Monday, June 7, 2010
June 7, 2010 -- Saving souls
Hello! It has been a fantastic week! I'll just give you the details.
Monday it was Memorial day. The reason I didn't email that day. We went and did service at the church. They had a big thing for the vets there. It was pretty cool and I enjoyed running around keeping myself busy. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of cool people. They had some really wierd performers though. It was odd, kinda cool, but odd.
Tuesday we had more service. We taught Donna and her 17 year old daughter in the morning. While teaching I noticed all the leaves in her back yard. So we showed up that afternoon with rakes and shovels and cleaned up 5 years worth of piled leaves. The yard looked great. They are going to have a birthday party Saturday so we were just in time. I also fixed their screen door. Donna is a single mom and we take good care of her.
Wednesday we had even more service. Some other elders needed help doing yard work for their investigators. It ended up being a waste of time. It was a 2 man job and there was 10 of us there. Oh well.
Thursday was zone conference. It was awesome. I learned so much. It was more interactive than usual and I loved it. I really was able to grasp and apply what we were taught.
Friday I can't even explain how amazing. Friday we went to the LA temple to be there for a recent convert who was getting his endowments. It was so amazing! The feeling I felt standing in the Celestial room waiting for him to come through is hard to describe. I was nervous, but excited. When he finally came in to find us and 6 couples from our ward there waiting for him it was truly amazing. I gave him a big hug and welcomed him home. I learned a lesson on missionary work that day. Standing in that room with those ward members was something else. While we were there there was no division. We weren't just members who happened to go to the same ward. We were family happy to see another sibling had made it. That's the purpose of missionary work. It's not about a baptismal statistic. It's about getting all of our siblings home safely.
Saturday and Sunday were also awesome. Saturday consisted of service and some pretty amazing lessons. Sunday consisted of what's become my favorite 3 hours, church.
Today we had a cool experiance. For our studies we hiked up next to a giant cross on the hill. It was an awesome view and it was very peaceful. I could study and not worry about the world. It was far below. It truly has been an amazing week.
Well, I'm off to go save souls. I love you! Hope all is well!
Love,
Elder Tingey
Monday it was Memorial day. The reason I didn't email that day. We went and did service at the church. They had a big thing for the vets there. It was pretty cool and I enjoyed running around keeping myself busy. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of cool people. They had some really wierd performers though. It was odd, kinda cool, but odd.
Tuesday we had more service. We taught Donna and her 17 year old daughter in the morning. While teaching I noticed all the leaves in her back yard. So we showed up that afternoon with rakes and shovels and cleaned up 5 years worth of piled leaves. The yard looked great. They are going to have a birthday party Saturday so we were just in time. I also fixed their screen door. Donna is a single mom and we take good care of her.
Wednesday we had even more service. Some other elders needed help doing yard work for their investigators. It ended up being a waste of time. It was a 2 man job and there was 10 of us there. Oh well.
Thursday was zone conference. It was awesome. I learned so much. It was more interactive than usual and I loved it. I really was able to grasp and apply what we were taught.
Friday I can't even explain how amazing. Friday we went to the LA temple to be there for a recent convert who was getting his endowments. It was so amazing! The feeling I felt standing in the Celestial room waiting for him to come through is hard to describe. I was nervous, but excited. When he finally came in to find us and 6 couples from our ward there waiting for him it was truly amazing. I gave him a big hug and welcomed him home. I learned a lesson on missionary work that day. Standing in that room with those ward members was something else. While we were there there was no division. We weren't just members who happened to go to the same ward. We were family happy to see another sibling had made it. That's the purpose of missionary work. It's not about a baptismal statistic. It's about getting all of our siblings home safely.
Saturday and Sunday were also awesome. Saturday consisted of service and some pretty amazing lessons. Sunday consisted of what's become my favorite 3 hours, church.
Today we had a cool experiance. For our studies we hiked up next to a giant cross on the hill. It was an awesome view and it was very peaceful. I could study and not worry about the world. It was far below. It truly has been an amazing week.
Well, I'm off to go save souls. I love you! Hope all is well!
Love,
Elder Tingey
June 2, 2010 -- sickness
Well hello. The reason this is so late is because of Memorial day. The library was closed. Last week was rather odd. I spent most of my time last week sleeping. Now before you read further just know I'm doing just fine now and there is no need to worry. ;) 2 weeks ago I devolped what I thought was a common cold. My nose was stuffy and by that Friday I was couging. Well the cough got worse and wasn't going away. In fact it was keeping me up at night and I was getting any sleep. So last Monday I went to the doctors. I stumped the doctor and she gave me an inhaler and some antiboitics. Tuesday I wasn't suppose to go work, but I went that morning anyway. It was with a new investigator. I couldn't stay home. After the morning meeting though I was forced (by the Stewarts and Sis Benson, our mission doctor) to stay home. So I just hung out. Well that night the cough got even worse. By now I would get episodes at night around 9:00 Pm that would leave me fighting for air. This also kept me up all night Tuesday night. Wednesday I wasn't allowed to work at all. So I stayed in my PJs and just hung out around the house. I could do stuff and I didn't feel sick. So staying home while my comp went out with people to work was a killer. It drove me crazy! Well wednesday night I had another episode. The worst yet. I ended up around 9:00 pm talking to a doctor in Salt Lake that covers and takes care of over 2000 missionaries. He called me in a prescription that I had to pick up the next day. The time off wasn't that horrible. I spent the whole time with Bro Stewart. We're rather close and very much a like. His wife says we're cut from the same mold. Anyway, Thursday I got my new drugs. Which was prescription cough syrup with codeine in it. I'm a light weight when it comes to drugs. So I slept from noon to 6 pm. Then fell asleep on the Stewarts couch at 8:00 pm and woke up 6:00 am the next day. Friday I worked a little and Saturday I felt better. The cough is pretty much gone now. No one could figure out what was wrong. I stumped 3 doctors. Saturday was pretty cool. We helped an investigator redo his kitchen sink. We pulled up the old tiles and laid new ones. All that work I did as a kid is really paying off. Sunday was real cool as well. Sunday the speakers ended way early. So the bishopric told us (over the podium) that we were to be the concluding speakers. My comp bore his testimony and than I gave a 10 minute talk on faith. Shot from the hip and it worked wonderful. It was cool because I wasn't nervous. I wasn't worried. I just stood up and started talking. Well, I'm offf to go save souls. I love you and hope all is well at home.
