Christ is the Reason

Hey world!!

Well its great to see you all in the videos of all the Christmas caroling and tiara singing and wrappin' up some presents! Its always great to see the Christmas spirit in so many people!!

This week was great! One of our converts named Walter got the priesthood!!! WHOOT WHOOT!! Man I am so stoked for that, he is gonna pass the sacrament next week and this week we are gonna baptize a wonderful man named Luis! He is about four feet tall haha but anyways what a great time we have in this season to really settle down and look at life! This week we have had the opportunity to knock on a lot of doors and its interesting to see that the people with Christmas lights on their houses, usually accept us into their houses for a message on Christ! I love how the christmas spirit opens up the hearts of the people. More than anything I know that the Christmas spirit is the pure love of christ. I know that Christ lives and that he loves us! HE IS THE REASON FOR ALL THINGS!

I love seeing people try to tell people that what we are teaching is wrong, but time and time again it doesn't matter what other people say to our interested people, because our people know in their hearts what the Holy Ghost has testified unto their heart, and it stays in their heart. I just want tell the world I know that serving here in Honduras is the work of the Lord, I love giving my all to Him. Although most days I feel tired, I feel an even greater strength coming form an unseen power. That power is real, it is the power of God, I will always remember the promises of the Lord, if we do what he says, he blesses us. Yes that is TRUE, its pretty darn simple.

I got a cute letter from Tuck and Sarah and it was great to here from the latest addition to the Toolson family! She is a keeper!:) Anyways I love you all, Oh so much and desire that you all enjoy your Christmas! Mine will be FILLED of tamales and chicken and Chancho haha!

Merry Christmas and may we always remember the promises the Lord has given us, like the nephites to the promise of samuel the lamanite... read that story again please, great scripture reading for a quality Christmas!

Love,

Elder Ty Toolson

Elder Ty went to the Beach!

Deuces

So this week was absolutely fantastic, the highlight being that we will be having baptisms coming up this Christmas season!!! To be honest no an incredibly abnormal week, but still i loved every second of it. Today we went to the beach and took tons of photos and man Honduras has its own type of beauty haha. One highlight is we had an incredibly powerful lesson and we have an investigator that is going to get baptized on the 27th but he has had an amazing life that has prepared him for these decisions:) Last night a random person that Im almost positive is not catholic, tried to throw holy water on me and give me a blessing. He tried to convince us he was a messenger of god and was catholic, but when we started asking where he attended church and if he knew the pastors name (who happens to live on our street) and this dude was crazy. But he didn't finish his blessing and he started yelling at me and stuff that I was denying a blessing from god... in the end, something we all need to be aware of is our own decisions!!!

Never let anyone pressure you into doing something that you KNOW is wrong, your ability to choose is not something that is simply given.. it was planned for by our loving heavenly father and paid for by our brother Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and that the atonement is real. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the mouthpiece of the lord and that the lord of lords Jesus Christ is the head of his church. His authority has been given to us in these latter days to fortify and build up the kingdom of God! I feel so blessed to be able to participate in the marvelous work. I know that we are saved by grace but as it is best said by one of his prophets "we are saved by grace, after all we can do" I know that our heavenly father waits anxiously to bless us but we must work anxiously to receive those very blessings!

I hope you all have a great week:)

Love Elder Ty Ty Toolson

Photos

1. No this is not my companion, I did splits with Elder Cotoc form Mexico City! He is in our district, great guy:)

2. A shot of the beach and city all in one.

3. My District:My Companion... hoy fuimos al puerto  mira mi zona Elder Colindres is in the blue & white Honduras jersey is tall, dark and oh so handsome the girls all say!

HERRO

Hooowwwsss it going everyone???

This week was a reaallll keeper to be honest with you:) The highlight was that Hugo (who has had the missionaries for years) has come to church for the first and second time in his life these past two weeks:) His wife and family are the definition of disciples of Christ and from the first time we met this family, we knew that they would soon be an eternal family. We still haven't gotten him in the baptismal font, BUT ITS COMIN!!! We feel the spirit so so strong when we teach its truly beautiful.

Another great experience was that we went to visit an old investigator to see if they were ready to progress. We came in at an essential time when she truly needed a message of help and support, which 100% the purpose of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. With all of us in tears from the first prayer, we shared simple scriptures of the book of Mormon and testified of the mercy of Christ and the endless love he has for his children (which we all are) Today in the night time the ZLs will tell us if my comp or I have changes, we are kinda caught 50 50 on if one of us stays or goes. :(

Last night we were blessed to attend a meeting for Young ones preparing for the mission and Elder Alonzo of the seventy came and spoke powerfully of the importance of the conversion. He spoke of the difference between a testimony and the conversion to a gospel principle. I testify that elder Alonzo is a special witness of Jesus Christ and that the importance of the mission is not describable. IF YOU HAVE DOUBTS OFTHE MISSION, simply pray to your heavenly father and ask if it is right if you should go on the mission, if you receive YES, GO!!

Other than that the highlight of my week is that we had the most lessons this week than any other week this change! I love my life here in the mission! It is not the easiest i will admit but it is truly the best time of my life. I love the lord and ask that all of us simply look for the little blessings in life. Like shade! Man i love shade (its pretty hot these days) And seein little bunnies and receiving my Christmas package from my fam!!!! I love all that little stuff hahah have a fantastic week you are all children of god!!! Look for what he truly wants for us, know that he will never leave us alone, he knows us and talks us to us by name. Have a great week errybody

Love, Elder Toolson

Fw: Tys Week of Bigs!

Herro Familia,

First and foremost, BIGGGGG SHOUTOUT TO MY OLDEST SISTER MICHELLE!!!!! I love you so much and your age doesnt matter to me, you will always be you and artsy and alll that good stuff haha! I cant wait for the moment when we can all be home and celebrate these birthdays in person!

Well this week was absolutely amazing! It was an up and down week but a week with no ups or downs means its a dead one. There are definitely no boring days in the mission even if you are stuck inside for the half the week killing the families of animals in your houses. Cockroaches in honduras are BIG! Like WHOOO thats big. So apart from being bored in the house due to the fact that my comp has been sick for the whol week i found days to leave to proselyte with certain people! We had the opportunity to find great new people to teaach and i truly hope they progress.

