so he has taught me a lot of guarani. i know like 8 to 10 phrases now. and i really do think my spanish is improving. i can get my message across almost always.

i loved loved this lesson i had saturday. our teacher was being our investigator and i testified to him, a fake investigator, that we can do all things through christ. his story is his girlfriend isnt talking to him right now and his kids, but he wants to get baptized so he has to marry her and it all felt so real and i testified with true sincerity that he would be able to find a way to be baptized because christ needs him and his family needs him. it was so cool and i was like sobbing and so was he and so was my comp. if i can feel that kind of love and sincerity for a fake investigator, i can barely imagine how awesome it will be in the field.

i love you all so so so MUCH!!!

funny stories

elder rojas always talks really slow so i can understand and its a pretty big joke in the district. now everyone does everything slow. when someone gives someone a high five, someone will say *do that slower so hermana thomas can understand* and then they proceed to do a DEATHLY slow high five. its really funny.

theres actually another american in the 3 week program from utah and he is HILARIOUS. he reminds me of kyle. really tall and lanky and he says the funniest things. and he has dylans rule about speaking spanish with people who speak english so whenever i say *hola elder como esta?* he says *im good how you doing?* hahaha. its funny.

my district gets in trouble a lot for some reason. my theory is its because the american leaders think we are talking about innapropriate things when we speak spanish, but they arent innapropriate things lol! they just assume it is!!! its weird. so whenever we smile and laugh they freak out like somebody just quoted like... the lyrics to despacito or something. ahahahaha!! i dont think people are disobedient. but maybe moms right and i am a spirit of the law type gal.

love you all mucho!! also mom, my comp has taught me how to iron better and also how to fold a sheet. hahaha. she thinks im so stupid but she still helps me. its pretty hilarious.

love you all!!

hermana mal pal

Leaving for Paraguay. Pray for me!

This week was great!!! i leave for paraguay monday. i have to be in reception at 2 O CLOCK IN THE MORNING MONDAY MORNING and i fly all day completely by myself all the way to paraguay so if yall wanna say a special prayer that hermana thomas can speak spanish well enough to make it to paraguay that would be GRAND. haahahaha!!

my spanish honestly hasnt improved that much. or at least it feels that way! but i am a lot happier this week and i have learned a ton. i got to teach a member yesterday and she has been a member 3 months and she is 20 years old. i challenged her to pray to see if she should serve a mission and she said she was going to and that she didnt think she could because she doesnt think she will be able to learn enough about the gospel to teach it. i told her i had to buy the book of mormon for kids because i realized i know very little when it comes to the right scriptures and stories to share hahahaha and i think she felt better, and she was tearing up and i really think she will serve and be a great missionary!

we had a district meeting this week to talk about what we need to improve on as a whole and i mentioned we should maybe like study when it is study time hahaha im such a killjoy! but it was really funny because when we had personal study later that afternoon, i walked in with my comp 5 minutes early and all of the elders were already there silently studying with REALLY smug looks on their faces like, are we good enough for you now hermana thomas? hahahah!!! they are awesome

my companion and an Elder in my district are my translators. but no, i dont need translations from spanish into english. just from spanish into spanish. hahaha!!! so they always say what other people say more simply and slowly and strip it of all the slang and confusing unnecessary words hahaha. and then i can understand!!!

i am actually so tired almost always but i am happy most days and most times! i am improving lots and i really am excited to go to the field, but also super super terrified!!!!

i love you all so much and I HOPE THIS GETS TO YOU. thanks for your support!!

Don't Quit

Again, this keyboard is hard.... okay so here we go! the first night i got here was crazy. i had no idea what was going on, supposedly my companions name was hermana gonzalez but i had no idea where she was, and i had to help this poor girl who also had no idea what was going on. i finally found hermana gonzalez and i said asked her if she speaks english, and she shook her head no, and she could barely understand my spanish. and then, she walked away! hahahah!!!! it was so awkward and awful. that night i was helping hermana brown because she had no roommates and was very lost and also had no companion. we went to reception and found her companion, who happened to have GIANT suitcases with no wheels. for those of you who think im not strong, i am! because the hermana was very tired and almost in tears so i carried both of her almost 50 pound suitcases to her room. it was so fun haha!

so i am the only gringa in my district. there is one girl who can speak english about as well as i speak spanish. other than that no english, except for what i have taught them! but its so fun and they are SO NICE! i had a difficult time adjusting to their culture at first because they are late to everything and dont like to plan, but we get along super super super well now. me and my companion knuckle bump under the table when we do something good because my teacher told me missionaries shouldnt knuckle bump and so my companion started doing it under the table haha its pretty funny.

im kinda famous for being in a spanish district cuz i guess its pretty unheard of. there is one girl in my zone who is in a spanish district but she was in an english district for her first three weeks. so i see her every once in a while and i see americans in the lunchroom and speak english occassionally.

my district leader is JUST LIKE my grandpa zayas. hahaha. the first thing he asked me was what is your problem just like grandpa in his accent haha. he was somewhat offended when i told him he reminded me of my 80 year old grandpa though.

i have newfound respect for everyone i know who served a mission because it isnt easy, like not at all. and im not even in the field yet! but its also so cool because im doing things i had no idea i can do. my schedule each day is jampacked with everything i have to do with my spanish district, and on top of that i have to do language study during my meals and in the morning and the afternoon. so i have no time to breathe. hermana guerrerro, the girl who speaks english, is so sweet and told me she thinks im the best in the district and that i work 3 times as hard and it made me feel really good. another girl in the ccm thanked me for my smile and it was so cute! she started crying and told me when she sees my positivity it encourages her to be the same way. its amazing because i dont feel positive half the time but heavenly father helps me to look it.

