Training, Again

The weather has just barely cooled off to just under 100 everyday and I am embarrassed to say that it has been a little "chilly" lately, especially at night. My new companion is Elder Hurst from Lehi, Utah and currently has been out in the field for 6 days.

We were super busy this last week helping out with a scouting activity that is happening this Saturday. They are reenacting The Candy Bomber from "Meet the Mormons" and they might even be able to get Gale Halverson to come to it. He is currently 95 years old and lives in Tuscon, Arizona, but if he gets his doctors approval he will be able to attend. We helped them make the little parachutes for the candy, for roughly about a total of 8 hours last week.

Halloween was different because President Nattress didn't want us to even proselyte in the morning, so the whole day was like another P-Day minus the whole e-mail bit. We attended some of the baptisms in the zone and went to the Temple at night for Endowment sessions, the whole mission went with the first session starting at 4:30pm and the last (our zones) starting at 7pm. I loved it because I haven't had the opportunity to go to the Temple for almost 5 months because of Migranes, Elder Barney being a 2 transfer missionary and then last transfer I had a horrible ear ache. It was great to be able to go.

Training is pretty easy and Elder Hurst is a nice missionary who has a sincere desire to do the work, so hopefully I will be able to help him become the best missionary he can. I know how upset you were last time when I didn't tell you I was training so I thought I might as well tell you this time.  Haha!

I love the Temple! I am happy, happy, happy that I now have a testimony of something that now means a lot to me and I hope to increase that every time I go. This is definitely where I need to be and where the Lord would have me.

The Area

We have to travel fairly far everywhere we go, one of the wards is just as big as the last one I was in and the other is twice as big, so overall it is three times bigger than my last area plus we live just outside the area. The roads are busier than where I was before and that makes it interesting some of the time especially with people yelling out of their cars "ELDERS!" which always puts a smile on Elder Kearns face.

We went to a place in Queen Creek last Monday called Schnepf farms and it was a blast. Schnepf farms helped to invent the word Agritainment which is apparently in most modern dictionaries. We got to ride a little roller-coaster that they had found in someones backyard, it was really short and only slightly fun but who else can say they got to ride a roller-coaster on a mission? We also got to ride around in these little pedal go-carts which was probably the most fun thing there. They also fed us some hot dogs and told us a little bit about the farm and what goes on there. They are all Members of the Church and so the whole day was free. They had 2 corn mazes which we didn't have time for but that was fine.

Oh yeah, transfers. Elder Kearns is leaving his greenie area after 9 months here. I am staying and the whole district is staying the same. Normally we know about the rest of the zone as to whether or not people are leaving or staying, and through the grapevine you just hear about pretty much everybody else's condition for transfers. I will get a different companion at the meeting on Wednesday, that makes a new companion every transfer since being with my trainer for the first 4 1/2 months of my mission.

Family History

The beginning of this week was pretty slow but that's just how it goes on a mission sometimes. Towards the end it started to pick up. We stopped by a part-member family who Elder Kearns hadn't been able to contact yet and they let us in and stopped watching football just to talk to us. They almost talked our ears off about anything and everything but it was neat to blend everything they talked about back into the gospel and the non-member husband said we could come back and teach him the discussions.

There was another guy who talked to us about wanting to learn more about the church so we went over to his house and an older man with the same name answered. We started to talk to him and the other guy was actually his son but this older one wanted to learn more about the church's family history help because his great grandpa was a very successful person and they just want to know as much as they can about them. We are setting up a time for him to meet with the family history specialist who lives in the stake and he was really excited. He accepted a Book of Mormon but only because it appealed to his "history" part of his brain. He was really nice and hopefully we will be able to teach the whole family here in a little bit.

General Conference

So, this week has been really great because we invited a bunch of people to come to church and they have almost all said they would, we realized on Thursday however that last weekend was actually General Conference, haha. We tried to stop by people and tell them, but no one would answer so we just showed up at the times that people said they would come to church and no one ended up coming which was both a relief and a bummer.

I got to do my second district meeting which went a whole lot better than the first one because I had actually organized all the things that I wanted to do in a certain order. Still really weird being around Sister missionaries all the time because like I said my last zone only had 1 set and they weren't even in my district, now my zone has more Sister missionaries than Elders in it haha. It is a great change of pace because before we were pretty focused on what we could do as missionaries and now it is more like how we can help these people feel better in their lives and it is more focused on the investigators.

Primary Program

Elder Kearns had been teaching an over aged youth named Ella, who just got baptized last Saturday. She had a blast! She was more excited than anyone I have ever met about getting baptized. We invited a part-member family to attend the baptism but they didn't show, not all was lost because they showed up to church yesterday and we had an amazing Primary Program which definitely invited the spirit.

We were walking around last Saturday around 7pm-8pm just talking to people and figuring out what we could do when an investigator that we have been trying to contact pulled up next to us and talked to us for 5 minutes. She had been working like 100 hours that week and just wasn't ever home, we set up a time to come by this week.

The members up here in Mesa/Gilbert are a little different than in San Tan Valley just by what they are able to provide. We always get attention no matter where we are and it is sooo embarrassing, because literally everywhere we go people are like "Wooot, it's the Elders! Yeah!" I really don't like this much attention.

Transferred

I live in an apartment complex, there is a lot that is different about it from where I have been living. But some things are similar, I once again live with zone leaders, so in all of my mission, I have only lived with other missionaries and have only not lived with the zone leaders for 2 transfers.

My new companions name is Elder Kearns, he is a hard working dedicated servant of the Lord, which is really great because I never have to worry about trying to go out and work, we just do.

I was called to be a District Leader in this new area. It is the Higley Zone, we technically live in Gilbert, right on the East border (Power rd), our area is technically in Mesa, Arizona. We live on the very North boundary of the mission (Base line), so I am as far North as you can be in the mission, but not so far North as to even think about buying a jacket, haha. In my district there are only Sisters and a senior couple, which is really weird because I haven't had Sisters in the same district as I have been in since my first transfer, so as you can imagine I am pretty nervous about that, but not terribly. In my last zone there was only one companionship of Sisters, and now there are 5! Add to them, 3 sets of Elders including the zone leaders, they joke that we make up a Relief Society Presidency. So, even though we are in an apartment, we still have access to our own washer and dryer which is really nice. And we have a ton of different facilities, like a gym and vending machines. We are pretty close to a Walmart and other things, we e-mail from the Stake center computers which is different as well. A lot has changed but missionary work is virtually the same just different people.

