Life On The Lake

Another week went by! It's crazy, each time I whip out another weekly email it doesn't feel like it's been a whole week. 

Let me tell you though, Lake county is a wild place!   We live right on the lake and you can see it from pretty much anywhere you go. It's really pretty and the people here are nice. Our area is huge. We cover the north part of the lake and all of the surrounding towns. We also cover 3 Native American Indian reservations and we are actually teaching people there! They think it's super cool to read the Book of Mormon and learn about their ancestors. 

It has definitely been an adjustment coming from Santa Rosa but it's good because the work is BOOMING here! 

We have 4 people currently on date for baptism in the next month or so. With probably 4-8 more  that will be on date for baptism in the near future! Exciting stuff! 2 of the 4 people currently on date for baptism are leaders in one of the local Native American tribes, the Pomo Indians. 

Can you imagine when they are baptized, the many from their nation who would follow their example?!  

We are also teaching a woman named Amber who is on date for baptism and she told us this week her fiance would like to take the lessons and be baptized as well! We gave her a definite yes. We are going to meet him on Thursday. Amber is super prepared, she just had a relative pass away and when we taught her the Plan of Salvation, so many of her questions were answered. 

I had a super awesome experience this week while teaching two sisters: Vicky and Cari. We taught them the Restoration and each time we brought up a point of the lesson, they told us  they had been wondering about that very thing pretty much their whole lives. They asked us why prophets ended after the Bible and I was happy to testify that prophets were not done away with but that we have a living prophet today to guide us just like prophets back in the time of Moses or Abraham. We went over how the Priesthood was restored to the earth with the authority to baptize and give the gift of the Holy Ghost. I asked them if they would be baptized by someone who has those priesthood keys and they both said yes! They came to church on Sunday and the first hymn was "Count your Blessings," which is a song they knew from growing up in a different church. They said it was a sign to them, this will be their new church! We are just seeing miracle after miracle here. I'm glad to be part of it. 

I know I've been a missionary for a while because when we went home at the end of the day and I was waiting for Elder Hunsaker to open our door, I knocked on it out of habit. I felt really dumb but at least my head is in the game.  Elder Hunsaker is a good guy and he likes to work hard.  

The Song of the Week this week is Red Red Wine by (I can't remember, sorry I've been out here for a long time.... originally by Bob Marley maybe?) in honor of the many vineyards up here. 

Hank will be surprised to learn the song was originally written and performed by Neil Diamond in 1967.  Tony Tribe and UB40 are among many who have covered it, but surprisingly Bob Marley never did.

Have a great week! 

love,

Elder Thompson 

Clear Lake

View from Lakeport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeJ55sUacPM  Red Red Wine  Neil Diamond

Moving Forward (and Northward)

New Address: 
603 19th St.
Lakeport, CA 95453

Hey everyone this is going to be short one!! 
Suffice it to say, the Lord's work is always moving forward and I was grateful to have received answers to my questions by watching General Conference and listening to the words of modern day Prophets. Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Cook's talks answered many questions. We were able to watch most of Conference at President and Sister Meservy's house.

General Conference BBQ with President Meservy

I finished one transfer in Santa Rosa and now I'm headed up to Lakeport!! A little more north and a pretty humble place.  I've heard good things, it should be fun!  Transfers are now on P-Days so it's been a crazy day and I'm sorry I haven't had any time to email. I'll make it up to you all next week.

The work that my friends and I are doing right now is real and I've seen it change the lives of everyone who has embraced it. 

Wish me luck up here!! 

The Song of the Week is Here by Alessia Cara. 

Love, Elder Thompson 

Loved serving with Elder Larson

Freebairn Family

Van Sistine fam

Ali is a relatively new convert and is the coolest

April in Northern California

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKp2CrfmVfw Here  Alessia Cara

It's Not About Me

Happy April Fools! I don't think we are supposed to participate in pranks as missionaries but I can't remember where it says so and you can't sin in ignorance so I'll let you know how things go today! 

I definitely had an eventful week. 

Last Monday while ice skating, I got talking to one of the staff of the rink who was skating around doing crowd control. Turns out, he is from Utah and went to Lone Peak High, and I played hockey against him in high school! What are the odds? He told me he was pretty homesick that week and then a big group of missionaries (us) showed up! It was a great bonus to finally get back out on the ice again. If anyone ever has the chance to check out Snoopy's Home Ice in Santa Rosa, do it! It's a really cool rink! (Snoopy's Home Ice was built in 1969 and owned by Peanuts cartoonist, Charles Schultz.)

I may have already mentioned, a bunch of people in my zone have gone home early in the past 2 weeks... 4 of them to be exact. Each with legit reasons why they needed to go home; so I promise it wasn't because I got to the Zone. After they went home, there were some spots to fill, so Elder Pickett was emergency transferred to a different area, so now it's just me and Elder Larson. 

