Hello!

Well my friends.

It's official.

Missions are the best. This week has been incredible.

First, let's start out with the funnies. I know they are secretly your favorite anyway.

On Friday we went to dinner are Sister Blazeskis house. She was telling us about how she has seen bears around her house for the last week or so. She is worried about her two little doggies and she always takes them with her to take the garbage out because she knows they can smell the bears. She told us that if we ever see one we need to be loud and clap our hands so they get scared of us. We just kind of laughed at the story she told us.

Then during the lesson she was saying something about her family and I just happened to zone out for two seconds and then she yelled something and scared the day lights out of me. I practically jumped out of my chair and sister Checketts could not get herself together so we could finish teaching the lesson. Sister Blazeski thought it was pretty funny too :)

Earlier that day we were teaching an online lesson from the new facebook messenger ap. We were waiting for our less active to respond after we had born our testimonies and promised her blessings... and sister Checketts is tinkering around with the ap. Next thing I know she has sent a voice recording to everyone in the conversation and all it says is "Heelllllooooooooooo!!!!" welp. There goes the spirit! We were dying. She had to send a message that said to disregard the voice recording and there was no way to delete it. We were laughing so hard.

Now fast forward to Tuesday morning. We woke up and we're all ready to go running. We get out of the apartment and run maybe 10 steps and sister Checketts stops and says "well, looks like we are going to settle for a brisk walk this morning... I forgot my sports bra." So we decide to just walk our normal route. We were just about to the end of our peaceful morning walk.. Each of us in our own little world. We are about ready to turn into the apartment complex from the road, and I see a car slow down and pull away from the edge of the road. I look at the trees and see this black form sauntering from the bushes. I grabbed sister Checketts arm and said "it's a bear!" Just in case she wasn't sure. We both panic for a quick second and the car starts moving again and conveniently scares the bear into a brisk walk of its own... In our direction! Of course we both panic and one of us (probably me) yells "run"! Before the word is halfway out we are sliding down the dewy grass into the ditch and onto the parking lot.

Now, pause for a second. Just put yourself in the car's position. You see these two white girls daydreaming while taking their morning walk. You watch them freeze as they see the bear and do the panic dance. Then you watch the bear move slightly in their direction. They freeze, dance, and then book it down the hill into the ditch towards their apartment. Like they really could outrun a bear. We got halfway to our door and busted up laughing. The good news is we probably made the drivers morning!


Later in the day as we were reflecting on our near death experience, sister Checketts informs me that she has basically been preparing for her whole life for that one moment. Her parents had a bear trainer speak to her family about what to do when you see a bear. She has read numerous survivor books and studied and wished and prepared for an opportunity to show her skills. Welp. Opportunity came and went, my friend... And I am pretty sure we failed.


Later yet, we were in Pinebush during our dinner hour. We saw this homemade ice cream stand that advertised pumpkin and apple pie ice cream. We decided it was Pday Eve and we deserved a treat. Sister Checketts pulled in what she thought was the parking lot only to find out all of the cars parked there were at least a hundred years old. And all of the people from the ice cream stand are watching us. Probably because we were interrupting their car show. Apparently the Malibu isn't quite up to their standard. Please excuse me while I back my companion out of the car show. Miss Hyrum really did prepare me for the rest of my life, turns out.

I think that's all of the silly stuff. This week was also full of spiritual miracles.

This week we have been surrounded by so many wonderful women who are doing their very best to keep the covenants they have made. They are strong, independent women who don't let anything get them down. Let's just name some of the things I have heard about this week... Marriage for all the wrong reasons, abuse by parents and boyfriends, rape & the resulting guilt and shame... one woman had 10 days to find a job or she was going to lose all means of supporting herself and her family. It's so humbling to see and hear about these experiences. Sometimes I think it's hard for ME to keep my covenants or to read every day or pray always... But I have no excuse.

