Stake Conference

Hello all!

It was a pretty good week for us here in Hyderabad. The weather has been pretty hot but I'm complaining because I know it was much worse last year in Rajahmundry! Yesterday we had stake conference. Elder Funk, Asia area president and former mission president to the Bangalore Mission attended and gave a great talk. It's always so fun to hear from the general authorities especially in person. Our stake is great. People came to conference right on time and were totally reverent during the entire meeting. It was great!

It's so fun to be here meeting so many amazing people. I've met some really cool foreigners as well. Last week I had to go to the FRO (foreigner's registration office) to do some work. While I was there, I met a really nice man from Yemen. I had to ask him where that actually is because I'm a little slow with my geography. We had a nice conversation about what's going on in the world, what different cultures are like, the importance of families and even a little bit about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (I didn't want to push anything since I was in the FRO.) Anyway, it's just so cool to me to see how many different kinds of people there are all over the world doing amazing things. God truly loves and cares for each one of his children.

I don't have anything too exciting to report from this week but I remember a pretty funny experience that happened to us last week on our way to MLC. We were driven to the airport by a member named Praveen. He has a nice car but the battery was having a problem so the starter on the car also wasn't working properly. The only way to get the car to start was to have both of us push the car from the back as fast as possible. As soon as we had enough speed, he could pop the clutch, push the gas, and it would start. We pushed the car out of our apartment complex to get it started and hopped in. We were driving for a while when we started to get into some more heavy traffic and busy intersections. We were sitting at a stop light and as soon as it turned green, Praveen started to make the car move, let the clutch out a little too fast, and killed the engine on accident. Imagine being stuck in the middle of a very busy intersection with cars behind us blaring on their horns. Panicking slightly, Elder Rajendran and I immediately jumped out and started pushing the car as fast as possible but there was one problem. We were pushing it up a hill! We beckoned for some random guys to help us out who graciously came and helped us push the car until it had enough speed to clutch start. Drenched in sweat, we were able to get back in the car and safely get to the airport. We later laughed over the experience and mentioned that this was probably the first time that the people watching us had ever seen a tall white guy in a shirt and tie pushing a car up a hill!

I'm so grateful for the experiences that I've been privileged to have on my mission. Next week we are planning to have the baptism for Bro. Cheeranjeevi and Bro. Ramu! We're excited for that!

The Gospel is true! Have a great week! 

Love, 

Elder Kent Richard Thompson

Bowling as a zone

Chotta Beem

District Elders

Elder Rajendran, Elder Abel, and Elder Sundas

Elder Thompson and Elder Rajendran

Elder Thompson, Elder Rajendran, and Elder Abel

Elder Rajendran on a horse.

Bowling

Incredible India!

Hello!

This week was pretty good. Adjusting back to India hasn't been too hard and I'm starting to bring my head bobble and small Telugu phrases back out. Hopefully I won't forgot all of my Tagalog! I'm now serving in Madinaguda 1st ward with Elder Rajendran and loving it. The members are really cool and I've been making some connections with the people from back in Rajahmundry who have shifted here or have family members that live here and recognize me. 

We flew to Bangalore this week for mission leadership council. It was so cool to travel through the familiar streets after one year of not being there and see the progress of the city's roads and buildings. There has been some nice development since the last time I was there.

It's just so fun to be back in this familiar culture, meeting familiar friends, and experiencing familiar things. I know that the gospel is true and the same no matter where we are, what the people do, or what's going on in our lives. God truly loves all of his children the same.

Have a great week,

Elder Thompson 

Here I am with Elder Madda, or better known to me as Brother Chandrashekar from the Rajahmundry 1st Branch.  He came out on his mission while I was gone so I was absolutely thrilled to see him in our zone.  He's going to be great.

Elder Rajendran and me on our way to Bangalore for MLC.  Elder Rajendran is from Erode, Tamil Nadu and a good a friend of mine.

Transfer day

Elder Rajendran

Elder Tuscano

Elder Thompson and Elder Rajendran 

McDonalds in Bangalore

Elder Thompson and Elder Rajendran with Brother Sathish Bthula on his wedding day.

Elder Rajendran with a ward member

A banner advertising Stake Conference

Telugu is not Tagalog

Hello everybody!

After many adventures, I have finally made it back to my own mission here in India. I've been assigned to be a zone leader in Hyderabad with the one and only Elder Rajendran! He's a really good friend of mine from back in Rajahmundry days. We're going to have lots of fun and successful missionary work.

Coming back to India has been so cool and I am remembering so many things that I had forgotten about when I was in the Philippines. It's pretty challenging for me to stop talking in Tagalog whenever I talk to the local people here. It's just become so natural to me when I need to convey basic information. I made the long journey by myself again and everything went well. I had a layover in Kuala Lumpur and thought it was cool that I was already familiar with the inside of the airport since I was there six months ago. When I got to Hyderabad, I met with a bunch of other India mission elders that had been staying in the Angheles mission. They flew through Bangkok so that's why I didn't see them in Manila. I guess there was some trouble with getting us all on the same flight. When I went up to the customs counter, the guy asked me a few questions about what I was doing and why I was there and then stamped my passport and welcomed me with a friendly head bobble.

