Doctrine/Principle/Application

Our investigators are doing well. None made it to church :( Things came up... But we already committed them for next Sunday so it's in their plans now. We met an older guy on Saturday, “G.” He wasn't able to make it to church because his car's not registered. We told him we could get him a ride but he's like No I'll come next Sunday. I was like, eh he's not that solid. But he wanted us back the next day, so we saw him yesterday. 
We walked up and he was in the same spot he was when we first met him, sitting on a chair on his porch with his music playing right next to him. We sat next to him and asked if we could turn off the radio. He stood up, and just said we could go inside. Which was sweet, it's hard to actually get inside homes. Well we went in and taught him. So you know that I'm a pretty loving person, and I try to do what President Monson said, "see others as they may become". I really loved “G” from the beginning. So he was telling us that he really likes his home; he had just moved there 3 months earlier. But the street is pretty bad (it is). There's always loud music and loud cars and people out there causing a ruckus. And he's like "I'm unhappy". That phrase like almost made me cry. It was weird but really spiritual. And I think because of that, we had one of the best first lessons I've ever been a part of. He's preparing for baptism on the 31st! It was awesome. 
Our other investigators are doing well. “A” is still cool, just slept in yesterday. We've just got to get them to church and they'll be all set. We have a method of teaching here called why/what/how (doctrine/principle/application). And we're really starting to apply it. Like, it's been in the mission for a while, but no one really understood it. But the past couple of weeks, we've had trainings and talked to the AP's and I'm really starting to get it. And now, our teaching is so much more powerful. It was introduced by President, and now I see why. I could go into detail, but it took a 5 hour comp study with the AP's for them to explain it to me. haha. But basically:

A Doctrine is an eternal truth.

A Principle is also a truth.

The Application is to take those to action.

So example (the doctrine should be desire boosting)

 D- Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be cleansed and forgiven of all our sins, and we can receive a strength and power to press forward.

P- The way we access that power in our lives is to have faith in Jesus Christ by keeping His commandments.

A- Will you show your faith and (keep a specific commandment)

That's just an example. But it's super powerful in real life. 

I"M SO EXCITED FOR MY NEW BIKE!!!! I don’t know if you should get more insurance. I'm still around the place where it was almost stolen. So probably.

Kkkkkk. well I love you all. My mission has been the best. I love it. Elder “B” is still cool. Still a greenie, but cool :) haha I miss you guys. LOVE YOU ALL!!

Elder J Thorne

Doing good

Dear family,

Well..  I'm doing good. How is everyone at home? Did you know that my birthday will be my 6-months-left mark? Crazy.... Question. Is the series House over? I saw that it might be. I hope not. I love that show. I need to catch up on it when I get home. So you know how we're going to celebrate my birthday when I get home? Well I want you to save all that money, don't spend it on anything yet. Because I want a Chevy Camaro. haha. Seriously. I've literally fallen in love with that car since I've been out. I know I won't get one... but I love them. But still save the money so we can decide what to do with it. 

Anyway.. “J's” back! haha. Well... kind of. We went back last Monday and like Friday. Had good lessons with them. They still want to progress and work towards baptism. And so we went back last night and talked to “K” and “J2,” and they said he hadn't been home since Saturday morning. So we're a little worried for that. Hope he's ok. 

“A” and “H” are still about the same. We're kind of in the rut that we just go over and share a word and just hang out. They even refer to us as family haha. And like, most missionaries have the misconception of becoming friends with people, then baptizing their friends. Which, yes, is really good. But it doesn't work that way. Our purpose is to baptize people, and one of the applications is to be their friend. So we need to do kind of a reversal of roles with them. Which is kind of hard but we'll do it. Like last time we went over, they were watching a movie and she made us super good fried shrimp and fries. Ah. It was awesome. haha. We did talk about the restoration a little, but there were too many distractions. We'll do it though :)

We also blessed a super cool guy named “A” (2 of his little daughters were there too). When we ended the prayer, he pretty much invited himself to be baptized. We asked how he felt and he was like "oh I feel so good. You know in those church shows when the preacher touches someone and they catch the Holy Ghost? (which is totally false.. but oh well) I feel that. Man I wish I could have that all the time." Haha I know right? Perfect lead in to a baptism invite. He couldn't make it to church because he slept in. He forgot about the time change.. But he's preparing for the 24th. We're seeing him tonight. 

Which reminds me. It was stake conference yesterday. It was really really good. President Anderson spoke first. He did good. After the meeting, all the baptisms in the zone (which is the stake) got baptized. There were 13. It was a really cool experience. 

I still need to call CTR bikes back. I sort of tinkered with my brakes so that they sort of stop. haha. I ride slower and safer now. I'll call them when I'm done with this. I haven't received any cards yet..

Welp... I can't believe I'm on the down slope. Happened just like that didn't it? Crazy..     What am I talking about? I've got tons of time left :) haha i miss you all. I Love you so much!!

