Service is the key...

"Is there anything that we can help you out with or any way that we can do some service for you?"

"Well, I guess you could go spray paint your gate for me."

So this week we got to play... I mean work....with spray paint! This was a conversation with our landlord. We are constantly looking to serve and this was the service that they had for us. It was a lot of fun. We have a big gate that closes off our property that has been chipping and rusting. So we got to spruce it up with a fresh coat of white spray paint. It was a lot of fun and now our gate is bright and more welcoming.

This week we had a world wide missionary broadcast. A couple of the apostles and a few members of the missionary board spoke to all the missionaries of the world. It was a training that helped refocus missionary work. They taught and expounded upon teach from Preach My Gospel, the missionary guide to missionary work. They had some wonderful insights to how we can be more effective with this short time that we are allotted to be missionaries.

We knocked on a ladies door who hasn't been to church in a very long time this week. It turns out that she is very sick and has a hard time getting around. Her landlord told her that she has to get her leafs cleaned up or she will run the risk of being kicked out of the trailer park where she lives. So what do we do? We go borrow some rakes and went to work. It took us 4 hours of raking and moving leafs to get it cleaned up. The leafs had been rained and snowed on and piled up all fall and winter. It was tiring work. After we were done though, she came out and was so happy for all the work we had done. The joy on her face was definitely worth the work.

"I don't know about that Mormon bible of yours, but I like you boys. Would you like a homemade pie?"

This is the delightful lady who lives across the street from us. She's in her late 80s and is very fun to be around and talk with. She's a very devout Christian. Her father was a preacher and she knows her bible. We had a conversation the other day about the Book of Mormon. We explained it to her and gave her the history behind it. The above quote was her response. She then gave us a homemade dutch apple pie. It was soooooo good!

Oh fun fact that I found out this week. There is one store in Bagdad. It sells more alcohol than any other store in Arizona. Pretty crazy right?! People love there booze out here. But hey, any one can change with the gospel! We just have to get them to listen first.

This week I had the opportunity to help a family start on their family history. Usually this is a pretty cool experience because people desire to know their families. This time was incredible though. The mom had some papers of notes she had taken over the years of aunts and uncles and such. Well we sat down and started putting it all together. The dad, who hasn't been faithful in the church for quite some time, felt the Spirit so strong. He was able to remember birthdays, town names, and random ancestors that his wife never even heard of. He got so into it and so excited. It was amazing! The Spirit filled the whole room. After wards the mom thanked us graciously. Then this Sunday the dad came and stayed for all 3 hours of church! Family history and temple work can bless and change lives because it's helping the Plan of Salvation happen. It's reuniting family members in the gospel. I love it! This experience has inspired me to want to learn more of my own family and continue my own family history.

I love you all and hope all is great!

-Elder Toph Tribe

Oh the picture is when the sky was on fire.... Or it was just a really pretty sunset that you can't see because if you focus on the person, the sky brightened a lot with our iPad cameras.

Muddin'

Muddin'! I'm slowly becoming more and more redneck. We've been doing service for a member family. We've been helping them get a blazer rock crawlin' ready. Pretty rough service right? Just kidding, I love it! Working on cars is the best! It's a great stress relief and always brings back memories of working with my dad. Plus he invites over non member neighbors to work with us and we're able to answer some questions for them. Well, it's finally off road ready! On our P-Day we went with him on a little trail run and had a lot of fun! It's been rainy/snowy here, so there was plenty of water to turn all the dirt to mud. It was a blast!

On the same topic, we had another service project up on a ranch. In order to get there, we had to drive 10 miles down a dirt road. This dirt road was very wet from the precipitation that we have been receiving. We were going along and by the time we got to there house our truck was more brown than blue. It was hard to seeany blue on it. It was a good time!

We were finally able to get in contact with one of the referrals we received from the lady we cut wood for. The referral is 94 years old. She is a sweet heart! We went over and she took us in as her own grand children. She sat us down, fed us cake, and wanted to hear all about us. We were able to help her out around her house and yard right then, and she invited us back to help her some more. She's a little hesitant to talk about religious things, but hopefully that'll come with time.