This week was pretty bad in terms of contacting people we are teaching as they were all busy or out of town or something. Also, making a lot of changes in the Zone took a lot of time and then we had exchanges with another companionship.  It was busy for sure. 

Funny story, someone got in my face this week and threatened to knock me out haha. I totally should have let him that would have been a way better story. He was smaller than me (believe it or not) so I think I would have been fine but I guess he just really didn't want to talk to us. So you would all be proud that I have gone 18 months without a fight. haha Let's keep the streak going! 

Sometimes facing a lot of rejection gets old, even though I've been out for a while and it should be expected. I don't know why but it got to me this week. I'm doing fine, don't worry. I just had to remember two things that could possibly help one of you in your life right now: 

1. something Elder Whiting of the Seventy told us about rejection: we should not be so selfish as to think it's about us. People are rejecting the person we represent, Jesus Christ. That shouldn't come as a surprise.

2. I remembered everyone has their free will to accept or reject our message but I have to focus on what I can control, like Mrs. V. taught me. My lacrosse coach, Pete, always told us the only things we can control are our attitude and our effort. 

Remembering these things helped me out this week! People who don't like the church don't make the message any less true! I think it makes it more true because there has to be opposition to truth. 

We had Elder Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and also our Area President, come and speak in Stake Conference. It was amazing! We get to have him to the mission again in a couple of weeks. We get to have two mission leadership councils and a Zone Conference with him so you could say I'm excited!! One thing he said that I loved is,  "nobody that is reading the Book of Mormon every day is struggling spiritually." It's true! I can totally tell a difference now that I read every day. Even if it's just a verse or two each day, that added spirit in your life will give you spiritual nourishment which we all need just as much as physical nourishment. He also gave an awesome talk in April 2015 so check it out if you want to! 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/stay-by-the-tree?lang=eng

A huge Foothill 7th shout out to Jack Perry who is about to get his mission call.  Way to represent the greatest ward ever... can't wait to hear where you're headed!  (Fortaleza, Brazil!)

The Song of the Week is Mountain Sound by Of Monsters and Men. I might be repeating songs every once in a while but give me a break, I've had to remember all of these songs for a year and a half without listening to them. Anyway, much love to all of you, have a great Conference weekend! I think we finally hit Spring in California! 

Love, Elder Thompson 

Just another vineyard in Santa Rosa.
It's not uncommon for people to have them as their front yard instead of grass.
I'm a big fan, someone plant some vineyards in SLC for me please!

After skating last week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt7ox1M_XG4 Mountain Sound  Of Monsters and Men

So Many Open Doors

Whats up everyone?
We are back into the rainy part of the season after a few days of wonderful weather. I was happy while we had it though, it'll come back soon.  

Last week was great! 

I got to go on another exchange with Elder Nelson and it was a party. We are planning out our lives while living in a van. Should be a good time. 

We are also teaching a lot of people now! We have exceeded our finding goal for 6 months within a 2.5 month period, so we are happy about that. We have a few families who we are looking at putting on date this week! One is the McCarn family, they grew up around members and the dad almost got baptized years ago but his member friend moved away so he lost contact really. But we got in contact with him and his wife and they are awesome... super willing to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We are going back to see what they learning in their prayers this week, fingers crossed. 

Also, Freda, our older friend, has been having issues with some of the doctrine now, even when we pull it straight from the scriptures..... She used to be so for it though and so happy about it. It's honestly sad to see someone when they get a spiritual witness of something that is true but then don't act on it because that's when the spirit leaves... and you can tell when it leaves. We have to act on even the smallest impressions we get! 

Just another thought or two before the long-awaited Song of the Week:

In 2 Kings, the Prophet Elisha, while surrounded by enemies on all sides, says, "they that be with us are more than they that be with them," and he wasn't talking about his army vs their army.  He was talking about God. He had no reason to fear because he knew that he had God on his side. I'm trying to remember that more often. 

I also decided that every morning I'm going to listen to a talk by Henry B. Eyring titled,"This Day," and at night, listen to another one by him called, "Act In All Diligence." They are some of my favorite talks of all time!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/this-day?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/act-in-all-diligence?lang=eng

Our mission president told us yesterday in a fireside, the Book of Mormon has been prepared and preserved for thousands of years so it could come forth in this day and age to help us through the last days. I know it's true and it's helped me through some of my own hard times.  I've seen it change peoples' lives. It truly is a miracle worker! 

This work is wonderful. I count my blessings each day of living in Northern California and preaching the best message to ever exist to the people here. The thought of having to leave one day gets harder and harder. So I have to continue and run through the finish line!! 

The Song of the Week is "R.I.P. To My Youth" by the Neighbourhood. Love those guys. Anyone who wants to go to one of their concerts with me when I get home, I'm more than down. 

