BAPTISM

 

FINALLY! We were able to baptize Cristian Saturday, he was confirmed yesterday. It was awesome. I got to do the baptism, even though we were trying to get a member to do it. Next time maybe.

After the baptism, Cristian and I were changing and I asked him, "how do you feel?" Almost shouting and laughing simotaneously he repsonded, "FELIZ!" haha. I loved it. I didn´t notice, but my comp told me that he had never taken the sacrament before because he was always afraid for some reason. After being confirmed, he took it for the first time, and just looked happy. So excited to take it. I don´t get this kid. He´s just now going to turn 13 and he is so cool. He´s going to be made a deacon next Sunday and then I´m never going to pass the Sacrament again while I am here if I can help it. Now we have three, and a priest, and they are all active. We baptized most of them. SO COOL! I love being a missionary!

Some cool stories.

We went to a sister named Lorena who has lots of health issues and can´t walk. She´s really young too. But her faith just never ceases to blow us away. She told us that she knew that Christmas Eve was going to be rediculous with all the music and stuff that always goes on here, so she prayed the night before for the power to go out. Then the power went out immediately. She said, "No God, not now. Tomorrow." The power came right back on. The next night, the power went out exactly at midnight and stayed out for several hours.

I can testify personally to both of those, because I remember where we were when the power went off and came right back on, as well as when it went out at midnight. How Cool!

We´re teaching quite a few potential Aaronic Priesthood holders, and they are our new best friends. They are going to be hard to get to church, but they are really receptive.

The first lesson we taught them was powerful powerful powerful. One is named Edwin, and he told us that before, he was athiest, and since he started talking to us he feels differently. Now we´re reading the Book of Mormon, and he read a lot on his own. If he gets baptized, he will bring a ton of his friends to the church. We can see it. He has a lot of influence over them and is really popular. He´s about 17 and would be the great missionary!

I love this work! I love the Lord, and know that He is watching over this great work. I love you all and miss you all less and less. But my love is growing for you and for everyone I know more and more. I hope you can all say the same. Let us not be sad for the unity we have in purpose!

Love,

Elder Thalman

TESTIMONY

 

This week was awesome! We have been working like crazy, and seeing some long awaited changes in this work. We got our future deacon to chruch on Sunday... which means we finally are going to baptize this weekend! We also set two other dates for the next weekend. Here we go. They dynasty begins!

So you may be wondering if I got a change... I did NOT! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love Florida. Elder Young is still my companion. I will be here for about six and a half months now because of this transfer being long. I am excited to spend Christmas here, and to prepare the area so that I leave it with lots of baptisms and others on the way for the new guy. It truly is a merry Christmas!

So Cristian is all set and ready to go. He is so cool. In his prayer, we asked him to ask if the Book of Mormon is true. The next day, he said he knew it was true, and in his prayer to end the lesson he said, "thank you for telling me that the Book of Mormon is true." How cool! I love the faith of youth. They are the best.

The other two are named Luis and Alexander. 14 and 15. They are brothers, and live super far away. We did anther movie night in a members home, and this time 8 investigators came! Many were invites of the family. But the best was that Luis came. The next day, he and his brother were in church. We gave them a stack of panflets to read durring the week, and then we are going to teach them Sat and Sun. Haha.

Okay, so the story of the week happened yesterday. Solomon, the son of the branch pres, is a single adult and friend of Luis and Alexander. We taught them the restoration after church yesterday and it went really well. But the best part was Solomon. I asked him to explain how he got a testimony, and then bear it. He explained that when he was younger, as a teen, he doubted, and wanted to know the truth about the church and all that stuff. He prayed and said the first thing that he felt was feeling of peace, that he was in the right path in his life. Then he said he got the desire to read the scriptures, and went on to explain certain scriptures that effected him greatly. Then he just bore his testimony. "I know that the chruch is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know that this is Christs chruch and that this is where he wants me to be."

This may sound unremarkable, and I do not know what the two boys felt, but when this young man said that, I just got cold chills all over. Then I just felt a great warmth, and I knew that he knew that this truly is Christs church. His testimony is real. He knows it, and I could feel. I have never experienced anything like that with someone elses testimony before. Now I just want him, more than anything, to on a mission. He is so meek, and humble. Quite, but not shy or incapable. I just want him to share that testimony with everyone in the world.

