03/14/2016 - Helloooo from Caliiii!!!!

hello family and friends!

i miss you and love you way lots. 

This week was a good week!

It has rained like crazy this week. since thursday, night and day, it rained. and rained and rained. When it rains here its weird. Its like a mist of water that's a wall. So because my body is now a whimp to the cold I was SOO cold all week haha I wear so many layers now, I look like a local haha Everyone hear goes "oh my gosh this winter is out of control" and I used to be like Winter? but now Im like jumping in and adding to the conversation like "oh my gosh amen this winter is awful, its so cold, i can't believe it" haha . Because its been raining so much, the Sacramento river is out of control. Its been flooding over and has shut down a lot of roads so thats kinda scary. Dont worry mom, I know how to swim

There are lots of icecream trucks here and Sister Saavedra thinks they are the weirdest thing. She goes "americans are weird. they drive around and give sugar to small kids in white vans and play weird music. americanos..." hahaha it is the funniest thing. I just pray that we can run into icecream trucks during the day because her lil schpeel is funny. she just shakes her head and mutters some stuff in spanish

We had exchanges this week which at first I did not want but they ended up being really great. Sister Ngawagu (nah-fah-row) spent the day with me, she is from New Zealand and 6'2''. She is way legit. She has the best accent and I tried copying it all day. They have the coolest lingo in New Zealand. We went to an investigators for a lesson and she gave us the best cheesecake bars I have ever had in my life. So good in fact that we stopped by Chipotle to get plastic forks so we could eat the bars she gave us for the later haha. Sister Ngawagu didn't get the memo that they were cheesecake bars and she doesnt do milk so no bueno hahah poor girl

We had graffiti abaitment in Davis. it was very fun to be there with the other missionaires. There is this elder from Canada that I love. He is so aware of everyone and makes sure everyone is loved. I am so impressed by him and he is such a reminder to me to be better and love everyone. There is no reason not to be happy.

I love west sacramento. It is so humbling to be here. these people are so poor, living in awful places, and have gone through horrible circumstances. and they put their total faith in the savior. It has strengthened my testimony. I find myself asking if I rely on the savior as much as I should. 

There is this one lady we met with that has been through so much. She has gone through the imaginable and then on top of it all has cancer. We went and visited with her and she asked us If it was bad that she sometimes asks god to stop the trials that, she is done with it all. My heart broke for her. I sat there and she asked me why? why does she have to go through so much and suffer so much. when will it end. I remembered some verses in Doctrine and Covenants 121:1;7-8. I told her that it reminded me of Joseph smith when he was in Liberty Jail and he felt like his trails were never ending and he wondered where god is. It reads "O god where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place. and then in versus 7-8 it says 

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. 

I think so many times we face situations where we ask ourselves where is god? when will this trial end. But the father says. Peace be unto thy soul...if thou endure it well god SHALL exalt thee on high. What a promise. what a comfort that brings. God will never leave us and he knows all. 

 I love the mission. I love the people. I love west Sacramento. I feel a type of joy I can't explain; this must be the spirit of missionary work. It causes people to feel real things, to love people, really love them and care for them without even knowing them for very long. There are so many things I have felt here that can't be explained other than that there is a God and he is mindful of us. He knows us. I've witnessed the gospel and the atonement change others but I would have never imagined how the gospel and applying the atonement has already changed and shaped me. 

I love you and miss you so much.

xoxo

sister thurgood

03/07/2016 - Hola Amigos

please dont  make me get my wisdom teeth out. my cheeks will swell up and they will never shrink haha

this lady in the ward is obbsessed with coconut oil and she had me get some so now I am putting it on my scalp and skin. its supposed to help your hair grow and have it not thin out so ill let you know how that works.

i dont know what happened to me but i am now addicted to chocolate. its the worst thing i ever. i crave it all the time. I told someone that i love girl scout cookies and that was a mistake. so many ward memebrs bought me some haha the ward members out here are amazing mom. they treat me and sister saavedra like family. GOD takes care of his missionaires. I can't describe how loved i feel, it makes me want to cry of happiness

i love you mom

Hello to my favorite people 

This week was very good but very busy haha every week is busy, heck every day is busy haha but its really good. 

I don't know what happened to the perfect 75 degree weather that we have had since I've been here but this week it rained and rained and rained. I'm such a whimp to cold and wore my winter coat sometimes HAHA I don't know what happened to me. The temperature was maybe 50 haha I can't imagine what will happen if I see snow. bad news bears for sure. 

