March 18th

Hello!!

Gabriella gets baptized this Saturday!! I am sooo excited for her. She's 9 years old and seriously the smartest little girl ever, she just absorbs all the lessons that we've taught her. She is so ready to be baptized and become a member of the church!
I have had some real crazy experiences this week, so first... There's this member in one of the wards who called us brainwashed for correcting her on calling us Mormons. We were a little shocked hearing that one, but it really is so amazing how fast of a transition, at least for me, it is to hearing us be called "Mormons" instead of members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Being called a Mormon just sounds so wrong now and disrespectful in a way.

ALSO, we found two new people to teach, Gary and Nolia! We were out walking the streets one day and saw Gary in the front yard and just decided to chat with him, and we ended up planning a return appointment. So Friday afternoon we went over and met with them and had a really really great conversation. We talked with them about Joseph Smith and the restoration. The power behind the first vision account is crazy. It is so amazing how the spirit works, especially while sharing the gospel with others. While we were talking with them I had the biggest prompting to ask them to be baptized. So I asked them, and later that night he texted us and said he wants to be baptized but that his wife needs some time to think about it, but he thinks she will get there. We plan on meeting with them again on Wednesday, so I am PUMPED for that!!

The youth in one of our wards did a book of Mormon marathon. They read/listened to The Book of Mormon in two days. So on Saturday they were finishing it up, and Sister Blaney and I were the ones who got to read the last chapter to them to finish off the Book of Mormon. The spirit was so present as we were reading. After finishing, we all sang the song "come unto Christ". Literally everyone was in tears, it was amazing.
Bill is doing good as well, he came to church again yesterday and then after church he called us and asked us to come over and teach him a lesson. So we talked with him about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel. We were talking with him yesterday about the book of Mormon and he was asking about the Bible and if he needed to get rid of it and stop reading it, he even had the king James version. But we explained to him that we believe the Bible as well as the book of Mormon but it was just so cool to see how willing he was to give that up, all for the knowledge of the Book of Mormon.

Things are going good down here in Texas, the Lord has been preparing these people for them to receive the fullness of the gospel and its so cool to be the one to share it with them. The knowledge of the gospel is the biggest blessing in my life. Without it I don't know where I would be!
I hope you are all doing well, and have a great week this week!

Love, Sister Thorpe