I'm Being Transferred

So we got calls really late, in fact they were supposed to come last night around 10pm but we just got them at 2:30 today. Not really a problem. I am getting transferred and don't know exactly where yet, I will find out on Wednesday, which is transfer day.

The senior missionaries in our zone set up a movie night at one of the church buildings that we could invite investigators to.   Nolan, one of the more solid investigators came. We watched "Meet the Mormons" it was pretty good, I had never seen it before.

Nolan flew home on Saturday last week, home being Washington. He was living with his aunt and was supposed to be here for a little while longer but he has agreed to keep meeting with the missionaries when he returns.

I am not sure what I am going to do, but hopefully I will adjust to a new ward well enough to work effectively right away, and if not, I guess I will have to at some point.

So Much Learning

To start off, Elder Meyer and I had the opportunity to bless the sacrament yesterday, because all the priests were on vacation except for one, and that was one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission, for whatever reason. We even messed up and prepared only 9 trays of bread so, one of the Deacons didn't get to pass the bread which I felt terrible for, but it worked out anyways. Bishop Brown trusted Elder Meyer and I enough to ask for help with the accounting of tithing and fast offerings, because one of his councilors was gone. I learned a ton about how the Church works, it was a great learning experience.

We also taught Blake on Sunday, the kid who actually lives outside the Stake but attends our ward because the youth in our ward invited him. We also found out that we are not allowed to teach him even though he would attend this ward after his baptism so we handed him off to the Queen Creek zone leaders and they will take care of him. We found out that Nolan, the Relief Society's nephew is leaving this Saturday so that will be two investigators down in one week.

We went on exchanges with the District leader and I went to Johnson Ranch with his companion Elder Feusner and I learned a ton from him. We worked hard all day and literally talked to EVERYONE we saw which was kinda tough because some people were obviously too busy or too distracted to talk with us, but it made me want to change more and give everyone an opportunity to learn about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We also made it a goal to leave our testimony with everyone we talked to and that made everybody we talked to a little nicer in most of all the cases. Elder Feusner has been out for about 5 weeks now and is just such a great missionary. He also came out with Elder Tomlinson who lives at the Gold Dust house with me and is being trained by Elder Breneman, it still amazes me how great this transfer was because both Elder Tomlinson and Feusner both have increased my desire to serve others by how good they are at missionary work.

 Love you guys and want you to have a good week.

 -Elder Throckmorton

Blake Is On Date

This last week has been great. We taught the older guy, John and he asked us where our Church was, which we had told him a bunch already but he can't remember a whole lo,t point is he asked us, so it is a step in the right direction. We taught Duane's family and it was so neat. In the middle of it Elder Meyer asked Christine the girlfriend if she would like a priesthood blessing which she accepted and the spirit was so strong. Things have been going so good for them and they are not moving like they had planned on doing. Duane left us by saying "Guys, the idea of baptism is a whole lot better now than ever before and I think I would like to have me and the family baptized, I just don't know when." So we need to figure out a time that would be best for them but it is another step in the right direction. There is a man who went less active and he lives just outside the stake and ward by one street, anyways his son (14) had been invited by the youth in our ward to come to church with them and so his dad took him and they both have been coming to our ward for the past 4 months. The son's name is Blake and he was so prepared for baptism. He went on trek with Queen Creek South stake and loved it, they had a three hour space of time for the youth to read the Book of Mormon which is the first time that Blake started to read, he is now in the middle of Mosiah. We taught him directly after church on Sunday and he accepted the invitation to be baptized of September 26. His mom is not a member and doesn't want missionaries over at the house so we can only teach him once a week at church, that is the only reason that the baptism is so far out.

Morning Sun Baptism

So, this last week was crazy in a way. Elder Barney got a call from Salt Lake with their decision on him going home, he left back to Maricopa last Tuesday. So, it is just me and Elder Meyer covering the same old Morning Sun Ward, which has picked up in the last transfer and a half.

We have a few return appointments that will hopefully result in some new investigators. I have decided that less-active work is extremely important, it has been a huge blessing in this area as we have just recently focused on the help that we can render to the ward, besides just baptisms.

About two weeks ago, we got a referral from mission office for  Stephanie, but every time we stopped by she wasn't home. Come to find out that Stephanie had visited the Mesa visitors center and was blown away with the Joseph Smith story, she wanted to have the missionaries come over that instant, only she specifically requested Sister missionaries, which I don't mind at all. Stephanie lives in the Morning Sun boundaries but is being taught by Sister Bulilon (Philippines) and Sister Holbrook (Alaska), it is the coolest thing to see the morale for the whole ward sky rocket because of one golden investigator, they will set a date for her baptism sometime this week. It is also cool because Sister Bulilon goes home after this transfer and this is Sister Holbrook's first transfer.

Just yesterday we ate dinner at Bishop Brown's house and he invited his friend over. It was really neat to see the spirit work, Elder Meyer and I prepared to teach a short restoration message but on the way to dinner we felt prompted to share the significance of the Book of Mormon and it turned out pretty well with Bishop's friend both accepting a copy and an invitation to learn more.

That is what has been going on in San Tan Valley, Arizona and it has been a huge blessing to see the ward get really excited about missionary work, we got members already planning on accompanying us for the return appointments going on later this week.

I love you guys and am enjoying my mission more and more every day.

-Elder Throckmorton

115

So, the temperature this past week has been "up there", last Friday the temperature in the shade was 115 Fahrenheit around 2pm - 5pm, in the shade! We put a thermometer in the sun and it got up to 152 Fahrenheit, so yeah it was warm. It has gotten to the point that our house sits at 80 Fahrenheit and it is pretty cold in there.Just the one ward has had more going on since the start of the transfer than it ever has for the past 9 months. We haven't got any new investigators yet, but this week is full of return appointments with different potentials. We have also been teaching a few less actives, including a single sister in the ward who just got her children taken away from her by CPS. She loves it when we come over. She also is going to the addiction recovery class twice a week by her own free will,l because nothing makes her happier than her children, so she is doing everything it takes to get them back. I knew Elder Meyer in the MTC, but he was in a different zone, so we only saw each other from time to time, but we knew a lot of Elders and Sisters that weren't in our zone but were going to Gilbert, Arizona. We get along pretty well and I would say that I got along better with my MTC district than any other missionaries. I guess I just keep getting better and better missionaries haha Elder Barney didn't go home and might not anymore depending on what Salt Lake says, because they still haven't made a decision, but I am pretty sure that he is staying the rest of the transfer because it is already half way over.

