Dear Blog followers,
We are sorry about the delay in Jordan's email, but we did not realize that he sent this to a different account. We knew he was having trouble with his ldsmail account as it looked like he hadn't open any of his emails. We found his email today and feel much better that he is safe and sound.
Mom and Dad Troxel
dear family,
i'm writing this on gmail right now because myldsmail is down (what are the odds?). anywho, i haven't gotten to read your emails yet, but i'll keep trying to get on to myldsmail. but i hope everything is going well. i've had an excellent week. oh yeah, before i forget again, i need to ask you something... i've heard that the shoe brand "Ecco" has two year warranties on all of their shoes. do you think you could check on that for me? because my eccos are pretty shot. both soles are split right in half and their pretty torn up from the bikes, but if the rumors are true, then they should just be able to send a brand new pair. i've heard of missionaries doing that before, and i'm not sure if either pair of my shoes are going to last much more that 3 more months, so if you could check on that i would be very grateful.
this week has been a good one, at least for elder tuckfield and i. we were able to come out of zone conference and do some really good work the rest of the week. i wasn't very pleased with some of the other companionship's in the zone, however. elder tuckfield and i have talked about it though and we've got some good ideas on how to try and motivate the zone and get things going again though. we've got some elders who are getting really close to going home, and they've all but stopped doing missionary work all together. if nothing else though, it's a good example for me of what not to do when i get to that point...
i told you when i talked to you on the phone about how i struggle staying focused in my language study, but i've found something that has snapped me back into focus... i'm learning Jawi! jawi is the traditional written language of malay. it's not used very much, but it's way cool looking because it uses a lot of the arabic alphabet. so the last few days i've spent learning how to read and write the jawi alphabet. i'm planning on writing a letter to chelsie today, and i'll write some jawi words in there so that you can see what it looks like. it's awesome. i'm super pumped about it.
so we've got some really excellent investigators right now. we'll be having a baptism for a lady named Catherine this saturday. she's married and pregnant with her second child. she's 17 years old! ibans are crazy! i don't know if i ever told you, but i baptized an iban sister in sibu who was married when she was 12 and had her first child at 13! that is just gross. but that's what they're all about here. anywho, catherine is really good. she's been taught for along time, but is just now getting baptized. she's got a really good testimony though and she's going to be a good member. we were supposed to have a baptism for another guy named lawrence this week, but he's had trouble stopping smoking, so we've had to push him back a bit. we met with him yesterday and had him write down all the reasons that make him want to smoke. then we had him write down what he needs to do to avoid all of those things. i think it really helped him to see that is possible. the most important thing that we stressed with him was about prayer. he's been smoking for 8 years, and he's only 20. how crazy is that? when i was 12, i don't think i'd ever even seen someone smoking! geez.
anywho, our area is doing great, and the weeks keep flying by. it's a good thing, because i still can't get into myldsmail and it's looking like i'll have to wait a week to read the emails. andrew is probably coming close to having single digits in weeks left! and whoa, whitney is all but graduated! let me know how college is, sis.
anywho, i'm still healthy and happy. everything is great. i hope everyone is good back home. i love you all.
-elder troxel
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Packages Arrive!!
dear family,
whoa, so whitney is graduating from seminary is she? did i ever graduate from seminary? i don't remember it ever happening. i hope so. so whitney is coming up on her last week in high school, right? i'm with you mom, when did i get so old? good work though whitney.
so this week has been really busy with zone stuff. today and tomorrow are zone conference, and tonight we're having a mondo-Barbecue. it's going to be awesome, but it's been a pain in the bum to put together. mostly the pain in my bum is coming from ripping so much money out of my wallet to pay for things i think. it'll be awesome though.
so guess what! all of the packages arrived! i got the deodorant package last friday. then i got a call from someone in singapore that my package arrived there... THEN i got a call from KK saying that my easter package finally arrived there! i'll be lucky if that one ever reaches me, but it's good to know that it's feeding missionaries and that it arrived! so i think we're still at 100%. thank you very much for the deodorant and the beef jerky. it was delicious. the beef jerky... not the deodorant.
you said that whitney made a dress! apa hal-bah? since when could she make sweet stuff like that?! that's awesome! i want some pictures. i've recently learned how to make a hammock, and i'm three rows into 60 rows of an awesome king sized hammock. it'll be so sweet when i finish.
so, kind of funny story. we were teaching a family last night, and after we finished the lesson, we were just drinking some Milo with them and chatting it up, trying to get to know them better. anywho, somehow we got on the topic of who was going to get married first. they picked me, because they said that i was more handsome. haha, people here are so ruthlessly honest. if you're fat, they'll just come straight out and ask you why you are/how did you become so fat. so if i'm like that when i get home, forgive me, it's just my culture. they said that i wasn't sentimental though. apa hal? i'm sentimental, right?