Love,
Elder Tingey
Love,
Elder Tingey
May 24, 2010 -- a crazy, busy week
Hello it's been a crazy, busy week. It's the end of the 1st week of a new transfer. It's been a crazy 1st week. I really don't know where to start with it. I guess I'll start with the coolest stories.
First, last week we met this 15 year old kid named Gabriel. He was playing basketball outside a members house. We invited him to take lessons and he accepted. This week on Saturday we took him to a baptism. It was a very powerful baptism and it was a baptism of a girl who had been waiting for 5 years to be baptized. Her parents wouldn't let her be baptized. So she has been an unbaptized active member of the church since she was 12. Her parents caved finally and let her get baptized before she was 18. After this very amazing baptism. Our investigator Gabriel couldn't wait till he could be baptized. Up to this point we had only taught him once. So we met with him Saturday evening and taught him a lesson. The spirit was very strong and it was an amazing lesson. We set him with a date and now he will hopefully be baptized in 3 weeks. He came to church Sunday and felt the spirit very strong. Now Satan of course had a fit. We found out today that his mother wont let him get baptized till he is 18. So begins the fight against Satan. I have faith that all will work out like it should. Who knows, maybe we will end up baptizing the mother also.
Last week we were talking to a member at his house. He had weeds in the back that were 3+ feet high. He was talking about his desire to cut them down and to till up his front yard. So I called around and this Saturday I called him. I let him know that we were headed over to his house with a weed whacker and a tiller to take care of his lawn. He was surprised and very happy. We got it all taken care of and it looks wonderful now. While we were working though I got a phone call from a Mr. Bowman. He told me my clock was ready. I couldn't figure out what he was talking about and then I remembered the story. 3 months ago we met an old man making clocks in his garage. He made them out of California Redwood. I admired his clocks and struck up conversation with him. He than asked if I wanted one. I told him I wouldn't say no to one, but wasn't going to ask for one. He than asked for my name and phone number. Then we left. 3 months latter I get a call and he has made me a clock. I picked it up Sunday and it is rather beautiful. The challenge is going to be how to I get it home. Oh well, I'll figure that out later.
Well, I've got to run, but I love you.
Love,
Elder Tingey.
First, last week we met this 15 year old kid named Gabriel. He was playing basketball outside a members house. We invited him to take lessons and he accepted. This week on Saturday we took him to a baptism. It was a very powerful baptism and it was a baptism of a girl who had been waiting for 5 years to be baptized. Her parents wouldn't let her be baptized. So she has been an unbaptized active member of the church since she was 12. Her parents caved finally and let her get baptized before she was 18. After this very amazing baptism. Our investigator Gabriel couldn't wait till he could be baptized. Up to this point we had only taught him once. So we met with him Saturday evening and taught him a lesson. The spirit was very strong and it was an amazing lesson. We set him with a date and now he will hopefully be baptized in 3 weeks. He came to church Sunday and felt the spirit very strong. Now Satan of course had a fit. We found out today that his mother wont let him get baptized till he is 18. So begins the fight against Satan. I have faith that all will work out like it should. Who knows, maybe we will end up baptizing the mother also.
Last week we were talking to a member at his house. He had weeds in the back that were 3+ feet high. He was talking about his desire to cut them down and to till up his front yard. So I called around and this Saturday I called him. I let him know that we were headed over to his house with a weed whacker and a tiller to take care of his lawn. He was surprised and very happy. We got it all taken care of and it looks wonderful now. While we were working though I got a phone call from a Mr. Bowman. He told me my clock was ready. I couldn't figure out what he was talking about and then I remembered the story. 3 months ago we met an old man making clocks in his garage. He made them out of California Redwood. I admired his clocks and struck up conversation with him. He than asked if I wanted one. I told him I wouldn't say no to one, but wasn't going to ask for one. He than asked for my name and phone number. Then we left. 3 months latter I get a call and he has made me a clock. I picked it up Sunday and it is rather beautiful. The challenge is going to be how to I get it home. Oh well, I'll figure that out later.
Well, I've got to run, but I love you.
Love,
Elder Tingey.
May 17, 2010 -- Staying put
Hello again. So we just got our transfer calls about 15 minutes ago. Looks like I'm staying put. I've got another 6 weeks here in the Santa Susana 1st ward. I'm happy about it. I was kind of psyched to leave, but there is a lot here I still need to get done. It will be an awesome 6 weeks.
I've had a really odd week this week. We've done tons of service. One of our odd days was Friday. We were asked to help set up a wedding reception. I agreed and we showed up at the building by 10:00 am. There were 15+ people there. I figured it would be cake and we would be done by noon. Well my companion and I were given the job to string plastic from the 20 foot ceiling in the gym to the walls. It was to make a fake ceiling. While we worked on it we noticed that out of the 15+ people there there was maybe 6 working, my comp and I, the bride, the groom, the mother, and a member from our ward. Grrr.... The rest sat at tables and hung out. By the time 3:00 PM rolled around they started to leave. Guess they got tired. By the time we finished all of the draping and hanging it was 5:30 pm and us and the groom were the only ones still there. It was pretty fun though.