"You'd look great with a shotgun over your shoulder. Or maybe even a .45 on your hip." This is what I was told by our gun smith friend. We did service for him a few weeks back, and now we go and visit him occasionally. His week he decided I needed a gun. Especially as a missionary. He told us that he would give me a 50% off deal. Unfortunately as missionaries we aren't even allowed to handle guns, let alone own one. I informed him of this, and he assured me that he wouldn't tell anyone. Haha he's a really funny guy and he's starting to get more and more interested in the church!

“For some reason we think the Atonement of Christ applies only at the end of mortal life to redemption from the Fall, from spiritual death. It is much more than that. It is an ever-present power to call upon in everyday life. When we are racked or harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us” -Boyd K. Packer

I love this quote. It gives me so much hope and joy. It reminds me to think of Christ at all times, and helps me develop greater gratitude for me savior and all He has done and continues to do for me. We read this quote this week when we went to the Addiction Recovery Program that the church does. We have lovingly nicknamed the program the Atonement Recognition Program. (Both are acronymed ARP) This program is so incredible. Even as a missionary, studying and testifying about Christ all day every day, I grow and gain so much from going to these meetings. If you've never looked at this program, I'd encourage you to do so. See what strengths you can gain from utilizing the Atonement more in your life. I promise that you'll only find more peace, joy, and fortitude to carry on.

I love you all!

-Elder Toph Tribe

I'm staying!

We got 2 actual investigators!!!

This week we buckled down and worked as hard as we could. We didn't
know what was going to happen because transfers are this week. We
wanted to make sure that if we got transferred out, we had given it
our all. We've had this mentality all transfer, but we really drove in
overdrive this week. Because of our efforts we were able to keep
missionaries in this area! Elder Wilcox and I are staying out here
covering these areas.

Out in Bagdad, we got a call from a random member. She asked us to
come over and teach her family. We went over, not knowing what we were
getting into because we don't have much information about anything in
this Ward, and there was 2 non members! They told us that they're
ready for the gospel and want come back to church. The mom has been
inactive for 23 years. Her son hasn't been to church in 15 years. The
dad is a non member and so is the sons girlfriend. Missionary work is
happening!! Blessing definitely come from hard work.

I don't have much time to email this week. I thank you all for the
love and support. I love you all! Have a great week!

-Elder Toph Tribe

One of my favorite families who ended up moving this week.

Pack rats are gross...

Pack rats are gross. We were helping an elderly lady, who is very ill,
clean her house. As we were moving some boxes we started noticing
signs of these little critters. As we moved furniture to vacuum
underneath it, we noticed even more signs. We set some rat traps for
her and actually started catching them! Now it's an every other day
activity to go and check her rat traps. There is usually at least one.
It's gross, but I'm glad we are getting them out of there for her.

We got to go and do some more service on a ranch this week. We got to
deworm, detick, and put ear tags on baby heifers and bulls! It was a
lot of fun! They told me I need to be a cowboy. So I guess I figured
out my career path for the rest of my life ;)

We actually have some leads of people who might be interested in the
church! We pray that these people will work out and we'll be able to
begin teaching them. The cool thing is that these people were referred
to us by non members who we've done service for! They weren't
interested, but we found out that they have a friend who might be. They
trusted us enough to give us the names and address of those
individuals. It's amazing what small acts of service can do to soften
hearts.

This week I finished the Book of Mormon. My mission president
challenged all of the missionaries in my mission to read the Book of
Mormon from cover to cover before the end of the year. This week I
finished it. I reached the back cover. Once I closed the book, I had
the most overwhelming feeling of peace. It was such an incredible
feeling of assurance and calmness that I can't describe. My thoughts
were so clear and focused. It allowed me to effectively set goals for
this upcoming year. I know this year is going to be great because I have
direction. I have the Spirit of God with me to guide me in my life.
That is such an amazing gift that my loving Heavenly Father has
blessed me with. I know that the Book of Mormon has brought me closer
to Him. I am so grateful for that! If you haven't already, make some
goals that you want to accomplish this year. As you do so, make a goal
for Book of Mormon reading. I know that you'll be blessed as you do
so. I have done this and I can't wait to see what the astounding
amounts of good that it will bring into my life!

-Elder Toph Tribe