I am sad that I am finished. I love the mission so much.

Hey family!

I just got done with today and I am sitting in the offices right now waiting to head to the secretaries' house to sleep. I figured I would write you a quick note.

Today we hung out in Zocalo. Tomorrow we are going to the temple and then we have our last interviews with President. I love President and Sister Whitehead. We then have a cena and a testimony meeting, then Wednesday morning we head out!

I am sad that I am finished. I love the mission so much. It is killing me that I am finished, but it eventually must come to an end. I love Mexico so much and I do not want to leave. The people are so nice and I really have gotten use to living the Mexican style. The mission has been THE BEST thing I have done and I do not regret it at all. Thank you family for your sacrifice and support that you have given me over the past two years. I love the Gospel and I love my Savior.

I am nervous to see you all on Wednesday, but also excited. It will be good to get back into the real world, but there is nothing like being a missionary of Jesus Christ. Thanks! I love you all so much!

-Elder Thomas

The last letter?

Buenas tardes!

Here I go in my last week! I can’t believe that this time has come. I am so happy here, but the time must eventually come to an end. I love the mission and being a missionary. It has its ups and downs, but I constantly can see the hand of God in the work. Sometimes things don’t go how I wish it would, but that is part of life and part of having faith –continuing to do what we have to do even when we aren’t sure how it will turn out in the end. That is what it means to trust God. 

I am not sure if I will write you next Monday or not, so this may or may not be my last letter. The plans for the next week is Monday we have a P-Day where we can go to Zocalo or to our old areas in D.F.   We also we have our final interview with President. Then on Tuesday we are going to the temple and we have some training to find a job (mainly for the Latinos I have heard) and then Wednesday morning I fly home. That is what I heard we are going to do.

A quick recap of the past week...

We found out Jose Juan isn’t actually divorced so that will take some time to get fixed. I won’t be able to see them get baptized, but I feel like they will eventually be able to figure out this problem and be able to make this covenant with God.

On Wednesday was Elder Sanchez’s birthday. We bought pizza and I finally used the decorations Mom sent me for my birthday in 2014. Haha. It’s just no one has had a birthday with me until now. I also gave him those glow stick glasses and we played with those at night.

The Hermanas in Cuajimalpa 2 had a baptism service on Friday and the lady had me baptize her. The mom is a recent convert who I also baptized a few months ago

Yesterday I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting about the Plan of Happiness. I have been thinking about how this life is a time of progression. Today I was studying and found this scripture in Alma 34: 32. I have read it many times before, but I was thinking about it. It says that this time is a time for men to prepare to meet God and it is a time for men to perform their labors. I was thinking that one of these labors is to serve a mission. It is very true this scripture. In these past two years I have learned more of God and how to be closer with Him. I have learned more of my Savior and how I can serve my fellowman. Yes, it is a different culture, but I have loved being able to be here in this area.

I continually learn while being here and my testimony of many principles has grown a ton. 

Even though the mission is ending, the best part is that I will still able to continue progressing after the mission. I am nervous, but excited. It is the next phase of life. I know I am still not perfect, and I don’t think I ever will be.  Sometimes I wish things would go my way, but that is why I have to trust in the Lord, because they usually won’t go my way.

Thanks so much for your love, letters, and support that you all have given me these past two years. I love you all and I am excited to see you next week!

-Elder Thomas

A note from Tanner's mission president's wife.

Brother and Sister Thomas,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It means a lot to hear from parents.

It has been such a privilege to serve with Elder Thomas in this mission.  I have had many talks with your son, much less than President Whitehead, but enough to know what a wonderful man-of-God he is.  I have enjoyed learning about your great family and what stalwart members of the church you all are.  It is obvious that he has been brought up by wonderful, loving and dedicated parents.  

I just thought I'd share a few thoughts about your son that I love: 

I am in charge of virtual home inspections in the mission.  The elders have to send me photos of their apartments every other week.   I have often commented to your son that I can always count on seeing a spotless apartment and photos sent in on schedule.  He is very organized and clean...not a quality that every missionary has.  

I love seeing Elder Thomas' smile. I have never seen him without a beautiful smile and I love seeing the love he shows for his companions and the missionaries that he is responsible for.  He loves to sing and is a great singer.

Elder Thomas has great Spanish skills and has a wonderful testimony.  I love hearing him bear his strong testimony.  

He has been a delight and a joy!   His fun personality is contagious as he brings sunshine into the lives of all he encounters.

I was touched to be told one day about the story of the death of his brother, especially knowing that he and his companion, Elder Dahlin, helped to save the lives of two of our missionaries when they were overcome with gas.  This is a miracle in our mission and I feel like your son was meant to be there at that time.  

We have been very blessed to serve with this incredible young man.  We love him and are grateful for his service.

Have a wonderful week,

Hermana Whitehead

Baptisms and Cheez-Its

Hey there family!