Our district leaders are really nice and creative. This week they brought a real life sword to district meeting that their neighbors gave them. Its the real deal like I could trim bushes with it, the whole 9 yards haha It probably weighs 20 pounds. Anyway they decided that if you won the challenge you got to have the sword for a week. Obviously, it was no challenge and me and sister Saavedra and our pal Carlos won the sword haha you should have seen the faces of the people in the parking lot by our apartment when we pulled the sword out to bring into the house haha I can't imagine what people thought when they saw two girls in skirts and dressing carrying a 4 foot metal sword. Its beyond me how Elder Bertola and Elder King got a hold of such a thing but they did haha

We were supposed to have exchanges this week (meaning that one of the other sisters would come to my area for a day and be my companion). Luckily it didnt happen. I was relieved because if Sister Saavedra left and I had to get around West sacramento by  myself.. oh my gosh that would be the worst day of my entire life. SIster Saavedra informed me that its going to happen next week but that she will make me a step by step list on how to get to different people's houses so hallelujah for hermana saavedraa. 

We taught a lesson to some of our investigators. They agreed to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized so that was really awesome. The lesson went really good and you could tell that the things we taught them about, like eternal families and lasting happiness is something they wanted so badly. My favorite part about teaching people about this gospel is when it finally clicks in them and you can see their soul light up. They get a glimpse at how much the Lord loves them that because of him and his atonement, they can be like him and see God's face once again. Gosh I just love it. it all makes my heart so happy. 

We spent a lot of time track-ting this week and I seriously wanted to cry. It's so hard to get the door slammed at your face and some people are just not nice at all. I just have to remember to keep a perspective but dang some moments are no bueno.

One of the members has a cat that I just love. His name is Binx and I am all about this fella. He really does not like me but I'm determined to become his best friend. Last night we were at this members house and as we were leaving, Binx escaped into the rain and we could not find him. It was late and dark and cold and cars were driving by. In my head I thought oh my gosh, this freaking cat ran across the road and he's dead, now we can never be friends. We were looking for a good 20 minutes. We finally found him and we carried him inside. I'm hoping that now because we saved him from the rain he will be friends with me now but let me tell you cats have a mind of their own. fiesty little devils

We had dinner at one of the members home. She is a power house. She has 4 kids and 3 foster kids ALL UNDER THE AGE OF 10. She is the sweetest and I was so impressed how she handled all the little kids. It was so much for me and sister saavedra to take in but she stayed calm. I think there was at least 10 spills during dinner and lots of tears but she got all of them to eat their veggies and stay in their seats. Chase and Mallory because I hear you want like 3792 kids I can get you in contact with this lady and she will save your life haha but seriously

the amount of treats people give us is unreal. I have now put them in a cupboard and told sister saavedra that we can only open it once a day haha I can see how people gain weight on their missions thats why I have taken matters into my own hands. I bought a scale and put the scale right under the cupboard. Sister Saavedra hates it because it makes her feel guilty but she'll thank me later haha

 I love sister saavedra. Side note she thinks I sound like Shakirra and tells me frequently so I'm like latino singer here i come?

 I love my mission. I love that I get to teach people about things that if they let them will change their lives. The savior is real. the savior lives and because of  his atonement he can heal us. he suffered for us perfectly and because of that he knows us perfectly. rely on the lord, let him change your lives.

i love you guys and miss you way much.

godspeed always,

sister thurgood

02/29/2016 - Week 3 Coming From McKayleeeee

Hello peeeps

This week has been really good and I love all the people I've come to
meet and love.

I love California-- the weather is so nice and the skies are blue
blue. There are these trees here that are beautiful. White flowers and
so full of leaves-- I mean stunning. They are all over and they are
quite the sight but they REAK. It's definitely up there on top 5 worst
smells I've smelled. I can't even describe what it is but it's bad.
Bad to the bone. I don't know how people are okay with planting them
all over the city. Every time me and Sister Saavedra walk by them we
have to hold our breath. There is this path we sometimes walk by and
the path is lined with these trees. I now call it the walk of death.
Because that's pretty much what it is. We always get a laugh by how
bad they smell and we wonder if anyone else is normal and smells what
we smell. I guess West Sacramento's motto is no pain no gain because
it's painful to smell those trees but they are pretty to look at

I don't know what it is about this city but there are CATS everywhere.
I kid you not. Ratio of cats to people is at least 3:1. And everyone
has cats like they hoard them and take strays in to mother them. It
kinda freaked me out in the beginning but now I think I might make t
shirts that say save the cats. I used to be afraid of cats because
well I've had some bad experiences but now I'm a cat whisper. As soon
as I sit down they come for me. It's very weird. But I'm embracing it
well trying to cat. Cats smell funny haha This week I'll count the
number of cats I see per day and I'll report back-- you guys will be
amazed.

