Repent

Haha oh man this week was so much fun!!! 

From day one- monday was super fun my poor companion got an asian haircut on accident and so we went to try to get that fixed... it didn't work. She is really patient though so its okay! Then in the night we went to see Lily and Liu mama! They are so incredible! I love them so so much! They are starting to read and pray today every night together as a family! TOo stinking awesome! and Liu mama is really starting to develop her own testimony i was almost in tears i was so excited for them! We then went and visited our cute new member family. They are doing so well. And very excited to go to the temple and do family history work`1

Tuesday- Okay i can't really remember tuesday very well. . oh wait no its comin back to me! So I went on exchanges with Sister Beazer and it was so COOL we had a lot of contacting time in their area we said a prayer to get started and set a goal of two lessons and two new investigators and in the hour we HIT THE GOAL and a bonus we got a new baptismal date investigator~! It was relly awesome!

Wednesday- English class rocked this time! Normally it is really hard for me cause i can't answer their questions about english and feel like they don't like me but this time it went really well and i thikn they like me know! SCORE!

Thursday- interviews wit Pres Day ended up being behind schedule and needing to race home for the dinner appointment. But so much fun I love our other RC she is to die for with such a strong testimony!

Friday- We were able to refind a family we were teaching before but dropped off- they are back!!!!

Saturday okay this is where the story gets cool buckle down fellas~!

SO it was stake conference this week end and we have an area 70 come to it! Reflect for a moment to this last conference remember how they had the sweet cantonese speaker?? MMMHMMM he came here! And his english is crazy good and his chinese is super cute and funny! HE is such an awesome man I look up to him. He teaches a lot like Elder Holland, very bold with no fear and calls us to repentance. Really though he said this line, "missionaires, you know that working with the members is the most efffective way of missionary work right?" We nod and say yes to which he says "THEN WHY HAVE YOU NOT REPENTED? I invite you to repent now. Tomorrow in your companionship study you think of ways you can better work with the members and then do it okay? And memebers when they call you up to ask your help you don't say that you are too busy with work or with this that and the other you realize..". and continued on it was AWESOME! haha it was really so so so cool. All the missionaries faces were huge with smiles as we laughed at his sarcasm  but truth to the challenges that we have here in taiwan of people being too busy for God. And i realized that actually its not just Taiwan. everyone everywhere is getting sucked into this trap from Satan to be so busy with maybe even good things that we don't have time to do the Lords work. And I promised myself that I can't let that happen. And then today in studies it was perfect I was in 3 NEphi 13. Go read that chapter. 

I love you all so excited to hear from most of you. Some are too busy to write the missionary now but hey thats okay so long as what your doing is going out with the missionaries ther to do work instead of writting me. if not... Well I won't share with you the good presents i was planning to bring home to you all. ;) Haha i am just kidding i will still share! Love youall!!!

-Sister Thornley

A beautiful winter week

Well you guys all jinxed us here and sent the winter winds the weather litterally changed over night from sweating in my cool shirt and skirt to freezing in my thick tights and coat! It was a pleasant surprise and actually I like the weather here in the winter its really pretty. The clouds roll really fast and really low dropping out their rain. Its not to bad except when biking it gets really really cold as the puddles splash up but i like it a lot! 

So many cool things happened this week! We are starting to have more success on the Less Active front which I love working with. They are such special spirits. I love helping them come back and feel the spirit and remember why they were drawn in in the first place. They are such important people to work with. And usually the hardest. I was reading in Alma 24 this morning and read of the conversion of the lamanites and that there was not one of them who once knew and were once nephites that came back. Well, its true its hard to get them back when they turn away but its so important to invite them back! Please add in this man to your prayers he will really need extra help, Brother Yang Jian Bing. He is willing just nervous of failure. 

Last night was super cool we had lessons set up every hour and as we just left a members house who had had us over for dinner our next appointment canceled. So we were off to find some new people on the streets but as we turned a corner I noticed a street and slowed down. I asked my companion if she had ever been down there finding before she said she had not but that she didn't want to either. We thought of some more options then turned it over to the Lord in a prayer. And as we finished the prayer I turned my head back to look to the street and saw a woman turn off it walking toward us. We smiled and said hello. THEN SHE STOPPED. She herself stopped and began talking with us. To our surprise she knew a lot about our church and had been to it before as well as a lot of our English classes but it was a LONG LONG time ago. At first she seemed so nice and then all the sudden the conversation spun and she began telling us of all the terrible things she had heard of us and that she couldn't believe we would support that and in one breath and a sentence said some very hurtful things. My body shook a little with anger as I wanted to clarify the horrible things she had heard of us. And then a peace. no not a peace... a different route came into my mind and I began to testify to her of a Living God and the love that He has for her. And that he is there. It was suddenly as though a warm energy pulsed around the three of us. And the spirit was there very thick. The woman's expression changed and the scripture came to mind that we would not be confounded. I was very touched as the feelings had done a 180 from my frustration of her saying that to us to a love for her and a deep compassion for the pains and trials she has gone through and a hope for her and the life she could have with a hope of a Father in Heaven. She did not end up accepting our invitation to learn more but she and I went our ways a different person. 

We also have two beautiful women working towards baptism. I ask that you all may also add them into your thoughts and prayers a Sister Han LiLi and her mother Momma Liu. They are from CHINA here to hear the gospel and be baptized! (okay so not the reason they would say if you asked why they are here but the reason I am convinced of) It is a mother and a daughter but the daughter was once married and has a small son QiQi They are incredible and so full of faith. They love the church and love the family feel that they have here. Please pray that they may gain a testimony they want to be baptized so badly their desire is there now they just need to be able to have a tesitmony to pass the interview! Please pray for them especially Momma Liu.