anywho, i don't really have anymore updates. the work is awesome as always. the zone is doing well. thanks again for the packages. you're all awesome. i love you all.
love,
elder troxel
whoa, so whitney is graduating from seminary is she? did i ever graduate from seminary? i don't remember it ever happening. i hope so. so whitney is coming up on her last week in high school, right? i'm with you mom, when did i get so old? good work though whitney.
so this week has been really busy with zone stuff. today and tomorrow are zone conference, and tonight we're having a mondo-Barbecue. it's going to be awesome, but it's been a pain in the bum to put together. mostly the pain in my bum is coming from ripping so much money out of my wallet to pay for things i think. it'll be awesome though.
so guess what! all of the packages arrived! i got the deodorant package last friday. then i got a call from someone in singapore that my package arrived there... THEN i got a call from KK saying that my easter package finally arrived there! i'll be lucky if that one ever reaches me, but it's good to know that it's feeding missionaries and that it arrived! so i think we're still at 100%. thank you very much for the deodorant and the beef jerky. it was delicious. the beef jerky... not the deodorant.
you said that whitney made a dress! apa hal-bah? since when could she make sweet stuff like that?! that's awesome! i want some pictures. i've recently learned how to make a hammock, and i'm three rows into 60 rows of an awesome king sized hammock. it'll be so sweet when i finish.
so, kind of funny story. we were teaching a family last night, and after we finished the lesson, we were just drinking some Milo with them and chatting it up, trying to get to know them better. anywho, somehow we got on the topic of who was going to get married first. they picked me, because they said that i was more handsome. haha, people here are so ruthlessly honest. if you're fat, they'll just come straight out and ask you why you are/how did you become so fat. so if i'm like that when i get home, forgive me, it's just my culture. they said that i wasn't sentimental though. apa hal? i'm sentimental, right?
anywho, i don't really have anymore updates. the work is awesome as always. the zone is doing well. thanks again for the packages. you're all awesome. i love you all.
love,
elder troxel
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Selamat Hari Ibu! (Safe/Happy Mother's Day!)
dear family,
i don't really have all that much to say, because we just talked a couple of days ago... but i'm still truckin. it was awesome to get to talk to you all. everybody sounds like they're doing great. everybody sounded pretty much the same. did i sound the same? it was fun.
so i just got an email from Owey! apparently he's playing ball up at the U! oh man, that's awesome. that really makes me want to play again. but he sounds like he's doing well. i can't believe he's been home for 4 months! geez. anywho, the week thus far has been really good. we've set a few more baptism dates, and had some really good appointments. we're really busy these days, and it's getting to the point where we're having to go on splits to see everybody who wants to learn, which is a very good thing. thank you for your prayers and support. um, i haven't checked the mail since i talked to you, so i don't know if i've gotten the package yet or not. i should probably do that soon.
we've got zone conference coming up next week, so we're really busy trying to get that ready. it's a lot bigger here than in KK, so there's more to do. i'm way excited though, because we're playing football for our activity! i love that game. we're also going to be having a big barbecue which is going to be awesome, but it's pretty time consuming to get everything together for it.
oh, about those pictures... i don't think i even had pictures 203-242 on that disk. i made the CD, and then i continued to take pictures with that card, so i made DVD with all of the pictures on that card before i deleted it. i've got backup CDs of all my pictures that i keep, along with sending them to you, so hopefully somewhere i've still got all of the pictures. it'll be fun for dad to come and see all of that stuff in person.
anywho, i don't have much more to say... i'll tell you my awesome almost pooping pants story some other time. maybe in february.
love,
elder troxel
i don't really have all that much to say, because we just talked a couple of days ago... but i'm still truckin. it was awesome to get to talk to you all. everybody sounds like they're doing great. everybody sounded pretty much the same. did i sound the same? it was fun.
so i just got an email from Owey! apparently he's playing ball up at the U! oh man, that's awesome. that really makes me want to play again. but he sounds like he's doing well. i can't believe he's been home for 4 months! geez. anywho, the week thus far has been really good. we've set a few more baptism dates, and had some really good appointments. we're really busy these days, and it's getting to the point where we're having to go on splits to see everybody who wants to learn, which is a very good thing. thank you for your prayers and support. um, i haven't checked the mail since i talked to you, so i don't know if i've gotten the package yet or not. i should probably do that soon.
we've got zone conference coming up next week, so we're really busy trying to get that ready. it's a lot bigger here than in KK, so there's more to do. i'm way excited though, because we're playing football for our activity! i love that game. we're also going to be having a big barbecue which is going to be awesome, but it's pretty time consuming to get everything together for it.
