HAPPY BIRTHDAY

So, this is going to be a real quickie because we have an appointment in Porto at 1:00 and have to get everything done before catching the bus at noon. Basically I wanted to wish everyone happy birthdays, Mom Betsy Duerst, Janie and Don, and Blair. If I missed anyone, they should know that I love them and wish them a happy birthday too.

I love the work!! I am so blessed to have the knowledge I do about the Atonement and the Restoration. Two grand events in the wonderful plan that our Father in Heaven created for us. I just can´t express my gratitude and love for my Savior who was the only one who could open the plan to us. (Rev. 5:1-5) This is the most important thing I have ever done in my life and I am so very very grateful for this opportunity.

Thank you all for your support, prayers and testimonies! Thanks also Martha for the pictures. Sure do love that tongue sticking out. I´ve got the cutest sobrinhos ever!!! Love you too Samuel, Keep up the good work! Até já!!

ellen

Samuel: Pride-Universal Sin

Oí Família,
Today I read the talk that President Benson gave April 1, 1989 em General Conference about Pride. I thought to myself this is exactly what I need. I am so full of pride that I am putting myself above God and others that are around me. Why am I here on a mission--to serve the Lord or myself. When you do those things the spirit is withdrawn and you are left to your own strength. I have to always be careful with pride because I like to compete with people. I always did that in school. I had to have the best grades and do the best. Now, I am realizing that this is what is hurting me. I am not receiving the blessings that I could receive and to me pride is like a ladder, it only goes so far and once you get to the top, that is the end of it no matter if you can reach the point you want to get or no. Only humility will help us reach the goal we want because we put God first, the master who knows us best. His work is to make us better, to prepare us to become just like he is, perfect--we have to submit to his will or we will not reach the potencial that we have. That was my big discovery of the week-I am full of pride and I need to repent. I am so happy about that realization. I don´t know about anyone else but I like it when I see or I should say am helped to see something to I can change to better my life and make it more like Christ. It is so very helpful.
I want to wish my wonderful mother and best of birthdays and I want to tell you that I love you so much. May God be with you till we meet again.
Love,
Elder Thompson

Samuel: Tender Mercies Happen

Oi Família,
I was reading 1 Nephi 1:20 today and was pondering by what it meant by the tender mercies of the Lord. I thought of when I was young and of the memories that I have of the Lord blessing my life. I remember most vividly the times when Dad would on the spur of the moment start to sing REJOICE THE LORD IS KING or REDEEMER OF ISRAEL. I would join him and we would sing all of the verses with the strong, deep voice of Dad singing REJOOOIIICCCCEEEE!!!!! That to me was a tender mercy of the Lord then and now. I thought, the tender mercies of the Lord are individual blessings in our lives-things that touch our hearts in the right place and at the right time. I then read the verse again the part that talks about how the Lord chooses and it is according to their faith. I thought of the scripture that is in Doctrine and Covenants section 121 and verses 34-37. Many are called but few are chosen and why is it that they are not chosen...because they put the things of the world higher than the things of God...because of pride. When we have pride what are we doing--we think that we can do it ourselves and we don´t put God in our lives, rather we take him out and trust in ourselves more than him. After that thought, I had the impression to study the talk that Elder Bednar gave in May of 2005 about the tender mercies of God. I would advise all of you to do the same. It starts on page 99. The key to the tender mercies of the Lord is Obedience. When we are obediente the Lord will bless us and we will receive those special individualized blessings in our lives. In Moses 1:39 it says that the work of the Lord is to bring imortality and eternal life to man. That is his work but what is our work? In D&C 11:20 it says that our work is to obey the commandments with all of our might. Interesting, if we will do our work the Lord will do his. It is all predicated on our obedience. It all takes faith to do that but when we put our trust in the Lord (not have pride) and obey or do his will, we will arrive there at the pearly gates and the Savior will welcome us home. I am so grateful for that special revelation that I received this morning. It was a special motivator for me. I know that God loves me and through obeying him I can bring the tender mercies into the lives of those whom I am teaching the lives of my family and my own life. I love you all.

