This week seemed to fly by!

Christmas was pretty great. We spent the morning at a member's home and ate brunch there. Super yummy! We then FaceTimed home to our families. It was delightful to see my family and be able to talk to them for a little bit. We then went to the President Griffin's home. We spent time there with him, his wife, and some other missionaries. We went to a dinner at a member's home. Her husband isn't a member. She invited one of our investigators and her neighbor. It was a really good time and again yummy food. We spent the rest of our evening playing cards with the zone leaders and another set of Elders.

Elder Sutcliffe, one of my zone leaders who I live with, went home Monday. It was sad to see him go but exciting to see who the next zone leader will be.

This week is transfers week so I've now been here for 2 transfers. That seems crazy to me. It feels like I just got down here last week! I honestly love it so much. I don't necessarily love Arizona, but I love being on a mission. Arizona is a great place, but I would love it just as much even if I was called to Salt Lake City. Going on a mission is easily the greatest decision I've made thus far in my life.

I love you all! Have a great week!

-Elder Tribe

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!!
Short message this week.
I'm doing great and loving every minute out here. It's hard and
strenuous at times, but that doesn't make me love it any less.
I encourage all of you to think of someone you can help this holiday
season, and do it. Even if it's just helping them in a small way. It'll
bless both of your lives and bring you both closer to Christ during
this time we have to remember Him and His birth.
Love you all!

Elder Tribe

It was our Christmas conference so 3 zones at a time got to go to the
Mesa temple. We did a session, went to a buffet, and toured the
lights. I saw Elder Smith there as you saw on Facebook. That was super
cool.

This week was solid...

This week was solid. I don't have any great stories to tell but work got done. We printed out a ward roster and we're putting a face with every name and making notes. It's crazy how many people haven't had any contact with the ward in years. Some are really nice people. We've met a few older gentlemen who tell us about their missions. It's cool to hear their stories. One guy we met owns 300 suits, because he made himself a promise in his youth that he'd never worry about having clothes to wear.

We had interviews with President Griffin this week. They went really well. Every time he sees me, he always complements me on my looks. He came up to a group of us talking and greeted us then stopped and said, "Elder Tribe. You look great. You never fail to impress me with your presentation of yourself." No comments to the others. Kind of weird but hey I'll take it.

I'm instituting the use of fake glasses in my contacting approach. We found these fake glasses in our apartment one day so I decided I'd wear them. Ever since then, when ever I wear them, we seem to have better success. More people talk to us and let us in the door. I bring them out about twice a week. It's more of a fun thing to do than anything else. Members give me funny looks trying to remember if I wore glasses or not. I don't help them out. I just let them sit and think the whole time haha.

A little spiritual thought for this week. 

Proverbs 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

So beat your children with a rod.

Just kidding. 

Here's the real spiritual thought.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

We show God and Christ our appreciation and love by keeping the commandments they have set. As we express our love to them, we are more receptive to their love for us. This will cause an increase of blessing and happiness in our lives. I don't know about you guys, but I'm always down to bring more happiness into my life.

I love you all!

-Elder Tribe

Members are the best

Toph was having dinner at a members house and she took this picture and sent it to me. I'm so grateful there are wonderful people out there taking care of my boy. Look at the amount of meat on his plate. 

So we bought a whiteboard...

So we bought a whiteboard. Not just any whiteboard though, we bought a 8 foot by 4 foot whiteboard! That's right, we have a giant whiteboard. We have all sorts of colorful markers that we use to organize our weekly/daily planning. Our board is already full. We have it filled with potential investigators, investigators, less actives, and helpful active members. It's pretty much the coolest thing ever!

I've been sick for the past 6-7 weeks. Finally getting healthy! I'm not coughing all night! It's pretty great! It's definitely been a great opportunity for me to put my faith in the Lord, because there is no way I could've biked all I did while that sick by myself. Now I can breathe and ride happily :)

The church put out a video called "He is the Gift". They are pushing us missionaries hard to share it and get the message out there. I encourage you all to go check it out and share with your friends and families. Go to Christmas.Mormon.org to see it. It's a great reminder that Christ should be our focus this time of the year.

I got some pretty sweet air on my bike this week! We were cruising pretty quick to a dinner appointment so we wouldn't be late. The fastest way to get there was through the wash. In the wash some one had built a big jump for a dirt bike. I decided I could get enough speed to go off it. And I did. I flew off of it and landed a good distance away. We made it to our dinner appointment on time and I got some sweet air. It was a good night!

I've also acquired some ties. I've gone from 10 to 29. My collection shall continue and I'm excited to see how many I can get before the end of my mission.

Love you all!