oh, about those pictures... i don't think i even had pictures 203-242 on that disk. i made the CD, and then i continued to take pictures with that card, so i made DVD with all of the pictures on that card before i deleted it. i've got backup CDs of all my pictures that i keep, along with sending them to you, so hopefully somewhere i've still got all of the pictures. it'll be fun for dad to come and see all of that stuff in person.
anywho, i don't have much more to say... i'll tell you my awesome almost pooping pants story some other time. maybe in february.
love,
elder troxel
Mother's Day Conversation
We are happy to report that we were able to talk to Jordan on Mother's Day. The exciting thing was we were able to use Skype and it was a free call. The senior couple in the area, had Skype on their computer and let Jordan use it. It allowed us to see Jordan, but since he was not suppose to use the video chat he could not see us. So, for us, it was the best of both worlds. Both grand parents were on the phone and could listen to the call. We are happy to report that Jordan is doing well in all aspects. He is happy and healthy. We do miss him!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Happy 15 Month Mark!!
dear family,
i'm a bit disappointed with the email this week, i must admit... only because you didn't tell me what's white and red and golden brown all over!!! come on, what is it? now i'm going to be thinking about that all week. what could possibly fit that description? a toasted marshmallow with strawberry sauce? a candy cane that has been accidentally dropped in the toilet? i don't know... michael's wedding colors???!!! if you could let me know next week, i'd much appreciate it.
anywho, i really did quite enjoy the email actually. it's crazy that you told me that Mark Erckebrack got baptized! i was actually thinking about that this week! i figured he would eventually, he's a good guy. and let me know if you hear from jackson.
this week was pretty good. elder tuckfield had to go to singapore on monday to be interviewed for a work permit there. it was kind of a surprise to me, but i guess he knew that he was getting one already. they don't get you a work permit unless you're going to be in singapore for an extended amount of time, and seeing as he was just transferred from singapore a couple of months ago, all evidence points towards him becoming assistant pretty soon. that's all just speculation though, but it's pretty obvious that is what's going to happen, it's just a matter of when. anywho, he left on monday morning, and that left me here alone, so i went out with elder young. it was really fun. the youngs are one of my favorite senior couples... and i didn't even have to ride a bike because he has a car! we went to a few appointments, and ran some errands that i needed to do, and even had a stop a pizza hut. oh man, it was delicious. elder tuckfield got back yesterday though, so it's back to business.
you asked about elder tuckfield though, so here is his bio:
Elder Bradford Tuckfield is from Austin Texas. He's about 6'3" and probably 215 or 220. he'd of been one heck of a defensive end, but not very coordinated the poor fellow. what he lacks in physical stamina he makes up for in brains and just all around awesomeness. he and i get along really well, so i'm pretty bummed that this is going to be another uber-short companionship. our personalities are pretty much the same; we both like to laugh about movies and talk about crazy deep doctrinal questions. he's big into broadway plays and so we get a kick out of singing showtunes and what not. his malay is uber good and mine is getting there. but yeah, i can't really think of anything else that you'd like to know about him... he snores like a mad man! i try to keep him up at night with as much pointless conversation as possible so that i can fall asleep before him because if i don't, it's always a long night. he's a stud though, and we're tearing it up here.
in reporting on monday, i talked with the elders mostly about setting baptism dates, because the number of people that are on date for baptism here is uber low, and a most of the elders here haven't set one with anybody for a couple of weeks. oh man, it's been crazy! i don't know what happened, but it's like a switch just flipped! everyone has set more, and some companionship's have doubled the number of investigators they have on date for baptism! i was so excited! and it's only wednesday! it looks and feels like things are starting to turn around, and everybody is getting a lot more excited. it's just fun to be a part of it.
so the work is going really well. we'll (elder tuckfield and I) will have our first baptism this friday. there will be two baptisms, one for a girl named Anastasia and also for a guy named Edwin. both are incredible and will be excellent members.
wait a minute... what was whitney doing downstairs ALONE with Taylor?! and who is this Taylor? i don't like him. Whitney, you're too young for that. that's something that i would do! well, not now of course, but before. ok, i'm putting my foot down. whitney is not allowed to date anyone until i get home and can give him my stamp of approval. sorry sis, but it has to be done. ;)
so i guess the call for next week is all worked out already. 9:30 in the morning here. this will be the 3rd time! can you believe that?! that means that the next call will just be to tell you things like what i want my first meal home to be, or what the first movie i want to watch is! (it's batman by the way, i already know). that means that i can call myself an old missionary after this call :)well, i think that's pretty much everything. i hope everyone is healthy and strong. keep reading your scriptures every day. don't get lazy. after all, it is a commandment. i love you all.
love,
Elder Jordan Troxel
i'm a bit disappointed with the email this week, i must admit... only because you didn't tell me what's white and red and golden brown all over!!! come on, what is it? now i'm going to be thinking about that all week. what could possibly fit that description? a toasted marshmallow with strawberry sauce? a candy cane that has been accidentally dropped in the toilet? i don't know... michael's wedding colors???!!! if you could let me know next week, i'd much appreciate it.
