Teaching The Unlearned

So this week we have been working really really hard. We were able to break all of our goals, and we taught some lessons that were really powerful. We taught one to a really cool family, Juan and Maria. They can´t read, so we were nervous that they weren´t going to understand. We taught lesson one and when we were about to teach apostasy, my comp came up with this whole idea about agriculture and leadership, and applied it to authority and the apostasy. The guy understood really well, and the Spirit was super strong. One of the best lessons of all time. Super cool.

 

Sorry for the lack of time, but there have been some crazy tech. difficulties today. n

Next week I hope I can send you all the recording and some pics. I´ve not really taken any, but you should get to see Karina´s baptism. Love her so much. Her and her fam´s lives have changed so much! You can really see the change in her eyes, and feel the difference in her home. I´m always just so happy when I see her. She gave us tons and tons of references and was teaching lessons with us this week. She´s a great missionary!!! We just tell her to bear her testimony and she looks at the people and tells them, "I really can´t tell you how great this gospel is. It´s been the only thing to bring real change to me and my family. I can really feel the difference. I´m a different person. just try it out. Listen to the missionaries." I think she´s my favorite convert, if I´m aloud to have those... haha.

I love and miss you all!

Elder Kent Thalman

The Invisible Hand and the Spirit of Promise

Well, this week has been really awesome. We baptized Karina Sat!!! and we had 50 people in the room. Incredible! And a lot of investigators too. She´s an awesome member already, and I can see the change in her eyes. This Gospel truly changes people. I love it so much. There´s pretty much no better feeling than seeing the Spirit of the Lord truly enter into the life of another person and change their world. She´s so at peace and happy. I love it. I will never leave behind a single convert here. I love them all so much. I´ve even come to love some of the recent converts that were baptized before I even got here. Love them all!

So, I hope the title doesn´t sound like a science fiction thing. Haha. this week, we realized that there are some things here that we can do to improve the work. We´re pretty much out of good investigators and now we´re looking for more. Some are progressing well, but for the most part, we feel like we can do better. It hit us that we need to put the focus way heavier on FAMILIES. That´s where the gospel needs to take effect. We made a goal to get families, and the left. Everything....like EVERYTHING yesterday fell through. I looked at my comp and said, "mk, let´s get a new family." We went to visit Karina, and she gave us three families to go contact with recent babies. She´s awesome!!! Then we left. I saw a young guy, and the first thing that came to my mind was the word "priesthood!" haha. I contacted him, and he was really cool. We walked with him to his house and now we are teaching a new family! the Hand of God is truly moving this work. The Spirit of God inspires. I love this. Love it all!

I love this mission as always. Can´t believe now it´s a third gone! NOOO! I found out that they already opened my last area. I´m so grateful. I´m still writing some people there, and I hope it keeps growing. They put Sisters! Way better...

Os amo mucho,

Elder Kent Thaman

I have no Title Ideas!!!

So this week was so totally awesome, and I feel bad for not having come up with a title...

I just got back from the ruins in Copán!  they were totally awesome.  My camera was full, so all the pics are on my comp´s camera.  we´ll see if I can get them up.  His camera is fun.  Honestly, Honduras can be really loud and crazy sometimes.  But there in the ruins, there were hardly no people, and it was so quite.  there was one point where the others separated, and it was just me and my comp in a big green court yard surrounded by green and pyramids.  It was amazing.  I just was overcome with the Spirit.  I don´t know why it was such a great experience for me, but I was just blown away at how beautiful it all was.  I will be taking my family there after the mission, no questions asked.

So, this weekend... we baptized and confirmed four!  Norma and her three boys!  They are the best.  Really solid converts.  Also, Karina is totally ready for this Sat.  She is possibly one of my favorite people in the world.  her whole family is great.  Her 12 year old Jafet is way cool.  Smartest kid I´ve ever met.  We went and built an adobe house with him on Friday.  He´s totally going to serve a mission.  He was so excited to hear that his mom is getting baptized!  I love this area.  I love this people.  Love this mission.

I don´t even know what else to write.  I´ll post some pics and ... a voice recording!  I had that idea and thought it was great!  haha. (these will come in a later post)

I know that Christ came to these lands.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  I´m fulfilling the promises made to prophets of old.  I can´t even believe my life right now, but I love and miss you all.

Elder Kent Thalman

Amazing... That´s all I can Say

So, we´ve been having a really cool week, all topped off by a really neat Pday.  Dat´s right, just used the word neat!

We had been having problems setting a date for baptism for this lady and her four boys... mostly bc of the 16 year old boy.  He was just being sort of lazy about baptism... We had no idea what to do.  We finally got him alone and talked.  He had literally no desires at all.  Pretty weathy and said he´d never had any need for anything in his life.  Never had a trial.  Ugh.  So we spoke pretty blunt to him.  Tried to inspire him.  Tried everything.  In the end I just thought, "this kid just won´t give place in his heart for this stuff."  We knew he could holdup the whole fam in the end.  I thought "just have him read Alma 32"... and in the end he actually read it!  I couldn´t believe it cuz he said the Book of Mormon was too boring. haha.

We talked to him and he said that he knew he was ready for baptism but didn´t feel it yet.  When he read Alma 32, he said he realized that if he didn´t get baptized, it would just be a matter of time his his seed (tree) would die.  Awesome!  So that wasn´t what I was shooting for, but I guess what Elder Bednar said was true.  If you´re living righteously every thought is a Spiritual Prompting.  Love it!  So they are all getting baptized this Saturday!!!

Today I bought a sick Ranaldo jersy.  Real Madrid.  thats what´s up.

clearly i like jumping... and that last one is my dist leader.  haha.  Elder Shirley.  Totally awesome.  Here´s one with him and my comp and I.  elder Anderson.
I´m also in the one with the big pyramid.  I´m just really small.  haha.

This last one is my last comp and I and Melissa.  she got baptized the Saturday after they closed the area.  she´s really awesome. I called her last monday and verified.  She was really happy.  Love her to death.  Kinda funny.

I love this area. love my comp Elder Anderson. love this mission!!!



Love,

Elder Kent Thalman