Have a great week everyone!!

Love, Elder Thompson 

pics

The Swensens from good old Foothill 7th showed up in Santa Rosa a few weeks ago!

Pretty view from a street near my apartment

Helping out my MTC companion, he is being reassigned to another mission

Rohnert Park comps and current comps

Got to go ice skating on Snoopy's Home Ice! Commemorative puck.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKH-rcO6PA8  RIP To My Youth  The Neighbourhood

March Madness

Hey everyone! Shoutout to California for the beautiful weather this week... 70 and sunny every day! 

I'll give you some highlights because it's easier to put my thoughts together in that format:

• I hit 18 months as a missionary. It's crazy how fast it's gone by and how much I've loved every second. Here's to the next 6! 
• I got to drive the mission Chevy Silverado and I felt really good driving it! 
• We are trying to be more like Ammon and serve people whenever he saw a need.  We did service for my Mission President and he really appreciated it.  Unrelated note: President Meservy told me he was going to watch Murder Mountain, the documentary.  I served in the place it was filmed. It was pretty wild, actually. 
• Remember Elder Pickett's cousin in Coffey Park who we helped move? Well, we started teaching them the gospel yesterday!! It was super surprising when she said yes to our asking if we could share the gospel with them! 
• The Guizar family came to YM/YW and also to Pi night on 3/14! They liked all of it! I'm happy about that. We found out some of their concerns this week, one of them being why do we need the BoM? I was able to testify of my favorite thing to teach about: the Book of Mormon! They must've liked what I said because they agreed to read for 20 minutes each day as a family. 
• Freda came to church again and loved it. She loves what we teach her and but just doesn't want to give up the title of being Lutheran.  We will help her to know that taking on the name of Christ is where it's at! 
• I gave a talk in church this week about the importance of knowing the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone liked it! My friend Ali helped me write it. She has a pastoral degree (I think that's what it is called) and has read the Bible like 21 times cover to cover so she knows her doctrine as well. She also made the best pies at pi night on 3/14.
• We sang a song at a baptism! It wasn't the greatest because we didn't practice but it went okay. 
• We found 14 people to teach this week, a personal record for me!  Two of those people we found were Luther and Paige. They have 3 kids together and are so awesome. We found them when we were knocking an apartment complex and we talked to them over their back fence and then helped them make a small playground for their kids while we were teaching them. They are super interested! Luther is from Liberia and has seen some things for sure. He showed me yesterday his gunshot entrance and exit wounds as well as where he got stabbed in the stomach. This man was wild! He is super cool though and wants his kids to grow up with God. We are going over again next week! 

That's about all I can remember! Molly has a birthday this week so say happy birthday to her! Also shoutout to my guy Blake Kelso for getting married last week! 

The Song of the Week is a throw back to a couple of years ago, "Slip" by Elliot Moss. That one is really good. 

I'm loving my mission and loving Northern California. I think it's the most beautiful place ever. We are headed to Bodega Bay today.

The Church is true, and so is the Book of Mormon... I love reading that book. If you haven't read it in a while or you haven't read it at all, do it.  It's the best! 

Much love to all of you!

Elder Thompson 

Service for President! That helmet was squeezing my head in ways I can't describe

Found one of my old companion's shoes in an apartment in Santa Rosa! 

Got my haircut last week... shoutout to Liz at Great Clips 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMzjbyZhM5U  "Slip" Elliot Moss

Rising From The Ashes

What's up everyone! Here we are again on another Monday.  

This week was a lot of preparation for Zone Conference as well as a ton of service we were asked to do. It was fun, but it took up most of our week. 

The service we did was helping people take stuff to their cars and lifting heavy things at this huge kids sale at the Santa Rosa fairgrounds. It was in a pavilion full of baby and kids items: strollers, cribs, clothes, toys, food, anything you can think of. Thousands of parents came to this sale and it was our job to help them. It took up most of Wednesday and Thursday but it was good. I even got to see some members from Rohnert Park up here! 

Which reminds me, Yanping, who I baptized last year when I first got to Rohnert Park, spoke in stake conference yesterday in San Rafael. Some members down there told me it was a wonderful talk, which I believe. I think it's probably the greatest feeling to know that someone you helped into the church is still active and really progressing in the gospel. You can just see how much it changes people for the better. 

In between service and preparing for Zone Conference, we met Tim. Now Tim is not a member of the church but his wife is, and she doesn't really come.... but Tim brings his kids with him to church almost every week. The previous missionaries had to stop teaching him because he and his wife aren't technically married yet living together. But he is super solid! They are actually getting married soon and Tim told us that he wants to be baptized still. He started the Book of Mormon over again and is making changes in his life to prepare to be baptized. I'm excited to see what happens with him and his family. 