anywho, i really did quite enjoy the email actually. it's crazy that you told me that Mark Erckebrack got baptized! i was actually thinking about that this week! i figured he would eventually, he's a good guy. and let me know if you hear from jackson.
this week was pretty good. elder tuckfield had to go to singapore on monday to be interviewed for a work permit there. it was kind of a surprise to me, but i guess he knew that he was getting one already. they don't get you a work permit unless you're going to be in singapore for an extended amount of time, and seeing as he was just transferred from singapore a couple of months ago, all evidence points towards him becoming assistant pretty soon. that's all just speculation though, but it's pretty obvious that is what's going to happen, it's just a matter of when. anywho, he left on monday morning, and that left me here alone, so i went out with elder young. it was really fun. the youngs are one of my favorite senior couples... and i didn't even have to ride a bike because he has a car! we went to a few appointments, and ran some errands that i needed to do, and even had a stop a pizza hut. oh man, it was delicious. elder tuckfield got back yesterday though, so it's back to business.
you asked about elder tuckfield though, so here is his bio:
Elder Bradford Tuckfield is from Austin Texas. He's about 6'3" and probably 215 or 220. he'd of been one heck of a defensive end, but not very coordinated the poor fellow. what he lacks in physical stamina he makes up for in brains and just all around awesomeness. he and i get along really well, so i'm pretty bummed that this is going to be another uber-short companionship. our personalities are pretty much the same; we both like to laugh about movies and talk about crazy deep doctrinal questions. he's big into broadway plays and so we get a kick out of singing showtunes and what not. his malay is uber good and mine is getting there. but yeah, i can't really think of anything else that you'd like to know about him... he snores like a mad man! i try to keep him up at night with as much pointless conversation as possible so that i can fall asleep before him because if i don't, it's always a long night. he's a stud though, and we're tearing it up here.
in reporting on monday, i talked with the elders mostly about setting baptism dates, because the number of people that are on date for baptism here is uber low, and a most of the elders here haven't set one with anybody for a couple of weeks. oh man, it's been crazy! i don't know what happened, but it's like a switch just flipped! everyone has set more, and some companionship's have doubled the number of investigators they have on date for baptism! i was so excited! and it's only wednesday! it looks and feels like things are starting to turn around, and everybody is getting a lot more excited. it's just fun to be a part of it.
so the work is going really well. we'll (elder tuckfield and I) will have our first baptism this friday. there will be two baptisms, one for a girl named Anastasia and also for a guy named Edwin. both are incredible and will be excellent members.
wait a minute... what was whitney doing downstairs ALONE with Taylor?! and who is this Taylor? i don't like him. Whitney, you're too young for that. that's something that i would do! well, not now of course, but before. ok, i'm putting my foot down. whitney is not allowed to date anyone until i get home and can give him my stamp of approval. sorry sis, but it has to be done. ;)
so i guess the call for next week is all worked out already. 9:30 in the morning here. this will be the 3rd time! can you believe that?! that means that the next call will just be to tell you things like what i want my first meal home to be, or what the first movie i want to watch is! (it's batman by the way, i already know). that means that i can call myself an old missionary after this call :)well, i think that's pretty much everything. i hope everyone is healthy and strong. keep reading your scriptures every day. don't get lazy. after all, it is a commandment. i love you all.
love,
Elder Jordan Troxel
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Dust in the Wind
dear family,
thank you for the emails, i enjoyed them a lot. it's bad news that whitney is sick though. we've been hearing a ton about something called "swine flu" or "slime flu" or something like that. everyone keeps saying that it's a huge deal in the states, so i hope it's nothing to do with that. that wouldn't be any fun, especially if the name really is "slime flu." i can only imagine what that would entail. i sincerely hope it isn't mono, but if it is... GOOD WORK WHITNEY! just kidding, it had better not be. you just tell those creeps to keep their bibir jauh dari kamu!
work this week has been good, as always. Elder Tuckfield had been working on a training for awhile, and finally got to give it yesterday. it was about faith. i pretty much gave the same training when i was in sibu, but this one was tailored to fit the concerns here in kuching. mostly, the moral of the training was that we need to have more faith in what is possible in our areas. i thought it went extremely well, and i'm hoping we'll start to see some things change.
