This week was awesome! We have had a Tonna fun with members and
investigators it has been such a blast! First off we got a new Ward
mission leader his name is Brother Wright and he is a boss! He already
fed us every week. And now he is just gonna add to it a little bit!
But we went on exchanges with crossville for the last week of the
transfer and it was so much fun! I got to go with my buddy elder
Teague and him and I had some very deep conversations we are good pals
and so that was a lot of fun! We had an awesome week though. We got to
talk to an awesome lady named Eula and she used to be an investigator
before but we just got back in contact with her and she is super cool.
She has been going through some rough times with people dying or being
sick and so we volunteered to help her with building a ramp to her
house so that the ambulance can come up and down her steps easier and
some are broken. So we are going to help her fix it! Also on the
exchanges we talked with the Ritchie family and they are super cool!
They were really busy but Kevin the father ended up coming to church!
So that was awesome and he totally loved it one of the sisters in our
Ward bore her testimony and it really touched him. We did a ton of
service but I love it! Working hard and playing harder! I apologize
that it's so late but that I love yall and excited to be an uncle
again!!
Love!
Elder Travis Toomer.
Hey there everyone so sorry this is coming late. So I'll just jump
right into it! We had another amazing p day with all the elders in our
district! We had a blast riding adult tricycles super fun by the gonna
try that when I get to Wyoming! And then the next day we were able to
do a lot of service for people around our area! We did a lot of clean
up in people's yards from a wind storm we had gotten! Speaking of
wheat her it is starting to get cold and stay cold all day long! I put
on a sweater the other day! Boom District meeting was amazing we had a
super fun get to know you game with all the elders and sisters! We
even had the barkers come to our district meeting! Super fun! Sister
Tebbs is training a new missionary Sister Cook who is from San Diego
she's pretty awesome and is gonna have a blast on her mission! After
district meeting ended we were able took on exchanges with our branch
president which was super fun we had a great time going out and
visiting members of the branch and investigators! Thursday and Friday
were really interesting we had actually moved out of our trailer and
into a home in Pikeville which is awesome by the way a ton more room
the only down side is that it has only 1 bathroom instead of 2! It's
ok I'll get over it! But I don't remember the new address so I will
send it to y'all as soon as I get it! Saturday morning we were able to
wake up and go to our new building in Pikeville and assist the crew in
cleaning up the building and we had the crossville elders come down
and help up! Was a great help they were thinking it was going to be a
2 hour job but it only took us 45 minutes to get everything done! We
had an awesome day on Sunday's s well Lisa came to church was super
happy to see her there and I think she had a good time! Hope to see
her there again! That's all the time I have right now! But shoot me an
email and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you
everyone for keeping me in your prayers they really help me out! Talk
to y'all later! ✌🏼
Elder Travis Toomer.
Aight people there is something that I need to confess. It's more of
like a time to open and tell you about what is really going on in the
mission. And that would be... I'm slowly turning into a cowboy. So
people that like Cowboys, I got you ;) and to those of you that aren't
a big fan of it.. Hahaha what can I say it just happened! But you'll
learn to love it ;) but we have had an amazing hard working week! We
had the Bledsoe county Fair. There was like all of Pikeville that came
down to that because it's such a small town and people will do
anything to get out of the house. But we got a ton of referrals from
it. Talked to a bunch of people and even had some people come and
thank us for doing what we are doing and also some people said that
they wanted to come to church with us on Sunday! So super stoked,
because they actually came!! But I'll get to that later... We had a
couple of pastors and things that we talked to, got to talk a ton
about religion and different beliefs. Beautiful that people God still
loves because they are still trying to do what is right. And they are
seriously looking for ways to strengthen families and looking for
truth and what I have found to be true I am more than happy to share
it with people. But as for this week we had record numbers this week
in the whole district we taught 51 lessons as a district and we taught
24 with member presents! Alright and Sunday! We had 6 people come to
church in our little Pikeville Branch that adds a ton! And that is the
most investigators I have ever had on my mission. I have been praying
for God to help me see if what I am doing is right? Like the right
work and seeing and doing the right things. And I think that this is
an answer to all those questions ;). Hope yall have a great week! And
know that I love and pray for y'all!
Love,
Elder Travis Toomer.
P.S. For those that need/want the new address for me 😆.
