dear family,
so i'm not going to tell you my big news for a few paragraphs, just so i can let the suspense build! i'm so excited though. way to step up on the emails this week fam! definitely the best week of emails i've had. chelsie's was especially good. tell her thanks and everything is fantastic! to be honest, i was really disappointed to have missed whitney's recital. that was the last thing i thought i would miss. don't tell anyone this, but mom's description of whitney's solo brought some tears to my eyes... don't think to much of it though. i probably just had something in my eye. she is amazing though. i think josh groban described it best, "even her shadow has grace."
so i gave my first training in district development meeting yesterday. it was a bit helter skelter, but i put a lot of effort into the preparation and i think everybody got something good out of it. this week has been really busy. we've been teaching so many people, we haven't had hardly any time for tracting. we've met a few potentials while traveling to appointments, but this week was pretty full of appointments with our investigators with dates. we have A LOT. it's so awesome. it's too bad things will be changing... wait, what? that's right, Elder Palfreyman is getting transferred to Bintulu! that's pretty poopy because he's such a stud and i love working with him, but i am excited for my new companion. i know what you're thinking, "who could he possibly be?" I have no idea because I'M TRAINING! i'm so pumped! i'm going to be a senior companion! that's so crazy! he'll get to singapore a week from today and i'll pick him up from the airport on friday. looks like i'll be in klang for a little bit longer. that's my big news.
WEEKLY REVELATION: don't ever try to out-monkey a monkey. it's a bit of a long story, but on the way to the bus stop there is sometimes a monkey chained to a tree. it's always a highlight of my day when i get to see him. this last week i was feeling cocky so i decided to taunt him as we passed. i said something that i thought was pretty clever and he responded like a champ. he put his foot under his chin and spanked himself at me! as if this wasn't humiliating enough, as i turned to walk away he jumped on the branch that was above me and shook it so all of the water (it had just rained) fell off the leaves onto my head. i was soaked. elder palfreyman thought it was pretty funny. stupid monkey.
it's good to hear that scott is getting well. by the time i get home that puppy won't be a puppy anymore ( i love puppies. how's kimberly doing with the baby? when is she due again? have they decided on a name yet? i vote for jackson. congrats to michael and his new job. that awesome. he wrote me a pretty funny letter about some of the people that he worked with at the other branch. it was pretty funny. whitney rae! why did you not tell me you had a boyfriend?! you crazy girl.
please continue to pray for me and for the work. i'll need it in the coming months i have a feeling. i really am so excited to train, but it's going to be hard. all of a sudden i'm responsible! i'll whip that greenie into shape. wait, i'm still a greenie! dang it. can you believe i've been out for almost five months?! where does the time go?
anywho, i love you all and pray for you every day. stay safe and all that jazz. pray for missionary experiences. there's nothing better in the world.
elder troxel
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I Bloody Hate Computers!
dear family,
this is my third time writing this email. the stupid computer has kicked me out twice now, both times after having writen for almost a half hour. i hate technology! i haven't been this angry in a long time.but it's all good. it's going to be an extremely short email though. sorry
everything is excellent here. good week. elder palfreyman got dear johned though. i won't name names, but his girlfriend (alyssa marie caserio) has been dating another guy since december and hasn't told him. what did he expect though? everybody get's dear johned. it's only a matter of where and when. i love missions! he's been dragging a bit, but the best way to keep your mind off of things is hard work, which i love, so it's been a good week so far.
whitney, i know there is something you're not telling me! i got a very interesting letter from chelsie in which she told me that you had something important to tell me... I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS! what is it?! i had better have an email next week telling me what happened!
it's good to hear that everyone is good. tell scott that i was going to email him back today, but i've spent the whole time wrestling with this stupid bad word of a computer the whole time, so i'll write him a letter instead. it'll be there in a couple of weeks.
