January 23, 2017

January 23, 2017

Well I do not know how it is already Monday again... but I guess I cannot complain! Time flies on the mission! I swear I fall in love with this place more and more every day! Therefore, at the begging of the week, I looked at my companion Sister Call and told her that this was going to be the best week of our missions so far.... So it was a pretty dang good week. 

The week started with a wonderful P-day. I mean how can you complain about grocery shopping and playing basketball?!?!? You just can't. In addition, everyone will be happy to hear that my basketball skills are slowly but surely improving every single week... I might try out for the WMBA when I get back to the states ha-ha

On Tuesday, we had zone conference! There was a policy change so now we have zone conference and interviews with the president every single transfer instead of every other transfer. I just love zone conference because we can refocus our efforts and re-center ourselves on the purpose of our work as missionaries. This conference, we focused on member missionary work and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Members are so crucial in missionary work! I never realized that until I got out here! We depend on them so much. I am just so grateful to be able to work with such and incredible ward! The members are so missionary minded and I love it! Another thing that we were trained on is how to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ in 5 minutes. That means we talk about faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end all in 5 minutes! It seems like a lot to go over but Christ taught simply so we can do it to. 

After zone conference, we had a meeting with our mission president about the Spanish program. There are currently only 11 Spanish missionaries serving here so we all have to speak with him and his wife about our struggles, concerns and way to improve. We have been blessed with such an incredible mission president!

As for the rest of the week, we taught many lessons and did regular missionary work! We had exchanges on Wednesday so I was with an English speaking missionary all day but I was still in my area which meant I did all the talking in Spanish ha-ha My Spanish seems to be improving so that's a blessing! We also helped a family pack up their house because they are moving to Ecuador this week! I will attach pics! I love all the people we help/teach! 

Ok funny story time. We were stuck waiting for a train for 20 MINUTES yesterday!!!! We were literally a block away from our dinner appointment but ended up being 20 minutes late because of the stupid train ha-ha you could say I am working on my patience ha-ha 

Well the church is true! Have a great week! Love you all!

-Hermana Thorstenson 

If you would like to email or write to me, my contact information is noted below. 

Send via USPS (Not UPS) or FedEx to:

Mark boxes as "Missionary Supplies"

Hermana Rachel Thorstenson

Calgary Canada Mission

7044 Farrell Rd. SE

Calgary AB T@H OT2

Canada

email address is 

rachel.thostenson@myldsemail.net

Monday January 16, 2017 - Where did this week go?

Where did this week go?

Well it has been another incredible week up here in Calgary! Every single day I grow to love this place and the gospel more and more! I am not sure how, but I swear its happening!

Not too much happened this week besides the fact that our Spanish branch became a WARD!!!!!!! Wow, I don't think I've ever been so happy in my whole life! All the members were so excited as well. It was such a great day! 

Well in other news, we picked up another investigator this week and she already has a baptismal date!!! She has no religious background whatsoever and we have been able to teach her so much! It is so incredible to see people who are just ready to accept the gospel. I have no doubt in my mind that the Lord prepares people for His missionaries!

Another highlight of my week was a lesson with a less active last night. We went into this guy’s house thinking we were just going to share a scripture and invite him to the Spanish branch but instead his talked to us for an hour about the sacred nature of our calling as missionaries and his we are constantly surrounded by angels. At the end, he told us that we are far away from our homes and families but we have a home and family who loves us here as well. By the end, I was in tears. The spirit was so strong. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

Well that is all I have got for you this week but I would love to hear about your own personal missionary experiences if you want to send me an email! It is always great to hear how the work of the Lord is continuing throughout the world every single day!

-Hermana Thorstenson ;-)

If you would like to email or write to me, my contact information is below:

Mark Mail (Send via USPS - NOT Fedex or UPS)
Mark boxes as "Missionary Supplies"

Hermana Rachel Thorstenson

Canada Calgary Mission

7044 Farrell Rd. SE

Calgary AB T@H OT2

Canada

Email Address

rachel.thorstenson@myldsmail.net

Monday, January 9, 2017

Well this has been one of the craziest but best weeks in the mission by far! Let's just start off with all of our wonderful investigators!