There's a few things that I've noticed these past few days that I thought were pretty interesting about India that I had forgotten about.

1. Telugu. Hyderabad is here in Telangana where Telugu is the mother tongue. Even though I don't know how to speak it, I'm starting to remember all kinds of words that I learned when I was back in Rajahmundry. It will be cool to learn some more but the nice thing about this place is that English is super common. Even the locals often talk to each other in English.

2. Left Side. I totally forgot about this one. The Philippines is just like America when it comes to that and everything is on the right side. I've gotten used to it and just about collided with about 80% of the people in the Kuala Lumpur airport.

3. Smells. Everybody always used to ask me how I do with the different smells in India and I told them that that wasn't really true and that there weren't any crazy smells. But as soon as I got off the plane in Hyderabad, I recognized the profound smell of India. Whether it's curry or incense, there is always a different smell in the air.

4. Indian Accent. Another thing that I used to say didn't exist. I'm admitting now that the accent really does exist. I noticed it for a few days but now I don't really notice it anymore. It's funny how that happens.

5. Other weird things that I still don't quite understand. For example, guys holding hands and little boys dressed up as girls. There is nothing wrong with that, it's just something that you will probably only see in India.

As of now, I'm trying to get out of my Filipino ways and get back to my Indian ways! I was able to pull off some pretty decent head bobbles yesterday so I think it's coming back. Our area and our ward are really cool. I'm so excited to be here and continue to bring forth the work.

Thanks for all the support, It has really helped me to have a better experience every day of my mission. I know that the church is true no matter where we are!

Love, 

Elder Kent R. Thompson

My last picture in the Philippines with Elder Schroeder and my 1/2 son, Elder Niutupuivaha.

Apparently I'm a frequent flyer with Malaysia Airlines now!

Happy Easter

Hello!!

Right now I am still in Puerto Princesa but expect to head off to India some time this week. I'm really going to miss the Philippines but am totally ecstatic to get back to the people and the wonderful culture of India.

Last week we had the chance to travel north to Taytay and Roxas to do exchanges and see how the work was doing. The elders there are working really hard and it was cool to work with them. It's also fun to have the chance to see more of this beautiful island. I'm always so astounded by the magnificence of God's creations. 

Here in the Philippines, there is a popular snack called balut. The way you make balut is you have a duck lay an egg, let the duck sit on the egg for 16-18 days, steal the duck's egg, boil it, and eat it. When you remove the shell of the egg, the embryo of the duck will be inside and it will be half developed. You put some vinegar inside, slurp out the juices, and eat the rest. There is this kid named Arvie selling balut that we always see when we are out proselyting and he has tried so many times to get us to buy from him. I always tell him something like "maybe next time." This week, I finally decided it was time to make his dreams come true and buy one of his baluts. I ate it later that night and it was as weird as it sounds but didn't taste too bad.

It was a wonderful time to celebrate Easter and remember the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I had the opportunity to give a talk in sacrament meeting yesterday and I bore testimony as clearly and powerfully as I could that Jesus Christ lives. Not only did he die for us and pay the price for our sins, but he also overcame death so that we too can one day become resurrected. What a comforting thing that is to know that there is great life after this. It's not too late to go and watch the video on https://www.mormon.org/easter !!!!

I hope you all have a good week, next time I email I should be back in India so that will be pretty exciting. Thanks for all of the love and support. At the bottom, I put a few pictures from our exchanges in Taytay. It's a beautiful town. 

Love, 

Elder Kent Richard Thompson

Beautiful Taytay

Exchanges in Taytay

Thompson Times

Dear family and friends,

So many cool things have happened in the last little while that I hope I can at least explain part of it. I apologize for not sending an email last week as we were cut on our time. On preparation day, we have a very specific time to do our emailing because there are always lots of things to do. Summer vacation has just started for the kids in Puerto so all the kids like to go to the computer places and play video games all day during the times that they used to be in school. It makes it pretty difficult to find a place to email but we were able to find a place today. I will try to explain what has happened for the last two weeks.

We had a special visit to Palawan by Elder Snow, the current church historian and member of the seventy, Elder Haynie, of the Philippines area presidency and member of the seventy, and Brother Nielson who is the assistant church historian. We had the opportunity to hear from them twice, once in a fireside for the members and also once in a special meeting for the missionaries. During the member fireside, our branch choir sang the song "Joseph Smith's first prayer" and I was the accompanist. It's interesting because I didn't know how to play that song before hand but while I was helping the choir to learn the song, I was able to learn the piano music myself. It was seriously nerve racking to play the piano in front of two general authorities and my mission president but it ended up sounding really good and we had some good complements. They talked all about church history, mostly about the restoration and also the history of the church in the Philippines. The Philippines is really such a good place for missionary work because it is almost entirely a Christian country already plus there is a pretty strong English influence here which really helps to build strong leaders. Another cool thing about the church in the Philippines is that is has grown from zero to half a million members faster than any other country in the world (aside from the US). I feel really blessed to be a part of the work here. During the missionary fireside we had the opportunity to shake hands with each of them. I have met Elder Haynie before when he came for a meeting while I was serving in Manila so I was curious to know if he would remember me or not. When I went to shake his hand, I found that he didn't remember me because we had the exact same conversation as we had before. 

