Moves Doctrine, Streaks Broken, and Divine Protection

It's that time of the month again...transfers! We knew we had to do something special for Elder Senkans's last day, so we sat there staring at each other until we came up with an idea. Almost at the same, we both whispered "Mcdonalds".... I'm just kidding, but that would have been really cool! But we did end up going to Mcdonalds because that's the only thing we could think of, sadly. Perks of having a car, though. The steps per day go down and the body weight goes up. Fun fact for you: there are no longer any Latvian missionaries on planet earth. Elder Senkans is the only one! It was totally an honor to serve with him. He finished strong, free of trunkiness! 

Yesterday I said hello to my new companion, Elder Baum (pronounced "bomb")! The big news is my non-american companion streak is now broken because Elder Baum is from Vernal, UT! I haven't had an American companion during the 14 months of my mission, but there's nobody I'd rather have break it than Elder Baum. He's in my MTC group and I know him pretty well already. I feel like he's just a bigger version of me! He loves sports, loves boating, loves adventures, and loves missionary work. I'm excited to work with him because he's a baptizing machine! Prepare for some pictures in white, because Elder Baum is here and so is the harvest. We have our Columbian friend Stefan on date for November 12!

We made quite the journey down to the southern part of the mission for my driving test on Monday, singing songs on the way. I totally thought I was ready but again I failed...this time for not going fast enough! Gotta go round 3 now.

Crazy thing that happened this week. We have an old lady in the ward who has previously been banned from feeding the missionaries, for whatever reason. So we were super nervous when she invited us over for dinner yesterday! We felt fine for the first two courses, but then she brought out the rhubarb crumble and it about did us in. Elder Baum didn't even bother with it but I made a good effort to consume it...I didn't think I'd make it, but I'm alive writing to you today. God definitely protects His missionaries! 

I'm currently reading the Old Testament, and there's some crazy stuff in there. I don't understand some of it, but I do know that it is a testament of Jesus Christ the same way the Book of Mormon is. Everything God does in the scriptures is out of love for His children. Concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asks God if he would destroy the city even if there were righteous people inside. God responds that even if there was one righteous soul inside, that he would not destroy it. God indeed loves His children, especially when they keep His commandments and honor Him. That's what we need to do and we will find favor with Him! I testify that you can find an answer to every question in the scriptures. Read them everyday--they will help you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love you all so much! Love your letters!

Love, Elder Thomas

ELSM

Bowling last week. Of course I got it!

See you at BYU Elder Senkans

Our duet in parting

Elder (The) Baum!

Blessings and Tight Spaces

Good Morning, my friends!

Such a fantastic week in the ELSM. I'm still not entirely sure what happened this week, but our zone has just taken wings. Our mission has a goal to get 31 baptisms in the month of October--which we are promoting as #31--and our zone is definitely pulling its own weight right now: almost every single companionship is teaching an investigator with a baptismal date in October, and the sisters here just baptized last week. So we are en fuego as a zone. Unfortunately we had to drop the Mann family due to lack of commitment, so we need to catch up with our zone baptismal date wise because we really want to contribute to #31. It's going to take a miracle, but it can happen... I've seen it happen before!

Such a good week though!

-exchange with the APs (Elder Tunnicliffe from York)

-exchange with Elder Gerard from Idaho

-DLC in Staines

-District Meeting at President's house

-Investigator bought us pizza

Today marks 1 week before Elder Senkans goes home. It's always interesting to be with a missionary right before they go home because they either buckle down and finish strong or get super "trunky". Fortunately, the companions I've sent home have buckled down, and so has Elder Senkans. It's been a total pleasure to serve with the only currently-serving Latvian missionary in the world and I've learned a ton from him! I guess the most significant thing I've learned is how to lose gracefully, since he beats me in literally everything we do. I guess this is my tribute to him. Paldies, Elder Senkans! Next time you hear from me I will have a new companion.

My exchange with Elder Tunnicliffe was absolutely hilarious. I haven't met many people as funny as that guy! But The APs are super busy so we didn't really get to teach anybody, but we got to help some missionaries out and stop at the temple, which is always a huge treat.