Elder Thompson

Mom--I did get the card from Kevin on January 4. I need a few things though--I have my Line of Authority in my folder file (where all of my other papers are) if you could make a copy and send it to me as well as a four-generation pedigree chart that is filled out. Thanks- I don´t know what I would do without my mom. She does so much for me and That is the truth.

Samuel: The Holy Ghost

Oi Família,

The hot season has hit. Everyday is hot and everyday we return home tired and sweaty but I think that I am getting used to it. The hot doesn´t really bother me anymore. This week was a little bit harder for me. I felt like I wasn´t as obedient as I should be. Obedience really does work. When you do what the Lord has asked, you are blessed and when you don´t do what the Lord says, you have no promise.

It is really interesting to see that the Spirit is the most important tool that you have. When the Spirit is not present when you are teaching, you can feel it and when it is there, there is a warm feeling and you and the investigator are edified and rejoice together. That is the only way that the investigators will have a change of heart and will change their lives and begin to follow Christ. The Spirit is the key. However, the spirit doesn´t dwell in unholy places. As missionaries, we have to repent everyday as to make sure that the Holy Ghost will be with us during the visits with the investigators. Have we don´t have the Spirit, we cannot teach. That´s plain and simple and I find that that principle can be used in all aspects of our lives, we will not be as successful and will not receive the help that we need only when the Spirit is in our lives. We have to clean our houses and take care of our houses as to make it habitable for the Holy Ghost (reference of house equals us). This is very important and each day I can see of the vitality and importance that the Holy Ghost has on the success of our lives.

I am trying to do the best that I can. Sometimes, I stress and worry or I will say the I do that frequently, about doing everything just right but then when that happens I don´t focus on what is most important, keeping myself taken care of so that the Holy Ghost can dwell in me. That includes physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. I have to be awake and alert and be humble with a good outlook of the situation and how to approach it with diligence and patience looking for the fruit thereof that will grow unto eternal life or something like that. I guess the key, lately, for me is that I have to be diligent and everythings doesn´t have to be perfect but I have to be sure that I am taking care of all of those needs so that the Holy Ghost can be with me when I need it.

I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and all the opportunities that I have. I am grateful for the examples that I have and that the Savior loves me. Many times I have to first walk by faith but when it comes down to it, the Savior was carrying me through the most difficult parts. I love this work and am doing all that I can to help the people recieve these precious truths of the gospel. I love you all.

Elder Thompson

atonement

So, we had a great week! Tuesday we had our zone conference in Coimbra. We had the blessed opportunity to awake early and leave the house at 8:00 to catch the bus to the chapel and then hope it wouldn´t rain on us as we waited for the Assisentes. The conference was absolutely amazing! I believe in revelation both personally and through the line of authority. President Greene and Sister Greene talked about all the things that I needed to hear. One of the big things that President talked about was the quality of our prayers. Sometimes it gets really easy to just pray out of habit and forget that we are really conversing with our Heavenly Father as well as excercising the Atonement. It was really a great lesson. We have been studying how to use the Atonement more this week and really it is about changing our desires on a daily and minute by minute basis. The way we use the atonement is first by having faith in Jesus Christ and then by repenting daily and making covenants with our Heavenly Father and then receiving more of the influence of the Holy Spirit and continuing in this cycle until the end. The thing I really like about repentance is that it is not about doing or not doing, but more about our desires and changing and elevating them. This is something that we get to do daily, and every time that we pray we have the opportunity to make our will in line with that of the Father. I really like the reference on prayer both in true to the Faith and the Bible Dictionary where it points out that relationship and opportunity in connection with our prayers. Sister Phillips and I are already feeling a difference in the work, and in the satisfaction and the way that we feel as we really use prayer to accept the Atonement into our lives. It is not a limiting, but much of a freeing power. It is absolutely amazing, and we´re not even scratching the surface.