One of these people we found is named Elmer. He is 37 and lives with his wife and daughter. His dad recently got baptized and it sparked elmer´s attention because his dad has always been a hard head to attend a church, so we were contacting elmer and when we came across and asked if we could enter, he said yes. It seems that the lord has put a number of people in his life to lead to the church and now i hope elder lopez and i can take this advantage to get him ccloser to his heavenly father.

Well thats my week really i hope you all look for an opportunity to share the gospel or listen to the missionaries. Their message is divinge and will help us all live a better life if we listen and act according with the demands and commandments of our fatther. I know that christ lives, that he leads and guides his church and that through a living prophet we receive his guidance and counsel.

Love

Elder Toolson

Sopa de Mondongo and Transfers???

    This week was super duper great!!! Im so excited to be in the mission field when there is SO MUCH to do!! HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK! Sopa de MONDONGO! Yupperdoodles cow intestine;)  and your little missionary son elder ty toolson loved it! I think i am really turning catracho because it was DELECTIBLE! ha ha. Im almost positive that this is my last week in this area but we will figure out tonight! I love this area so much and am super excited to see if i stay or leave!

    This week was full of service and a ton of lessons and baptismal challenges. In the terms of the work me and my comp are working really hard to get the people we have to come to church on their own will. Something that has been working alot for us is challenging the people to be baptized in the first lesson. It helps us know who is truly wiling to change and who isnt. We spent alot of time looking for a few families that have recently gone inactive! We found and visited them all and how extremely powerful lessons with them. We simply expressed our love and the love of our havenly father and important each of us are to him. We talked about the impportance of parenthood and how we have the home for the gospel to be taught!

    I love this work and I know it is the Lords glory! I hope we can all realize the sacred responsibility we all have to love one another especially our family. I know and testify that through the restored priesthood power we can be sealed as families for eternity. I know that after this life i will see my family. I know that if we ware faithful to this glorious gospel we will have joy (2 nefi 2 25) i hope we all look to serve one another this week and always try a little harder to love a little more!

Elder TY Toolson

AND BYU what is wrong with you. They are the biggest up and down team in college football. And LCC that score is miserable. I say more football updates are welcome!

Elder Ty's Letter and a surprise Phone Call

Last Night we received a phone call from a woman in Oakland whose mother is visiting from Honuras!! Woot Woot!:D She wanted to talk with the mother of Elder Toolson. Ty gave her my cell phone# so that she could wish me a HAPPY BIRTHDAY from him personally :) She was baptized in June by Ty and than her husband got baptized by "Toolson" as well! Her husband soooo LOVES "TOOLSON" and she spoke highly of Ty and how he is always happy and serving the people well with his BIG Heart! What a wonderful and emotional call it was. So grateful for her and her joyful way of expressing all the blessings that has come to her and her family because of the gospel in their lives.

The gospel is True and it blesses everyone that lives by its principles. Ty is loving his mission and here's this weeks update:

This week was such a good one! As I hope most all others did this weekend, I watched general conference! It was nice to go to the stake center and watch conference through satellite just like the good ole chula vista days (where i grew up) It was incredible to see our beloved prophet and president Thomas S. Monson. The reverence that the people have for him is truly piercing. When he entered the conference center I simply started to cry and as well as the people all around us. he is the servant of the Lord. This conference was focused on multiple gospel topics but what struck me was the reality of the divine calling of the leaders ofthe church! The twelve and the first presidency ARE called of god. They may be old but as Russell M. Nelson taught "we need not fear." He continued to speak saying that they are not out of touch with todays world, they are aware of the temptations of the world, one leader even said that we need not list them because they are obvious and inevitable! But they are also aware of the light we are to the world. They know our needs just as the Lord does.

 Something that is so necessary in this life is that we recognize our "divine lineage." We are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, if you doubt that, but have the desire to know, read the scriptures. Read the teachings of the prophets and think of the love in their counsel, en lo cual comes from god. Our heavenly father knows us, even by name, as Henry B. Eyring said with such emotion. Elder Bednar also spoke bastante about the love our heavenly father has for us and that we are hear so that we can recognize, obtain and finally share that exact love! If you did not have a chance to see the conference, please go to gc.lds.org and learn more about what was said and what our heavenly father wants you to hear.

Shout out to my Brother Tucker Strong Toolson for being too dang good looking (am I right hermanas??) but also shout out for having been born a loooonnnnggggg 22 years ago! Man time flies. I Love ya bro! 

Anyways apart from the conference our week was fantastic! We had fantastic baptism of a wonderful woman named Bessy! She lived the life of most Honduran youth and found herself with two babies no husband and a confused line of thought. She thought on her family that constantly were going to church every Sunday and frequently during the week, she simply said in her head 'I want that' She moved in with her aunt (also named bessy) and my comp and I had the opportunity to teach her. She was so quick to understand the gospel principles and gain a testimony of them. When it came time to talk about baptism, she accepted fearlessly and with conviction. When we went by this past week to talk about her and her feelings about baptism, it was asked "do you want to get baptised?" she sat there and then said "I am not getting baptized because i want to get baptized, i simply want to start over, i dont want my sins anymore. I have two children under the age of two and no father. I want MY father in heaven to know that i love him and am ready to change." As you can imagine, my comp and i were simply stunned and smiling. Her baptsim was beautiful and she was very nervous but very, very ready.

I love the gospel and the comfort I receive from ready the scriptures and listening to the voice of the prophet today. I love my family and know we will be together if we are worthy. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and ponders on where you are in life and where you'd like to be. After simply do it. A quote we have in our room says "You learn to be by being and learn to do by doing" many times we feel overwhelmed with the marathon so we dont take a step. Take the step, if you do so with faith our father will heighten our abilities to accomplish whatever we do in righteousness! I love you all!!!

Elder Ty Toolson 

Ty's Week for the Books :)

 Hello Eveybody

This week was just a week for the books!

