Stay Strong!

Heyy.
Sorry I'm late today. We went to a place called Native Village today and saw some gators! Ha. It was way cool. I have pics but no cord to upload them :( and no envelope to send the sim card home. But it was super cool. I was talking to the zl's and I guess you can take vids. So there are some sweet videos too. Oh, and I got to hold/kiss an alligator. It was SICK!! 
Anyway. It was a pretty good week. "L" has been avoiding us... Probably ran into some anti. We'll try to keep going with her but it's been almost a week since we last saw her. We also knocked President's street yesterday. It's a super rich street so the AP's never knocked there because they didn't have the faith. But Elder Larsen and I did, and first of all, left 3 blessings, and found a way sick family of 7! We think it's just the mom and kids, but it was way awesome to have that much success on such a street. I'm glad my pic is finally on the blog. The "P's" are way cool. I barely got to see Fort Laud. We just drove by on the way home. Next week we're going to the mall. Sawgrass mall, apparently it's like the 15th biggest in the world. Then maybe the next p day, we can go see Fort Laud. I really want to. It's starting to get way hot. The humidity is way bad. It's so thick and makes you sweat a lot. There wasn't rain here for like 2-3 weeks but last week it rained a couple times. There's way awesome lightning/thunder here. Huge bright flashes and crazy thunder. I love it. 
Man, I wish I could be there for "T's" endowment. Tell him congrats and I love him!
Gator wise (investigator), we have a date with this Haitian girl that we blessed. She's at least 16 (we're not sure yet..), and she's pretty cool. We're still in the early stages, but we'll see how it goes. Also, a girl named "T" She really wants to be baptized, her fam might hold her back though... So we're trying to work through that. We gave her a BoM and she seems excited to learn. Umm.. Idk no one else like way cool. We've gone around and visited with a lot of members. The ward here is way awesome. Especially the ward mission leader. Bro. "W", he's way sweet. There's a way funny Chinese couple in the ward.  
I'm glad that my pants are finished, those were my fave. It's been a while since I've been able to wear them. Dad, those ties I sent home, you can wear them until I get back. Those are my nice ones so I like never wear them. But I want them back..
Ok, well.. Still not a lot going on in my life. Just same old same old. Working hard. Having a good time. I love it here. It's lots of fun. I miss you all. And love you guys like crazy. Stay strong.

Harvesting

Hey.
How is everyone? I hope you guys are doing good. I love you all a ton.

Well.. Still a lot of knocking doors.. But we are trying to get out and see all of the members of the ward so we've been doing some stop-bys for less actives and we had a couple appts. with other members. We did find a really cool lady on Friday though. Our zone leaders, Elder F and Elder B, came and did a fire exchange with us. We just harvested with them, me with Elder F and Elder L with Elder B. Elder F and I had a good experience. We walked up to a house and there was a lady standing outside doing something. We told her who we were and that we were sent to leave a blessing. She said sure and we just prayed with her out there. She was crying at the end and we invited her to be baptized and she agreed! She was talking about her past and how she just wants a new beginning and she knew that this was what she was looking for. 

The 4th was ok. We went to a members house for a BBQ in the afternoon. But that's like the only fun thing. The pizza was awesome! Everyone loved it. And it was such a surprise because I didn't know my address.. But I'm sure glad you found it out somehow. Your guys' 4th sounds pretty good. I can't believe you guys can do those 5k's. I would never. We went jogging one morning and it was like the worst thing in the world. And we only went like 1 mile. Running in vans didn't help either.. 
But anyway, yeah there's not a whole bunch to report on this week.. Not a whole lot going on. I'll try to find cool things to write about. We might go to downtown Fort Laud today so I'll see a lot of familiar sights. Elder T and Elder H (they live with us) said they drove by a Bubba Gump Shrimp by the beach and I told them that it's totally the one we ate at while we were here! So cool.
Yeah but I love you guys. I hope you guys are happy. Even though missionary work is like the hardest/most disappointing thing ever, I'm happier than ever. It's because of the gospel and the opportunity I have to be around it and living it all the time. I've seen it change the worst people into solid followers of Jesus Christ. And they'll say it too, they're happier than they've ever been. Please, if there is ANYTHING that is getting in the way of you living the gospel, destroy it, end it, stop it. Don't let anything distract you from what you came here to do: receive eternal life. This life will be hard. And giving up some things will be very hard. But it's all worth it. Do you know how hard it is to be away from you? It sucks. But this is worth so much more. I would rather be dirt poor, with no friends and have the gospel than be rich, with lots of friends and popularity, without it. It means more than anything. Heavenly Father wants you back. 
I love you.

