this week

Hello my beautiful Family!
So another great week and so much to do! We are really very excited for the general conference this weekend and the blessing of hearing the prophet's guidance for us in our day. I get to also attend the Women's Conference on Saturday being as everything is a bit delayed. It is such a wonderful blessing to be a servant of the Lord, when we do His will, and use our time as He would have us do, we have miraculous days. Our big push this week is to plan more effectively so that we can use the time to the best efficiency. By ourselves we really don't account for much and can't really accomplish very much, but when we let Him into the picture, the results are nothing short of amazing. I'm so grateful for the blessings that I have and for my amazing family. Sure do love all of you. Thanks Aaron for your sage advice. I completely agree. take care!

ellen

Fw: When the Sun Goes Behind the Clouds

Oí Família,
Today I was reading a quote book. I really like quotes and I read some inspiring words. I will be making some new goals and plans today of how I can be a better missionary and be focused in the work. This past week was good. We are working hard and finding many new people to teach. We pray that they will be baptized and that the work in this area will begin to be strong. In the past, this area has had some missionaries who did not work hard and put forth a lot of effort. Now I think it is the other way around. We are working very hard but the branch is struggling. I am not sure exactly how to help them. I think that prayer and mediation are needed in this regard. Recently I read something by President David O. Mckay. He said that we should try to solve our problems with prayer, scripture study, fasting before we go to another source. Our first source of help should be our Heavenly Father and then other sources. Everything really comes down to prayer and scripture study. If you don´t do those two things everyday, you will not be strong in the storms of life and you will be very weak spiritually. I think the following. It is not a question that you will or will not fall, but when you will fall. We have to be prepared for the storms of life. In April, I think that Elder Henry B. Eyring talked about this. He said that we have to start early and be steady. That is the ticket-be obedient and be diligent.
I appreciate the prayers of all of you. Aaron, thanks for the wonderful words of encouragement. I love you all and am very excited for the end of this month when we will be able to hear the words of our Beloved Prophet.
Love,
Elder Thompson

It's raining, it's pouring!

Torrential rains. Well, we are feeling the effects of what once was hurricane Gordon that moved between the Açores and now is a tropical storm that is losing all of its moisture over the north of Portugal. Luckily today is p-day and we get to stay in our apartment during the afternoon and write letters with a good pot of hot soup. (Well, it would be a wonderful pot if there was a way of reproducing Mom's magical tomato soup)

Oi Missionário meu! Eu estava a ler uma boa citação de Presidente Hinckley e ele disse: Estás feliz? Diga a tua cara! Eu gostei emenso e escrevi no planeamento para fazer-me lembrar sempre de sorrir. Ainda quando eu não me sinto como sorrir, eu lembro-me que todas as pessoas estão a me ver e estão a pensar sobre mim como representante de Jesus Cristo e então faço um esforço maior pensar em coisas mais positivas e ajuda-me sorrir. Também as vezes eu sorro só porque eu não estava e agora e tipo um jogo para mim. Faz muito bem e faz-me mais feliz. Já recebeste a minha cara que mandei para lá? Tem algumas boas ideas em trabalhar com o ramo.

Well, yep, not much to report. The work is going well and we are going to have a fun activity this Friday to help our investigators feel comfortable with the members and it is also a great opportunity to bring friends. Anyhow, we're really excited and it should be great. We have been having some great experiences with our teaching and things are really going well. It is hard to believe that fall is already here. the kids are already back in school, the hot days are over, the rain has arrived, and September is almost gone. Our lives passed as it were a dream....(a good one in this case) Yep, and that's it besides saying that I love you all so much and hope all is going well.

ellen

Fw: The Blue Skys

Oí Família,
I am writing today because we had interviews w/ President Wilkins yesterday and we moved our p-day to today, just for this week.
This week was a good week. We are working hard and doing all we can to find the elects of the Lord. I am very grateful to my companion for the example he is to me. Everyone says that he is always smiling and that he is always happy. I really don´t understand why I am not happy all of the time or that I don´t smile. I know that it is something that I need to do and should do. The gospel brings peace and happiness but yet I don´t understand or I am not feeling that joy. I guess it is my attitude but I don´t know how or what I can do to change my attitude. I want to do what is right and I try so hard everyday but yet it seems that a lot of the work that I do is for not. I am trying to use the little time that I have to do all that I can to serve the Lord.
We have a great area, we are having great temperatures, there was a lot of potential here and I am excited to be a part of it. I love you all and am grateful to be a part of this family.

Love,
Elder Thompson

Thompsons in Georgia update

Family and friends,

I am sending out my once in a while update. Life is setting down a bit.
We are in to some what of a routine. My only thing is now I am extremely
exhausted most of the day. You know how that happens those last couple
months of pregnancy. Your brain is telling you all the things you should
be able to accomplish but your body is just not on the same page. It is
funny. I am getting more and more excited for the baby to come and can't
wait to have my body back also. I am enjoying teaching the Young Women.
They are just so loving and fun. The Lord knew I needed this calling. I
love teaching the lessons except for the problem that as soon as I get
started my face is red and sweating and I am short of breath(this of
course is due to being pregnant). I come home after church very wet from
sweat. My sweat glads are very active.

Naomi is getting better at reading and enjoys every chance she gets to
read to somebody. She is also looking forward to loosing her second tooth
and her molars are coming in. She is just growing so fast and is such a
sweet girl.

