You Only Serve Once!

Moloweni!

This week has been pretty much one of the best. We were able to see EVERYONE that we have been wanting to for the past several weeks. We were actually able to see Siphinathi. Now, for those of you who haven't been following the journey of Elder Thayne super closely, Siphinathi was the first baptism I had in SA. Three weeks after baptism he got some friends that really became a bad influence on him and he stopped coming to church and started dodging our appointments with him. It eventually got to the point that he would run away and hide from us when we would see him or try to meet with him. It truly was sad. It was just a testimony that those who aren't living the way they know they should are uncomfortable in the presence of people who remind them of what they should be doing. 
Elder Ramat and I went to the Nake family's home and started teaching Mlondolozi. He said that Siphinathi was hiding in the back room. I asked him to go fetch him so I could teach them one last time and say goodbye. Siphinathi came out pretty sheepishly, but I just ignored the fact that he was hiding from us and treated him real well. We talked and testified about the power of repentance and how to matter what has happened we can ALWAYS come back. Satan likes to convince us that after we have gone astray and left Him that Christ would never want us back. THAT IS A LIE. I told him that if he wants to have the joy he felt in his life once again that he could have it. He would just need to turn back to God and leave behind whatever is holding him back. He told us he really wants to come back to church and wants to change.. So I am praying that desire lasts with him. Sadly, he didn't come to church even when he said he would. Dahh well, I know he will come back someday.
So on Sunday we had another mass baptism. This time five people we baptized. On our side we had Lamla, Phelisa and Abigale. Then Elder Mchunu and Elder Maciver had Nkosinathi and Wochumisa. Most of the ward was able to attend because it was right after church, so that was nice to have a lot of support for them in making this great decision.
When I was saying the words to baptize Phelisa, her grip on my wrist slowly got tighter and tighter and tighter. I put her under the water and she got up just so excited and so shocked at the feeling she was having. Then Lamla came down into the water. Lamla is real tall, just like his brothers Luvuyo and Yonela. He didn't bend his knees when I put him under, but all in all it worked out just fine. I kind of had to shove him under the water. Afterwords he told me he felt "so happy and soft inside." Probably was the most descriptive thing I had ever heard him say, so I was on cloud nine. I really hope that Lamla goes on a mission. 
This week is transfer week! So I will be getting a new companion and FINALLY will be moving to a new area! I have LOVED Mdantsane and loved the people here. The work has been very successful and I have lots of wonderful memories, but it's time to blow this popsicle stand and experience something new. I find out my transfer news sometime tonight. According the the AP's I will be happy with my new companion. And President said, "Elder Thayne, it's time for you to have a rest." So I think that is a good thing... but all the signs are pointing to me having a great transfer ahead of me, but honestly I plan on having a great transfer every transfer.
I'll let you all know where I am next week! Pity I didn't hear my news just a few hours early, then I could tell you what is going on.
Something I have found is that the Lord truly doesn't give us what we have in mind, but he does give us what we need. I learned that lessons while I was having to wait to come on my mission and it is something that I am continuing to learn as I am out here serving. God ultimately knows what is best for us and what we need to have to grow. How blessed our we?
This is a quote that my friend Elder Lewis sent out last week in his email. It really is so true.
"Sometimes we may ask God for success, and he gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience. Or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace... and when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, he may increase our resolve and resilience." - Elder Bednar
I love you guys so much. The Lord is mindful of us and what we need to experience to become who He needs us to be. Now, shall we not go on in so great a cause?
- Elder Thayne
PS. Sorry about the lack of pictures, I'll get some from Elder Mchunu and send them out next week.

How is everyone!? Thank you for all the love and emails I received this week, it really means a lot! I love hearing from all of you and seeing how life is back home.

May 25, 2014- SAVE THE DATE!‏

Well lots of great things have happened this week. And I don't remember a single one. Just kidding.

