Lord's Hand In His Work

Tuvimos bautismo!! Geovanni was our miracle. He showed up on his own with a sincere desire to learn. He had a hunger for the peace that only the gospel can bring. He has progressed so fast and has huge potential. I was reminded that Heavenly Father is who prepares the people and when it is their time miracles happen. ​

    It has been incredible seeing the Lord's hand in His work. I know that this is His work and His gospel. I am so grateful for the opportunity and blessing I have had to be a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I can't hardly believe that this time is ending. This is the last time I will write as a missionary. Thank you for all of your love and support. For writing and sharing your lives with me and allowing me to share with you.

     I just want to take advantage of the opportunity to share that I know that God is our Loving Heavenly Father. He loves us so much more than we can comprehend. But even though we may not be able to fully comprehend the extent of His love, we can feel it. He hears and answers prayers. He is a God of miracles and if we take time to be still and trust Him we are able to see His hand and feel His love.

     He loves us so much that He sent His only Begotten Son to pay the ultimate price to bring us back to His presence and become like Him. Jesus Christ was the only one who could of performed the Atonement. Finally it has clicked for me that in order to access the full power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and become perfected in Him we have to make covenants through true priesthood power. That power and authority were restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

      I know that there is power in the Atonement. I have felt the strength that can only come from above carrying me through my hardest moments. On the other hand, my happiest moments here in the mission have been witnessing someone else access that same power in their own lives. I love being a missionary!!

      Thank you again for all of your love and support! Nos vemos pronto!

Love,
Hermana Thacker

Chicken Feet

Bueno... I'm not sure what to share or how to even express how I feel. So.... Fun stuff this week.

 -This week we have been experimenting with the pedometer. The highest count we got was 17,257 steps or 7.61 miles.

 -A dog tried to eat me. My companion laughed, and the next day a dog tried to eat her too. As the Apostle Paul exhorts, ''Guardaos de los perros.'' (Philippians 3:2) I guess this isn't a new problem for missionaries... :)

 -I thought I was going to be able to slip by through my entire mission without eating chicken feet. Then it happened.

I took my courtesy bite, but I couldn't finish it. So we asked for it to go...

 -One of the youth gave us a reference of one of his friends. This friend, Alex, has turned into one of our best investigators. Cristian(the young man) has come with us to visit him every time and even invited Alex to be baptised. It has been so neat to see Alex progress, and to see how Cristian's testimony has grown as he shares this experience with his friend.

 -Our other golden investigator is also a reference of a member. It is incredible how much impact the support of a member friend or relative can have in the life of our investigators. She has been working hard to prepare Geovanny for a whole lot more than just get baptised. I am so excited for him because of the support he has. He has great potential to stay active.

 -Oh, and we found a family! One that is actually married and very attentive!! I finally feel like everything is progressing again in my area. While it will be so very hard to leave it behind, I feel confident that things are lining up for my companion to have a successful cambia.

Bueno, hasta la proxima... ya mi ultima vez.

Hermana Thacker ​

Be Still and Know That I am God

     So, last Sunday I was a little discouraged and worried about my area and how it wasn't progressing like I was hoping it would. I wasn't sure what to do, so I tried putting it aside to read my scriptures. I was reading 1 Nephi 22 and when I got to verse 11...

     'Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel.''

     It really struck me... and brought to my mind another scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 101:16 

''Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning [Honduras]; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.''

     I felt at peace and we got to work. We have had some of the longest days this week and many hours without sitting down to have a lesson, but we have seen progress. We have investigators that have started progressing, we have been receiving good referrals, and we have had lessons filled with the spirit. I have seen Heavenly Father's hand working in our area. He knows what He is doing and little by little we are learning our part in it. I love it. I love it here. And I love being a missionary!

Love you all!

Hasta la próxima!
Hermana Thacker

Semana Santa=Vacation Week

     This week has been a little more exciting. It involved Semana Santa and the beach, contacting in the park, a GIANT Book of Mormon, and General Conference!!

     Semana Santa=Vacation Week. This is touristic and the best thing everyone says it has to offer is la playa. So this week the city was flooded with tourists. It was crazy!! Semana Santa tourists inspired the Webbs to organize a week of contacting in the park...

     This is Elder Webb with the big poster they had made. They got a whole bunch of copies of the Book of Mormon and pamphlets galore. The Zone Leaders organized everyone into shifts and we all took turns in the park contacting. This was one of our days...

