Thanksg.....blaaogiaogij

Ohhhh what a week. We had Zone conference which was super good. We learned about how to better prepare people for baptism and what we can do to make the meetings a special experience. They talked a lot about our planning. How we need to learn to plan better so we can really invite the spirit.  Elder Swenson was visiting our mission so he was at the conference.  He is the doctor for Africa!!

Also featured this week: Thanksgiving. Hahahaha what a day. So I ate an apple in the morning. And then because the Assistants and President went to Beira for Conference, we became the intern Assistants and Secretary's, so we did a ton of little chores in the morning driving the new missionaries around (about 20 got here this week) and cleaning up after the conference. But as we were doing all this I was driving and feeling a very severe pain in my middle stomach (not that I have more than one but I felt that this was the most accurate way to make sure no one thinks I was having appendicitis) and I just about passed out. SOooooo we went home and I curled up in a ball and went to the bathroom periodically releasing all the fluids from my body until later that day I puked and... up came the apple!!! So that was Thanksgiving.

The next day I was super weak and we didn't get to leave the house much but now I'm all good and there were no serious problems with my health. I still like apples so there was no harm done.

Then yesterday I went on my last division with Elder Flitton. Man I love him. He has made such a big difference in my mission and I am so excited for the friendship we will have after the mission. It's possible that he goes home this transfer because of schooling and such so it was a bitter sweet day.

But I learned a lot about the importance of using the Scriptures and helping the people here understand and love the scriptures. I love ya'll and Merry Thanksgiving

-Love Elder Thornton

Maningue News Letter November 2018

Another one

Well, it seems that me and Elder Draney are staying together for another one here in Mahotas! I'm way excited and I have loved the last 6 weeks.

I want to take classes of Portuguese and Italian and maybe Spanish. Hahaha I'm learning Italian right now and it's been pretty fun and sto imparando molto in questi giorni;) di vero e molto facile perche sembra essere la stessa cosa dei portoghesi. (Italian: I'm learning a lot these days;) true and very easy because it seems to be the same thing as the Portuguese.) tambien espanol es la misma cosa entonces quiero hablar todos esses idiomas! (Spanish:  Also Spanish is the same thing so I want to speak all these languages)

It was a pretty crazy week but the highlight for sure was when we had a bake off between me and Elder Draney. I made a Brigadeiro carrot cake and he made an Oreo chocolate vanilla cake. We had a huge family night with about 7 people that we are teaching and another 9 or so members. It was amazing, except for the fact that I lost;) hahaha oh well, I know where my talents lie and cooking, just happens to the furthest thing from a talent for me hahaha. But yeah we had a lot of people at church, we will have lots of great people getting baptized and the work is great.

I have no time hoje (today) so I will just let you know that I ate some buttermilk syrup yesterday,.... I don't think that stuff was made for the human stomach. Love yall!

-Elder Thornton

We made it

Another transfer is about to come to an end, and another goal achieved. Hahaha we worked super hard this transfer to try and make our goal happen. I came here and we had a goal of three people baptized.... usually pretty reasonable, only thing is that we only had one person to be baptized. We baptize her in the first week and then nothing. But we had faith in the promise of the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 82 when it says that as we do what god asks he is obliged ( not sure what it says in english actually...) but you get the meaning. We worked, and worked and worked and out of nowhere we were able to get all the people that we needed.

This sunday we baptized Nando. He is an incredible young man that also took on the challenge of Profet Russel M. Nelson to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. He got to the baptism an hour early with a friend of his and they read the Book of Mormon together before the baptism. It's incredible the power that this book invites into our lives.

 Also, the sister that we invited to read the Book of Mormon again came to us yesterday and started telling us how different she is feeling about the reading of the Book of Mormon this time.  I told her that it's because she is following the profet.

I sent some pics, besides that, we also celebrated my birthday..... hahaha we made some awesome cake (obviously a cake mix provided by my mom.... haha i don't know how to bake) and some candles (also my mother). But yeah that was the week. A lot of walking, teaching and etc. We are working with a couple to try and help them get married this month. We will let you know how that goes! Love yall!

-Elder Thornton

City of Maputo

Egg we think

Jonny exercising

Jonny with his 20th birthday cake 2 months later:)

 Elder Draney, Jonny and Nando

District meeting pictures

Follow the Profet

This week I don't have a lot to say. it was a tough week with a lot of disappointment but that's part of life. The thing that I wanted to talk about is the invite that our Profet Russel M. Nelson nos deu (gives us). He asked us to start and finish the book of Mormon before the new year. We were sitting in a lesson with a member who was talking about the difficulties that she was having in her life and I felt strongly that I should challenge her to follow the profet and read the book of Mormon. She was going to institute, studying the bible but I felt like she needed the invite. When the words left my mouth, Elder Draney also had an impression, that we should all take the challenge and also challenge the people that we are teaching to do the same.

Back story, I started the book of mormon in June and I was reading at a steady pace, I got to Alma when the Profet gave us the challenge and I decided start over. I read to alma again in about two weeks and then Elder Draney challenged me to start again. welp... i started again and has been an incredible blessing in my life. I have never felt so strongly the spirit as I have reading the same scriptures, for the third time. It's the weirdest thing. Same stuff, but completely different experience.

 Anyways we also started inviting a lot of people to join us, and this 17 year old kid named Nando that hopefully will be baptized this week, accepted. This week he is finishing 2nd Nefi and progressing like never before.

I know that we are being led by a living profet. One of the fundamental foundations of the only true and living church of Jesus Christ is a Profet that leads us and guides us. If we aren't willing to follow the profet sera que podemos declarar que sabemos que esta e a de Jesus Cristo? Amo voces e estou animado para seguir O nosso vidente (Can we declare that we know this and that of Jesus Christ? I love you and I'm excited to follow Our seer)

-Elder Thornton

Beautiful sunsets

 Macala - tastes delicious

 Elder Astle leaving the mission

 Missionaries playing around

Elder Draney, Elder Hammer, Elder Moreira, Jonny

Front Row

Elder Carlson, Elder Chirinza, Elder Jesus, Elder Assis, and Elder Phiri