Some crazy stuff went down this week so I'll start with the first thing and also least important, I got a little sick. I caught pneumonia, no clue how, but yeah that happened hahaha. Super legit, but of course that didn't stop me!!! hahaha i stayed inside a few days and then we had to get back to work.
So we worked and worked and we have been meeting and teaching some incredible people. They are having difficulties making it to church. Then for my birthday we had our Mission Tour with Elder Sitati. Wow, I learned so much. We had a leadership meeting where he taught us to be spiritual therapists, using more questions and love to help direct their answers so that they can create their own desire to change and know more. So we had this amazing mission tour and I don't know why but after I was feeling incredibly overcome with how pathetic I seemingly was as a missionary.
Meanwhile we got a text from someone we are teaching that there was a serious problem that we needed to know about, so we went to visit her. When we got there, Elder Van Orden said that he didn't feel that we should be there, so we left. As we were standing in the road he said he felt that we should try and teach this other person that him and another missionary had met a long time ago. I was trying to get over myself and just work so I cheerfully said Oh yeah lets go! and we went walking. On the way someone from behind yelled out ELDER! and came running to us. This big man with a super kind voice came up and started talking to us about how he hadn't been visited for a long time and everything. We asked to go to his house and he accepted.
Some background is that this man works construction and works a ton on sunday, he hadn't ever gone to church but has a lot of faith in Jesus Christ. So we got there and we started asking questions, and it was incredible how the lesson flowed. We asked questions and his answers led directly to something that we had felt he needed to know. We ended up sharing 3 nefi 18 with him about the sacrament and its importance with him and then his wife got there. We shared the scripture again and we tried to apply every single thing we had learned in the mission tour in this lesson. And in the end when we invited them to come to church they started planning of all the different ways that they both could get work off for 1 hour in order come to church. Then they started asking more and more about the book of mormon. They had an incredible desire to know more. And then we talked about eternal life as a family. I pulled out a picture of my family and turned to them and told them that I want to have eternal life so that I can have an eternal family, so that I can be together with those that I love forever. They both agreed that they want the same.
I know that as we follow the instructions of our leaders in the church and try to become better we will find the peace and happiness we want. After that lesson I felt so light, invigorated and excited to continue and help people the best I can for the rest of my time here in Africa. I know it's all true. I want to live forever with those I love more than anything else in this world. I hope that everyone can come to catch the vision and understand the magnitude of this promise that God has given us "if ye keep my commandments, ye shall have eternal life." Until next week.
-Elder Thornton
P.S. oh yeah and it was my birthday hahaha fetch almost forgot I'M 20 ahhahaha who woulda guessed that I would have made it this far? hahah
Jonny with another Elder
Elder Van Orden, Jonny and Elder McCormick
Elder Van Orden, Jonny and Elder Rocha
Jonny's 20th Birthday!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment