Well I had a list of things to email you about, but I
left my planner at home, so scratch that. I'm emailing at the underground
apple store on 5th ave in Manhattan, so that's pretty sweet.
This week was awesome! I went on a split with the sister
training leader, Sister Cole. We stayed in my area, which was good. I'm
pretty sure sister white is leaving this cycle because she's been in olmstead
her whole mission (6 months!) We tracted into this AMAZING guy named Armando.
He's like 30 ish and has two daughters. We taught part of the restoration
at his door, and set up an appointment to go back. Sister White and I went
back on friday. We went over the restoration again, and after we taught
about Christ's earthly ministry he asked me "I just need to know what
the Lord wants me to do" So sister white invited him to be baptized
and he said yes! He's so ready and amazing. The Lord really does prepare
people for our message.
Remember Mario, the guy from the gym? Well... We gave
his information to the elders so they could be in contact with him. That
way there's no more worrying about him asking us on dates. Turns out that
he works at our FAVORITE burrito place as a delivery boy. That means that
not only do the elders get super good deals on mexican food (like super
super good mexican food) but we can NEVER order mexican food to be delivered
to our house! FREAK! You are welcome, Elders.
Still no date for Miguel. We are working on it, but we
are afraid that he doesn't understand the atonement. Otherwise he would
feel more urgency to be baptized we think... So, time will tell! We are
going to go over some scriptures with him this week and hopefully understand
where he is coming from a little more.
We gave the book of mormon to Manny this week! He LOVED
it! He read the note and blushed :) Then he went to his room and started
writing Jocee a letter back! So, be excited for that.
I went to my first zone conference this week. It was awesome.
President Morgan really is an inspired man for this mission. He talked
about becoming a consecrated missionary. This time that we have to serve
the Lord is probably the closest we will ever be to living the law of consecration,
so why wouldn't we want to do it the best we can? I wish I had my notes
because he shared some really awesome stuff...but, maybe in my next email!
The work is hastening. When I first got here, we had ZERO
investigators. NONE! Now we have 4. This is the Lord's work, and we should
be grateful for every little bit He let's us do. I am trying every day
to be grateful for the little bit of His work He let's me be apart of.
I love all of you!
-Sister Toone
PS I don't know if I'll be a trainer after the next transfer. Part of me thinks yes,
but I just don't know. I feel a lot of peace about the up-coming transfer,
so that's a good sign. Oh! Tell Rulon I had Philipino food. We had casaba
cake and this really good spicy pork stuff over rice.
The other day we made a roomie breakfast. It was good
to have real food :) We made waffles. yesterday I broke down and made a
real dinner. good news! I remember how to cook! a little anyway. the rice
was a little hard but other than that it was good!
I have to tell you, last night I was super grouchy.
so I was looking through the pictures that you sent in the package and
there is one of the girls on the cedar chest. At the top of the picture
you can just barely see the bottoms of a bunch of pictures of ME! I was
like OH!! THEY DO LOVE ME!! it pretty much made my whole night. :)
PS I walked past bergdorfs and saks and bloomingdales
all in one day.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Week 10
Well, this cycle is flying by! it's pretty much half over
already, that's nuts. where did July go!? this week was pretty crazy...
here's why.
last week i meant to email you about this guy we ran into as we were walking to the church. he turned the corner at the same time as me, and we awkwardly made eye contact.. not to mention the fact that we were walking right next to each other.. so i had to say something! i asked him how he was and how his day was going... he said he just got done at the gym and he invited me to go work out with him. well, that's awkward. so sister white gave him a book of mormon and that was that. I didn't even get his name.
On Sunday we were sitting in sacrament meeting next to our investigator miguel (who is freakin awesome, btw) and this guy walks in... he looks sort of familiar.. and then it hits me! it's the guy from the gym! AND HE HAS HIS BOOK OF MORMON! I about died laughing. His name is Mario and he's way funny. We invited him to FHE on monday, he just left work without saying anything to come. While he was there he made some comment about taking us out on a date and things got weird.. but we turned him over to the elders real quick ;) He's 26 and he was born in the Congo!
Miguel pretty much just needs to get baptized right now. We haven't taught him the word of wisdom yet but he was telling us about how he told his friends he can't drink anymore. He really wants to get baptized but his girlfriend in utah is acting really hesitant about it (which is irritating to no end.. but oh well) I think for sure by the end of August. He has the BIGGEST heart and he really is one of the kindest people I've ever met!
Life on the mish is good. I am continually reminded about the scripture that talks about "a peculiar people" um, where else in the world would you find 4 white girls that WILLINGLY go out to talk to people in the sketchiest of places for 18 months? but I love it.
anything else you want to know? I did get the recipe from Sister Filion, but she cooks like momma Toone.. which I can follow in English, but spanglish is another story. I'm going to try it out and then I'll let you know, but here's the gist of it.
2 cups uncooked rice
cinnamon
cloves
evaporated milk (2 cans)
sweet and condensed milk (1 can)
cream of coconut (1 can)
she uses whole cinnamon and whole cloves.. she boils it (in water, i assume) so there isnt any chunks of spices in her pudding.
Well.. I think that's about all I got! Love you all!
PS how's dad? he's such a brat. Bishop Filion reminds me so much of him. When I get done being a missionary I will definitely be giving bishop a hug. he's so grouchy until you really talk to him. then he's SO sweet and has the biggest heart.
PPS I keep finding myself saying things that are only said in the bronx. like if you don't hear something they always say 'what happened?' I do that all of the time! It will be interesting to see how things are in about 15 months. is time flying by at home too? I hope so.
I hope you can tell that really, i am doing good. Sister Dalley and sister Jensen have been keeping me sane. Dalley is just like lindsey. seriously. It's such a blessing. OH! speaking of blessings.. we all should be VERY grateful for the equalized mission fund. our metro cards that we buy every month are 112 dollars! to ride the bus somewhere and back is 5 dollars and the train is like 5 dollars one way. things are SO expensive! tax is almost 10% and milk is almost 4 dollars a gallon. Just thought you'd like to know. :P
Oh, also google a bronx bug. I saw one today. i'll just let you imagine my reaction!
last week i meant to email you about this guy we ran into as we were walking to the church. he turned the corner at the same time as me, and we awkwardly made eye contact.. not to mention the fact that we were walking right next to each other.. so i had to say something! i asked him how he was and how his day was going... he said he just got done at the gym and he invited me to go work out with him. well, that's awkward. so sister white gave him a book of mormon and that was that. I didn't even get his name.
On Sunday we were sitting in sacrament meeting next to our investigator miguel (who is freakin awesome, btw) and this guy walks in... he looks sort of familiar.. and then it hits me! it's the guy from the gym! AND HE HAS HIS BOOK OF MORMON! I about died laughing. His name is Mario and he's way funny. We invited him to FHE on monday, he just left work without saying anything to come. While he was there he made some comment about taking us out on a date and things got weird.. but we turned him over to the elders real quick ;) He's 26 and he was born in the Congo!
Miguel pretty much just needs to get baptized right now. We haven't taught him the word of wisdom yet but he was telling us about how he told his friends he can't drink anymore. He really wants to get baptized but his girlfriend in utah is acting really hesitant about it (which is irritating to no end.. but oh well) I think for sure by the end of August. He has the BIGGEST heart and he really is one of the kindest people I've ever met!
Life on the mish is good. I am continually reminded about the scripture that talks about "a peculiar people" um, where else in the world would you find 4 white girls that WILLINGLY go out to talk to people in the sketchiest of places for 18 months? but I love it.
anything else you want to know? I did get the recipe from Sister Filion, but she cooks like momma Toone.. which I can follow in English, but spanglish is another story. I'm going to try it out and then I'll let you know, but here's the gist of it.
2 cups uncooked rice
cinnamon
cloves
evaporated milk (2 cans)
sweet and condensed milk (1 can)
cream of coconut (1 can)
she uses whole cinnamon and whole cloves.. she boils it (in water, i assume) so there isnt any chunks of spices in her pudding.
Well.. I think that's about all I got! Love you all!
PS how's dad? he's such a brat. Bishop Filion reminds me so much of him. When I get done being a missionary I will definitely be giving bishop a hug. he's so grouchy until you really talk to him. then he's SO sweet and has the biggest heart.
PPS I keep finding myself saying things that are only said in the bronx. like if you don't hear something they always say 'what happened?' I do that all of the time! It will be interesting to see how things are in about 15 months. is time flying by at home too? I hope so.
I hope you can tell that really, i am doing good. Sister Dalley and sister Jensen have been keeping me sane. Dalley is just like lindsey. seriously. It's such a blessing. OH! speaking of blessings.. we all should be VERY grateful for the equalized mission fund. our metro cards that we buy every month are 112 dollars! to ride the bus somewhere and back is 5 dollars and the train is like 5 dollars one way. things are SO expensive! tax is almost 10% and milk is almost 4 dollars a gallon. Just thought you'd like to know. :P
Oh, also google a bronx bug. I saw one today. i'll just let you imagine my reaction!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Week 9
So, not a lot has happened this week. and by not a lot
I mean nothing out of the ordinary... which here isn't saying much.. but,
ya know.
I went to the temple today! It was fantastic. it's really small and our session was mostly missionaries... but I am so grateful I got to go! It closes for summer cleaning soon so the chances of us going later in the cycle were slim. It was just sister White and I in Manhattan... which was kind of crazy. We were walking trying to find the right subway station and we walked right past Sacks on 5th Ave!! I about died. Don't be surprised when I come home from my mission and leave again to go to the art institute in South Man.
I can't remember what I have told you and what I haven't. We got a new roommate which has made my life about 10000 times easier. She is a spoiled brat just like me. She, too, left her Michael Kors watch at home to serve a mission, so we can relate a lot. She hates being sweaty and she has LOTS of cute clothes which is helping my life immensely. She is also a hairstylist... so, there is no promises that I will be keeping my long hair. Seriously, there isn't even a point to washing it now. It gets SO sweaty and nasty and I wear it up every stinkin' day.
Sister White and I might have our first baptism coming up! HOLLA! (i'm also developing a ghetto/spanglish vocabulary.. heaven help me) His name is Miguel and I can't remember what I've told you so I'll just tell ya everything! he is like 27 and engaged to a girl from utah who is LDS. they actually have a little boy together. He loves her family and he also loves the plan of salvation. he just needs to set a date pretty much. He is also a chef... and hopefully he will cook for us soon!
I LOVE the people in the Bronx. There is never a dull moment here. We ran into some heebee jeebies the other night. What are they, you ask? they are some hebrew-jewish black guys that think that Jesus is black, and when he comes again all of the white people are going to die (or something to that effect) In Harlem they actually behead people. Is that sketch or what? Needless to say, we didn't chat with them. Sister White and I have also gained a new friend. He is from Bangladesh and he doesn't speak much english. We aren't sure if he is interested in the church, or us. He did ask us to go get coffee with him, so things aren't looking too bright. We run into him in the most random of places though and he usually chases us down. We do have a Bangali BOM to give to him next time we run into him!
Okay, this is SUPER long. But, I love all of you. I finally had that "i'm a real missionary in new york city" epiphany this week. and, I love it. Sister Dally (the new roommate) said something I really liked the other day. it was something to the effect of "yeah, missionary work isn't fun all of the time and it definitely isn't glamorous... and there are some days that you don't want to do anything. but where else would you rather be?" to that, I say amen!!
-Sister Toone
President Morgan is from Arizona. I'm not sure how old he is, but they have grandkids. I'd say he was around 50. they have a son that is 17 right now. Kade wrote me a letter in spanish the other day... my zone leaders are both mexican so i had them translate it :)
And the weather here is seriously awful. I've never dripped sweat in my life! I'm glad you got your new phone so you can check in on me all of the time. ;) things really are good here. Sister Jensen is from provo area but she spent the summers in mendon with her sister and brother in law. :)
Billy said he would be sending a pkg. i'm so excited to get it :) I probably won't get it till tuesday.. did he tell you what i asked him to do? What pictures did you put in it? I am working on mastering my homesickness.. talking to you helps a lot actually! I was just thinking about sending my sd card home. it has some awesome graffiti on it and a video of some fireflies. they are seriously the COOLEST things! We also saw some guys drumming on the train that I videoed. It has significantly less pictures of me on it because i may or may not have become obese on the mission. it's not my fault EVERYONE feeds us chicken straight off the bone and rice. for every meal. i think i've accidentally swallowed enough chicken bones to form a whole chicken in my stomach. I'm trying to think of some fun things i've eaten that i could get the recipe for. Sister Filion (the bishops wife) Made the CREAMIEST rice pudding. it was so good. I think she put coconut milk in it. she also makes this sweet potato soup/drink stuff that is way good. i'm pretty sure it has a pound of brown sugar in it. I love your letters. the one about 7-11 free slurpee day had me laughing out loud :)
I went to the temple today! It was fantastic. it's really small and our session was mostly missionaries... but I am so grateful I got to go! It closes for summer cleaning soon so the chances of us going later in the cycle were slim. It was just sister White and I in Manhattan... which was kind of crazy. We were walking trying to find the right subway station and we walked right past Sacks on 5th Ave!! I about died. Don't be surprised when I come home from my mission and leave again to go to the art institute in South Man.