-Elder Tribe

 

 

 

It's all sorts of Christmasy. From left 

to right it's me, Elder
Burbank, Elder Green, 

Elder Farnsworth, Elder Clark, then

 Elder Sutcliffe in the middle.

The paper bag guys are our 

fandangos! They are Elder 

Farnsworth's 

traditions so we
>>>> all partook. It was our P-Day 

activity! Super fun! 

This week was a good one.

This week was a good one. We were able to have thanksgiving with some
recent converts and their non member friends and family. We gave their
Indian friends a Hindi Book of Mormon. It was sweet to hear them read
from it.
A member gave me Kevlar lined tires and another member bought me new
tubes. They are so great and now I'll be able to go about my
missionary work without a problem!
I was able to go to the Mission Home and spend time with the Mission
President which was awesome.
I have an incredibly strong testimony that everything happens for a
reason and I have all my faith in Heavenly Father's will.
Sorry I don't have any funny story this week and it's a short email.
Love you all and thank you so much for the prayers for my brother and
family.

-Elder Tribe

So little kids like us

So little kids like us. We have a group of little kids that mob us when they see us in the apartment complex called Budget. They run up to us and ask for pictures. We give them different pass along cards and they love it. We gave them a 6" picture of Christ and they freaked out. They ran and showed their moms. The moms don't mind so it works out. Plus now they have a bunch of pictures of Christ in their home.

Little kids of members love us too. I get climbed on a lot. One found out that he can walk between my legs with out ducking and it's his new favorite things. We went over to their house this week and for probably 5 minutes he would walk between my legs then crawl between Elder Burbank's then back between mine.

We went to dinner and as we left I got attacked by 2 little kids. The little girl who was 4 latched onto my leg. The son who was 8 latched onto my waist. It was pretty funny. I finally got them off and we asked the son if he was going to be a missionary. His response was, "um maybe, I don't know, probably not, I'm too short for that." It was pretty funny.

A little girl who always draws me pictures asked me if I was going bald. She couldn't grasp the concept of me cutting my hair, so she figured I lost it. Then she told me she didn't like it. But she still likes the holes in my face. (My dimples.) She's 3 and really funny.

An investigator who we taught for a couple of weeks is getting baptized! She had a baptismal date in our ward but moved to Gilbert. She texted us this week and invited us to her baptism on Saturday. Sadly we can't go because it's out of our mission, but still awesome that she's getting baptized!

One of our investigators accepted a baptismal date! Then 2 days later was in the hospital to receive a pace maker. She went in for a check up and got checked in. She called us from the hospital a little shaken up because of how unexpected it was. We were able to go over and give her a blessing. She asked me to do it and it was an extremely powerful experience. I've never been able to feel the spirit so clearly. It was like everything else in my mind stopped except for what I needed to say to her. She went from freaked out to calm. She stopped shaking. It was incredible to see that blessing work instantly. She thanked us a lot. We visited her a day after her surgery and she was doing great. Recovering faster than they thought she would. We visited her mom and son and now they are thinking about coming to church. It's pretty exciting!

I had my first Skype lessons this week! They were with Tina and Tawny haha. It was pretty sweet though. I was able to share what I'm doing with those I love. They're both less active members of the church so that is what online missionary work is all about. It's talking to less active and non member friends and family and encouraging them to come closer to Christ. So if anyone, who fits that category, would like to Skype or FaceTime, let me know!

I love being on a mission. I love sharing what makes me happy with others. I love seeing that happiness come into their lives. I love seeing how the gospel can bless everyone no matter what their situation. It's truly incredible that I have this opportunity to present this message to those who need it in their lives. (Which is everyone.) It is the best decision I could've made for my life at this time.

I love you guys!

-Elder Tribe

So funny story about humility...

I finally had a week with no flat tires!!!!! 

So funny story about humility...

 I was sitting on the ledge at an apartment building talking to some people. One of the girls who is a recent convert tried feeding me some donut or something so I leaned back away from her. I caught my foot on a railing so I wouldn't fall. They asked how I did that and I said it was my core strength. I went to do it again because she was still trying to feed me and my foot slipped. I fell down 6 feet, flat on the back onto a bed of rocks and a small plant. I got a big stain from the plant on my shoulder and my back is pretty sore. I was able to roll up and out of the landing so it wasn't as bad as it could've been. I learned that when we are boastful and cocky the Lord will humble us. Sometimes that humbling will come quickly. I've learned that I shouldn't try to 'show off' or try to 'be cool' haha. It was honestly really funny though!