Myrna: Our investigator that was sent from heaven! Or Mexico ha ha! Wow. She's incredible. Well this week we had two more lessons with her. We taught her about the gospel of Jesus Christ and she prayed with us! Such a tender experience. Then the night before the left, we went over to say goodbye and taught her how to study the scriptures on her own. We took pictures (attached) and gave lots of goodbye hugs. She even gave us her number and address so we can send the missionaries to her home in Mexico! We are so sad that he had to leave so soon but I know the gospel will continue to bless her life wherever she is.

Juana: This lady is so cool. Back in December, we got a call from a lady in an English ward and she told us all about her friend who loves hearing about every church so we invited her to our Christmas party. Juana showed up to our Christmas party with 8 (YES 8) family members!!! We sat there and talked to her and her family from Colombia all about the gospel and missionary work. They absolutely loved it! Well this week we were doing some weekly planning, and we decided to give Juana a call to see if we could visit her during the upcoming week... She told us to come over in an hour! So we did! She talked to her about the how the gospel was restored, and she knew almost everything because she has met with tons of missionaries. Then we asked her if she's ever prayed to know if these things were true. And she said she hadn't. So then I started to bear my testimony about the truthfulness of the gospel and how it can bless her life and she just started crying. We then knelt down and said a prayer together. Honestly, I have no idea what I said to her but I know that the spirit was able to speak through me and touch her heart so she could feel Gods love for her. We are going back next week.

Enriquetta: Well the got this super awesome text from our recent convert Sandra (the one who got baptized my first week here) asking if we could come over and teach her mom who is visiting for a few months! WELL OF COURSE WE CAN! So on Thursday we went over and taught Sandra and her mom, Enriquetta, about the restoration and it was so great! The mom loved it and doesn't really have doubts. She kept telling her grand kids to be quiet because she was "learning the word of God." She's the best and we are going back to teach more this week!

Maria: Maria has been one of the people that I have heard so much about but never actually met. Ever week during weekly planning I find myself singing "how do you solve a problem like Maria?" From sound of music ha ha we haven't been able to get a hold of her ever since I arrived in Canada. UNTIL THIS WEEK. We had a lesson with her and it turns out she's been super super sick and can barely even speak. Well, we taught her all about the restoration and she loved it! She told us that she doesn't have any doubts, and she wants to keep learning more! She's even been reading the Book of Mormon! Wow. So great. Probably one of the nicest ladies I've ever met. Well we are going back this week to teach all about the plan of salvation. So pumped!

Monica: THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST! Wellllllllllll apparently before I got here, some missionaries helped this lady move and afterwords she told us that we could come back and teach her. Well, we haven't been able to get a hold of her for 6 whole weeks and we couldn't figure out why. So on Friday night we decided to just stop by her apartment but she didn't answer... So when we got home we decided to call her.... And she answered! We set up a lesson with her this week! But wait it gets better! Maybe 10 minutes after talking to Monica we get a phone call from a random number so we answered it and this guy starts talking. He asked us if we were missionaries and if we had just talked to Monica on the phone. We said yes. Then old us that he is an active member of the church, and he just came to Canada, and he and his family are staying with Monica! He was so excited because he's been trying to get a hold of the missionaries. Then he asked a bunch of questions about when church started and how everything worked with the Spanish branch. We told him about stake conference too and he and his family came yesterday! We have a lesson with Monica and this family tonight! Talk about good timing! Apparently we weren't supposed to get a hold of Monica until she just happened to have a Mormon family staying at her house. ;-)

So basically the church is totally true! there have been countless miracles left and right this week. I know that the Lord watches over his missionaries and helps them to complete his work on the Earth. I love being a part of this great work!

