Week 32

Post #1 (Monday)

We are going to the temple tomorrow, so we have a short Pday!
I love all of you and I will be back on tomorrow at the normal time!  Have the best of days, the church is true! I Freaking love being a missionary and this most definitely is a true church.

We met a bunch of cool people this week, so if I forget to talk about it tomorrow, remind me!!!
 I love you all!!

Elder Tolman



Post #2 (Tuesday)

Alright. Now I have some time to sit down and write an email!! 

This last week was awesome. Monday we got to go to the Peavs house again!! It was good to see them, we haven't been able to go in like a month! We had a really powerful lesson on The Restoration, and their son Nick was really into it, he had never heard the whole story of the Restoration before! 

Tuesday we had District meeting, then we went to the Bilsbouroughs to help make this big Cambodian house that they are going to use for Cambodian New year next month. We had a mexican food party after wards for dinner next to their pool, It was a ton of fun, they are awesome people! We went to see Bunthorn after that, and found out he moved back into his girlfriends house, but he was so excited to see us, he had been praying, and he wanted to tell us about how his prayers were being answered a little bit at a time! It was super cool to see that he has been working harder to apply what we are teaching him finally! We went to Prim's house next, and we took Sean with us, who is getting ready to go on a mission. He was baptized two years ago, and has been trying to go out with us a lot lately, it is so awesome! We taught the Plan of Salvation again, and he has been understanding so much!! 

Wednesday we stopped by Saroeuth like we usually do, it was good. We have been trying to push him a little bit when we teach him, because he is so close to coming back, but there is so much fear that he is putting into his head, it's frustrating sometimes with how much he understands that he just won't come to church! After Saroeuth, we went finding the rest of the day. That has been the biggest push we have made. We have never worked so hard to find, we go literally everywhere there is potential. We haven't had too much success yet, but we are on the verge, I can feel it! Wednesday night we went to say hi to this Guy named Collin that we met about two weeks before, and we ended up staying for an hour and a half, he is so curious about the church, it is awesome. He is a Professor of Religion and Theological studies at St. Mary's college over the tunnel, and we were walking down the street, and stopped to ask him if he knew any Cambodians, and he was totally uninterested at first and was super sarcastic and rude, but then we talked a little more with him, and he invited us into his house! We have taught him all of Lesson 1 and 2, and it is super cool to teach him, because he asks awesome awesome questions, and we can answer them!! He is so smart, and he is catching onto the Gospel a little tiny bit at a time. Unfortunately, we are only allowed to teach him until he goes to church and actually meets the missionaries assigned english speaking... so hopefully he goes soon so they can baptize him!! He is so cool, he said that we should come back when we finish and take classes with him, because we know more than all of his students haha, it was so cool! 

Thursday we had a whole day of finding and one lesson with a less active named Anthony. It was a good day!

Friday we had Weekly planning!! we got to go teach Bunthorn though, that was fun! He was the only one home, so the spirit was really strong without kids running around the whole time, it was really good. That night we went to dance practices, but didn't get to teach Jonathan because he got sick...

Saturday we went to San Jose again! we just dropped off some flyers for Cambodian New Year and came back! It was a good day. We finished it off by teaching Prim! We went to Siphals house and he brought his daughter! It was a good lesson, but we found out that prim Drank coffee, so we will have to move his baptismal date a little later, but that's ok! he talked to us about the sacrament though, and he told us why he thinks it is important, and it was exactly right. "It's a chance to only think about Christ and when he got put up on the cross for us"(well he said it in Cambodian but you know)

Sunday we had an awesome stake conference that was broadcast from The Mothership. Dale G. Renlund  gave a super cool talk about never being afraid to share the Restoration!!! NEVER!!! If you are ever questioned about your beliefs, NEVER be afraid to let them know you believe it because it came from a Prophet of God through modern day revelation. Super cool. Elder Hamula of the Seventy gave a cool talk too (He also is the presiding authority over my mission), he talked about not just doing the whole church, pray, read thing and saying you are doing well, but that we need to always Cry to God, Feast on the word, and Partake of the peace and power of the atonement. it was awesome. That night Jonathan spoke at Why I believe!! it was super cool! He shared a really powerful testimony of how the Gospel made a change in his life and helped his stop spiritually destructive habits that he had developed through his life, and a powerful testimony of the Savior, I loved it.

Yesterday we went to San Francisco!! We made it!!! Poamrong went with us, and he didn't understand why we were so excited haha! it was hilarious! but really, it was really cool to drive across the Bay. we met a cambodian family too!! they couldn't talk right then, so they said we could come back literally any time!! it was awesome! after that we went back to contact less actives and find the rest of the night!

Missionary work is so. hard. But! it is the most rewarding and life changing work that you can be a part of. I love being a Missionary and I love everything that comes with it. No matter how hard it gets, the reward for enduring is infinitely more incredible. I know the Church is true!! make sure you have meaningful scripture study!! I love you all!! work hard, get blessed harder!!

Love, 

Elder Tolman

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