HE IS RISEN!

 Because my dad wasn't there on Sunday morning to sing this song like he usually does I had to do it to keep tradition, "Oh what a beautiful MOOOORning, oh what a beautifull DAYYYY I've got a wonderful FEEELLLIIINNGGG EVERything's GOIng my WAYYYYY!!!!!!!" Happy Easter, and what a Happy Easter it was!!!

We have had so many great experiences but I have to get going cause today is packed so this will be a little short!!! Lo siento!

 

This Easter was incredible!!! We had stake conference Easter weekend and it was amazing! Elder Michael John U. Teh (a member of the 1st quorum of the 70) came. He is one of the Seventies who spoke in Gen. Conference:)  As we were listening to him at the Saturday Night Session for some reason I began to fantasize if he were to ask for a volunteer to go up and speak on something I said to myself, I would share this recent experience, "only if he asks for a full-time missionary to do it THEN I will do it." They were beginning to show a video then there were some technical difficulties, so in improvisation he asked to a full-time missionary companionship to come up. I smiled and thought how funny and peculiar the spirit is in preparing us to do things! Elder Boothe and I went up and he asked what our thoughts feelings and experiences are and have been ever since "the work was hastened." We told the story about how we found Janet and how the spirit truly does prepare people for us to teach, and invite. The Lord has prepared us, and the Lord has prepared them. All we have to do is act on what the spirit tells us to do. Elder Teh said, "Our job is to keep up with the work as it is hastened." I LOVE IT!!! Because surely it will move on regardless!!! It is up to us if we want to keep up!! And that is what is expected of ALL of us!!

Stake conference was an incredible experience!!  Elder Teh is an amazing man and he loves the Lord and he loves this work! Being able to speak a long side him was a tender moment! Elder Boothe is a stud!!! I love this kid and we are really finding success!! 

YES, Easter Sunday was also incredible!! Amazing that we started with conference in the morning again but then we didn't have a too productive day planned because nobody wanted to schedule anything for then and nobody wants us to knock on their door ha ha...so we had dinner with an amazing family!! The K's! Super Cool! Then to another members house who had their less active brother over. Turns out they also had their neighbors over who weren't members but wondered about Mormons. We talked and they asked what we do. We explained and ended up sharing a message and they really want us to stop by sometime soon to teach!!! Also the Cornetts who we stopped teaching because they got too busy for us showed up and we shared a message with them too!! It was so cool!!! They are wanting to meet regularly now so we are stoked!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!  THE EASTER BOX WAS AMAZING!!!!! I LOVE EVERY BIT OF IT! I HAVE BEEN STUDYING THE SYMBOLISM IN THE SCRIPTURES HANDOUTS LIKE CRAZY!!! THERE IS AMAZING STUFF TUCKED AWAY WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THESE!!! Elder Boothe and I have been talking about how we want to understand all of that stuff and you TOTALLY heard the spirit send that message to you and sent EXACTLY what we needed!! Thanks also to Pops and Brothers for the Bomb Eggs! I am loving all the scriptures and the toys are all being well used haha!! Elder boothe broke one on accident and we are all having a ball anyway! The toys always have a short life span and it keeps things in perspective,  they are temporal anyway :)! Oh, my ties and pocket squares SO TOTALLY ROCK!!!!

There are so many things to be grateful for and I can't name them all, my family, my mission, my companions thus far, my mission President, the servants who serve, Christ my Lord and Redeemer, and every single example that I have to follow in righteousness just to name a few. So good to hear the family is staying so close!! Families are essential and Satan has been attacking them for centuries. The Lord knows how to combat it. That is what this gospel is for. it pains me to see people view the gospel as a pain and a burden, when in fact "it is wings that lift us." keep in mind, "you can tell true Christians by their buoyancy."

That sounds like an incredible Cardiff Sacrament meeting! I love the ones when you get to cry the whole time!! I also wish I could have been there for that meeting with Elders Ballard, Maines and Sabin dad! that sounds incredible!! we actually got a big visit and push to do the same by elder Michael John U. Teh for stake conference! I am so glad I now have a fixed date to meet Tiffany AND Elder Holland!?! Cant wait till May and all the things happening for Tiffany and Elder Holland?!?! WHAT!? You know das right. ;)!!!