The Good: 
-We have three people that are going to be baptised next Suday May 25th. Abigail, Phelisa and Lamla. I was asked by Phelisa and Lamla to baptize them. Yes, I am just as shocked as you all are.
-Elder Ramat and I have really learned to communicate and are becoming a lot better at being pals. Of course this happens my last week with him.
-My Xhosa is getting pretty good. By pretty good I mean I can say like ten words. I was being called "Mlungu" over and over till one woman I know called me that and I just said, "Umnyama wena." (You're black.) Basically everyone died and started laughing so hard. They couldn't believe that I responded to them in Xhosa. #winning
-Our flat is clean on most days. Miracles can and do happen daily. 
-Elder Obonye, Elder Taylor and I all made a rap titled YOSO. You Only Serve Once. 
The Not So Good:
-I definitely ripped a pair of my suit pants. Luckily I have a spare.
-Two of the people we were preparing to be baptised dropped off the face of the earth. So I am not really sure what happened to them. We were pretty frustrated, but we are keeping the faith and going to continue trying to work with them.
The Funny:
-I just can't seem to keep hold of money out here. We get about $60 worth of money to live off for two weeks. It's actually quite hilarious I must say.
-No one believed me when I said that I did jui-jitsu for 10 years. So Elder Steele and I decided to wrestle/fight. We was a wrestler in high school and was on the national team actually. So naturally everyone thought I would be destroyed. 30 seconds in I choked him out with a guillotine. Thank you Dad and Mom for making us do hard things so we aren't wimps. He couldn't believe it.
-A guy, while we were filling up petrol, (this happened while I was with Capozzoli but I forgot to tell you guys about it) walked up to us and told us that the night before he had a dream. He said that in his dream he was told that he needed to go to this petrol station and wait for two "white angels" to pull up in their car. He then said he had received that vision because we were meant to buy him a full tank of petrol. Ohh my word it took everything we had not to burst out laughing. People will come up to us often and claim to have some real reason for us to buy or give them something. That time was pretty hilarious.
The Spiritual:
-This week we had a really powerful experience with a less active family. We were teaching them about God's love for us and our love for him. I stressed and emphasized the point that God has given us everything. He has promised us eternal happiness and joy. ALL He has asked is that we obey His few commandments and help build His kingdom. That is it! As I was testifying one of the more "hard-hearted" women started to cry. She was really feeling the spirit and had a desire to show God her love for him. She said she realized that he has done so much for her and that she just needs to start showing Him how grateful she is. It was a really wonderful moment for all of us I think. 
-While driving I had this distinct feeling to go check on some investigators that we hadn't seen in well over a month because of their lack of commitment and because of the fact they had been dodging us. Anyways, we went to their house and started talking to them. We met a less active guy who hadn't been to church in over ten years! We set a return appointment and they committed to start coming to church! It's just really awesome how the spirit will direct us if we are willing to listen. 
Basically it has been a good week. I feel real good about how I have spent my time here in Mdantsane. Transfers are going to be happening next week. So I am assuming that I will be leaving Mdantsane because I have been here for six months now. And what a glorious six months it has been. I am already a 1/4 of the way done with my mission. It may not sound like much, but time has flown. I don't want my mission to go by too fast! I am loving it. I love you guys and I am so grateful for all the love and support! Keep in touch. Mosiah 2:41
Love,Elder Thayne

I got bit by a venomous flesh eating spider!

Things are going good here, it has just been slow with the holidays and everything going on. After elections, which are on Wednesday, we should be back to normal and being able to teach more. We only taught like fifteen lessons this last week which was frustrating, but I am sure we will teach a lot more this coming week.
It is my third week with Elder Ramat from Tanzania. It is for sure really different being with a native African, but it is going pretty well. We have some really cool things happening. Mlondolozi's and Siphenanthi's dad, Tata Michael Nake, came to church after we visited with him last week! It was pretty amazing. He knows a lot about the gospel and we hope to help him progress and if he keeps coming to church we will baptize him before I leave!
If everything goes perfectly we will have six more baptisms before I leave at the end of this month. Four of them will be potential Melchizedek priesthood holders. So we are excited about that. This is all us reaping what we have sowed over the past few months. It's pretty nice. The names of the people are Mlondolozi, Derrick, Michael, Lamla, Abigale and Phelisa. So please pray for them that all will go well and they can be baptized on schedule. 