64 Birchwood St.
Pikeville, TN 37367
This week has been a little slower than what we have been use to. But
there is no slowing down of time. We have been crazy busy with
everything going on and even when we don't have a ton of things to do,
we find a whole lot of stuff to do! I love the mission it keeps you
busy pretty much 24/7 and you can always find things to make you
seriously tired from working hard! And it's the best feeling in the
world to collapse after a hard days work. Haha it almost sounds like
I'm getting into regular life of a full time job and it's sweet!
Alright so Tuesday we helped the Barkers over in Dunlap with their
flower beds and mom you would've been so proud of me because all them
days you wanted me to pull the weeds from the fence and it totally
paid of, because I was kicking trash with pulling them weeds! We build
a whole new walkway too and we help with Thomas' projects out in his
shop thing and this family is seriously the coolest ever! We have so
much fun! Then Wednesday we had district meeting with an amazing view
over looking the "mountains" in TN and it was sweet! We went drift
trikeing after wards for a little bit with the sisters in our district
because they wanted to see if they liked it or not.. And they loved
it! ;) Thursday and Friday we worked hard with some service and saw
one or two families. We helped out another investigator family with
weed eating and after wards they invited us to dinner and that was
awesome it was the first time that we had eaten with them! It was a
lot of laughs. Saturday we didn't get to see a lot of people because
like some days on the mission everyone was either sick, tired, or
anything else that says we don't really want to talk with you right
now.. But we did get to have one amazing lesson with one lady and she
to,d us that she felt really good to talk with us and she wants to
start talking with us more. So it's sweet! 😍 Sunday we had a Picnic
and went to the pond that with miss Lisa and it was one of the most
amazing views that I had ever seen in my life! Beautiful life,
beautiful people, just loving life!! Thank you so much for all your
thoughts and prayers! I am grateful to be so blessed with wonderful
family and friends! Hope everyone has a wonderful week! And may God
Bless you all!
Love,
Elder Travis Toomer.
So this seems super crazy to me.. But we have one more month under our
belts and it's seems like every time I turn around its another month
that has past and the more and more it makes me glad for the time that
I have to be a missionary! Monday I finally got to go golfing again!
There was an opportunity that some of holes of par four and I got to
drive them off the tee. It was pretty sweet! Still got around 40.. So
it was real fun! Awesome time because we went with an investigator. On
Tuesday we had a great time finding people to teach and we then had a
time to help a member with some service. Wednesday, we went on
exchanges with the zone leaders and I got to hang out with elder
Daines. Him and I came out together.. So we had some time to reminisce
on the earlier times of our mission. And how things are going. We got
to talk to Stephanie one of our investigators that we hadn't seen in
forever. And she had been having a rough time and we had a chance to
calm her down about life choices and what God can help us do. Thursday
we had interviews with President. He is an awesome man! I know that he
cares for us because he prayed for us individually and it was sweet!
Very spiritual. I asked if I could stay so I hope that that happens!
:) but after interviews I went to crossville on exchanges and spent
the rest of the week there and watched conference! I just want to say
to all the moms out there. Elder Hollands talk was one that was needed
around the world! And I love each and everyone that has been a mother
to anything, grandmother.. People that have been so good to me and I
have the best mom that anyone can ask for! We didn't have anyone come
watch conference with us.. But miracles and blessings here! I love
y'all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Travis Toomer.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Summer 2015
Elder Toomer's Latest:
Aighty so transfer calls were this week. And it is crazy because there
are a ton of changes that are happening in our district and it's crazy
because this district is awesome and we have had a ton of fun the
whole transfer. It's all good though because I know that God totally
helps the area and the people in it with the things that he needs
most. We have had a very interesting week, we have done a lot of
service and we are getting in to help a lot of people and soften
hearts through serving them. We went on exchanges with our district
leader this week and I got Elder Womack to come with me to Pikeville
and we had an awesome time! Got back into contact with a girl that is
around our age and she is super nice. She has been reading all the
scriptures that we have given her and she has done really well in
progressing. She has just been working really hard at her job and so
she hasn't made it to church yet. So transfers calls happened this
week, and we found out that I am staying in Pikeville, getting a new
companion but yet don't know who yet. We have to wait until Tuesday to