This week we met with a lot more members and in active members so we
can get member referrals. I really enjoyed meeting people and sharing
my testimony. We visited this family the Lindsey's (mom this is the
lady who sent you the picture). We had never met them before and
called that morning to ask if we could come by and meet them. They
must have liked us because before we knew it they sent us home with a
full pan of brownies and asking us our favorite colors so they could
make something for us. I love them. They are super sweet. At church we
saw them and it was like we had been bffl forever.

On Thursday this week our appointment fell through for later that
night so we decided to call an inactive member on the ward list. We
felt prompted to call this lady. She agreed to see us and so later
that night we went over to her house. We were surprised to find out
that the house was actually inside a small nursing home and she was
living there. When we walked into her room, I have never seen someone
so excited to see us. She is a small little old 89 lady. She told us
that she doesn't get visitors ever really and lately she has been
feeling forgotten. She told us that when we called her it made her
feel cared about and important. She thanked us more times then we
could count. What a tender mercy from the Lord that allowed us to know
that we needed to be there to bring her some love. We shared our
testimony of the reality of the savior that he lives that he loves
each of us and that he knows us perfectly. Before we even stood up to
say goodbye she asked us if we could give her hugs. Sister Saavedra
and I wanted to cry leaving her room because we just wondered how long
it had been since she had gotten a good hug. She's a sweet old lady. I
know God knows each of us and he sends us little miracles to ease our
burdens.

On Friday night we had dinner at a lil Korean lady's house. She
doesn't speak English so a member that speaks Korean came to dinner
with us. OMG I love this lady. She is 70% deaf and lives alone. She is
so cute. Omg I actually just love her. We walk into her house and were
blown away by what we saw. I kid you not, from the ceiling to the
floor was full of orgami. It was so beautiful and intricate. There
were vases full of all different kinds of flowers of which were all
different sizes made out of paper. I can't even describe the detail
she had. She had these paper folded sunflowers that had paper seeds in
the middle of the sunflower. Impressive. I can't imagine the patience
she must have. Probably enough that she can send some my way haha
there were these orgami balls hung from the ceiling I mean whoa. We
sat down and had a Korean FEAST. I've never seen so much food in my
life and once your plate was lacking she would grab the spoon and put
more Korean food on your plate. Her food was so impressive and there
was so many different choices. Our personal interpreter told us that
she doesn't make a lot of money but yet she goes all out. It made me
have so much love for her. So so sweet. She told us that she married a
Man who only spoke English and that they couldn't understand each
other very well but that they were married many many years until he
passed away and that she's never been more in love. It was so cute.
Shows the power in love that love truly knows no boundaries. She fed
us so many types of desserts. Literally I've never been so full in my
life. She hugged us probably 6473 times but oh boy I was like wow can
I live here with you cause I love you

Of course because I am new they had me speak in church for 20 minutes
lol I talked about the Book of Mormon. I shared a personal experience
that strengthened my testimony about prayer and the Book of Mormon. I
want to share part of my talk with you guys.

"While I was at the MTC, I was feeling overwhelmed. I had let the
doubt from the adversary come in my mind that I was not truly forgiven
for sins I had committed. I remember talking to my branch president
asking him if I had gone through the proper repentance process if I
had been truly forgiven and why I was still feeling so guilty when I
had done what I thought I was supposed to do. I expressed concern
about serving a mission if I was feeling so uneasy still about where I
stood with God. He told me to find a time that day to say a prayer and
to ask God if I was forgiven and if he had heard my plea of change.

During sacrament later that day I took the president's advice. I said
a silent prayer and asked God if I had been forgiven and if he would
let me know some way so I could figure out what to do and how to get
rid of my uneasiness I was feeling. For that sacrament meeting, we had
a special speaker. He was the stake president over lots of branches at
the MTC. And the week had come for him to visit our branch.

