week 85: things are fantastic

a new kind of zone picture

Hey Everyone,

     Another week has flown by. Since we had P-day on Tuesday last week the whole week was just weird. I always felt like it was a day earlier than it actually was. This week was still absolutely amazing. There's this girl we're teaching named Kandace who's ten. Her grandma is a member and the first time we went over she was just crazy. Bouncing off the walls not paying attention and tons of other stuff. Last week something changed and all of the sudden she was paying attention, listening and even asked when she can be baptized. She's on date for March 7th right now. Then there's the Whisler family. They have Covid, and luckily, their baby doesn't. If he had, it would have extended their quarantine and that sucks because Allie is going to be baptized on Saturday. Everything's okay and she nailed the Baptismal Interview so this Saturday she'll be baptized. We also got her two kids, Charlie and Evelyn, back on date because they went out of town and other crazy stuff. 

     There's a lot going on right now and it is awesome. We're very blessed to have so many people to teach. It's been a lot of work, but it is so worth it. We had in person church again, and this time we also had a second hour. We finished church and had branch council, and to finish it all up we had some stuff to do with the branch president. We ended up being at church for about 4 hours. It was awesome! I missed church so much, and hopefully I'll keep going until the end of my mission. Things are fantastic out in the wonderful town of Lone Pine. Till next week. 

--Elder Thompson

bits and pieces from family phone calls:

I'm teaching! Lots of teaching and it's awesome!

We got some great Valentine cookies from my grandma and mom...sooo good!

The Whisler family is going to try and come out to Utah in July which means Elder Busche and myself will get to see them since we'll be home..so awesome!

I'm happy here and loving being busy and working so hard. 

cookies from grandma!

week 84: iron man

   Hey Everyone, things are going great up here in Lone Pine. 

    To start off, I better tell you all who my companions are. It's Elder Busche and Elder Hayes. That was cool because Elder Busche actually went to high school with me. We're teaching tons of people here. There's a family, the Whistlers, that are super cool. The mom, Allie is going to be baptized in a couple of weeks, and the dad, Dougan, is working towards it. I haven't met the kids yet because they were out of town. We're also teaching Dougan's sister Mandy and she's getting close to her baptism too! There is a family and the two daughters, Olivia and Isis, got baptized recently. We're working with the rest of their family. They live in a town called Keeler and the population is about 50 (that's what the sign says but a new family moved in). We're teaching a few other people and it's awesome. 

     This week we also got some sad news. An Elder in another part of the mission is going back to his original assignment, and Elder Hayes is being transferred to take his place. A quick story, the family that lives in Keeler turned their yard into a mini skate park, and Elder Hayes wanted to ride down it one last time. He tried to show off a bit and ate it. We were dying! He was fine and tried one more time, luckily he made it the second time. So yesterday we made the 4 hour round trip to meet up with his new comps. It was a ton of driving. We also had a huge miracle. Church is back in person! Saturday we got the news and the next day we were sitting in the chapel. I've missed it so much. Things are honestly going amazing here. I love it and can't wait to let you all know how this week goes. 

--Elder Thompson 

bits and pieces from family phone calls:

Lone Pine has about 2,000 people...when I say it's small, I mean it. 

We got to visit the place where the big explosion scene in Iron Man was filmed...legendary. Don't worry, there are pictures. 

The mountains here are huge! We have the tallest peak in North American except for a mountain in Alaska. 

It feels so good to be teaching and be busy. I've missed that.

Really looking forward to the coming week!

I know, I know. 

You weren't sure which picture was me and which one was Tony Stark.

sometimes there are random paintings on giant rocks

The view from the front of our house...the mountains are awesome!

 

week 83: off to Lone Pine

 

Just a corner sign in Mojave

Hey Everyone,

    Transfers came yesterday and I'm out of Cal City, and on to my next area. 

    We had a pretty slow last week in Cal City. We were able to teach Diana again and things are going great with her. Other than that, not a lot happened. We got a call Wednesday night letting us know Elder Bahlmann would be training. I figured I'd be leaving, and Friday I found out I'd be leaving and going to Lone Pine. Lone Pine is a little more in the middle of nowhere than my last area. It's a small town and just a branch but it seems pretty cool.

I'll tell you more about it next week once I actually know a bit about it. 

--Elder Thompson 

Bits and pieces from family phone calls:

Lone Pine is tiny, but there is quite a bit happening here with missionary work!

I'm in a trio...one of the Elders is Elder Busche from American Fork...we went to school together from elementary on, so it's fun to be with someone from home.

I was transferred here because they have found a few new friends that need to be taught in Spanish. So I'll be teaching Spanish, but my comps are English speaking, so we'll be teaching both languages.

We live in a small house. It used to be a hospital on the Indian Reservation so it's an interesting little place. 

The church where we meet up with our district for Sundays/pdays is about an hour away, so we'll be driving quite a bit.

I'm excited to see how things are moving and working here!

We've had a great time together in Cal City!

These elders are some of the best!

you're welcome 

All the bunnies running around here...this is our front yard!

week 82: He can make our mistakes a miracle

We've had some wind....like serious wind...

Ripped that mailbox right off the post.

But not to worry, we fixed it up with gorilla glue and duct tape.

And all that dirt...yep, it's our front lawn.

Hey Everyone, things are going great out here in Cal City. 