Friday we went and washed pumpkins for the Hamptonburgh Fall Festival. It wasn't my favorite service opportunity but it was good. My hands were frozen and swollen by the end... But the pumpkins looked beautiful! :) Then on Saturday we went back to help with the festival. A member of our Ward signed us up to do free face painting. It was really fun but also pretty high pressure... Nothing like parents standing over your shoulder as you smear paint all over their child's face! One lady asked me to paint a mermaid on her daughters arm. Excuse me? Do YOU know how to paint a mermaid? Let's just say that wasn't my best piece of art :)

We tried to plan in a car fast on Thursday but then we ended up not being able to, so we had to car fast on Sunday. It wasn't bad walking to church, and then we had planned on a member coming out with us in the afternoon, but she was sick. That meant a long afternoon of walking. Yay! We had a member drop us off at one appointment and then we walked the 3 miles home, making a few stops on the way.

The roads here don't have sidewalks so we couldn't walk next to each other and talk, and I was left alone with my thoughts. I started to get grumpy because we were wasting so much time walking when we could just get in our car and drive for 5 minutes and be home. Surely President Morgan would understand that we aren't making the most use of our time and it's more convenient to drive! We car fasted for half of the day.. That's good enough, right?

Wrong. I don't think God accepts our own, man-made justifications... It's never easy or convenient to pay tithing or to fast for 24 hours or to read and pray every day, but he asks us to do those things anyways. He knows there is a lot more you could be getting done on Sunday, but he still asks us to go to three hours of church. He asks us to commit 100% because he knows it is a sacrifice... And isn't it the least we could do for Him after all he has sacrificed for us?

I am so grateful for the mission and I am SO grateful that I keep learning and growing. We have really struggled with the elders that we serve with here. We tried to bring it up with them but it always got really contentious really fast, so we asked our STLS about it... Who asked our zone leaders & president Morgan. The zone leaders called our district leader and then our district leader called us out during district meeting. He said he was really hurt that we didn't trust him enough to tell him. He didn't know it was us but it doesn't take a rocket scientist... Anyways.. After that awkward schpeil we had an interview with him. Sister Checketts and I had already talked about being open and honest with him.. So when he asked what we thought about the casualness in the district we were honest. And it felt SO good. This whole week we have been trying to live in honesty in our words and thoughts and actions and it just feels GOOD. it feels good to be true to who you are and how you are feeling. It feels good to be honest and not sell yourself short. It feels good to work hard and to be open about all that you are doing. The gospel helps & inspires us to live in honesty.

I LOVE being a missionary. I love being a member of the restored church. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and I know it has the power to change people's hearts, minds, and lives... And I love being able to testify of that power in my words, thoughts and deeds. This week, as we testified of the restoration and the book of Mormon, our investigator told me there was something different about me. She said I was glowing. I know that that is the spirit and it testifies to each of us if we will let it. I know that we have a prophet of God who leads and guides us... And I am so grateful that we get to hear him be His mouthpiece in a few short weeks.

I am asking (and kind of telling) everyone to actively participate in conference. The Women's broadcast is this Saturday. Please go. God wants you there and I want you there. :)

I love you all!
Xoxo
Sister Toone

Ps. True companions and best friends wear tiger leggings together. :)


 

 

Hello!!!!

Did I ever tell you that I love being a missionary? Because I do. This
week was so much fun. So many miracles. So many amazing people.

Thursday we were car fasting.. Again. We weekly planned and then went
to the church to meet Miguelina. It was the first time I had been able
to talk to her since I got here... She is so busy! She is doing so
well though. She is married, her kids are happy, and she wants to go
to the temple again as soon as possible. It was so good to see her and
hear that she is doing well. After Miguelina we headed to Pine Bush to
see some people there. We had a member from our ward who had to come
home early from her mission for health reasons come with us so she
could drive us around. It was so fun to talk to her about her mission.
She served in Utah and she loved it!