 He starts talking about his assigned topic on the Holy Ghost and out
of the blue he changes the topic and says, this isn't what I was going
to talk about but I feel the need to say this. He invited everyone to
go to Mosiah 3:4. I opened to the scripture and quickly read through
it. Tears filled my eyes. It says "For the Lord hath heard thy
prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness, and hath sent me to
declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice; and that thou mayest
declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy." he
then began to say I don't know which one of you this is for. But the
Lord has heard your prayer. You can now rejoice and rejoice in sharing
the gospel. I can't describe the peace and love I had come over me.

 This experience not only showed me the power of prayer and the fact
that Heavenly Father hears us individually but also testified to me
that the Book of Mormon are words of God. I knew even more than I knew
before that the Book of Mormon is true. He speaks to us through these
word because they are his they are real and they are true."

This week has been great. Sister Saavedra is the bees knees. I love
her accent. She's teaching me all about Spain and her culture. I could
practically be a local if I ever go there

I miss you so much

Love you long time,

Sister Thurgood

Mother mother mother

I miss you and love you. I can't think about you guys too much because my eyes start to water haha one of my leaders told me a cool thing though they said that he likes to see when missionaries are homesick because it shows him that they have been loved which results in him knowing that they know how to love as missionaries. I really like that.

The weather is super nice. Perfect weather haha like 75 degrees with a nice slight breeze haha it's a dream. The members feed us every night well except last night but every other night yes haha they feed us too much and they feed us a lot of pasta haha my apartment is very nice like it is huge. It has a bug bedroom two full bathrooms and an office and a living room area and then a little table and then a kitchen. It's just the two of us In there. It's really really nice haha we even have a gym we get to use which I have been so grateful for because I was really worried about gaining weight. I think I gained a little but now I'm like no no and taking better precautions against the members cooking haha I hurt my foot though and I don't know what it is. The side of my foot on the outside really has been bothering me like I'm in a lot lot of pain. Maybe you could look up something and see how I could help it. I've been icing it and putting icy hot on it but wow it hurts. I can check my email all week long and read your guys email so if you ever want to send a talk or anything I can check it from 930-1030 every night. I just can't respond till p day or think of any responses. I have pictures to send but they are all on my camera and I have yet to get to a computer. Hopefully next week I'll send photos so you can see the area and other stuff. 

I love you so much mom. 

Tell dad I love her so much and miss him beyond words and that I will send him a letter soon. It's weird because in our mission we are only allowed to send/write letters on pday so it makes it more difficult to send them and write them. But I will try 

02/16/2016 - CALI

Mom--

I am here in Santa Rosa! President and Sister Wright are great! My new
companion is from Spain and her name is Sister Saavedra! We will be in
Sacramento for the next 7 weeks! I'm excited but nervous! I will email
next Wednesday but usually it's Monday's

Love you and miss you so much

02/12/2016 - Week 2 Good As Ever

hello family and friends.

week two you better believe it. Im a full blown missionary haha

It is crazy how much happens in a week at the MTC.

This week has been full of ups and downs. But I love it here. I love the MTC and feel so grateful that I made the decision to serve a mission. Im only beginning to see how much this will change my life. These past two weeks have already changed my life.

I love my zone and my district so much! my zone leaders are sooo funny. Elder Durfee is the funniest but odd person I know in a good way haha but I love him. Everyday he tells us an embarrassing story of his life at the MTC and it brings me and my roommates to tears everyday. A good one he told us the other day is that him and his companion usually wake up early to exercise so they are used to waking up to their own alarm. But on sunday, they didn't exercise so they were awoken by another Elder's alarm clock in the room. When the Alarm went off it scared Elder Durfee so bad that he jumped off (the other elders say fell off but to each his own ahha) the top bunk and started shouted FIRE FIRE FIRE hahhaha I can only imagine how funny that would have been. 

I am constantly laughing and smiling here. Everyone always talks about how hard the MTC is and missions are. But everyone forgets to talk about how much FUN they are. I am constantly laughing with my roommates, my district, my zone, my teachers and it feel so good. being happy is so great. being a missionary is even BETTER

On Sunday we got to listen to a talk by Elder Bednar that he gave for missionaries titled Characteristics of Christ. I loved the video. In the video he talked about how Christ is opposite of the natural man, that when the natural man would turn in ward and be worried about himself, Christ turns outward and shows compassion and love to others. He told shocking stories of people he had met through his life that showed this attribute. It made me want to be better, to not be so worried about myself but others. He said that if you ever have a question in life on how to be more patient or loving or kind, to read a new copy of the B.O.M with that attribute in mind and eventually by the time your life is over, you could have a whole book case of B.O.M that answer all the questions to life. I love that. Book of mormon aka book of life