I am doing super well here in Mexico. Not going to lie, but sometimes when you talk about Whitney coming out or going to New York to see some plays, I get SO EXCITED to see you! Stay focused Elder. Stay focused Elder!

Everyone says “Oh wow!  You’ve finished your mission.” But no! I still have 2 weeks. I try to not let it get in my head.

We are continuing trying to find people and help people progress. Juan and Rebeca love church and want to get baptized. They don’t have a lot of money and still aren’t married. We have really been struggling on getting their paper work together so they can get married. Juan of them has to get a paper that shows he is divorced from his ex-wife. It is so frustrating and stressful. It is weird because as missionaries, we get stressed for the needs of other people more than ourselves. It makes me laugh a bit. This week I am really trying on just trusting that God will help it work out if it is their time, but if I am not able to see them get baptized, I know they will get baptized in the near future.

We also have an investigator that we finally found who we are picking up. Her name is Margarita. She has gone to church a few times and has had a rough life. We have been looking for her forever and we finally found her on Sunday morning and she came with us to church. We hope that she can progress!

We have been working with this one member who has been helping us a lot in the work. She gave us a reference of a couple she contacted in the convey. The couple went to church yesterday. They are older people and it’s hard for them to understand a lot of things, but they seem interested.  Working with members is the best.

We had interchanges this past week. Elder Veazey and I worked in our area. It was pretty fun and we get along well. He is going to BYU in the fall so it’ll be fun to hang out after the mission.

We also had some baptisms in the district. Two of the companionships baptized and both of them wanted me to baptize them, so that was cool.

One great thing happened this week was a bit of a miracle. Made me cry a bit. There is this one American family in our ward. A few weeks ago we ate with them. I told them that I really miss cheez-itz. They apparently went back to the states for vacation and they saw a wall full of cheez-itz. The mom of Isaac (the joven) said that they had to buy a box for me. Yesterday at church, Isaac gave us the box. Luckily my companion didn’t like them so a box full of BIG cheez-itz is all mine. It’s the little things in the mission...

I honestly love the mission. Obviously there are things that I am excited to do and see when I get home, but for now I need to focus and love every minute of my time here in Mexico. Yes there are many times when the food gives you diarrhea or you have “mal de Puerco” (a phrase they use when the food makes you tired), or when it is super hot and you aren’t getting into anyone’s houses.  But the feeling when people get baptized, go to church for the first time, start praying, or accept an appointment makes it worth it. I am tired, but I shall endure to the end.

General Conference was just another reminder to me that the Church is true!

Hey Family!

It is weird that these letters are winding down. I am excited for what is to come, but nervous as well. Especially after so much talk of marriage in General conference... Every week feels like a day. This week has been hot! I have gotten a bit sun burned. As you always say, lobster. But I have been putting on sun screen so it was really only one day I got burnt.

Wasn’t conference awesome!? Even though we had 10 hours in front of a TV, I felt like we only had 1 hour. It went by too fast. It’s strange that when I was younger, it felt like we had had 24 hours in front of the TV, and now it goes by so fast. I was able to watch it in English with this other Mexican who learned English from playing a bunch of video games. It is so much better to hear their voices rather than the translators. The Spirit was super strong in every session. I loved a ton of the talks. I wish I had my notes with me so I could talk about the ones that I liked the most. I loved Elder Uchtdorf’s talk. He seems like a fun guy, but very in tune with the Spirit. I also loved Sister Oscarson’s testimony. It was so straightforward and clear. General Conference was just another reminder to me that the Church is true!

We are working with Rebeka and Jose Juan. They are doing super well. Jose Juan went to all 4 sessions and Rebeka went to 3! They are progressing well. We were hoping to get them married this week, but they were both married before so we have to find their divorce papers first. We are hoping to get it all ready for next week. Pray that we can get it all set!

We are still trying to find more people. We did get this mom (Amparo) and two kids and her sister (Rocio) to the conference on Saturday. They seemed to like it, but Amparo seems a bit skeptical. However, I think Rocio really liked it. She was crying at the end of the first session. With Come Thou Fount at the end, how could she not?!

Alan left for his mission. He invited us to is setting apart and then to his house to say good bye.

I wish I could come up with other stories. Maybe I will make some up like Dallin would do. I almost got bit by a pit bull today. I defended myself though.

So with the time I have left, is there anything that you want me to look for to bring home? I am starting to throw away bad shirts and stuff so I should have some space in my maletas (I don’t remember how to say it in English). I might get a tortilla maker. Just so you know, I will be eating tortillas when I get home, for probably every meal. Oh and I will also call everyone hermana and hermano. I may be white, but I am becoming more Mexican every day. Love you family!

-Elder Thomas

I love Mexico! My hearing is back to normal.