OK. I'm going to end with a funny story.

So this week we had transfers. But because I am still in training, my companion and I just stay where we are. Well anyway, there was this big conference call on Tuesday night with all the missionaries in the zone so our zone leaders could announce who was being transferred. About 20 minutes before the call, we got a call from the Assistants to the President of the mission. They explained that there was a typo and it said that Hermana Call (my companion) was going to move up to the North but it was wrong and she would just be staying down here in the south. But the only ones who knew it was a typo was us and the APs.... So we decided to prank everyone and make them think she was being transferred! We convinced everyone in the Spanish program and everyone in the zone that she was being transferred. We even convinced the other sister missionaries that we live with. Hermana Call legitimately started packing her stuff to make it more believable ;-) We planned a goodbye party with the Spanish speaking Elders too. Basically, we tricked everyone and no one found out until we didn't show up at transfers. It was great!

Well, that's about all for the week! The mission is great! I love it!!!! 

Love you all, 

Hermana Thorstenson

 

Myrna, Our investigator from Mexico.

 

 

 

 

Yes. It is cold here!  I Love My Mission! But I did love this bumper sticker too!

 

If you would like to email or write to me, my contact information is below:

Mark Mail (Send via USPS - NOT Fedex or UPS)
Mark boxes as "Missionary Supplies"

Hermana Rachel Thorstenson

Canada Calgary Mission

7044 Farrell Rd. SE

Calgary AB T@H OT2

Canada

Email Address

rachel.thorstenson@myldsmail.net

 

Monday, January 2, 2017 - Feliz Ano Nuevo

Happy New Year!

Well first of all I would like to apologize for the fact that I am terrible at writing emails! One of my New Years resolutions is to write better weekly emails so hopefully we are off to a good start haha merry late Christmas and happy late New Years from Calgary! This holiday season has been absolutely incredible as a missionary. It is a unique experience to be away from family and serving the lord during this time of year because it's sad and happy at the same time. Of course I miss my family and all my friends back home but there is nowhere else I would rather be and nothing else I would rather be doing. During the week of Christmas we were able to do a lot of service. So many people were receptive to our message about the savior and his birth and we had so many great opportunities to share the gospel with all sorts of people. One of my favorite parts of the week was being able to attend a live nativity that the church put on for free in this major park. There were shows every 20 minutes every night for the whole week and tons of people came to watch! I've never seen Mary or Joseph with so many layers on but it was great! There were missionaries all over the place talking to everyone who came. It was so great! On Christmas Day, we opened our presents at 5:30 am because we were all so dang excited!!! Shout out to everyone who sent me cards or gifts! I felt so loved Christmas morning so thank you so much! Then we had church and then spent the rest of the day with a family in branch. They are seriously the best and had all 6 missionaries over for the whole day. We all called/FaceTimed our families which was the highlight of my Christmas! I loved being able to talk to and see my family for the first time in what feels like forever haha can't wait until Mother's Day when I can talk to them again! This past week has been great too. Kinda slow as far as lessons go because everyone is out of town or with family so our schedule was out of the ordinary. For p day on Monday we went sledding with the other Spanish elders which was tons of fun!! We were out there for hours in -15 C running up this giant hill and sledding down. I haven't had that much fun in a while but I couldn't feel my fingers by the end. We also said goodbye to Elder McLaren, another missionary in the branch, before he flew home on Wednesday. Tuesday was a crazy day because I had a really bad allergic reaction. I'm super allergic to down (feathers in coats) and basically I wore a jacket that I hadn't worn in a while and I guess it had either been touching a down jacket or something because I was covered in hives and red and itchy all over. My face got pretty swollen too haha I was on Benadryl all day Wednesday and had to sleep a ton because I was so drowsy. It was rough but I survived! The rest of the week was pretty slow but we visited with Mama Lola and I swear that lady never ceases to make me laugh! I've never met such a lively 96 year old! On Saturday we helped a family in the branch move which was super fun. It was also snowing pretty hard while we were carrying things in and out which led to some pretty funny slips and falls. We moved the entire house in 4 hours though which was pretty impressive! Gotta love the missionaries! A never ending supply of free labor haha The best part of the week by far was the opportunity to teach the sister of a family in the branch. She's visiting from Mexico and is going through some really hard things back home so she came to visit her sister for a few weeks. The family in the branch asked us to come over and teach her about the gospel and it was incredible. I've never felt the spirit so strongly in a lesson! She just cried when we told her how much Heavenly Father loves her and that Christ knows exactly what she is going through and is there to help her. She has been so receptive to learning more about the gospel and we hope that she will be able to continue the lessons back in Mexico! Well that's about it for this week but I'm so excited for this next year and the fact that I will be in Canada the whole entire year!! Don't forget to make lots of New Years resolutions and be better every single day!