Elder Gerard and I had some good times walking the streets of London together, speaking to as many people as I could. It reminded me of the beginning of my mission when literally all we did was street contact! I love watching people as they hear the familiar "ring" of the gospel in their ears. Unfortunately, some choose to ignore the Spirit, while others accept it! All was well until we got back to the house, when I realized I'd forgotten the key when we had left. The other Elders had the car and weren't home yet and we were super hungry, so we weren't just going to let a forgotten key stop us from getting inside. With a lot of creativity and not a lot of thinking, we were able to find a way in! Elder Gerard boosted me up to get to a very small window in the kitchen. It wasn't low to the ground, so I was pretty nervous. After a lot of sucking in, I made it through the window, let Elder Gerard in, and we feasted on some much deserved pizza. We thought we were pretty cool. Missionaries make even the smallest of things super dramatic!

District meeting at the Gublers' was a fantastic way to top off the week. Afterwards there was lunch and yes, Sister Gubler made her famous heavenly rolls. It was sublime.

We had a lesson with an investigator called Sophie, who is best friends with a recent convert here. She's the one that brought pizza. So after dinner we had a really good lesson with her and she's really cool and really wants to know if the gospel is all true. It makes me so happy when people are honest seekers of truth--they are the elect who are prepared by God! 

I just know that God does nothing unless it helps His sons and daughters in some way. He knows His purpose and He sticks to it at all times. I've come to know this by hearing His word and reading His word, and from seeing the evidence of it in my life. He listens to you and loves all of His children. That's my testimony in the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ, amen.

Love you all so much! See ya later!

Love, Elder Thomas

ELSM

Got my title of liberty

District meeting at the Gublers

Exchange with Elder Gerard

Elder Senkans' last preparation day. Cool flag!

Had President's house all to ourselves

You Just Don't Mess With Texas

Sveiki, Hola, Hello there!

Wow, what a week it has been! If I had one word (other than "fast") to describe this week, I would use "doctrine". I've learned so much about life and the gospel this week, and I have God to thank for it. Of course there've been lots of ups and downs, but God's hand and His word have been all over the place. I seemed to learn something new everywhere I went. Anyways, you already know how I feel about time by now, so I'll refrain from explaining how fast the week has gone by like I usually do. Some great things happened last week!

-Exchange with Elder Olsen from Texas

-MLC in Addlestone

-crazy member missionary experience

-driving test results

-...Conference!

One thing I learned this week is that you don't mess with Texas. My exchange with Elder Olsen was pretty weird--not because of him though. He's a long, tall Texan, and what he lacks in cowboy boots he makes up for in stature. Our exchange was mostly talking to people on the street, but for some of the time we knocked a block of flats. Some guys opened the door and one was wearing a Spurs jersey, so Elder Olsen was able to connect right away. The guy wasn't interested, so we knocked the flat across the hall. As we did so, we could hear the group of guys in the flat we had just knocked. They were laughing and making fun of Texas and imitating Elder Olsen, and I reckon he didn't take a liking to it because he turned 'round and stared at the door's peephole. Apparently the guys were looking through because they all went quiet...then we packed up and left. You just don't mess with Texas...think twice if you're ever thinking about it. We had a few other strange encounters during our exchange that will forever be remembered. 

Monday was also a day that will never be forgotten. In our ward lives Jose, a very missionary minded Spaniard. To give you an idea of who he is, just picture a stereotypical Spanish guy, like you'd see in movies. That's him! Anyways, Jose does missionary work and Jose cannot be stopped. On Monday he introduced us to three different friends of his and we taught them all the Restoration. I even got to speak some Spanish to a couple of them. Teaching is much more fun than finding and that's when you really "lose yourself" in the work. We will continue to help these new investigators to embrace the gospel, but it's members like Jose--who's really nothing extraordinary--who move the work forward. We ended up getting 4 member present lessons that day, which is something to smile about here in the ELSM. All thanks to our amazing members!

Had my driving test on Friday. This is super painful to write, but basically I was super nervous and I failed! I think I really am ready, but my nerves just got the best of me so I'll have to take it again in the coming weeks. I'm planning to do the triple combo (me praying, the zone praying, and me fasting) to ensure that I make it next time. Ups and downs!

The highlight of the week was General Conference, of course. As a matter of fact, Conference is the highlight of my year! Many of my friends have already mentioned this, but there's nothing quite like Conference as a missionary. It is one of the most anticipated, looked-forward-to, prepared for events of the year. I can just tell you that the brethren who lead the church are inspired, no doubt. Those messages that you hear come from God and will carry us for the next 6 months if we read them, if we study them, and if we abide by them. So much talk revolved around the Book of Mormon, which I love. We are encouraged to read the Book of Mormon daily and are promised that if we do, then a "switch" will be turned on in our lives and we will feel the influence of the Spirit all the time. That's something we should all desire! I add my promise and testimony to that: when we read the Book of Mormon daily, we will grow, become who God wants us to be, and a switch will turn on leading to total joy. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

If you have the time, I'd love to hear what you loved most about conference! Let me know! Love you all!