i really am sorry that this email is so short, but you just gotta role with the punches. in speaking of punches, i have a confession to make. remember last thanksgiving when i came back from the turkey bowl with my face pretty much smashed in? well, the truth is, it wasn't from football. it was from rittmanic and i boxing the night before. you should've seen it though! what a fight! he head butted me in the face and crushed my skull at the end of the third round to end the fight. what a dirty move! cheater. but there you go. i waited until now to tell you so that mom wouldn't get all mad and take my boxing gloves away =) don't worry, the crack in my skull is pretty much fully healed.
the work here is so awesome! it's the craziest mission ever! i feel like i'm a spy. we've got 13 people on date for baptism and we set an average of two dates a week. july is going to be crazy if i don't get transferred. transfers will be at the beginning of july and will effect 30 companionship's! that's more than half the missionaries in this mission! dang it's a good thing i can type so darn fast. that's crazy! pray that i get to train. i really want to.
i'm doing great. i love you all. the work goes on.
elder troxel
ps-if ariel refuses to write to elder palfreyman, then tell her to at least write to me.
this is my third time writing this email. the stupid computer has kicked me out twice now, both times after having writen for almost a half hour. i hate technology! i haven't been this angry in a long time.but it's all good. it's going to be an extremely short email though. sorry
everything is excellent here. good week. elder palfreyman got dear johned though. i won't name names, but his girlfriend (alyssa marie caserio) has been dating another guy since december and hasn't told him. what did he expect though? everybody get's dear johned. it's only a matter of where and when. i love missions! he's been dragging a bit, but the best way to keep your mind off of things is hard work, which i love, so it's been a good week so far.
whitney, i know there is something you're not telling me! i got a very interesting letter from chelsie in which she told me that you had something important to tell me... I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS! what is it?! i had better have an email next week telling me what happened!
it's good to hear that everyone is good. tell scott that i was going to email him back today, but i've spent the whole time wrestling with this stupid bad word of a computer the whole time, so i'll write him a letter instead. it'll be there in a couple of weeks.
i really am sorry that this email is so short, but you just gotta role with the punches. in speaking of punches, i have a confession to make. remember last thanksgiving when i came back from the turkey bowl with my face pretty much smashed in? well, the truth is, it wasn't from football. it was from rittmanic and i boxing the night before. you should've seen it though! what a fight! he head butted me in the face and crushed my skull at the end of the third round to end the fight. what a dirty move! cheater. but there you go. i waited until now to tell you so that mom wouldn't get all mad and take my boxing gloves away =) don't worry, the crack in my skull is pretty much fully healed.
the work here is so awesome! it's the craziest mission ever! i feel like i'm a spy. we've got 13 people on date for baptism and we set an average of two dates a week. july is going to be crazy if i don't get transferred. transfers will be at the beginning of july and will effect 30 companionship's! that's more than half the missionaries in this mission! dang it's a good thing i can type so darn fast. that's crazy! pray that i get to train. i really want to.
i'm doing great. i love you all. the work goes on.
elder troxel
ps-if ariel refuses to write to elder palfreyman, then tell her to at least write to me.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Spencer, did you flush?
dear family,
i can't believe how fast the weeks are going by. it's crazy! it seems like i was just here yesterday. but i'm loving it. it's been a strange week, but i successful one. but before i talk about my week, i should probably answer questions... ok, so there wasn't any questions in your email. that was easy. but about this whole diet thing... i think we may need to make an exception for my
first meal back. i'm planning on snow capped franks for the moment, but considering how i have 20 months to think about it, it may change. if you see todd again, tell him congratulations for me! i'm pumped that he's going. kahea too! if you see channy tell her to tell him to write to me. i'm pretty much a bank of wisdom these days...