I started to read the Book of Mormon in Spanish this week! We have lots of copies of Spanish Books of Mormon and we hand them out to people who only speak Spanish so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm honestly surprised how much I remember from high school. I'm able to read it and understand most of it. I don't know why I'm doing it, I just had the idea so I just went with it. Maybe it'll pay off later. It's really interesting though and I'm really enjoying it.

Little spiritual food for thought.

Virginia U. Jensen gave a talk called "Lead, Kindly Light" and this is a quote I really liked from it.

"Consider the experience of King Lamoni. Though he had unfettered power, great earthly treasures, and servants to wait on him hand and foot, he lived in spiritual darkness. When he was willing to permit Ammon to teach him the gospel, a most remarkable thing occurred: Lamoni “fell unto the earth, as if he were dead” (Alma 18:42). “Ammon knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, … was the light of the glory of God, … yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul” (Alma 19:6).

Only the glory of God and the light of life everlasting produce a joy profound enough to overwhelm one completely and to eliminate “the dark veil of unbelief.”"

Things I got from this:

1, God is the only way to have pure happiness and joy.

2, We have to humbly be ready to seek and receive that light from God. It's not just going to come because we're curious. It'll only come to those are willing to act on the answer they receive. We have to be willing to follow him once we receive that witness.

3, It's going to take time. Ammon worked as a servant for the King for a while before he let Ammon teach him. Ammon showed the King that he was called of God through his works before his words.

If any of you doubt in the happiness God can bring to your life, hit your knees and honestly ask him. Don't sit around and do nothing because that will get you no where. Until we act, God can't help us. Once we are willing to pray and truly ask him, being willing to follow him, we'll be able to know and feel God's love.

That's all I got for this week. Love you guys!

-Elder Tribe

Me and Emma Roundy (my cousin)

Me and CJ Roundy

I was able to participate in the Phoenix Arizona Temple Cultural

Celebration and it was amazing! It was a truly incredible experience!

The whole event was super fun and being with all the youth was a good

time. I was able to meet cousins who I haven't seen in 15 years.  I was honored

that I was able to be a part of that and be able to feel the spirit

and excitement for the temple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MypWidjnGkE

So we hooked up my bladder so it's more accessible and efficient.

I let Elder Farnsworth shave my head today. Lost 2 inches of hair!

It's pretty short now but will look better when I'm taking my helmet

on and off all day. The picture was after he took the first swipe of

hair off the top. I have a concerned smile and he's looking very

menacing.

Funny story

Funny story! We were leaving a meeting and Elder Burbank was rather upset. We were pedaling along and he seemed pretty focused on his thoughts. He was speedily approaching a parked car and I figured he'd move and go around it. Well he didn't. He smacked right into the back of it and flipped over his handle bars landing in the road. He looks up at me and just starts laughing. Luckily he wasn't hurt and no damage was done to the car. But he flew. It was pretty funny to see.

Flat tires are pretty much a daily occurrence. I ghetto rigged my back tire so now it has super protection and will be pretty hard to get a hole in. Hopefully I'll be able to do something similar with my front tire. Since I've done it though, I haven't gotten a flat tire in the back or front!

I was able to fix a GPS using super glue the other day so that was pretty exciting! I have an extremely solid testimony in the power of super glue. I'm pretty sure it can fix anything!

On the spiritual side of things, my testimony in faith is growing incredibly. I'm learning to put my faith in God and His timing more. He will send people our way and it may not be to baptize them. He just needs us to be positive representatives of His church. Whenever Elder Burbank and I have an encounter with someone and it goes well, we look at each other and say, "Just 1 of the 7." They say it takes 7 positive experiences with the church before someone will investigate. So we're out here trying to be one of those 7, and hoping that we'll be that lucky number 7 and they ask us to come back. I know that as I'm doing what I'm suppose to, the Lord will bless my life and He'll bless the lives of those I come in contact with. I just have to do what I'm suppose to and the rest will fall into place the way He wants it. I continually trust God and know that everything I obediently go through, is for my benefit. I'll become a better person because of it.

Love y'all!

-Elder Tribe

The picture is of me pumping up my tire to get home. I've gotten really good at fixing flats and pumping up tires. Elder Burbank is not good at taking pictures so it's blurry. He took a few and this was actually the best haha.

Here are some pictures

Me

My companion and kitchen

Our beds

 Our living room

And our office

So my bike bit me

*Knock* *knock* knock*
"Hello...oh no. Not interested!"
"Wait does ________ live here??"
*slams door before we can ask the whole question*

*car drives up slow, rolling down the window*
"Hail satan!" *While flipping us off*
*waving and smiling* "Have a nice day!"