I have been really trying to learn Xhosa and take it more seriously. I got a notebook and titled it Xhosa for dummies, so hopefully the stuff that everyone is putting down it it sticks with me! I am learning a lot. I am trying to qualify for the gift of tongues. Because that is probably what it is going to take for me to get fluent in it. I want to memorize the first vision in Xhosa so I can say it to the people we are teaching in lessons. I think it could be pretty powerful.
We have started to do district lunches every day in an effort to keep uniting the district. Elder Mchunu and I have been around each other for going on four and a half months, so we are already really tight, but we wanted to quickly have the other guys feel welcome and a part of the district as well! I really think it is helping! The annoying thing is we always have them at our flat since we have a gas stove, and since it's at our flat we always end up doing the dishes afterwords...
Well three days ago I woke up with a bump on my elbow. Over the past few days it has grown bigger and bigger and there is now a hole in my arm. It's swollen up pretty big and is getting pretty painful. Apparently I was bitten by a South African Sack Spider or something like it. The venom slowly burns through the flesh and destroys the cells. It can get pretty bad I guess. So I am getting taken to the Doctors office in a couple hours to get me some antibiotics or something like that. The Senior couple, the Boyces, are pretty worried about it since it has happened a couple times to other missionaries before. So we will see what ends up happening. I just think it's kind of sweet that I am here in Africa and got bit by a flesh eating spider.
I really don't have too much more to report. It hasn't been raining too bad the past week so there wasn't any more flooding. And hopefully there should be some more cool finding stories next week because we really are going to try to build our teaching pool of investigators. Please pray for those we are preparing for baptism and if anyone you know is preparing for a mission, pray for them to get called to South Africa. It's the best place in the world.
Cheers,
Elder Thayne 

Our meal we made, we had no plates so we used frying pans. This is me, elder Ramat and elder mchunu. Elder Maciver took the picture.
Then this is us again with a bunch of avocado's that I climbed up in our tree and fetched the other day.

I was kissed straight on the cheek by probably the most drunk and crazy guy I have yet seen in South Africa. He stumbled up to me and my companion and said I am a beautiful mlongu and planted one right on my cheek. Definitely not one of my most graceful or composed moments as a missionary... I kinda shrieked and jumped away. As a missionary you aren't used to physical contact. So when a really drunk guy plants one on you, you tend to react a bit dramatically.

The rain came down and the floods came up.‏

Someone, while designing and building our flat, was a very foolish man. He decided to have a big step down into our flat and leave a two inch gap at the bottom of our door. In East London, when it rains, it pours. So that resulted in a flooding of our boarding. Yeahh... That was frustrating. It trashed one of my white shirts. It's all stained yellow and brown now... but hey, it's got character.

Because of the constant raining and downpour we weren't able to teach and visit as many people as we normally would like. We had to stay inside our flat basically for two days because it was raining and flooding so bad. The streets were washed out and there were road wrecks all over the place. We were in a constant battle with dishing out the water that was filling up on our front porch. I felt like a pirate who's ship was leaking or something. I just decided I want to express my thoughts and feelings in a poem.

"It Pours."a heartfelt short poem by Elder Mitchell Ryan Thayne
Sometimes it rains,Sometimes it pours,Sometimes your companion,Can't hold in his snores.
Even though it is wet,And you don't want to go,You have to forget yourselfAnd teach some mo'.
I may miss my family,I desperately need sleepBut Christ has said,Feed my sheep.
#missionlife

That's all I've got. Enjoy. I guess my freestyle rapping addiction can come in handy, ehh?

The few lessons we did teach went well though! We have been trying to help Elder Ramat, my new companion, learn the area. He is picking it up pretty fast and teaching me some cool things. He is a really good missionary who is truly striving to be obedient. It is a good thing having him around. Naturally, I miss Elder Oldroyd and Elder Capozzoli who were both from Utah and both extremely similar to me, but Elder Ramat and I have a lot of things in common as well. He is 17 months on mission and doing great.

Elder Ramat and I were asked by Mama Mapitsha to come and dedicate her home. So we went and said the prayer to dedicate it and she asked me to share a scripture. I instantly turned to one of my favorites Omni 1:26. I bore testimony in the name of Jesus Christ that if she gave herself to the Lord and held nothing back that her home, family and life would be sanctified and protected by the Lord. It felt like there was a sonic boom in the room. We were all slammed with the spirit. The feeling was so apparent and almost tangible. The love of God swept into the room and we felt such peace. She started crying and said that she will start to let go and turn more to God. It was really amazing.

Then on Saturday we went to teach Lamla and we met three of his friends. One was actually baptized by Elder Giles and is now less active. The other two friends weren't members but they wanted to learn more. We taught them the restoration and are going to be meeting with them more this week! I am pretty excited for that! 