I know this gospel is the true word of God! the flaming sword of the word of God protects, uplifts, and leads us back to our father in heaven. I love the feeling of learning. I love the knowledge and light I receive! I love having the opportunity to serve and love as He, our Lord omnipotent, does for us. it's a hard long and slow learning curve... way worse then snowboarding, but that is where we find it's worth!

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL WITH ALL MY HEART AND I LOVE THESE PEOPLE IN OHIO TOO!! it is fun fun to testify, and learn and just have a blast learning how i can be better!!!

 

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

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Love,

Elder Triple Trouble Trey WHAT!? You know das right!

PS Enjoy my bros Ty & Tuck being home -Sarah sounds awesome!! Her favorite movie is Princess Bride? GOLDEN!! Next step is Knights Tale and we're in buisness!!

 

 

Fw: Easter Week

Happy Easter!  Have a GREAT WEEK as we celebrate this sacred time of the Saviors life. I Stand All Amazed!
 

So this week was sweet!! we had interviews with President Vellinga and they were awesome!! I love that man! He is going to be a general authority at least! He never has any kind of talk or written outline for anything! gets up and starts talking by the spirit! that man is amazing! He loves each of us dearly!

 

We have had a few investigators get dropped but we are finding new ones!! reading that back now i need to clarify, they didn't get punched, or knocked out, or curb stomped or anything like that kind of "dropped", but dropped them as an investigator. they don't want to meet with us at this point in time... now moving on :) we met with Janet and she is asking ALL of the right questions! for instance we read the intro to the Book of Mormon and she said, "now this says this is the true church and so does the other church i have been going to... how do i know which one is right?" WHAT!? we were pumped!!! 1st vision time and BAM!!!! Again the Spirit was thick and it was amazing!! The spirit does incredible things! No, she didn't come to church but we wont give up that easy!!!

 

We met with a young man named mike. He was just interested in hearing about what we as Mormons "were all about" he has been reading the Book of Mormon and we gave him a restoration pamphlet. talked about mormon.org and he was wanting to figure things out himself, which is great because now he as ALL of the right tools to do that. he is a really cool kid and does MMA! he is 18 and knows some members from our ward through school! things are looking good for his future! pray to let the words of the lord and the spirit to work on him so he can feel the truth!!

another person we stopped by that we gave a restoration pamphlet a while ago said, "I'm eating right now but keep stopping by, you'll catch us sometime." so we are going to do that but we need to get in there! i agree with what their kids said, "We always tell them to come back later! can they just come in?" WAY TO TELL 'EM KID!!! ha ha we are coming in hot weather they like it or not!! not really.... i just wanted to say something that rhymed :)

 

Jen is having a hard time talking about the things that are from god that she doesn't understand. she knows it is something from god but it scares her because she doesn't understand it and doesn't want to talk about it! pray for her please so she may know that the answers she is looking for are in this church and it's teachings because they are gods teachings and this is his church! i love you fella's!! that includes the girls too! :) keep the work going!!

 

In closing I would like to talk about this website the church has set up for this week only!! it is called easter.mormon.org and this video is called "Because of Him". it is also on youtube!! watch it and share it!!!!! it is a video of Christ showing what he has done, and who it was for. because of him we can live again!!! only 2minutes and 30 seconds long!! i love that video!!

 

Isn't it great to know that this is all true!! This church, the Book of Mormon, the prophets and apostles, everything!! I love it, so I live it!!

I love your weekly updates and i'm sorry i'm not more precise in mine but i try! :)  Tj will be an incredible second Counselor in the Bishopric!! He is an amazing example to me not just as a brother but also as a priesthood holder! I love him and suport him to whatever position the Lord calls him to or any of my leaders, and heroes!!  Tiara is a spiritual fortress and Ty blessed that sacrament this past Sunday!!! I so love his letters. He said he even messed up but knows the atonement is more real now to him then ever!! I love our family! WATCH THE VIDEO it's sooo good!