Plantation

Hi guys. Welp... I'm glad you guys liked the message. She kinda just held the phone up to my face so I was a little caught off-guard.. Anyway, as you know, I'm in Plantation. It used to be the AP's area, but they sorta migrated to the Nova ward so there hasn't been missionaries here for like 6 months. That means we have nothing to work with. We have to start all from scratch. It's not fun.. We just harvest all day. In rich, white,  complexes... Oh, but we do have a car. Which is really nice. Before I forget, I want to wish Mom and happy birthday! And dad, happy father's day. Sorry it's so late. I've had a lot on my mind lately.. Anyway. Yeah Plantation isn't the best.. But the ward and members are way cool. They were happy to have us there. There are some cool members. It's really small compared to Boynton. And very very white.. But yeah that testimony I bore.. The 2nd counselor was conducting and before the meeting, he encouraged us to bear our testimonies, then like twice throughout speaking, he said something like, and we invite you members and guest and MISSIONARIES (he'd look right at us) to bear their testimonies. He did it in a joking way so it was fine.  A guy told me I had an elegant last name. The mission president lives in our area. So that will be kinda weird.. What if we see him just like driving around? haha. (He visits different wards all the time, so he probs won't be at church) And the mission office is in it too. It's super weird because the only times I've been to the Plantation chapel was for transfer meeting so going to church there was odd. The apartment is pretty nice though. I like it a lot. We live with the Fort Laud south elders. Fort Laud north and creole live in the same complex. I don't know the address... I forgot to grab it when we left.. Sorry. But I'm right by the office so it won't be a huge delay to get mail.  Yeah so being in Plantation means another thing.. Remember that lady whose house got saved from the tornado?  Well we stopped by her house on like Friday and talked to her. Elder K (the AP) told me that she wasn't progressing well.. But I went and saw her. She said thanks but it wasn't even like sincere. And I asked her about meeting with the other missionaries and she just said she has her own church. It's too bad.  Idk if he has yet, but a guy named M B will call you. Remember Elder B from Wellington? I think I told you a little bit about him. He's a good friend that just went home. I wasn't supposed to see him again but luckily I did. So normally, the missionaries going home go to transfers at like 6 am on Wednesday, go all day, come back to the mission home, eat and hang out, then leave the next day. So they don't actually go to transfer meeting. They just leave. But the temple is closed for a bit, so they went on the Friday before and they were at transfer meeting. I was so happy when I saw him. He's had the biggest impact on me and my mission so far. I can't even tell you how much he means to me. And when he got to transfers, he like sought me out, which was like the best part. I love him.  yeah I gave him your info so he'll be calling soon. Oh and dad, he gave me that spanish book so I want to keep it. I never use it because it's pretty advanced... But it has sentimental value.. K well, wish me luck everyone! I'll need it here in Plantation.. No it's fun though. I'm with Elder L. He's way awesome. We get along and laugh a lot. He looks like a mix between Elder Furch and Draco Malfoy. hahaha. I'll get a pic soon. I love you guys. Thanks for all that you do. Miss you. Love you.  Elder Jaren Thorne