Friday we had a meeting so sister Checketts could get Facebook. After
the meeting I met our recent convert Dulce! She is seriously the
sweetest thing:) she loves her family so much and wants to share the
gospel with them. After Dulce's we stopped by Abi's. She is going
through a lot right now and she is taking it out on her hair :) she
chopped it off and then she hated it so we were "doing service" and
trying to help her love it. We talked about Jesus the whole time, of
course. She has been through so much but she still has so much faith.
She is truly amazing.

The rest of Friday and part of Saturday we were on a split with the
stls. It was strange to be on a split and not be in charge, but it was
nice. :) we met up with our companions at the Phillips and we did
service there. We went to see Eileen Gilmore! She just came back from
the Ogden temple open house and she loved it.
The split was fun but it was nice to be back with my companion again :)

Sundays are the best days. Literally. We had ward council and right
after, bishop told me that he needed to see me in his office. I walked
in and he said "what's wrong?" I told him nothing at all and then I
thought about it and realized that there was something wrong. I am
really struggling with the elders because I feel like they don't care
at all. He said he got the same vibe and told me not to worry about
it. He told me he wanted me to be happy and to end my mission happy :)
I LOVE bishop. We spent the rest of Sunday busy visiting people. It
feels so good to be so busy all of the time.

Monday was a good district meeting :) then we went to do service for
sister Hearn! She is so great. Monday night we had an appointment with
Zuley and then one with Abi right after that. We were on our way to
Zuleys and abi texted us and said she was at Zuleys! It was probably
one of my favorite lessons, ever. Those two need each other and it was
so fun to see how far they have come in the last year. We read from
ether 12 and talked about faith and hope. They are wonderful examples
of faith and literally hoping for a better world. They made us stay so
they could make us dinner. They spent most of the time making fun of
me for my ghetto sneakers and my cheetah Yankees hat. I showed them
the picture from the game and they said I was "mean muggin" I'm pretty
hood. What can I say. ;)

Tuesdays are always and forever my least favorite day of the week. But
this Tuesday was great! During companion study we had like three
people call us and want to meet with us that day. It was beautiful. We
met with an investigator who is praying about getting married and
reading the Book of Mormon. She wants us to do FHE with her and her
family :) then we met with a recent convert who wants to go to the
temple and nothing is going to stop her! Then we saw Helen who is
hands down my favorite person. I'm adopting her as a grandma. All of
these amazing people just motivate me to be better. They have to
overcome SO much to accept the gospel and I was just born into it. How
did I get so lucky?

Sister Checketts and I have been talking about this a lot. Women have
such a big influence in people's lives. I want every woman who
struggles with women in the Priesthood to serve a mission. Women have
the power to influence a whole family. Women have something so
innately GOOD in them. They don't need the power of God because
righteousness emanates from them & influences all around them.

I'm so grateful for the gospel. I'm grateful to be surrounded and
supported by so many wonderful and beautiful people who motivate and
encourage me to be better each and everyday. I am grateful to be here
sharing the gospel with anyone and everyone. :) time flies, friends.
Time flies.

Hello!!!

 Well, week one in Middletown was AWESOME.

I love it here. Except the apartment, there is WAYYY too many bugs for my liking. It's disgusting.

Wednesday night we got to the church and saw a few people I love...
Sister Font, a Sister Lennon, the Phillips. :) we got to meet this guy who lives right near the church who loves family history work. He came to the FHC and we spent the evening talking with him and helping him with his family tree. I discovered my family history isn't as "done"
as I thought it was!

Thursday I got to meet our investigator Lois! She was meeting with the missionaries because she wanted to learn Chinese, so we were nervous to tell her sister Astle had left and I didn't know any Chinese :) turns out she is really interested in finding truth, and has been looking for it for a while. She read alma 32 and said she found an answer to something she has been wondering about again and again. I love watching people find answers in the Book of Mormon. Each time I am reminded that I need to repent :) I know that I have found answers myself fin the scriptures, but sometimes I lack the faith to know that others can find answers as well! In the last week I have found so many answers as I have read the Book of Mormon each day.