The best thing was that we had three people accept baptism this week and we are so excited for them. They are truly faithful people that are truly converting themselves to this gospel. This sunday we also had 11 investigators in church! Its always great to see so many unknown faces in the ward!! Something i love about our ward is that everyone is running around talking to everyone who aren't members, even sitting with them so they dont feel uncomfortable its awesome! Something we figured out yesterday is how many inactives their are in our ward, its pretty eye opening! The bummer is that so many of those that don't come as much anymore (inactives) are amazing people that just had one little thing that happened in church and for that one comment, or even glance, they left the church.

It makes me ponder why do we go to church? The truth is, humans are humans. Not everybody is going to have a 24 hour smile and complementing everybody, it would be great!, but its just not like that. We go to church because it is simply true. We go to church to renew our baptismal covenants and to feel the spirit and fill our spiritual canteens for the week. But also in the Book of Moroni it says we go to church to discuss the well being of our souls (moroni 6:5) so if you see somebody thats a little down, talk to them! Here on the earth we have our earthly family and also our family in our heavenly father. I hope we can all try to see eachother as brothers and sisters in the gospel. I love you all and hope we have fantastic weeks!

Oh and with General Conference coming up we all have the opportunity to receive an answer from the Lord. Truly these speakers have been guided by the spirit to speak of things that are meant specifically for us. Please watch conference this weekend! It starts on SATURDAY! Watch all four seessions pleasseeee. I know that President Monson is the prophet of the Lord and is anxious to address us. I love this work and I am so grateful to be a servant in the Lords vineyard!:)

Elder Ty Toolson

Workin to Teach Men to be Men!

Hey errybody!

This week, well like every other missionary in the world says, was another amazing week on the mission, full of blessings and wonderful, hard, beautiful, crazy experiences!! We had lots of great lessons and we are looking for people to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to with open hearts!  

So Tatiana left for la USA last week and this week Catherine (catarin) came back and man its amazing to be around people you have developed such a love for. She was SOOOO Evangelical and man she did not wanna get baptized para NADA but then her dad got baptized and now whaboom! Shes a member. there whole family will be members if we get Ruben (the only son) baptized! We are working really hard to help that guy! A girl we were going to baptize on the 27th backed out and i think its good because she has never ever read the Book of Mormon and so we have some great work to do with her.

Great it is!!! I love this work. To be honest it's really hard and I have never been so tired in my whole life. But I've also never been so Happy. Its the fact that we dont do anything for oursleves other than wash our clothes haha and man there is alsways somtething to wash. I plunge and scrub alot down here. Theres very few washers here so we just wash by hand. This is probably my last change here and I am just trying to work really hard to set up the next missionaries for success. Right now there are few struggles, which is excellent! The only struggle is that men here are really hard to get to come to church! I'm starting to realize is the ratio from females to males I've baptized is pretty lopsided. The bishop is pretty concerned about that because he wants to split the ward and we gotta baptize 9 men in one part to make it an elligible area to have a ward. We are praying to find the chosen but we especially wanna find families where men are prepared as well but man o man mom that is hard!
And cambios were 3 weeks ago! So this Wednesday i will start my fifth week (a transfer is six weeks) its expected that I will leave after this change unless Pres. feels inspired and wants me to stay for 6 months in my first area

Wellll not much to comment on other than this week was really truly another beautiful week in the mission! I hope eveybody at home is staying safe and loving life and taking every opportunity to get to know the scriptures, the gospel and our heavenly father=)

Yayyy im so glad a package is sent to me??? Oooooooyyyyy that is awesome thank you so much! The video of dad going down the water slide after zip lines, repelling and all is HILARIOUS and awesome! I miss dads scream and even uncle greggs estute observations haha. And Im glad you played tennis and I hope you ripped one at grandpa, someones gotta rough him up while im gone haha. Anyways mom HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I truly cannot describe what its like to be away from you for you birthday. Ya know i will have missed three of your birthdays after my mission?? I will have some major gifting and singing and hugging to do!!!! 

Wowow weewowow you guys got a portion of that hurricane!!! Its comforting that I had family a little bit closer to me! That's great that you are practicing your Spanish! I love the effort;) Those pictures are awesome! Love the warm rain photos. Here its just normal. Normal is that it gets light at about 5 but the sun isnt out and then it gets REALLY hot from 10-3 and then it cools down and rains at about 5 or 6 and stops at 9. Its awesome because we know the weather report every day! Its like this for about two more months and then it just gets super from christmas to easter (thats what everybody tells me.) I walk in mud alot but my shoes are doing great im thinking one of em has got at least three more months and the other one about 6:)Depends on how many dogs I gotta kick! :D 

Anyways how was church in Mexico? It looks like the missionaries over there are awesome! Y con saco!! Thats bold, we never wear our suit jackets down here. that. would. be. terrible... drip, drip - drench!

I love you all and Mexico looks pretty darn nice from the photos. Its crazy how i used to think mexico was poor! I gotta start sending pictures of outside the houses in honduras because i want you guys to really get a feel of this place before i leave!

LOVE Oooooddllleesssss and Goooooobbbbbssss!

Elder Ty Toolson

It's All FALL!

Hello everybody!!

Great week full of stellar ups & screamin' downs!!  but something that I consistently realize is that when you are on a mission there is no such thing as a "down day." Sometimes the moments are mixed, one of our investigators who has been investigating for about three months went to oakland and she calls us one day and says "i went to church up here" and we say "wow hermana that is excellent!" and she says "O think im gonna get baptized as soon as possible.."  OKAY! So she is getting baptized this week up there and we will get to teach her everything again down here. I am SOOOO excited for her!

I wanna give a BIG shoutout to my mom because she kept me updated on all the football games this past week from NFL to College even LCC! I'm glad we are startng off well! But she did an amazing job giving me a quick summary of all the games I am so glad I have such a mother that understands something I love (the gospel AND football (; )  I love her.. great lady... Okiedoke!

Well apart form receiving that great news actually about ten minutes ago about the baptism, yesterday we were fasting for an hermana nemed Blanca Luna to really progres and accept baptism soon. We had taught her a gret lesson and we loved the spirit that was there. So she went to church and then after the second hour (gospel principles) she says that she wants to get baptized the 27th OKAY!!!!!!! so woot woot heavenly ather is REALLY quickening his work. Apart from that we are getting some great references right now. We have worked really hard the last six weeks to get more unity in the ward and its paying off right now! Uhhhmmm there is this thing down here thats called "Licuados" which are milk shakes but Im in Honduras so its a little iffy but man I special ordered a licuado with a banana, chocolate, and milk and it was a throwback to my dad whippin' up some shakes for us.