Another Transfer

So it was a pretty interesting week. On like Wednesday, we were harvesting and we knocked this door, and like 4 annoying little dogs started freaking out on the inside. So we were just like ugh, because that's never a good thing. Someone came up to the door and quickly just stepped outside on the porch, and it was an old man. Which is another bad sign (old people aren't receptive... at all). Well we introduce ourselves and say we're representatives of Jesus Christ and ask if we can pray with him. He goes, "Where did you guys come from?" Kind of an odd question, we just said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And he's just like, ok let's pray. So we said a prayer with him right there. After, we asked how he felt and said we want to come back and share a message about Jesus Christ and he agreed. Then he goes, "Are you guys angels?" and he started to cry. We were shocked but testified that we were sent from God. He was choked up so he couldn't talk so he just went inside. Awesome right? Well we went back to our appointment like the next day and he was super Baptist and born again and lame. I was so mad. But the harvesting experience was awesome..

“S” is getting baptized on Saturday. That should be a good experience.

K on Saturday morning, we helped a family move out.Yeah. I'm getting transferred... Ugh. I'll miss this place a ton. I've grown to love it here. I'm pretty bummed about it. So can you make sure there's plenty of money on my card? I'm going to have to send some stuff home because I've accumulated a lot of stuff..I'll let you know next week about everything. Love you guys.

Spectacular lightning show

Dear Thorne family.. and others. This was an ok week.. We had an Amazing lesson with "S" last Monday here at the church (she was coming here anyway for the YSA FHE) Our appt. was scheduled at 6 but she called and said she'd be a little bit late, which was fine because  we had nothing else going on. She got there at 6:30 and that's when "B" (RM of about 2 1/2 yrs, Las Vegas) pulled in to set up for the FHE so he sat in which was really awesome. We were going to teach the Plan of Salvation, but after talking to her a bit we both felt impressed to teach the Gospel. We asked how her reading has been and how she has felt as she's read. She goes, "I'm starting to feel It now"... Elder "B" and my jaws just dropped. We were both just shocked, because that like never happens. It was so cool! So we kept teaching and invited her to be baptized. She was nervous and had some concerns because she felt like you needed to be perfect, but we read some scriptures with her and she felt better. Elder "B" invited her to be baptized on Sunday (yesterday) and I was a little stand offish because it seemed so soon.. But she accepted and we were super excited. Well she was very nervous and shaky about it so her friend who referred her called us on Thursday and said that they were talking and "S" felt like she wasn't ready so we thought an interview would help. It was really good but she was still not set.. So it didn't happen. But that's ok. She'll get baptized soon. I hope I stay for it. Oh yeah, transfers are next Wednesday! Crazy fast. So if you send something after like Wednesday, send it to the office just in case. "R" has been hard to meet with.. He works a ton and he's on call all the time so we haven't seen him since that first time. But idk if I've mentioned them before but there's an inactive lady, who we've worked with for a little while. But the last couple of weeks we've really pushed to help her and her family. Her and her husband (nonmember) have three kids, just one who's baptismal aged. They're super cool and she was baptized like 15 years ago and has been inactive for like 12.. but Bro. "R" (3 kids, all around the same age) came to see them with us once and him and the husband totally hit it off. Talking about tv's and grinders and other man stuff. And they were gonna come to church but apparently something came up... Which scared us a little, but the "R's" invited them to an FHE at their home and they said yes! So we're going over too which will be a ton of fun. Bro. "R" is like the coolest guy. I love when he comes out with us cuz he's way funny and awesome. Him and his wife got sealed just like 4 years ago because she wasn't a member and he went less active. But they are SO awesome.  Oh on Tuesday and Wednesday night, there was CRAZY lightning going on. It was so awesome. Like every 3 seconds there'd be a huge one. And super loud thunder. Way Way sweet.  That's been the highlights of the week. Not much happened. Same old same old.. I love you guys a ton. Thanks for everything. I miss you. Love  Elder Jaren Thorne  Oh remember the first time i shined my shoes and i was such a noob? well I've become quite the shoe shine whiz. I'm looking good now. oh, which reminds me, we talked to this old lady yesterday (Jehovah's Witness) and she was actually super nice. she complimented my grey eyes and said I had eyebrows that a woman would kill for. so thanks mom and dad. love you guys. and Hailey and Heather... and V...love you too. bye!