Another fun story. Thursday we went to go check on a potential. She wasn't home, but here husband was. He talked to us at the door for a bit and then we went into his house. He was drunk and Hispanic. We started talking to him and he told us he was an alcoholic and that he wanted to change. He than told us that last night his neighbor ticked him off. So he, around 2 am, grabbed his neighbor pinned him to a tree and stuck a machete to his throat. Than yelled at him for 20 minutes. Than let him go. Don't worry about us though. He likes us a lot and my companion is a Tongan warrior. We could take him done if we had to. I don't think we'll ever have to.
It's time for me to take off, but I love you tons.
Love,
Elder Tingey
I've had a really odd week this week. We've done tons of service. One of our odd days was Friday. We were asked to help set up a wedding reception. I agreed and we showed up at the building by 10:00 am. There were 15+ people there. I figured it would be cake and we would be done by noon. Well my companion and I were given the job to string plastic from the 20 foot ceiling in the gym to the walls. It was to make a fake ceiling. While we worked on it we noticed that out of the 15+ people there there was maybe 6 working, my comp and I, the bride, the groom, the mother, and a member from our ward. Grrr.... The rest sat at tables and hung out. By the time 3:00 PM rolled around they started to leave. Guess they got tired. By the time we finished all of the draping and hanging it was 5:30 pm and us and the groom were the only ones still there. It was pretty fun though.
Another fun story. Thursday we went to go check on a potential. She wasn't home, but here husband was. He talked to us at the door for a bit and then we went into his house. He was drunk and Hispanic. We started talking to him and he told us he was an alcoholic and that he wanted to change. He than told us that last night his neighbor ticked him off. So he, around 2 am, grabbed his neighbor pinned him to a tree and stuck a machete to his throat. Than yelled at him for 20 minutes. Than let him go. Don't worry about us though. He likes us a lot and my companion is a Tongan warrior. We could take him done if we had to. I don't think we'll ever have to.
It's time for me to take off, but I love you tons.
Love,
Elder Tingey
May 10, 2010 -- Happy to have talked with you!
It was lovely talking with you! It was a lot of fun! I've had a pretty good week. It had a lot of hard work and service involved with it. So a bunch of stories I didn't get to tell you on the phone:
Monday we were at a members house. I was talking to the husband while my companion was talking to the wife. The husband was working on a computer and I asked a technical question. The wife than yelled across the room, "you speak geek too?!" It was funny. It brought a smile to my face, and everyone got a good laugh out of it.
Wednesday was Cinco de mayo. It was also the day of our district meeting. So for the district meeting we had a sombrero. Whenever someone went up to speak they had to wear the sombrero. It was a pretty fun district meeting. I really love the district I'm in. I'm pretty sure though that a lot of them will be transferred next week. I kinda think I'll be transfered next week as well. :(
Thursday we had 3 dinners. We had a super late lunch at 3:00 pm. Right after lunch we went to an less actives house and he had cooked us some chili burgers. They were huge!!! So we smiled and ate them. Then an hour later we went to dinner with Bro Reelfs. He took us to a all you can eat Japenese/Chinese buffet. I tried a lot of the food. I had crab, 3 different kinds of raw fish, mussells, and a variety of other things I'm not sure what they were. It was crazy!! My stomach has shrunk and now I barely can eat one meal let alone 3.
Friday I got to go work in the YSA ward. That was a lot of fun. It was wierd working with people my same age. The other odd thing was that most of the people we say that day were 19-21 year old, very attractive, single females. Each meeting had another male present. It was a change. Most of the people I work with are 40+, are male, and have done jail/prison time. Sweet!
Saturday was a day filled with service. We started the morning by going to a park and cleaning up. The Stewarts and my companion were in charge of cleaning up dead trees. So we broke dead limbs and had a blast doing it. We actually felled a whole dead tree with nothing but our hands. It was great fun. We did that for about 3 hours. Than right after we went and helped a guy move out of a storage unit into his giant house. That was 2 hours worth of service. Than at 3:00 pm we went out and worked. Longest day ever. I was so exhausted when I got home.
Sunday I called home. Woot!!!
Finally, answer to the question I got asked yesterday on the phone, "what have I learned." I've learned that:
Charity is a gift from God and is the only way you can do missionary work.
You don't have to talk every minute of every day with your comp in order to be friends with him.
Catholic Bibles make the best weapon when your killing giant bugs. ;)
Pray for those you love, and pray to love those you don't already love.
It takes only one simple act to make or break someones day.
Well, hope all is well back home.
I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday we were at a members house. I was talking to the husband while my companion was talking to the wife. The husband was working on a computer and I asked a technical question. The wife than yelled across the room, "you speak geek too?!" It was funny. It brought a smile to my face, and everyone got a good laugh out of it.
Wednesday was Cinco de mayo. It was also the day of our district meeting. So for the district meeting we had a sombrero. Whenever someone went up to speak they had to wear the sombrero. It was a pretty fun district meeting. I really love the district I'm in. I'm pretty sure though that a lot of them will be transferred next week. I kinda think I'll be transfered next week as well. :(
Thursday we had 3 dinners. We had a super late lunch at 3:00 pm. Right after lunch we went to an less actives house and he had cooked us some chili burgers. They were huge!!! So we smiled and ate them. Then an hour later we went to dinner with Bro Reelfs. He took us to a all you can eat Japenese/Chinese buffet. I tried a lot of the food. I had crab, 3 different kinds of raw fish, mussells, and a variety of other things I'm not sure what they were. It was crazy!! My stomach has shrunk and now I barely can eat one meal let alone 3.
Friday I got to go work in the YSA ward. That was a lot of fun. It was wierd working with people my same age. The other odd thing was that most of the people we say that day were 19-21 year old, very attractive, single females. Each meeting had another male present. It was a change. Most of the people I work with are 40+, are male, and have done jail/prison time. Sweet!