Elder: Where are you from elder? 

Me: I'm from Kaysville, Utah. 

Elder: Kaysville? That means you graduated from Davis High? 

Me: Yep, Davis High.

Elder: Oh I'm sorry to hear that! I graduated from Bountiful high. That means you went to the wrong school.

Me: Heyyyy! Not true! :)

It was a pretty funny experience.

Saturday and yesterday we had district conference. Elder Adduru, also from the seventy came to speak to all of the members. It was such a cool experience so see all of the happy, cheerful saints from the entire north half of Palawan come and hear the word of God. It was cool to listen to the experiences, testimony, and council from Elder Adduru. He has a very strong knowledge in the scriptures. Palawan has so much potential and we really hope to see a stake here within the next year. Who knows, it's totally possible to have a temple here as well some day. Our branch choir performed again singing "The Morning Breaks" which I also learned just by practicing with the choir. It went pretty well.

We also had a zone conference for all of the missionaries last week. President Ostler and the assistants came and gave us some amazing training. It's always good to hear from our leaders.

Last week we had a service project of cleaning a "fish pond." When I was first informed about what we were doing, I didn't quite know what to expect. In America a fish pond is usually something made out of concrete that you go into and clean out with a pressure washer once a year or so. When we arrived there, I quickly discovered that they meant to say a fish farm, not a fish pond. There are members that own a massive fish farm where they raise all kinds of fish for people to eat. At this part of the year, the fish have been harvested and most of the water has been drained. We needed to clean it so that they can grow some more fish. Our task was to go out into the bottom of the pond and pick up as many snails as we could find and put them in the sun so that they would die. The reason we had to remove the snails is because they eat a huge amount of the fish food if you let them stay in there. There was still a little water in the pond and lots of mud. We spent several hours walking in mud up to our knees and harvesting snails. The pond also had a pretty strong sulfuric smell. It was definitely an experience that I will never forget! After our service, we had the opportunity to walk over to the beach and wash the mud off of our legs and arms. 

Almost every single week somebody emails me asking if I know anything about my visa and the answer is always no. But today nobody has asked me and I actually have a different story. President Ostler came up to me during zone conference last week to inform me that my Indian visa has been approved. Yes, that's right, I got my visa. The news surprised me so much and I have some very mixed emotions. As much as I want to get back to curry, mustaches, nose rings, saris, monkeys and stray cows, I have come to love the Philippines just as much as I love India. I've really felt the love of the people here and have finally started to learn enough of their language to connect with them. I will miss the Philippines so much but can't wait to get back to my own mission. There are millions of people there that need to hear the gospel and so many friends that I can't wait to go see. A bunch of my fellow missionaries from Angheles mission have had their visas approved at the same time as me so hopefully I will meet them in Manila and we will have the chance to travel back together. I should be leaving right after Easter. 

Speaking of Easter, check out https://www.mormon.org/easter if you haven't yet. What a wonderful time to learn more about our Savior and his sacrifice for us.

Love you all!

-Elder Kent R. Thompson

Here I am with Elder Wolcott after a few hours of work.

The fish farm. The snails live on the edges of the water.

Washing off at the beach.

Hello

Note from Mom:

We didn't get an email this week.  Just this short explanation...

"I apologize for the lame emailing this week but I need to go....  Every computer shop in town was full of kids playing video games so we ran out of time and now need to get back to work."

On the bright side, Sister Ostler (the mission mom) posted a bunch of pictures from their zone conference so I at least got to see his face.  Here are a couple of my favorite shots.

Zone Conference

Elder Sorranda and Elder Thompson

Puerto Princessa Zone

If you look in the back middle of this picture you will see Kent speaking with President Ostler

Elder Thompson looks wide awake!

Manila, Flight, Islands, and Our Home

This week we traveled to Manila to attend mission leadership conference as well as go on exchange with the assistants. It's so good to hear training and insights from our leaders. The work has been really good this week and we had a pretty good amount of time to go out and share the gospel. We were able to hit our goal to invite 190 people to hear our message so that's always exciting.

I took some pretty cool pictures this week so I'll send them out. Here's a view from the assistants apartment.

Thank you all for all of the support. I'm so happy to be in the Philippines right now to share the best message in the world!

Love,
Elder Thompson

The view from the assistant's apartment

The view from the assistants apartment 

Elder Sorronda, Sister Lua and me on the way back to Palawan

This dog's name is Scooby Doo. He's just a stray dog but is very people friendly. He was happily waiting for us when we arrived back at home.

Can you spot the LDS chapel?

The mountains of Irawan; part of our branch boundaries.

This group of islands is called Coron. We actually have missionaries serving there from our mission. Elder Sorronda was able to recognize it because he served there for many months.

The sky last night