You Keep on Walking

Hey all!!!

This week.... went!! and i improved. my panic attacks are fewer and farther in between and i was able to work a lot more. we even had an investigator in church!!! his name is luis. he is really awesome and trying so hard to learn as much as he can.

so today SUCKED hahahahahaha so viste que [you see] i dont really know my way around all of paraguay and with this obra de teatro [theater performance] they have been asking me to travel to a lot of different churches and people are giving me directions like "uh get off the collectivo [taxi] 3 cuadras [blocks] past the mango tree" just doesn't really cut it sometimes. so today i had to find my way to this capilla [church] and it took us like 2 and a half hours and then i had to make my way to the offices.

AND NOW IS WHERE THE REAL ADVENTURE STARTS

i am leaving the offices and im like "fetch i have been to the offices a million times i know where to get on the colectivo [taxi] its just kind of a long walk" so i confidently start leading my companion to the bus stop just like the smarty pants i am and we walk about 10 blocks and i start thinking "this doesn't look familiar" and then start the tears and the ahhh what do i do. so i sit down and i call my district leader to make sure i was almost there and he goes "you turned left when you left the offices, right?"

uh. no.

SO I STARTED CRYING LOTS CUZ WE HAD WALKED FOR SO LONG AND IT WAS SO HOT AND MY WHOLE P DAY WAS OVER AND THE LIFE OF HERMANA THOMAS IS JUST SO HARD OKAY.

but then as we are walking the seemingly long blocks back to where we needed to be, a voice comes into my head, the voice of Jeffrey r holland, with an image of him walking down a long dirt road to find help for his young family. and i heard his voice say "dont you quit. you keep on walking. dont you quit."

Recently on my division with an hermana leader, i learned that jeffrey r holland also struggled with anxiety and depression. i have never felt more confidence than to hear his voice entering my head telling me that i can keep going. and he wasn't just talking about the long blocks to the bus stop, but he was telling me to keep going. to keep fighting the hard times.

So i testify to all of you now, to NOT QUIT. don't you quit. you keep on walking.

with that, this week was better. it wasn't good, it wasn't perfect, but it was better. And God is there.

Spread some Christmas cheer and play in the snow. i love you all so much!!

hermana thomas

Line Upon Line

Hey everyone,

Things are going here in Paraguay. with everything going on with my anxiety, we haven't been able to work a ton, but we have spent lots of time with very loving and patient members and missionaries.

Things are improving little by little! One member told me that I need to stop asking why this is happening to me, but ask for what purpose this is happening to me. So thats what i am doing!! and i may not get my answer soon, but i know i will soon, because God ALWAYS pulls through.

God keeps putting people in my path to help me, and is giving me small opportunities to serve. i am grateful for my talent with music, because singing NEVER stresses me out.

I love you all, and thank you for your prayers!!!

Hermana Thomas

Hey All

hey everyone!!

bad news my camera is broken again so no cute pictures.

things are going well in laurelty!!! we have some cute investigators and i have taught a lot these past two weeks!! now we just ogtta get these people to church ahahahaha!!!

i want to get a little personal for a minute. during my whole mission, i have struggled with anxiety and a little bit of depression. i mean who wouldnt amiright its STRESSFUL and its HARD. hahahahaha. But you guys, God is real. we dont always know his plan for us, and sometimes he only lights one footstep ahead of us, but we keep holding to that rod and pressing forward. i want to testify that this church is true, and that the atonement is real. no matter how far down you feel, Christs hand will reach down low enough to you, all you have to do is reach up and grab it. So, as I keep going here day by day, i just try and grab his hand and let him guide me.

I am not sure whats going to happen tomorrow, or the next day or the next day, but God is lighting the way for me one step at a time, and I am going to trust that for now.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but Today is a gift from God. my dad told me that and I am not really sure who orignally said it so we are just gonna say my dad is super wise.

i am grateful for a very loving and supporting family who has always got my back, as well as members and missionaries who help me out every day!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!
HERMANA THOMAS

New Companion

HOLA!!

yes i am still in paraguay but i am now serving in a much more asian culture!!! lol!! my cute new companion is from the PHILLIPINES!! i love her so much you guys!!! hahaha my subject line is because she moved everything around in the apartment and i asked her if she believed in feng shui and she was like "what, no, thats chinese people, i just thought the oven made more sense over here." lol so thats how cultured i am. good thing it makes her laugh lol.

this week was really hard and really good. a sweet moment for every bitter. after being constrained the house for about 2 weeks i realized that we kind of didnt have many people to see with my new companion. she was very patient and loving as we contacted and i cried and then we contacted more and i cried lol. BUT THINGS ARE COMING BACK TOGETHER POR SUERTE [luckily]. god always always always pulls through if we put our trust in him.

we were supposed to have a capilla abierta [open house] this weekend and then it rained a foooooool!!! so they canceled it. but we are gonna try again this weekend. but we got to clean the font for a little talk thing they do about baptism!!

our ward is so cute!!! at noche de barrio they had my comp take a penalty shot because she has never played soccer before and everyone was cheering her on and it was so cute i had ganas [the urge] to cry, en serio [seriously].

things are going uphill always. God only wants to bless, and when he doesnt its because hes going to soon. I promise.

i testify that Jesus Christ is my savior, and in my time here on earth i want to do what he would do if he were here. do my best to focus on what i have to give, not what i have yet to receive. its fetching hard but its really cool when i can do it hahaha.

remember no matter how low you are, how far you have gone, God STILL loves you. your worth does not depend on your circumstances or choices. you are always worth so much, and dont forget it!!!

i love you all SO MUCH!!!!!!!