Saturday was a day filled with service. We started the morning by going to a park and cleaning up. The Stewarts and my companion were in charge of cleaning up dead trees. So we broke dead limbs and had a blast doing it. We actually felled a whole dead tree with nothing but our hands. It was great fun. We did that for about 3 hours. Than right after we went and helped a guy move out of a storage unit into his giant house. That was 2 hours worth of service. Than at 3:00 pm we went out and worked. Longest day ever. I was so exhausted when I got home.
Sunday I called home. Woot!!!
Finally, answer to the question I got asked yesterday on the phone, "what have I learned." I've learned that:
Charity is a gift from God and is the only way you can do missionary work.
You don't have to talk every minute of every day with your comp in order to be friends with him.
Catholic Bibles make the best weapon when your killing giant bugs. ;)
Pray for those you love, and pray to love those you don't already love.
It takes only one simple act to make or break someones day.
Well, hope all is well back home.
I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 3, 2010 -- Partly cloudy, partly sunny
Hello, from party cloudy, mostly sunny, California. ;) I've had a wonderful week. I have really focused on making my lessons count instead of counting my lessons. It's made a great difference. The spirit has been much stronger in our lessons. One thing I've noticed this week is how miserable less active members are. I walk in the Lord and spend all my time serving him, and I find myself smiling all day long. Now when I go to less actives though they are grumpy and miserable. Everything gets them down and just our presence makes them feel awkward. We've called a lot of people to repentance this week. We've done it out of love, and it has made a difference.
So, an interesting story. Friday we were walking around and we started talking to a guy named Bob. Nice guy, but hated our church. I told him we were sharing a message about the Book of Mormon and how he could come to know it's true. I asked him if he would read and pray and his response was, "Why would I read a false book?" I asked him why he thought it was false and he told me his pastor told him it was false. I couldn't believe it. He was going to pass up a book from God, because a man with a degree in religion told him to. What a sad world we live in.
Another story. Wednesday we went over to a house for dinner. Single lady with a 17 yr old daughter, and 3 younger sons. We took a young man with us so that we could get into her house. She made sure that the missionaries sat one on either side of her 17 yr old daughter. It was funny. Then the mom would ask us questions about past jobs, our testimonies, etc... Whenever we said something that she liked she would look at her daughter and give her that look. Her daughter apparently has bad dating choices. I'm not sure if we were just suppose to be examples of good dating choices or if we were suppose to eligible dating choices. Overall the whole situations was very funny.
Well I've got to run. I love you!!!!!
Hope all is well at home.
Love,
Elder Tingey
So, an interesting story. Friday we were walking around and we started talking to a guy named Bob. Nice guy, but hated our church. I told him we were sharing a message about the Book of Mormon and how he could come to know it's true. I asked him if he would read and pray and his response was, "Why would I read a false book?" I asked him why he thought it was false and he told me his pastor told him it was false. I couldn't believe it. He was going to pass up a book from God, because a man with a degree in religion told him to. What a sad world we live in.
Another story. Wednesday we went over to a house for dinner. Single lady with a 17 yr old daughter, and 3 younger sons. We took a young man with us so that we could get into her house. She made sure that the missionaries sat one on either side of her 17 yr old daughter. It was funny. Then the mom would ask us questions about past jobs, our testimonies, etc... Whenever we said something that she liked she would look at her daughter and give her that look. Her daughter apparently has bad dating choices. I'm not sure if we were just suppose to be examples of good dating choices or if we were suppose to eligible dating choices. Overall the whole situations was very funny.
Well I've got to run. I love you!!!!!
Hope all is well at home.
Love,
Elder Tingey
April 26, 2010 -- Wonderful week!!
I have had such a wonderful week!!!! First off we have had a very good finding week. We were able to, through the guidance of the holy ghost, find a couple of Gods children. The work is hard, but we are starting to see progress and miracles. Yay! This week has been a spiritual feast. To start we had a zone conference on Thursday. There our mission president discussed with us our purpose. It was a great talk and lesson. It really helped my companion and I. We immediately began to notice a change when we went back to work. To top that off Saturday Elder David A Bednar visited our mission. All 193 missionaries in the California Ventura mission were there. We sat and had a 3 hour conversation with a prophet, seer, and revelator. He taught us how to teach by showing us an example. He had given us homework to study before his arrival. So we spent and hour discussing that with him. One thing I noticed about him was how happy he was. He wasn't this stern grumpy man, but a wonderful, jovial teacher. I did love it. Then for another hour we discussed what we were learning about teaching. Finally, for the last hour we were able to ask questions. That was amazing. He had such insight and wisdom. The thing that got me though was when he explained how Thomas S Monson was called to be a prophet. After the funeral of Gordon B Hinkley the 14 prophets, seers, and revelators met in the temple. Then in a matter of hours the Church's presidency was reorganized. Parallel that to today's presidential elections. They take months and months of hard work, campaigning, mud slinging, and big spending for us to even half way agree on who should lead this country. It was a wonderful meeting.
To make it even better Sunday the Simi Valley Stake was treated with his presence again. My host family, the Stewarts, left for the stake center at 7:00 am. Meeting didn't start till 10:00 am. There we met Bro Rose who had come at 5:30. We had front row seats. It was a wonderful 2 hour meeting. He had a few people bear testimony for the first hour. The second hour of the meeting he taught us about agency. He admonished us for laziness in the gospel. He taught us the restoration in complete simplicity. Overall it was spiritually uplifting.
Right after that meeting we went and saw a less active. He asked for a blessing and I got the privilege to seal the anointing. It was unlike any blessing I've ever given. Normally I struggle with words to say. I have an inner battle of a predetermined script and spiritual promptings. This time though the spirit just flowed through me. It was like a dream I put my hands on his head and then listened to the words coming out of my mouth. I listened to myself promise him answers to question I wasn't even aware he had. It was a wonderful experience.
Well I hope all is well back home. I do love you and I'm thankful for your support and your prayers.
