Jonathan's Mozambique Mission 2017-2019: The Office: Elephants, Giraffes and Beaches oh my

The mission has been a dream lately and it seems to just get better and better every week. To start, on Saturday we were having a normal day, we taught a lesson to Emanuel and Ines, Iren and Ben who hopefully will be baptized on the 25 of this month, and then we were going home. Right now we are living with the AP's (Elder Cordy and Flitton) and so we got back, showered and everything and we got into bed and then ... the phone call. A missionary that was supposed to get here on Sunday magically showed up and president told us to get there as fast as we could because we didn't have any way to contact him. So we throw our clothes on, jump in the car and we go to the airport.... but get this, HE WASN'T THERE. At this point we were super confused so we asked some workers about him and they said that he was standing at the curb when a small mozambican showed up and he took the new missionary with him in a taxi....... Wow, I don't know if I have ever been that scared on my mission because we were the only ones from the church that knew he had gotten there. So we ran around the city trying to find him and after about an hour or two we finally found him at one of the chapels with the small dude that took him away. Man that was a crazy night.

Then the next day we went with president to a place called Zimpeto as they were opening a new chapel there. That was also an experience but it is a pretty nice little chapel and the sacramental service was also awesome.

Then on Monday..... hahaha I think it had to be my favorite P-day of all time, Presidente invited us to spend a p-day with him and Sister Senna and the first counselor of the Mission. We woke up super early and started our long car ride of 3 hours to the other side of the bay that Maputo sits on in order to go to what is called "the Elephant Park" which is pretty much a safari. We drove around all day seeing all types of animals and we finished at the ocean on one of the prettiest beaches I have ever been on. Many pictures were taken and I will send some of them.

Then yesterday we had a meeting with the new Elder and the new Sister that recently got here about the mission and all. We finished off the week with an amazing lesson with Esélio. We taught about Saul and Alma the younger as Esélio expressed doubts about the reality of repentance for a sinner like him. Wow, the spirit was incredibly strong and the lesson could not have gone more smoothly. We all ended up in tears and we ended with a baptismal date for the 1st of September.

I testify of the reality of Repentance and the difference that it makes in our lives. As stated in Mosiah 27:25,26 "E o Senhor disse-me: Não te admires de que toda a humanidade, sim, homens e mulheres, toda nação, tribl e líingua e povo tenham de nascer de novo; SIM, NASDER DE DEUS, SEREM MUDADOS DE SEU ESTADO CARNAL E DECAÍDO para um estado de retidão, sendo redimidos por Deus, tornando-se seus filhos e filhas. E tornam-se, assim, novas criaturas; e a menos que façam isto, não poderão de modo algum herday o reino de Deus." (Translation: And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.)

I know that there is always a way back to the loving arms of our father and creator. He may not always be happy with the decisions we make but that never will change the fact that he will always extend his arms beckoning us to come home while putting in our path all the steps we need to finally achieve his end goal of eternal salvation and joy for all man-kind. I love this work and the people I serve. Hope you all have a great week.

-Love Elder Thornton

Awesome Sunrise or Sunset