Love, Elder Thorne

A new companion

Dear Home,

This past week was really good. My new companion is Elder “J.” He's from Mesa, AZ. He’s a pretty cool guy. We get along well. He loves basketball and the NBA so we talk a lot of basketball. Everything is going well with him. We had a really good last half of the week, since with “R” it was pretty much just saying bye to people. But we got out and got a lot done. Elders “J” and “V” stayed in the apartment with us. And Elder “B” and “A” stayed in Ft Lauderdale South. We're all becoming pretty good friends. The Plantation elders actually moved out of the other apartment (the one I used to stay at), and they moved to Plantation. I think that was last Friday.

This past few days have been freezing again! OMG it's so annoying. Especially when you're riding bike all the time. Ugh I hate being cold....

So the story with “J” and “K.” They can't get baptized just yet.  But they've actually been on my mind the last couple of days, so we're going over to see them tonight. “A” and “H” are still way awesome. “H” and her 2 sons came to church!! “A” had to work, but it was so sweet to see her sitting back there. She got there a little bit late, but “F,” the 8 year old, came and tapped us on the shoulder to tell us they made it haha. They only came to Sacrament Meeting but that's alright. Hopefully they'll get baptized on the 17th. That's what we're shooting for. 

I've been so exhausted all week. I was nervous about transfers, so I got barely any sleep Monday and Tuesday night. And of course there isn't any time to make it up during the week. So it's kind of hard to focus right now. haha. Did I tell you that I got stung by a bee last week? First time in my life. I was actually riding my bike, and it hit me in the forehead, then it got stuck in between my head and my helmet so it started freaking out. I hurried and hit it away and stopped, but not before it stung me haha. Also, some punk kids tried to steal my bike! haha. We take the front tires off and lock up the tires and the frame with a U-lock. Apparently (some little girl saw it and told us) they just had a hammer and were nailing my u-lock. Luckily it stayed strong and nothing was stolen, but they bent the frame and now the back brakes don't work. haha. so I don’t know what to do. I talked to the bike guy and he's not sure. I called CTR bikes and they were supposed to call back but they haven't yet. haha. But I've been fine so far. 

Thanks a lot family for everything. I couldn't do this without you guys. I love you all!

Elder J Thorne

Staying in "Fort Laud"

Hey everyone!

How is everything going? Things over here in Fort Laud are going pretty good. We’re finding a lot of people, but it's hard to get them to keep commitments. But I LOVE this area a lot. There are some really really good people, which I'll talk about in a second.. But now for what you all want to hear... Elder “R”- transfers. Elder Thorne- stays. Which is a pretty big relief for me. I'm super happy I'm staying. This will be the longest I've been in an area. I was in Boynton for 3 transfers. But anyway. Life at home sounds good. Cold though. Man I am not excited to come home to that ha. It's pretty hot over here, especially on bike, but I hate being cold..

So investigator wise.. Sorry I haven't talked a lot about mission stuff. We're teaching a guy named “R.” He's a big big guy who likes a lot of the stuff we teach. About 11 years ago he was struggling, but he turned his life around and started going to church for 10 years straight. Then he fell away and he says he's been spiritually weak. Then we came knocking on his door. He wants to come visit, but he feels like he needs to go back to his church at least once before visiting someone else. That kind of scares me.. Ha jeez... But he's really cool. He has a 15 year old daughter who he's really worried for. So we say that him coming to church and getting baptized will be a huge example to her. 

Then we have “J.”. A cool younger guy who really wants a better life. We testify a lot about Jesus Christ and the atonement and baptism and he understands it, I just don't think it's really clicked, ya know? So I gotta figure out how to help him get to church and keep commitments to help him build his faith and repent.

We harvested into a super awesome couple like a week ago, “A” and “H.” They're way cool. We taught them once, and they're pretty open. They're super nice and friendly and love us a lot, so after our lesson (which included soda and cookies), they fed us fried chicken and coleslaw!! They have the cutest little boy ever, “Z.” Yesterday, they just had us over for dinner. We had a spiritual thought afterward, but it was just me and elder “R” at the table eating while they kind of did their own thing ha. We're going back on Thursday, I'm sure the new guy will love that.

Those are our cool investigators. We have a couple more “eh” ones. Like “A.”. He said he played football for the U of Missouri. He's a sweet guy. Totally closed to the BoM though.... 

Oh yeah so the conference with Elder Haleck. I guess you guys already heard about the promise and blessing.. Ha. But yeah it's super awesome. That was like the coolest experience ever. I'm so blessed and proud to have been able to sign my name on that paper to show that nothing else in this world matters right now than sharing the gospel (All the missionaries in the mission signed a paper which will be placed in the cornerstone of the FT Lauderdale Temple). Being there with Elder Haleck was cool. He talked a lot about the BoM and gathering of Israel. It was neat.

Other than that I think that's about it. I'm at the “P’s” typing on their iPad :) I like it a lot.

Ok, well, these next transfers will be very interesting... The end is coming up fast.. Ha it's crazy. We'll see how it goes. I miss you guys. I love you a ton!!