 

fight the fight, stay the course, keep the faith!

Love

Elder Trey Toolson

Desperate & Enlightened thru Conference!

Hello Family!!!

Conference was soooo good!! I had some amazing experiences and enlightenment's that I was in desperate need of!

 

First off, JANET CAME TO CONFERENCE!! She showed up at the church for the afternoon session of Saturday! I was worried at first because that is when all the  leadership sustaining's happen and I was hoping she wouldn't just check out before it REALLY started. She has been going through some VERY tough times quite recently. I don't know for sure if I have already told you about her but here it goes again I guess :)

 

Elder Boothe and I stopped by a less active and found out that she was in the hospital. after going there and making sure she was OK, we tried stopping by formers and potentials to no avail anywhere. after stopping by the last one we had on our list I felt the impression to knock on the neighbors door. It was later in the day and no one has ever opened a door kindly past that certain dusk hour, but we carried on to follow through anyway. We knocked and a woman stepped out and asked what we had to offer. We told her that we are missionaries sharing the teachings of Jesus Christ and that God has reached out in love and blessed us with a prophet on the earth again. she asked what we do as missionaries and what we were doing for school and said she would like to talk with us about our message. (daughter touring with Swon Brothers from the Voice).

 

Now the same story, but from her perspective: After 35 years of marriage and going through an entire marine corps career with my husband and raising 3 amazing children, my husband left me for a younger girl out of nowhere. All of my kids are out of the house and away in college and work accomplishing so many great things. In a very short time, everything that I loved left me. As I thought and pondered on the pain, frustration, and hate I was feeling towards these people that hurt me deeply and has torn my family apart, 2 young missionaries came knocking on my door offering a message of love, peace and comfort. They testified that god loves me personally.

 

She told us later that the only time she doesn't feel hurt or think about what is going on that is negative in her life is when she runs, and meets with us. She went on to say that she felt so loved and uplifted as she listened to the speakers at this huge conference. we spoke with her for an hour about how we know this gospel is what will heal her wounds, and feel love and kindness in her heart and home again. The Lord is amazing! This gospel is His love and complete healing power. I love to see Him touch others through our hands.

 

There were so many other things that happened that helped me feel how much the Lord loves us individually but I don't have the time. To summarize, we gave a blessing to a member and the spirit was so strong it was truly "like a fire is burning". We testify that the Spirit of God is Burning, it's Real, and it's Hot! Even though we got dropped by 2 of our investigators we are meeting with 4 people new people who have expressed interest in learning more because they have felt the heat! Drop 2 to + 4= good burn!  We are teaching and reactivating a ton. Please add to your prayers a few; Janet also Jen, Brett, young man Mike, and Delilah if you could. They are all Hot but wondering what to do with the flames :)

Speaking of HOT...Sister Seiter said she saw Momma and Tiara on facebook and that Tiara was playing volleyball in the Georgia Dome??? and updated me a bit on what she saw. haha! From 45th to 5th is great T! Only 1 game more...So close to the Olympics!!!  Florida is cool too...we will wait and see if the bids trickle down. TIARA IS GOING EVERYWHERE!! Yes I've been to Atlanta but that doesn't count becasue it was only on a lay over to Cleveland, OH!!!!

HOLLAND IS A BOSS!!! HE IS COMING TO OUR MISSION MAY 21st!!  That's so cool and I'm stoked!

As I sat and listened to conference, they were all so good and my notes are sweet! LOADED with quotes, you all would be so proud of me, they were even taken on a Captain America notebook! PRETTY SWEET!!!!  Right McCoy??? Haha conference was amazing! I also loved Holland obviously, especially the "don't rock or even row the boat" quote, but Elder Bednar with "the load" was awesome too!

This work is being hastened. I would like to second that challenge and invitation that Elder Ballard gave. That every member should get a preach my gospel and study it to help the Lord fulfill his work and glory through you. The Time Is Now!