Another week gone by

Ok well hello fam.

This week was a little bit slow here in Florida.. We met some pretty cool people but we still have to work on helping them to progress in the gospel and commit to be baptized. There's one girl, "S", is Hatian and 18 and way cool. She came to church last Sunday with her friend "LD." She liked it and we went and talked to her and set up an appt for Monday (last P-day). She lives in Lake Worth. Actually north of our area. So SUPER far up there. Ugh that wasn't fun.. (We got permission to teach her since she has fellowship in the ward) Anyway, she's really cool and pretty much understands everything. That first lesson we just taught about the BoM and headed of because it was pretty late. We went back on Thursday and taught the rest of the Restoration. She went to the YSA activity on Saturday then came to church yesterday and is going to the YSA FHE tonight! The YSA has been awesome in bringing her in and being friendly.
We also taught another guy, "R" The sisters passed him to us a couple weeks ago and he was excited to meet with us, but he works a lot. We stopped by his apt on Friday but he wasn't home, only his wife and kids. So we decided to just teach them. The mom was pretty against the BofM, saying that she just needs the Bible. We were like, "Bible. Book of Mormon. Go together. Make sense?" and the kid was just like, "Yes.." because the mom just couldn't get that we believe in both. So that was kind of a rough lesson. Anyway, we went back on Saturday and met with "R" and that was like totally opposite. He was open and willing to listen. He said something like, 'my wife told me that you came over and taught her and gave her this book. When I saw it, I was so jealous.' haha. So we just explained it and read the first part of 3rd Nephi 11 with him and he loved it. That was a powerful lesson.

Those are 2 cool people we're working with. They should get baptized soon. Transfers are 2 weeks away!! Crazy right? It's been a good one. Oh yeah, we helped a family move in this week! I love it here. It is stressful and hard and tough and annoying and just wears you down to the very core. But I couldn't be happier. I love you guys.

An awesome week

Awe man. Awesome week here in South Florida. E got baptized!! We have been teaching her for a couple months now and she is super awesome. She always had a lot of great gospel questions and just took everything in. A couple weeks ago, we committed her to be baptized on May 27, but as it approached, she felt like she wasn't ready at that time. So we saw her last week and set up an interview with Elder Beard (DL) for Thursday. After the interview, Elder Beard came out smiling, he always smiles so we had no idea if it was good or what. Apparently it was one of his best interviews and after that, she was ready and way excited!! She said she wanted to do it on Saturday and so we set everything up and had one of the best baptisms I've ever been a part of. Whew it was so awesome.  And there's literally a BILLION gnats flying around. And we have to bike through them. So here's a pic of my face actually right before E's baptism. Crazy. That was awesome. Other than that.. We're kinda just starting on square one. We left a lot of blessings in peoples' homes, and even set up return appointments, but they keep falling through or whatever. So we don't have a whole lot to work with now. 

There's a really amazing talk on the Atonement by I think Cleon Skousen. I read it in Flagler and really wish I would have made a copy, but could you try to track it down and send it? Thanks. And thanks for sending all of that stuff. I'm excited to get it. I got the iPod (I don't think I answered you yet) And I have plenty of diabetes supplies. Oh, and one more thing you could send, some slim jims. 

I think that's good, dad, that you are making a mormon.org prof. I also would encourage all of you to make one. It's an amazing tool that the Church has to share/spread the gospel. It's really fun to go on there and see other people and their stories. 

So this past couple of weeks, I've been studying the BoM. Like really studying it, not just reading. And it's been one of the best experiences ever. I've really gotten deep into it and I've learned a ton and have just loved it. I'm only on 2Nephi now but I've learned a lot more than I ever had before. My love for the Book of Mormon has just sky rocketed. I can't believe that anyone wouldn't want to read it themselves. It just befuddles me. 

Well, other than that, things with Elder Bloom are still sweet. We're having a good time. I love it out here. I miss you all a ton but there's no place I'd rather be. I love you.