     ​And here we are with the giant Book of Mormon and Indira. I'm pretty sure I told you about her. She came with us to help out. It was a fun adventure and a good change. The goal was to find references for all over and take advantage of the surge in tourists, but in the end more than 90 percent were people from here. About 50 of those were for my area. :) We have a lot of work to do these next few weeks!

     And then we had General Conference!! I love General Conference. For me there was a focus on the Plan of Salvation. It reminded me who I am and what Heavenly Father wants me to accomplish. One of my favorite talks was the one about Shiblon and the other about learning to hear the music of the spirit. What did you learn watching conference?

     Well, that's my week in a nutshell...

Hasta la próxima!
Love,
Hermana Thacker

Sleep Talking In Spanish and Learning English In Honduras

I think this week was a little calmer. I did get a little sick and we had divisions with the sister training leaders, but other than that it was pretty calm.

Cool things I learned this week:

 -following up is how we show the people we teach that we love them and have faith in the promises God has made.

 -the bus system is a lot more convenient than I thought. Mom, you asked about that. We usually walk. Before we always took taxi to go to centro and to our meetings. Now that I am learning how to use the bus system I hope we can take those more often.

 -helping someone with their English homework I learned when and how to use a/an. Who knew that would be on the list of things I would learn in Honduras...

 -Hna. Maria (she just barely hit one year of being a member) has a very powerful testimony. We had a lesson with her and her daughter. We asked her to share her experience and the spirit was strong as she invited her daughter to pray and ask if these things are true.

 -When I sleep talk my companion obeys me. :) Apparently I dream in Spanish :) I just told her that she needed to get up and go to another room because someone else was coming. She had just gotten back from a bathroom break and was half asleep. So when I told her to go she did! Once she got to the study table with her blanket and everything she finally woke up enough to think about what she was doing and realize it was silly :)

 -I had missed thunderstorms.

 -even though I haven't practiced in 6 weeks I can still make a decent tortilla :)

 -Linda is so happy and progressing very well. I am sad I am not going to see her baptism, but I know that is the day she needs to get baptised. I can see it in her face!

 -There are lots of cool scriptures in the bible. ex. ''Guardaos de los perros.'' (Philippians 3:2) and 2 Thessalonians 2:10-16 (This one is actually a really good one.)

 -In seeking the spirit your mind and body will be renewed.

 -I still have people I need to find here before I go home. So now I have to get to work applying everything I learned this week. I hope you enjoy your Semana Santa and General Conference this weekend!!!

Hasta La próxima!
Love,
Hermana Thacker

Getting On The Same Page

I have a new companion!!!! And I am back to working in my area!!!

But I forgot the pictures... So you'll have to wait.

This week has been crazy.

     Tuesday the hermanas dropped me off in la Lima where I was going to wait for my new companion. Then they cancelled the flight of all of the new missionaries that was coming in. The MTC sent them later on a flight that came in at 10:30 pm. That meant I had to figure out what to do in the meantime. So the hermanas from Porvenir offered to let me come with them. So I got to go back to Porvenir for a day!

     Wednesday in the morning I got dropped off in la Lima again to pick up my companion for real this time. And we got back to work!

     We have walked and walked and walked, gotten sun burned, had a good number of appointments fall through, (you know all of the usual stuff) but I am so happy to be back in my branch. :) The neatest thing I have seen is how Heavenly Father has continued to prepare His children. It has been interesting to see who has progressed without us and who has not. I was kind of surprised.

     One investigator we have been working with for more than two months has struggled with accepting a baptismal date. In our absence she has made plans with her aunt and they set a date. Our investigator is happily progressing.

     Another used to participate in the Gospel Principles class saying that he and his family is Evangelico and that he was only coming to church for his wife. This Sunday his participation was filled with, ''I used to be Evangelico, and I used to come for my wife...'' topped with invitations for all of the new investigators to pray and ask God. Testifying that they would get an answer.

     And then we have a new investigator. He showed up with his aunt and basically said, ''Here I am. Teach me. I want to know more.''

     Heavenly Father really is the one who is preparing the hearts of the people we are teaching.We just have to learn to get on the same page as Him. It never ceases to amaze me how perfect Heavenly Father's plan is. What miracles have you seen this week?

Hasta la próxima,
Hna. Thacker

We Can Feel The Atonement Work In Our Lives

Last week the Area President... This week an Apostle.

     We had a huge multi-mission conference with the missions San Pedro Sula East and San Pedro Sula West. Elder Andersen came with his wife, Elder and Sister Maynes, Bishop and Sister Davies, and Elder and Sister Ochoa. It was so cool!