so this week has been interesting. there's never a dull week in missionary work. in our district there are two chapels. the PJ chapel (the one our branch and one of the other branches meets in) was broken into and torn pretty much to shreds this week and the PJ2 chapel was completely flooded the same day! what a mess! both were/are in pretty bad shape, but they've done a good job getting crews in there to fix everything. the thieves broke holes in every door so they could reach through and unlock them. it's poopy because most of the rooms are just empty classrooms. i think they were more interested in vandalism than in stealing, because they left all the computers and only took a couple of laptops and a couple of dvd players. messy. the really unfortunate part is what happened the next day. there was an institute class in the chapel the next day and one of the guys (Riva, age 19) who helps us a lot attended. he ended up hanging around after the class and falling asleep in one of the rooms. the cleaner found him at 10:00 and flipped out. i must admit, it's pretty fishy, but i think he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. it doesn't help his case that he allegedly had knives around him, which is what the thieves used to knock holes in the doors. i don't know, it wasn't very wise of him, to say the least.
something i've noticed here is that people in this area of the world (especially indian people) have very different kinds of conversion experiences than most people in western culture. often times they will have amazing dreams or visions of people dressed in white giving them the book of mormon, or telling them to join the church, or other amazing things like that. that isn't how it happens with everyone, but i just find it interesting how the Lord works in different ways according to the needs of his people. we put a man named Maran on date this week who has had some pretty incredible dreams telling him to join the church. i love the people here!
WEEKLY REVELATION: when contacting in the twilight hours and you see someone outside their house, make sure you know their gender before you say, "excuse me sir, but my friend and i have a very important message..." if that person turns out not to be a sir, it makes the rest of the lesson REALLY awkward for both parties. she probably won't even call you back either. i really fudged the bucket on that one.
we had a sweet lesson with this family last night. we would have set a baptism date with them, but the father wasn't home and it just didn't feel right, so we're planning to do it on saturday! i'm so pumped! they're so awesome. the work continues on here in malaysia. the days are flying by. i hope everyone is safe and sound. i also sincerely hope that you are keeping the TV in pristine
condition, along with the HD DVD player. i love you all. if you could, send me some more pictures (maybe through snail mail) of the new babies and of everybody doing whatever they're doing. you can send it in the next package, whenever that may be.
i love you all,
elder troxel
i can't believe how fast the weeks are going by. it's crazy! it seems like i was just here yesterday. but i'm loving it. it's been a strange week, but i successful one. but before i talk about my week, i should probably answer questions... ok, so there wasn't any questions in your email. that was easy. but about this whole diet thing... i think we may need to make an exception for my
first meal back. i'm planning on snow capped franks for the moment, but considering how i have 20 months to think about it, it may change. if you see todd again, tell him congratulations for me! i'm pumped that he's going. kahea too! if you see channy tell her to tell him to write to me. i'm pretty much a bank of wisdom these days...
so this week has been interesting. there's never a dull week in missionary work. in our district there are two chapels. the PJ chapel (the one our branch and one of the other branches meets in) was broken into and torn pretty much to shreds this week and the PJ2 chapel was completely flooded the same day! what a mess! both were/are in pretty bad shape, but they've done a good job getting crews in there to fix everything. the thieves broke holes in every door so they could reach through and unlock them. it's poopy because most of the rooms are just empty classrooms. i think they were more interested in vandalism than in stealing, because they left all the computers and only took a couple of laptops and a couple of dvd players. messy. the really unfortunate part is what happened the next day. there was an institute class in the chapel the next day and one of the guys (Riva, age 19) who helps us a lot attended. he ended up hanging around after the class and falling asleep in one of the rooms. the cleaner found him at 10:00 and flipped out. i must admit, it's pretty fishy, but i think he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. it doesn't help his case that he allegedly had knives around him, which is what the thieves used to knock holes in the doors. i don't know, it wasn't very wise of him, to say the least.
something i've noticed here is that people in this area of the world (especially indian people) have very different kinds of conversion experiences than most people in western culture. often times they will have amazing dreams or visions of people dressed in white giving them the book of mormon, or telling them to join the church, or other amazing things like that. that isn't how it happens with everyone, but i just find it interesting how the Lord works in different ways according to the needs of his people. we put a man named Maran on date this week who has had some pretty incredible dreams telling him to join the church. i love the people here!