As much fun as the MTC is and how many hours I have spent laughing and smiling here, its no lie when they say a mission is hard. because it truly is. On monday, I faced that reality. Monday was probably the worst best day ahaha We taught an investigator at the MTC and it went horrible. I mean horrible. I wanted to cry. To top off the day, the MTC food does not do me well and I got sick. We were late to class by a few minutes and got a talking to by our teacher. He wasn't mean about it, just told us not to be late again. It still made me feel awful. Here I was a missionary who couldn't even teach a lesson but now couldn't even be on time to class. I Felt so inadequate to be on a mission. I just felt like I couldn't do it, that I couldn't teach right that, that the amount of information I needed to learn was above my reach. I was holding back tears as we sang the opening song. Brother shumway our teacher, saw I wasn't my usually self and asked me to come in the hallway so we could talk. I told him how I was feeling that I didn't think I could do it, that i couldn't be a missionary, I don't know how, I have too much to learn, I miss my family, my friends, Im just not cut out for this type of thing. My heart just hurt as I felt that I could NOT be a representative of God. 

There are not adequate words I can describe how much I needed Brother Shumway in that moment and how grateful I am for him. Here I am crying my soul out in a classroom on the fifth floor with my teacher who can't be much older than me.  He showed me some versus in 2 Nephi 17-22. It talks about how God is there for our advertises and our successes that he will never leave us. He drew me a diagram and said that its in the moments we feel we cant go on, the moments we feel that we are inadequate that we are on the verge of reaching our potential. on the verge of greatness.  It is so easy to get discouraged here. But Brother Shumway is right, push on. press forward. After he left me he told me to cry unto the lord for a few minutes and control my emotions before I came back into class. 

So that is what I did, I fell on my knees and cried unto the lord. I can't express what it feels to feel so afraid, so inadequate and to submit yourself to the lord. to fall on your knees and realize that the only way i could do this was through the Lord. As I uttered my thoughts, peace came over me. I felt encompassed by the Saviors and the Lord's love. When I walked back into the classroom Brother Shumway was showing the Because of Him video. In the video, there is a scene where a person falls on their knees at Christ's feet. I couldn't help to feel that was me 10 minutes earlier--Falling on my knees at the saviors feet. I like to think that. I like to think the savior was there and as I fell down on my knees, I knelt by his feet and he gave me strength. 

This was such a humbling experience. I have never felt so discouraged so inadueqate so weak but through him I am strong. Christ cares about each of us so much. I have never felt so close to him than I did last Monday. God cares. Christ cares. specifically for me. specifically for us. 

After that, the rest of the week was GREAT. Our lessons went good, we were on time. I have never felt more like I could be a missionary. that I can do this.

I can't believe how close I am getting to my roommates and my district. It is unreal. I can't believe I have to say bye to Sister Dawson when she goes to New York. I might cry haha I love her so much and I can't belive in a few days she will be across the United States. opposite coasts. 

My companion is great. I can't believe how much I love her. And SHE ALWAYS MAKES ME LAUGH SO HARD. shes funny.

In our room, Sister Dawson and I were eating chips and queso when we spilled the queso all over me and because P-day wasnt til today we spent part of our night washing my pants in the sink haha people would look at us weird when they walked into the bathroom and we would say missionary problems, p day is on friday haha

I'm determined to beat the boys at Bump during gym time haha I always get 2nd or 3rd. I told my companion and roommates I need them to take one for the team and rebound for me so I can shut the boys down haha They tell you not to keep score or be competitive but winning is too great

I can't believe I have already been out for 2 weeks. The days are full of fun and I feel so close to my savior. I leave for CA bright and early (like 430am) on tuesday. WHOOOOO I am SOOO excited for warm weather. 

I miss you all and send my love.

godspeed forever.

sister thurgood

02/05/2016 - Week 1

hello family and friends!

