Weeks 2/22-3/21

Weeks 2/22, 2/29, 3/14, 3/21

2/22 New Companion! 

Hey everyone, 

So I got my new comp! His name is Elder Justin Viehweg. He is from Idaho, he likes dirtbikes, and he loves his country! Ill share some pics later to help you understand what I mean. Anyway this last week has been really good. We have some pretty high goals this transfer so we both have been working really hard. We have been contacting everyone we see and so far have 3 new investigators! They are all from Cape Verde. The people there are honestly so nice and so accepting. I love them! Its been fun to show Elder Viewheg around because apparently our area has been titled the scariest part of the Lisbon Portugal Mission. I havent seen anything too crazy yet but he doesn't know that. haha So everyone we would see I would tell him to walk the other way and don't look people in the eye or else they will mug us! haha He totally believed it too. It was fun for awhile but he knows now. I still thinks hes a little uneasy. Things are going really well here.  We have a lot of people with potential. We just need to work really hard these next weeks to keep it that way. The language is hard but I'm starting to understand a little more. It used to sound like just noise but now I can actually pick out words haha. Anyways thats about it for me this week. I love you all and thanks for all the emails and support. Have a good week! 

Elder Thomas

2/29 Starting to Have More Success! 

Tudo bem..? 

This week has been pretty awesome but because there's so much that happened and I only have a few minutes to write, I will just give you a rundown. SO to start off...we marked 3 people to be baptized this week. We have been finding a lot more investigators and teaching a lot more lessons lately! We have been working hard at "on road contacts" and its been paying off finally! We also started teaching Anicy again who was a girl we stopped teaching a while ago but now she has a lot more interest so we're working with her and will hopefully baptize her within these next few weeks. Something crazy happened this week but it's top secret! I'll have to tell you all in a couple of years! Remind me. Anyway just wanted to say how good God is. Night after night our prayers have been focused on having more success in this area and we know that God has heard them. One thing I've learned out here is that God truly does care and wants to give us what we ask for. We just need to do our part and sincerely ask for them having faith that we will be given them. I'm happy to be on this mission and it has honestly brought me closer to the knowlege of how great our father in heaven is and how much he really does love and care about each one of us. I hope you all have a great week this week,

Much love, 

Elder Thomas

3/14 Five Month Mark! 

Hey everyone, 

Well apparently it's my 5 month mark. This week has been a little crazy! There's so many things that happened but it's so hard to write them all so I'm just gonna give a short little spill. So we let go of a lot more people this week because one thing we started noticing out here is that people lie and lead you on. They are really nice but they say things to make you happy. So that's been a little rough but we haven't let it get to us and have been working harder than ever because the transfer has a few weeks left and we really want to reach our goal. So from working hard we have 10 new investigators. Five of them are Gypsies who are a little sketchy but they have been doing everything like going to church and reading the BOM. We also have a girl named Margita marked for baptism on the 27th. She believes everything about our church exept that she needs to be baptized again so we have been working with her and she's starting to understand that without the proper authority, a baptism will not count in the eyes of God. This is why we have the restoration. We have also been helping a couple of inactive families come back to church and they are coming now! 

Love you all and hope you all have a great week. FORÇA. 

Com Amor,

Elder Thomas

3/21 Miracle/Baptism! 

So to start....this week was a week of miracles! This was a week I won't forget! 

As many of you know, the last few weeks have been a little rough. Success one day would be lost the next. We were getting discouraged. We tried not to let it effect our work though. Day after day we worked really hard but nothing was happening! When we finally felt like giving up, a miracle happened! Let me just say, that God wants you to push until the very end or until the last minute, and if you do, you will honestly see miracles! I feel like he does this so we know the blessing came from exercising faith in him. It's a trial of faith and if we don't give up, he lets us know he's there, and that he's in charge. 

