So, here we go. first full week.

Elders Polindo and Thalman

Apartment in Olanchito

On Tues we had a multi zone conference with Elder Martino of the 70. It was pretty intense. But i felt the Spirit and loved what I learned. I´m learning every day... i don´t really know where to start to be honest.

We didn´t have a ton of time this week to work because we had to travel to so many conferences and meetings and stuff. Tons of bus time. I´ve seen Elder Skousen it seems like every other day, which is cool. I didn´t expect that to happen honestly. I´ll probably see him today cuz it´s p-day and we play soccer with some local kids.

Elder Polendo and I have been getting along just great, and we´re trying to lift the area. I think that if we really get things moving this week (which we will) we will start seeing a rediculous amout of baptisms. I can already tell, this place is white and ripe. Olanchito is a great place, and i love the people.

My Mom asked me if i think Cano only laughs all the time bc of my Spanish. haha. No, he´s laughing even when I´m not talking. And everyone says my accent is super good. Sometimes that stinks, bc i´ll get past hello and some small talk, and they think i´m a native speaker... then i totally loose track of them because they take off. haha.

I´m learning just fine, and i´ve come to some realizations. Yesterday i decided that I´m going to talk a lot more. For those of you who know me well I´m sure you´re all thinking that´s not possible. But I actually kinda shut up my first few days here cuz i had no idea what was happening. but i´ve figured out that when i initiate conversation, i can figure out a lot more. plus, Preach My Gospel says that there is no substitute for speaking with the natives. So that´s what I´ve done the last couple days, and it makes a world of difference. It´s pretty fun.

I don´t feel like I can here an accent anymore. just sounds like they're talking to me like anyone else. that´s the way Spanish is supposed to sound. When they speak to me in English, that´s when i hear the accent.... cuz that´s not how English is supposed to sound. haha.

All the young kids here want me to teach them English, and it seems like quite the comodity. haha.

Sat morning we only had like two hours before traveling the rest of the day for a meeting. We went to a new sector and taught two families with return visits for both! So that´s 10 new investigators!!! In only two hours. It was pretty cool. But I´m more excited about our find last night.

Anna (Cano´s daughter who lives below us) ran up to us from the house saying she had a contact for us. A new family moved in literally two door from our apartment, and they aparently were talking to Anna about how they were looking for a church to attend. They aren´t afiliated with a church currently, and they looking. THAT NEVER HAPPENS. Usually we find goldens here in Honduras, but EVERYONE has a religion already. It was crazy. The dad seemed super receptive, and they are a family of four. I think that my first baptism in Honduras could be a family, which would be perfect. I´m more excited about them than all the rest of our current investigators. I don´t know why. I really felt the Spirit strong when we just contacted their door for like five min last night. So cool.

So, hopefully more exciting news next week. I hope that this update was good for everyone and it answered a mojority of questions. I love and miss you all. I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ is our Savior!

Les amo, Elder Thalman

First letter in the field.

Editors note: From here on out Kent's letters will be as he writes them so that we can see the progress he receives from his experience.

All the new missionaries at the Mission home.

HOLA!



i am finally in the field! This is super anoying because this Español computer says that i´m spelling everything wrong. haha. i am doing great and i totally love it here. it is so cool! the food is really good and cheap. we live with a family. Familia Cano. I really love them both. Cano is a total hoot and is always laughing it seems. his wife, Cristi, is wonderful. she is our cook. we pay her monthly for lunch and dinner. it´s not hard to get clean water bc the sell big jugs of water on a truck that is safe. you just buy a few of those every week (the big blue jugs, ya know?).

i really love all the people here. so you know, the luggage was all fine. everything was smooth and easy. don´t worry about it. it seems like it can be pretty dangerous here if your stupid, but the missionaries are totally fine. we´re really protected here.


the members are pretty awesome, but sometimes i get the impression that they a bit impatient with my spanish. i actually can´t hardly understand anything here. they speak unbelievably fast and slurred. so this could take some time, but i am learning. after several minutes of picking our words with a particular person, i can make out there accent. after that, it´s like 20 percent understanding bc the vocab here is nuts. at first, i was just learning the most common word for everything. like perro is dog. but there are like ten for everything. so i can say a lot more than i can understand. i can teach lessons, then someone asks a quetion, and i have to look at my comp. who does pretty much all of the teaching anyway. haha. it´s tough but i will learn quickly i think. i actually learning more about how to learn spanish right now than actually learning it. it´s interesting, but i do love this language.


My comp´s name is Elder Polendo from Chihuahau Mexico. He´s awesome. We´re pretty much the youngest companionship in the mission. he has only four months in the field, about the same as Paul. and we´re in one of if not the hardest area. but it´s awesome, and i can tell that i am going to miss it a ton when i do finally get transfered. our apartment is really nice and we take good care of it. We stayed with another companionship one night in a tiny shack like house while we were traveling to our area. it was horrible. really really filthy. no matter what, i am going to take care of my place. i´m glad my comp works hard and is clean.


Eld. Polendo doesn´t really speak any english, so i haven´t talked a whole lot the last few days. but i´m learning to just fearlessly (seemingly) just jump into to stuff and start talking. very hard, but it´s a great way to learn.


obviously, today is my p-day (monday) so those of you who can email me, keep that in mind. Also, i only get dearelders and letter once every 4-6 weeks. 4 for dearelders and 6 for letters i think. so sorry if i can´t respond to you fast. PLEASE STILL SEND THEM. i will respond. :) That was hard to type. this keyboard is weird.