     I learned a lot about the power and influence that just one person can have. It was a good reminder that ''the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.'' We talked about how important it is to help the people we are working with have a change of heart. That is the repentance that they need to become truly converted and stay active and progressing in the gospel. We talked a lot about the Atonement and how Jesus Christ is the center of everything we do. It was powerful hearing a Special Witness of Jesus Christ bear his testimony of Jesus Christ.

     Sorry this is so short!! But I'll end with my testimony. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He came to atone or us, and because of His atoning sacrifice we are able to become clean again and return to live with Heavenly Father. I love studying the Book of Mormon because it has helped me come to know and love my Savior. And I know that as we study it with real intent and put it into practice, we can feel the Atonement work in our lives.

Pues, hasta la próxima!
Love, Hermana Thacker

Oh! and this week I get a new companion! I am so excited! Oh! and the picture is a picture of our district...

Trusting in the Lord

     So... My companion went home last week. This week I have been working in a trio with the other hermanas that are in this same city. That means that we have been trying to work in two areas in two different branches on two different ends of the city. It has been an adventure....

     We also had a Zone conference with the Area President, learned how to take someone's blood pressure, scaled bathroom walls, a lady recited Psalm 23 for us and kissed my shoulder, and we worked with members I wouldn't have thought of taking with me to visit.

 It's an adventure.

 -My favorite part of what Elder Duncan shared with us was about vision. We have the right and to seek the Lords vision for our areas. He explained the importance of keeping in mind what can be achieved in one, five, or twenty years from now in our areas. Sometimes I get a little narrow minded and think of everything in terms of 6 week transfers and forget to look at the bigger picture. It was a good reminder to seek the Lord's vision of what can be achieved and not be so narrow minded.

 -One of my new companions is the mission nurse. A little old lady we visited had a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff and needed her blood pressure taken. But my companion had never taken blood pressure before. So we used the little that I remembered from my Anatomy and Physiology class, checked her special nurse phone, and took a lady's blood pressure.

 -The lock on the bathroom stall broke, so my other new companion had to climb over the wall to get out of the bathroom... Adventure.

 -Awkward. She was a little crazy but didn't want to accept the pamphlet I offered. I was just glad it was Psalm 23 and not Psalm 91.

 -Working with members--This part was really cool. There are two hermanas who live in the area of our branch but attend the other branch. I never would have thought to invite them to go visiting with us, but thanks to the circumstances I got to work with them this week. One was able to share a past experience and testimony that was exactly what my investigator needed. With the other we were able to have a really neat lesson with a strong spirit and I could see in the face of the member and the less active we visited that it was exactly what they both needed. It taught me that Heavenly Father knows  His children and what they need. He has a perfect plan.

     This cambio (transfer) has been one of the craziest, but I have learned that Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan. I have learned more about faith and trusting Heavenly Father. I have been able to see how Hna. Ruiz needed to come to the mission, have the experiences she had, and that she had to go home. This week I could see how this affected the area and how things are still happening the way they need to happen. Like the visits we had with these two hermanas. Things haven't happened by accident and I am so glad Heavenly Father has it all worked out.

Bueno, hasta la próxima!

Love,
Hna. Thacker

Book of Mormon Always Brings Peace

     This week has been super crazy!!! Actually this last month has been super crazy. But before this craziness all started we were asked to set a goal for reading the Book of Mormon before a Zone Conference in March. In the end the Zone Conference was cancelled, but the Book of Mormon challenge was exactly what I needed. I set my goal to finish before the 13th of March and figured out how much I have to read every day to reach that. In all of the craziness that we experienced and all of our trips to San Pedro I carried with me my Book of Mormon. I learned that no matter what was happening all around me and no matter what challenges were thrown at us, reading the Book of Mormon always brings peace. I love the Book of Mormon and I know it is true!

     I'm sorry this is short, but I've run out of time... I hope you have a lovely week!

Missionary Work Is More Exciting Than A Hurricane Warning

Exciting news of the week:

     This week we had a hurricane warning... Everyone we went to visit had thought we weren't going to show up. They thought we were crazy for being out of the house asked us if we were aware that they had cancelled school and everything. In the end it was a very less than impressive rain storm. So we got to continue being missionaries :)

     But even cooler than a hurricane warning was when German and Adonay showed up for church. They are a father and son that we have been visiting and they finally made it to church! Lots of members of the branch went out of their way to welcome them, and they left excited to come back next week! And the next! And to the Elder's Quorum Fishing Trip! They have so much potential and I am so excited to see their progress!