my subject like is be a force in the world. in one of my favorite devotionals they told us to be a force in the world, not a mere presence. wake up every day and go do the work. show your faith with your feet. im not a morning person but amazingly every day i have rolled out of bed right when the alarm clock goes off to pray and start my language study. its so awesome to feel like im improving so much, but i know its all because of my lord and savior jesus christ. i can do all things through him and i have already done a lot through him and i am so grateful he has strengthened me in my capacity. In another devotional we watched this video from a moving called facing the giants... i think. its about football. but in the scene the football player crawls across the field with another player on his back, all the while his coach is yelling at him not to quit and keep going. the player is blindfolded and things he is going 20 yards but actually goes the whole field. its really inspirational and beautiful and when i miss my family, or my companion cant understand what im saying, or when i feel entirely inadequte, i hear my heavenly father whispering to me dont quit. keep going, you can do this. and I CAN AND I WILL. the gathering of israel is the most important thing taking place on this earth at this time and i am so grateful to be a part of something so huge and to be an instrument in gods hands.

im going to try to send pictures i promise but uh my camera kinda broke. im a hot mess. but hermana guajardo took a few pictures and if she has time she will send them to me to send to you all. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT.

I LOVE YOU AND THANKS FOR YOUR EMAILS I WILL TRY TO ANSWER THEM ALL!

Hermana Thomas*

Letter to Mom

Hey mom!

Forward the group email to them please. i didnt see this until after i wrote it. mom this is crazy! you would be so proud of me! i am in a room with 3 latinas and i am so happy. They have taught me so much. two of them are actually better than me in every facet of life lol, language testimony teaching, they are literally amazing. My companion compliments me well. We struggled at first because she has a friend here from her hometown and she kept leaving to be with her because I think it was hard for her to understand we need to stay together but we are doing great now, and she is a great teacher and she's really funny. She loves food so whenever i tell her we have to leave for a class because we are already late she sighs because she really wants to finish her food. But she is so grateful and tries so hard to be on time because it is important to me.

I broke my camera. idk how, but the screen doesnt work. they have some in the store, should i buy one. Sorry I dont know how to type question marks. Also i left my straightener at home somehow.

I was having a really hard time at first. the culture shock was hard and i had no one to talk to. my first sunday i had an interview with one of the zone presidency, and when i sat down he said, i think we should have this interview in english. and i BURST into tears. he was very nice and he knows uncle gene. everyone knows him haha and its always fun when someone finds me to tell me that. it brings me comfort.the interviewer helped me a lot, i dont remember his name. but he told me to remember its okay to go at my own pace and i dont need to prove anything to anyone. it helped me a lot to set more realistic goals and be more patient with my comp when we are late to things. my comp also has been very homesick and sick in general. we have been the enefermeria four times but i think she just has a cold. shes from here in mexico and i can understand her now cuz she slowed down and is a lot more patient. we have fun together, and the other girls in my room are cousin sofia like amazing. but i have been really patient and loving i promise. when we are late, i tell her we should probably go and wait patiently. we used to be late every morning so i suggested we wake up 15 minutes early and now we are only 2 or 3 minutes late every day, we are never on time haha. but i try my best to find middle ground.

although my spanish isnt great i am the leader of the companionship. I take the lead in all the lessons, even with real members. my companion is pretty shy and not super confident in her abilities. So i use lots of hand signals and I testify with my whole heart and pray to bring the spirit. It's worked so far and I hope it continues to work well. haha. I haven't had too many embarrassing moments with Spanish. And when i do my district laughs and moves on.

I told my district that you are their mom. I gave them all chocolate from the package you sent me and i gave them all milk chocolate or dark chocolate and kept the white chocolate for myself and told them its representative of our races hahahahha and they all laughed SUPER hard. I make them laugh a lot. I'm pretty much the silly american, and I love it! Thank you so much for your letter too. It brought me so much peace to know you guys were thinking of me. Whenever i am down I ask to feel the blessings of the prayers of my family and I always feel comforted.

I'm really nervous for the field. My teacher served in my mission, which is super cool. but he said they speak in vosotros and also mostly speak guarani. So, basically I know very little useful things. I just hope I can continue to be strong and an instrument in my fathers hands.

The coolest moment of this week was probably when i received a priesthood blessing from the American member of the zone presidency. He blessed me to not be homesick and with help with the language, and i diddnt ask for anything else, but he added help so that i could sleep. I didnt tell him I hadnt been sleeping well but I hadnt. He also mentioned how particular and perfectionist like i am, which he also shouldn't have none, and mentioned that this could become a weakness and i needed to make it a strength

I love and miss you so much mom! Thank you SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING!

Mal

Safe and Happy :)

Safe and Happy :)

Hey guys!

i got here safe and this spanish keyboard is very difficult to type on. haha. The flight went so smoothly, like as smooth as it possibly could have gone. i spoke the best spanish of the 30 missionaries flying so i led the group around the airport, it was pretty fun. i haven't met my companera yet but I bet she is awesome. i found out i will get to be there for the reopening of the temple in my mission meaning i will most likely get to run some of the open house which is way cool. Mexico is beautiful and everyone is so nice. i haven't cried yet and i have been glowing with pure excitement.

Love you!

Also my p day is thursday!
Also, my rama is 5 and district E

Hermana thomas