Love,
Elder Thomas Tingey
To make it even better Sunday the Simi Valley Stake was treated with his presence again. My host family, the Stewarts, left for the stake center at 7:00 am. Meeting didn't start till 10:00 am. There we met Bro Rose who had come at 5:30. We had front row seats. It was a wonderful 2 hour meeting. He had a few people bear testimony for the first hour. The second hour of the meeting he taught us about agency. He admonished us for laziness in the gospel. He taught us the restoration in complete simplicity. Overall it was spiritually uplifting.
Right after that meeting we went and saw a less active. He asked for a blessing and I got the privilege to seal the anointing. It was unlike any blessing I've ever given. Normally I struggle with words to say. I have an inner battle of a predetermined script and spiritual promptings. This time though the spirit just flowed through me. It was like a dream I put my hands on his head and then listened to the words coming out of my mouth. I listened to myself promise him answers to question I wasn't even aware he had. It was a wonderful experience.
Well I hope all is well back home. I do love you and I'm thankful for your support and your prayers.
Love,
Elder Thomas Tingey
Hello from your favorite 20 year old -- April 19, 2010
Hello from your favorite 20 year old. It has been an interesting week. First off I would like to say I had a very memorable birthday. Started at 5:50 am, when the Stewarts (the family I live with) came into our room. They had a flashlight, a camera, a stack of pancakes with a candle in it, and a nefarious plan. They startled me out of bed and then sung happy birthday in both English and Portuguese. I blew out the candle and went back to sleep. The antics didn't stop there. They were determined to make sure I realized my birthday, which they only found out about because of the US Census. As I left our house that morning I found my bike shrink wrapped to a pole. It had a nice pink bow on it. So we left it there and went and did our weekly planning. When we returned for lunch our apartment had been filled with balloons. There was also a nice banner (made from brown paper towels you find in church dispensers) around the whole room. Plus, there was a few gifts and a stack of letters from the young men and young women in the ward. I could feel the love. It was impressive. Other fun stories.
Wednesday we were talking to a member who isn't all there. While my companion was talking to him a little girl saw us. She shouted "missionaries missionaries" and then army crawled across the grass to hand me 3 little flowers. It was a simple act, but brought a smile to my face.
Tuesday while we were tracting (knocking doors) we met some very odd people. We knocked on one door and a guy came to the window on the door. He didn't open the door he just pressed his face against it so that it was all smashed against the glass. And then in this odd state he just stared at me. It was odd and I wasn't quite sure how to approach the situation. So I did my invite and he just (with his face still pressed on the glass) shook his head. It was odd. Then a few doors down we knocked again. This time a lady answered the door. She stared at me like I was the devil himself. She let out a long sigh followed by a long winded nooooooooooo. She finished the nooooooo with "my sons not home". Then while still staring she slowly closed the door. I didn't say a word the whole time. Odd people in this world.
Overall it has been a good week. We get a special treat this week. Saturday Elder David A Bednar will be addressing us as a mission. Following that address Saturday he will be in our Stake having a stake conference. We get to hear from him twice! Woot!!! I'm excited about it.
I love you!!! Hope all is well back home.
Love,
Elder Tingey
Wednesday we were talking to a member who isn't all there. While my companion was talking to him a little girl saw us. She shouted "missionaries missionaries" and then army crawled across the grass to hand me 3 little flowers. It was a simple act, but brought a smile to my face.
Tuesday while we were tracting (knocking doors) we met some very odd people. We knocked on one door and a guy came to the window on the door. He didn't open the door he just pressed his face against it so that it was all smashed against the glass. And then in this odd state he just stared at me. It was odd and I wasn't quite sure how to approach the situation. So I did my invite and he just (with his face still pressed on the glass) shook his head. It was odd. Then a few doors down we knocked again. This time a lady answered the door. She stared at me like I was the devil himself. She let out a long sigh followed by a long winded nooooooooooo. She finished the nooooooo with "my sons not home". Then while still staring she slowly closed the door. I didn't say a word the whole time. Odd people in this world.
Overall it has been a good week. We get a special treat this week. Saturday Elder David A Bednar will be addressing us as a mission. Following that address Saturday he will be in our Stake having a stake conference. We get to hear from him twice! Woot!!! I'm excited about it.
I love you!!! Hope all is well back home.
Love,
Elder Tingey
April 19, 2010, late post
Hello from your favorite 20 year old. It has been an interesting week. First off I would like to say I had a very memorable birthday. Started at 5:50 am, when the Stewarts (the family I live with) came into our room. They had a flashlight, a camera, a stack of pancakes with a candle in it, and a nefarious plan. They startled me out of bed and then sung happy birthday in both English and Portuguese. I blew out the candle and went back to sleep. The antics didn't stop there. They were determined to make sure I realized my birthday, which they only found out about because of the US Census. As I left our house that morning I found my bike shrink wrapped to a pole. It had a nice pink bow on it. So we left it there and went and did our weekly planning. When we returned for lunch our apartment had been filled with balloons. There was also a nice banner (made from brown paper towels you find in church dispensers) around the whole room. Plus, there was a few gifts and a stack of letters from the young men and young women in the ward. I could feel the love. It was impressive. Other fun stories.
Wednesday we were talking to a member who isn't all there. While my companion was talking to him a little girl saw us. She shouted "missionaries missionaries" and then army crawled across the grass to hand me 3 little flowers. It was a simple act, but brought a smile to my face.
Tuesday while we were tracting (knocking doors) we met some very odd people. We knocked on one door and a guy came to the window on the door. He didn't open the door he just pressed his face against it so that it was all smashed against the glass. And then in this odd state he just stared at me. It was odd and I wasn't quite sure how to approach the situation. So I did my invite and he just (with his face still pressed on the glass) shook his head. It was odd. Then a few doors down we knocked again. This time a lady answered the door. She stared at me like I was the devil himself. She let out a long sigh followed by a long winded nooooooooooo. She finished the nooooooo with "my sons not home". Then while still staring she slowly closed the door. I didn't say a word the whole time. Odd people in this world.