I can't remember what I have told you and what I haven't. We got a new roommate which has made my life about 10000 times easier. She is a spoiled brat just like me. She, too, left her Michael Kors watch at home to serve a mission, so we can relate a lot. She hates being sweaty and she has LOTS of cute clothes which is helping my life immensely. She is also a hairstylist... so, there is no promises that I will be keeping my long hair. Seriously, there isn't even a point to washing it now. It gets SO sweaty and nasty and I wear it up every stinkin' day.
Sister White and I might have our first baptism coming up! HOLLA! (i'm also developing a ghetto/spanglish vocabulary.. heaven help me) His name is Miguel and I can't remember what I've told you so I'll just tell ya everything! he is like 27 and engaged to a girl from utah who is LDS. they actually have a little boy together. He loves her family and he also loves the plan of salvation. he just needs to set a date pretty much. He is also a chef... and hopefully he will cook for us soon!
I LOVE the people in the Bronx. There is never a dull moment here. We ran into some heebee jeebies the other night. What are they, you ask? they are some hebrew-jewish black guys that think that Jesus is black, and when he comes again all of the white people are going to die (or something to that effect) In Harlem they actually behead people. Is that sketch or what? Needless to say, we didn't chat with them. Sister White and I have also gained a new friend. He is from Bangladesh and he doesn't speak much english. We aren't sure if he is interested in the church, or us. He did ask us to go get coffee with him, so things aren't looking too bright. We run into him in the most random of places though and he usually chases us down. We do have a Bangali BOM to give to him next time we run into him!
Okay, this is SUPER long. But, I love all of you. I finally had that "i'm a real missionary in new york city" epiphany this week. and, I love it. Sister Dally (the new roommate) said something I really liked the other day. it was something to the effect of "yeah, missionary work isn't fun all of the time and it definitely isn't glamorous... and there are some days that you don't want to do anything. but where else would you rather be?" to that, I say amen!!
-Sister Toone
President Morgan is from Arizona. I'm not sure how old he is, but they have grandkids. I'd say he was around 50. they have a son that is 17 right now. Kade wrote me a letter in spanish the other day... my zone leaders are both mexican so i had them translate it :)
And the weather here is seriously awful. I've never dripped sweat in my life! I'm glad you got your new phone so you can check in on me all of the time. ;) things really are good here. Sister Jensen is from provo area but she spent the summers in mendon with her sister and brother in law. :)
Billy said he would be sending a pkg. i'm so excited to get it :) I probably won't get it till tuesday.. did he tell you what i asked him to do? What pictures did you put in it? I am working on mastering my homesickness.. talking to you helps a lot actually! I was just thinking about sending my sd card home. it has some awesome graffiti on it and a video of some fireflies. they are seriously the COOLEST things! We also saw some guys drumming on the train that I videoed. It has significantly less pictures of me on it because i may or may not have become obese on the mission. it's not my fault EVERYONE feeds us chicken straight off the bone and rice. for every meal. i think i've accidentally swallowed enough chicken bones to form a whole chicken in my stomach. I'm trying to think of some fun things i've eaten that i could get the recipe for. Sister Filion (the bishops wife) Made the CREAMIEST rice pudding. it was so good. I think she put coconut milk in it. she also makes this sweet potato soup/drink stuff that is way good. i'm pretty sure it has a pound of brown sugar in it. I love your letters. the one about 7-11 free slurpee day had me laughing out loud :)
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Week 8
Well Hello!