WEEKLY REVELATION: when contacting in the twilight hours and you see someone outside their house, make sure you know their gender before you say, "excuse me sir, but my friend and i have a very important message..." if that person turns out not to be a sir, it makes the rest of the lesson REALLY awkward for both parties. she probably won't even call you back either. i really fudged the bucket on that one.
we had a sweet lesson with this family last night. we would have set a baptism date with them, but the father wasn't home and it just didn't feel right, so we're planning to do it on saturday! i'm so pumped! they're so awesome. the work continues on here in malaysia. the days are flying by. i hope everyone is safe and sound. i also sincerely hope that you are keeping the TV in pristine
condition, along with the HD DVD player. i love you all. if you could, send me some more pictures (maybe through snail mail) of the new babies and of everybody doing whatever they're doing. you can send it in the next package, whenever that may be.
i love you all,
elder troxel
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
I probably shouldn't have had that liverworst and headcheese sandwich before this...
Dear family,
what a week! it really has been nuts here. the zone conference training was incredible. at the end of all the trainings the assistants give us a commitment. usually it's something like "make lesson plans with your companion for all five lessons" or "do one role play with your companion every week in companion study", but this time it was different. they gave the training on contacting and the commitment they gave us was to "talk with everyone." this, of course, is impossible... but it was an extremely motivating training. lessons in our district pretty much doubled! it's been really good. but this week hasn't been all sunshine and flowers. i got a little bit sick, but i hate staying in not being able to do anything, so i kept it to myself and we went out anyway. wow, "sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!" had we not gone out that day, we wouldn't have been in a lot of places that we needed to be in. it was really incredible, but pretty tough too. when we got home that night i felt like i needed to call this american investigator we have named william. to make a long story short, he'd had a really hard couple of days and was thinking of killing himself. i had no idea what to say, but fortunately the spirit takes over in situations like that. we had a solid appointment with him again last night, but turns out he spent the last of his money getting to the appointment and wasn't going to have enough to get home. what a stud! he said he knew he needed to come and see us, no matter what. i totally would have given him everything in my wallet, but the missionary hand book says that we can't give out money, so we called the elder and sister hector and they were able to loan him some money. he just started a new job a few days ago, so he'll be able to pay it back once he gets his first paycheck. CRAZY! i never thought i'd ever have to deal with any of that stuff, but i know i'm being put through the refiners fire.
WEEKLY REVELATION: when scratching your back with a pen, make sure that (a) that pen isn't a click pen or (b) if it is a click pen, be sure that the tip isn't out... it makes it pretty embarrassing to walk around the rest of the day. and turns out that pen doesn't come out, even with the bleach pen! don't worry though, i still have 11 good shirts =)
for the last couple of days we've been in a 3some with the new zone leader, elder taiamoni because elder houston is on his visa run. he's so hilarious. it's kinda weird to hear a tongan speaking malay though. he got here on monday, and we're dropping him off this afternoon in KL. he gave me a sweet-sauce tie which i am wearing right now.tonight is going to be big. this awesome family that we've been teaching came to church for the first time on sunday and LOVED it! we're going to set a baptism date with them tonight if all goes well. i'm so pumped.
fantastic news! I GOT THE PACKAGE! it usually takes about ten days, but i got yours in 12. the gushers and liquorice (sorry if that's spelled wrong, elder palfreyman told me to spell it that way) were delectable! i say "were" because they are gone now... i got the package last night. i'm fat. just kidding, there's some left.so in answer to mom's concern about me having worms, they issue us deworming pills every six months and we just got ours last week, so i should be pretty clean. no worries. i'd be more worried about nick and beau.