I wish i had more spiritual experiences to share about some great lessons, but to be honest i don´t know what´s going on durring the whole thing. haha. we do teach a lot though. maybe this week i will talk more and hopefully understand well enough to give a response. Sometimes i get funny looks. :)


Well, i hope this was interesting enough that you will read again next week. just have faith please that i will progress, and all prayers are apreciated. it is a little bit easy to get down when you don´t hear your native tongue for a week straight and you can´t understand anything. but all is well. i´m learning and i have wonderful friends. i do feel the spirit still, and am anxious to fully engage myself in this work!


i know that i can learn spanish because, like Nephi, in know that there is no commandment given without a way to accomplish it given by God. This is honestly the hardest thing I´ve ever done. I think that God knew that I had great desires to just start teaching and that I wasn´t going to be home sick (cuz honestly, i´m really not). So he gave me the next worst challenge, which is complete obliviousness. haha. i know that my life will be forever blessed as i grow and learn this language. hopefully, until then, I can find ways to help the work move forward without using words, bc those usually fail me. haha. This is the Lord´s work, and if i could be anywhere in the world right now, it would be HERE. i can´t even image being anywhere else. i love it here.


thank you for all your support.


les amo,

elder kent thalman

Pure Love of Christ

So this has been a very intense last week. Only a few more days until we head off to the field!!! I'm beyond excited. I love it here, but I'm ready to go.

As far as incredible events, you've probably learned by now that life at the MTC is super repetative. But it's also awesome. So my point is that the only really different things to write about are specific talks at firesides and devotionals, as well as personal things that I have learned. So here we go.
This is the last update ever from Provo. Next will be HONDURAS!

On Sunday our fireside was by President Myers. He and his wife were incredible! I really loved their messages. Pres Myers talked on "what do you want to be remembered for." This was obviously refering to our missions. He had people come to the mics and answer. When one missionary said "bold" he related the following story.
When he was on his mission he at one point was serving with a companion who received the impression that he wanted to go back to an old area of his to teach a past investigator whom had never accepted the gospel. He shrugged off this suggestion at first. Then the companion persisted, so they talked to the mission president. He told them to do it so they left.
Then Elder Myers was told that this man was very sensitive and that you had to careful about what you said around him. He had aparently been taking the discussions for a very very long time. When they got to the home, there was already a pair of missioaries there whom were clearly upset for the interuption. After having sat down, young Elder Myers describes what he felt as being overcome by the Spirit and simply speaking the words, "Brother _____, we're here to ask you to be baptized either today or tomorrow."
The wife (a member) was shocked. The missionaries were shaking their heads in complete disappointment. He looked into this brother's eyes, whom after a short pause said, "alright, I'll do it."
Then President Myers asked this missionary at the fireside what he was going to give up to be a bold missionary. I don't remember his response. Pres. Myers replied, "you will have to give up everything to be able to receive the Spirit."

Another missionary said they wanted to be remembered as "loving." This was probably the top one on my list, so I will share what transpired.
Elder Uchtdorf said, "God loves us so entirely because He has an infinte amount of charity and love." (That wasn't really a quote as much as a paraphrase. But I wish I remembered the source.)
The key to becoming loving is not about YOU becoming a loving person. It's about how to receive the gift from God, or rather, accept His perfect love that He is willing to impart. None of us can accept this without asking God in prayer for this. This has come back to me time and time again while here in the MTC.

Nearly every time I write my Branch President (we write him once a week) in the section that asks, "what Christlike attribute are you working on?" I respond, "well, I'm still working on charity because I don't think I've mastered it yet."
This week I've finally started to FEEL the result of weeks of study and prayer on how to receive this.
First, I've been praying nearly every single night to be able to obtain this gift.
Second, the Spirit has guided my study from time to time to chapters like Moroni 7, Ether 12, and this morning in the temple, John 15:1-11.
One important thing that I've learned is that you must be working on the preporatory attributes such as faith, hope, and grace. All of these must be asked for in order to be received.
Also, you must bring forth fruits worthy of reception; or in other words, actions. Over the last week, the same difficulties have come in lessons, learning the language, using time wisely, and most of all, dealing with and living with companions.

As I have tried to deal with these, I have noticed that the Spirit will promt my mind in a very subtle manner. Someone makes a snide remark. "Is this really worth defending, or should I just ignore it?" Another missionary comes under critism. "I actually have always loved that missionary, and I know he's trying his best." I feel anger toward a companion. "He's proabably feeling angry and wronged as well. How could I serve him to help him not feel this way."
SO SIMPLE. Nothing big. I have just noticed that even though these things still happen, I'm starting to recognize a more consistent love for the people around me, as well as those far away. Not my love, but rather the perfect love of a Father in Heaven, who loves and cares about each of us. It's so faint, but it's starting to grow. I can literally feel it. And this seed is starting to become "delicious to me." Sorry if that was hard to follow.

I want you all to know how much love I feel for you individually. I want you all to know how much I have felt the prayers and love from you. Please continue; your prayers are not lost on the ears of God.
I want you to know that I know we can receive charity; the pure love of Chist in our hearts if we but only ask for it. Ask every day. Study it. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I have received powerful witness of this in my life. Through His atonement I have received a consistent remission of sins. All mankind can receive likewise. This is why I am here.
I bid the United States a very fond farewell as I embark in the Service of my Lord.
I love you all more than I can express.
Les Amo, Elder Kent Thalman