Overall it has been a good week. We get a special treat this week. Saturday Elder David A Bednar will be addressing us as a mission. Following that address Saturday he will be in our Stake having a stake conference. We get to hear from him twice! Woot!!! I'm excited about it.
I love you!!! Hope all is well back home.
Love,
Elder Tingey
Wednesday we were talking to a member who isn't all there. While my companion was talking to him a little girl saw us. She shouted "missionaries missionaries" and then army crawled across the grass to hand me 3 little flowers. It was a simple act, but brought a smile to my face.
Tuesday while we were tracting (knocking doors) we met some very odd people. We knocked on one door and a guy came to the window on the door. He didn't open the door he just pressed his face against it so that it was all smashed against the glass. And then in this odd state he just stared at me. It was odd and I wasn't quite sure how to approach the situation. So I did my invite and he just (with his face still pressed on the glass) shook his head. It was odd. Then a few doors down we knocked again. This time a lady answered the door. She stared at me like I was the devil himself. She let out a long sigh followed by a long winded nooooooooooo. She finished the nooooooo with "my sons not home". Then while still staring she slowly closed the door. I didn't say a word the whole time. Odd people in this world.
Overall it has been a good week. We get a special treat this week. Saturday Elder David A Bednar will be addressing us as a mission. Following that address Saturday he will be in our Stake having a stake conference. We get to hear from him twice! Woot!!! I'm excited about it.
I love you!!! Hope all is well back home.
Love,
Elder Tingey
April 5th post -- sorry it's late
Hello from rainy California. What a week I have had!!! We have had a wonderful week of work. Seeing as it was the last week of transfers we were striving to finish strong. We for the most part accomplished that goal. Conference took 10 hours out of our work week, but it was well worth it. Conference was awesome!!!!! I hope you had a chance to watch it. I thought it was interesting to note that a lot of the talks talked about the last days, and the signs of the times. Crazy!!!! So some other fun news. We had an earthquake! Yay!!! I was on my bike and didn't even feel it. It was a 7.1 in Mexico and the shockwaves were felt up here. All that happened were some lights started swinging and the pools sloshed over the sides. Interesting though. We have had some weird weather too. It gets really hot for a few days and than really cold. Crazy! It's hard to keep up. Other exciting news is today was transfer calls. It was a nerve racking morning as we waited for the phone to ring. Finally, around 10:45 we got the call. My companion Elder Bowen is going to Agora hills just east of Simi Valley. I'm staying in Simi Valley, but will be follow up training an elder named Elder Lea Kehe. Don't have any idea how to pronounce his name. I believe he is samoan. It should be a fun transfer with him. Tomorrow I get to go pick him up. Yay!!! This is my 5th transfer and my 5th companion. Crazy!!! Other cool news was that March 30th was my 6th month mark. That is insanse. Time has gone so fast, and it just gets faster and faster. Anyway, I'm off to go save souls in the pouring rain. I love you. Hope all is well.
Love,
Elder Tingey
Love,
Elder Tingey
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Hello -- April 12, 2010
Hello,
What a week it has been. It has been truly crazy. So to start the week I've gotten a new companion. His name is Elder Leakehe. He is Tongon and from Salt lake. He is an awesome guy and we have really bonded together over the last couple days. This week has been crazy busy and filled with service. The church is building a pavillion outside of the church building. The missionaries were asked to help. So we spent 2 days putting a roof on a pavillion (only 3 hours a day). It's turned out pretty nice. It was funny working there because all working had different degrees of knowledge. The first day we worked there there were to many chiefs and not enough indians. The second day we worked there it was just us. So I got to be a chief. Woot!!!! So, due to a silly census my host family, The Stewarts, were able to get my birthday. They politely put it on the dinner calender that it was my birthday. Now the whole ward knows. So I've had a few birthday cakes and cards and I know I haven't seen the last of them. Other news. I somehow became the choir director. One day a few weeks ago I got pulled into directing a song, because the lady trying to conduct couldn't. She saw me conducting to myself so asked if I would do it. I did the one song and conducted it during sacrament meeting. This week we are starting new songs and they gave them all to me. So after church every sunday I walk into a class of beeming adults waiting to be led. I find it funny. We have had some crazy wheather this week. One day it's 90 degrees the next it is about 60 degrees and raining. I can never figure out if I should take my jacket with me or not. Oh well. Overall it has been a wonderful week. I love my new companion and he has taught me a lot. He has only been out 3 months, but I've learned quite a bit from him. Hope all is well back home.
I love you!!!
Love,
Elder Tingey
What a week it has been. It has been truly crazy. So to start the week I've gotten a new companion. His name is Elder Leakehe. He is Tongon and from Salt lake. He is an awesome guy and we have really bonded together over the last couple days. This week has been crazy busy and filled with service. The church is building a pavillion outside of the church building. The missionaries were asked to help. So we spent 2 days putting a roof on a pavillion (only 3 hours a day). It's turned out pretty nice. It was funny working there because all working had different degrees of knowledge. The first day we worked there there were to many chiefs and not enough indians. The second day we worked there it was just us. So I got to be a chief. Woot!!!! So, due to a silly census my host family, The Stewarts, were able to get my birthday. They politely put it on the dinner calender that it was my birthday. Now the whole ward knows. So I've had a few birthday cakes and cards and I know I haven't seen the last of them. Other news. I somehow became the choir director. One day a few weeks ago I got pulled into directing a song, because the lady trying to conduct couldn't. She saw me conducting to myself so asked if I would do it. I did the one song and conducted it during sacrament meeting. This week we are starting new songs and they gave them all to me. So after church every sunday I walk into a class of beeming adults waiting to be led. I find it funny. We have had some crazy wheather this week. One day it's 90 degrees the next it is about 60 degrees and raining. I can never figure out if I should take my jacket with me or not. Oh well. Overall it has been a wonderful week. I love my new companion and he has taught me a lot. He has only been out 3 months, but I've learned quite a bit from him. Hope all is well back home.