We also met another great family who had met with missionaries before, but had never tried asking if the Book of Mormon was true. So we invited them to read it and pray about it and they said they would! I know that if they do it with a sincere heart, they will get their answer. 

Santa Rosa Zone

Other than that, we helped Elder Pickett's relatives move into their house in Coffey Park. If you remember from 2017, it was one of the parts of Santa Rosa that was absolutely destroyed in the fires. I got to learn a lot more of their experience with the fires. I remember driving through Santa Rosa before the fires and seeing how beautiful it was and then a month later coming back and everything was burnt to the ground. Where neighborhoods used to be, you could see out forever over all of the ash with only chimneys still standing. But as I went through Coffey Park again this past week, I got to see the wonderful resilience of all the people who live there. Many houses are rebuilt and people are living there again. When you drive into the neighborhood, there is a big banner that says "Rising from the Ashes," and that's exactly what's happening! It's truly a sight to see. I'm grateful I got to be here for the fires, as terrible as they were for so many people, it was wonderful to see everyone coming together to help one another out. #SonomaStrong 

Coffey Park - Rising From The Ashes.

The Song of the Week is "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin, in honor of Murphy's birthday.  Also Happy Birthday to Jack and Tanner this week. Love you guys. 

Today we are going to have a barbecue at the Mission President's house so that should be fun! I'm still loving it out here in Santa Rosa. California is a pretty cool place to be. I'm lucky! 

P Day BBQ 

BBQ at Meservy's

Santa Rosa vineyard

Have a great week! 

Love,

Elder Thompson 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBuub4Xe1mw  Black Dog  Led Zeppelin

Taco Bell and Chocolate

New address: 3840 Martina Avenue 
                       Apt. 103 
                       Santa Rosa, CA 95407
New email (but the old one will still work too): thompson.henry@missionary.org

Hey,  so I guess I need to update all of you on the past 2 weeks since I didn't write much last week. 

My last Sunday in Rohnert Park, our Bishop had me bear my testimony. I was pretty sad to be leaving since Rohnert Park is such a great place with equally great people and ward. I had been there for so long that it was basically my home ward at that point! But there's a plan for me and for the people in Santa Rosa and meeting everyone there at church yesterday was fun! 

Before I left Rohnert Park, we went around and said goodbye to some of the members.  Transfers were on Monday instead of Tuesday which cut us an extra day short so I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to.  I'll for sure visit after my mission. We also had a BBQ with our ward mission leader and Branden and Anissa were there! It was a good time. He cooked some juicy pork! 

I'm now in a trio with Elder Larson, who came out one transfer after me, and Elder Pickett, who just finished being trained by Elder Jones and Elder Larson. Good times with them. Everyone here in the ward makes fun of me for spending the last 9 months of my mission in one area only to get transferred 5 minutes away to the next ward up.... No complaints here! 

We had a lesson with a recent convert named Sandra who was preparing to go to the temple this past Saturday. She said that the adversary had been working on her hard and she was having a rough week. We taught her it wasn't unusual and it only means that she is about to do something  God wants her to do. Satan always opposes the things of God and makes it hard to do them.   She went to the temple and loved it. She said being in the Celestial room was one of the best things ever, I think it is too. We told her about Joseph Smith,  when he was praying and Satan was trying to stop him, as well as when Moses came down from talking with God and Satan tried to get Moses to worship him instead of God.  I love it when Moses just says, "Who art thou?" 

Similar opposition came to us after that solid lesson when outside of the complex, a very drunk man took all of the cookies that Sandra gave us when I only offered him one.... Then he just proceeded to speak gibberish and left.  I don't think I'll be getting over that any time soon. 

We taught another sweet lesson this week to a woman named Freda who is about 80 years old and loves coming to church and the people at church. She says she feels like she doesn't quite know enough to get baptized but she wants to keep learning. Fine by me! We taught her about recognizing the Holy Ghost whenever truth is being heard, taught, or felt. It always feels good, peaceful, and edifying. That's how we know and can tell the difference between truth and almost-truth. Freda is praying about baptism this week so I'm hoping to have some great news for you in the future. 

We had MLC and are gearing up for Zone Conference this week.  The first few weeks of a transfer are always jam packed.

Last but not least, we had a dinner with some members this week and one of the members' mom is 99 years old! That's insane! She loves the missionaries and wants us to call her "Grandma". haha so I guess I have a California Grandma now.  I asked what her secret was to living for so long and she told me it's Taco Bell and chocolate. So there you have it, endure to the end!

The Song of the Week is Want You Back by the Jackson 5. a solid classic! 

Happy Birthday to Grandpa Mick this week!!

Have a great week! 

Much love, 

Elder Thompson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Q80mk7bxE  Want You Back  Jackson 5