Lots of love from Calgary!

-Hermana Thorstenson

 

Bring it on!

 

 

Beautiful Canadian Sunset

 

 

Me and Hermana Call

If you would like to email or write to me, my contact information is below:

Mark Mail (Send via USPS - NOT Fedex or UPS)
Mark boxes as "Missionary Supplies"

Hermana Rachel Thorstenson

Canada Calgary Mission

7044 Farrell Rd. SE

Calgary AB T@H OT2

Canada

Email Address

rachel.thorstenson@myldsmail.net

 

Monday, December 19, 2016

Well this week has been exciting as ever! To start off, we have gotten some warm winds so it hasn't been too cold out here!!! Yay!! It might actually get into the positive degrees this week so I am super excited haha well this week is Christmas so we have all sorts of fun things planned. It has been so cool being able to share messages about Christ because people seem to be a lot more receptive this time of year. We have picked up a lot of new investigators and we are working as hard as we possibly can to teach them the things that they need. It has been so great getting to know all sorts of people. We had a branch Christmas party on Saturday and we brought a family and they brought their extended family who was in town from Columbia! I have learned so much about different cultures and countries around the world! Especially the food haha If you think all Latino food is the same... well you're wrong. Every country has different food but it is all good. 

We had exchanges on Wednesday with week so I was with another sister for a day which switched things up but was super fun! We all live together so it wasn't much of an exchange but it was still super fun. We have been teaching a lot of families and sharing the "Light the World" video with everyone! It is seriously the best and everyone just loves it! It's been so good to prepare for Christmas by really focusing on the savior. Christmas on the mission is going to be the best! Plus we already have a bunch of dinners set up for Christmas eve and Christmas day! Can't wait!

Every day gets better and better and I love it out here in Canada! There is nowhere else I would rather be and nothing else I would rather be doing! The church is true! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!! Love you all! 

-Hermanita Thorstenson

If you would like to email or write to me, my contact information is below:

Mark Mail (Send via USPS - NOT Fedex or UPS)
Mark boxes as "Missionary Supplies"

Hermana Rachel Thorstenson

Canada Calgary Mission

7044 Farrell Rd. SE

Calgary AB T@H OT2

Canada

Email Address

rachel.thorstenson@myldsmail.net

December 12, 2016 - Jimmy is a goner!

Dear Friends & Family,

Well this week has been as eventful as ever! Let's just start off with the fact that we have had a mouse in our apartment for the last 2 weeks named jimmy. He have had all sorts of traps and poison out trying to catch him but we were unsuccessful... UNTIL THIS MORNING! Poor little jimmy got stuck on a sticky trap and Sister Fransen decided to be super brave and put him in a plastic bag and throw him in the dumpster! Goodbye Jimmy! Now I can actually sleep in peace without thinking about little mice nibbling on my toes in the middle of the night haha !