Well family, I love you all so very much. I am grateful for your prayers and encouragement for me. I love this work so much and am so grateful to have come. I love the people here and love you! 

Be safe 

-Sister Thornley

Be Still and Know that I am God.

This week we saw many many miracles! It was really awesome and I was very grateful for the tender moments this week that I was able to be still for a moment and recognize where Heavenly Father was. And I am finding that I need to have more quite moments in my life. This week I reflected a lot on the conference talk about which way we face. I don't know its actual name we haven't gotten the Ensign yet but you should all know what I am talking about. Anyway and found that I can do a lot better about making sure I am facing towards my Father and not inverting the greatest commandment with the second to Love God and then to love our neighbor. Its a lot like in the Missionary White handbook that tells us our first loyalty is to God then to the mission president and then to our companion. And I want to really focus on that and ensure I am not backing down to what I know to be right. :) 

This week I got lost. It was terrifying. I was on exchanges with the ZhongLi Sisters and we were biking home at the end of the night and needed to be going pretty fast cause it was close to 9. Well we stopped at a stop light and so i started to talk to the girl next to me while my companion was in front leading the way in her area well the light turned green but I hadn't given the girl I was talking to any kind of invitation and felt bad so quickly asked her to pull over to let me give her a flyer with our name and number and such to my surprise she did! But my companion didn't see and bolted off forward. So I frantically scramble in my bag to grab the  flyer but then felt I needed to do more so then miraculously the woman gave me her number so we could get in contact with her later. Well... my companion is long gone and i have never been there before. So I rack my brain to know how to get back home. and i remembered it was a straight shot so I started biking really really fast hoping to see her stopped waiting for me on the road but i didn't see her. I was getting a little frustrated and began to bike faster. Then a thought came. That i may have passed it already. That i should ask for directions. The light turned red upahead and next to me was a woman. I pulled out a flyer to ask her if I was heading the right direction. And my prideful self was sure I was. I also had just noticed before my companion star on another flyer before which chapel was theirs so I knew which one to ask about. I leaned over and asked Excuse me, I am looking for this address, its just up ahead right? She looked at me and the address then started in broken english No No No you past. its back. I look at her in confusion and ask again. No it can't be its just up ahead right? She warmly smiles and says somehow in really good english now, No its back there, you've gone too far.  My heart sinks and I am panicked I DID pass it. How on earth will I find where I need to turn. She then must have seen my face and again smiles and says  Here, I will take you there. 

Relief washes over me. as I bike after her. I had missed a turn and was two blocks down from where the chapel was. Then another problem arises. My companion. Now i am at the church but I don't know where she is and where our home is from the church. I then remember I had just written down President Day's number in my planner two days before. I ask the woman where the nearest pay phone is. She looks around and seeing none pulls out her phone. I quickly call President Day and so so SO embaressed explain the situation and ask for my companions phone number. Then my poor companion when answering the call says in relief Oh good I was praying you would be smart enough to get to the chapel I will be there soon! 

Then I find out that my then companion had also called my companion Sister Miller in our area and told her I was lost and she didn't know what to do. To which Sistert Miller said, Sister Thornley's a smart girl she'll get to the chapel don't worry. We'll pray for her too. They knelt in prayer and asked that I would be able to find someone who would take me to the chapel. 

I testify that Heavenly Father hears prayers and answers us. I know that we are not here on this earth alone to wander aimlessly lost. But that we have His spirit with us to lead and guide us safely home. 

I love you all, I am so grateful for this gospel and the peace it brings to us. I know as we listen to the spirit we will be guided safely home. 

Have a beautiful week, remember to listen to the spirit!

-Sister Thornley

Okay :)

This week I promised you all I would try to write a bit funner. So here we go :)

BAPTISM!!!!! oh yeah! We had a family get baptized this saturday! It was so awesome they are so incredible!!!!

Okay last night as we were biking back from the chapel on our cute super asian cool foresty swampy road then I saw something hoping and as I looked down quick I saw a little frog hoping along with me! It was SO CUTE!

We have an investigator we are working with right now her name is Lily she is a single mom who has a little 8 month son who is adorable. I love  meeting with her! Everytime we meet to teach teh gospel such incredible things are said. I find myself really learning as we teach. Just like the scripture says those who learn and teach are edified together! I lvoe it!

Another fun moment this week, we had just finished up studies and were calling some former investigators to see if they would be willing to set up another time to meet with us again. When my companion called up a Jehovah's Witness. She starts out the conversation very politely responding to why our nickname is mormons and yes we believe in Christ and yes we also believe in God and yes we also even believe in the Spirit. Then I was super impressed as she started to ask some very deep thought provoking questions from the bible and then... then it gets a little intense. What I learned from it- that I need to really remain calm and help people see that our message is an invitation. That is to consider the truth that we have of the Book of Mormon and invite them to pray and ask if it be true then leave it to them to use their agency to choose. 

This morning i had a really cool study on finding the doctrine that teaches that Jehovah is Jesus. I invite you all to do it and then please share with me what you know. Don't worry I won't bash them or anything I just want to have a better understanding for myself so that I can better answer them!

Anything else that I could share with you all.... OH! Yes my companion just reminded me. I wish you could all see the interesting buildings here. SO we went door knocking the other day in this pretty... run down place and anyway its a seven story building that we walk up the stairs knock the doors talk to the people walk up the next flight do it all again. But the fun part is that here in Taiwan when you get to the top its not just top. On the roof there are also little shelter things built that we get to knock too, well heres the fun part of it all was this time we also found this funky secret backside entrance to a whole other side of the building that also has homes. It was creepy and I have no way of adequately telling you all what it was like but lets just say very grateful we are led by the spirit and fear no man! 

It was a really good week we had tons of really cool experiences and met a lot of really great people! I love you all have an awesome week! 

-Sister Thornley