Week 13

Hey Family and Friends!
Merry Christmas this week!!

This past week had been a little slow, but we have found fun ways to spread the Gospel and lift spirits. For example, we made bags of candy with cards in them and passed them out to people. It has lifted so many peoples spirits and we have had some great conversations because of it.

We had exchanges this week!! That was so much fun! I went to Latham with Sister Dorian and Sister Wright. It was awesome to see how their area was doing and to be able to see how other missionaries work. I have some new ideas under my belt to implement in my area. It was nice to be able to go back to my area and Sister Geddes though, Haha.

We also made gingerbread houses this week! That was fun! Mine is the one on the right... I gave up, Haha. Sister Geddes' gingerbread house is awesome though!

We saw a wild Turkey... I guess he got missed last month

We have made lots of chocolate chip cookies this week to give to the people we are teaching, all of them have loved it!!

That's about it though for this week...

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas remembering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know our Heavenly Father loves us so much because he sent his only begotten son to the earth to Atone for our sins and make it possible for us to return back to him.

This Christmas, as we are overjoyed with the gifts we have received, lets not forget the most amazing, most perfect gift we could ever receive, the gift of eternal life made possible through Jesus Christ.
I love you all!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!☃️

Week 12

Week 11

No group email this week because of lack of time and not much happened. 

I would love some prayers and any encouragement

Week 10

What a week...

The gist of this week is, pray for Trish and pray for us(Sister Geddes) to stay warm...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with a great family! They loved hearing about how missions work and we were able to play a fun game with them as well! I love sharing the Gospel!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and Black Friday.... and then the very next day, had fun putting up their Christmas trees 

I am so excited for this Christmas season!!! So much so that we got/are still getting about 2 feet of snow!!! Its gorgeous!!! I love it so much! Sister Geddes loves it too, but it's a little chilly for an Arizona native.

We have been able to share Light to World to so many people so far and they are so excited to serve their fellow men!

If you have not looked into Light the World, please DO IT!!! It is so amazing!!!! It is a perfect way to make the season bright

Trish has run into some obstacles to baptism and we have to push back her date. It's hard, but I know that with the faith and prayers of a lot of people, she will be able to overcome them. Please please please pray for her!!!

And that's all folks.... Sister Geddes and I are having a blast here in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Love you all!!!

Sister Thacker

Week 9

Hey Family and Friends!

I hope everyone is having a great week! I also hope that everyone took the challenge to sign up for the Daily service texts on Lighttheworld.org. The Christ Child Video just released yesterday and it is so beautiful, I invite all of you to watch it.

This week we got transfer calls! Both Sister Geddes and I are going to be staying here in Saratoga Springs for the Holdiays!!! We are so excited!!!

We got a lot of snow this week.. and it is all melted now... I am very disappointed because the snow is so beautiful!

HIGHLIGHTS:

TRISH IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!! 

She is on date for December 21st. She is so ready! She knows that this is Christs Church on the earth. She has a light in her that shines! She has changed so much these past few weeks!

One thing this week that I have been able to see, is how powerful the Book of Mormon is and its role in our conversion. We challenged Trish to read the Book of Mormon every day and she said challenge accepted. From Saturday to Tuesday, she read it every day and by Tuesday night, she texted us and said that she knows the Book of Mormon is true! As President Nelson has told us, there is power in studying the Book of Mormon daily. 

I know that studying the Book of Mormon everyday brings power into our lives. We will be converted to Christ, we will have the strength to bear our trials, we will feel joy and know that our Father in Heaven loves us and is aware of us.

Joseph Smith said, "the Book of Mormon [is] the most correct of any book on the earth [...] and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." 

I know this to be true. As I have taken the challenge of studying it daily, I have been able to receive strength and help in all that I do.

If you have not read or are not currently reading the Book of Mormon, I invite you to start today and notice the change that happens in your life after even just a few days of consistent reading. Just as I have seen it change mine, and Trish's lives.

Seeing as this week is Thanksgiving, I want to list some things that I am grateful for:

My family, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the scriptures, all those that are supporting me, my companion, snow, member dinners, warm coats, modern technology, and many, many more things. To the ward members who donate to the ward mission fund, thank you so much for your generosity and support! I love you all!

I hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving! Take notice of all the blessings you have received and then thank your Father in Heaven for them.

Love you lots!

Sister Thacker

Pictures!

SNOW! And a Waste Management can(your welcome dad)

CHRISTMAS

Here are the pictures from exchanges a few weeks ago.... we are with Sister Wright and Sister Mills

We went to lunch with a returned missionary, she is awesome!

More snow pictures...

Sister Geddes driving in the snow...

Week 8

This has been a long week.

Highlights

•moving

•Trish

•Linda

•Mission conference call

We have officially moved! We moved to a previous elders apartment... wow it was messy! Haha, it's all good. We cleaned it and now it is ours! We have been working hard cleaning it during meal time and after 9 PM. We finally finished today and it feels so good to have it finished. We put up Christmas decorations too!

This week has been so stressful for me. I do not do well with change, so this week was a little much. I have relied so much on prayer this week. I have tried my best to put my trust in the Lord and to know that everything is going work out.

I will admit it's still a work in progress and answers aren't immediate, but little moments remind me that I am not alone and to keep on trying.

I know that the Lord is with me always.

Trish! The lesson we had with her was all of the place...  she had watched a documentary about our church that was not nice. She had a lot of questions. We were able to answer them and remind her that no one is perfect, but what is perfect is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is so important to remember!! She still wants to learn more and to come to church which is awesome!!! I am so excited to see her progress closer to making promises with her Father in Heaven!

We had a lesson with Linda!!! She loves everything that she has learned so far and wants to come to church!! She is so ready to recieve the Gospel.

