Elder Tr3y: New Comp in Medina!!

New Companion - Elder Boothe

Alright team. this week was a doozy! Some great things going on!! I can't remember them all again but a few from the highlight real is always nice :)

So Elder Luster got transferred after 1 transfer here. That would be really hard. My new comp is Elder Ryan Boothe! He is from Boise Idaho and I forgave him for the fact that he has attended and will return to University of Utah. We are really hitting it off right now and he has a UKULELE!!! SO SWEET!! we are planning on making a few renditions of hymns and primary songs on our p-days! We are having some great success together already!

 

so we had am awesome lesson with our investigator Richard! we talked about the Restoration of the gospel and how we have gained a testimony of it ourselves. at the end he said, "everything you're saying i already believe. now I've already been baptized so would I have to get baptized again?" We talked about the priesthood a little more. and then he said that he would get baptized if he comes to REALLY know it is true!! he said he doesn't like reading so I had a restoration dvd on hand and gave it to him!! It was so good!!

 

Next up for the highlights was a lesson that was unexpected. we were driving to a less actives and decided to stop by a different family on the way who was very hard to set things up with because of his and his wife's crazy schedule. We knocked and he was home. He let us in and his 2 year old daughter had the movie playing entitled, "Frozen" and I did here a part of the song "Let It Go" totally a great song!! Definitely up there with Tangeld songs for sure! We talked and read a scripture with him. It was easy and flowed well, as we wrapped up he said, "Your guys' timing is great! We had just gotten home and put the dishes away when you knocked!! Oh the promptings of the spirit is amazing!!!

 

Then our "Kodak moment", was at our lesson with another less active. She has had a hard time with the passing of her son in a motorcycle accident that she helped pay for. She was slightly confused about the after life. I felt impressed to share with her about my brother Toby. The spirit was incredibly strong that I needed a nap after. She knows that God loves her and she has a testimony that the atonement will help her. She wants us back to help her understand exactly how. But really she doesn't want US back, she wants the spirit back! Sometimes I forget that. They don't feel me, or my presence, they feel Him and His presence as we bare testimony of the truth as prompted and designed by the spirit of God.

 

I love this time I have that is set apart to simply serve. It is easy, but we make it complex. All we need to do is to take a leap of faith. I am learning now more then ever how much of an action word faith is. "If faith isn't a verb, why does it leap?" We don't have faith, in a way to me now made more clear we DO faith and have a "perfect brightness of hope." then our faith is strengthened and grows.

 

Fight the fight, stay the course, keep the Faith.

Elder Trey Toolson

 

Transfers, Teaching & Tiawa's Birthday!

HELLLOOO MY FAM & FRIENDS,

This week was so good!! A little Luck O'the Irish with Corned Beef & Cabbage at the Seiter's (mom with yours in a Crockpot outside on the porch made me laugh because Sister Seiter can't STAND the SMELL either! You 2 are soooo much a like) We had transfers Monday...Elder Luster is leaving and I'm staying to keep the work rolling here in Medina! I'm Super Happy About That! So much went on but I want to tell just a few stories of the simple things.

 

We met a sweet old lady at CVS. we saw each other as we were walking in so I smiled and said hi. She smiled back and then I heard her say, "He's got a nice smile." then she called out to me as I just got inside and she repeated, "You have a nice smile."

"Thank you :)" I said. 

"I have been having a really >:( (angry face) hard time recently and your smile made me feel so much better. IT'S BETTER THEN A PILL!! thank you so much." She explained We offered her a picture of Jesus saying that we hoped that could help her smile also. She said that's what is keeping me going. We had a quick chit chat. She needed to run (or quickly use her cane) so we gave her our number. It was so sweet!! I love old people!! :)

 

