Week 4: Inspiration and Indigestion, pt.II



Hola!
I am happy to report to y'all that all is well at the MTC and I am not feeling sick this week! Unfortunately I have to report that the new arrivals are going through the EXACT same thing all of us did 3 weeks ago. What a great tradition!😂 

This week was full of excitement. We prepped a lot for President Nelson's arrival including a one-hour training session on how to shake a 93-year-old's hand. Unfortunately that meeting did not pay off, because even with shaking almost 500 missionaries hands... the prophet didn't go for the fish flop hand shake that we were informed we would be receiving. He is still an extremely healthy old man. What a guy!

On Saturday morning we boarded a bus with all 80 missionaries - some 50 of them had just arrived only days before - and arrived minutes later to a gated chapel where we could barely fit all us MTC missionaries, and the East and West Santo Domingo missions around 450ish missionaries. Before the meeting began, all of us missionaries were able to shake President Nelson's hand after getting pictures with him and our missions. I was able to see some familiar faces, but wasn't able to really talk with any of them: missionaries that had left just days before to the mission field from the MTC and even Hermana Hoskins (from my home ward). The meeting was so amazing; before hearing from the prophet we heard from the mission presidents in the area and well as some general authourities - including Elder Renlund of the Quorum of the 12. We got to watch the broadcast to the members of the Caribbean in the evening where both Elder Renlund and President Nelson spoke. It was almost like general conference, but even better! How great it was to hear the prophet and an apostle speak twice each in the same day! And specifically to us the missionaries and the people I'm am serving!

I would love to tell everything we heard from the prophet but here are just a few words due to the short time I have to email: (this is completely paraphrased - not an exact quote, it's just from my notes on his talk... so don't steal this quote cause it's not his exact words!!!): "God doesn't care about the size of his church. Even while the church continues to grow exponentially especially in the Dominican Republic and the rest of the Caribbean, he loves each individual so much!" As missionaries, he directed us to love our companions and the people we teach. Even if we love them only a small fraction of what God and Jesus love them, we will be able to serve well and be successful.

Make sure to read my next email, because it's sure to be exciting... We get to go on exchanges with the missionaries serving nearby, so please everyone pray for me so that I can teach the people of the DR well and that they will be able to understand me!!!

Gracias,
Elder Thornton

Pictures!

My amazing district on P-Day last week in the park across the street from the temple that also happens to have once been a zoo



My amazing district (again) in front of the temple. (This is a picture of a picture so sorry for the bad quality)



The entire MTC with all the newbies... We really miss our old missionaries 😢 (picture of a picture again...)

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