the crazy part of the week happened on monday. i live in an apartment with 3 other missionaries: my companion and the chinese elders- Elder Roberts and Elder Bickmore. Elder Bickmore has been having some health problems that probably shouldn't be mentioned in this email, seeing as there has always been a lack of editing before my emails are pasted on the blog... but needless to say, i do not envy him. he'd been to the doctor, and they'd given him some medicine that was supposed to take care of the problem. doctors in malaysia are just about as good as the mail service in malaysia, so it's no surprise that the medicine didn't have any effect. anywho, he called president on monday to talk with him about it. president told him not to worry about it, that he'd think it over and give him a call back later that night. well, i got a call from the assistants about 15 minutes later and they told me that they would be shipping him to singapore the next morning! he gave us a call last night and told us that he's 98% sure that he's going home for surgery! poor guy. you could tell that he was nervous to be getting the surgery, but he's excited to get to see his family and stuff. there's actually been 3 or four missionaries that have had to go home for similar reasons, but they always come back out after they recover, so i'm sure we'll see him again in a couple months. it was pretty wild though, in less than 24 hours, he went from being in kuching to having to go home! i don't know if i would be able to handle that. it would be extremely difficult. let's just hope i stay healthy! however, for about a week or more now, i've been having some pain in my shoulder, and it's slowly getting worse. it feels like it may be an issue with my rotator cuff, but i don't know. maybe i've just slept on it wrong every night for the last week. if it continues to get worse though, i may have to see somebody about it. i hope it isn't the slime flu. i don't know what the symptoms are.
mike christensen is getting married?! that is crazy lah! why do people do such things?
thank you Dad, Whitney, and Scott for devouring some spaghetti with clam sauce in my behalf. i won't soon forget it.
so sarah christensen's brother mike is coming here, is he? i actually used to be pretty good friends with him back in the day. that will be fun. September seems so far away, but what the freak, it's going to be May in two days! i don't even know what to think anymore. that is probably the most discouraging thing for me. it just goes too fast. Frost is home, and andrew will be going home in like 3 months! Jackson is already home, and Houston should be home soon if he isn't already. in speaking of Jackson, have you heard anything about him? he should have gotten home in january.
about SKYPE... we asked the assistants about it, and they asked president. SKYPE by itself is ok, but no webcams. that's a bummer, but if you can do it for free, i say we do it! i wouldn't do it in an internet cafe, because all you would hear would be crazy chinese kids playing warcraft shouting profanity in the background. the couples have it though, and they offered to let us use it. i'll tell Elder Young to do a search for you, and then you can just try and do a test call straight to them. that would be way cool, because then i could talk with everybody! (ps, have you asked chelsie if she wants to come?) i had an interesting bit of revelation as to what i may go into as a career. i won't tell you though, because i know mom probably wouldn't like it, but we'll just have to see how things work out if that's really what the Lord wants me to do. but it would be AWESOME!
yeah mom, you were right. there are a lot of things i don't tell you. A LOT. but man do i have some sweet stories to tell you when i get home! yippee!
i'm not surprised that the address i gave you didn't bring anything up on the map, but it will most definitely get the package here. we modified it a bit to make it more specific. i know it'll work because the other elders use the one that i gave you and they get packages all the time. if you look on the map for "Four Points Hotel" in kuching, it's near to there. or maybe you can just try "Village Grove Apartments" or perhaps "BDC" and look for some apartment buildings close to there.
um... i think that's it. i don't really have much more to say. but i love you all. tell everyone that i say hello.
love,elder troxel
thank you for the emails, i enjoyed them a lot. it's bad news that whitney is sick though. we've been hearing a ton about something called "swine flu" or "slime flu" or something like that. everyone keeps saying that it's a huge deal in the states, so i hope it's nothing to do with that. that wouldn't be any fun, especially if the name really is "slime flu." i can only imagine what that would entail. i sincerely hope it isn't mono, but if it is... GOOD WORK WHITNEY! just kidding, it had better not be. you just tell those creeps to keep their bibir jauh dari kamu!
work this week has been good, as always. Elder Tuckfield had been working on a training for awhile, and finally got to give it yesterday. it was about faith. i pretty much gave the same training when i was in sibu, but this one was tailored to fit the concerns here in kuching. mostly, the moral of the training was that we need to have more faith in what is possible in our areas. i thought it went extremely well, and i'm hoping we'll start to see some things change.
the crazy part of the week happened on monday. i live in an apartment with 3 other missionaries: my companion and the chinese elders- Elder Roberts and Elder Bickmore. Elder Bickmore has been having some health problems that probably shouldn't be mentioned in this email, seeing as there has always been a lack of editing before my emails are pasted on the blog... but needless to say, i do not envy him. he'd been to the doctor, and they'd given him some medicine that was supposed to take care of the problem. doctors in malaysia are just about as good as the mail service in malaysia, so it's no surprise that the medicine didn't have any effect. anywho, he called president on monday to talk with him about it. president told him not to worry about it, that he'd think it over and give him a call back later that night. well, i got a call from the assistants about 15 minutes later and they told me that they would be shipping him to singapore the next morning! he gave us a call last night and told us that he's 98% sure that he's going home for surgery! poor guy. you could tell that he was nervous to be getting the surgery, but he's excited to get to see his family and stuff. there's actually been 3 or four missionaries that have had to go home for similar reasons, but they always come back out after they recover, so i'm sure we'll see him again in a couple months. it was pretty wild though, in less than 24 hours, he went from being in kuching to having to go home! i don't know if i would be able to handle that. it would be extremely difficult. let's just hope i stay healthy! however, for about a week or more now, i've been having some pain in my shoulder, and it's slowly getting worse. it feels like it may be an issue with my rotator cuff, but i don't know. maybe i've just slept on it wrong every night for the last week. if it continues to get worse though, i may have to see somebody about it. i hope it isn't the slime flu. i don't know what the symptoms are.