I love you!!!
Love,
Elder Tingey
Missed post -- Feb. 22, 2010
So this week has been filled with miracles and trials. Sunday was the last week of our transfer. We spent Saturday and Sunday locked in doors because my companion Elder Benyo got a fever. I thought I was going to lose my mind!!!! He slept most the time. So I cleaned the whole apartment. Top to bottom. Another trial, earlier this week we had a in active parent forbid here 13 year old daughter to be baptised. We were devestated as well as the daughter. During ward council sunday our bishop got word of the news and called the mother. The baptism is back on and will be happening wednesday!!!!! This happened while we were locked in an apartment. What this tells me is that God doesn't need us. As missionaries we are out as tools helping the work a long. It is a priviledge, but if we all disappeared God would still get people into this church. Next bit of news is that I'm moving. Tomorrow I'm moving to Simi Valley. A day before our baptism! No!!! I'm excited about the move. I'll be follow up training someone who has only been in the mission 1 transfer (6 weeks) less than me. Sweet!!!!! I'm so excited for the move. Well, I'm off to go pack and get ready for the move. Love you!
Love,
Elder Tingey
Love,
Elder Tingey
Missed posts -- Feb. 15
So it's been an absolutely crazy week!!! We have 4 people with baptismal dates and we have to fight to keep them. They are meeting so much resistance. Everything from their husbands having heartattacks to their mothers getting cold feet at the last minute. It's been crazy. We've done a lot of finding this week due to a smaller teaching pool. The Lord blesses us in our finding activities though. Saturday we had no scheduled appointments and decided to walk all day. After 6 hours of walking and no success we walked by an apartment. A lady came flying out onto her balcony and asked if we would come teach her latter in the week!! Crazy. Our first appointment with her is tommorrow. It's been a fun week though as well. One of the elders in our appartment goes home next week and I might get transferred! We'll have to wait and see though. So we've had a blast and have had some intense lessons. I've learned though that if you rely on the spirit then you don't have to worry about those intense lesson. No matter what we always get the guidance we need. Well, hope all is going well at home. I love you.
Love,
Elder Tingey
Love,
Elder Tingey
Monday, March 15, 2010
What a week. . .
Hello,
What a week it has been. It has been filled with some crazy events. First off, I would like to say I live with the Stewarts. They are awesome!!!! Their family consist of: Bro Stewart, Sister Stewart, Taylor (20 serving a mission in Mexico), Nate (18 preparing for a mission), and Pearce (17). I've become very good friends with them. Second, the Lord has blessed us with success this week. We were able to find 4 new people to begin teaching. It was a battle to get them but well worth it. Next, our fearless zone leader Elder Brewer is in the hospital. It seems every where I go somebody ends up going to the hospital. He got his appendix removed because it was swelling and about to burst. He had surgery at 10:00 PM Friday night and is still in the hospital recovering. He is recovering nicely though and should be let out today. The odd story for the day: Wednesday night we went to go see a less active family. Our ward mission leader, Bro Bondurant, drove us there. As we were getting out of the truck I saw a guy walk by us with a Molotov cocktail. It was roughly 8:00 PM and him and his girlfriend looked like they were up to no good. So I ended up calling the cops. Don't know if they caught them. Assuming so because no houses burned that night. Another odd story. Met a guy who was a Marine. He was leaving to go somewhere but said he wanted us to come back. His exact words were "I can tell you all about the people I killed can you tell me about yours?" Than he left. Odd guy. He also said he was an atheist. Anyway, I was on exchanges so I'll have to wait and see what the other elders do, because he wasn't in my area. Well I'm off to go work and such. So have a wonderful week. I love you.
Love,
Elder Tingey
What a week it has been. It has been filled with some crazy events. First off, I would like to say I live with the Stewarts. They are awesome!!!! Their family consist of: Bro Stewart, Sister Stewart, Taylor (20 serving a mission in Mexico), Nate (18 preparing for a mission), and Pearce (17). I've become very good friends with them. Second, the Lord has blessed us with success this week. We were able to find 4 new people to begin teaching. It was a battle to get them but well worth it. Next, our fearless zone leader Elder Brewer is in the hospital. It seems every where I go somebody ends up going to the hospital. He got his appendix removed because it was swelling and about to burst. He had surgery at 10:00 PM Friday night and is still in the hospital recovering. He is recovering nicely though and should be let out today. The odd story for the day: Wednesday night we went to go see a less active family. Our ward mission leader, Bro Bondurant, drove us there. As we were getting out of the truck I saw a guy walk by us with a Molotov cocktail. It was roughly 8:00 PM and him and his girlfriend looked like they were up to no good. So I ended up calling the cops. Don't know if they caught them. Assuming so because no houses burned that night. Another odd story. Met a guy who was a Marine. He was leaving to go somewhere but said he wanted us to come back. His exact words were "I can tell you all about the people I killed can you tell me about yours?" Than he left. Odd guy. He also said he was an atheist. Anyway, I was on exchanges so I'll have to wait and see what the other elders do, because he wasn't in my area. Well I'm off to go work and such. So have a wonderful week. I love you.