I am at the MTC and I am alive haha 

this is day 3 lol 3 out of 534ish 

The MTC is hard like brutal people. but very spiritual. There aren't words to describe how much of the spirit I have felt. I feel encompassed by it. God is so real. I see him everywhere around here. I feel such a greater love for the savior and the fact he died for me and I have only been here 3 days so lets just imagine by day 10 what I'll be feeling

Let me tell you, 3 days ago I didnt realize just how much you can get done in a day. It is unreal. From 630 to 1030 it is non stop.Last night I was talking to my roommate, sister dawson and said "hey remember when we watched the movie about the guy from bronx yesterday" and she said "sister thurgood, that happened literally 3 hours ago" you should have seen my face haha oops

The plane ride was good. there was 2 missiionaries on my flight! I sat across the aisle from one, we both didn't really say anything because we were unsure if we were both missionaries and then at the same time we both pulled out an envelope of letters hhaha he leans over and is like im thinking your a missionary too. It was fun to have someone to talk to on the plane and discuss life and how cool colorado is haha colorado is the coolest state and everyone who has been there will agree 

Of course, I forgot a watch so I bought one at the airport. I don't know if I struggle or what, but to the life of me I could not get my watch to work. so i have a watch but I need to find an elder that is good at watches (is that even a thing) so it will start ticking. Lucky for me I have roommates and Companions with me so they have watches.

my companions name is sister stoldt, she is from Idaho. so she loves potatoes just kidding I dont know but I could see it. shes really nice and friendly. she has a secret obsession with one direction but ill forgive her because I brought my voodoo doll Ella with me on a mission.

Everyone loves ella (so to all the people that hate my doll, you guys are just haters)

my roommates are Sister Porter and sister dawson.

Sister porter is this cute small red head from Utah that has a fire testimony and loves yoga so like duh i already love you.

Sister dawson is from arizona and i love her. shes so cute with beautiful long blonde hair. she hasn't seen snow in years so when we walk outside she touches the snow all the time HAHAHHA what a freak but she's funny. poor girl is so homesick though, makes me tear up just looking at her when she starts to cry.

I actually can't believe this is real life. I am on a mission umm what. it hasn't hit me yet, but when it hits me oh my gosh my poor roommates and people in my district.

We went to the temple today and did a session. So beautiful. Provo temple is gorgeous and with a fresh layer of snow, it was looking fresh ahha is that appropriate to call the temple fresh

The food is actually good. besides the oatmeal which makes me sad because i love oatmeal. but the oatmeal here is like ummm there are no words to describe it. rough. rough is a good one haha

my district is really great and my zone is great too. they are the bees knees

My testimony has already grown so much and I am so happy to be a missionary and to wear Jesus Christ's name on my badge. I love that i get to represent him. Day 3 and I am all about being a missionary. The gospel is so cool

the gospel changes lives. isn't that so cool?

gosh i love it.

God lives and what joy that brings me.

Love you guys so much.

love always,

Sister Thurgood

02/05/2016 - Yay! You're alive!

Dear McKaylee,

Yay! We know you're alive and that you made it safe and sound. I hope everything went well with the flight and also with the shuttle. You probably won't have a lot of time to tell us everything, but we'd love to hear about any of the trip. We came home and watched your flight on the computer. Did you know that your airplane took almost the same route that we take when we go to Utah? I know, crazy, right?

How is the food? Are you finding things you can eat that seem healthy?

This email is pretty short since you just left, but I have sent you 2 Dear Elder letters and a real letter in the mail. Hopefully, I'll get your scriptures in the mail tomorrow if not Saturday for sure.

I want you to know that I already feel a difference at home since you've left. Not just an absence, but more of a blessing. I wonder if that's just a perk that you get when you have a child out on a mission. Maybe everyone is also constantly praying inside for you that it's creating a greater Spirit in our home. At any rate, it's pretty great. Just think when Coulson leaves - we'll probably be translated or something!

Well, McKaylee Gale, I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow. Remember how much of a time saver it was for Chase when he sent one email to the whole family instead of one per person - especially in the mTC. I'm sure your time is very limited.

Love you to the moon and back,

Mom

mom you are the best mom. i love you haha 

im so grateful for you.

im glad you are feeling blessings to becuase so am i. I feel so blessed to be a missionary. I love that I can start to become like my favorite attriubte of the savior, selfless

love you mom

02/04/2016 - MTC

hellooo padressssss

im alive and well in the MTC

my P day is tomorrow

the MTC is good but its hard

haven't cried yet because ya know im heartless

love you so so much

miss you so much

love,

sister thurgood

02/03 2016 - The Airport

01/17/2016 - Farewell

11/28/2015 - The Logan Temple

09/23/2015 - The Call has Arrived

04/10/2015 The Decision to Serve