Love, Elder Thomas

ELSM

Exchange with Elder Brown from my group

Elder Senkans, moi, Sister Biesinger and Sister Moralez

Throwing it back to Buckingham Palace with Elder Reynolds

Elder Phelps and I reunite at MLC

Mission Vision

Good morning, folks!

To illustrate how quickly this week has gone by, I will use the Book of Ether. This Book covers approximately 1700 years in just a few short pages and even fewer chapters. It must have been a struggle to fit all of the major events from that time period into the book, but Ether and Mormon were able to do it with God's help. Likewise, so many things have happened in the last week and it would be impossible to write all of them down. "And it mattereth not to me that I am particular to give a full account of all the things of [Elder Thomas's mission], for they cannot be written upon these plates." (1 Nephi 6:3) "And there are also many other things which [Elder Thomas and Elder Senkans] did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." (John 21:25)

So many great things happen on a mission, but with that being said, "I have chosen the good part." (2 Nephi 2: 30)

This week!

-exchange with Elder Brown from Show Low, Arizona

-loads of teaching, not as much finding

-ward primary program success!

-Tri-zone conference in Staines

-getting ready for my driving test on Friday

-getting ready for Conference!

-hit the mission vision

In the ELSM we have a mission goal called the "mission vision", which is to have 1 baptismal date, 1 investigator at church, 3 member present teaches, and 2 new investigators each week. This creates a really nice process so that people are always cycling through the different stages of progression on their way to baptism. The goal is to have at least 1 person at each stage of progression, from a new investigator to a baptism. And we got it this week! Our Pakistani family is still on for October 29, although we they still have a long ways to go. 2 of them came to church on Sunday, along with loads of other non-members and less actives whom the members brought to see the primary program. And you know as well as I do that nothing brings the spirit more than little kids singing their hearts out. Our bishop even brought a family from Denmark! We hope to be able to hit the mission vision every single week from now on so we can have that steady flow of progress instead of only finding or only teaching. So that's what we're going for. In the words of President Gubler, "that's when missionary work gets fun."

The family from Pakistan really likes us. I mean they reaaaaally like us...a lot. They have us over for dinner and a lesson 2 or 3 times a week and the mother calls me every single day, referring to me as her "second son" and asking me if I need anything. Pretty sure she wants to adopt me! So we aren't worried about food right now. The kids also look up to us a lot and they love the Book of Mormon! Hopefully we can help them to reschedule their work calendar so they can all come to church on Sunday as a family. Only 2 of them came last week. Every family needs the gospel!

We're also teaching a man called Romulus from Hungary. He's super cool and although he's tossed by some winds of doctrine, he's super close to God! He's a Seventh day Adventist but he's willing to do anything to come even closer to God. We will see him tomorrow. We're teaching a couple of Romanians as well at the moment. Keep them in your prayers!

I'm not even sure if we're teaching any English people at the moment...we're taking the gospel to all nations! 

Our zone has grown so much lately. We are seeing more and more success and our missionaries have fire in their bones! Great have come, but even greater things are coming. We've had some tough times as a zone and still do, but God is seeing us through. 

Wish me luck, I've got my driving test on Friday and I do not want to fail! 

Love you all...I really do. I love all your letters and emails and words of love and support. You do more than you know. Keep it up and share the gospel!

Love, Elder Thomas

ELSM

Dinner with members

Tri-Zone Conference in Staines

BDs and Palaces

Hello from the other side of the pond! (at least from most of you)

Elder Thomas here. It has been another stretching yet fulfilling week. Some of the experiences of the mission are experiences you cannot experience anyplace else. For instance, have you ever heard 50 different languages in one day? Only in England. This really is where I'm supposed to be though, and the faster time goes by, the more I realize how short my time is here...I'm like more than halfway done, which is crazy! I feel like I've been out forever, but I also feel like I'm coming home soon due to the fact that I spend most of my time with people who are going home this month. I guess I just need to serve as if I have one month left.

There are definitely some highlights worth mentioning this week!