mike christensen is getting married?! that is crazy lah! why do people do such things?
thank you Dad, Whitney, and Scott for devouring some spaghetti with clam sauce in my behalf. i won't soon forget it.
so sarah christensen's brother mike is coming here, is he? i actually used to be pretty good friends with him back in the day. that will be fun. September seems so far away, but what the freak, it's going to be May in two days! i don't even know what to think anymore. that is probably the most discouraging thing for me. it just goes too fast. Frost is home, and andrew will be going home in like 3 months! Jackson is already home, and Houston should be home soon if he isn't already. in speaking of Jackson, have you heard anything about him? he should have gotten home in january.
about SKYPE... we asked the assistants about it, and they asked president. SKYPE by itself is ok, but no webcams. that's a bummer, but if you can do it for free, i say we do it! i wouldn't do it in an internet cafe, because all you would hear would be crazy chinese kids playing warcraft shouting profanity in the background. the couples have it though, and they offered to let us use it. i'll tell Elder Young to do a search for you, and then you can just try and do a test call straight to them. that would be way cool, because then i could talk with everybody! (ps, have you asked chelsie if she wants to come?) i had an interesting bit of revelation as to what i may go into as a career. i won't tell you though, because i know mom probably wouldn't like it, but we'll just have to see how things work out if that's really what the Lord wants me to do. but it would be AWESOME!
yeah mom, you were right. there are a lot of things i don't tell you. A LOT. but man do i have some sweet stories to tell you when i get home! yippee!
i'm not surprised that the address i gave you didn't bring anything up on the map, but it will most definitely get the package here. we modified it a bit to make it more specific. i know it'll work because the other elders use the one that i gave you and they get packages all the time. if you look on the map for "Four Points Hotel" in kuching, it's near to there. or maybe you can just try "Village Grove Apartments" or perhaps "BDC" and look for some apartment buildings close to there.
um... i think that's it. i don't really have much more to say. but i love you all. tell everyone that i say hello.
love,elder troxel
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Abs and Orangutans
Dear family,
first off, i would like to extend my sincerest of apologies for the lack email last week. i knew that mom would be freaking out, but the Lord always finds ways to test us and help us to grow mom; just think of it as an opportunity to improve the Christ-like attribute of patience :)
ok, so i'll start from wednesday two weeks ago. elder kunioka and i were really starting to light things on fire in KK. the very next day after my last email to you, we went out and set 11 baptism dates! it was crazy! needless to say, we were really excited; elder kunioka was finishing his mission with a bang, we were getting along great, and everything was just peachy... until friday rolled around (two fridays ago). we had a tele-conference scheduled with all the zone leaders, president skelton, and the assistants. it was pretty boring, but at the very end the assistants announced that they were going to tell us some transfer news. now, i don't know how it is in other missions, but transfers are the most talked about thing here, so everyone was really excited to hear about it. this is how the conversation went:
"ok, the first transfer is Elder Wright is going to KL to be zone leader with Elder Ogden. that means that Elder Grant will be leaving KL and going to KK to be with Elder Kunioka (i thought for sure they just made a mistake, and that they meant to say my name. i mean honestly, he only had one week left). Elder Neil will also be going to KK to be in a three some with Elders Kunioka and Grant (this is when i pooped a bit i think). Elder Troxel will be going to Kuching to be with Elder Tuckfield."
both elder kunioka and i flipped out. the only person who was angrier than i was about this was elder Kunioka. but, after we hung up and got to shout about it for awhile, we cooled off and had a good last couple of days together. it was extremely difficult to leave KK though. even though it's been my shortest area, i got closer to the people there than in any other place where i've served. it was like when i left on my mission, but worse in a lot of ways. i knew when i left home that i would be coming back one day, but it wasn't the same this time. i don't know if i'll ever get to see those people again in this life. it was sad, but the Lord needs me in Kuching... which brings us to this week.