Triple Companionship

Transfer day was really different. We got there expecting Elder Barney to be heading home but apparently Salt Lake never got back to President Nattress. I am currently still with Elder Barney but also Elder Meyer who was in the MTC at the same time as me. He is from Texas and works hard. We are in a tri-companionship because Elder Barney might be going back. Elder Barney is from Maricopa, Arizona and when he received his call it was for two transfers here and then the rest on a different call, he has been a great Elder and has helped us get out and work ALL the time, very exact with the rules kind of guy. Anyways if he goes home early it will be for him to take care of things and he will be able to come back out. Salt Lake has been reviewing all the information on him for 2 weeks now and we don't know what is going on, but for now Elder Barney, Elder Meyer and I are in a tri-companionship covering one ward, Morning Sun, yes still haha.

Early August

So, transfer calls came last night and we found out that Elder Barney (My Greenie) is leaving. This wasn't really a shock to us though because he has been talking to his Stake president and President Nattress, who are such nice people, all last week. He just has some stuff to take care of, I am so glad I was able to be his companion for the time I was. I learned a lot from him, like I need to actually have a weekly planning (every week).  At the beginning I wasn't really great at weekly planning, but we steadily improved over the course of this transfer. I also learned that we need to teach concepts more simply than we have been because he didn't get some stuff I was trying to tell him and that's because I tend to over-complicate things, but that is just me haha.

Not much happened in the Morning Sun Ward this week.  Alice got knee surgery last Monday, she has been in Mesa with her grandchildren recovering. Stacy has been really flaky and we haven't been able to get a hold of her in a while (around a month) so we have decided to just forget about her for the time being. Aaron and his children dropped us due to a busy summer schedule, but I am pretty sure that they will come back once they get back into school. Brenar pass ward has been awesome, we have found a total of 5 new investigators in the last 2 weeks and they had a couple of baptisms right  before we became a triple companionship.

With Elder Barney leaving we have been informed that the trio will be split up on Wednesday, if Elder Barney had stayed we would've been kept in a trio. And about the comment on it being early August (in my letter to Trenton this week, I commented that I was excited that it was August and that means that soon the temperatures are going to start coming down), natives say, that from here till about October is the worst time to be in Arizona because of the weather, apparently it is going to get more humid but not cooler until about November.


I love you all and hope that you are doing well.

-Elder Throckmorton

July 27

This week we taught a lesson to Alice and Jimmy, but they are no longer interested in the church and dropped us. The Brenner pass ward got 3 new investigators last week who are all pretty solid and might work out. Other than that not a whole lot else happened. love you

July 20th

This week has been full of meetings, so we didn't do a whole lot of work, in fact we never even saw a single investigator this week, only because they were all out of town or sick, oh well I guess those weeks happen. That is pretty much it

A Trainer

Trenton is such a funny kid. A couple of weeks ago, his Mission President called me with concern over a few health issues Trenton is having, nothing serious and I am sure he will be fine. Anyway, during our conversation President Nattress told me that Trenton was called to be a New Missionary Trainer. This is pretty awesome. I was anxious and excited to hear from Trenton about his new call, so I didn't tell him that I knew. That silly kid said NOTHING about being a trainer. So, finally I sent him this in my letter to him this week --

"Yesterday, Dad and I were renewing our temple recommends. President Marshall asked for our names, when I said Throckmorton, he said "Ohhhh, you are Trenton's parents". I told him I was amazed at his memory, he said that it was partly because he had just gotten a letter that told him you were made a trainer. I was like "what?". I came home and picked up our mail, sure enough there is a letter from President Nattress detailing your call to be a New Missionary Trainer. Why didn't you tell me? That is pretty awesome and a big responsibility. It's pretty cool that you get to take the things you have learned from serving with your other companions and teach them to Elder Barney. How are things going? Is Elder Barney excited to be out in the field? Poor guy, coming to Arizona in the middle of the summer. Where is he from?"

So, yes I fibbed and didn't tell Trenton that I have known for a while. Anyway, this was his response.


"I really didn't want you to know that I am training, I didn't realize that they would send you a letter."

Really???  

Well, here is the rest of his letter for your enjoyment.


So we live with the Brennar Pass Elders, Elder Neil and Elder Breneman. Elder Breneman was actually training Elder Neil but Elder Neil just wasn't ready to come out and went back home last Wednesday. So, Elder Barney and I are now in a Triple companionship with Elder Breneman. We cover two wards, which is great! Because we now have stuff to do every hour of the day and that feels at least somewhat productive. It was just too bad that Elder Neil had to go home. Elder Neil was a convert of a year and his parents even kicked him out for converting, he and Elder Breneman are from Philadelphia just opposite sides and they were sure that they had been best friends the the pre-mortal realm. Other than that all of the ivestigators we have are not progressing at the moment and Aaron and his family dropped us, but it should all work out.

 -Elder Throckmorton

July 6th

Elder Barney and I have worked pretty hard this week. We have talked to more people than I have ever talked to. We were actually asked to participate in the Young Women's lesson on Ordinances and Covenants, we role played in front of them what to say or do when you are having a gospel conversation with your friend and they ask you why they would need to be baptized again if they already were in another church. I don't have much else to say, because not a ton else happened that I can remember, we didn't see a single one of our investigators this week because they all had one thing or another going on, but that is the way of missionary work more often than not. -Elder Throckmorton

June 29th

Well, my new companion is Elder Barney, he is a really great missionary. We have set some similar goals as when I was with Elder Ficklin, they seem to be working pretty well. We had our first lesson with Stacy - our miracle investigator, last Saturday. She accepted an invitation to be baptized on July 11th. She came to church yesterday and brought her 84 year old mother with her, who may be just as interested with our church as Stacy is. Stacy's 12 year old daughter is extremely shy, but I think she will come around in a little bit. We got Elijah to church, but not the rest of the Johnson family, It will happen eventually.