I love this work. I love this area. I love the Lord. I hope that when I bear my testimony, that others can feel what I felt. I, by no worthiness on my part, know, by power of the Spirit, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I know that He called Joseph Smith to be a prophet, and that this church today, is true. It is the same chruch established by Christ in His mortal ministry. May you all seek to know that same this Christmas season, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

So there is the blog. I do not like contractions because I cannot use the apostaphy function on this keyboard. haha.

 

Love,

Elder Kenter Thalman

Let No Man Dispise thy Youth.

This week was super excellent. We really have finally started to figure out how to get good work done together. Elder Young is the best. So here´s what happened.

We, on Thurs, found a young man, the son of two investigators that seemed so so... that night we just stopped by to invite them to an activity, and they couldn´t come. However, the young 12 year old boy named Cristian decided to come, and he did so very willingly. We got there a little early, so we taught him a lesson next to the baptismal font. We challenged him and set a date with him right then and there. He accepted, and then we took him home. Then we went back and taught the Restoration on Saturday, and he came to church on Sunday. He´s awesome!!! He was with my companion while they were trying to get other people to come to church, and was really surprised as to why no one seemed to want to come. "That one neither?!" He would say. While we were trying to fight depression, like usual on Sunday mornings, it was funny to see his innocent reaction in retrospect. He´s already read the intro and all the testimonies in the Book of Mormon, and his parents seem cool with him going to church. They own a bar, but they don´t drink and seem like good folks. Surprising to see just how spiritually receptive he really is.

Side note... super weird, but the day after, we found another kid, 13 years old, named Cristian. Really receptive. The day after, we found TWO! One was 14 and the other 10. They were both so so, but still. We were really weirded out. When we met the fourth one, we asked his name. When he responded, I just looked at my comp and he said, "that just happen!" haha.

The other really cool part was that we started teaching Jasmín again, who I believe I mentioned several weeks ago. I loved teaching her, but we had to drop her because her husband wasn´t cool with letting her go to church. This time, she specifically asked us to return, so we did. Then she just determined to go to church, and she did!!! I was excited. I knew she would. She said it with a lot of faith. It´s cool because I could tell that she could feel the Spirit. I asked her Saturday, "why do you listen to us? Why did you want us to come back?" She responded, "I just want peace in my life and in my home. I want to change." She felt the Spirit, and she felt it leave with us. Now she wants it for good. She´s really cool, and we´re going to fast with her so that her husband lets her progress and all (including getting married). I can see that she has a lot of faith, and I know that God will open the way for her.

My companion and I started a new thing, following the advice from a multi zone conference we had on Wednesday. The general idea was from the conf, but the activity and the details were inspired. We went and shared 3 Nefi 11 with a member and bore our testimonies about the BOM. Then we talked about how we can share this heritage of how Christ came to this continent with other people. We set a date for a movie night (the Testaments) and the went with her on Sunday to invite tons of peeps (all her neighbors) to the activity.  Yesterday we left to invite with Pancha (short for Fransisca), and she is soooo coool!!! haha. We´ve always loved her, but yesterday was just hilarious. We would just walk up to a door, and she didn´t even knock. Just walked in and told them all, "we´re showing a movie about Jesus on Saturday in my house. 6 O´clock. Be there." and then she´d leave. We love her! I did have to tell her, "next time, please at least try and introduce us to them before we leave." She´s way cool, but the only problem is that she knows EVERYONE. We were going to just invite a few select people, but she just went from door to door and invited the whole street. the whole block! She´s so funny. Sometimes she just makes us bust out laughing.

So this work is pretty much the best ever. I love this mission. We went running this morning on the new high way, and my comp had to ask a guy to use his bathroom. I thought it was funny. Gotta love Honduras.

I know that Jesus Christ is directing this work. I feel Him changing and qualifying me. It´s exciting the more and more I feel the Spirit directing me in what to do and say. It just doesn´t get old. It´s the most exciting, most rewarding thing ever. I love my Savior and feel so blessed to be part of His work. I love these people. Sometimes they really try my patience, but I don´t want to leave them. haha.

I love you all, and always pray for you.

Os Quiero demasiado,

Elder Kent Thaman