Well thats my week, we also had some amazing lessons I think the key right now is that we STAY HUMBLE! You dont get succes because you are a good teacher, rather you are a good medium in which the sprit can teach through you. To have the spirit should be everyones goal this week. I love you all and hope to hear from a select few to hear how y'all are doin'. :) And tell my little itsy bitsy sister to stop looking so old! IT took me about 5 minutes to find her on the volleyball team photo... just kidding  :) but man she is tall and strong! Jackson strength is really helping her! She's going to be able to beat me at arm wrestling soon...ha ha! 

So I had this dream that we opened up a visitors Center hear in Honduras and you all came down for it...We had a great time hugging hello, touring around and then...poof!  I woke up! Awwww man that was when I began doing some dishes, singing hymns, reading Jesus the Christ... LOL!  Wow! Sure do think I have the best family and Friends EVER! Gotta go! Muah!

Love

Elder Tooolson 

Fw: Honduras uPs & doWNs

Hello everyone!

tHIS WEEk has been FuLl of uPS and DOwns!

UP...We made our own VG's :) see photos

Down...No baptisms! An off week for us but we are working hard.

We passed by a lady who had a fecha(discussion) for this Saturday but she wasn't their and neither did she come to church:( but we did have 5 investigators at church and it was a great time in church.  But the real treat was that we did a drama on the plan of salvation and it was incredibly powerful! My favorite part was at the end we all sang (as a congregation) "familias pueden ser eternas" (Families Can Be Together Forever) y it was absolutely amazing! The spirit was so strong. Those uPs are so high!

One bummer is we were teaching this couple and they needed to get baptized (like the rest of Honduras, living together) but they were progressing! Then the husband had increased his drinking and there were problems, he has been in the streets drinking since last Monday... :(  but the woman left him and went to her dads house about three hours away but she is going to get baptized up there :) because she knows its the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Other than that this week was pretty amazing full of spiritual moments and great lessons! I love talking about the Book of Mormon to people that are open to the idea that God gave writings to other people! Isn't it wonderful to also have the testimonies of prophets, seers and revelators in the Americas! 

Tell Johnny he's loved by Elder Ty Toolson and that I am praying for him and that I am with him in spirit and he is going to learn SO SO much from this hardship.

Hey Mom:) What's going on with football these days? Now your gonna have to watch espn and NFL network all day for me so you get the scoop on everything! Ya know what? I love trials!!! They make you feel terrible, but right when you feel you can't go any longer, when all the personal strength you have is drained, its in that moment that you stop, let your knees buckle from the pressure of life and you simply plead with the Lord. The atonement is real, lo hizo para que el nos pueda socorrar. I truly am so thankful for every bump bruise or gash I've ever had in my spiritual body. Something that Pres Dester related to me: The healing power of the atonement is like the healing of a cut. Many times in life we fall and most of the time we can pop up and just continue on completely fine, but sometimes, when we become more daring and able, our falls are much more dramatic, we get cuts, even gashes and we still expect to pop up and continue on. But what would happen if we did just that? Our skin could still heal itself... but infection would be possible, we wouldnt receive a restoration of our original body (or innocence.) Many times in life when we fall, we need to pop up and hobble over to the doctor, y what does he do? First he examines the wound, he might even take an x-ray if we are willing to look deep into our bodies to truly inderstand what we need to do. Finally he takes action. He cleans us, he digs deep and takes out every spec of dirt, rocks, grass, and then he stitches up. After we do physical therapy, to change and form ourselves into what the doctor has recommended. Many times we need our Savior, our all knowing doctor, to examine us, to tell us what we should do, and finally he cleans us. Never have shame to go to the doctor. When we are broken we are simply broken and only Christ can heal us. I love this gospel because we have a wonderful knowledge of the atonement. The atonement wasnt given to us for just the big things but EVERY THING that we need help with.

Well changes are this week so my emails might be late, I dont really know if I'm going or not but I guess we will alll have to wait and see;) Pray for us. May you all have an amazing week and make sure you are all writing your brothers or sisters if they are on missions. You need to write to them just as much as they need to write home.

Que le vaya bien!

Elder Toolson IV

No Stinkin'!

Hola Mi Amigos!!!

 

This week has been a great one!

It went by real fast starting with a quick Tuesday full of lessons! Something that i really like about my comp is that we WORK together. He teaches me so much but also makes sure that I don't feel too much like the student. He is very very complementary and we are always laughing! This week was full of contacting and dropping investigators that weren't progressing. That is the hardest part of missionary work right now, to say OK, we cant help you until you help yourself... it's actually much much much harder than you think. At least harder than I thought!! Anyways we continued on with our week and got another baptism for the twenty third, Right now we are focusing ourselves on part families and men so that we can get the priesthood goin down here. Honestly most all of investigators in the past are girls. There's a term down here called "mujerdocio" and man it hurts that the men are so caught up in their jobs/work that they forget their spirituality and leadership for their family, but its ok we are not down at all!

Something that I really have been smackin' myself in the head about is reading the Book of Mormon more alone. WHY DIDN'T I READ MORE BEFORE THE MISSION???!!!! The truth is that i thought i never had time, but if you ask my dad he can a test that i had a lot of time and i wasted it playing video games or watching TV, what a bummer!!! I hope you all can make the decision to read it more than just at family time. It needs personal investiture. If you want a testimony of the church of Jesus Christ, read the Book of Mormon. If you don't know if Joseph Smith is a prophet, read the Book of Mormon, if you're bored read the Book of Mormon, to have a knowledge of this book is priceless!!!  This past week I was reading the Bible a ton because many were wanting to challenge us, just "bashing" with people and it didnt really help a ton to be honest, haha! The people still disregard the words of Christ whether it be by his own mouth or the voice of my servants it is the same. I know I tweaked that scripture a little bit but I am a servant of Christ. I know he lives and that he established his church on the earth and that today it is here again. The Church of jesus christ of latter day saints is led by Christ. Read the Book of Mormon daily and know the Bible but never Bash!