So this last week was full of interesting experiences. The best was sister white and I met some members of the blood gang on the bus. They're actually pretty nice and as always they told us how pretty we were. One had crusty/bloody knuckles and the other had a seriously swollen eye. Needless to say, we probably will steer clear of that area ;)
We have been teaching our investigator Miguel. He's awesome! We were really worried because his girlfriend (who was his only connection to the church) Broke up with him... but he still wanted to meet with us! When we met he said things with his girlfriend were better and he'd had some awesome experience with his prayers being answered. We taught him the plan of salvation and he committed to praying about a bap date. HOLLA!
We still try and meet with Anita and Kyle (the fashion design boy) But anita is SO busy that we've only met with them like twice. She's awesome.. even though she is less active she still mails her tithing to the church. I just wish people didn't have so much going on here.
Oh! we've met with brijin a few times but she hasn't come to church yet. she's coming home the end of july so hopefully things work out for her. she's so sweet... and she really has a good heart. her family has so many problems and the gospel could really help her in her life.
I LOVED the fourth of July package. We usually only get mail from the offices on Tuesdays, so it may have sat there for a while :) the cookies were so good! My roommate ate most of them though. :S It's okay. OH! I am still in olmstead and still with sister white. It's good because the work is JUST picking up and we are seeing success :D
I found a quote that I loved... mostly because no one in the bronx would get it. it's by vaughn j featherstone and he said "let's not use a sickle, let's use a combine" Needless to say i thought of all of you! I wish the work were that immediate and booming here, but it's not. Which is okay.
What else do you want to know?
I LOVE YOU ALL!
-Sister Toone
PS. My one roommate, sister Jensen, is AWESOME and probably my saving grace here. She loves coke and sometimes she just has to cry with me. :)
we've had a lot of awesome pizza. i also eat a lot of hispanic food and sriracha has become the new ketchup because EVERYONE's food is sooo spicy!
Today President morgan was talking about how we all need to work on being the missionary our mom tells everyone we are ;) I just laughed and wondered what on earth you are telling people! :)
So this last week was full of interesting experiences. The best was sister white and I met some members of the blood gang on the bus. They're actually pretty nice and as always they told us how pretty we were. One had crusty/bloody knuckles and the other had a seriously swollen eye. Needless to say, we probably will steer clear of that area ;)
We have been teaching our investigator Miguel. He's awesome! We were really worried because his girlfriend (who was his only connection to the church) Broke up with him... but he still wanted to meet with us! When we met he said things with his girlfriend were better and he'd had some awesome experience with his prayers being answered. We taught him the plan of salvation and he committed to praying about a bap date. HOLLA!
We still try and meet with Anita and Kyle (the fashion design boy) But anita is SO busy that we've only met with them like twice. She's awesome.. even though she is less active she still mails her tithing to the church. I just wish people didn't have so much going on here.
Oh! we've met with brijin a few times but she hasn't come to church yet. she's coming home the end of july so hopefully things work out for her. she's so sweet... and she really has a good heart. her family has so many problems and the gospel could really help her in her life.
I LOVED the fourth of July package. We usually only get mail from the offices on Tuesdays, so it may have sat there for a while :) the cookies were so good! My roommate ate most of them though. :S It's okay. OH! I am still in olmstead and still with sister white. It's good because the work is JUST picking up and we are seeing success :D
I found a quote that I loved... mostly because no one in the bronx would get it. it's by vaughn j featherstone and he said "let's not use a sickle, let's use a combine" Needless to say i thought of all of you! I wish the work were that immediate and booming here, but it's not. Which is okay.
What else do you want to know?
I LOVE YOU ALL!
-Sister Toone
PS. My one roommate, sister Jensen, is AWESOME and probably my saving grace here. She loves coke and sometimes she just has to cry with me. :)
we've had a lot of awesome pizza. i also eat a lot of hispanic food and sriracha has become the new ketchup because EVERYONE's food is sooo spicy!
Today President morgan was talking about how we all need to work on being the missionary our mom tells everyone we are ;) I just laughed and wondered what on earth you are telling people! :)
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Week 7
I'm just going to write you one long email and trust you to send it around to everyone... This week has been.. rough. So I've been praying a LOT and I know this next week is going to be so hard.. the fourth is tomorrow and then it's your birthdays and I'm just hoping that we are SUPER BUSY!