Transfers

So,  Elder Ficklin is going to leave and I am staying, he was only here for 6 weeks, wow. I didn't really get to know him that well but I feel like we were the most unified out of the three companions I have had. Especially when we discussed what we wanted to do with the area and it somehow showed as we picked up a total of 11 new investigators this transfer.

This week was eventful being that we were flagged down by a woman named Stacy, she just really unloaded about her situation and told us all about how she had heard great things about the Church and that she needed help. At first I kinda thought "Oh no, not another one of these" but as she kept going on about her situation she expressed a desire to join our Church to help her daughter become more active in her life. and she knows that the Church provides a way to do that through the youth programs. Anyways we set up a lesson for this coming Friday.  She has been calling us since last Thursday, that being when she first flagged us down, with a lot of great questions about the Book of Mormon, she is currently the only "investigator" reading it right now.  It is really great to see that the Book of Mormon really is the key to helping an investigator progress. She also said that her mom who is 84 and was stuck in her catholic ways wants to learn more about the Church, wow.

Love you guys and hope you are doing well

Love,
-Elder Throckmorton

p.s. I have failed to mention the fact that it is way above 100 F everyday now and only gets down to about 90 every night. Last Thursday it hit 117 F and it was 106 F at 10pm that night. This is an Arizona summer I guess.  Also, we keep our house at a chilly 85 degrees.  I guess it feels chilly after coming in from 117, but it sure does make it hard to sleep.

Almost 10 Investigators at Church

So, we picked up yet another 2 investigators, they are black as well and say funny things like "Oh my loafus" and "What is they name?" and most exciting, they want to get baptized. They were a media referral and just recently moved in like 2 weeks ago. They said they were planning on coming to church as well as Alice and Jimmy, and Duane and his family; sadly none of them showed up, but they will next week.

Only In A Week

So this week was pretty long and I can't really remember a lot of it, but we found 2 new investigators by the names of Alice and Jimmy, who lived back East in West Virginia then started moving west ever so slowly until they ended up in Arizona, where they now live with one of their daughters. They have a very Southern accent and are pretty funny because of how they act with regards to God and Jesus Christ, Singing praises and shouting alleluia every so often as we are teaching. They haven't heard of the LDS church and they are a part of  The Seventh Day Adventist with a female prophet, needless to say that she doesn't really understand the whole "priesthood for males" thing but I have faith that she will overcome that as she reads from the Book of Mormon. We are planning on going over "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" with her tomorrow, they both seem pretty solid.

We were going to have around 10 investigators at church yesterday but for one reason or another none of them showed up and no one answered their doors at all yesterday, I guess those days just happen haha.

Baptism For Michael

Saturday was actually more interesting than it needed to be, not stressful just interesting. We had the Cloud building (one with a font) scheduled for Saturday, the building coordinator told us that our little "magic key" should work for that building, which is just outside of our stake. Well we showed up about an hour and a half early to fill up the font and found to our surprise that our key didn't work. After about 15 phone calls we tracked down some missionaries who had some keys that would work. The font takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to fill and we had 40 minutes until the baptism. The baptism went well, one of the priests from the ward got to baptize him, in a half full font. It was mildly entertaining witnessing the baptism, because Michael was forced to be fully immersed in the water, it took 20 seconds, I thought maybe he was being drowned haha! The same priest who baptized him got to confirm Michael a member of the church, it was pretty cool.

We have a new member who just recently decided to come back to church,  his name is Brad, he is pretty awesome. He served in the military and hasn't been to church since he was 10 so he doesn't know a lot of the doctrine, it is kind of like teaching a non-member and is actually fun.

I would say that Elder Ficklin and I get along a lot better than any other companion I have had so far, and the work has been going so much better too. Not to say I didn't get along with the last two, because I did, just to say that we get along better. We are more obedient than I have ever been on my mission and we have been blessed with a sense of success that I know could only be found through exact obedience.

-Elder Throckmorton

The Work

We found 5 new investigators out of a part-member family on Tuesday, but found out that they will be gone on vacation for the next month. The part-member family is Aaron the one who served in Florida, the new investigators are his two children and Kelly, his girlfriend's 3 children as well as Kelly. One of her daughters is only 6 so she doesn't count as an investigator. It was pretty cool teaching them last Tuesday because at the end, Kelly wanted to know what she should have her kids say to their Dad who is Anti-Mormon and how to stand up for their beliefs.

Michael, the one from Nigeria is getting baptized this Saturday at 2pm and has so many friends in the priest quorum that he didn't know who he wanted to baptize him the most but ultimately he chose Steven to do that, Steven is going on a mission to Germany and has been coming with us to teach Michael for a while, he is even friends with him in school, at home and in church so that's pretty cool. Michael also wants to know what he should be doing to prepare himself to go on a mission, weird huh? He isn't even a member yet. Michael is the brightest person I have ever known and understands the Bible and Book of Mormon way better than I do. Maybe I will get to see him leave for his mission before I head home, that would be so cool.

John, the old guy, developed pneumonia and is up with his sister in north Mesa and will be there permanently. I wish our mission was a little bigger because maybe then would I get an opportunity to check up on him and see how he is doing he is still my favorite person I have met out here.

We tried our hardest to work with everyone in the ward to invite the Johnson family to church yesterday but they did not show up, I was pretty bummed because I had fasted for them the night before.

Love Notes

In the last 2 weeks, I have gotten 3 different email's from different members wanting to let Hal and I know just how great Trenton is. I'm not going to lie, these emails mean the world to me and always seem to come at just the right moment. I'm going to forward them on to Trenton, so that he too can see just how awesome people think he is.



 Dear Brother and Sister Throckmorton,

As President of the Queen Creek Stake I wanted to send you a personal thank-you for sending such a remarkable son into our area to serve with our members. Recently Elder Throckmorton took two of the young men from our Stake on a 3 day mini-mission. He gave our youth a remarkable experience. In the testimony meeting that followed the mini-mission, each companionship from our Stake bore testimony of how much they admired the missionaries. Your son provided an experience that built faith and testimony. Every one of the youth that attended claimed that they wished "the week to never end." I am personally so grateful for your son and his obedience to the mission rules and their dedicated effort to assist us in this great work. Though we may never meet in person, just know that we are praying for your sons success. He is an outstanding young man.