     This week started off a little shaky, we had some people drop us which is always a little disappointing. We kept working hard and had a few things fall through, but in the end some great things still happened. We were able to teach our friend Diana again. She's super cool and we had a little bit of a miracle with her. We had invited her to read 3 Nephi 11, which talks about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but we accidentally sent her the wrong page number. She ended up reading 3 Nephi 15 which is Christ talking about how the Nephites are His other sheep. There is also a single verse that talks about enduring to the end which is the final part of the Gospel. She remembered it and brought it up to us. We're hoping we can invite her to be baptized this week so keep her in your prayers. We also had interviews with President Sandberg this week which are always the best. I think that's about it. We have transfers next week, so I'll see if I'm staying or leaving. I hit 19 months today, and I can hardly believe that I'll only have 3 transfers left. 

I don't think I've got anything else... So until next week. 

--Elder Thompson

bits and pieces from family phone calls:

I'm finishing up the Book of Mormon again which is always a testimony builder.

I've also been looking up all the references to Christ from the topical guide (something President Nelson suggested doing just before he became the prophet). I'm marking them yellow, and I'm going to need some extra yellow pencils for sure. It's been really cool to see how much the Savior is in the Book of Mormon.

I made homemade enchiladas last week...I'm getting pretty good at those!

We also bought a giant bag of chicken nuggets and knock off Chick Fil A sauce, so you know what we're eating pretty much all week.

We had some snow today...kind of just blowing through, but the wind was so bad that they closed the freeway into the town we drive to for groceries. We got permission to go somewhere else, but man, that wind! 

Sunsets in Cal City are pretty good

My mom with a mini Ron Swanson

Letter informing me today that my mission assignment is no longer temporary and I will finish my service here in Bakersfield!

Dear President Sandberg:

Thank you for all you are doing to support missionaries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Carter Timothy Thompson has been assigned to complete his missionary service in the California Bakersfield Mission.

Please personally inform Elder Thompson of this assignment and communicate gratitude for his willing service to the Lord. If questions arise, you may consider sharing Elder David A. Bednar’s talk “Called to the Work” from the April 2017 general conference.

We are aware that you may have other missionaries who are temporarily assigned to your mission. The Missionary Department is working to support the Quorum of the Twelve as they consider permanently assigning missionaries who are nearing the end of their missions. We will notify you of additional changes when they are made.

Sincerely,

Elder Marcus B. Nash
Executive Director, Missionary Department

week 81: massive miracle

 

Cal City can be pretty awesome!

Hey Everyone, this week was super awesome. 

     We've been struggling out here, especially with finding. This week we had a massive miracle. There's this lady named Diana we've been trying to teach for a while now, and we finally got to. It was such a powerful lesson, and she's got so much potential to progress. She has all the right questions and knows where to turn. It's so awesome! The lesson lasted almost an hour and the spirit was so strong. We also gave talks in the english ward with the other 2 missionaries on missionary work. It went really well. Don't really have time to write more. 

Have a great week. 

Elder Thompson 

bits and pieces from family phone calls:

The mission president had us all go shopping for the week on Saturday...we're extra locked down because of the inauguration this week and the potential for issues. 

I beat my comp at scrabble....he's still upset...hahaha.

I got to see Jack this week on my phone call home. He really likes me when I filter my face into a giant taco...smart kid!

Keep praying for us to find people ready to listen!

look at the rabbit!

week 80: some weeks are slow

Red Rock Canyon--not southern Utah but still pretty

Hey Everyone, not much is going on out here. Honestly, I almost forgot to write an email so I only have a few minutes left to write. We're starting up a bible study so that's been fun. Also, we had a mission wide zone conference that was really awesome. I'll have to speak this Sunday so I'll let you all know how that goes if I remember. Today we went to Red Rock Canyon state park and hiked a bit.

Alright everyone, have a wonderful week.

--Elder Thompson 

bits and pieces from family phone calls:

Not much teaching this last week...the one family we are meeting with was busy, so things are slow.

Hiking today was fun and it felt good to be outside!

I do have pictures which my mom hopes I'll upload before she posts!

We're all still getting along with each other and doing all we can to be productive.

I told my mom some really good Dad jokes today...my favorite one:

"what do you call a dog with no legs?"

"doesn't matter what you call him, he ain't comin'"

WOW.

cal city district

it's Charlie Brown

week 79: a new year

Cal City Elders

     Hey Everyone, not a whole lot is going on out here in Cal City.

     This week we were working hard and we're trying to start up a bible study class. Things have definitely been slow, especially during the holidays. We got the chance to practice teaching with our mission president and it helped a ton! We also got to work with the Mendoza and Gonzales family. Honestly I don't have too much to talk about. We watched a super cool MTC devotional where Elder Matthew Holland spoke about Joseph Smith and shared some stories I've never heard about him. He talked about the path to Palmyra, and it was one filled with misfortune, difficulty and suffering. But in spite of all of that, and in sometimes because of that, Joseph was taken exactly where he needed to be. I testify of this. 2020 was not a kind, or easy year. I have traveled from Mexico, back home, and then from there to California. I've gone through a lot of changes, adjustments, and struggles. Let me tell you all something. I would not trade 2020 for any other year. I've grown in so many ways and I'm very grateful for all that's happened.

--Elder Thompson

Happy New Years!