 

I love you. I love the Lord. He is ever present in each of our lives as we can see everyday. We just need to have an "attitude of gratitude" as President Uchtdorf said and we will be blessed with the Lords love daily!

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

Elder Tr3y Toolson

Elder Trey's Roller Coaster Week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL GRANDMOTHER AND MY AWESOME AUNT MICK (Vicki) April 1st!!! I miss and love you both!! You are amazing women and I am the luckiest Elder around to have you in my life!

 

Alrighty then... this week was a pretty intense roller coaster... like X2 status!!!

 

So we go to meet with a less active and turns out, she is in the hospital. We ran over there/drove "efficiently" to see how she was doing. she was doing well but we were unable to share a lesson with her due to everything that was going on. so we stopped by a potential investigator that wasn't feeling well either. But no luck there, nothing was going our way that day. I felt that we should knock on their neighbors door. Neither of us had any cards on us but Elder Boothe had a restoration pamphlet. we knocked and she answered as the dogs went ballistic (like every house in Ohio, all dogs bark here and it's honestly making me not want a pet anymore. but dogs that don't bark are SWEET!!! or shed...) she stepped outside and said, "So, what do you got?" We testified about prophets and the Book of Mormon right off the bat! She took the pamphlet and she asked what we are doing here, what we are doing for school. I did the whole life story "I'm from San Diego" shpeal and that I was at BYUI studying music before i came to Ohio. HER DAUGHTER IS ON TOUR WITH THE SWAN BROTHERS FROM THE VOICE TV SHOW!! Elder Boothe loved the voice like we do!! We hit it off and testified of how this gospel has blessed each of our lives and are meeting with them  as a family again Tuesday night April 1st!!!! I thank my Father in Heaven who had prepared each of us to deliver and receive the message of the restoration by and through the spirit of God!

 

We had a great heart to heart with our investigator C, he is the 17 year old. We had a lesson over the phone with him due to miles (he lives about 30 minutes away, and it is the end of the month so our mile allotment was quite depleted) and it went really well. However,  not 2 minutes after we received a text saying the basic jist of, "go away, I don't want any part of this church" and went on to denounce the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. we were extremely taken back and confused!!! Then  promptly after that text we received a texted apologizing for the one prior. His mother had texted that message from his phone with out C knowing. He explained that his grandma had just broke and threw away the DVDs, and his friend has said that she doesn't want any part of this amazing gospel. He testified plainly to us that he knows this gospel is true. He spoke with his mom and now after some time listening, she is allowing him to meet with us again. He loves the Book of  Mormon and knows Joseph Smith translated it by and through the power of God. this is all a miracle with in itself. he will not deny the truthfulness of the gospel. I am so proud of him and his decisions!! I love the blessings that this gospel brings and I  love seeing C grow, testify, and progress. He hasn't been able to go to church due to this whole situation. Please keep him in your prayers please! So that was probably the biggest one this week.

 

Those are the 2 major spiritual coaster rides this week and I gotta get running. Prep day is one of the busiest! Oh wait...A few more Shout Outs!!!

 

Bummer Tiara couldn't play much but that is awesome that she asked the coaches what she can do to improve!! That seems to be a weakness of to many of us. We're not willing to ask, or not willing to listen. Many times I find myself doing that in prayer not giving enough time for God to answer and just saying a prayer rather then speaking WITH my father in heaven. I'm proud of you T!

Vicki and Farrell are awesome!! I miss Dani too!! Glad to hear they are doing well and glad you got to spend time together! What a Wonderful support for T on a tuff weekend! Earthquakes and ALL! 

I will be with you in spirit brothers at the cabin, Sausage bake is the bomb! And shooting with the boys are some of my fondest memories. I love how close we are. I love my family. I am grateful for my ancestors and the faith they exhibited in order to live the teachings of Christ. The excitement around here is our ward as a whole is all making a push for family history!! Like the Cardiff ward did! I was able to bare testimony on the power of family history work and to second the promise of Elder Bednar as we do this work.

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

Love,

Elder Tr3y 7ool5on :)