do that. But elder Mather is going to be the District Leader somewhere
else don't know that one either. But yall are awesome! I am grateful
for the family that I have and the way that my friends have all grown
to be my family. When people say that it takes a village to raise a
child. Lyman is close enough to a village right?? And I know that in
one way or another each and everyone of you have helped me in one way
or another. And yall are helping me right now by praying for me and
all the missionaries in the field and it's a beautiful thing to feel
those prayers and feel the love that I have from everyone back home. I
have recently learned that family makes a huge difference and I have
had a bunch of movie quotes going through my head as of lately and one
of them is, "you don't pick your family". And I am so glad that I
don't. I am so glad that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me so well
that he put me in a family that loves and cares for me and backs me
up, and pushes me to keep my beliefs and to also push me to my limits
because they know what's best. So all of yall listen to your parents
they be some smart people. Always take advantage of every minute
because when you start to grow up and go on missions and get into the
world you will find out that it goes by way fast than you can ever
imagine. So give your parents, grandparents, friends, and most of all
your family a big hug and tell them that you love them. Because man
alive they are the ones that God has trusted to let you live this
Earth with. The most important time with the most important people. I
have noticed that there are certain families and sons and daughters
that do not respect others, and do not respect their parents. We all
have a choice whether to be as Lamen and Lemuel. Or be as Nephi and
have the attitude and see the blessing of, "being born of Goodly
Parents". I hope that this week is the best week of y'all's life and
that you have the opportunity to see blessings in your life you never
notice before. With love from Pikeville, Tennessee!
Elder Toomer
Hey so this week good and we have found a whole lot of new people to
teach. We met a very nice man yesterday while tracting his name is
James and he is very excited to change his life. That's what he told
us also he told us that he was going to do his homework, which means
the pamphlet that we gave him. He has an awesome son that is ready for
the Gospel. It truly helps when you are obedient. We also did a lot of
service this week, for a lady that has a very interesting house but we
put siding up and I got stabbed in the chest by nails. It was pretty
sweet I got some sick scars from it!! The limbs are leaving soon and
then I think I will probably try when they do. Because we have a
really fun time with them. My new companion is Elder Beckett and he is
from Idaho still so I'm going strong on the companions being from Utah
or Idaho who would've thought?! We have a elder in our district who
where we were playing a get to know you game, we found out that she
used to be in a gang! It just goes to show that the gospel reaches the
even hardest of hearts! I'm sorry that this email is really late but
I'm hoping that y'all have a great week and that blessings and
miracles may come your way. And to those of you who haven't written in
a while God does not bless those who forget about missionaries 😉😋 jk
love yall!
Love,
Elder Toomer
This week was super awesome!!
Monday-
We picked up the jasper elders and hung out there for a while, had a
good time eating Chinese food and going to Walmart. We also went to a
bunch of army surplus stores and everybody but me bought camo pants.
Then we came back to Dunlap and played steal the flag and others
played a game like settlers.. And then we helped a nice older lady
named miss Judy it was a sweet laid back day.
Tuesday- we finished putting up siding for a sister in the ward.
Sister sim's. She is super nice, and sweet but it was hot and I
sweated like crazy but we had a ton of fun workin hard and on ladders
and on of the ladders, the one somehow I found myself on a lot was
broken on the bottom so I had someone watching over me that was super
fun! ;) then when we got home we went and visited a less active in the
ward and some how they got staff infection.. That was bad because we
were in their house and stuff it was all kinds of messed up. But we
are good no staff for us! Once again God watches out for his
missionaries.
Wednesday- today we had quite a few plans for in the morning and
almost all of them fell through.. But when all plans fall through what
do you do sleep? Na! That's only on the weekends ;) but we went and
volunteered at the house of hope which is a baptist set up where
people with low incomes can get food clothes and other necessities.
The people there are very nice. Rebecca the lady that owns or runs it
was very grateful that we came by. This was also the Lims that
district meeting. (To those that don't know who the Lims are I will
send a picture at the end). But it was seriously an awesome time ,
because our district is super fun when we get together yet it was very
sad to know that we can't do anything to get the Lims to stay.
Thursday- we had a very early start because we had a meeting in
McMinnville. It was zone meeting where president shows up and stuff.