-exchange with Elder Redd from Idaho Falls

-ZLT (Zone Leadership Training) at President's home

-drove past the hotel we stayed at 2 years ago before I knew I'd be serving here...whoa

-got a family on date for baptism!

-went to a spectacular palace today

Alright, if you ever come to England you need to do a few things. First of all, you need to get some proper fish and chips from a fish and chips shop. Then you need to get some proper curry from a proper indian "take-away" restaurant. And then you need to visit every palace and castle you can. Preparation days are definitely not wasted here! We just got back from Hampton Court Palace, which was the home of King Henry viii. I learned so much there and I love palaces. Sure hope they have palaces in heaven!

But our week began with the beautiful journey to President Gubler's house for some training, which took all day long but was totally worth it. I can just tell you that our President is in tune with the Lord and knows what this mission needs to do. I also know that Sister Gubler's cooking is imcomparable! We were trained on how to work with members, how to build a solid foundation with a new investigator, and how to help people make and keep commitments. I took some really good notes, but then realized that it was nothing that isn't in preach my gospel. The Spirit just gave me a better understanding of how to work smart! 

Two of the elders in the zone should have finished their missions last week, but they chose to extend their mission as long as they could: 2 weeks.  Elders Price and Redd are total warriors and they get to finish their missions in Guildford, where Elder Holland served a portion of his mission many years ago. One of my favorite parts of the work is spending time with a missionary hours before he leaves for home...it doesn't happen very often, but I exchanged with Elder Redd and learned LOADS! He's developed so much power and authority in his words over the last 2 years, it's amazing to watch. It's so cool to see what the Lord can do with somebody in only 2 years! And Elder Redd wasn't even that trunky either. It was pretty inspiring.

Now for the big news: remember that Pakistani family we've been teaching? With the 2 kids who always ask when we're coming? We had a really solid lesson with them last night and things just fell into place! The member we brought was from Spain and happened to click really well with them. They are set up for baptism on the 29th of October! They've still got a long way to go, but we believe they can be ready by then so we'll get to work. The Man family is prepared and on top of that, they never fail to feed us when we come over. So keep them in your prayers, folks! I'm so grateful for your emails and I love all of you! Please remember the Lord and His hand in your life!

Love,

Elder Thomas

ELSM

District Leadership Conference

Lunch with the APs

Hampton Court Palace

Hedge Man

Elder Senkans and I

Hanging out with the statues

At Hampton Court Palace

Tennis with the Kensington District

These two boys fly home on Friday

Driving Lessons and High on the Mountain Top

Good day, ma'ams and sirs!

It's the beginning of another transfer for the Staines Zone Leaders, and you know what that means? Stress and craziness. The first week involves loads of planning and counseling and coordinating and discussing and it's so much to do! I wasn't aware of how much zone leaders did until now...so I'm just trying to be more organised. Fortunately, my comp is always on top of things and is always there to keep me afloat! So it was quite the week.

The good stuff:
-taught a Pakistani family
-taught a Muslim family
-almost taught a Portuguese family
-awesome sacrament meeting
-special MLC
-had my first ever driving lesson
-got new sisters in the district
-lived more dreams

This week I mingled with people from more different countries than I can count! I think I've officially taught somebody from every single country...almost at least. We taught Sharooz and his family (from Pakistan) and they fed us a huge dinner! I was so full I could barely speak afterwards. We taught them the Restoration again and they just ate it up--especially the kids, surprisingly! They have a 14 year old who is dying to come to church with us. So cool! Then I had my first driving lesson with a man from India. He kept asking me questions about the church so I got to teach him the Restoration as we drove. We are finding more success with the foreign citizens rather than the English for some reason.

We had the most interesting sacrament meeting of all time. I wish you could've been there. You would have been blown away! It was presided by a Canadian, conducted by a Brazilian, with talks by people from Scotland, Ireland, Sri Lanka, and Fiji, with music provided by a South African (the chorister) and an American (myself) at the piano. It was surely the most diverse sacrament meeting ever! I'm fascinated by this because I just think it shows us how widespread the church really is. The gospel has literally spread like wildfire. And all this stemming from a young man who wanted to know the truth! Seeing strong members from all over the world really broadens your perspective. The church is strong and is growing at a tremendous rate.