So here's the story. Last week we were waiting for some people at the bottom of a predio and a car passed by and suddenly slammed on it's brakes. The lady who was driving got out of the car and came over to us and said, "are you guys mormons?, because I've been looking for you and want to learn more about your church." We were in shock. So we talked to her and then she invited us to come back and teach her. She seriously accepted everything we taught her. We taught her a few lessons and then she even accepted to be baptized next week on the 27th. We knew because it was a little ways away not to get our hopes up. Then yesterday as we were filling up the font and getting things ready for another baptism but soon after the elders told us that their investigator bailed and that the baptism wasn't going to happen. We felt a little down and didn't know what to do because we had everything already set up. We were then inspired to call the girl we were teaching (Helena) and ask her if she felt ready to be baptized today. We expected her to say she needed a little more time but instead she went silent, laughed a little and then said to our surprise, "Elders, I'm ready right now." "I'm ready to be baptized." 

Well, after one hour of planning and me having to prepare a talk and tons of other things, Helena Suate entered into the waters of baptism at 4:25 and was cleaned from her past sins and mistakes and took upon her the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. The look on this woman's face is something I'll never forget. She said, "Elders, my soul is filled with joy and I feel clean from my past." "I know this is the right path." Then she said, "I'm 53 and yet I feel as clean as a baby!" haha It's hard to explain in just writing it but it was seriously a miracle when you know everything that happened! 

This was also the first baptism my companion has had in over 4 transfers. He was crying after. We have realized and it was made known unto us that we really are nothing in this work. We do NOTHING. Everything is done by the Lord and he has been forever merciful to us. He has blessed us without restraint and we have been filled with joy! We are in his hands. This is not everything but this was the highlight of my week! God is real and he loves every one of us! I hope you all have a great week! 

Con Amor, 

Elder Thomas

I just have to add my testimony to this because this has happened in my life many times through challenging experiences. There is a talk or audiobook called The Fourth Watch that I love. It explains how the disciples of Jesus had rowed against a fierce wind on the Sea of Galilee all through the night before Jesus finally came to their aid. He did not come until the "fourth watch," meaning near dawn. My testimony is that sometimes the Lord answers our prayers on his timetable and sometimes it's not until we have reached our extremity. In doing this it increases our faith and patience. We should never assume that he doesn't hear our prayers or that he doesn't care. He often works with us this way. His tender mercies and miracles do come if we press on with faith and patience! 

Weeks 1/18-2/15

1/18

Hey everyone! All good over here in Portugal! So far this week we have been called Satan 3 times, had a crazy drunk guy who had no clothes on try and give us a hug, saw a mini car crash, got yelled at countless times by random people because they think we worship Joseph Smith....and lots more haha! Our spirits are still high though! It actually just makes me laugh that people think we are so bad. All we are trying to do is help them. It’s sad to see how big of a hold satan has on some people, especially when you are doing something good. I have seen that a lot now and can recognize it more easily. A lot has been happening with one of our investigators. Her name is Anicy, and she is super humble and super accepting. We have had many lessons with her this week. She knows this gospel is true and even started crying at one point after I bore testimony. She had to go out of the room and come back. After Anicy left the room she told us that she knows it’s true but time after time when we leave she starts to have doubts again. There have been several occassions where she committed to going to church with us but she always ended up not coming because doubts started creeping in. Yesterday though she finally came! We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen but I know that she knows there is something different about this church. I want to testify to all of you that it’s true. This church is God’s church which is why Satan will do anything in his power to try and prevent God’s children to know that. Even though he tries, I know that light will always overcome the darkness. There is nothing the Lord can’t do. I’m happy to be given a reminder of this every single day here. I hope to have some good news for you all next time concerning the situation. I hope you all have a great week this week. Miss and love you all. Amo Voces.

Love, 

Elder Thomas

Part of Brock’s message to me: I really want this mission to change me so one day I found this talk that is called the 4th missionary. Please read it. You will understand more about what I want. Anyway, I have been reading and pondering about it. It basically talks about how the 4th missionary is the one who truly changes on his mission. He is the one who truly gives himself to God. He gives his dreams, desires, wants, everything!  He gives his will to the Lord and serves with all his might, mind and heart. I have been thinking about this a lot and what I need to do to become this type of missionary.