So my bike bit me. We were riding through the wash and the last storm
took out a huge section of dirt. It was late and dark so I didn't see
that the ground was missing. I was going pretty fast and all of a
sudden I felt myself going down. Then there was ground and some how my
knee hit something and my petal slammed into the back of my leg. The
petal went down leaving marks just below my calf. It looks like I got
bit by a dog or something haha. There was blood but I just pulled up
my socks and we got to our next appointment. Oh and I never fell off
my bike, I stayed upright. I have almost crashed and flipped off my
bike several times because I enjoy trying to do thrilling things to
keep myself entertained. But out of all the bails I've had, I've never
hit the ground. I've always been able to land on my feet. I'm lucky
too because a lot of them I should've crashed hard. Elder Burbank just
laughs as I land on my feet and says, "every time you're fine". I
guess he crashed really bad 3 weeks before I got here. He destroyed
his slacks and has some scars from it. I'm just waiting for the day I
go down. I don't want it to happen, but I'm told that every missionary
crashes at some point.

I finally found scriptures in the New Testament that proves the
trinity wrong! My zone leader was the one who actually showed me the
scriptures, but now I have them in case I need them. John 17:20-23
"20. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through their word;
21. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in
thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that
thou hast sent me
22. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may
be one, even as we are one:
23. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them, as thou hast loved me."
So Christ is praying to God here. And if the scriptures where it says
that Jesus and God are one mean the same person, then this scripture
is saying that the 12 apostles who Christ is praying with are as well. So
either all 14 of them are one, or God and Christ are 2 separate
beings.

I love the scriptures. I've been reading the Bible a lot. We try to
share a message with everyone. If they don't know much about our
church yet we offer to share a message out of the Bible with them.
I've found so many great, powerful scriptures out of the Bible. Elder
Burbank has found Bible references for every part of the plan of
salvation! It makes teaching it to those who have a different
religious background that much easier. They already accept the Bible
as truth, so it's just showing them the truth from something they
already know is true. 

 -Elder Tribe

Super glue can fix anything

Super glue can fix anything. Thus far, we have used super glue to fix bike tires, a sliding phone, and a ceiling fan. It has been decided that I'm the go to gluer and have the best skill at applying it. Our zone leaders, who are also our roommates, got too aggressive with the sliding function of their phone and slid it apart. With the help of super glue we were able to restore the phone's full functionality. We were playing with a big pink yoga ball and happened to snap a fan blade off of the ceiling fan. Using the shaft of a spoon and super glue, we were able to completely repair the fan. A now have a strong testimony in the power of super glue.

I got my first basher! It's crazy how one second you're having a normal conversation then all of a sudden the dude flips out and calls the gospel a false doctrine. This guy was crazy and very adamant in letting us know how he felt about the church. He was directing it all at me because I'm the new guy. I was able to responds to all of his outbursts on our church being false that stumped him every time. I was able to use biblical references to prove his points wrong. He stormed off. I was able to bare my testimony to him able the truth of the gospel though so that was good. The spirit left the second we started bashing though which is never good. That experience showed me that yes I can defeat someone through logic, but the spirit won't be there to back up what I'm saying so it's pointless. No more bashing for me.

An old lady thinks I'm gorgeous. She tells me like every 20 minutes I'm with her. She tells every girl she sees about me apparently. We went through the temple open house with her and her nonmember husband. To the sisters running it she said, "Hey check this Elder out, isn't he something?!" We laughed and I think the sisters felt awkward because they wouldn't look at me the rest of the presentation hahah. Her husband loved the open house though! He's a pretty devote Catholic but we think we can help him find the full truth . They're in their 70s though and she might not make it much longer so as a companionship we have the desire to get him baptized so they can be sealed together forever before she goes. They're some of the sweetest old people. I love them and being able to talk with them. We got a couple new investigators this week so that's pretty exciting! Elder Burbank and I are getting along great! I love it here! 

If you have time, look up a mormon message called The Will of God and read mosiah 4:9 with it. They go hand in hand and I love the message it gives. We share it a lot with members. Occasionally nonmembers as well. It's astounding how these things have really changed my outlook on life and my mental state.

I know that God has an individual plan for all of us. He knows what we can be. He wants us to reach our full potential. He puts trials in our lives so we can grow as people. Those trials will prepare us for greater things to come. I have a strong testimony in this. My faith in God has grown immensely. As we put our faith in Him everything will work out the way it is suppose to, I know that to be true.

Love ya'll!

-Elder Tribe

Selfie game remains strong.

My zone leaders write me love notes on my

mirror and I write stuff on theirs. It's pretty cute. ️

This just happened

This happened tonight! Toph's went to a dinner appointment and it turns out that is one of Maegan's best friends brothers in laws. Maren sent this picture while he was there! Small world. So glad there are people willing to feed my boy. 