We also got to see Zuley and Sister Walker! They were both so excited to see me and my heart was so full of gratitude for the chance to be back. Sister Walker is doing so well. She reads every single day and LOVES her calling as a primary teacher. :)

Fridays in Middletown are exactly the same as always :) we had an APF and we had Yasmin come with us :) she was so surprised to see me! She still wants to go on a mission and she would be so awesome at it...
She just needs to start. She has to get all of her doctors appointments done and she is worried about having enough money to pay for it all.

After the APF we saw ABI! I have missed her and her cute family so much. She is married now :) she hasn't been to church in a while..but she knows it's where she needs to be. Her son is about to receive the priesthood and she is so happy and excited to finally have it in her home. She's working on being able to go to the temple with her son to do baptisms :)

After Abi we went to see sister Sorensen. She is in a nursing home now and is barely coherent. They said her organs were just shutting down :( we sang to her and she recognized me and was happy to see me. We found out on Sunday night that she passed away. I am so grateful for the time I had to love and serve her, and especially grateful for the chance to see her again in this life and in the next life.

Saturdays are pretty much the same, too. Service at the Phillips. MOM!
Sister Phillips loves your bread & banana bread recipe. :) we had to leave service early so we could get a new fridge in our apartment because ours wasn't keeping anything cold. Ps, our maintenance man is kind of creepy.

Sundays are the best days. I got to see all of my favorite people!
Miguelina was so surprised to see me and so was Helen :) We went to visit Rose afterwards and she even recognized me! :) I just feel at home here in Middletown. When I saw bishop he gave me a huge hug and told sister Checketts to look away :) then at church brother Lennon gave me a hug and told me welcome back! I didn't have the heart to tell either one of them no.

This week, so far, has been awesome. And hard. But hard in a new way.
Our district is struggling. Let me give you an example. There are 3 companionships here, and in the last week we taught 30 lessons. It doesn't sound too bad, but it know sister Checketts and I taught 18 of them. It just makes me sad that the elders don't care enough to give it their all. There is a new missionary here and I think he is struggling because he knows what missionary work should be like. I'm trying to be an example without being a brat about it :) at my last MLC president talked about how once you are called as a leader, you are always a leader. When we see something that isn't right we have to say something because silence is consent. Hopefully things start looking up here soon. It's a good thing Sister Checketts is so awesome because I think I'd be having a really hard time if not!

Yesterday started a little rough. I got in the shower before I put my contacts in... Which is usually fine but not that day. I got out and saw this black blurr on the floor.... And it was moving. It was right by the rug and I'm in a pretty vulnerable situation, so I panicked a little. I stood in the tub, wrapped in my towel, for like five minutes. Then I got up the courage to step out of the shower around the huge spider and out of the bathroom so I could get a shoe to smash it. I told sister Checketts about the spider as I was grabbing a shoe.
The spider was really big... And it looked really fast. And I was still in my towel. So to be safe I decided to put both boots on just in case I missed and it started running around. Sister Checketts walked into the closet and just started laughing. I had one boot on and was struggling with the other because my feet were still damp. She grabbed the shoe out of my hand and smooshed the spider for me. She also threatened to take a picture of me.