Thabo the other day told me he had something he needed to say... The room got a little tense. He said, "I no longer want to go to church.".... My heart totally sank, then he said, "I NEED to go to church." Ahh.... sweet relief. It was a cool moment then to have him basically teach US the tree of life vision that Lehi had. He really is being taught by the spirit and having such great understanding. That is really so rare here in Africa.

On Sunday it was a bit of a bummer at church since it was raining so hard and people have to walk a long way to get to church there was hardly anyone there. We didn't have one single investigator at church. We only had two recent converts there and one less active. I realized that I will have those days on mission.. Not every day is beautiful and easy, but you learn something or grow from every rough day as well.

Uzakusipekhela Nini means when are you cooking for us? Probably the best Xhosa phrase I have ever learned. We have literally been destitute this past week because my home account card got sucked up by an ATM and destroyed and then my companion came to me with NO money at all. So I have had to buy food just to feed us. We have been out of money for a week and living off of the members feeding us. Luckily it is such a part of their culture to feed and share with others, or we literally would be on the brink of starvation. Luckily we get MSF (missionary support fund) on Wednesday. So I am excited for that. 

The work this week has been slow, but with trials and struggles comes growth and blessings. I really have felt the succor of the Lord this past week. He comforts us when we are in need.  

I have never been more tired, and never been more happy.

Cheers.

Elder Mitchell Ryan Thayne

#transfers

Molo!

Bernhardt Ramat was born in 1992. For thirteen years of his life he was at a boarding school far from home. He only saw his family during the holidays. So being on a mission away from his family hasn't been super hard. His whole family is members of the church and extremely strong and faithful to it. His branch has bout fifty people in it and he held three callings at the same time. One of his callings was playing piano in sacrament meeting. He learned how to play by ear. He is a super talented guy. Getting his call took him about four an a half months then he had to wait another four to come here. He loves to dance, loves to freestyle rap with me and LOVES to work hard, but have fun. So I can really tell we are going to get along. He also is a basketball player and can play soccer as well.....  YES. Basically I can tell this is going to be a great transfer.
This week not a ton of missionary work was done. Which honestly felt really weird.. I don't really like it. Basically the reason we didn't get a ton done was because of transfers. We were driving missionaries all over, picking up others and dropping off some, unpacking, reorganizing, cleaning and showing them the area and introducing them to people. So we weren't able to teach as many lessons as we normally do during the week because of all the stuff we had going on. We plan to hit it really hard this next week though.
Our Zone Leaders car got hit by a drunk driver. So now mission wide we have to be in our flat's by six thirty or seven at the latest. Riots and drinking and things like that have been so common lately that they are trying to keep us inside to stay safe. Kind of a bummer though with how much time that takes away from our work and teaching.
My Discourse on Faith:
"Oh Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me!" That is what Alma the Younger cried out as he was in ultimate agony. He was wracked with the pains and memories of a damned soul. I think all of us have felt that sort of pain at one time in our lives or another. We have all probably also cried out in suffering asking for God's relief. I know that many times in my own life I will call out asking for help, but not really having the faith or putting in the effort to receive help. We can change, but we can ONLY change as we turn to him and have faith that he can make up the difference. What we all ask for daily is nothing short of a miracle. We ask to be forgiven, blessed with what we need and changed to become better. Our investigator Thabo has turned away from a very loose and crazy life of drug dealing and partying, and is asking Christ to help him change. It is going to take a miracle for that to happen. But miracles are an everyday occurrence in the line of work that we do.
As I have studied Christs life I read all about the MANY miracles he preformed. In every instance, He called upon someones faith to help make it happen. He didn't just heal someone for nothing. He would either call upon their faith, or the faith of a friend or family member. It spoke of Christ going to a city, but he worked no miracles because of their unbelief. Faith is the key to every miracle. So if you are asking for a miracle, you have to have the faith that it can happen. You need to do everything you can and continue asking for the Lord's help. I think the saying faith without works is dead can also be swapped with works without faith is dead. If we try to change or work for blessings, but we don't have the faith that it can happen then it probably wont. Our faith as we work is what will bring the blessings and the change. 
Faith precedes the miracle. The more I study faith, the more I realize I don't know. I think its funny, I probably have a 1st grade understanding of faith. In heaven we will probably we working on our Masters or PhD. Anyways, that is my little rant for the day. 
Those people that we are working with are all doing extremely well. Please feel free to pray for them and pray for us to be able to find more people to teach as well.
Pray for:
Mlondolozi
Abigale
Phelisa
Lamla
Thabo
Derrick
Bongi
Jacque
And pray/fast that we will find more wonderful individuals to teach and help change.
Ohh and things have been pretty crazy here lately, so pray for the missionaries.
Love you all! Cheers!
Elder Mitchell Ryan Thayne

