Two Whole Years

dear family,

this week has been pretty intense. one of the highlights was definitely being able to watch conference. it takes a little bit longer to get them here, and even longer when people get confused and send us the wrong dvd's. that was a bit frustrating, but it was worth the wait. i would have to agree with dad and his favorite talks. the one that blew me away was Jeffrey R. Holland's talk. i know how he feels. here we face a lot of anties, and i've had the chance many times to be able to testify more or less the same way that i know that the book of mormon is true. I may not do it in front of as many bodies, but i once read a quote that when we testify, there is a lot more people there watching than you can see. i really felt like i related to that talk.

i heard about the walloping that BYU took. i was hoping that harvey at least had a good game, which it sounds like he did. i was also happy to hear that timpview continues to pound provo. it will be a sad sad day when they eventually lose.

it's really a toss up right now if i'll be emailing you next week from bintulu or not. there are a lot of new people coming in this next week, and there is a zone leader and an assistant going home, which means that there will be some shifts in zone leaders. word on the street is that i'm leaving, but it's not confirmed yet. who knows where i could be next week. the pity is that i'll probably find out tomorrow, and then have to wait a week before i can tell you. oh well, patience is a virtue, right?

whoa, two whole years since i opened my mission call... thinking about it, it actually seems like a lot longer than that. time flies, but when i think about before my mission, it's like trying to remember the pre-earth life. i can't really remember much. sometimes i'll see or smell something and have a weird flash back though. for instance, i smelled perfume the other day (it's not a common occurrence here) and it must've been the same perfume that chelsie wore... yeah, that was my trunky moment for the week :)

if possible mom, i think i would like to try and go to byu in the spring. i still haven't written my essay, but just tell me when you need me to do it, and i'll write it up in a jiffy. in speaking of things that i need, i think i'll need one more shipment of deodorant. you don't have to send three of them, because one more would probably be enough to finish off the mish.

ah! Beau comes home on the 11th! freak, i miss that guy. i used to email him all the time, but he never would answer my emails! when you see him, send him my regards.

we were hoping to be able to have 6 baptisms this week, but two do or die ones didn't come to church that would have be eligible had they come, but we'll still have 4 this week. as a zone we should have 19! yippee! kita berpesta! oh man, i'll miss this area so much if i get transferred next week :(

i think that's pretty much it... it was good to hear from michael again. i hope everybody is healthy and happy. thank you for all your prayers and support.

love,
elder troxel

We are the Champions!!

Dear family,

you have no idea how much i wish i could have played in that flag football game. rack up another championship. it's also good to hear that BYU is still ranked and that timpview is doing well. i'm just sad that i will miss this entire season and have to wait 7 or eight more months to see anymore football. oh well, life goes on i suppose.

i got a super funny email from whitney. it was all about how she's being tracked by an RM. i don't know if she's told everybody about it, but if she hasn't, she should because it is hilarious.

this week in the work has been excellent. we did end up having 17 baptisms in the zone! that is phenomenal. everybody is working really hard and things are rolling. i can't remember if i told you or not, but elder watkins and i designed some zone shirts for everybody and we just barely got them last night. they're pretty sweet.

anywho, cool experience. a few weeks ago, elder watkins and i were leaving the couple's house, and when we got to the end of the street (where we would usually turn left) we decided that we should turn right and just see what was down there. we rode down the street as far as it went, and on the last street, elder watkins saw an iban woman walking. he rode over there and taught her. anywho, turns out she's the aunt of a member and she's gold! not only is she epic, but her husband has been waiting for us for a long time. we taught the husband for the second time on monday and he very willingly accepted a baptism date. when we told them we wanted to come back on thursday, his response was something to the affect of "why can't you come back earlier?" i hope i can see them baptized.

we just got back from exchanges in Miri. it was a fun exchange. one of my recent converts named edwin moved from kuching to miri and he was able to help us teach some investigators yesterday. the best news was that he was able to receive the melchezidek priesthood a few weeks ago and is counting down the months until he can take his wife to the temple. i can't remember if i told you or not, but we made a bet (edwin and i) that if i get married in the temple before he does, then he has to send me a package of malaysian goodies, but if he gets married first, i have to send him a package of american goodies. he only has about 7 months left until he's eligible to go though, and i'm thinking that four months home is not enough time to find a girl who would be willing to date me, much less marry me. i love that guy though, he's such a stud. he'll be a branch president one day for sure.