The weeks go by so fast

I'm doing amazing!  

I love it here. The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. It's weird but so true. I love seeing people get smiles on their faces just because we said hi to them. I have little girls in the ward that draw me pictures and write me little notes. It's really cute. They're between the ages of 4-10. Elder Burbank likes that I'm attractive and brings it up a lot. He suggests that I should "flirt to convert". I'm not crazy about the idea. He's a goofy and really funny! He was quiet at first but I've gotten him to open up and we have a lot of fun! Yesterday we had a flash flood and the water came up to the middle of my calf's. It was crazy! But really fun to bike in. We got cussed out by an old lady, so that was something! We pulled weeds for a couple hours at a sister in our wards house this week. She has a 7 year old autistic boy who can't really communicate. Her boyfriend past away just after he was born and she's alone with her son. So we help her out as often as she lets us. Apparently a group of elders in our zone had a camel spider bigger than their hand in their apartment. They had to catch and kill it, and they told us of their battle with it. Kind of freaky. It got up to 96 degrees the other day and everyone wasn't even phased! It got real sweaty. Not looking forward to the summer but I'll manage. All and all I just love it here :) love you guys!

-Elder Tribe

Deer Valley

I'm in my mission and now I'm a real missionary! I'm in the Deer Valley Ward, in the Deer Valley Stake, in the Deer Valley Zone. Its 20 miles north of The mission home in Glendale. We are in a grey area between Phoenix and Glendale that we just call Deer Valley. Everyone has rocks instead of grass in the front of their houses so that's weird. Also every roof is a tile roof like you'd picture in Mexico. I got my bike without any problems and everything is going great! The heat isn't too bad and I have an amazing trainer. His name is Elder Burbank. He's from Idaho. He's quiet when it comes to talking about normal things but when it comes to talking about missionary things he's more open. He has a great spirit about him and I've already learned a lot from him. We stop and invite everyone walking by to comoe to the temple open house and most are really excited about it. We have hundreds of little temple pass along cards and we hand them out like candy. We live with the zone leaders and they're pretty great too. We're definitely 20 year old guys though...hahaha it's pretty funny! The initiation was they took a pink exercise ball and jumped on me multiple times. I guess it had to happen to be welcomed into the mission. We also play a game called death ball with that pink exercise ball and a green dodgeball. It's a way fun game! Teaching real people is kind of a weird thing but it's amazing at the same time. I love it. I thought I'd hate having an iPad but it's great and makes things like teaching records so much easier! It's funny on our iPad we get little notes from Siri on our calendar and every day it says either "wow today is busy" or "there's a lot going on today". Everything has an app now so we don't need to carry much which is convenient on a bike. I'm so glad I'm on a bike area honestly. I love riding around and being able to talk to everyone. I thought I would feel stressed and uncomfortable here but it almost feels like home. It definitely feels right and I know this is where I'm suppose to be. Missionary work seems to be second nature to me. I love talking to people, especially all the homeless people. They're some of the most genuine people and very humble. They aren't interested in the gospel yet but they're still super nice. I've met a few ward members that are really welcoming people. We've had dinners every night which is delightful. It's crazy how diverse our ward is. We have some really rich people and then we have people that live in Budget Sweets. This is the place where the state sends people who can't afford to live somewhere. They have some really nice people there though! Love ya'll!!

-Elder Tribe

MTC Pictures

Toph left for Phoenix today! He was so ready to be out in the field and teaching.  We were able to talk to him this morning from the airport.  It was so great!  He sounded happy and ready.  He loved the MTC but is ready to go to work.  He learned a lot and his testimony has grown.  I'm excited to hear all about the Happenings of Elder Toph Tribe.

These are the only pictures I have from the MTC and he did not take them.  Another Elder forwarded them on to me.  Thank goodness or we would have nothing.

MTC

Toph is loving the MTC! He has sent a couple of short letters, no pictures. He is such a boy. Luckily his cousin, who works at the MTC took this picture. 

He feels like he has know his companion forever, he reminds him of his cousin Mitch. He is a Distric Leader, and is enjoying that as well. He has had the opportunity to give a blessing, and truly felt the spirit as he did so. Tuesday the 7th he will leave for Pheonix and is looking forward to it!

Final goodbyes

We weren't very good about taking pictures of all the people that came to say goodbye, just know that he loves and appreciates all of you' 

Farewell

Toph did such a great job on his farewell talk!  We appreciate all of those who came out to support him.  I didn't remember to take pictures until the end, so if I missed you I'm sorry. I'm so grateful for the Garrett's and all of their help..