Well it's been another week. I now have a new companion... It's pretty sweet. His name is Elder Ramat and he is from Tanzania. Whoa, I know.

This is Elder Ramat and I. Not our best selfie day.

I Love Fatcakes!

Well this week has been fantastic. It was my last week with Elder Oldroyd... And we hit it hard!

Real quick note: we found a place that sells fatcakes. They are basically scones. Amazing.
Elder Oldroyd is getting transferred and stepping up to Zone Leader in Belleville. He will be awesome. I will miss him a lot as my companion though. He is a very fun, but faithful and hardworking missionary. I get my new companion on Wednesday. He most likely wont be from Springville, Utah like the rest of my companions have been! He will probably be from Africa, so that'll be different. :]
We met with almost all of our recent converts this week. One of them, Luvuyo (KC), told us that since he doesn't have a father, he looks up to us in that sort of a way. He told me that he is going to prepare to go on a mission... It'll be another six years until he could go, but it is awesome to see a kid you baptized to be passing the sacrament and really trying to be good. Before the church, his life looked like it was a bit of a dead end. His father doesn't ever come see him and lives in a different part of the city. His mother, even though he is 12, doesn't take care of him at all. She will give him food sometimes and basically leaves him alone. He is going to a school and only had some bad friends. When we started teaching him he had already been going to church, by himself, for two years. He now is preparing for a mission and has a bunch of the people in the ward looking out for him, including the missionaries. It is really special to see how the gospel can bless even a little boy in south africa's life. 
We also met with Derrick, the chap who just got out of prison. He has now read almost thirty chapters of his gospel principals manual and really is feeling the spirit of conversion! We taught him of the power of the book of mormon, where it came from, and why it is important. He said that he will read it and study it every night like he has been with his gospel principals book. I bore my testimony to him about the power of the gospel to change us and change others. To encourage that change we need to make and keep covenants or promises with our heavenly father. Baptism is one of the first promises we make with Heavenly Father to show him our desire to change and grow closer to him. Derrick wants so badly to change and leave his past behind. I told him how a baptism represents the death of our old life and then us rising up and starting a new life as a new person. He was really touched by that and by the chance that he could change. Elder Oldroyd expounded and testified about what I had said and bore powerful testimony about how the gospel had changed him. I then invited him to be baptized... He said YES! Awesome.
Thabo, the guy with THICK dreads was really sick this week. He actually was admitted to the hospital because he had symptoms of pneumonia. The brethren from the ward actually went over to his house to visit him and give him a blessing... WITHOUT US EVEN ASKING!!! That doesn't happen. As missionaries we almost have to get on our knees and beg for things to happen in this ward. They are all in a sleep mode except for maybe the ward mission leader and the elders quorum president. 
We also had a great training with President Wood. He talked about having vision, goals and faith to help push the Lord's work forward. He talked about how Faith, Agency and Opposition are all central principals in missionary work. We need to have the faith that by our efforts and prayers the Lord will bring His work to pass. Agency is important because we need to realize that everyone has their power of choice. And Opposition because that is what strengthens us.
I was told a story by a guy in my ward this week, he said, "There once was a man who had a huge bolder placed before him. The Savior came to him and told him to push the stone out of the way. Day after day and week after week he pushed and strained to move the stone with no success. The devil came and discouraged him and after not moving the stone even an inch he started to loose faith. He complained to the Savior that there was no way he could ever do this and that it was a waste of time. The savior replied 'look at your arms, they have recieved strength. look at your shoulders, they have grown more broad. Look at your back, chest and your legs, they have all become stronger. Your job is to push, my job is to remove.' and with that he removed the stone."
I love that story because it really illustrates how opposition strengthens us. There will be an opposition in all things as we learn in 2 nephi. The Lord asks us to do certain things, our job is to obey and push. As a result we will grow stronger and the Lord will change people and remove their stumbling blocks. Another cool quote I heard once is, "The difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is how high you raise your foot." Now let that one stew for a bit.
Love you all. Letters and things of that sort are always welcome.
Cheers.
-Elder Mitchell Ryan Thayne

Forget Yourself and Go to Work!