kuching is a cool place, and my new companion, Elder Tuckfield, is equally as good. he's uber-smart. he's only like six months older than me, but he has already finished 2 years at BYU because he graduated from high school when he was 16! yeah, his ACT score was 35... i feel like a moron. but it's good and i'll learn a lot from him. i was a bit surprised when i got here though. historically, Sarawak has been a missionaries dream. the work flies here, and just like in Sibu, people just practically beg to be baptized. Kuching used to be the same way, but much to my surprise, it's not the same way now. having been here for a little over a week now and having talked with the other missionaries, i think i've diagnosed the issue; the missionaries in this zone just have lost their vision of what is possible. i mean that for whatever reason, this whole zone has just become perfectly satisfied with mediocrity. i'll give you an example:
i was reporting with some of the leaders in the districts here, discussing the weekly numbers of the companionship's in this zone. i expressed my concerns and offered one possible way to help motivate the elders for work smarter. i said that i would be willing to take any companionship out to dinner at the restaurant of their choosing if they managed to get 20 member present lessons in one week. when i said this, the other two elders just stared blankly at me for a few moments, and then after some throat clearing said, "wow, that's a bit lofty, don't you think?" i totally felt like that coach in the movie "miracle". but i'm praying that elder tuckfield and i will be able to help turn things around over the next couple months and help Kuching become even more successful than it used to be. just pray for us :)
anywho, you had some questions last week:
1. easter isn't really celebrated in malaysia, not because it's a muslim country, but because the christian population decided that they would rather have a 3 day weekend and chose to make good friday the celebrated holiday. good friday was huge here, but i didn't hear a single mention of easter from anybody. malaysia is such a funny place.
2. well, the hot weather starts around january and lasts until the end of december... with occasional rain.
3. i'm so happy you got the quad for kelvin. he won't even know how to react. sending it to the mission office in singapore would be the best thing, i think. you can get really anything there. but if you could send the package of deodorant to me in kuching ASAP, i would be very grateful. this is my new address:
6E6 Villiage Grove Condominiums
Lorong F BDC Stampin
93200 Kuching, Sarawak
Malaysia
4. no, i haven't gotten it ;( but i'll give the KK elders a call and see if it's gotten there yet.
that's crazy that you had to do a rescue on andrew. i love that kid so much. but what was he thinking? i don't know if you ever met his older brother Ben Martin, but i was pretty good friends with him. he was the seminary president my senior year and is currently serving in London. if you get a chance to see andrew again though, tell him high for me.
oh yeah, do you know what SKYPE is? apparently it's a webcam thing that is pretty cool. i ask because it may be a possibility here... only a possibility though, because we haven't asked president skelton yet. i wouldn't count on anything, but it would be awesome if we could do that. i'm not exactly sure when i'll get to call, but it will probably have to be the same kind of situation as Christmas. i'll most likely call the morning after mothers day here, and mothers day evening there. we'll see though. i'll let you know for sure next week.
that is crazy that you got 8 inches of snow there! apa freak ini, it's april! whoa, it's april! time is flying. i don't know where either february or march went. now april is almost done, and i'm feeling like it's still january. why couldn't time go this fast in high school?!
so i live in a house with two companionships. the other two elders names are Elder Bickmore and Elder Roberts. we were all just chatting last night about how fat we've gotten, and decided that we would have a contest over the next month to see who can get the best abs. no doubt i will win! by the time May 22nd comes around, i'll be sittin' pretty with a six pack.
this morning was way cool. everyone in the zone went to this way cool Orangutan reserve. we went in the morning so that we'd be sure to see some because that's when they feed them. it was so cool! i was like 6 feet from this huge mother Orangutan! but my dang camera ran out of batteries! no worries, i'll just have one of the other elders print me off some pictures.
i think that's just about it... i hope all is well in provo. i hope you payed attention in conference, because it was phenomenal! be sure and read all of the talks again when the ensign comes out. don't just be a hearer of the word, but a doer. i love you all.
love,
elder troxel
first off, i would like to extend my sincerest of apologies for the lack email last week. i knew that mom would be freaking out, but the Lord always finds ways to test us and help us to grow mom; just think of it as an opportunity to improve the Christ-like attribute of patience :)
ok, so i'll start from wednesday two weeks ago. elder kunioka and i were really starting to light things on fire in KK. the very next day after my last email to you, we went out and set 11 baptism dates! it was crazy! needless to say, we were really excited; elder kunioka was finishing his mission with a bang, we were getting along great, and everything was just peachy... until friday rolled around (two fridays ago). we had a tele-conference scheduled with all the zone leaders, president skelton, and the assistants. it was pretty boring, but at the very end the assistants announced that they were going to tell us some transfer news. now, i don't know how it is in other missions, but transfers are the most talked about thing here, so everyone was really excited to hear about it. this is how the conversation went:
"ok, the first transfer is Elder Wright is going to KL to be zone leader with Elder Ogden. that means that Elder Grant will be leaving KL and going to KK to be with Elder Kunioka (i thought for sure they just made a mistake, and that they meant to say my name. i mean honestly, he only had one week left). Elder Neil will also be going to KK to be in a three some with Elders Kunioka and Grant (this is when i pooped a bit i think). Elder Troxel will be going to Kuching to be with Elder Tuckfield."