The main purpose of going to CVS was to go to the minute clinic for Elder Luster. He needed a throat culture to see if he had strep. He doesn't have strep which is sweet. The Clinic Nurse came out of her office asking for Jacob. She was really confused when 2 guys with the first name elder came up. she said, "Naw, which one a ya'll is Jacob 'cause I'm seein' Elder and Elder and Jesus and Jesus." hahaha so we explained how the mission president's wife is over us medically and she wanted us to check out Elder Luster for strep and constant illness. She said in a southern black accent (which is interesting because she isn't black, she is 25% Italian, 25% Caucasian, 25%native American, and 25% Polynesian) "Now, ya'll said you were missionaries, what for?" BOOM!!!!! We talked about Kirtland, the book of Mormon, the restoration and gave her a few cards over the span of 40 minutes! She looked at us and said, "If I hear anyone talkin bad 'bout the Mormons I will say 'nu-uh cuz I met Elder Toolson and Elder Luster and they are good!" haha it was so nice to talk with someone who genuinely wants to hear the truth about the Mormons!! look on mormon.org and learn for yourself, if we are a cult, if we worship Jesus Christ, if we believe in the bible, and if we love our fellow men! Request the missionaries if you'd like, they can help ;) Fantastic!

We just recently were told by an amazing member family who's daughter just left on a mission that they were informed by other members (unknown) that "If there was a time to trust the missionaries with your friends it is now :)." We felt so loved and so ready to share the gospel that much more! They then began to inform us about their  who friends they have been "working" on for years and what their plans are. They asked for any advice and we shared what we would do and since then they call us when they had a conversation with their friends and how it went. They invited them to think and pray about us missionaries going over! We are so excited!! That is the only family really that is involved in getting their friends going. We are however seeing much more progress in just having small conversations with non-members about the church in non-pressured way which is HUGE!!! We need friends who will ask questions and aren't afraid of the answers. "NO" isn't so bad ... I hear it all the time! :D We are seeing huge success/growth right now in all categories. Keep praying for Jen to come to church and feel the spirit.  Please add Cody to continue reading and come to church and for Cody's grandma to come with him to church. Of course Richard who wants to learn about the restoration that his heart will be touched and sensitive to the spirit. AND AIDAN'S Everywhere!  I miss my Buddy back home and pray for him to know I love him and feel the spirit of peace.

Loved the Baptism and Baby bump photos...Savannah got baptized!?! I miss that girl!! I am so proud of her! She is a great, sparkly little girl and the Lord loves her! We have an incredible family! The heritage of faith is strongly, deeply rooted in our heritage and I'm so grateful for it!. I know it, but I am still unable right now to learn who, how and what. because I already know the why! They had faith and acted on it!! I want to know HOW and WHAT made them all move and when in they were in doubt what helped them all out?? Cause I am teaching a lot of those!


TIARA IS THE BEST MISSIONARY EVER!!! That is so cool that she is a friend that shares her testimony w/ friends!! A is a sweet friend and Tiawa is a huge help and support for her. I know that the spirit uses us as tools to reach the hearts of those around us when we don't even know it. All we need to do is obey!  Nephi's last word in 2 Nephi 33 is, "and I must obey.  As we do that, I promise that we will feel the light of Christ within us grow and develop so that we may "rescue" those around us especially when we don't even recognize it. I love that new "Bullying" Mormon Message! It is so powerful to me and I love sharing those messages with people! Great FHE for sure!

Hahaha YES!!!! WAY TO BE T!! When mom told me about your first church Dance I had to laugh. My favorite quote of the night, "I don't like desperate!"  I look forward to when we can swing again T! Glad you went with the Hervey's (love you Jen and Taryn) and 397 youth...Wow, Center of the Mosh...epic! I so love u Tiara!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL!!! hey girl heyyy!! You a Big 14 now!! I have a package that I am putting together to send soon don't worry, I didn't forget!

I'm looking forward to getting the band back together. Let's go Shooting...cant wait!!! Sounds like the guys and Michelle had a good weekend together in ID with the Berrett's too. I was just thinking about them this week and how they too are Faith Builders!

 

I love the Lord God. I love Jesus Christ and his sacrifice that he paid for us. he is my glory, my joy and my light!

Fight the fight, stay the course, keep the Faith!

Love, Elder Tr3y Toolson

Marching on in March- more like "fly by's"

Hello Friends and FAMILY :)

Alrighty then! This week was so ridiculously fast I honestly can't remember what we did on Thursday..... so let's see how this goes. :)

I LOVED THIS WEEK for a few reasons.