Dear Friends and Family,

In Mary's letter she spoke about her extended family and how some of them were not members of the church or were going through different struggles in their life. Mary realized that what was missing from their lives was the power of the saviors atonement and the purpose the gospel brings into every person's life. She talked about how at a family reunion she gave each member of her extended family a Book of Mormon with her testimony written inside. As a result, members of her family have investigated the church, made changes in their lives and chose to follow the Savior and be baptized into His church.
I really was impressed and grateful for her example of sharing the gospel with others. Many of us (I know I was like this when I was at home) like to go throughout our days in comfort. We don't want to put ourselves out there or cause us any unnecessary discomfort. But while keeping to ourselves we are holding others back from finding the true joy and fulfillment that we have all felt and found in the gospel.
We not only "should" share the gospel with others, we also have a RESPONSIBILITY to share it. "Go ye therefore, and teach allnations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:19-20 or “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” -- Mark 16:15
I really think L. Tom Perry nailed it when he said, "More blessings comes to us in going forth to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, and laboring for the salvation of the souls of men, than can possibly come to us by merely having a knowledge of the truth of our religion, and then remaining at home to mingle and labor in the ordinary affairs of life, and accumulate the wealth of this world that perishes with the using.”
I really strongly feel that we need to remember our responsibility and opportunity to go forth and share the gospel with others. Too many people are lost in the mists of darkness in this world. So many people are "kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." D&C 123:12 The gospel brings happiness. It gives us the strength to move forward and even helps us know which direction we should move forward to. 
I have a challenge I would like to remind you all of what M. Russell Ballard said in his talk in General Conference that he gave on Sunday, "I suggest that we can all be more consistently involved in missionary work by replacing our fear with real faith, inviting someone at least once a quarter—or four times every year—to be taught by the full-time missionaries."
My friend Elder Brendon Nielson pointed out that he invited EVERY member to invite four people every year. That means even the most introverted or nervous members can and should invite four people to be taught a year. Many of us could invite even more than that. 
Many members make the mistake of thinking that they cannot invite someone to attend church, be taught by the missionaries or even talk about religious beliefs unless they have known someone for the past ten years. Members think that they need to have a deep and strong relationship with someone before they could ever consider inviting someone to make those changes. That is not true. Someone could literally move in next door, be helped moving in and then invited to attend church with the family on Sunday. It's that easy. It doesn't need to be something that we tip toe around or worry about saying. The church and this gospel is what will ultimately make them happy and will help them have relationships that last for eternity. So lets wake up and invite them to change.
My brother Grayson has been a great example of being a missionary by inviting a non-member friend to come to Scouts with him on Tuesday nights. 
I know people here in South Africa that will just invite their friends over for Family Home Evening.
My Father, every time he is on a plane generally strikes up a quality gospel conversation with the person he is sitting next to and gives them a Book of Mormon by the end of the flight.
Yonella, a boy who comes fellowshipping with us missionaries almost every day, will just meet someone at school and ask them if they want to come to church, or if they would like to meet his friends "the eldah's".
It is that easy. The hardest part of missionary work is stepping outside of our comfort zone. The more often we do it, the easier it is in the future. I can promise that you will almost never feel as great of joy as you do when you share the gospel with someone else. I have never felt so much fulfillment and joy in my life as when I have been on a mission. After I come home from South Africa, I wont stop sharing it. 
So again, I invite you all to find someone that you know, or search for someone who you may not yet know, to share the gospel with in the next three months. I promise that if you pray and ask for the Lords help, He will direct you to someone who desperately needs the peace the gospel brings. Pray and ask for his help, He will freely give it. 
I love you all, and I would love to hear your experiences as you share the gospel with others.
Now, forget yourself and go to work.
Cheers,
Elder Mitchell Ryan Thayne
James 2:18
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/come-join-with-us?lang=eng

I am basing what I say in this email off of the letter that I received from Mary Gardner. (Thanks a MILLION by the way. Letters here on mission are ULTRA appreciated.)