Love,
Elder Tingey
Monday, February 8, 2010
About the Accident
Well hello from Santa Maria. Okay, because I've been asked over and over about the injury last week I'll tell you. What happened is we went to lunch and had a nice salad and pizza. Then we went to play some basketball because it was our p-day. While playing basketball I got food poisining. It was awful. Also, our zone leader is allergic to peanuts and apparently there was peanut oil in the salad. So he went to the bathroom to splash his face after playing a little bit of basketball. He turned around to leave the bathroom and he passed out. He hit his head on the sink and ended up in the hospitable getting 5 staples in his head. We are all okay though so nothing to worry. This week has been great. We now have 4 people with baptismal dates. After having a teaching pool of 0. We stayed faithful and went out and did lots of finding and the Lord blessed us this week with 4 investigators with dates. Woot!!!! Met a few crazy people this week. Talked to a guy who said "As Elders you should cast your crowns before the great Jehovha God and his twin rainbows." We said goodbye and walked away. Also, yesterday I talked with a guy who was stoned out of his mind. He said he was being punished by God and then when we said goodbye he gave me a hug. A big bear hug too. And he held me for like 2 minutes. It was rather strange. It's still raining here often. Friday and Saturday we spent the days soaked to the core. Thank heavens for my awesome rain jacket!!!! I love you all.
Love,
Elder Tingey
Love,
Elder Tingey
Feb. 1, 2010
Well hello! It's been a crazy week this week. We had some sickness and some injury in our apartment this week so a lot of the week was spent in doors. Everyone is Okay. No need to fuss. Our week ended strong though. So a quick moment of words. This week a few of our less active families are having a rough time. I honestly don't think there isn't a correlation between the word less active and rough times. Just thought you should know. Well I'm off to go hike a huge, but beautiful hike. Love you!!
Love,
Elder Tingey
Love,
Elder Tingey
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Baptism on Dec. 7, 2009
Andrew Sanchez (10 years old)
His father Juann (member for 6 months) <----- He did the baptising.
Old News, But Still Good News
Dec. 7, 2009 (these were during surgery recovery time, sorry they are so late!)
Hello,
I Hope you are having a happy December. I know I am. We had a baptism on December 5th. We have another one on the 26th. Another one on the 30th. And possibly a second one on the 26th. So needless to say, the work is going great. I've had an awesome week. Yesterday though was my favorite day. The whole day, every step felt inspired. Saturday night I had a dream that one of our members wasn't going to pick up an investigator. His phone has been shut off. So, we headed over there early in the morning. Sure enough we found out that he was in intense pain and was possibly going to the hospitable. So we gave him a blessing and called the investigator. He still came to church on his own means. Sweet!!!!! Then we went to talk to a potential investigator and we met a guy who loved geneology. So, we gave him info. The whole day went like that. It was just an awesome day. Well, I got to go. Hope all is well. I love you.
Love, Elder Tingey
Hello,
I Hope you are having a happy December. I know I am. We had a baptism on December 5th. We have another one on the 26th. Another one on the 30th. And possibly a second one on the 26th. So needless to say, the work is going great. I've had an awesome week. Yesterday though was my favorite day. The whole day, every step felt inspired. Saturday night I had a dream that one of our members wasn't going to pick up an investigator. His phone has been shut off. So, we headed over there early in the morning. Sure enough we found out that he was in intense pain and was possibly going to the hospitable. So we gave him a blessing and called the investigator. He still came to church on his own means. Sweet!!!!! Then we went to talk to a potential investigator and we met a guy who loved geneology. So, we gave him info. The whole day went like that. It was just an awesome day. Well, I got to go. Hope all is well. I love you.
Love, Elder Tingey
Raining and Raining
Dec. 14, 2009 (sorry to post late)
Hello, Hello from raining Santa Maria. It's been a wonderful week. We have had tons of rain though. And I mean tons!!!! The last 4 days have rained all day long. Today hasn't been raining. The week has been a good one. We have spent a lot of the week just finding. We did a lot of street contacting and a lot of door knocking. We did get some success and have some new investigators. Not only that, but an investigator we have been working with for almost 2 months wants to be baptized!!!!!! Woot!!!!
So funny story. I'm in Santa Maria 1st ward, but due to strange circumstances I've been on exchanges with 3rd ward missionaries quite a bit. The other day we went to a stake nativity concert and there was 3rd ward members there. They asked me if I was on exchanges, because they hadn't seen me in a while. I know enough of 3rd ward members, so they thought I was a 3rd ward missionary. I though it was funny. Had a great zone conference Thursday. It was our Christmas party. Our mission president dressed up as Santa and we did a white elephant exchange. It was pretty cool. Each zone also did a skit. Our skit was the 12 days of christmas door approach style. It was awesome. Well, hope all is well at home. I love you!!!!
Love,Elder Tingey
Hello, Hello from raining Santa Maria. It's been a wonderful week. We have had tons of rain though. And I mean tons!!!! The last 4 days have rained all day long. Today hasn't been raining. The week has been a good one. We have spent a lot of the week just finding. We did a lot of street contacting and a lot of door knocking. We did get some success and have some new investigators. Not only that, but an investigator we have been working with for almost 2 months wants to be baptized!!!!!! Woot!!!!
So funny story. I'm in Santa Maria 1st ward, but due to strange circumstances I've been on exchanges with 3rd ward missionaries quite a bit. The other day we went to a stake nativity concert and there was 3rd ward members there. They asked me if I was on exchanges, because they hadn't seen me in a while. I know enough of 3rd ward members, so they thought I was a 3rd ward missionary. I though it was funny. Had a great zone conference Thursday. It was our Christmas party. Our mission president dressed up as Santa and we did a white elephant exchange. It was pretty cool. Each zone also did a skit. Our skit was the 12 days of christmas door approach style. It was awesome. Well, hope all is well at home. I love you!!!!
Love,Elder Tingey
Busy but Happy
Dec. 28, 2009
Well it's been a crazy week here in Santa Maria. We got another addition to our companionship and we are now 3 strong. Also, we have been given a second ward. So we have tons of work to do. The unfourtunate part is we are out of miles so we spend most of the time on bikes. We bike roughly 30+ miles a day, and we are teaching almost 4 - 6 lessons a day. The two wards are turning out to be very productive but at the same time very stressful trying to juggle the two. We will make it work though. I'm excited about the challenge and know the harvest will be well worth the effort. Hope all is well at home.
Love, Elder Tingey
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