Whitney! out of school! you're a senior now girl! keep working hard. don't be a slacker like me. i always looked up to you for being so studious and diligent. those are both great attributes of christ that i have always had trouble implementing. keep a stiff upper lip. sometimes life gives you a swift kick in the groin (especially in high school), but you just have to shake it off and keep going. there's no better advice i can give you than to remember that you are a daughter of God. you're never alone. you've been so blessed, just like me, to be a part of an amazing family that loves you to pieces. you're the best sis! have a sweet summer and a happy birthday in a couple of weeks! hopefully you get my package...
oh man, i could go on and on forever about how awesome this place is. i love being a missionary so much! i can't believe i've been out for 4 months. only 20 to go! i wish it was 200 though, 20 months isn't very much time.i love you all so much!
elder troxel
what a week! it really has been nuts here. the zone conference training was incredible. at the end of all the trainings the assistants give us a commitment. usually it's something like "make lesson plans with your companion for all five lessons" or "do one role play with your companion every week in companion study", but this time it was different. they gave the training on contacting and the commitment they gave us was to "talk with everyone." this, of course, is impossible... but it was an extremely motivating training. lessons in our district pretty much doubled! it's been really good. but this week hasn't been all sunshine and flowers. i got a little bit sick, but i hate staying in not being able to do anything, so i kept it to myself and we went out anyway. wow, "sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!" had we not gone out that day, we wouldn't have been in a lot of places that we needed to be in. it was really incredible, but pretty tough too. when we got home that night i felt like i needed to call this american investigator we have named william. to make a long story short, he'd had a really hard couple of days and was thinking of killing himself. i had no idea what to say, but fortunately the spirit takes over in situations like that. we had a solid appointment with him again last night, but turns out he spent the last of his money getting to the appointment and wasn't going to have enough to get home. what a stud! he said he knew he needed to come and see us, no matter what. i totally would have given him everything in my wallet, but the missionary hand book says that we can't give out money, so we called the elder and sister hector and they were able to loan him some money. he just started a new job a few days ago, so he'll be able to pay it back once he gets his first paycheck. CRAZY! i never thought i'd ever have to deal with any of that stuff, but i know i'm being put through the refiners fire.
WEEKLY REVELATION: when scratching your back with a pen, make sure that (a) that pen isn't a click pen or (b) if it is a click pen, be sure that the tip isn't out... it makes it pretty embarrassing to walk around the rest of the day. and turns out that pen doesn't come out, even with the bleach pen! don't worry though, i still have 11 good shirts =)
for the last couple of days we've been in a 3some with the new zone leader, elder taiamoni because elder houston is on his visa run. he's so hilarious. it's kinda weird to hear a tongan speaking malay though. he got here on monday, and we're dropping him off this afternoon in KL. he gave me a sweet-sauce tie which i am wearing right now.tonight is going to be big. this awesome family that we've been teaching came to church for the first time on sunday and LOVED it! we're going to set a baptism date with them tonight if all goes well. i'm so pumped.
fantastic news! I GOT THE PACKAGE! it usually takes about ten days, but i got yours in 12. the gushers and liquorice (sorry if that's spelled wrong, elder palfreyman told me to spell it that way) were delectable! i say "were" because they are gone now... i got the package last night. i'm fat. just kidding, there's some left.so in answer to mom's concern about me having worms, they issue us deworming pills every six months and we just got ours last week, so i should be pretty clean. no worries. i'd be more worried about nick and beau.
Whitney! out of school! you're a senior now girl! keep working hard. don't be a slacker like me. i always looked up to you for being so studious and diligent. those are both great attributes of christ that i have always had trouble implementing. keep a stiff upper lip. sometimes life gives you a swift kick in the groin (especially in high school), but you just have to shake it off and keep going. there's no better advice i can give you than to remember that you are a daughter of God. you're never alone. you've been so blessed, just like me, to be a part of an amazing family that loves you to pieces. you're the best sis! have a sweet summer and a happy birthday in a couple of weeks! hopefully you get my package...
oh man, i could go on and on forever about how awesome this place is. i love being a missionary so much! i can't believe i've been out for 4 months. only 20 to go! i wish it was 200 though, 20 months isn't very much time.i love you all so much!
elder troxel
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