1st. On Sunday night last week we had a lesson with a les active family who is awesome!! and guess what his name is? AIDAN!!! it made me think think of my brother back home Aidan Hervey. he and I have pic together in my baby bood when we were like 2 weeks old just chillin' in our onesies!!! I love you bro! as we met with them they expressed their situation and how they would like to go about coming back to church. We are meeting with them every other Sunday and have a great plan set up! They have an amazing desire to come back and we are willing to help and guide them. :) I love these people.

 

2nd. We have been teaching our investigator Jen. She hasn't been reading or coming to church the past few times so we were really wanting to just talk with her about the BARE BASICS!! We brought a member with us who is a ward missionary, Sister Hans! Jen said she doesn't know if she wants to know if God if he is there, and if he loves her because if that's true, then she is accountable. if it's not, then she has been lied to for her whole life. Out of nowhere, I had the impression to ask her to pray out loud RIGHT then and ask God if he is there, and if he loves her. She has never said a prayer out loud with missionaries and she has met with them of and on for about a year now. She said that her hands were starting to sweat and she already started to cry. I bore testimony that God is there and that she needs to ask to find out. Before she prayed she pointed at me and said, "Don't you cry." :)LOL! She prayed. I have not felt the spirit enter someones elses heart so much at anytime in my life as it entered hers at this time. It was a beautiful prayer. She came to church which she said she would most likely never do prior to her prayer. It was incredible. I love the spirit that testifies. I love my Savior! God is good and he loves us. he makes us strong as we give him our strength. I love this work becasue it is His glory.  



Truly - this last week just flew by!! It is crazy how they go by like that and keep getting faster and faster! I saw Jakes video!! Man I miss that kid!! I am so proud of him!! I wish that I could have been there to feel of his love to serve... it soudns like quite the reunion that they had over there! Green

 

I like life, life likes me, life and I are a purpetual spree! I think that's how that song goes from "Scrooge the Musical" it's been a while haha. I know life is good and the I have been so amazingly blessed with a strong loveing faithful family my whole life. It is amazing to me to see how much God loves us as his children. We read an article about looking at the positive and one quote that I loved was from gordon b hinkely's father. he said, "Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve." I loved that quote because I have seen a how much if a necessity it is to be possitive and be believing. SURE it can be hard, and is sometimes deemed impossible but there is a positive to be found anywhere!! We just have to see it. How full is the glass? classic example!



The missionary force is growing so much and is getting stronger then ever. I am so grateful to be a part of it and that god trusts us enough to be the ones fully engaged on the front lines of his work! Lets go boys!!!

Fight the fight, stay the course, keep the Faith!

Love big boy baby T3



Love You Momma :)  Proof I Got the Ice Cream Cake!! Not a crumb or drip in sight! 

 

Tr3y's Birthday Week in Medina- Steak, Seiter's & Huffaker's

HELLO ALL!

Loved all bday letters, messages and emails! I miss all you guys! Thank you so much! And some of you I've only met once but you feel like lifelong friends and family. My birthday was awesome! Dinner with awesome familes I have grown to love in Medina and felt like it was actually my birthday! love you guys! They even asked me to play their piano :)  wait.... I'm 20.... ?

Ha ha. I took the truth serum when I got set apart so nothing but the truth!

1) Sweaters? I love cardigans and California Republic! I am not sure if cardigans are with in mission rules but I'll figure it out. Cali repub is comfy for sure! Great for the -20 stay home days...ughh!

 2) Ice cream cake was great and had a ton of frosting!! ha ha... I got the cake delivery!! thank you so much momma! the guy that came to deliver the cake knocked on our door and asked for Stacy with a really concerned look on his face... I said that you were my mom and he let out a huge sigh of relief and said, "You opened the door and you were all dudes!" hahaha thank you momma!!

3) We did go to Longhorn already and LOVED IT!!! it was so good!! Dinner for 2 (not a date...) was sweet!! AMAZING BACON WRAPPED SIRLOIN!! we spent $45 and keep 5 to go to Olive Garden! I can use the same card!! SHWEET! SO DOGGON GOOD!!!! Elder Luster said, "That was probably one of the best meals I have had on my mission." and he has been out for around 16 months. Steak is where it is at in OH! Then mexican VERY close behind but the pickin's are slim.