President is awesome though we were jokin around with him and stuff
and talked to him about our areas. Turns out that he was gonna come to
church with us, that was awesome.... But after a meeting that went
from 8-5. :/ we then got home and aired up our tires because they
failed inspection so we had to get that taken care of ;) but elder Lim
wasn't feeling to hot, and so we went to his house at almost 8 and
gave him a blessing and it was very spiritual experienced doing that
for a man that has truly made an impact in my life. And I felt the
spirit so very much and it was nice I needed it. I hadn't had an
opportunity to give a blessing for a while. Then we just talked to
them for a little while because this is their last full week here.
Friday- we did weekly planning what seemed like forever long. But it
was a good one. The we had lunch with the Bergerons and they fed us
spaghetti which was really good, side note I didn't notice it but
everyone here thinks that I am like the best eater. That I like chow
down on everything and anything. And to those of you who knew I wasn't
a big fan of fruit. I have changed my ways. "At last I've seen the
light" hahah movie quote there! But then we went and saw the cox
family and they are a part member family, the mom is philipino and the
dad was a church of Christ goer but seriously one of the driest
Mormons I have ever met. We also went and gave our cards like pass
along cards to miss Judy who is the nicest coolest old lady ever and
she is beginning to really like us. And her and I talked about God for
quite some time it was awesome! She is a dry Mormon too. We have been
really blessed finding people to teach these past coup,e
Saturday- we started out going to the mountain up here where some of
the ten most wanted people in Tennessee live and it's really sketchy..
But when we go with elder lim they really don't bother us because
older men get the utmost respect around here and it's something that I
love about the south. They can treat us like dirt but when we being
elder lim with us the are very nice and respectful even if they don't
want to talk to us. And then we went to Dunlap and Blitzed their area
and me and Elder Womack went and talked with some people and my comp
and his comp went and did the same thing. I should probably tell you
why we went on a blitz there is something called the 127 yard sale and
127 is a interstate that stretches from Michigan to Alabama? I think
but is like almost 400 miles long and there are people lined up the
whole way to sale their stuff. It was really crazy here this past week
because of it but it ended Sunday and we saw some awesome things and
talked to some sweet people!
Sunday- we had normal sacrament except for there was not a whole lot
of people there. So us as missionaries took care of the sacrament and
it was nice, I got to bless and I hadn't done that in a while and the
words hit me pretty deep. And President came and once again we had a
sick time with him he kept hitting my head and so I punched his rib
cage and we are gonna box it out when we go home. But the Lims talked
for their last time.. And then we had pot luck and I hung out with the
little ones bubba and Ms. Carly they are the kids of and
excommunicated member and they are the funniest little redneck kids
it's awesome! Then we saw Jacqueline, she is deaf but is very excited
about the gospel and she has a cell phone now and so we are having the
sister that knows sign language text her and start to get to know her.
Also the super solid people that we tracked into last week, James and
Mylm.. They weren't home.. Like there was a Mexican family living in
the trailer that they were In last week so it was really weird.
Well I hope yall have a great week!
Love,
Elder Toomer
You know I never really noticed how much goes on in life until your
missionary. Missionaries have their eyes open to everything. I have
seen the goodness of people the brightness and a light of Christ. But
one thing that gets to me is that missionaries always see the bad too.
We see the people that are abused and get taken advantage of and
especially being a teenager, Or young adult I guess, but I've noticed
that a lot of people are using technology as a way to escape and it's
driving me nuts. The iPads that we have are very good at keeping the
work chastening but there sometimes and some people that take too much
advantage of it. There are also a lot of girls that I see on dates
that the boys that they are with are on their phones instead of
listening to what they have to say. I just want y'all to know that
missions have open my eyes to everything and I want you all to take
advantage of each and every day! Because I have noticed a lot of
different things on my mission mostly good sometimes bad but there are
certain things that I can work on. And I know that each and everyone
of us have that conscious that tells us that we have things to work on
and there are amazing people that we could miss out on if we are so
engulfed in our technology. I know for fact that God has put this
amazing gift into a life of technology but that we need to use it for
his purposes that are better for us and not worse. This week has been
amazing because you had a lot of service to do so I haven't been able
to get a get back so it going 😉. But also we got to go to the temple
this week and that is the best time of a mission. Especially here in
Tennessee there are a lot of times that we don't get to take advantage
of the temple because sometimes it's too far away but everyone that's
in Utah or close to Utah please take advantage of the temples. We got
the chance to do initiatory work because we were early and something
hit me that one of the temple workers told us. It was that each and
every time we go through the initiatory work we are going through a
different person and we are receiving the blessings for them and I
realize that those blessings are too great to comprehend. We also have
the chance to do district meeting the next day and I got the chance to
talk with each and everyone of the missionaries in my district. I've
been so blessed with these wonderful young man! It is crazy how you
can love so fast on your mission it's beautiful to see how God touches
our hearts especially as a servants. And I want each and everyone of
you to know that you are his service so please let the Lord touch your
heart in someway this week! And I want to hear how each and everyone
of you did next week we'll say that it's a follow up in missionary
life! ☺️.