     We had a neat lesson with them Saturday and he asked us an interesting question. He always has lots of questions, but this was my favorite. We were finishing up the lesson when out of the blue he asked, ''What do you see in me?'' I was never expecting that question, but the words came to my mind to tell him that we see a child of God with incredible potential. We shared how we know that the gospel will help him reach his potential and that's why we visit him. Afterword he was quiet and didn't say much more about it, but the Spirit was there. I really love it when the Spirit testifies to the hearts of the people we visit that they are children of God. Those are remarkable moments.

     I know that God lives and that we are His children. As such we have amazing potential. He has a plan for each and every one of us. He loves us and wants the best for us. That has been emphasized in my week.

     Bueno, that's all this week, Hasta la proxima.

Love,
Hermana Thacker

Close To Her Heart

Wow. This week has been crazy, but we've had some good experiences.

     Do you remember how a couple of months ago I told you about a p-day de zona that we had where we went to Santiago? I sent the picture of me in something that resembled a corn field. Out in the middle of nowhere looking for ruins and alligators that we never found... Well, there we went and ate baleadas in the house of a member that lived really high up a mountain/large hill.

      This week we found the daughter of the member that gave us baleadas three months ago in Santiago... The daughter is not a member, but her son that lives with her mother, her parents, and other family that live out in Santiago are all members. Her son actually just sent in his mission papers and is waiting for his call.

     When she understood who we are and who we represent she was so very happy. She explained that when she went to visit her mom and son she had listened to the missionaries there and liked what they were sharing, but had to come back to home. She had a testimony form what they had taught her but hadn't found the church here yet. We had a short but powerful lesson with her. She has so much potential!

     My favorite part was how she held the Book of Mormon we gave her close to her heart as we walked away. It was incredible.

     In the same day my companion was able to invite another of our investigators to be baptised and she accepted! The spirit we felt in that lesson and the joy when she accepted our invitation is unforgettable.

     Long story short, we had one of the best afternoons I have ever had in my mission.

     I really do love being a missionary!

Bueno, Hasta la próxima!
Hna. Thacker

New Companion!!!

I have a new companion!!!

​Hermana Ruiz--She's from Ecuador, is a professional chef, and is pretty cool. She has a brother serving in McKayla's mission and a friend from her ward serving in Bekah's mission. What are the odds.

     She's pretty new and that makes things exciting and makes it all one heck of an adventure. She is really good at following the Spirit in our lessons. Sometimes she takes the lessons in directions I would have never even imagined possible, but leaving the lessons explains how she felt she needed to say that. She is a great missionary.

     I am excited for this new cambio and the adventures it will surely bring!

Hasta la próxima!
Hna. Thacker

Abinidi

    Today I was reading about Abinidi. I realized he didn't have a single baptism and the lesson that we have record that he taught was to a bunch of inactive members who didn't seem to want anything to do with the Church. But because he was fearless and followed the spirit one of those less actives made the choice to return. And with him came many, many more. Less active members tend to have that power. We are seeing that here. Like I told you, every time we go contacting we find another member or family that used to attend.

     One is Leslie. She felt the spirit in the lesson we had with her and she has done all she can to come back to church. As she is, she is bringing her three kids, a niece, and neighbors.

     Another is Indira. She has made the decision to come back for good and it shows in how she helps us. This week she brought another investigator to church for us.

     Another is Roberto. He is pretty cool. He was afraid to come back, so he brought a friend to make it easier. As he takes the time to explain to his friend what is going on he is remembering more and more of why he joined the church in the first place.

     I love seeing them as they begin to remember and feel what they felt at the time when they first came to church. It animates me to keep going. I just made me a little sad to think about how Abinidi didn't get to see that with Alma. But these stories inspire me and remind me that no one is too lost and second chances are real. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary and to see these miracles! Heavenly Father lives and loves every one of His children!

    This week is cambios. I'll let you know next week what happens.

Love,
Hermana Thacker

ps. Our zone had a p-day in the playa. We had the task of organizing a fun activity for the hermanas, so we planned a fun Amazing Race type activity. We even borrowed these tubs to make them balance them on their heads like the Garifunas selling Pan de Coco. Long story short they rearranged/cancelled the activity so we were left looking silly with giant tubs on the beach. But we couldn't let looking silly go to waste so we took pictures...

Personal Revelation Is Essential

It's been a good week full of adventures.

    I saw a real live anteater this week. It was chained to a fence like a dog. It was on the double-take that we realized that it wasn't just any old dog...