4) Favorite present I don't know if I can narrow that down. there were so many good ones! i loved longhorn i loved playing the piano, I loved the v-day stuff and letters, plus it all was coming from my friends and family!! Its been a good week.

5)Comp Luster loved his v-day stuff and package! He has a rough situation at home right now and so do the other 2 who live with us. We all share the packages when we get one to spread the love of momma T and the T-Team! :)

6) Do we all get along? It has been more difficult then the past but we have talked about things and are doing MUCH better now! :) we love each other but are just very different people and are learning to accept it. He hates hugs....... he won't say i love you........ he loves math....!!!!!!!! i am really starting to learn how prideful i am and learning to search more fully for the good and happiness in all things. Guess i got worse at that because i just let my pride go, so i am reeling it in and getting back on track :)

 

Sister Seiter is AWESOME!! I love their family as well as the Huffakers (Sis Huffaker is a Seiter)! Awesome family all together. the Tyhursts are awesome too!! they have 3 little girls and are so funny! they love singing!! haha I am very well taken care of here as you are learning and WE are starting to teach more!! Teaching is mostly with less actives that we are working with mostly and it is incredible to see people remember their fire/love for the gospel, or even help them gain a testimony for the first time!! i love this work!! so cool to be a part of what really matters!!    

Thanks for this quote by Brad Wilcox "Questions are not a sign of weakness but a sign of growth. The weak are not discovered by their questions but by when they stop questioning." I Love it!

I wish i could go to an operating, officiating temple!!!! i have heard of the movies but havn't seem a SINGLE ONE!!!!! i can not wait to go to the temple at home again!! Imma thinkin' we will do a "Tucker" and go straight there to do a temple sesh after touchdown!! that is what I have wanted to do since the start! love you momma!! love the temple and love my father in heaven! Enjoy cleaning the temple today for me too and i feel your hugs often. Tiara is a trooper as ALWAYS!! sending my love!!

 Our bishop is reading that book too, "The Power of Everyday Misionaries" and we are doing a pilot class for the ward to see how we can apply that book to our lives! Another Elder that serves in the ward with us (elder clegg) and i went to that class and it is awesome so far!! I would love to read that book but we can only read books with the church seal on them so it will probably have to wait. but that is ok :) I haven't heard about the investigators reading the Book of Mormon by subject/topic...teaching them how to answer questions by study and then how prayer works, but I was actually thinking about that a few weeks ago, actually last week I think but I really like that. I want to try to apply that here. Elder Luster and I will talk it over. thanks pop!! I love you dad!!! You are an amazing example to me in humility and service. Not just serving for the blessings, but becasue you recognize your calling and truly love those you serve!

 

'Atta boy Chad Lester!!! 1 boy and 3 girls, Wow! Can't wait to hear of those mission calls Lauren, Kendra & Rebecca. Sisters are rolling in all the time ... where are the men at? Let us be men and Elder Christofferson said it. Accept our calling to serve and use our priesthood for good rather then standing idly by and letting our priesthood condemn us rather then exalt us! What do we have to do to be damned?   Nothing.   Don't do anything and you are stopped and can progress no more. Let us be men and lift where we stand. It's like cleaning a room that has been destroyed so badly that you don't know where to start. Stop it. Look at where you are, and start from that point. there might be some things that we don't want to clean that we would rather just let it sit and deal with it later, or not at all. Work with your leaders and clean it together. (All of this is just flowing right now so i am rolling with it :) I needed to clean a few things too... it took some help... it wasn't all skipping on rainbows and moon beams, but it was worth it to look at my "room" (life) and know that it was cleaned by the love and power of my savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the family support and strength we each share here in the TTeam. Sad that there are many Elders/Sisters who don't have it as good as we have it. I get to testify of the power of God, His eternal plan of Happiness within our own families and how it can strengthen theirs also!

Love you to the moon and back again after going through oodles and gobbs, and piles and heaps!

Fight the fight, stay the course and keep the Faith!

Elder Tr3y Toolson!

 

 

 

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FYI: These Photos are from the Seiters in OH at Christmas ...They have been great and even helped with Trey's Birthday Celebrations by not only feeding him but also picking up gift certificates for us to give to him :))) Thank You!!!