Hope you have a great week! With all the love,
Hey y'all!
So this week was fantastic!! We started out by going to crossville on
Monday and playing basketball like all day and I hadn't played that
much ball in a long time and so I loved it!! It was the best! Except I
figured out that I'm terrible at basketball now.. Never really was
that good but I'm worse now haha! So boys, when I get back we gotta
play a lot of ball! But then after that we went on exchanges with the
Zone Leaders on Tuesday and those are scary yet fun at the same time
you wonder if they are like going to judge your area or anything.. But
na it went really good and we cleaned up our area book a whole ton
with people that weren't going to progress and so we dropped them. We
found some new people tracking though, my biggest fear happened though
while we were tracting.. We woke up someone's baby! But the lady that
we met was very nice about it and said that she was gonna try and
sleep because she was a firefighter dispatch and she doesn't get a lot
of time to sleep. But we have an awesome lady named miss Judy and she
owns like a fabric and pawn shop and I found this awesome sweater!
I'll attach a picture at the end of this! But then Wednesday we had
district meeting in Sparta and it was sweet! Very spiritual and it's
awesome to see that we have like the coolest district ever and I am
very close with everyone I really would be ok if I just got to stay
here. 😉 but we got to see a couple of people after that and it was an
awesome time. But there has been something weird going on with me I am
just very tired lately and I fall asleep anywhere and it ain't good.
But I'm workin on it 😉 I think it's because we do all this service
and walking in the sun and I just sit down for a while and I pass out!
I love it I'm so tired that I would rather sleep than eat 😋 but no
worries I'm still gaining weight like crazy! Hahah which is so not
good but that's what I need to work off when I get back. I have
already accepted that the south has way to good of cooks for me to
even lose anything even if I work out so I'm trying to maintain and
then loose when I get home. Alright you what day am I on, Thursday! So
that day we did a ton of service for members and investigators. We
volunteer at like a house of hope, where people with bad times like
low income and things can come and get some food! We moved like every
thing you can think of out of this car port into the smallest attic
ever! And it was so hot in there! And the humidity was crazy strong.
And then after that we went and helped a widow in the branch and we
fixed her deck and put up a protective shield thing on her garage part
of her house. And we ate with our new branch mission leader bro
wright! He is a boss and he is excited to help us out. The next day
once again we were trying to save miles, (when the Lims left our miles
got destroyed!) haha but we did weekly planning after we had lunch
with a member in the ward and we took him to a lady named Jaquline
that is deaf but we are working on trying to teach her with a sister
in the mission that knows sign language but it seriously hasn't worked
out every time that we try I'm half tempted to get to know sign
language so that we can just teach her :). Saturday and Sunday we
parked the car at the Lims old house and did laundry because I had no
clean clothes.. 😕 nasty! But we then had to walk the rest of the time
so we could save the miles! Lots of sweat that's for sure.. But an
awesome week! We had a great time me and Elder Beckett. He is his own
type of awesome hahah he's a gamer, from Idaho falls, and he loves
knives, guns, and anything that could possibly cause harm but he tells
me that if I don't scare him he won't use them on me! 😗 so I make
sure not to do that.. Haha he is the oldest in his fam and so he knows
exactly what I'm all about as the baby because the baby in his family
is a brother too! Just a little background..
Love y'all! Hope that you have a great week!