     I learned that I don't speak English well. A little boy we met is studying in a bilingual school. Our investigators were trying to talk him into speaking English with me. Finally he said, ''How are you?'' ''Great! How are you?'' I responded. ''No! No! No!'' he told me. ''That's not how it goes. You have to say, 'I am fine, thank you. And you?'''

     I clearly didn't follow the dialog... :)

     We also had some neat lessons. One was with a new investigator. She told us how she had felt when she prayed to ask if the things we had shared were true. As she did so the Spirit filled the room. It's a pretty cool experience listening to investigators bear the testimony they have been acquiring. It reminded me of the things President shared with us in our Reunion de Zona this week. He talked about how those who endure to the end are those who learned to pray and receive personal revelation.

     The other that I really liked was one with an inactive hermano. As he explained his story and why he left the church it became clear that he hadn't quite achieved his own testimony. This visit we answered his questions and invited him to pray. The experience with him made it clear how important personal revelation is. As we seek our own personal testimony and witness we learn to be able to stand strong and stand on our own. It allows us to progress more than ever.

     So I have been thinking about that a lot. Personal revelation really is essential for our salvation.

     Bueno, long story short... this week's been a good one and I am looking forward to this coming semana.

Hasta la próxima!
Hna. Thacker

I Love Being a Missionary!

Well, this week flew by faster than fast...

    We did all of the normal missionary stuff... walked a lot, contacted a lot, taught a lot of lessons, and things like that.

     There is not one big experience to share this week, just a bunch of little ones that make up some of my favorite parts of being a missionary. I love it when...

 --someone we are teaching feels Heavenly Father's love for them and the spirit testifies that they are a child of God. We had a lesson this week with an inactive member. We sang I am a Child of God and after Elder Webb testified that she really was a child of God. She felt the spirit and started to cry. We all were on the verge of tears and it was a beautiful experience.

 --people have good questions. It usually means that the message is getting to them and they are making their best effort to truly understand. We've met a few people who have been asking good questions.

 --people truly accept the invitations to act. That's when they begin to develop their own testimony and their lives change.

I love being a missionary!

Love,
Hermana Thacker

Miracles Make The Hard Moments Worth It

This week in a nutshell...

     It rained.

     We walked. (More than normal).

     Zulma braided our hair. It was a little adventure. And she's teaching us Garifuna. So far I've only got, ''Vuiti Binafi'' It means ''Good morning.'' She also macheted us. (machete--means to call to repentance sharply. Best done with a scripture.) She called us out for showing up late to church sometimes. We tried to explain that we had to stop by and pick up investigators, but she didn't want to hear excuses. The good news is that we made it early this Sunday. :)

     I had to stop my companion from jumping a fence. (In her defense it did look like the only way to get to the door... but luckily we found the gate before that got too awkward.)

     We struggled finding people who wanted to listen to us, but when they did we had some neat lessons.

     One of those lessons we talked about Pres. Monson's talk from the last General Conference. The spirit was definitely there as we talked about walking as Jesus walked, but my favorite part was when the hermana allowed us to put it into practice and help her out.

     Sunday was a day of miracles. The whole week we fell into a little rut, feeling unsuccessful and not knowing what to do about it. We didn't have anyone to pick up Sunday so I was a bit worried our investigators would make it. Then in route we passed by the house of a couple of investigators and they were already up and getting ready. When we arrived Elder Webb came running out to tell us that a inactive couple that we visited with them Thursday had made it. Right behind us came another less active hermana and her son. We still started Sacrament Meeting without investigators, but by the end more than we ever dreamed had shown up. My favorite was when Leslie, an inactive member, showed up hauling her kids, niece, and neighbor with her. The kids, niece, and neighbor were all new investigators that we needed, and Leslie was so happy and excited to be there. She had come because we visited her Saturday with a sister from the branch. This sister knew her well and had all of the words she needed to help animate Leslie to come to church.

      It was amazing how all of the miracles Sunday made all of the hard moments in the week worth it. Well, In the end we had a pretty great week. How was yours?

Love,
Hna. Thacker

Excerpt from letter to parents:

     Things were a crazy this week, but in the end I enjoyed it. Even though there were hard moments every day, we also had little funny moments, and spiritual experiences. One that made me laugh was when we were walking down the road I accidentally hit myself in the face with my umbrella. My companion laughed so hard she stopped walking for a minute. But Karma is my friend because no more than five minutes later she did the same thing. This time we both had to stop walking for a minute to laugh.