Well...I STINK PEOPLE!  A bummer is that right now we have no water at our house! No water in our area!!! Today is our third day without water and wow I never realized how much we need water!But we have a pila(tank) so we are makin it work, little by little its goin down though! Hopefully the colonia(town) figures their problems out soon! Theres one colonia in our area that was without water for a full week! I have no clean clothes after today :((( so please pray for water para la victoria! The people get all mean/grumpy when their is no water haha hopefully we can brighten their day with the gospel. Please help us by simply praying for water, its a bummer without it.

I love you all have an amazing week! Mom and Dad HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!! You are still both very attractive;)

Love

Elder Ty Toolson

Photos:

I've been spoiled, the good people of Honduras love a Birthday Party!

Yes, they tried to shove me in the cake!  ha ha ... Feliz Cumpleanos

Elder Ty's Wonderful Week

 

Helloooo Fam & Friends,

What a wonderful week here in Honduras! Full of lots of walking and lots of contacting, but every aspect of the mission is wonderful! We had two days were every single one of our lessons fell through and we had to contact and get in a door to teach a lesson. We found some great people and then some others that were not so receptive! I know the Lord is preparing the elect and i love finding them and teaching them! I am still getting to know our area. Elder Roberts and I focused and taught in places close to the chapel, but me and Elder Meono are determined to invite all that live in our area to come unto Christ. Although there are people who live about a forty five minutes walk away they deserve the gospel and so we pick out certain days to go to certain areas that are super far and its awesome:)

We have two baptisms this Saturday and another one the next week, we are loving it out here! The language is coming along as well, but I did say something that was wrong... just wrong. There was a less active sister we were reaching out to during a hard time and I said my companion and I would comfort her but I used a word that here in Honduras it means an "intimate kind of comfort" and everyone was in SHOCK...Awkward silence... and no one would tell me what I said for like 2 mins because it was just  aaaarrrgghhh awkward!  It was Terrible!! Well that's what happened when a Gringo speaks Spanish in Honduras! I felt so bad.

Anyways don't have a lot of time unfortunately I wasted most of it staring at my family photos and how tan they were! You all look so beautiful! Thanks for the Birthday shout out photo and for the $$ Grams and Gpa! Love you! 

This Sunday was Fast Sunday and the testimonies were beautiful, absolutely beautiful! All were filled with the spirit and very inspired, I felt that many testimonies were meant for me to hear as well our investigators, so then we went to gospel principles and we had a wonderful lesson on obedience! At the end of the lesson one of our investigators raised his hand because he wanted to say something. He stood up and said "there are going to be two baptisms this week... but why not three?" He looked at us with a big smile and said "What stands in the way of my salvation" and sat down... WHOOOPP WHHOOOOPPPP!!! This guy is ready for baptism and I have been waiting for him to make that decision since the first time we taught him! It was a miracle for us because we had been fasting for him and for the other investigators that were close to baptism. The Lord answers our prayers and fasting is more than starving ourselves!! HAha I hope we all realize that the Lord is waiting to bless us, but god is a god of covenants and only through baptism and the temple do we receive the opportunities to be blessed. GO TO THE TEMPLE! It is the house of the lord and if you are not a member you can still go and walk around the gardens there is a peace there that is not of this world (john 14:27) (i think) ui hope we all have a great week and that we are constantly praying for and expecting miracles in our lives:) I love you all so much! Have a beautiful day!

Love

Elder Ty Toolson

Pray for Elder Roberts

Hey everybody, how we doin?? I hope we are fantastic, and that we are making time to enjoy this beautiful life we are given. But OOKKAYAAYYYY lets get down to the nitty gritty of the mishiiooooonnn=)

Alright first lets start Wedensday morn, because thats when stuff gets hectic! I wake up and i look at elder Roberts and he has a rash all up on his body and the man has a fever and has pain in his darn huesos (bones)! I just looked at him.... you got the dangue elder... and so we fuimosed rapido to the doctor and she was freaking out saying that my comp was going to die but that is just something I call Honduran exagerration. Something funny was that he had to pee in a cup and take some of his blood for a test and so a dude came and took the blood and pee, or urine for you formal people, and went to a clinic.. but the pee popped open and got all over the guy hahahahhahahahahah ah poor guy, it was some potent stuff i felt terrible for the guy but anyways we figure out that elder roberts has to be hospitalized for three days! But i got a new comp the next day so i was only with Elder Roberts for one full day at the hospital. I Love Him.

It was sad to say goodbye to him but I/we got through it and went to changes. My new Comp is an amazing elder named Elder Meoño! We were in the mtc together but he is my trainer technically so that is absolutely amazing and we are ready to baptize and strengthen our ward! The first couple of days were hard because i had to plan because elder Meoño doesnt know the area, but now we are on a roll! SATURDAY WE HAD A BAPTISM! YESSSS its wonderful to see someone take the eternal step of baptism! It was a wonderful service and we cant wait to get some more people to gain a testimony of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints=) 

That's all the time I have today but i know the church of Jesus Christ is truly his church. Faith is the first principle of his gospel and we gain our faith through action! Lets be members and people of action! I love this work and i echo the testimony of every missionary to ever serve a mission that this is his work! I love you all and am praying for all of you! Know you are loved and know that someone is praying for blessings and you are the answer to that prayer! Have a fantastic week!

 

Love

Elder Toolson  

Fw: Ty's week July 24th

 

Hello Everyone!