Aighty so transfer calls were this week. And it is crazy because there
are a ton of changes that are happening in our district and it's crazy
because this district is awesome and we have had a ton of fun the
whole transfer. It's all good though because I know that God totally
helps the area and the people in it with the things that he needs
most. We have had a very interesting week, we have done a lot of
service and we are getting in to help a lot of people and soften
hearts through serving them. We went on exchanges with our district
leader this week and I got Elder Womack to come with me to Pikeville
and we had an awesome time! Got back into contact with a girl that is
around our age and she is super nice. She has been reading all the
scriptures that we have given her and she has done really well in
progressing. She has just been working really hard at her job and so
she hasn't made it to church yet. So transfers calls happened this
week, and we found out that I am staying in Pikeville, getting a new
companion but yet don't know who yet. We have to wait until Tuesday to
do that. But elder Mather is going to be the District Leader somewhere
else don't know that one either. But yall are awesome! I am grateful
for the family that I have and the way that my friends have all grown
to be my family. When people say that it takes a village to raise a
child. Lyman is close enough to a village right?? And I know that in
one way or another each and everyone of you have helped me in one way
or another. And yall are helping me right now by praying for me and
all the missionaries in the field and it's a beautiful thing to feel
those prayers and feel the love that I have from everyone back home. I
have recently learned that family makes a huge difference and I have
had a bunch of movie quotes going through my head as of lately and one
of them is, "you don't pick your family". And I am so glad that I
don't. I am so glad that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me so well
that he put me in a family that loves and cares for me and backs me
up, and pushes me to keep my beliefs and to also push me to my limits
because they know what's best. So all of yall listen to your parents
they be some smart people. Always take advantage of every minute
because when you start to grow up and go on missions and get into the
world you will find out that it goes by way fast than you can ever
imagine. So give your parents, grandparents, friends, and most of all
your family a big hug and tell them that you love them. Because man
alive they are the ones that God has trusted to let you live this
Earth with. The most important time with the most important people. I
have noticed that there are certain families and sons and daughters
that do not respect others, and do not respect their parents. We all
have a choice whether to be as Lamen and Lemuel. Or be as Nephi and
have the attitude and see the blessing of, "being born of Goodly
Parents". I hope that this week is the best week of y'all's life and
that you have the opportunity to see blessings in your life you never
notice before. With love from Pikeville, Tennessee!
Elder Toomer
Hey so this week good and we have found a whole lot of new people to
teach. We met a very nice man yesterday while tracting his name is
James and he is very excited to change his life. That's what he told
us also he told us that he was going to do his homework, which means
the pamphlet that we gave him. He has an awesome son that is ready for
the Gospel. It truly helps when you are obedient. We also did a lot of
service this week, for a lady that has a very interesting house but we
put siding up and I got stabbed in the chest by nails. It was pretty
sweet I got some sick scars from it!! The limbs are leaving soon and
then I think I will probably try when they do. Because we have a
really fun time with them. My new companion is Elder Beckett and he is
from Idaho still so I'm going strong on the companions being from Utah
or Idaho who would've thought?! We have a elder in our district who
where we were playing a get to know you game, we found out that she
used to be in a gang! It just goes to show that the gospel reaches the
even hardest of hearts! I'm sorry that this email is really late but
I'm hoping that y'all have a great week and that blessings and
miracles may come your way. And to those of you who haven't written in
a while God does not bless those who forget about missionaries 😉😋 jk
love yall!
Love,
Elder Toomer
This week was super awesome!!
Monday-
We picked up the jasper elders and hung out there for a while, had a
good time eating Chinese food and going to Walmart. We also went to a
bunch of army surplus stores and everybody but me bought camo pants.
Then we came back to Dunlap and played steal the flag and others
played a game like settlers.. And then we helped a nice older lady
named miss Judy it was a sweet laid back day.
Tuesday- we finished putting up siding for a sister in the ward.
Sister sim's. She is super nice, and sweet but it was hot and I
sweated like crazy but we had a ton of fun workin hard and on ladders
and on of the ladders, the one somehow I found myself on a lot was
broken on the bottom so I had someone watching over me that was super
fun! ;) then when we got home we went and visited a less active in the
ward and some how they got staff infection.. That was bad because we
were in their house and stuff it was all kinds of messed up. But we
are good no staff for us! Once again God watches out for his
missionaries.
Wednesday- today we had quite a few plans for in the morning and
almost all of them fell through.. But when all plans fall through what
do you do sleep? Na! That's only on the weekends ;) but we went and
volunteered at the house of hope which is a baptist set up where
people with low incomes can get food clothes and other necessities.
The people there are very nice. Rebecca the lady that owns or runs it
was very grateful that we came by. This was also the Lims that
district meeting. (To those that don't know who the Lims are I will
send a picture at the end). But it was seriously an awesome time ,
because our district is super fun when we get together yet it was very
sad to know that we can't do anything to get the Lims to stay.