1/25

Hey everyone! So not much has happened this week. Right now things are a little slow and we haven’t been having as much success as we would like but this next week is going to be different. Our entire mission however, has been doing really well.  Yesterday we had 4 baptisms at our chapel. I love seeing baptisms! It’s one of the greatest experiences seeing people’s entire lives basically change right before your eyes. The happiness on their faces afterward is incredible. I love this gospel and I’m grateful that I can be here. During this mission I have seen lives change but while doing so I have felt a change in my life as well. I love my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to do this and to help his children return back to him. I love all you and hope everyone has a good week!

Love, Elder Thomas

Part of Brock’s message to me: This week I have continued to read the 4th missionary over and over because I really want to be that type of missionary. It’s been in my head these last few weeks and it’s all I want to focus on right now.

2/1

Sooo… just a normal week here in Portugal! To start off I went on a division with our district leader and it turned out to be pretty fun because we got into about 20 different debates with all these anti-mormom people haha. They think we worship Joseph Smith. The debate would usually stop after we told them to just look at our plaque on our church building which cleary says the The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints. It got pretty interesting at times and I even had an older man who got right in my face and at one point thought he was going to spit on me. Anyway the rest of the week was pretty normal. We are trying to find new people to teach but it’s challenging. We won’t give up though! Another funny thing that happened this week was a couple days ago when we were teaching an English class. We started teaching about foods and we started going down the food pyramid with them. We usually have them repeat what we say out loud so they get a feel for it. Well, when it got down to DAIRY I took over....I felt really bad but I just wanted to see if anyone would get it. I had them all repeat me but I told them instead to say Diarrhea. I do feel bad but it was seriously the funniest thing because they just sat there after and didn’t know why we were laughing,  Well that’s my week for ya! Don't take after my bad example! I love Missions and I love these people even more. I love you all and hope you all got a kick from this story. Have a good week!

Love, Elder Thomas

Comment from Me: Oh my goodness BROCK!!!! Yes bad example! haha I have to remember these boys are still young and immature!

2/8

Hey everyone! This week was really good. It started off by marking the Mom of our last baptism, for baptism. Her name is Luisa. It was actually super difficult haha. My companion and I both ended up having to baptize her because she’s about 90 years old, totally blind, and can’t walk. We had to carry her into the font. It was hilarious because the entire time she kept saying "Is it done?” “Am I baptized?" haha then when she actually got into the water she yelled out "ITS FREEZING, I was already baptized…get me out of here!"….then we dunked her. It was so awesome though and she was happy after. It made us feel happy knowing that she now has a chance to live with her daughter forever. The rest of the week went super smooth. We celebrated "Carnival" this week, which is this huge party that they have for 4 days in a row. We had this party with all the members which was super fun because one of my favorite members Samuel dressed up like some gangster and danced to every song haha. I love the members here! Transfers are next week and I honestly hope I stay because it would be sad to leave them but we will see! Already going into my 3rd transfer pretty soon and FINALLY I’m done with training. I’m excited to see what happens. Anyway thats about it here, I hope everyone had a fun SUPERBOWL weekend! (sorry Panthers) Love you guys, Ate logo.

Love, Elder Thomas

2/15/16

Hey Everyone! Sooo not too much has happened this week. We have started to teach some of our investigators again that we stopped teaching because they weren’t progressing but now they seem totally different. We had a really powerful lesson with Anicy (remember her?)  and I feel like she will definitely be baptized within these next few weeks as long as we keep moving at this same pace. It’s funny how the Lord does things sometimes. He knows who is ready and who is not. It’s about putting trust and faith in him and letting him guide you. We can’t see the way, but he can. Oh and the lady we baptized last week that was in her 90s, she was confirmed this week and during her confirmation she kept saying, “Yes, thank you Senior Padre,” which means “Sir Father OR Lord Father.”  She’s funny! So one thing I’ve been trying to work on more this week is trusting the Lord and letting him be my guide to those people who he knows are ready. Another thing that happened this week are transfers! It turns out that I will be staying in the same area but I will receive a new companion tomorrow. It’s going to be crazy because now I have to be the one who shows him around everywhere but it will be good! I also hit my 4 month mark! It’s crazy how fast it’s gone but then again it really has felt like a lifetime but I’m loving it here! I’m finally done with training also haha! Anyway, I hope everyone had a good week. To all you lovers out there, I hope you had a good Valentines Day! Miss and Love you all, Ate Logo. 