This week has been another amazing week in the mission! Its been great because we taught a bunch! We had a ton of references and a ton of new investigators and now we will see who will truly progress and embrace the gospel as the truth it is!!! Lets see we had a really good lesson with a guy named Freddy. We had been teaching his brother for over a month and one time we made a point to ask everyone if they wanted to listen to the message, i personally didn't think that Freddy would be interested, but he came to church! Man it was great to have him there! He told me he learned a lot about the spirit so that was great! He was a little timid to leave for teachers quorum but he eventually did. He will for sure get baptized! Another blessing was that we have a baptismal date with a guy named Jose but we couldn't find him for a week at his house. then Sunday rolled around and he showed up! Shirt and tie and smilin:) I say shirt and tie because usually he is wearing an unbuttoned shirt with his chest hair just flowing all over the place. He will be baptized this Saturday! All in all we had 11 investigators at church! That's the most me or my comp have had in the mission:)

The Lord is waiting to bless us everybody! The church is true, christ is our redeemer and Thomas S. Monson is his prophet! Its a beautiful thing to see a testimiony develop in our investigators. We taught tatiana again and she is so ready. She reads every day and even is starting to read about hte church history on the church website, we Told her to be careful with what she reads because most sites are false. She completely understood and told us that she could feel when it was truth or not. She had a lot of question about poligamy and homosexual relationships and me and my companion did great in answering those questions! We talked about the beauty of modern day revelation and how for every generation there is different cautions needed and she just ate it up! What a gal, she has a baptismal date for the 9th of august:)

Something that we are doing is focusing on getting help from less actives. We go over to less actives houses to share the gospel with them and then we ask for references! Its great because as they are helping us they are also building their testimonies! They then come out with us to contact and they always bear their testimony and it makes me just cry. I love this gospel. I testify that the lord qualifies us for this work. I know that i am a small and simple thing, but through small and simple things great things shall come to pass!

I love you all BIGGGG SHOUT OUT TO ELDER SCHENK for being such a stud and being 20! He's an amazing missionary and i hope you all tell him happy birthday! Have a great week:)

Love

Elder Toolson

Ty's Week 5 alive!

HELLLLLOOOOO to ALL!

Yaayyyyy :) Did you say you sent a package... Any package by itself will be amazing! OKaaayyy what a week! My camera has problems uploading pictures but im pretty sure it is all these crappy computers, but don't worry everyone, one day I will send you all the pictures I have taken. You are gonna Love them :)

Well this week was absolutely wonderful! It was frustrating as well.  Sometimes I look around and feel like I'm home, but then sometimes I realize that my bed has been infested with ants, that I have sweat more in one day more than how much I would sweat at football practice, or sometimes I realize I smell funny all the time... Hahaha! True but this is where the Lord needs me and Im trying my hardest to Love and Serve as he would! Can't wait to get wet!  We only had four investigators at church today which was pretty depressing for us because that's the lowest number I've had! But whatever we will keep goin'! So this week was great because President Dester came to our zone to do interviews, MAN that guy is inspired. I love hearing the advice he had for all of us. As a mission we all have to start putting together 72 hour kits, and buy more water and even set aside more money for our emergency fund... signs of the times??? President said he loves the work me and Elder Roberts are doing and even our ZL's pulled me and Roberts aside and told us we were doing great! that was amazing to hear. I love my leaders in the church, not because of the praise but for their leadership and counsel, they are all inspired and called by God:)

As For teaching it was a rough week. It turned into a lot of contacting and a lot of lessons with people who didn't want to progress. One lady who is a gem feels like she cant break away from her religious roots so that was a bit of a bummer even though we tried for the better part of an hour to listen and make some sense for her. She wants the membership of this church and knows it's the full truth but feels torn. We still have about 4 super great investigators that are choo chooin along (get it its like a choo choo train =) 

On Thursday i was super thirsty so we went to this tiny snow cone shop and i casually bought two little bags of water. we then went behind his shop and sat down in some chairs.. then the guy comes out and says: 

guy: "y'all Americans?"

elders: " you bet your bottom dollar we are!"

guy: "im from Pasadena, born and raised"

We all had a nice chat, it was great to talk to the guy in English. He had a Texas accent and everything it was great! We are gonna go teach him sometime at where he works so I'm excited to talk to him again! it reminded me of Nic Mastergeorge who is serving in Houston. He's gotta teach a ton of hondurans because everyone here says that they worked construction in Houston haha.

Well, that was just about my week! It had a ton of ups with very few downs and that's what I love on the mission, there's never a way down when you are focusing in the service of our Lord =) We have sooooo much service and work hard but if you guys could pray for all the missionaries to find new investigators that would be amazing! We really gotta start teaching more:) I know the church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church Christ established on the earth. it is true and that the Lord is hastening his work! Something we should all ask ourselves is if we individually are hastening the Lord's work? I hope all who are reading this can know that Our Heavenly Father Loves us, that he is the only one that knows us better than we know ourselves and he sent his Son to help us. I know that our past is just that and we can start anew every day if we take the Lords yoke upon us. Have an attitude of grattitude this week and the lord will bless you for it! I love you all!

Love

Elder Toolson IV

You and dad blessed me with your great advice this week...I love it and this is exactly what I have needed to hear! I love how the lord answers our hearts desires through loved ones, it makes the answers much more close to my heart and they penetrate me:)

I've changed, I am not perfect, but over the past year I finally have a testimony that is undeniably my own, that is set in Christ and his atonement. My life is beautiful because of the beautiful things Heavenly Father has given us. I miss you all more than ever but I am starting to truly love my mission.

Well, I dont have a lot more time to write you but I love you. Im going to refer to that awesome story from the Rookie you sent last week. It is crazy to hear about Bear Lake and see all of the pictures, Elder Jones one of the elders we live with has a ranch right by bloomington lake! I showed him the picture of Tiara and the swing and he freaked out haha! Home Sweet Home! And TIARA is  OFF to efy, am I right momma? Gooooooooo TTTTT -You Got This!!!

Week 3 for Ty ~ Dads birthday =)

Whattup everyone!!!

Its been another FANTASTIC week in the San Pedro Sula West mission! I still cant speak too well, but I've learned if you smile and shake peoples hand and listen really hard and then agree at the end, people like you! =) Its crazy how much just listening does!

This is my 3rd week in Honduras!!! Week three was much much better than week two! It was a slower week because of the World Cup and we had a seventy come! Elder Ochoa came and spoke to us about ¨Faith to Repent" It was awesome and I felt the spirit all throughout the meeting! Lets see the next day we had a good day of lessons! I'm so Lucky that our ward really likes me and my comp so we get references all the time and we visit the members all the time! Elder Roberts (my dad in the mission) focuses a lot on the members and then we get a ton of ideas & leads for references. Contacting is difficult because everywhere has been knocked multiple times. We knock for only about four or five huors every week and its usually effective! Lets see Thursday nothin huge happened just another great day of lessons and then my comp started getting intense nose bleeds everyday since then! We have gone to a doctor and gotten a bunch of mediction but we are in Honduras so who knows what will happen. =D This place is awesome! I have learned how to wash clothes by hand. I washed ten white shirts in an hour... thats pretty good so be impressed!