i haven't really heard anything about michael lately. what's he up to?i still can not believe that whitney is in college. apa hal? welp, i thing that is really all that i have to say. i'm doing well and i've lost a lot of weight (i'm down to 174!). i hope all is well at home. i'll see you in just over 3 months!

love,
elder troxel

Bomo

dear family,

i forgot to tell dad happy birthday last week, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! wow, 50 years old... you are officially over the hill! it's ok, that just means your that much closer to exaltation than the rest of us. the glider ride sounded way fun, but i was thinking sky diving when i get back... how does that sound?

this last week was a really good one, but there has been some wild stuff happening around here. i remember Scott once telling a story about his mission and casting out an evil spirit, and i always wondered what that would be like... well i found out this last week. not once, but TWICE. i won't tell you what exactly happened, but it was pretty wild... and scary. i learned a lot, and i don't have any desire to ever do it again.

along with that, we had 12 baptisms as a zone, and elder watkins and i had 2. we'll have 4 this week, and the zone should have a whopping 17 all together. the four that are getting baptized from our area are all so awesome. we've only known 3 of them for 3 weeks. we met them on a saturday, they came to church the next day, and now three weeks later they are getting baptized. yeah, they were ready for the gospel. i wish it was that easy with everybody. after this week, we'll be over thirty baptisms as a zone for this month (more than twice the number of baptisms that we had in all of september) and well on our way towards reaching our goal of 50 for the month. it's so fun when things are going well. i've seen a lot of changes in this area and this zone in my time here. the Lord has truly answered our prayers and helped us to turn things around.

i talked to sister carpenter in the office about dad coming to pick me up, and she told me quite a few options. unfortunately, i can't really remember anything she said because i didn't write any of it down, but i'll be going to singapore at the first of november and she'll help me when i get there. she also said that she would email you and tell you what you need to do and who to talk to.

i'm pumped for dad to get to see borneo! it will blow his mind. there is no place more beautiful on this earth, i am convinced (given i haven't been everywhere on this earth, but i can't imagine any place being better). i think the celestial kingdom will just be borneo.

i don't really have any other really big news updates, except for the fact that i'm down under 175! holy moley! i'm a shrimp now. i've been running every morningish and not eating after eight o clock, and i'm starting to not be fat! but i still am, just not as fat as before.

i think that's it though. i'm alive. time flies. "yesterday is history, tomorrow's a mystery, but today is a gift, that's why it's called the present."

i love you all,
elder troxel

Nadai (Nothing)

keluargaku yang kukasihi (family that I love),

aku ka' jalai ba' tandas laban aku bisi cirit-birit (something to do with having bowel troubles). it was good to hear from everyone, even scott (almost), this week. in answer to your question, no, i didn't feel the earthquake. it was pretty big news here too. if any news about anything makes it to us here in bintulu, it has to be pretty big news. but we're ok, and the only thing close to a natural disaster that we face here is bad diarrhea (i bet dad can't wait). just kidding, i haven't had to deal with that for a long time... i'm pretty well adjusted to the food here.

this last week was another good week. our zone is doing quite well and we are expecting 13 baptisms this week (as a zone). we were supposed to have 18, but we found out that one of the families in Miri is still drinking tea, so they'll have to wait. we've got a goal to have 50 baptisms as a zone this month. that would be huge, because the most that this zone has had this year has be 39. elder watkins and i should have about 10ish, and if everyone else could pull in about the same we would have well over 50. i hope that we can make it.

so what's the deal with max hall? i've heard that he is leading the nation in interceptions? get Covey in there man! Elder Budge (the senior couple in our area) used to be a professor at Utah State, so he was pretty sad to hear that the Aggies couldn't pull it off. if we'd have lost to Utah State, i think i would have disowned BYU all together though.

i got a really nice email from grandma and grandpa Owen. tell them hello for me and that i appreciate it a lot.

i don't really have much new news... i'm healthy and just lovin' life... oh yeah, i got a package this last week! elder semana brought it back from singapore. i got it on thursday... the twinkies were the first to go, followed by the kitkats, then the jerky, and all that is left are some of the M&M's. they were delicious though. thank you so much!that's really all i've got to say today... keep on keepin' on.

i love you all,
Elder Troxel