Thrasher, Evelyn T

This week was in a word, unglamorous.      And that is okay! Not every week in the mission is going to be life changing and bursting with stories. We did the usual missionary grind; we did service, we messaged 20 new people a day on Facebook, we taught lessons, and we crossed our fingers we got fed dinner a couple times.      We had a bomb zone conference too. I felt a little weird since I didn't know anybody once again. It was fun to meet a lot of new people and put names to faces. It was spiritually uplifting and a good time all around. Plus, we went to dinner after and I tried a burger with peanut butter, jelly, and kangaroo meat. Honestly, not bad!     I was thinking a lot about what it means to have an unglamorous week. Sometimes it is easy to fall into the pit of comparison when I see other missionaries baptizing all the people they teach and then going on to teach tons of new people. However, I also know that God sent me here at this time f...

Happy National Queso Day! This week did go by quicker than last week, and I am getting settled into my new area pretty well! In God's funny way, He has decided to shake things up just one more time. Sister Hymas is being sent to another area to replace a girl who went home early. So, it is me, Sister Biehn, and Sister Silifaiva doing the work of 2 companionships in a huge area. We will be busy, but being busy is good! This week we did lots of service at the pear farm and at strangers houses, just doing whatever needs to be done. We did pruning, hammering, cleaning, mowing, sweeping, etc. I still love service and I can tell a difference in the days I didn't get the chance to do any. Our friend Luis is struggling right now with some family problems and giving up coffee, so we would appreciate your prayers for him as he works towards his goal to be baptized. Our other friend Stormy accepted the invitation to read the Book of Mormon and attend church, which is super exciting! We h...

Hello from Eagle Point!     This week was forever long! We had transfers, so I packed up my whole life again and got on a van down to Eagle Point, Oregon. I met the other girls I share a house with and waited for my new trainee to come in. She came in super late the next day so we just got her set up and went to sleep. Her name is Sister Biehn from Corona, CA and she is super sweet, tall, and gluten intolerant haha.     Since we are whitewashing in this area (like last time), we took a lot of time to call/text people to set up lessons with them. We are struggling to get in contact with people, plus they are doing church over zoom, so we haven't gotten to meet a lot of people that way either. Basically, Sister Biehn and I have no idea what we are doing here. But we are gonna keep working hard, praying, and trusting that God put us here together for a reason!     One person here who loves to meet with us is Luis! He has autism, he is super sweet, he loves the...

Hello my people! This week was everything I ever hoped missionary work would be! To jump right in, I love the people here. I think I've learned how to talk to people and get to know them better so I can love them on a deeper level. That is honestly a miracle since I was really awful at being so open when I first came. We did service for our friend Jessica, who needed blackberries removed from her yard. Let me tell y'all. Blackberries are the devil. They can grow anywhere, they are ugly, they have massive thorns, and they grow as huge vines that wrap around everything in sight. Plus, they can grow large enough to take over a house; they have to be taken care of when they are small, or it can become an impossible task to clear them out. We also got our friend Dias to come to church with us! Dias is an old school thug; he has the deepest voice I have ever heard and the biggest belly laugh known to man. He was interested in joining the church before, but kind of stopped when he got...