Week #80

Hey all! 

Well this was my first week with Elder Yoon. He is a great companion. He is from Lehi, Utah and originally from Korea. There are actually a lot of Koreans here so it will be good to have a companion who speaks Korean. 

Well yesterday we found out Kobe Bryant passed away and that was too bad but thank goodness for the plan of salvation - and how families can be together forever. Earlier in the day I was reading D&C 138 which is about the vision of the spirit world and I really love that section and He has a lot of great scriptures and teachings in it. It also shows how God has a plan for everyone and how He loves us all. 

D&C 138:32-34

32 Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets.

33 These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands,

34 And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

We found this neat guy named Henry the other day and he is Korean but he knew English pretty good.  We met with him on Friday and had a great lesson about commandments and the blessings that come by keeping them. 

Anyway all is going well and I'm doing good. Have a great day and great week! Love you all! 

Elder Toller  

Saying goodbye to Elder Willden 

Week #79

Hey guys! 

This was another great week! 

Yesterday was pretty good. Kyle came to church and also Linda came to church. So that was good to see both of them there. 

Also this week we did exchanges with the Armenian elders so that was fun to be with them. 

We got our transfer calls and I will be getting a new companion tomorrow. I have served around him before so it will be good to be companions. His name is Elder Yoon. My current companion is going to the Samoan ward which is where I came from. So that will be good.  

Today we played cards and basketball at the church. Then we got lunch as a district so that was fun.  

We did a missionary fireside the other day and there was a quote I really liked : 

"I have often said one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work—there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work.”

President Ezra Taft Benson

I also like a scripture that has helped me on my mission. 2 Nephi 4: 34-35

34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

Have a wonderful day and a great week! Love you all! 

Elder Toller

Week #78

Hey all! 

This was another quick week in the mission field. 

Recently our mission has started doing family history one day a week for an hour. It has been pretty neat to do and learn more about my ancestors. It has been a neat experience and I would encourage you all to try to do family history some time this week for a little bit. 

On Wednesday we had zone conference and it was good. One thing I really like that we learned was the mission president's wife said as Christ's missionaries we need to Believe as He did, Love as He loved, and Do as He did. She was referencing a talk by Elder Uchtdorf called Believe, Love, Do. We also talked about setting goals and trying to do our best and always having steady improvement in our missionary work. 

Yesterday at church we had Kyle come and she brought her son and her mother. Her son even performed a musical number at church with the viola and it was very good. We also had Eveline come to church and she is pretty awesome. She has had recent experiences that have helped her want to come to church and grow her relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. So it was a great Sunday and the members were so nice and friendly to them which is so great! 

2 Nephi 25:26: 

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. 

I love this scripture because the most important thing we can teach anyone is that Jesus is the Christ and He is the source of truth and light. Whenever anyone bears their testimony of Jesus Christ you can always feel the spirit strong. 

Thanks for all you guys do for me! You are awesome! Love you all! Have a great day and a great week! 

Elder Toller 

Me with some of the other elders in the district.

Week #77

Howdy everyone! Happy 2020! 

This week was a little different with New Years and many people were out of town or at family parties, but it was still good. 

Saturday evening we were kind of stuck with what to do since we had some lessons fall through. So we decided to stop by someone who is a member but we hadn't met. We talked to the guy's brother in law who isn't a member and the member guy wasn't there. We ended up having a great visit with him and he had good questions for us and we talked more about prophets. Anyway it was great that when we  ran out of plans we were able to have the thought to stop by this house. 

Yesterday at church Kyle came and it was very great to have her come. She also brought her son with her. He really enjoyed it and it was a great Sunday school to come and learn about the introduction of the Book of Mormon. 

It was also a good fast and testimony meeting. I shared a talk I read earlier this week from general conference called Finding Joy in Sharing the Gospel by Sister Franco. It is really a great talk! It talks about when her mom was going on a trip and she talked to a lady sitting by her and she bore her testimony and talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then after the plane ride the lady found missionaries and talked to them and eventually joined the church. I really like a quote in this talk that says: "We have a loving Father in Heaven, who is waiting for us to turn to Him to bless our lives and the lives of those around us."

I love this quote because as we turn to Heavenly Father for help He will help us, often through other people,and we will want to help others when we get help and have others feel of His love for them. I would invite you to each review this talk this week! Start off the New Year the right way with looking for opportunities to serve and help those around you. 

Click her to hear Sister Franco's talk.

Love you all and hope you have a wonderful day and week! 

Elder Toller 

Me with my MTC companion. We did exchanges for a day. 

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Week #76

Hey all! 

I was reading D&C 89 the other day and I truly love the blessings that we are able to receive if we keep the Word of Wisdom. 

18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;

19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.

21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen

I truly like the last verse how it says we are protected from Satan tempting us as we strive to remain faithful to that commandment. I know that it is important to take care of our bodies since they are a special gift from Heavenly Father. As a missionary I have seen this bless so many of Heavenly Father's children as they obey his commandments especially the word of wisdom. 

We went to go knocking doors the other day and we knocked into a guy's house who had actual real animals that he had shot himself around his house. It was literally like a mini Bean museum (like the one at BYU in provo). Anyway it was fun to visit with him and talk about how he had traveled all over the world to hunt these animals. 

On Monday and Wednesday evenings we went caroling as a district and it was really fun! Caroling is great and it just makes other people happy and feel the Christmas spirit. 

Christmas was pretty good here. It seemed like a regular day but it was still fun. We went to the stake center as a district and played cards and opened presents. Then for lunch we went to our bishop's house and then we went to another member's house for dinner. So we had a lot of ham and cheese potatoes that day.

So yesterday we had Kyle come to church and she loved it as usual. One cool thing about Kyle is that she used to live in Nagoya Japan not too long ago, which is the same as my sister Bonnie's mission. So it was fun to talk to her about  that. Anyway she met a recent convert in the ward named Patrick and she asked him some good questions and they starting talking more about the church and it was great, they were getting along well with each other. 

Wow I can't believe it'

s almost 2020! Make it a great year! Hope you all had a great Christmas and have a great New Year! 

Love you all! 

Elder Toller 

Me and my companion by the Christmas tree on Christmas.