Sincerely,

President Dal Zemp
Queen Creek Arizona Stake  



Dear Sister Throckmorton, Your son is a missionary in our ward. My wife and I have recently moved to Arizona from Rigby, Idaho. You can be very proud of your son. He has a good spirit about him and he wants to "do the work". He has been well trained. It is a pleasure to have him in our home. Have a happy mother's day.

Rick Potter




Just want to let you know you have a great son!We appreciate him in our ward. We feed him often. We too have a son on a mission. We hope our son is taken care of as well as we take care of your missionary.know you raised a great son!

Bro. Jones

More is More and Less is Less

This last Sunday, Elder Ramon and I decided to really crack down on the over aged youth in the ward, we got an updated list to start that initiative. Last week we met with John (the old guy), his COPD is getting drastically worse. We have an amazing ward missionary, age 75 by the name of Monk, who is in stage 4 cancer and is even worse off then John. The amazing thing is that he wrote John a note telling him of the great blessings that come from baptism and truly knowing abut the restored gospel. I just thought it was cool. Monk also gave out 4 cake mixes to other members in the ward and challenged them to bake the cake for a non-member family nearby, so Elder Ramon and I will be following up.

 We did a lot of service this last week - from preparing food storage for old ladies in the ward, to yard work for old men in the ward, haha! We also helped another companionship's investigator repair an old dresser, which I was surprised we could do, it was pretty bad off. I also helped them with yet another yard work project. Last week on Friday, it hit 101! needless to say, that is quite hot and when you are doing yard work or riding bikes it feels even hotter. I have about 15 more degrees to add before they officially proclaim it to be summer time.

I truly do love my mission, my area, and my family. I will be talking to you all on Sunday, so I will try to find another miracle to share between now and then. -Elder Throckmorton

News From Santan Valley

We currently have 8 investigator.  Michael, a 17 year old from Nigeria who is actually on date to be baptized on May 30th, but if I get transferred I won't be here for that. He loves soccer and knows the bible inside and out, His mother back in Nigeria made sure that he grew up with religion in his life and he bore the most amazing testimony on how he has a need for baptism not just a desire.

John, a 77 year old man from Kentucky was found on Nov, 24, right before I came to Arizona and he is my overall favorite investigator in the whole world, mostly because we have only been able to teach him while we are on exchanges.  I have been to every lesson with him so I have had the amazing opportunity to watch him excel as the spirit works it's power and influence. He worked in the mines when he was younger and developed COPD. He was an alcoholic but his niece, who is a member, got him to quit a few years ago. When we started teaching him he was horribly addicted to cigarettes but as I taught him about the priesthood he accepted a blessing and hasn't even touched a cigarette in 2 1/2 months, a miracle. He loves horses and farming, he owns a really cool model T Ford and a wheelchair that has a Harley motorcycle body.

Then there is a family of six with a very spiritual man named Duane at the head. Duane is not married to his "wife", but has lived with them for a really long time, they just need to find time to get married. I love this family because their daughters, who are all 10 years old and younger, give us missionaries each exactly 5 handshakes and they always have the best input on whatever principle of the gospel we end up sharing that day. We haven't been able to meet them a lot in the past couple of weeks, but that is fine because Duane says that they are attending his sister's ward. No one in this family is a member, yet.

As for Less-Actives, Part-Members, and Over-Aged-Youth the list is extremely large, so I will just talk about my favorites, even though I don't really have favorites. There is Aaron who served a mission in Jacksonville, Florida and got back in 2000. He has 2 kids, a son and a daughter who are not baptized, but really, really want to be. He lives with his girlfriend who he would love to marry, but he doesn't want the marriage to be a "because he is Mormon" thing and offend her which I don't really think would happen if he asked her to marry him. He loves cars and has allowed us to go to some car shows with him even though I know nothing about cars. He just recently had surgery to correct a torn bicep and asked his home-teacher to give him a blessing, first in years.

I have more but have no more time, I will add more next week. It is true that this area is so small and we don't really have enough to do to keep us busy and I haven't found a new investigator yet. But the fact is that I love this area and I love my mission and have the great blessing of serving in the Arizona, Gilbert mission.

-Elder Throckmorton

Easter

My new companion's name is Elder Ramon, he has like 5 names because he is from the South Pacific, Micronesia on a little island named Pohnpei. He has very crazy stories about his island and what happens outside of the US and I really appreciate the fact that I wasn't called to the islands haha.

General Conference weekend was really cool and pretty different but I couldn't quite tell if that was because I am a missionary or not. Did you hear those people yell "oppose" while they were sustaining the Presidency? That was a pretty big shock. Also I really enjoyed President Monson's talk in priesthood session because it showed me how the Lord can really work through people and that no matter who we are, we can dedicate our lives to serving Him and receiving awesome blessings that we didn't know we were able to receive.

I did got the package you sent,  I really enjoyed it. I do not really need anything though, I already have the one suit and my pants should be fine until they just get destroyed and my shirts are all still pretty white. I can't think of anything that I would need.

Love you all and hope you have a fun little vacation.

-Elder Throckmorton

Pictures!

Our luck with being able to get mini missionaries appears to have run out it. Spring break is over now and the minis are back in school. We have not found a new investigator the whole time that I have been here but I know that we will find one soon, I just know it.

Transfer calls are coming this week. I am staying in the Morning Sun Ward, while Elder Fa' Amuli is leaving.  Leadership calls are going to be Tuesday night, I don't know what will be going on with that for sure until Wednesday as well.

I have felt pretty bad about not sending enough photos, so I have taken pictures of random stuff.

This one made me think of Dad.

I have no idea why I took this picture, but it made me laugh.

See how HOT it is already getting here?  YIKES, summer is going to be hard.

An awesome sunset, that happens pretty much every night.

A road runner that pretty much lives in a member's backyard.  He is almost always there.

Some members dropped off a bunch of groceries at our house.  The members here are so amazing, I love them so much.

I got a Russian Book of Mormon, I've been reading it at night, just for fun.

I am loving my mission and don't really know what else to say only that I love you all back home and I do keep you in my prayers.