Com amor, Elder Thomas

First Baptism!

Hey everyone,

This week has been pretty crazy. This entire week we have been preparing this woman Ita for baptism. It has been really hard though. We don't know exactly what's going on with her but she has a few problems. We didn't know if we should still prepare her or not. So we have been praying a lot lately on knowing what to do. We didn't feel a direct answer so we decided to keep teaching. After some crazy stories and funny situations like one being how she said she would give up coffee but then would drink it again the day after, she was baptized! We helped her with all of these situations and we got her to give up coffee. It was awesome hearing her say this. She also chose me to baptize her...not going to lie I was a little nervous. This was my first baptism and I had to do it in Portuguese but when the time came to do it, all my nerves left and I felt peaceful and everything went super smooth! She was baptized yesterday (Sunday) at 1 pm. Portugal time. We then walked her back and my companion and I had to carry her mom who is 87 up 3 flights of stairs!  haha At one point I seriously thought she was going to drop! Ita will become a confirmed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints next Sunday! We have also marked 2 others to be baptized in these next 2 weeks so we will see how this goes. It's been awesome having all this success lately. I have been praying hard and I know the Lord has heard my prayers. I know he hears all prayers. I have to go but I hope you are all having a great week. E-mail me! Love you all.

Love, 

Elder Thomas

Transfers! Baptisms! AND I Look Like a Troll!

Tudo Bem everyone,

So this week was really good! We have been finding a lot more investigators to teach lately all thanks to the power of prayer. We as of right now have 2 people marked for baptism on January 10th. There’s a big story behind these 2 women we are going to baptize. I will explain more next week but everything is good right now. We had an AP stay at our house this last week, which has been a huge help! Especially to motivate the older missionaries in my house who are going home soon to get a lot more done! haha. We also started doing yoga every morning with him because he got permission from our mission president. We’re all pretty sore but it’s a good sore! Another benefit from living with an AP is that they have information! We were able to find out about our transfers tomorrow early. I’ll be staying here in Barreiro with my same companion if what he told us is right. I’m sure it is. I’m actually really happy about it because I know there’s alot more work to do here. I hope to bring others unto Christ here. I just want you all to know that missions are truly amazing! I have learned so much in the short time I’ve been out. I love it here and I love how much my testimony has grown. I promise any of you who are thinking about serving, you will NEVER regret the choice to do so! It will truly be one of the most important things you will ever do in your life. The changes and memories you make will forever be with you throughout your life.  I can already see the difference it is making in my own. I love you all and I hope you all had a Happy New Year! YEAH 2016!!!.

Teem um boa semana. Amo voces.

Love,

Elder Thomas

A funny part of Brock’s message to me personally: Today I got a haircut. It looks really bad! haha They don’t know how to cut hair here but it’s whatever. I guess I’m fine with looking like a troll.

You can't tell from the picture but this is the fattest cat I've ever seen! 

P-Day After Christmas!

Hey Everyone! How was Christmas? It was really good here. We had 2 huge meals made by some amazing members. They really fed us! I'm still stuffed from it. We didn't get to do much work unfortunately because of how many people we had to go see but it was so nice to see the way they celebrate Christmas here. They actually don't celebrate it on the 25th. They all party and do presents on the 24th so when they had us over they basically did everything again just for us so that was really nice! haha. We ate alot of fish......I sure love fish.....ha. Im still trying to get used to it! haha. Im sure I will! Anyway later that night I got to skype my family. It was so nice. Just seeing my family made me almost tear up haha but I'm so glad I got to see them all. Family really is one of the most important things that we have here on this earth. They have been my strength while I've been out here on my mission. I never really appreciated them as much as I should have but I love knowing that I will have the chance to be with them for eternity. Never forget how important familes are. They're not only important to us but they're important to God. I'm so glad that I know this. Being on a mission helps me to see it better. I love my mission and I love this gospel. I miss all of you and I hope you all had a good Christmas and a good Sunday yesterday. Ate logo todas pessoas. Amo voces. 