Later, we saw Helen. Did I mention how much I love her!? She said she had something to tell us so we sat down and prayed and then she started talking about how the last few weeks have been really hard on her. Her husband went into kidney failure this last week out of no where. She got gout in her ankle... And she started to question her testimony of the gospel. She said on Sunday she didn't want to come to church at all. She doesn't like fast Sundays because she doesn't like to see people cry, so she usually doesn't come. Her foot was still hurting, but she decided to go anyways. All week she had been talking to God & telling him her concerns. She just wanted some reassurance that she was doing the right thing. So she got to church and walked into sacrament meeting and there I was. She said she knew in that very moment that I was her answer. That she is in the right place. She said I had to come back because she was faltering. :) she told me that I was the reason she came back to church. We talked about the visiting teaching message and about comfort and she told us that she wants to go to the temple. She said at first she just wanted to go and do baptisms but now "she wants to go got herself" she didn't say it outright, but we think she wants to go for her endowment! I asked her if we could PLEASE go before I go home and she said "here you are, pushing me again!" But then she said yes. :)

We also met a new member of our ward last night. She asked for a blessing so we went with our bishop. I felt so bad for her. She is in her first year at med school... When we got there we asked how she was doing and she just started to cry. She was so overwhelmed and alone.
It reminded me of my stay in the MTC. Bishop talked to her about finding some coping methods and asking for help. I was grateful in that moment for the mission, for so many reasons, but for the chance I have had to be faced with stressful situations and to be overwhelmed and to learn how to overcome those feelings of helplessness and anxiety.

The gospel is a beautiful thing. It can unite us no matter our age or background or experiences. It can help us no matter our challenges or imperfections. I love it and I know it has changed me.

Love you!

-Sister Toone

 

 

Transfers!

Today is transfers.

 

Words cannot describe how much I love the mission. I have been

thinking about this scripture a lot lately: "For how knoweth a man the

master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is

far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"

I know that my Redeemer lives because I have spent the last year as

His hands. I have felt His love for people who are sincere and pure in

heart. I have felt a portion of His sorrow as I have tried to share

His gospel and have been "despised and rejected of men". At MLC this

last week president talked about how we simply do what The Lord asks

of us. Always. I've definitely had to accept that and live it this

week.... On Saturday night we got transfer calls and I found out I am

being sent...

 

BACK TO MIDDLETOWN!!!! YYYYOOOOOO!!!

Haha I am so excited and so nervous. When I left Middletown I felt

like I had given them my all and now I've been asked to give a little

more! I was released as a sister training leader and have been asked

to follow-up train a sister who has been out for 12 weeks. :)

This week was really sad and hard to say goodbye. I really hate making

people cry and it seems like everyone did this time around. :/ I'll

send a longer email later if I have time :)

Love you all!!

 

 

Well I have been trying to think of what to tell you about this week

but there's nothing coming to me!

I should have lots to say about my last week in the city, but here's
all i can think of:

We walked up 50 flights of stairs in ONE day.

A man hit on me through a window of a Duane Reade

I also ate a donut ice cream sandwich with chocolate on top. You don't
find that in Utah :)

I said goodbye to so many people who have changed my heart and
impacted my life. I hope they can say the same about me.

I left another best friend as a companion. She changed my mission and my life.

I left an area that was my refiners fire. I've never had my testimony
shaken and questioned and picked apart so much in my whole life.

Thursday we weekly planned, Friday we had MLC (my last & I knew it)
and Saturday we were on a split. We went to visit Karen who lives on
the 13th floor of her building and the elevator was broken. I stepped
in a nice puddle of urine on my way up... Then we did a bunch of less
active lookups and met a gay Puerto Rican who wants to come to church!
He was so sweet and so sincere.

Sorry my brain is fried from lack of sleep plus too much time in a
car. I am so excited to be back in Middletown. When I first saw sister
Checketts I asked if she was excited and she said "Wait, they told me
my companion was Sister Taylor!" So no one knew I was coming back and
I cannot wait to see the ward and to let them know. :)

At MLC president talked about how Nephi and his family showed
gratitude for their blessings. Again and again in 1 Nephi it says that
they offered sacrifice to show their gratitude while they were in the
wilderness. When I left Middletown I felt good knowing I had given it
all I had and I had nothing left to offer, and I am really grateful
for this opportunity to give a little bit more.

I love you all!!