In our fun adventures this week....Rufino and Margarida are really doing well. They got to attend a baptism in Gaia and from that time on they tell everyone, and remind us frequently that on the 18th of February it will be their turn. It is really exciting to see the changes in them and to see their excitment to be a part of this great movement for good. We are here to bring peace! We taught some awesome lessons this week. It is always just so fun to feel the Spirit rush as our weak powers are caught up and the Lord uses us to relay His message. I love this truth restored! I know my Savior lives and has love for me.

Sister (Nelson) Phillips and I are going to miss each other when this transfer is done. We just look at each other and laugh sometimes. It can get a bit scary the way we laugh at the same things, like the handle of a broken umbrella in our mailbox or the funny advertisements for the presidential elections. Great fun.

Well, love you all, portem-se bem e até logo!

ellen

Yipity Skipity!

Yep, goin´ good. People are changin´. The gospel is true! We have been working pretty closely with Rufino and Margarita and they are doing so well, when we don´t pass by they call us just to check up. It is so funny. We found a couple of ties in our apartment, of course from elders who anciently inhabited it. Seeing as it is a little inappropriate for us to go around wearing ties and we got tired of using them to whip each another, we decided to give them to Rufino along with some church music so that he could feel the calming influence of the Spirit even when we aren´t there. The smile on his face was so darn childlike. He was a little boy in the candy store. We then discovered that he didn´t know how to tie a tie and so Sister Phillips held a tie tying class. It was one of the funniest things I have ever experienced in that good clean funny way with Margarida beaming with pride on her soon to be husband the whole time. It was just awesome! That´s why we´re here to help people like this to become better, to become more like Christ and we in turn are also blessed in our journey.
Yesterday was absolutely amazing as well. We had interviews with Presidente Greene for about 5 hours! We learned so very very much from him and from Sister Greene. It was like sitting by a nice warm fire and sipping hot chocolate--the same warm fuzzy feeling, but even better. I don´t think I´ve ever had such fun in an interview. I learned about the language of prayer in portuguese, about how to use the Atonement in my life daily, about how to care for other people, about how to use critical thinking skills with the Spirit, and so much more. Then Sister Phillips, Sister Greene, Presidente and I talked for a while more about using the examples of others as stepping stones to Christ and we learned a lot more about them as real people who are really funny and yet really spiritual and who magnify the mantle of the calling that they hold. It was great and fun and uplifting! My new goal for this week will be to learn more about the Atonement and how I can use it even more in my life. After all, everything (literally everything) hinges on the Atonement. So, my task for all of you this week is to think about how you use the Atonement in your lives and let me know some ideas. Tá bem? One of the keys I think is found in Proverbs 3:4-5.
Let me know how it goes!!

Otherwise, Mom, thanks for the card! I got it in the mail today. Transfers will happen in the first week of February and for sure I´ll be leaving, I´ll let you know when I know my new address.

Congratulations Blair!!! That is really awesome! We are all so proud of you and all the sacrifice and work that you have done to get there. Also, Martha for being such a good person always.

Thanks Deann for the cutsie pictures of your family at Disneyland! They are really cute girlies! Happy Birthday to Michela! I will forever be behind on birthdays, I remember them and then forget to write. Oh, well!

Samuel, you´re such a great example and such a great missionary. When I grow up I want to be just like my little brother. The problem is, I don´t know if I´ll ever grow up. Eu te amo muitisimo e sempre tens muito tempo nas minhas oracões. Sempre lembre-te que Cristo te ama e esta a preocupar-se contigo, então não tens que preocupar-te com nada, porque já está. Tá bem? Não tenho de dizer porta-te bem porque sei que vais. Até a próxima natal quando eu vou falar contigo em Português puro. Amo-te!