More "Mini's"

I don't know if you would believe it but we got two additional mini-missionaries this last weekend, that's 3 in a row! These are Young Men from others stakes within our mission boundaries. The stakes they were from are up in Gilbert. The first week we had Brother Milllett and Brother Jones; Brother Millett got his call to Oklahoma and did a great job. Brother Jones turns in his papers in a couple of weeks, he has 4 older brothers who all served missions and he did a great job as well. The second week we got Brother Fowels and Brother Kitchen, they were my favorites,  if I had to choose some. Their desire to work and bring others unto Christ surpassed mine, both at the start of my mission and now.  It really got me thinking about why I'm out here and why I'm not exactly as excited for mission work as they seem to be. This last week we got Brother Stapely and Brother Potter, they taught me how to talk to others in a better way, telling better stories, and to just be myself.

The "Mini-mission" is set up like this; The Stake Presidents in the Arizona Gilbert Mission really wanted the youth to get involved in mission work and to be better prepared for their missions, so they came up with the idea of an "extended split" where they would go with a set of missionaries -- sleep, eat, and work like one for a weekend or longer, they presented it to the mission president who of course accepted it fully.

I taught Gospel Principles class in the Morning Sun Ward that I am serving in, I only sweated about 4 buckets full, I just blamed it on the heat, it has gotten above 90 for the past week consistently.

Thank you for the words that you have written and thank you for all the support and love that I can honestly say I feel from you and the family. I love you all too!

-Elder Throckmorton

Another short, but sweet letter

The college we email at is closed and I am using a members phone for email so it will be short.

I hope to find time to write you a letter to share my experience this last week which was actually my new favorite week.We got another set of mini missionaries, as did the zone leaders we live with. So there were 8 young men packed into a pretty small house. Haha. Before this week I had given out 3 Book of Mormons, and over just last weekend we placed 32! Mini missionaries do bring miracles. I want to share more but I'm using a touch screen.

-Elder Throckmorton

Mini-Missionaries and The Best Week --- So Far

I know that things happen for a reason and I felt prompted to write what I had written last week because I truly felt like I was done, done with my mission, done with my hope, done with my life. I find it quite rude of Satan to work so hard against the Lord's merciful plan of redemption and the more covenants we make and the more ordinances we perform the harder and more deceitful he becomes.

I have been thinking a lot of the Atonement and studying the most I think I have ever studied. I know that Jesus Christ did in fact suffer for all the sins, pains, addictions, trials, and hardships of everyone who has, is, and yet will live on the earth. Knowing more about the Atonement and realizing the breadth and depth of the whole of it enlightens my mind and expounds all intelligence of the restored gospel. The Atonement is the root of it, all other things are simply appendages to the fact of this glorious performance of Love, Respect, Honor, Humility, and Appreciation. As I study and pay more heed and diligence to the great feat that could only be performed by one man. I love Jesus Christ for all that he has done for me personally, and being on a mission helps me understand that that love for him is continued and solidified in the fact that his suffering was and is for all who accept it. The Atonement is not just Infinite but personal.

 I say it is the best week of my mission so far because just last weekend we had a great opportunity to receive two mini-missionaries, Brother Jones and Brother Millett, both were amazing companions for the short time that we had them (just Friday from 4pm to Sunday at 7pm), these young men taught me more about faith in the lord Jesus Christ than I have learned from simply reading the scriptures, the way they apply the scriptures in their work and the way they talk about others and the way they present themselves in style and speech. It was greatly needed by me to know that the amount of faith that you can have, you cannot comprehend, or in other words Infinite.

 Love you all and thanks for everything!
 -Elder Throckmorton

Trenton's letter this week was very personal, to personal to share.  I just didn't want anyone to wonder when/if I was going to post this week.  Usually he sends something generic that he wants shared, but this week he took up his email time with a letter to Hal and I.  I love that boy more than words can express.  I am so proud of who he has become.  It is always amazing to me to see in his letters his spiritual growth, he really is becoming a spiritual giant.  He is having an emotional hiccup, and could use a few extra prayers. I am sure that all will be fine and he will find the comfort and peace he is needing.  He truly loves serving the Lord by being a missionary.

Put Where You're Needed

I did not get transferred and am still staying with Elder Fa' Amuli and that is great! Im not sure what else to add for now.

I can't seem to stop thinking about those I am teaching and how much I would enjoy them starting the path towards eternal life.

That story you shared about the asthma attack, was great to read and strengthens my testimony that the Lord does present situations in which we all can learn greatly from. I know that God made us all, and gave us all individual strengths and weaknesses, talents and abilities, and expects us each to help all his creations in this life and the life to come.

I'm sorry I don't quite know what to write this week but I do know that all is well here in Arizona and that I love my mission and I love you guys.

-Elder Throckmorton

Transfer Calls

Transfer calls were this morning and I found out that I get to stay in the Morning Sun Ward with Elder Fa' Amuli for at least another transfer. It is Presidents Day, the places we email at are closed so we have to email at a members. I am on an iPad, so I can't say much (took me half an hour to get this much written).

Love you all

-Elder Throckmorton

11 weeks

To carefully note, I am not counting up nor down from days left or days on. The 11th week is significant in the Gilbert mission because it is the week that the trainee (me) becomes the senior companion for 7 whole days,  I am currently on day 5. I have had an amazing 5 days as senior companion and anticipate an equally amazing experience with the next two days.

This has been the fastest week of my mission and I don't really know why. We are keeping very busy with all the wonderful families that we are currently teaching and have amazing members within the ward who are willing to do whatever it takes for those families to feel comfortable. The one family was so much fun to teach as we went over the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Taking the lead in discussions was quite fun and I can tell that by the power of the Holy Ghost I was able to recognize what I should go, do, and say. That has been the funnest thing about my mission so far, just being able to sense the spirit so strong and actually knowing what to do and say is a great feeling.

In 'Preach My Gospel' President James E Faust teaches: "Hope is the anchor of our souls." ... “Hope is trust in God’s promises, faith that if we act now, the desired blessings will be fulfilled in the future. …
“The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death.”

I never really understood the significance of Jesus Christ, I always knew he was necessary to the plan presented to us from before the foundation of the world but never thought about the valiant call to teach others about Him and what can be found through him. Hope, peace, and joy are all things that I have found through faith in Christ, but took for granted that I had those feeling through Him. I love having this opportunity to serve the Lord and know that great things are in store for those I am teaching.