Sister white came in to the room last night and said " i just want to let you know that I am not sure I'm staying here" aka, i think i might be leaving this next cycle and you will be in charge of showing your new companion the whole area. It adds to my stress but it also helps... sister white and i struggle some days and it's hard.
We went to a new missionary training with president last thursday. He's awesome. He talked all about LIVING the doctrine of Christ and how that's the way you become the missionary that you want to be and that your Heavenly Father has planned for you to be. It came just in time because I've been feeling like I need to improve, i'm just not sure how. He also talked about learning to lock your heart, which is definitely something I need to work on. I'm just not good at not letting my thoughts wander to things like "Oh! Mom would love this!" or "Dustin would DIE right now"
We finally found Brijin! She didn't come to church last sunday or the sunday before so I used my super good stalking skills and we FOUND HER! I am so excited. She has such a good heart and I think she wants to do good things.. she just never really learned how. She hasn't been to church in FOUR years!! So hopefully she will come on Sunday. Another lady we have been working with, Lourdes Robles, is SO awesome. Her and her daughter have been coming to church and they want home teachers to come to their house so they can get ready to go back to the temple (to do baptisms.. i can count on one hand the people in our ward who are endowed) Lourdes also gave us permission to teach her son the lessons so he can be baptized too! It's so exciting. They really are awesome!
I've decided that in the city there is a fine line between being friendly and TOO friendly. First example: we were walking down the street and we passed this older black guy. He didn't seem homeless or crazy so I smiled and he smiled back! it was a nice, friendly exchange.. till we walked past him and he yelled "You are beautiful!" and thanks to you, now I need a shower. I wish I could count how many times I get winked at or called mammi here, but it's just impossible. :) Really, we are safe here and they never do anything to cross lines. It mostly just makes for some really good stories!
I don't know if I told you all this, but right before I left the MTC one of my friends gave me a talk called Sunday Will Come. I've been reading it A LOT. especially this week. It's an awesome reminder that hard things happen. Everyone has those days that are dark and lonely and seem like they will never end. Sometimes they are more like weeks or months or years. But the Savior has been there. And not only has he been there, He's been there for You personally. He was able to overcome it, and with His help, we can too.
I'm not sure what this next week will bring. Probably more hard days and definitely some more experiences but I know that my Heavenly Father is there. He rejoices when I'm happy and he weeps with me when I weep. I love you all and I miss you like crazy!
We finally found Brijin! She didn't come to church last sunday or the sunday before so I used my super good stalking skills and we FOUND HER! I am so excited. She has such a good heart and I think she wants to do good things.. she just never really learned how. She hasn't been to church in FOUR years!! So hopefully she will come on Sunday. Another lady we have been working with, Lourdes Robles, is SO awesome. Her and her daughter have been coming to church and they want home teachers to come to their house so they can get ready to go back to the temple (to do baptisms.. i can count on one hand the people in our ward who are endowed) Lourdes also gave us permission to teach her son the lessons so he can be baptized too! It's so exciting. They really are awesome!
I've decided that in the city there is a fine line between being friendly and TOO friendly. First example: we were walking down the street and we passed this older black guy. He didn't seem homeless or crazy so I smiled and he smiled back! it was a nice, friendly exchange.. till we walked past him and he yelled "You are beautiful!" and thanks to you, now I need a shower. I wish I could count how many times I get winked at or called mammi here, but it's just impossible. :) Really, we are safe here and they never do anything to cross lines. It mostly just makes for some really good stories!
I don't know if I told you all this, but right before I left the MTC one of my friends gave me a talk called Sunday Will Come. I've been reading it A LOT. especially this week. It's an awesome reminder that hard things happen. Everyone has those days that are dark and lonely and seem like they will never end. Sometimes they are more like weeks or months or years. But the Savior has been there. And not only has he been there, He's been there for You personally. He was able to overcome it, and with His help, we can too.
I'm not sure what this next week will bring. Probably more hard days and definitely some more experiences but I know that my Heavenly Father is there. He rejoices when I'm happy and he weeps with me when I weep. I love you all and I miss you like crazy!
Sister Toone
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Pictures from New York
My companion Sister White
Pizza at Cross Bronx
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