Week #4 Arrival in Arcadia

Hey guys I made it through my first week! It was a good week. I flew in on Tuesday and went to the mission home and had dinner there. Then I went to a member's house for the night. Then the next day I found out my companion was Elder Groll from Kaysville Utah and we graduated the same year. Crazy! We are assigned to  Las Flores which is in Laverne and Pomona. It's a decent area - there are some nice areas and not so nice areas. This week we have been teaching James who is making good progress and is working towards baptism. He is fully committed to being baptized soon. It has been pretty hot here, about 96 to 107 degrees. We also have been teaching this lady named Pilar and she is a really nice lady. I got to see my first baptism yesterday with Pilar and she is just a great lady. Yesterday for the baptism I showed the video Baptism with little kids telling the story of Christ's baptism and they really liked it and then I showed Elder Holland's video of a special witness of Christ which talks about the atonement. Both were really neat videos. We were pretty busy getting the baptism set up most of the week. It is so nice that we get fed every single night from the ward members. They are super nice and feed us great! Today for p day we went golfing and that was fun but really hot. It was a nice golf course that was higher up near the mountains so it was pretty. My area is a biking area and it has been fun biking even though it's hot. Anyway I have got a good companion and this area is really doing well lately and we have a lot of great people learning about the church. I also met President and Sister Wells and they are so nice and really great people to be my mission president and wife. Hope everyone is doing good! I'm doing just fine! Have a great day everyone. 

Love,

Elder Toller 

This is James who we taught and Pilar's baptism. 

Thomas arrived in Arcadia on July 24, 2018.  It was so great that he got to call home from the airport before his plane took off. He's looking forward to his new adventure in California!

Week #3

Hey all,

This has been a great week. It has really gone by fast. Tuesday was probably one of my top birthdays. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. Tuesday night we had a great devotional by president Ballard. He talked about the mission of Hyrum and Joseph Smith and how they were always side by side there whole life and both supported each other in all they did. I loved how he told the story of when Lucy Smith went to see her sons when they had passed away and they were set side by side and when she visited them she could hear their voice saying " mom we have overcome the world with love." That really stood out to me because these brothers loved all of God's children enough to sacrifice their lives for the church. Also that's an awesome statement. We can overcome the world by love. There was such a power when president Ballard talked about Joseph and Hyrum that it was such an amazing devotional.  I also finished this week teaching my investigator with my companion and our investigator is making progress and doing better than we started so that's great. We have been playing a lot of spike ball lately during exercise time and that's really fun to play. My classes that I have had are super fun and I will miss them. As a district we are singing A Child's Prayer tomorrow for sacrament meeting and we found out the MTC president will be there so that will be fun! Also this week I have been looking at the murals and paintings throughout the new buildings and they are so neat! They all display different events throughout the history of the church. Anyway hope everyone is doing good. I leave for California Tuesday. Have a great day! The picture is my district and my teacher and then a picture of Moses parting the sea with my companion. 

Love,

Elder Toller 

Week #2

Hey everyone

This was a great week. It went by pretty fast. My companion and I are teaching an investigator and that's going good. I have really enjoyed my classes and have really good teachers that
 make class really fun and a great enviroment to be in. We had a really good devotional on Tuesday by elder Craig C Christensen of the presidency of the 70. He talked about always having a positive attitude throughout your mission and also staying focused on your missionary purpose. We also
watched a video called character of Christ by David a Bednar which is a mtc film from a devotional and he talked about always looking outward to help others and not worrying about yourself and looking inward. It was a very neat talk. The MTC is really fun and it is such a neat place to be and be
around awesome people. Anyway hope everyone is having a good day and has a good week.

Love
Elder toller

The Arcadia, California Mission Map

Here's a map of the Arcadia, California Mission. Arcadia is to the East of Pasadena and to the Northeast of Los Angeles. Click on the map below to view it at full size.

The Arcadia, California Mission (click to enlarge)

How to Send Mail to Elder Thomas

If you want to send Thomas a letter, photos, or even a few snacks, he would love to hear from you. Right now Thomas is in the MTC and until July 24th, you can mail him at the following address:

Elder Thomas Toller
JUL 24 CA-ARC
2005 N 900 E Unit 188
Provo, UT 84602

If your letter won't arrive before July 24th, you can mail Thomas to his mission address. That address will work for Thomas for the rest of his mission. The mission address is:

Elder Thomas Toller
California Arcadia Mission
614 W Foothill Blvd.
Arcadia, CA 91006-2030

Elder Thomas Toller at the MTC

Thomas is at the MTC and is doing well. In his first message home, he let us know that his missionary companion is Elder Palmer, who is from Pennsylvania and will be joining Thomas in the Arcadia, California mission as well. They already get along great and are working hard to prepare for the mission field.

Thomas is serving as the District Leader, so he's already learning some leadership responsibilities. As part of their training, the missionaries at the MTC work with people who are interested in the church, and Thomas is enjoying the opportunity to help and serve.

Thomas will be at the MTC until July 24th. If you want to send a letter, his address is in the sidebar. Thomas would love to hear from family and friends.

Elder Palmer and Elder Toller are eager to start serving in California.