I finally got the awesome poster the ward made for me, some guy gave us the box this morning because it was sent to 185 w brangus instead of 195 w brangus. If you could thank the ward for me that would be ideal obviously because I can't thank everyone individually.

We have been fed so well here that I haven't bought any groceries for the last 2 1/2 weeks. We had Borro's pizza (really expensive) paid for us by a potential investigator after helping her move some of the heaviest furniture I have ever moved, more than a piano I'm sure. So don't you worry about the amount of food that is available to Gilbert AZ missionaries. The Broscharts (members), I am pretty sure you know the mom, bought us a lot of groceries towards the end of last month because we were low on money, super super nice.

I love you all so very much and pray for you all the time.

Love,
-Elder Throckmorton

Poem #4 and Rain, rain, rain

First I would like to share one of my new favorite poems that I've written,  I'm  having trouble finding an appropriate title for it.

Do you think there's an answer
to all of life's questions?
Do you think if yes,
then how would I find them?
If life goes on way past the grave
then how will I know
if I've truly been saved?
Do I wonder and ponder
and pray with all might
that an angelic answer
will come through the night?
What peace would this bring,
what joy would it give
If I knew of my standing
with God on His landing?
What if I feel so unworthy
that I give up the fight,
give into temptation
and lose with no sight?
How sad would I be
to know all that was needed
is help from the Savior
who bled and who died
for all of us people --
those wanderers, those believers
those seekers, those weepers
those beggars and choosers?
What joy would it bring
to know the Savior did come?
What hopes would increase
by the words from his tongue?
I know of the savior
in the world He did come
and by way of His mouth
He imparted to young
a Gospel so firm
so strong in it's brace
we need not have fear
of His redeeming Grace
Study, pray, and believe
though hard it may be
belief is what's asked
belief is what starts
hearts to start changing
To believe in His hope
His hope He brings with Him
I know that He lives
and through Him I know
We are all subjects to
His great Holy glow
by our thoughts
by our deeds
and by our desires
desire to do what is asked
to be with my Father

-Influenced by Alma 34 and more specifically verse 5

Thank you for the pictures and tell Dave and Heidi that I am praying for them and Clara. It's funny that while reading about all that has happened I still remembered all the terms like NICU and Cpap from Medical Anatomy class.
Dave and Heidi welcomed a new little lady into their family this week, her name is Clara Lucille St. Julien, she was born perfect at 7lbs 9oz, but has had a little health hiccup, she doesn't seem to enjoy breathing.  She has been in the NICU for a few days, but she seems to be getting better and stronger all the time and I'm very confident that she will be home soon. 

I know that the dentist is a fun place for Jack haha. And I can see Addy loving it.  And of course Hallie is loving it as an excuse to get out of school.  It is nice to see that they are all the same as when I left.
I always seem to tell Trenton what's going on in our week no matter how mundane it seems.

This last week we were actually pushed to tract, we saw a lot of success in that, we have found 2 additional investigators. It rained pretty hard for 3 days straight and we got soaked, but I had a blast tracting in the rain pretending to be a missionary from a different part of the world where it rains a lot. The zone leaders got their car stuck in the mud that was produced by the rain and a member with a tractor came to pull them out, it was pretty memorable for them but sadly me and Elder Fa' Amuli weren't there to witness it. Members all around seem like they want to feed the missionaries, so as it happens I have only ate at the same members house once so far. I don't want to say I have a favorite family but I do, for food and working closely with their neighbors it would have to be the Messanias, They fed us on Thanksgiving and sent a picture to you. Elder Fa' Amuli says he absolutely hates being a district leader because there are some Elders who don't like leadership, so he feels like he lost some friends. I told him that he hasn't lost any friends, that there are just going to be some people that don't enjoy leadership for one reason or another. It did encourage him to keep strong and serve the Lord in the capacity that the Lord wants and needs him to serve in.

Stay strong in the Lord and have faith that all will be well.

Love, Elder Throckmorton

*Italic is added by me

A Letter to Mom

Another week down. Time is funny that way, in some ways I can't believe that 2 months have already flown by, but on the other hand it seems like FOREVER!

I'm happy to hear 2 months didn't change the little ones that much and they are the same way I left them; with Jack loving video games and Addy hanging out with Tatum all the time.

I know how much you love a clean house, I am sorry for not keeping it as clean as I should have. I say that because I have noticed how I feel when the house that the Lord has provided for us to live in is clean and tidy. When that happens we find a lot more success in the work and see some very significant blessings come from it.

Hallie has told me about Common Scents and she sounds like she has the same attitude about work that I did, hearing that is kind of irritating. One thing I regret most is not asking for more time off for personal things (not that I used a whole lot of that in school) but she has a ton of friends and is an overwhelmingly social person.

I can see Dad being "sooo funny" and I will admit that it does make me laugh hearing that.
*I wrote and told Trenton about how Hal thought he was so funny in his letter this week to Trenton, Hal stated that I sat there and wouldn't let Hal come to bed until I could see that he had written a proper letter.  That is a LIE! :)

I am finished with Dr. appointments finally, YAY! I don't have Reynauds, which I didn't think I had anyway.  I'm glad to not have to worry about all that stuff anymore.

This previous week has been the most productive, busy, and inspiring week of my mission so far. We have 4 new investigators; all from this last week (I haven't had someone new to teach this whole time).  We are teaching a man named Maurice, he is set to be baptized on Valentines day, fun! Maurice is amazing,  he is autistic and super funny with what he will say, but also very spiritual.

I still very much enjoy riding my bike, but to be fair it has not been past 90 degrees yet, although one day the thermometer said 101, it was hot for 20 minutes and cooled off to 88 within 2 hours.

I don't have any pictures right now, sorry I know you want pictures, I will try a lot harder this week to get you some.

Thank you for the questions because so much happens I don't really know what to write to you about. Thank you again for supporting me in every way while I am out here serving the Lord, I want to do my best out here so that support won't be in vain. I love you a ton and if you could mention that to the rest of the family that would be nice .