Thursday- we had a very early start because we had a meeting in
McMinnville. It was zone meeting where president shows up and stuff.
President is awesome though we were jokin around with him and stuff
and talked to him about our areas. Turns out that he was gonna come to
church with us, that was awesome.... But after a meeting that went
from 8-5. :/ we then got home and aired up our tires because they
failed inspection so we had to get that taken care of ;) but elder Lim
wasn't feeling to hot, and so we went to his house at almost 8 and
gave him a blessing and it was very spiritual experienced doing that
for a man that has truly made an impact in my life. And I felt the
spirit so very much and it was nice I needed it. I hadn't had an
opportunity to give a blessing for a while. Then we just talked to
them for a little while because this is their last full week here.
Friday- we did weekly planning what seemed like forever long. But it
was a good one. The we had lunch with the Bergerons and they fed us
spaghetti which was really good, side note I didn't notice it but
everyone here thinks that I am like the best eater. That I like chow
down on everything and anything. And to those of you who knew I wasn't
a big fan of fruit. I have changed my ways. "At last I've seen the
light" hahah movie quote there! But then we went and saw the cox
family and they are a part member family, the mom is philipino and the
dad was a church of Christ goer but seriously one of the driest
Mormons I have ever met. We also went and gave our cards like pass
along cards to miss Judy who is the nicest coolest old lady ever and
she is beginning to really like us. And her and I talked about God for
quite some time it was awesome! She is a dry Mormon too. We have been
really blessed finding people to teach these past coup,e
Saturday- we started out going to the mountain up here where some of
the ten most wanted people in Tennessee live and it's really sketchy..
But when we go with elder lim they really don't bother us because
older men get the utmost respect around here and it's something that I
love about the south. They can treat us like dirt but when we being
elder lim with us the are very nice and respectful even if they don't
want to talk to us. And then we went to Dunlap and Blitzed their area
and me and Elder Womack went and talked with some people and my comp
and his comp went and did the same thing. I should probably tell you
why we went on a blitz there is something called the 127 yard sale and
127 is a interstate that stretches from Michigan to Alabama? I think
but is like almost 400 miles long and there are people lined up the
whole way to sale their stuff. It was really crazy here this past week
because of it but it ended Sunday and we saw some awesome things and
talked to some sweet people!
Sunday- we had normal sacrament except for there was not a whole lot
of people there. So us as missionaries took care of the sacrament and
it was nice, I got to bless and I hadn't done that in a while and the
words hit me pretty deep. And President came and once again we had a
sick time with him he kept hitting my head and so I punched his rib
cage and we are gonna box it out when we go home. But the Lims talked
for their last time.. And then we had pot luck and I hung out with the
little ones bubba and Ms. Carly they are the kids of and
excommunicated member and they are the funniest little redneck kids
it's awesome! Then we saw Jacqueline, she is deaf but is very excited
about the gospel and she has a cell phone now and so we are having the
sister that knows sign language text her and start to get to know her.
Also the super solid people that we tracked into last week, James and
Mylm.. They weren't home.. Like there was a Mexican family living in
the trailer that they were In last week so it was really weird.
Well I hope yall have a great week!
Love,
Elder Toomer
You know I never really noticed how much goes on in life until your
missionary. Missionaries have their eyes open to everything. I have
seen the goodness of people the brightness and a light of Christ. But
one thing that gets to me is that missionaries always see the bad too.