Oh Ya, I was almost violated by a HUGE dog here. Honestly, truly, the BIGGEST dog I've ever seen in real life! We go to a sisters house to wash our normal clothes and garments and she said to repay her we have to wash the dog, we say "Great, no problem!" We wash the dog and the dog was super mellow. Then we finish and my comp takes him back to the front. This dog is LARGE, my comp is 6´3¨and skinny-smallish like 140. So the dog just starts yankin' my comp around the yard and then the dog slips out of his leash! REX (the dog) starts goin crazy and jumpin all over us so I try to calm him down by holding his front legs up when he jumps up on me, but then he just tries to reproduce the earth with me and he alllmmmooossstttt touched my leg with his filthiness!!! When I figured out what was goin on I threw the dog off and just started saying "Que feo! Que feo!!" over and over and my comp was just laughin' his head off!!!

Well the beauty of this week was definitely Sunday. We had 9 investigators at church!!!!! WOW we loved it. The most Elder Roberts has ever had is 10 and we are gonna break that soon... I'm so excited! But ok, I wrote last week about my two favorite investigators and im just gonna stick with them because I'm pretty sure they are gonna get baptized soon! WHOOP WHOOP! I just wanna dunk someone in the water so bad its killin me! NO just joshin' kinda...these people are so ready to make covenants with the Lord and they just soak up everything they can about Jesus Christ and the restored priesthood and church on the earth.  Anyways, so SUNDAY! We had an investigator activity at 4:00pm that was to watch "The Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration" man that is one powerful movie and that is one amazing prophet! I love every second of Joseph Smiths life and I'm so thankful for a boy who was looking for the truth and had the faith to find! At the event we had about 15 investigators and about 30 people in all there! thats awesome =)

Today is my comps brithday! What a guy! Everone say happy birthday to him. I call him ¨roroRoberts¨ its pretty great. We are really becomin close, I think.  It's been a great p-day ( FYI preparation day is when they shop, do wash, write home and take care of all personal needs for the week). Because it's Elder Roberts birthday we went to Wendy's which was so nice to taste American food. I only have a couple minutes left so I gotta go but everyone I need to tell you that the Church of Jesus Christ is so true! This is the Church the Savior established when he was on the earth. The priesthood is so real and I know it is meant to bless all of us! Men hold the priesthood but by no means ARE they priesthood without women in their "life giving" calling we are NOTHING! I love every girl out there in the whole wide world=) Know how special you are and know how much Heavenly Father treasures you and dont think you are anything less than a daughter of god! Ever!

Gosh, Tiara in High School? I'm gonna come back and she will be sixteen! HOLY COWI thought the second coming would happen before my little sister would be at the date eligible stage of life haha! She is a light for many and as long as she has friends who will respect her and look up to her for standing by her values and beliefs she will be great! She should talk to Tucker because he was great at being everyones friend but never going anywhere he or doing anything he shouldn't have!  I would say Trey as well but trey had a lot of "good Mormon friends" his age that would completely support his decisions. Anyways, Tiara is my freaking idol she is such a stud, ha ha! Congrats Wave and go LCC Volleyball!

Guess what!!!! We went to a shopping center that is actually pretty nice and there was "Mane and Tail" shampoo and conditioner! There was only one so I sprinted over there and grabbed it and threw it in my cute little cart it was great... haha. 

Is dad at work? Did he have a good birthday? Or is today his birthday?  Mom please, you have to send me all family birthdays on a calendar cause I'm the worst at it! Sweet grams and 2gramps too! Okay I believe I am getting off soon so remember that I love you all ESPECIALLY dad on his birthday!!! I bet he is workin his tail off right now, probably skipped lunch and is just workin as hard as he can so he can go to Bear Lake and enjoy some time with you guys! =) Dad you are the man I cannot believe that you are 52? SO YOUNG! Im so glad you have at least another fifty years to live haha! Just kiddin but at least till all my kids are grown up alright? Your week sounds hectic but fulfilling, like a missionary! Thanks for always being my example. Anyways I love you dad with all my heart!

Have an amazing week everyone! Its hot out here, people are crazy, I've never been so out of my comfort zone, but I Love it because the church is true and that is all that matters. Share the Gospel with everyone because we all need to know our Savior better.

Love,

Elder Ty Toolson

Elder Ty- Honduras 2nd Week

Ahhhhh Yaaaaaaaa week number two in the books!!! Its been a supperrr solid week! We had 7... I repeat SEVEN investigators at church yesterday! So we got there early just cause and we are talking to some leaders of the ward and we see the bishop so we go over there to say hello, and we were all smilin at each other :)... just smilin:) and he says "every third week we talk about missionary work... elders I need five to eight minutes from each of you"..... and so we just said okie dokie and kept smilin:) It was definitely a rough talk, but man the members and even investigators here are so dang nuice! They all said we did good and that they could feel my spirit and that was awesome I just hope I can really start talking with these guys soon, I love them so much! 

So investigators are great! We have a ton progressing. A highlight is there is a family L and they have 3 baptized and four not. BUT the nine year old said she wants to get baptized and the two men in the family (father and oldest child) came to church and were participating in every class! This family is awesome! The dad is a teacher but he also trains soccer kids and he got a team together and started coaching them and they are now traveling the world playing in intense tournaments! He relates very well to the gospel because he understands everything that is necessary to have a successful team. That also translates into whats necessary for a successful life and family! I have no doubt he will get baptized!! The next dude is named DANIEL! This guy has read the Book of Mormon all the way through... but wont come to church. We even stopped by and woke him up to come to church but he said he was "sick" nah I doubt it. But he is one we wont drop just because he is absolutely golden and the church needs men like him and more importantly he needs the church!