 

Elder J Thorne 

Baptism

Dear family,

This week was way good. First off, Ms “J” was baptized yesterday! It was awesome. We had a way good lesson on Wednesday, just testifying of faith in Jesus Christ and the blessings that will come because of baptism. We said that she could be baptized on Sunday, and she was like, "Yeah, I want to do it".  So we made all the necessary plans to have the service yesterday after church. It was awesome. She was also blessed with a car on Thursday, so she was able to drive herself to church. In the morning, we went over to see if she was still good, and she was getting ready. At the beginning of Sacrament Meeting, we hadn't seen her. We went and sat in the opposite foyer than we usually do. We never saw her walk in but I peeked in after the Sacrament and she was in there thankfully! But the service was good. She liked it a lot. 

Other than that, this week was boring haha. I told mom about my exchange with Elder “S,” he lives down the street from the “M's.” He got hit by a car on his bike! But nothing bad at all.
Sorry I didn't send the sim card last week, I wasn't able to back up my pics so I'm sending it today :)

Thanks for everything you guys do. You guys are my strength right now. I miss you guys a ton. I love you all so much!

Elder J Thorne

Freezing cold at 60 degrees!

Dear family,

This week was ok. Pretty rough work wise. It seems like all the people we knock into have desires to be baptized right at first, but then one by one seem to dwindle off. Ugh... Thanks for all the support from over there. It really really helps. So last night, I was FREEZING. We were walking back to our aptartment at about 10 (we were home way late because Elder “R” lost his wallet at an investigator's house and we went back to find it), and it was probably around 60 degrees, and I was shivering and dying!! haha My blood has thinned a ton. I have no idea what I'm going do when I get home. haha. I literally might die of coldness.
Man so craziest thing... So remember “J?” The great guy who loves talking to us and loves and respects us a ton. Well we tried to go see him on Saturday night with a member, and we pulled up and he was outside and came up to our car and was like, "I'm just leaving to see a show at the Hard Rock. Sorry" And we were like ok. And he's like "What time is service tomorrow?" "9" "Ok I should be able to find it. Call me at 8." "Alright we will “J.” Thanks!"  So... we give him a call at 8 on Sunday morning to make sure he's still good. Elder “R” was the one calling. And I guess he says something like he doesn't want us coming over so much anymore. He's creeped out and feels like he's being stalked........ Way weird. He did like a total 180 on us. And the thing is, we've stopped by like 3 times in the past two weeks. It blew my mind. Like I didn't believe Elder “R” for a minute. Ugh... Dang it. 
And “G” has like vanished off the face of the earth. Man.... Missionary work... haha. Very frustrating at times....
But we have some alright people we're teaching. Ms. “J” and “D” are still progressing. They weren't able to make it to church because they had a ton of family come in for a funeral. But we'll see them I think tomorrow. Hopefully be baptized this Sunday. Also, a guy we met this past week named “M.” He's pretty old but he wants the Spirit more in his life. He's really connected with his church, but he did come to ours yesterday! It was a total surprise. We were waiting by the door people usually come in and NO one showed (out of the like 10 people we had committed to come on Saturday), and Sacrament starts and we're still out there just talking to the other missionaries and I glance in to the chapel and I see “M” sitting in the back row! He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. haha. 

K sorry I don't have any more time. I love you all! Thanks for everything!

Elder J Thorne

"Uneventful" week

Hey everyone. This week was pretty uneventful.. We stopped by “G” once, and he was sick early in the week. So we weren't able to contact him at all the rest of the week. So no baptism :( But... the creole elders baptized a family of 3 that Elder “R” and I found. And I actually taught them a couple times too going on exchanges. They were so awesome. The wife doesn't speak English so we passed them over. We met them like 2 days before they white washed the area, and we left a blessing in their home, and “M” (dad) accepted baptism and coming to church. He seemed super prepared so when the new elders came in, we told them to go see them. They went over last Friday, so like 10 days ago, and they were baptized yesterday! They were awesome. And I had a chance to gain a good relationship with them, and I’m sure they felt a special connection as well since we were the first ones over there. Unfortunately, they are moving on Wednesday up to Coral Springs. Which is only like 20 min up the road, but it's in a different ward. But they were so willing and so sweet from the beginning. They also had a cute little boy. I forgot my camera, but I'll get you the picture soon.  President Anderson gave me a blessing on Wednesday. We had a zone conference on Wed. That was really good. It was the north 4 zones so there were a lot of missionaries there. I got to see some good friends. So that was fun. Elder O. Vincent Haleck  is coming to our mission. He'll be here on Valentine's day.

We went out and taught some people yesterday. One girl we met the other day, had a sweet lesson with her. Committed her to be baptized the 10th of Feb. Then saw another family who came to church (a grandma, her granddaughter, and great granddaughter) (They're kinda solid) I'll let you know how they go next week. Who knows, maybe they'll be baptized haha. And we asked them how church was and they liked it and we talked more about the BoM. Good lesson.

Welp.. I love you all. miss you.

 

Elder J Thorne