Hi family,

Here I am once again. You are probably at the dinner table reading this. As I returned to the house last week I realized I forgot to tell you the most exciting thing last week. On Thursday and Friday morning I woke up and I wasn´t able to hear anything in my left ear. It was the worst. I was worried I had gone deaf. I called the Hermana Whitehead and she told me to call the doctor. I called the doctor and he told me to go to the temple (the doctors office is behind the Vistors’ Center) to get it checked out. He checked my ear and he said it had to be cleaned out. He took a pipe thingy and flooded my ear with warm water. After 4 tries a huge chunk (the size of a kernel of corn) of wax came out. It was amazing because afterwards it was like surround sound. I could hear everything. It made me think, “Wow! I am excited for the resurrection.  Everything will all of a sudden be super clear.” So that got me really excited for the future.

So that was a pretty exciting story that I hope you enjoyed. It just got me thinking as Dad always said “Wow! The body is really amazing”...

I am loving the mission. It kills me that my time is coming to an end. Everyone reminds me. Literally the assistants (Elder Bastian and Elder Huber) call me just to talk to me to see how I am doing. Then they remind me how much time I have. I am trying to stay focused. I think of it as a race. I can be one of two people. At the end of the race I can slow down because I am tired or I can sprint to the end. Hopefully I can sprint.

This one kid named Alan is leaving for his mission in Hermosillo here in Mexico tomorrow. (See picture) It really got me thinking about some of the things I have learned over this time. I am excited for him though. He was baptized 2 years ago and his family was just sealed a week ago. He will be a great missionary.

Today we had a zone conference with President. It was pretty good. We talked about how we really need to re-put our focus in the work. We also talked about la santificación personal. It was great. I love President. He is about to finish in June. I am glad he has been here for my mission.

We have found some good people this past week. Some are more or less good. We will see what happens. We did find a good couple named Rebeka y Jose Juan. They aren’t married (but that shouldn’t be a problem to marry them :) ). They went to church for the first time yesterday and I think they really liked it. They stayed all 3 hours and were participating in all the classes. I hope they accept the Gospel. We have a cita with them tomorrow.

I don’t remember if I told you, but we wrote our own Living Christ. That was my project that I did this past week. I loved doing it because I really thought what Christ did for me. Easter here is pretty different. No eggs or bunnies. On Thursday-Sunday they have lots of Misas ( I think that’s mass in English). They also have lots of representations of the crucifixion of Christ. It is good that they remember Christ, but I feel like Christ did it so that we don’t have to suffer. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Christ. If we ACCEPT it and APPLY it we can really find this eternal happiness.

I love the mission so much. I love Mexico and I love the people. Thanks for your love and your support. Have a great week!

-Elder Thomas

PS - Thanks for the pictures Dad! Thanks for your letter! I am so grateful to have you as parents!  I am so excited for General Conference. It is the best.  I love applying conference in my life as a missionary. I can apply it how I can be a better person, missionary, and how to help my investigators! 

No roosters or police.

Hey family,

Hope you are doing well! I am still here in Anahuac. The mission is going well. Not very eventful, but it was okay. I think after time in the mission you just run out of things to tell...

We found the guy with the rooster. We had an appointment with him to meet at the church but then he never came. Later at night we found him in the street and he got mad at us and said we weren’t there at the church. I told him we were there waiting 30 minutes. I invited him to church and he said he would go, but unfortunately never came. Nor his rooster.

The hardest thing has been trying to find people to visit. Usually what we have been doing this past week is just contacting people as they are entering into their houses. We ask them if we can sing a song and say a prayer. Usually they let us in, but then it all depends on their interest. It is great because Mexicans are so nice to let strangers into their house, but sometimes you end up entering into a house where the people don’t have that much interest and they just don’t want to be rude so they let you in anyway.

On the other hand, there are also some other people that aren’t quite as friendly. A week ago I was working for 2 hours with Elder Veazey. We went to go find a family that we were teaching. We entered into the vicindad (it is like a lot where there are many houses behind the door). We tried knocking on the door but no one came out. We then heard someone on the roof. Elder Veazey yelled "buenas noches!" This old lady then came out and said, “Get out. get out or I will call the police.” Then Elder Veazey was like, “Hola hermana. We are missionaries and we are only looking for this family. My name is Elder Veazey. I come from a nice family with 5 brothers and sisters". The lady then said, “Get out! Mayte, call the police! These people don’t want to leave.” We ended up leaving, but it was pretty funny the situation. Here in Mexico you are allowed to enter into the vicindades, but there are some viejitas who are really nice and others that are super rude.

So this next week we are going to find lots of people to teach. We are going to go on intercambios, Elder Veazey and I, so that should be fun.

These past few days I have been working on creating my "The Living Christ" and I have found it interesting how my testimony of Christ as changed over the past two years. I am so grateful for Christ and his Atonement. I understand it even more and I feel closer to my Savior more than ever. Even with all of the apostasy that people are doing in the streets this next week, I am coming to really understand who Christ is for me and how He really is the Savior of the world. I am so grateful for Him and the sacrifice He has done for me. I am grateful for the time I have to serve him. Happy Easter!

-Elder Thomas