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.
Monday, June 7, 2010
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)