wow it sounds like a lot
has been going on this week! dad is doing great with his job(still
looking like the young man he was 50 years ago), mom is getting to take
free plane slash vacation rides with dad, the Watts family are always up
to no good and having too much fun, Kara and josh sound like they are
finding themselves and still enjoying each others company and Megan and
Selina are working hard and loving life each and ever single day. Sounds
like the Thorpe family to me, still all moving around doing stuff to
keep themselves busy, good old family love you all! just one question
when are all of you going to just relax or is relaxing not in your
vocabulary?!?! You are all in my prayers and there is not a moment were
not one of you don't come up in my head and I think back of how blessed
I am to represent my wonderful, silly, and outgoing family and friends!
thank you once again for all you have done for me and to help me get
were I am today.
Mom asked a really good question when she e-mailed
me "what has been going on with you?" just want to say that was a very
inspired question...what have i been doing..? well A lot spiritually,
mentally and psychically but not all in that order. My last area was in
Auckland in an area called Henderson and my ward was Henderson valley
ward, the members over there were great, they loved helping out with the
missionary work and accepted any challenge that they were asked to do.
The bishopric was great and were all in-tune in helping out with getting
those less actives back into church and making the investigators feel
welcome. That was on the spiritual side part, the psychical was that I
had to ride my bike all around that area, which wasn't too easy because
not only did I gain leg muscles but I also gained a little bit of
stomach muscles(yes I am gaining just a little weight but not too much
that is noticeable). Also we were doing a lot of getting to know the
youth and YSA(Young Single Adults boys), that was riding bikes while
being pulled on a razor scooters, going on hikes with them, and playing
basketball or touch rugby we were there with the youth and YSA boys
because we felt that getting to know the youth and showing them that
missionary work is not only just finding people to teach but was also
all about having fun in times were it was most
appropriate(sometimes).They loved being around my old companion and I
that they would call us up to just to go do missionary work with them
and visit less actives, members and investigators with us. Those were
the physical and spiritual part of my last area but the mental part is
that there wasn't much thinking that went into me doing all this it was
by the spirit and the spirit worked through my companion and I. I will
always cherish the moments in Henderson and never forget the time my old
companion and I had together with the members, investigators and less
actives.
Before I left Elder Matua(my old companion) and I
were teaching a family name the Toala, Mel and her two kids Dimond and
Dontay were getting ready to be baptize in three weeks. Well it is sad
to say that I have left that journey with the Toala family and left it
with my old companion Elder Matua to finish the job up. I trust him with
all my heart and soul that he will do a great job at helping the Toala
family reach the waters of Baptism. Please keep him and his new
companion in your prayers he will be needing all the help and support he
needs from family and friends back home and here but they will do a
great job. As you would of all already guessed I was called on Wednesday
afternoon to be transferred to a new area with a new companion. On my
last night while packing up Mel that is sister Toala, her twelve year
old son Dimond and her eleven year old daughter Dontay came to mine and
Elder Matuas flat that night around six, and because I was leaving the
next day in the morning they wanted to come say goodbye. Dimond came and
gave me with teary eyes and a smile on his face the BIGGEST HUG EVER! i
hugged him back and had tears come down on my eyes too. This twelve
years old boy even though he barely met me not knowing much of me gave
me a hug that i will never forget and cherish for the rest of my life.
Dimond was like a little brother I never had, both of us would make
jokes at each other ever time we would be over at there place, and
something that stood out to me while teaching at his house one day was
these words that came out of his mouth..."I want to serve a mission when
i get older", even though he still has some years to go i know that
Dimond has that determination to go on a mission like when he first did
when he heard about the story about Joseph smith, and he hasn't been
stopping on reading the book of Mormon and wanting to learn more ever
since. My last words to Dimond were these "don't give up, no matter what
you do, don't give up". It was a heart felt moment for me and Dimond i
will miss him but i know that goodbyes are not forever! I will see him
again! It wasn't me that changed Dimond it was heavenly father, it
wasn't my example that he was following it as heavenly fathers, and it
wasn't my teachings that him and his family were following..it was our
heavenly fathers teachings.
I am now in my new area Called Whangarei, the
way you pronounce the word in the beginning is with the letter 'F', i
know it is kind of weird but that is cause I am out in the country side
were all the Mario people are. I am not in Auckland city anymore, I am
just out side about four to three hour drive out in the country side. I
made sure to take some pictures while in the car ride down here, and
there is tons and tons of green out here! My new companions name is
Elder Long, from you called it California!! He is the district leader
and because our are well the zone is so spread out we drive a car!!!
woahh! finally who ever prayed for me to get a car I just want to say
thank you! all the championships in Whangarei zone have a car beside one
companionship which their area is in the town. All the districts are
also spread out by a an hour away from each other...so P-days consist of
just one district or usually just a two or three companionship's. It is
just absolutely beautiful out here! love it love it love it! My
companion and I also found a family name Thorpe s also...so we will be
looking into them to see if they are related somehow with the family.
On sunday
we took the mission prep class out with us, i went over to one of the
students mates house with a returned missionary, so there were three of
us going to one of the students mates house. It was a great experience
because the kid name Aaron was preparing to go on a mission and this was
his first time ever bringing up the gospel up to his mates. He grew up
making trouble with these his friends, and had a change of heart and
decided to prepare to go on a mission. It was great, Aaron did great and
his friends were open to him and what he had to say, later after we
left Aaron said that he wasn't positive what they would say but was
happy they were opened to what he shared. Aaron had more strength then I
ever did because wanting to share the gospel with my friends was
something I never wanted to do but seeing Aaron someone who didnt know
much about missionary work and him sharing his testimony was something
spectacular! Here was thing eighteen year old boy talking about the
gospel with his mates that he grew up with and having the spirit or
strength to change and trying it for the first time on his
friends...talk about courage. Just sharing his testimony to his friends
and hearing it from him opened my eyes that you don't need to know a lot
of things in order to have a testimony about the church.
My lesson this week was on change, and love. The two
go together perfectly putting it in my foot of missionary work, we had
to change ourselves and our ways in order to be more converted
ourselves. It also came down to three things, love, duty, and fear, are
we getting up every day for work, school, and ect. for the love of it or
because it is our duty to do it, or because we fear if we don't do it
we will get in trouble. It really hit me with this question, are we as
members going to church ever day and being representatives of Jesus
Christ because it is our duty to, or it is our fear or is it because we
want and love to!? I reflected on that question and asked myself am I
doing the missionary work because it is my duty, or because I have a
fear of it or because I love it and it is the will of my father. That is
something I will have to find out for myself while still out on my
mission, the mortal is that is are we doing all we are doing because we
love to do it or is it because it is our duty or because we have fear of
what might happen if we don't. Go to church because you love to go to
church not because you feel like it is a duty or because you have a fear
what might happened if you dont but go because you love your heavenly
father and want to do his will. I just want to leave you all a question
to think about, What am I doing everything for...LOVE?...DUTY?...or
FEAR??.. we have to be willing to do everything out of love not because
it is our duty or because we have a fear of what might happen if we
dont.
Thank you all for you encouragement and the help you
have been giving him, thank you for being good examples to me! hope all
your weeks go great and all is well! Remember have fun, smile and laugh
a little!
from Elder Thorpe
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