Although this week has been difficult, it was topped off with a massive surprise. We had a "special" MLC yesterday. Everybody was speculating as to why it was special, but we soon found out why! After announcements, it was announced that we were all going to the mountaintop (hilltop here in England...they don't really have mountains here) for a spiritual activity. So we all excitedly drove to a place called Boxhill, which is in a gorgeous part of the English countryside with a great view overlooking the humble town of Dorkey. We gathered to hear President and his assistants teach us about the miracles that occurred during the first harvest in this land. Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde and a few others were called to Britain to teach the gospel. When they arrived in England, they saw a random sign that said "truth will prevail" and thought that was pretty fitting for the beginning of their ministry. Although they faced loads of rejection from actual demons, they were victorious in accomplishing God's will because they had great faith and would not give up. Thousands joined the church when they heard about the restored gospel, and many of them moved to American to settle with the saints. At one point, 80% of the church was English--they upheld the church during a time of trial for the church's leaders. Knowing that God doesn't change lets me know that God still wants things like this to happen. My ancestors are from this land, and I am repaying them for the trek that they made to allow me to have access to the gospel. This ground was dedicated long ago by Jesus's original apostles for the preaching of the gospel, and I'm so blessed to be able to work here. Now is the time for the second  harvest, and we are going to get a baptism before Elder Senkāns goes home...don't know how, but it's going to happen! Truth will prevail. I know it will! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love you all!

#truthwillprevail

Love, Elder Thomas

ELSM

The country

High on the hilltop

Truth will prevail!

Batman, the Queen, and Moves Doctrine

Good morning, loved ones! Hope you've all had a brilliant week. I've had mixed responses about school starting...some of you (mostly parents) are relieved, and others (mostly kids) are devastated that summer has abruptly come to an end. Summer definitely is a good season, but we only have one season over here in the ELSM: The Season of Miracles! And the floodgates sure are opening and the miracles are flowing. It's been a spectacular week over here in London!

The good stuff:
-transfers this week
-exchange with Elder Mee from Manchester
-found a few families!
-more driving, no crashing
-went to Windsor Castle
-rode on one of those hover board segways for the first time...so cool!
-more tennis
-ward BBQ

Transfers, or moves doctrine as we call it, happened this week. You'll be interested to know that I am staying here with Elder Senkāns and will see him off because this is his last transfer! I know, the anticipation isn't as great as it was in Witney because I haven't been here for 10 months, but it's getting there! We were pretty much the only ones not affected by moves though. The elders who were living with us both got moved and their area got closed, so now it's just the two of us in this massive house. Sure is quiet around here. I really do feel like Batman.

Last week on preparation we got to go to Windsor Castle, where Her Majesty the Queen lives. If you ever come over here, you need to go to Windsor! It was really old and historically cool. Fortunately, it wasn't too crowded and we almost had the place to ourselves. I couldn't imagine living there on my own...I would really feel like batman! And in answer to your question regarding the title of this letter: no, unfortunately the queen was not privileged to meet us. I'm sure she would've if she knew who we were though!

Saw some amazing things this week. I had one of the best exchanges of all time with Elder Mee, one of the new missionaries here. Our plans got changed a little bit, so we followed the Spirit to a street and began knocking. It's a golden street! The first person we talked to was the father of a Portuguese family and he invited us to come back the next day and teach them, which we did. We knocked on the last door and a mother opened the door, revealing a lot of ongoing house renovations inside. We immediately asked if we could help them out. They let us in to chat for a few minutes before hesitantly accepting our help.

As a result, we got to do loads of service this week! We helped that family a couple more times throughout the week and our service has softened their hearts. Their kids were the first to start asking us questions, like "who are you?" "Where are you from?" "What does your badge say?" "Why is there a potato on your shirt?" "What do you believe?" And boom, green light! So the kids are ready, now we just need the parents to come around. We are also teaching a family that we inherited from the other elders. We are definitely going to see some baptisms this transfer! My goal is to do everything I can to make sure that we get some baptisms before Elder Senkāns goes back to Viking land. I really believe this, you'll see! If it's the Lord's will, then it will happen. I'm pretty fired up right now...I just love God and thank Him for His unmistakeable hand in my life. Everybody needs to serve a mission because they change lives--not just other people's, but yours as well. I testify to you that this is God's kingdom and His work in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love all of you, make good choices!

Love, Elder Thomas

ELSM

Windsor Castle

The Royal Lawnmowers... my dream job

Couldn't get him to smile :/

Windsor Castle

The Staines House crew!