Love,
-Elder Throckmorton

4 Investigators Later

The work is going very well and we are actively teaching 2 of the 4 investigators we have. We've been trying to come up with new ideas to find those the Lord has prepared for us to teach, so far we have only come up empty-handed, but I know that through our dedication that the Lord will provide us ways to see and meet those whose hearts have been softened. I know this because while we were out tracting this week we ended up talking to 3 people who are now investigators for 3 other sets of missionaries, it is really exciting to see the work progressing this way.
We attended a ward council and discussed the needs of each investigator and what the ward was willing to do to help them live the gospel in any way they can. I haven't helped the ward much since I have been here, but they are a great help to us. I want to give back as much as I can I just don't know exactly how.

All the missionaries who cover a ward in the stake had dinner at the stake presidents house and President Nattress even came.  He embarrassingly brought up how I looked better in proselyting clothing than in hospital attire,

I feel good emotionally and understand that natural stress and doubts enter your mind.  Satan has put so much doubt into my mind, it is almost abysmal how much. I also know that if we take our doubts to the Lord we will receive reassurance that what we know, what we think, and what we are doing is right; He will help you doubt your doubts.  I love this aspect of being a missionary! While you are a missionary you are forced to deal with some situations that you wouldn't have thought could bother you so much,  I know that the Lord is there to help me through it all.  The work is growing and I know that as my desires to do missionary work grow more that He will bless us with work to do. If you want to know the truth it is that Elder Fa' Amuli is Samoan and competitive, if you know anything about that, well, that it is all I have to say. He is a very amusing person, sensitive to more than just the spirit and I know why I am companions with him.  I  have prayed a lot on wondering how to encourage and uplift him. I just don't know how yet, but I will.

I am just trying to understand what the Lord will have me do next. I love you all for the support and prayers and know that it is because of you that I have built my testimony strong enough to be able to embark on a mission. Thank You!

Love, Elder Throckmorton

Transfers were last week on Wednesday. Elder Fa' Amuli and I still cover the Morning Sun ward. Elder Fa' Amuli became District leader, it's his second position in leadership alongside training me.  He is pretty funny about it because the whole first transfer he kept saying how much he would hate being a leader of any kind, and now look at him, I believe it will be great for him.

I followed up with a neurologist this week, no new answers. I had a lot more blood tests come from that visit, the results should come in about a week from now. No other pressing symptoms that I would tell them about have been seen. The mission nurse still calls everyday to check up and President Nattress calls ever other day, so in short I am still embarrassed. I know that it will be dropped and not talked about again I just don't know exactly when.

It is amazing to see the hand of the Lord work through others because it is always easier to see others blessings (and weaknesses). It is hard to think about how the Lord utilizes us personally because we are either too prideful or afraid we may become that way by recognizing our talents. I can tell you that you must find your talents and know how they can be used to help others feel of God's presence and authority because it is what we are asked to do, also to know your personal weaknesses and not be afraid to ask God for help in strengthening them.

If I find some time to hand write a letter today I will send a letter to you to give to Michaella, I don't know why but my personality is abundantly shy and I feel like I didn't get to know anyone in the ward as well as I know I should have. I will try my best and write according to the spirit. I will keep her in my prayers and hope that she gets feeling better sooner, rather than later.


I love you all so much and I really can feel the prayers that are offered to help the missionaries.

-Elder Throckmorton

Save Me From Embarrassment! Haha

As for me I am doing awesome right now. On New years day I got pretty upset at not being able to remember what had happened that day and so I just went to bed. I woke up the next day with a fever, chills, and dizziness; so I just slept, literally all day. When I woke up on the third, I couldn't remember anything; who I was, where I was, what I was doing there and during personal study I slowly started remembering those things but no specifics. Apparently I was pretty shaky, I was dizzy and also had slight tunnel vision. The elders in my house were kind of scared because these are some signs of a stroke, so we went to the ER (not my idea at all) and from there got  admitted to the hospital by ambulance which was fun but to clarify, not my idea; the level of concern given to missionaries who have access to health care is almost next to insane.  From there I had a full blood workup which consisted of a full table of vials to be filled with my blood. My veins are pretty deep so it took 6 tries at getting the needle to work. The ER nurse must have been a miracle worker of sorts because he only took one try in starting my IV. The list of other tests include CT, MRI, Lumbar puncture (torture), and an EEG; needless to say overboard, like way overboard. After all that and a night in the hospital they took their sweet time in releasing me due to my CT and MRI showing some small foreign matter directly behind my frontal sinus cavities which they determined wasn't anything dramatic enough to worry about, thankfully.  Throughout this whole time I began to feel better and started remembering things in more detail so near the end I was more embarrassed that such a big deal had been made concerning me than anything else.  What a relief it is to not be in the hospital anymore. I am to follow up with a doctor in Gilbert tomorrow and really do not want to go but they are insisting. All the elders are now making fun of me and I can't blame them. I just wish the circumstances could have been a little different. I  feel very good now and I just want them to drop this entire thing as soon as possible so I can get back to work. Thanks for having me in your prayers and I want you all to know how much help that was.

Loving Every Minute Of It

It seems that this time of year everyone is getting sick, our investigators are all sick, it's almost unbelievable.

Last Saturday we had an opportunity to participate in some sporting stuff with the ward and invited a lot of none members to come. We all had a blast playing Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, and football.I absolutely love the members here and how much they want to help out the missionaries in their efforts serving the Lord, but I feel bad about just how fortunate I am to be serving somewhere where all my needs are met in full and reading/listening to stories about missionaries in other areas of the world and just how difficult it is to meet their basic needs, I don't know what I could possibly do for them. We are so well fed it's crazy, the members are too nice sometimes, one even offered Elder Fa' Amuli a bike to use for a while as we fix his. Elder Fa' Amuli poor bike is having problems and he got a flat tire,  we spent 45 minutes fixing it and then 20 minutes later he got another flat it was crazy but we still got some work done so somehow the day was still productive.

Everything is going great, maybe a little too great right now, or it may just be the perspective I have, but I really am enjoying every minute of it and I love to read all the words that everyone has to give me. The zone leaders Elders Shepherd and Peery told me last night that they recommended me to be a district leader, I asked why and they told me not to worry about why, so we will see I guess.

I love you all and hope you get better tell all the little ones that I love them too and yes, I count Hallie as a little one


:) Still doesn't feel quite real.