Honduran Snowman (or Sandman???)

We shared these pictures of an Iowa snow storm and she sent us this.

 

      Wow! I don't really remember what it's like when it gets cold enough to snow! None of my companions have ever seen snow.

     We were looking at the little forecast for this week in our missionary portal and it says it's going to be cold this Wednesday--25C or :) My companion says, ''Now that is COLD!'' It hardly drops below zero (Celcius-32 F) in Guatemala. Or Honduras.

It's pretty nice here. :) We went and played at the beach today and 

I even got a little sun burned, but I did want to build a snowman.

 

Happy New Year!!!

     Happy New Year!!! Here New Year's was a lot happier and more exciting than Christmas. Talking to my companion we came to the conclusion that Christmas is a hard holiday because of all of the family that they have lost in the year. It's easier to not get together and be reminded who is missing. On the other hand, New Year brings a hope that this year will be different than the last. That's something to celebrate. It was fun even though we missed out on the majority of the tamales. 

      Yesterday we had a baptism! Zulma got baptised! She is Garifuna and pretty cool. It was so exciting because of her deep desire to be baptised. She told us that she looked and looked and looked for ways to leave her past behind to truly repent and feel forgiven. As she began to receive the gospel her life changed, and after her baptism she said she felt at peace. I am so grateful we had the opportunity to teach her. I have learned so much about how much Heavenly Father loves every one of His children and how the gospel can change lives.

      This picture is a picture of our zone and a zone from Ceiba. It is taken from a really cool tower on the beach. New favorite place.

      Well, love you lots, and best of luck setting goals for who you want to be this year!

Love,
Hermana Thacker

This was part of another letter where she answered some questions.

     The husband of the family didn't make it this week, but we think he is in Progreso in the hospital with his 100 yr old grandmother. She's the one who raised him and when she got sick early this week he took off to take care of her. We still have hope, and we were able to talk to his wife this week and she explained what parts of the gospel he doesn't understand or agree with yet. That helps us so much.

     The Baptism went well. A little crazy because it was set for 7am Sunday before church. We had a little scare just before it started, but everything came together. Seeing her joy made everything worth it. :)

     From the point of view of a missionary, it makes me so happy to see members of the ward show up. When they show up I have a lot more hope that our new convert isn't going to be left alone once we leave the area. As me, I love the spirit that is there, too. It strengthens my testimony and desires to share the gospel. Just watching the person who is going to be baptised I want to help everyone I can feel that same joy that that person is experiencing. I love it!

     The Dey family came for the wedding of a foreign exchange student who lived with them, I think? They took advantage of the trip to be able to do something for the two branches. They don't have any connections in the branches as far as I know.

     I felt overwhelmed thinking about resolutions this year too. I think that's why in Preach my Gospel it talks about how to set goals and make plans to reach them. To start with a ''In a year I want to...'' complemented with this week/month/transfer I am going to do ________. But that is still hard. My challenge is remembering the goals I have set. I need a way to post them where I can remember, but where it's not so public either. The other day I did find a paper where I had written goals, and even though I had forgotten about the paper and the goals I could see how I had grown in these areas.

    Well I am rambling....

Heavenly Father Has a Plan For Each Of Us

Well... This week has been pretty maciza and full of little adventures. Delivering gifts that the Dey family left for the children of the branch took us to the farthest reaches of our area. It was neat to see what was there. More people than I was expecting these last few days let us in to talk with them, and we finished the week with a whole bunch of new investigators.

Sunday was full of lots of little miracles and firsts.

-A recent convert who baptized his best friend the first Saturday of the month blessed the sacrament together.
-Our recent convert who got baptized the same day passed the sacrament with his brother for the first time.
-One family where the husband isn't a member came to church all together for the second time. He also participated more than just a little bit in the Gospel Principles class, and stayed all three hours.
-One investigator came to church with us, and ended up staying all three hours because she found an old friend.
-And, we were able talk through what to expect in the baptismal interview with another investigator who is planning on getting baptized Saturday. She is so excited and has expressed such a great desire to change her life around. She has her challenges, but she is a very neat lady. She has taught me a very important lesson on seeing people like Heavenly Father sees them. People have a lot more potential when you look at them that way.

I just continue learning that Heavenly Father loves every one of His children and has a specific plan and work for them to do. He knows us and knows what we are capable of. I am so grateful Heavenly Father loves me enough to help me learn that lesson and is patient as I take my own sweet time learning it. I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and that your New Year's is just as wonderful!

Hasta la proxima!

Love, Hermana Thacker