too much, and focusing on the Savior!
This week we got to do some service at another old folks home and it
was fun just sitting and chatting with them. A lot of them have lost
memory and get frustrated real easy so we just have to be patient with
them. Be nice to your grandparents and elders everyone :)
We went on some temporary exchanges with some sisters in Lincoln and
it was fun to experience the new Chevy Malibu. Dang that thing is
nice. It was also fun to stay in the 4 sister apartment for the night.
Reminds me of good times at college!
We had a surprise baptism on Wednesday! There were two little girls
that the sisters had taught the missionary discussions before I came
here. One of the girls was turning 8 and was going to be a child of
record baptism and the other, we found out, is 9 years old. She has
Down syndrome and is so full of life. The two girls wanted to get the
lessons to be prepared. It was so cute :) Our mission and stake
presidents discussed the situation and decided that it was a convert
baptism. We hurried on over to help them set up and the baptism went
off swimmingly. Technically, children with special needs don't really
have to be baptized. We have a loving Heavenly Father who made us
perfectly and he has endless compassion for those in these special
circumstances. I'm so grateful for a knowledge of our Father in Heaven
who looks out for each one of his children.
Thanksgiving was literally the bomb. We started off the morning by
going to clean the STAKE center. Then we drove over to have a combined
choir practice with the Roseville zone. We are singing at the Stake
Christmas Nativity event happening the first weekend of December. If I
do say so myself, we don't sound half bad! We singing a couple of
songs about Christmas and also about the Savior and His Atonement. I'm
excited to bring all of our people to this shin dig. Afterwards is
where the party really began. We began our food adventure at President
Marston's house. We helped get everything set up and then Sister
Vaitohi and I played with his granddaughters. President Marston's
daughter has three girls just like my family. The youngest one even
has bleach blonde hair just like Reagan :) It was so cute to get to
just run around and play games with them. Gosh I love kids. It also
meant we had a little workout before we sat down and began to eat our
lives away. Before dinner started President Marston expressed how
grateful he was for each one of us. He talked about how much he loves
us. When he loved over at Sister Marston you could really see the love
and sacrifice in their faces. Later on we got to see the Larsens (the
senior couple serving in the mission office and in my old ward) and
their family. Even though I didn't get to be with my own family on
that day, I was surrounded by family that just scooped us in.
The next stop was a Polynesian family that is related to Sister
Vaitohi. I got ahold of some wonderful pie and "worked it off" with a
couple rounds of ping pong. Then it was to another full time
Thanksgiving feast. The Smith family was so kind and thoughtful that
they made each of our favorite desserts so we would feel a little more
at home (Cheesecake and a Tongan(?) dish that is like coconut
dumplings with coconut carmel). They even let us take a snooze when we
accidentally passed out on their couch! Everyone needs a Thanksgiving
name jussayin'.
Our final stop for the night was at the Te'o family's house. I went
straight for the special dessert they had which were these sweet rolls
covered in coconut cream goodness. My tummy was happy :) Just a nice
way to finish the night with good laughter and ukulele music playing
in the background.
So later in the week we went out for some barbecue with our ward
mission leader in the Rocklin 5th Ward. We were asking him and his
wife what they do for work and all types of stuff like that. His wife
is a writer (Joannie Hilton if anyone is interested in looking her up)
and he works for the city. Brother Hilton's wife ratted on him and
told us what he actually did for most of his life. He was part of the
TV business and I was like aw ok that's cool. Then she drops this:
"You know on game shows like The Price is Right where they ask 'Bob,
tellem what they won'? Yup that was my husband. BROTHER HILTON IS
FLIPPIN BOB! I guess he's hosted other TV shows and stuff like that
too. He has the voice for it.
We got to have a really cool lesson with Sister Mondell about the ten
commandments. They are so simple and straightforward, but when you
study the basics, you can gain so much spiritual insight. That's one
gift that I believe the Mondells have. They have the ability to take
what they are learning and really apply it to their lives. When we
asked Sister Mondell what she thought of the modern applications and
blessings from keeping the commandments and she said something that
surprised me. She looked at us and told us that she thinks that she is
feeling the prompting to cut back on her work schedule. She works a
tooooon and is away from her family a lot. She explained to us a
feeling of emptiness and a longing to be with her family more. We bore
testimony to her about the Spirit and how Heavenly Father will help us
with every righteous effort we make in life. She is such a rockstar!!
We are planning to go with the Mondells and Jonathan and some other
families to a live nativity show that is set up at the Sacramento
temple every year! I've heard it's pretty grand :) I just luv
Christmas ok.
IM SO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS!! We have been showing the #LighttheWorld
video like crazy. We're getting ready for the stake nativity set up
and then the live nativity at the temple. Everyone should go check it
out. Everything you need to know is on Mormon.org!!
Love y'all and happy listening to all the Christmas music you can muster!
Love,
Sister Thorum
Lots of members in the wards work for the FBI...
exchanges galore!!
Sister Bennion!!!
not hanging out in the AP's car
Sister Swanson. Check it out!!
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