Rachel has such an imagination and it is hard to get her to do anything
right away because she is so easily distracted by things and then she
just gets playing. It makes me laugh how much she reminds me of my sister
Heidi. They are a lot alike in personality. I enjoy having her home
during the days it has given us an opportunity to bond and get to know
one another.

Ethan is growing and gaining weight finally. We went for our second
doctor appoint with the Gastroeneologist and he was amazed at how much
weight he has gained(He is finally on the growth charts in his weight)
and that he did it with out the appetite stimulant(Yepee! We contribute
most of his success to the fasting and blessing he received). He is still
growing the same on his height so he is still below the growth curve but
the Hormone specialist said not to worry he will probably make up for
this when he hits puberty. We are finally done seeing the specialist and
know that Ethan just needs a lot of extra fats and calories right now.
What a blessing to finally have a resolution.

Aaron is working and looking at the yard and getting very antz to get it
done. The hard thing is getting it done correctly. He still does not have
a calling but have heard that one is in the works.

We have been camping and picnicking and it has been fun, relaxing and
enjoyable. I love the cool temperature of the fall.We love you all and
hope this wasn't to long.

Love,
Bethany

Giggles and girlies

It's been a great week. Sister Karren and I are having way too much fun I think. We are really alike and get along great which means sometimes we collapse in giggles in any and every place. We do really work hard also, which gives us the good disposition to be able to joke. So I've really been learning more than ever how to feel and respond to the Spirit and really how to surrender my whole heart and soul to the Lord's work. As I do that I have been having wonderful studies!!! The Spirit really just comes and sits on my heart. It is such a marvelous feeling. Everytime I think that I am absolutely happy, I do the Lords will and that absolute joy increases. I am learning so much! It's such a blessing to be a trainer (during my interview with President yesterday he told me that I probably won't be training for the whole three months, that maybe I just will have the next 4 weeks with her and then one or the other will be tranferred--other lessons to learn other people to love)

Oh, another cool thing this week I learned how to eat with chopsticks and ate an entire meal with them (very well says my companion) It was fun. All sorts of chinese things you wouldn't think I would be learning here in Portugal. I also can sing two songs in chinese. they're pretty.

Thanks for your letter and good news Bethany!! I'm glad to hear Ethan is doing well and that the girlies are such good eggs. I sent a letter last week that should reach you this week.

As for the care package you want to send... I never really know what to tell you. For sure peanut butter M&M's, a couple pairs of nylons (size B-I'm tall), if you happen to see some Burt's Bees Hand Salve (it's a yellow tin), and a letter from Dad (if he wants to). I've got pretty much everything I need. Oh, and the address is:

Rua Padre António Viera
Nº91- 5º trás
4710 Braga
PORTUGAL

Yep, it's wonderful to be the Lord's servant. He's the best boss for now and for eternity. The payment is awesome and the benefits are out of this world....hem hem hem. Yea...so love you all and keep on keeping on!

ellen

It's all Chinese to me

Well, we've had a good week. Irmã Karren is cool and we get along great together. We are great friends and also like working, so it works really well. One really cool thing about her...she speaks chinese. For that mere fact alone she gained all sorts of respect points. She taught English in China for 14 months and so although she cannot express every little thing she wants to say, she can understand and communicate actually quite well. I wouldn't know, but that's what the two chinese girls in the store said, who are excited about reading the chinese book of mormon we gave them. It is really awesome because there are so many chinese here who run their little stores and now we can talk to them. Most of them understand portuguese very well, but the fact that we can communicate in their own language makes a huge difference in the way they respond to us. Hopefully this weekend or next we will be able to attend their little church meeting. There is a group of Chinese Christians here in Braga and they have church services on Sunday nights. We're really excited. Oh, and I have a chinese name now..ke fang fang ...which means something like happy flower ou assim.

Yep, and there are tons of things going on, it's great to be a servant of the Lord because He always has something going on, never a dull moment in His service, especially when your heart is truly and fully dedicated to Him, which is what we are working on.

As melhores o irmãozinho! Felizemente não passamos mal esta vez no jejum então ainda estamos vivas e tudo. A última vez foi um pouco assustador ao entrar em shock (ou quase). O próximo dia eu estava com febre porque o meu corpo não tinha aqua suficiente para regular a temperatura e estave muito quente fora. Paciência, o que não nos mata, ajuda-nos crescer. Não é? Então, basicamente é tudo.

So, love you all and pray for your continued happiness (which you and I both know is to be found in the gospel of Jesus Christ)

ellen

Fwd: Carry On

Oí Família,
It has been another week for me. It will say that it was great to have a baptism. I am excited that Tania is really going forward and is excited about the her future. She has been great blessed by the Lord.
I got a little sick again this week. It is never fun to get sick. Getting sick in Brasil is very strange. It is not like getting sick at home where you stay home for a day and than after a week you are generally perfectly great again. When you get a cold here, it stays with you-it doesn´t put you out of comission for a day but it torments you for a week. You generally can still work but you just never feel good and then after a month you are completely well. It certainly is a new experience.
We are certainly trying to do the best we can. I will say that sometimes it gets discouraging and you think to yourself what is the point of all this but then you just have to keep going and trust in the Lord that he will bless you and prosper you. I just have to keep going and know that the Lord is happy with what I am doing. I will say that I really have been feeling down this week but I have to keep going and know that the Lord really does love me and will help me. That is our call: carry on always carry on. I am grateful for my family and for the blessings that the Lord has given me. May the Lord bless you all and keep in the right path.

Love,
Elder Thompson