Letter just received June 23

HEY!!!
I am so excited to actually be able to write to y'all finally. I love the mission! Holy smokes it is hard work. I get every morning at 6:30 and exercise for a half hour then I get ready for an hour after that. (Thank Goodness). Then we do personal and companionship study for an hour each. We are out the door by 10:00 am talking to people.

My companion is Sister Smith. If there ever was an inspired companionship, this would be it! She is so awesome! She is VERY obedient and we seem to be on the same page as far as our goals for missionary work. She is really great at contacting which I am struggling with a little bit. I am learning so much from her everyday. She is from Sacramento and is 24. She has been out for 7.5 months. I will send pictures later.

I am in an area call Mt. Juliet. When we were at transfer meeting and I opened my letter infront of everyone to find out where I was going and who I would be going there with, there was a gasp. Mt. Juliet is the coveted area of the mission. It is also known as the Celestial Kingdom. Every member in the ward is actively progressing in missionary work on a regular basis. They have never had sisters in the ward; For as long as the members remember anyway. Many members have told us that we are a novelty and they are so excited for us to be here.

The first members I met actually have roots in Kamas Utah... I couldn't help but laugh. Cory Mitchell is Jack Mitchell's son I believe. Two of their kids are actually going to Kamas next week to stay with their grandparents before they head down to Dixie for school. Kamas-ites are everywhere!!! They also know Dusty Hatch's parents. I think they are cousins. You will have to ask. You might be getting a call from Krystin and Brandon Mitchell. They wanted to say hi to yall.

We are living with some recent converts. Their home is immaculate! I will send you pictures later. Jenny is the wife. She was baptized in November and her Husband Gordon was baptized in February. We are so blessed to be able to stay with them. She was raised Baptist and then received the missionaries later. I will tell you more about her another time. But my goodness... I am so happy and Blessed!!!!

The fields are definitely white and ready to harvest in this area. Sister Smith an I have already found 7 new investigators since we have been here. That number is usually unheard of for one week! One evening, all of our appointments had fallen through. We were feeling a little discouraged and we didn't know what the best way would be to use the Lord's time. We pulled into the parking lot of a Goodwill Store and said a prayer. I felt like we needed to go to a neighborhood... I didn't know which one. But we made a plan to go to a neighborhood near our house. On the way, Sister Smith suddenly felt directed to turn on to a completely different road than we had planned. We parked the car and began tracting. The first house was a dud. The man didn't want anything to do with religion. We walked further down the road and saw two children playing outside while their grandpa was working on the car. The kids were extremely friendly and wanted to know all about us. The grandfather was really grumpy. But we continued to talk to them. Out of nowhere, a woman drove up next to us and asked us for directions to the main road. We gave her directions then began telling her about our church. (Miracle): She said that when she was little the missionaries would come over and take her and her sibling to church. She remembered LOVING the missionaries. We talked to her about the Book of Mormon and she said that she used to have a copy but lost it. We gave her another one. She has been living in a Hope House and said she wanted to give us a call as soon as she got her life back in order. We also got an appointment to see the little kid's father. He wanted an explanation of the Book of Mormon. Sister Smith and I prayed right then and there and thanked our loving heavenly father for guiding us down that road. I KNOW that was exactly where we were supposed to be!

The people are so nice! I have not had a rude rejection to our message yet. They all call me 'Honey' and appologize when they say they have no desire to hear the gospel. I AM SO BLESSED!!! I know that my Father in Heaven knows exactly what I need as a missionary and I must say I thank Him hourly for the abundance of blessings that I see in this amazing area. I have seen the amazing power of the Holy Ghost. Every time I open my mouth I have no idea what I am going to say... the Holy Ghost puts the words there. I have witnessed that multiple times on a daily basis.

Well, I love you all so much! I can't wait to tell you more. Goodness, it so hard to get it all into one E-mail. I failed miserably at the attempt.

I can only receive e-mail from immediate family. Sister Smith said that if you want to forward other people's e-mails that is ok. But I wont be able to write them back. It is preferable to send it to the mission office address that I gave you:

Sister Cassie Thacker
105 Westpark Drive Ste 190
Brentwood, TN 37027

All mail will be forwarded to where I live. It will be easier that way so you wont have to get a new address every time I am transfured.

Love,
Sister Thacker

Here's her house address:
Sister Thacker
1287 Northwest Rutland Rd.
Mt. Juliet, TN 37122