We see the people that are abused and get taken advantage of and
especially being a teenager, Or young adult I guess, but I've noticed
that a lot of people are using technology as a way to escape and it's
driving me nuts. The iPads that we have are very good at keeping the
work chastening but there sometimes and some people that take too much
advantage of it. There are also a lot of girls that I see on dates
that the boys that they are with are on their phones instead of
listening to what they have to say. I just want y'all to know that
missions have open my eyes to everything and I want you all to take
advantage of each and every day! Because I have noticed a lot of
different things on my mission mostly good sometimes bad but there are
certain things that I can work on. And I know that each and everyone
of us have that conscious that tells us that we have things to work on
and there are amazing people that we could miss out on if we are so
engulfed in our technology. I know for fact that God has put this
amazing gift into a life of technology but that we need to use it for
his purposes that are better for us and not worse. This week has been
amazing because you had a lot of service to do so I haven't been able
to get a get back so it going 😉. But also we got to go to the temple
this week and that is the best time of a mission. Especially here in
Tennessee there are a lot of times that we don't get to take advantage
of the temple because sometimes it's too far away but everyone that's
in Utah or close to Utah please take advantage of the temples. We got
the chance to do initiatory work because we were early and something
hit me that one of the temple workers told us. It was that each and
every time we go through the initiatory work we are going through a
different person and we are receiving the blessings for them and I
realize that those blessings are too great to comprehend. We also have
the chance to do district meeting the next day and I got the chance to
talk with each and everyone of the missionaries in my district. I've
been so blessed with these wonderful young man! It is crazy how you
can love so fast on your mission it's beautiful to see how God touches
our hearts especially as a servants. And I want each and everyone of
you to know that you are his service so please let the Lord touch your
heart in someway this week! And I want to hear how each and everyone
of you did next week we'll say that it's a follow up in missionary
life! ☺️.
Hope you have a great week! With all the love,
Hey y'all!
So this week was fantastic!! We started out by going to crossville on
Monday and playing basketball like all day and I hadn't played that
much ball in a long time and so I loved it!! It was the best! Except I
figured out that I'm terrible at basketball now.. Never really was
that good but I'm worse now haha! So boys, when I get back we gotta
play a lot of ball! But then after that we went on exchanges with the
Zone Leaders on Tuesday and those are scary yet fun at the same time
you wonder if they are like going to judge your area or anything.. But
na it went really good and we cleaned up our area book a whole ton
with people that weren't going to progress and so we dropped them. We
found some new people tracking though, my biggest fear happened though
while we were tracting.. We woke up someone's baby! But the lady that
we met was very nice about it and said that she was gonna try and
sleep because she was a firefighter dispatch and she doesn't get a lot
of time to sleep. But we have an awesome lady named miss Judy and she
owns like a fabric and pawn shop and I found this awesome sweater!
I'll attach a picture at the end of this! But then Wednesday we had
district meeting in Sparta and it was sweet! Very spiritual and it's
awesome to see that we have like the coolest district ever and I am
very close with everyone I really would be ok if I just got to stay
here. 😉 but we got to see a couple of people after that and it was an
awesome time. But there has been something weird going on with me I am
just very tired lately and I fall asleep anywhere and it ain't good.
But I'm workin on it 😉 I think it's because we do all this service
and walking in the sun and I just sit down for a while and I pass out!
I love it I'm so tired that I would rather sleep than eat 😋 but no
worries I'm still gaining weight like crazy! Hahah which is so not
good but that's what I need to work off when I get back. I have
already accepted that the south has way to good of cooks for me to
even lose anything even if I work out so I'm trying to maintain and
then loose when I get home. Alright you what day am I on, Thursday! So
that day we did a ton of service for members and investigators. We
volunteer at like a house of hope, where people with bad times like
low income and things can come and get some food! We moved like every
thing you can think of out of this car port into the smallest attic
ever! And it was so hot in there! And the humidity was crazy strong.
And then after that we went and helped a widow in the branch and we
fixed her deck and put up a protective shield thing on her garage part
of her house. And we ate with our new branch mission leader bro
wright! He is a boss and he is excited to help us out. The next day
once again we were trying to save miles, (when the Lims left our miles
got destroyed!) haha but we did weekly planning after we had lunch
with a member in the ward and we took him to a lady named Jaquline
that is deaf but we are working on trying to teach her with a sister
in the mission that knows sign language but it seriously hasn't worked
out every time that we try I'm half tempted to get to know sign
language so that we can just teach her :). Saturday and Sunday we
parked the car at the Lims old house and did laundry because I had no
clean clothes.. 😕 nasty! But we then had to walk the rest of the time
so we could save the miles! Lots of sweat that's for sure.. But an
awesome week! We had a great time me and Elder Beckett. He is his own
type of awesome hahah he's a gamer, from Idaho falls, and he loves
knives, guns, and anything that could possibly cause harm but he tells
me that if I don't scare him he won't use them on me! 😗 so I make
sure not to do that.. Haha he is the oldest in his fam and so he knows
exactly what I'm all about as the baby because the baby in his family
is a brother too! Just a little background..
Love y'all! Hope that you have a great week!
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