Love you all!
ellen

Samuel: I Feel My Savior´s Love

Oi Família,
Today, I feel so small in this world and so sad for the abominations and iniquities of the world. I sometimes don´t understand why people don´t believe. On our way to the Lan House or internet place we made contacts having a rule that we need to make ten contacts everyday. We stopped this man and talked to him about our message-we have prophets and apostles on the earth again who are leading the Church of Jesus Christ and we have proof of this through this book, the Book of Mormon, a book that you can read, and pray to God the know that it is true. People say that they already have the word, they already believe in Jesus Christ and/or that religion doesn´t save people, only faith in God. They don´t even listen to what we say. It really saddened me and to think that some of those people get only one chance to except and our contact with them might have been it. I want these people to understand that there is a way and we are representatives of Jesus Christ. We are the way being instruments in the Lord´s hands to help these people gain peace in this life and salvation in the world to come. It is so sad to think that there will not be very many who return to the Celestial Kingdom and live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It hurts me to see this but they have their choice. My job is to help these people have this opportunity to gain these things and it is their job to accept or rejeit it.
I can truly find that peace in doing the work of the Lord and learning of his love for me. Then, developing that faith that is needed to motivate me to do his will, not my own but the master´s. He made me and loves me and will help me develop to what I need to become if I will only believe in him and show him that I truly love him through showing him in my words, actions, and deeds. I love My Savior so very much. I want to do his will always.
It will be very exciting this weekend for me as we will have another baptism. It will be on Saturday and she will be confirmed on the first day of the New Year. I think that is the best New Year´s Present I could have. I pray that it will happen. Also, I really felt the love of my parents and family during the call home. It really gave me the motivation that I needed to work harder and to do the Lord´s work with more diligence. I love each of you so much and I am so proud of the things that you are doing. May God truly bless you and as that little story goes that all of those dots or stars will fall leaving the true child of God.
Com Amor,
Elder Thompson

NEW YEAR YIPEEEEEEEEEEE!

Yes, it is good to be here in Portugal in January. I love this country! I do feel bless to have had the opportunities I have had in growing up in the United States, but really the people here are....Óptimo! So, Sister Phillips and I are having way too much fun here for our own good I think, but we are enjoying it. It does get a bit scary sometimes when we start quoting the same random things. Of all the sisters here we may very well be the only two who know the song "You´re Older Than You´ve Ever Been" by They Might Be Giants. We have fun singing the missionary handbook during our weekly planning session. We also have really been enjoying the work more and how the Spirit is able to use us. It is amazing the things that we have learned in these last couple of weeks about the people we are teaching. We have been able to encounter their doubts so that we can resolve them. It is great, and we have a couple of baptisms scheduled for February!!! I probably will have to leave right before they happen, but to be able to help in the process as these great people progress is awesome. For example...This week was a great week for Rufino and Margarida. They are not married and he smokes and drinks and has problems with anxiety...which are not helped by his addictions. We taught him the "Stop Smoking Workshop"(c) and he was so excited. He was kind of dancing around the house putting away all of the supplies (vitamin C, juice, toothbrush, and mouthwash) and then he amazed us by running right into the bathroom and used the opportunity to brush and rinse. He proved this fact by coming out to the family room again and breathing in our faces to show the minty freshness of his breath. It was absolutely hilarious and we were doing our utmost not to laugh aloud because for him it was so serious a thing. The gospel has great power to help him along with the psychiatric help he is receiving. We are really excited to watch his progress and enthusiasm. He´s a great guy and Margarida is really a saint (not one that the Catholic church recognizes and is worshiped by the masses) but just a really pure hearted person. She´ll be a great Relief Society President someday because that´s the calling that they give saintly women....(like someone we know)
Anyhow, we are having a great time in the service of God. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Jesus Christ lives and is my Savior and Redemer. I love Him with all my heart and try to serve Him the best I can. We are part of an amazing work. At times it is difficult to see the progress we are making in the lives of people and in the nations in general, but that is the purpose of the Book of Mormon. In 2Nep 3 (basically the whole chapter) but verse 12 talkes about the establishment of peace. The thing that many people in the world are wishing for...we´re helping it to come to pass. We´re bringing peace to the world. It is a great feeling to be part of such a nobel project. The most nobel project their is.

Love you all. Portem-se bem (Behave!) Beijinhos!!

ellen

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------