The main highlight from the week is... mission conference call!!!

We talked about the new missionary handbook! It's so exciting!! My mission president was able to talk to us about being a true disciple of Jesus Christ. He is a very inspired man!

Other than that, this week has dragged on. Those are the only specific things I can think of because I left my journal at my apartment... oops. Oh well, I have lots of pictures though!

I love you all! Remember that no matter what, you can turn to our Savior Jesus Christ and he will help you.

Sister Thacker

300 maple ave. #6 Ballston Spa, NY 12020

Snow!!!

My district

 Adorable cat that we saw, it followed us for a long time

Sister Geddes and I freezing 

My photo wall above my desk

Christmas time is here!!

Ready for winter!

Our Empty Apartment 

Week 7

This week has been awesome!

Highlights of this week:
Trish!!!
K family!!
Exchanges
Primary Program
Light the World

First of all...

Exchanges was so much fun! I was able to go with Sister Wright, my STL, in Delmar. We taught a lady and her daughter who are so solid and I am really sad they aren't in my area, but I'll keep asking her about them! I absolutely loved them.
Next, the Primary Program was yesterday and it was so cute! The Spirit is always so strong as children bear their testimonies through word and song.


Next! LIGHT THE WORLD!!!!
The time has come to start spreading the true meaning of Christmas!! It's time to light the world, one by one. People all over the world can now start signing up for daily texts throughout the month of December, reminding them to serve someone each day and examples of how they can do that. I encourage you all to go to lighttheworld.org to sign up. Also watch the videos that are there!
On the 24th of November, a new Christ child nativity video will be coming out and it is beautiful! We got to preview it. Share it with your families and friends. Also invite them to come worship Jesus Christ with us on December 22nd.
It is a great way to spread love, peace and joy this Holiday season to all of Gods children.

Trish!
Trish is absolutely amazing! We have only been teaching her for two weeks and she is basically ready to come unto Christ through Baptism. She had surgery on Thursday and she still wanted to come to church yesterday. She ultimately decided it was too soon after her surgery and she wasn't feeling very well... no kidding. But she wants to come so badly! We were able to have some Preisthood holders come to her home to give her a blessing and she was very grateful. The spirit was very strong! We are praying for her to heal quickly. 

The K family!
They have been taught by missionaries for 6 years. We are strengthening them as a family by inviting them to pray daily as a family and they are excited to see the change it brings into their home.

Also!!! It snowed today!!! I am so excited for Christmas!!! It reminded me of Utah.
And we are moving this week! Haha, we are moving into another apartment in our area. It was an elders apartment before... so that's going to be fun... Haha just kidding. So my nrw address is going to be, I'm pretty sure...

300 Maple Ave apt #6 Ballston Spa, New York 12020.
If you have already sent stuff to my old apartment within the past week... I am so sorry, I probably won't get it.

My spiritual thought was about Light The World, please check out the website linked above!!
Have a great week everyone!
Please email me or send me a letter or both!

Love
Sister Thacker

Picture...I only have 1... Sister Geddes has the other ones... I will send more next week... so sorry!
I got to pet a pony!! It was so cute!

Week 6

I know I say this every week, but...

wow, what a week...

Its crazy that its already Monday!

A lot has happened this week and I will try to get the highlights.

First thing from this week, we had dinner with members almost every night, which was awesome! I love the members in our ward, they are so great! I had some yummy brownies, that was definitely a highlight.

Next, we had a lesson with a referral from online and she is amazing! She said that she is lucky to be alive because of all the trauma she has gone through, and we talked to her about how God has a plan for her. The spirit was so strong!

LINDA!!!! I LOVE HER! Linda is the cutest lady ever and she is so ready for the Gospel! We taught her the restoration and invited her to read the Book of Mormon and Pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet, and she said that she knows it true. She felt the spirit so strong when we taught the first vision that she said there is no way that it's not true!!

We also were able to have dinner with our relief society president, I absolutely love her, she is the most amazing woman. To all of the Relief Society presidents, you do so much, thank you for all you do!

.... I touched a snake this week....gross

But then I held a baby rat, adorable!

I'll include pictures.

Sister Geddes loved that snake, Haha.

                                                   The snake....her name is Aphrodite

Adorable Baby Rat

Halloween was interesting. We had zone conference in the morning, which was very cool! My very first zone conference. President Vest, my mission president, is a very inspired servant of the Lord. I am so grateful for him. One thing we talked about in Zone conference was facing winter head on, Haha. I'm excited for Christmas! Anyways back to Halloween, we were asked not to walk to streets, so we set up some member lessons which were so fun!

This week I have been studying about the Atonement of Jesus Christ a lot, and I have learned so many things. Elder Holland has been the source of my studies and I have been able to feel his power and conviction while reading them. I encourage everyone to read as many talks and scriptures you can about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have gained a lot of knowledge and humbling from these studies.

Also my nephew Braxton turned 1 this week!!! It's crazy and he's adorable! And happy birthday to my dad too.

Oh yeah! We had a crazy storm on Thursday night and the power went out like 7 times while we were doing weekly planning on Friday... it was a party. So many people were without power.

We met some awesome people while walking around on Saturday and we were able to help them clean up their yard from the storm and share a message about Jesus Christ. 

We also got some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from a member and they were so yummy!!!

It is so dark here, the sun goes down at 4:30, so that's cool... Haha it's a little sketchy, but it's all good because we have the Spirit with us.

I love you all!! Thank you so much for all of the emails, support and prayers, they are much appreciated

Love Sister Thacker

Please feel free to email me! I might not be able to respond that week, but I love reading them!

They have these adorable, take a book leave a book, cupboards. Adorable!