both elder kunioka and i flipped out. the only person who was angrier than i was about this was elder Kunioka. but, after we hung up and got to shout about it for awhile, we cooled off and had a good last couple of days together. it was extremely difficult to leave KK though. even though it's been my shortest area, i got closer to the people there than in any other place where i've served. it was like when i left on my mission, but worse in a lot of ways. i knew when i left home that i would be coming back one day, but it wasn't the same this time. i don't know if i'll ever get to see those people again in this life. it was sad, but the Lord needs me in Kuching... which brings us to this week.
kuching is a cool place, and my new companion, Elder Tuckfield, is equally as good. he's uber-smart. he's only like six months older than me, but he has already finished 2 years at BYU because he graduated from high school when he was 16! yeah, his ACT score was 35... i feel like a moron. but it's good and i'll learn a lot from him. i was a bit surprised when i got here though. historically, Sarawak has been a missionaries dream. the work flies here, and just like in Sibu, people just practically beg to be baptized. Kuching used to be the same way, but much to my surprise, it's not the same way now. having been here for a little over a week now and having talked with the other missionaries, i think i've diagnosed the issue; the missionaries in this zone just have lost their vision of what is possible. i mean that for whatever reason, this whole zone has just become perfectly satisfied with mediocrity. i'll give you an example:
i was reporting with some of the leaders in the districts here, discussing the weekly numbers of the companionship's in this zone. i expressed my concerns and offered one possible way to help motivate the elders for work smarter. i said that i would be willing to take any companionship out to dinner at the restaurant of their choosing if they managed to get 20 member present lessons in one week. when i said this, the other two elders just stared blankly at me for a few moments, and then after some throat clearing said, "wow, that's a bit lofty, don't you think?" i totally felt like that coach in the movie "miracle". but i'm praying that elder tuckfield and i will be able to help turn things around over the next couple months and help Kuching become even more successful than it used to be. just pray for us :)
anywho, you had some questions last week:
1. easter isn't really celebrated in malaysia, not because it's a muslim country, but because the christian population decided that they would rather have a 3 day weekend and chose to make good friday the celebrated holiday. good friday was huge here, but i didn't hear a single mention of easter from anybody. malaysia is such a funny place.
2. well, the hot weather starts around january and lasts until the end of december... with occasional rain.
3. i'm so happy you got the quad for kelvin. he won't even know how to react. sending it to the mission office in singapore would be the best thing, i think. you can get really anything there. but if you could send the package of deodorant to me in kuching ASAP, i would be very grateful. this is my new address:
6E6 Villiage Grove Condominiums
Lorong F BDC Stampin
93200 Kuching, Sarawak
Malaysia
4. no, i haven't gotten it ;( but i'll give the KK elders a call and see if it's gotten there yet.
that's crazy that you had to do a rescue on andrew. i love that kid so much. but what was he thinking? i don't know if you ever met his older brother Ben Martin, but i was pretty good friends with him. he was the seminary president my senior year and is currently serving in London. if you get a chance to see andrew again though, tell him high for me.
oh yeah, do you know what SKYPE is? apparently it's a webcam thing that is pretty cool. i ask because it may be a possibility here... only a possibility though, because we haven't asked president skelton yet. i wouldn't count on anything, but it would be awesome if we could do that. i'm not exactly sure when i'll get to call, but it will probably have to be the same kind of situation as Christmas. i'll most likely call the morning after mothers day here, and mothers day evening there. we'll see though. i'll let you know for sure next week.
that is crazy that you got 8 inches of snow there! apa freak ini, it's april! whoa, it's april! time is flying. i don't know where either february or march went. now april is almost done, and i'm feeling like it's still january. why couldn't time go this fast in high school?!
so i live in a house with two companionships. the other two elders names are Elder Bickmore and Elder Roberts. we were all just chatting last night about how fat we've gotten, and decided that we would have a contest over the next month to see who can get the best abs. no doubt i will win! by the time May 22nd comes around, i'll be sittin' pretty with a six pack.
this morning was way cool. everyone in the zone went to this way cool Orangutan reserve. we went in the morning so that we'd be sure to see some because that's when they feed them. it was so cool! i was like 6 feet from this huge mother Orangutan! but my dang camera ran out of batteries! no worries, i'll just have one of the other elders print me off some pictures.
i think that's just about it... i hope all is well in provo. i hope you payed attention in conference, because it was phenomenal! be sure and read all of the talks again when the ensign comes out. don't just be a hearer of the word, but a doer. i love you all.
love,
elder troxel
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