Amo,

-Elder Thomas 

Merry Christmas!

Tudo bem todas pessoas. This week hasn't been too crazy! We have been really busy with members and Christmas parties! It's been really fun. We haven't been able to teach as much though so hopefully things will start to pick up after Christmas! This Christmas is going to be so different but so nice. We have 2 meal appointments with members on Christmas and we have one on Christmas Eve. The people fight to have missionaries over on Christmas....maybe it's because we bring American food and games! haha  I love it though haha. I said this last week but I just want to say it again, Christmas is so special. Being on a mission helped me to see that more. We were given the most amazing gift, Jesus Christ, our Savior. God gave us his beloved son. It amazes me, but it only proves how much the Lord and our father in heaven truly love us. Keep him in your thoughts and remember how blessed we really are. I love this mission. I love the opportunity to serve others and to serve my Lord. I miss all of you and I hope you all have a great Christmas, be safe driving...I've seen Utah pics and looks like its snowing alot ha...(suckers;)..) jk. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Love Elder Thomas

Part of Brock's message to me: 

I've been opening the 12 Days of Christmas gifts!! THANK YOU so much Mom haha!! I love all of them so far haha!! They're so funny and the others laugh when they see them but they're awesome thank you! I'm highlighting all the scriptures that go along with them. 

I finally got to play basketball with a new convert and his friends. It was a great missionary opportunity and they were surprised a white boy like me could play! 

Today my companion and I went to the HUGE mall again and hung around and shopped. There is not a lot to do in this area on P-Day. 

January 4th is my first transfer. 

I can't wait to Skype on Christmas and see and talk to everyone! 

Mon 12/21/2015 9:20 AM

2 Months!

Bon-dia everyone! I can't believe I have been gone for a total of 2 months! It's crazy how fast time goes. Well this last week has been pretty normal. Just working day by day trying to bring others unto Christ. Our area is pretty funny. It looks like a really rough area but really everyone here is so nice and humble but there is also a lot of partying, drinking, and smoking that goes on here. I have never seen so many drunk people or so many cigarettes in the streets in my entire life...haha. I feel like I've smoked several packs of cigarettes so far just from second hand smoke! We have taught a few drunk people in the streets and I could've sworn one was so close to barfing on us haha....but usually they are nice and give us a chance to share our message. After they usually ask for money....so instead we hand out Christmas cards and pamphlets. They take them though.:) I'm pretty sure they don't know what they're doing! I've seen some pretty crazy stuff here so far! 

The language is still hard but I'm just trying to have faith that it's all going to come! Everyone that lives in our house, which is just us and 2 other elders, are older and are close to going home. I'm the baby! I like our house though. The food is okay. I've never eaten so many sandwiches before. I thought I had but NO! haha That's all we have for almost every meal because we barely have time to make anything and everything else is pretty expensive. 

Last week we had a ward Christmas party that was really fun and tomorrow we have a mission Christmas party which I'm excited for! It will be nice to meet everyone else on the mission and get some more insight! Christmas is coming so soon. This Christmas is really special and since I've been here my thoughts on Christmas have totally changed. It's about the Savior. We were given the greatest gift ever from our loving Heavenly Father. I can't imagine how hard it was for God to give his son to us, but he did it because he loves us, and Christ was willing. I am so grateful for my Lord Jesus Christ. They have given us everything. We have so much to be grateful for. I love this gospel and I love what it brings. I'm happy to be here sharing it with others in need and learning from all types of experiences. I love and miss you all and I hope and pray your all doing well. Have a good week everyone! 

Love Elder Thomas