The highlight of the week was being able to go to the temple on Saturday afternoon! One of the Spanish speaking sisters is going home right after Christmas, so all 6 of us got permission from the president to go do a session together in the temple... in Spanish! It was one of the coolest experiences! First of all the temple is absolutely gorgeous! Inside and out! Being in the temple was just such an incredible reminder of why I am here on a mission. I love the church with all my heart and know that the gospel is true. There is no doubt in my mind that this is Christ's church on the earth! I want to share that knowledge with everyone I meet and share that same happiness that I felt inside the temple! 

It has been so incredible preparing for Christmas because we are trying to focus more on service. Serving just makes everyone happier. Being on the mission has changed my attitude about a lot of things in life and every day I want to wake up and find some way that I can serve. I absolutely love the Christmas video that the church has put called "Light the World" which is all about following Christ's example and serving others as he would. I hope everyone watches it and finds some way to serve others this Christmas season. 

So many other things have happened this week but overall the most important thing I need to mention is that is so dang cold here. When we leave our house at about noon after lunch, it is usually -25 degrees Celsius which is danggggg cold. Lots of coats and gloves and hats ha ha! But I love it. We can always see our breath in the car ha ha! Lots of snowball fights too! 

Random but funny story... I ate fried cactus last night at dinner! We get fed almost every day by the members of our church Branch which means we get to try all sorts of cool food! A lot of the Latino people in Canada have migrated from other countries so we get a big variety! I have never eaten so much in my life!!!! I love it! Every day the members tell me I need to eat more ha ha!

Well that's about all for the week but thanks for all the love and support! 

-Hermana Thorstenson

Here are some fun pictures from the temple! My comp is crazy and wanted to take a pic without her coat hahaha 

If you would like to email or write to me, my contact information is below:

Mark Mail (Send via USPS - NOT Fedex or UPS)
Mark boxes as "Missionary Supplies"

Hermana Rachel Thorstenson

Canada Calgary Mission

7044 Farrell Rd. SE

Calgary AB T@H OT2

Canada

Email Address

rachel.thorstenson@myldsmail.net

Calgary Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

 Rachel and her companion in front of The Calgary Temple.

It's Winter in Canada! And well below ZERO!

December 5, 2016 - I LOVE CANADA!!!!!

I LOVE CANADA!!!!!

So I have successfully survived my first few days in Canada and life could not be any better!!!! I absolutely love being a missionary! I have the best trainer in the entire world! Her name is Sister Call and we are already best friends! She is from Colorado and she went to BYU for a year before her mission as well! We have the best time together! 

We had our first snowfall this week and let's just say I'm not a big fan of the cold ha ha it's been below freezing for the last few days and it's continually getting worse. It's going to be a long winter! Good thing we have a car! Hydroplaning is kind of the worst and hopefully we don't do too much of that anymore. Also the Spanish speaking missionaries cover a huge area so we have to drive... a lot. 

The branch that we work with is seriously the best and I love all of the members already! They feed us all the time and help us out so much! It's the best. The best part of my week was when some random guy paid for our food at Costa Vida. Wow what a blessing. I don't think I've ever been so happy in my entire life!!! 

On the other hand, there is a mouse in our apartment that we have been trying to catch for the last few days... his name is jimmy and he needs to go. 

We had a baptism for a little boy in the ward this week and the font wasn't filling up fast enough so we had to carry huge pots of water back and forth from the kitchen to fill it... for an hour and a half! It all worked out though! 

All of the missionaries in our branch are the best and I love every second here! 

Well I gotta head out but thanks for all the love and emails!!!

Love, 

Hermana Thorstenson!

PS they don't have Chick-fil-A in canada and it makes me very sad...

If you would like to email or write to me, my contact information is below:

Mark Mail (Send via USPS - NOT Fedex or UPS)
Mark boxes as "Missionary Supplies"

Hermana Rachel Thorstenson

Canada Calgary Mission

7044 Farrell Rd. SE

Calgary AB T@H OT2

Canada

Email Address

rachel.thorstenson@myldsmail.net