 

Those are my favorite investigators this week! I'll share some investigators every week to get you guys updated. ALLLSSSOOOOO I got a haircut and it will definitely last POR LO MENOSSS! 6 months ha ha its darn short. 1-2 on the sides and about a 3 on the top, but its chillin' I kinda like it!

To everyone who is reading this I LOVE MY MISSION! I know that I was called to Honduras for a reason and no other place is more suited for what my Heavenly Father wants me to learn! A rule we have right now in the mission is to read at least one talk from the past general conference everyday! It helps so much I have sticky notes full of Holland phrases that knock my socks off.

Tara,

It looked like you smacked your face on that trust fall what the heck??? Are you alright? lol I'm so excited to hear about your tournamnet and girls camp and then efy and then the cabin, you are going to love it! And open up your eyes! You always say nothing exciting is goin on but ya know what life is so exciting! I love saying hello to everybody in the streets it excites me! There is always something you can share, ESPECIALLY the gospel! You are the beez kneez the bomb diggity and I love you so much!

Dad,

I love you so much! I love telling everybody that you sereved in guatemala and that we get to serve in the same general area! There are many members here who have served in the quetzaltenango mision y todos dicen que es un lugar maravilloso! I love the suspense I get waiting to see what you wrote!

Mom,

You are truly amazing! I use the oils every day and it helps me sleep alot! I miss your hugs and I really miss Rigoletto for some reason... but Mom you gave me the best gift of all "to Love"! I think I really do love the people and that will help me so much in staying dedicated!!

Alright that's all I got this week but everybody keep your gospel guns locked and loaded and all times so you can let 'em blaze when the time is right.

I love you all!!!

Elder Toolson

Elder Toolson is BACK!

 

What A JOY it is to RETURN TO THE FIELD!


1) The Trio to Start: Elder Toolson :) Elder Roberts & Elder Lorenzana! 

 

2) Greetings at the Airport with the Awesome President Dester & Sister Dester


3) A Few Farewell Photos at San Diego Airport 

 

Elder Ty Ty is Back in Honduras!

Alright kiddos I hope your sitting down cause IM BACK BABY!!!! I'm in HONDURAS! Haha alright... hardest week of my liofe in all honesty, but man O man the gospel is TOO TRUE to not share it! So I'm Loving the challenge. Oh Mamma the language is rough but ya know what, thats okay! Sometimes I'm completely lost but most of the time I hang in there :)Something that is kinda funny that I didn't pick up on before here is people when they say daily factual stuff, they sometimes do a huge gasp when they realize something. They'll be talking and then the person next to them will gasp like their heart broke and then say "Oh I knowww!!!" it's pretty funny and can take me by surprise

Today we were talking with a less active mom and non member children and they asked why I dont have a girlfriend at home or here in Honduras and why I dont call my family everyday or take breaks and I just told them because I want to love you guys! They all smiled and that was  a sweet moment. I desire to Serve them completely.

I've probably been too emotional this week I cried in every lesson and just tried to teach through the spirit. Luckily I dont have any wild dog stories... Whew! Those were some scary times. Well this place has a little more wealthy families and homes are more cared for than the old area but yup, its basically the same as where I was when I left, it's pretty funny.

OHHHH! Something cool is that I was at a dinner last night and everyone knew Uncle Danny even though they were from Honduras, Guatemala or The Dominican Republic and everyone started saying "wo wo wo wo wo wo wo" its something they do here, its pretty funny haha and then the dude from the Dominican Republic (elder Estevez) said he was baptized by Dennis Pitta! He played for BYU and plays for the Ravens in the NFL its pretty sweetttt! I wish I could see Andrew Bertha and hear about his mission...He's HOME, that's crazy!

Thank you family and Kailee for your letters they were a wonderful surprise and made me cry. I was incredibly homesick at first as expected until I realized that I am truly doing what I want to do, the Lords work and that these people need me and the service I can give.  And just as importantly my family needs me more here in Honduras to be the best Missionary I can be and best example of Christ as possible.

If you look above (tourist voice) you will notice a picture of the "trio" unfortunately it has already been terminated. Elder Lorenzana (only has six weeks out in the mission) was ET'd to Dos Caminos Uno. Its another awesome area and he is a fantastic missionary so now we are down to a normal companerismo! Elder Roberts (the one in the middle) is my trainer, he is an AMAZING missionary and man Oh man we are gonna get work done! A UTAH boy, 6'3" that weighs about 140 haha but he knows so much and has a soothing personality that can get the point across without shoving it in your face. I have grown to love him for his kind but hard working ways. We already have one baptism date and will definitely get some more this week. I'm really embracing what Dad wrote in his letter to me to pray for and EXPECT miracles. The weather is SOOOO HOT and SOOOOO RAINY! It has rained every day this week and its usually when we are out walking but that's OK,  these ballin' Nike golf pants from Dicks are keeping me dry ;) (thanks mom, kiss for you. a big one!)

Tiara!!!!!!!!!!! Take it easy with the good looks, your killin me! These Graduation photos are amazing, you chose the right dress and look like a Goddess! Sister Rhodes is really happy that you and Lexy (her daughter) will be at the same school, you guys should be friends, she is a sweet swaggin gal!

Fathers day looked so fun! Darius Rucker looked like he was killin' it and your superman apron made me smile and laugh alot. Great Fathers Day gift for Pops!  Again tiaras grad pictures looked gorgeous and the instagram of grndpa and Dad was great. TJ I love you so much!!!!!!! And micheley you too;) Teejerrello you didn't write me this week, but i understand its hard to write when a birthday comes around and your'e in the bishopric at 23.. you stud you!

Any ways this week is going to be a good one! I really hope to get some baptismal challenges rolling and watch the hand of the Lord move people away from their struggles and into His Peace.

To anyone who is reading this I testify that the Church that Jesus Christ is on the earth today never to be taken again. I love this gospel with all my heart and am trying to learn to fully give my heart to the people of Honduras and do the work as He would have me do! Something I read this week in a past general conference said "The gospel is easy, Life is hard!" That blew up my world! ha ha! Its so true... how did I not figure that one out the first time I heard it! :) Well I love you all and hope to get some cool stories to share as I go forward but for now everybody be safe and know that I love you all!

Once Again, I'm BACK!

ELDER Ty Toolson :)