HERMANA THOMAS

A Healthy Companion in Time for Transfers

Hey yall!!!
Good news!! Hermana Dewitt is feeling MUCH better. i am very very happy!! but now that we are back in the groove of things, i will be getting a new companion here in laurelty tomorrow!! everyone start praying for her that she can handle me, you all of all people should know just how tough that is, ahahaha.

GUESS WHAT! i get to play Mary in savior of the world. i just found out today that i will be performing that with a few other missionaries at a bunch of church open houses in paraguay during december!! so that will be so awesome!! this december we have a goal for 100 baptisms in our mission though and they made it very clear to me that this isnt a chance to slack off in the work, but to work twice as hard to do something else extra and cool.

i am sad to say bye to hermana dewitt, but excited to hear about her new adventures. everyone in this area is going to miss her so much, and me most of all. but i am excited for her.

i testify that God lives and that this is His church. there is no doubt in my mind. "hes calling your name, hes waiting for you, with arms open wide, come unto christ."

my fav investigator right now is Yanina! she is an angel. and she is SO SMART!! we are very similar and love to talk. wish we could speak in english or that i knew spanish better because we could talk for hours!! she is loving everything about our church because she says she feels something undescribable when we talk to her and that everything we say makes sense. thats because the spirit and because this church is TRUE!!

alsoooo avalos is doing well still but their grandma is sick and struggling, so the boys couldnt come to church. we are hoping to get more of their family members at our church open house this weekend. there is lots of potential in the area and things are coming!!

keep the prayers up. love you all.

a few pictures so yall dont forget what i look like

Living on a Million Prayers

Hey all,

wow. i am so tired. and grateful!! but mostly tired. seeing and singing for the prophet today was incredible, it really was and we are so grateful!!!!!!!!!! i am so certain he is the prophet of God.

this week my companion passed out. thursday night, we were in a family home evening and she started to feel woozy so i called a member to come pick us up, by the time they got there, she was really bad and she passed out. it was insane, i cant even put into words how exhausted i am and how insane this week has been, but God is real and he helps us.

we were able to get her to the hospital thursday night and to a better hospital friday morning. we stayed in the hospital until saturday night. they arent positive still what happened to her, and she is still struggling and has to sleep all the time and eat all the time and all the things, but we are figuring things out. we are going to second doctor tomorrow morning, and are hopeful they will be able to tell us more. plus we have the blessing and help of a prophet which is amazing.

shout out to all you mothers out there, especially my own. taking care of another person is a lot of pressure and i am exhausted and it has been less than a week. but i feel the strength of your prayers and the prayers of everyone all around the world. KEEP EM COMING!!

the work is going and we do a little where we can, but God is taking care of it for now.

i love you all, thanks for your support!!!

hermana thomas

Life in Laurelty

Hola todos,

First i have to apologize for like half my email last week being in Spanish. hahaha i just wanted my grandparents to understand really well, but it wasn't great Spanish anyway so they may not have even gotten it! lol

familia avalos is doing well. josias and alexander are 11 years old and 8 years old and they are progressing the most!!! they are awesome.

we found a new this week of an inactive returned missionarys girlfriend, he saw us and was super excited and started saying all of the english missionary words he had learned on his mission. he then told us he wants to marry his girlfriend before his birthday and he wants to help her get baptized on the same day so that they can raise their family in the church. they are REALLY awesome!!

the prophet comes next monday!!! yay!!! everyone is excited and nervous. so cool that he is going to speak to the people of pàraguay. general conference is awesome, but honestly watching it here with paraguayan people made me realize just how white everyone is in utah. lol!! our investigators were very confused as to what they were watching. we explained the best we could, but it was still pretty funny and foreign to them. so the fact that the prophet is going to specifically talk to these people will be REALLY awesome!!

remember you are loved and wanted. i bore my testimony yesterday, and i talked about basically how tired i am, and how tired we all are. lol!! life can be exhausting and sometimes we feel we are asked to sacrifice a lot. but when we think in the atonement and our savior, who made the ultimate sacrifice, our burdens can be made much lighter. going to bed early helps too!! hahahaha

i love you all. thank you for your prayers and love. there is life and work in this area now and i am so happy. Love you all!!!

hermana thomas

LOOK MOM!! i asked my comp to take a pic of me cooking. well, my exact words were "take a pic of me moving this meat around with a spatula."

my cute bff angela. she calls us and asks to hangout almost every day. we only take her up on it every other day. hahahaha!

Josias and alexander their first sunday at normal church!

super fancy breakfast place!!! i felt like a queen!!!!