December 29, 2014 Feliz Navidad y Casi Happy New Years!!

December 29, 2014

Feliz Navidad y Casi Happy New Years!!

Hey everyone! It was another tough week, but we had a great time, and I know that my testimony is continuing to grow.

So here in Soacha, there are tons of kids is a certain neighborhood that are always outside doing nothing and now know that I am an American and they always flock to me when I pass by, and although the attention probably isn't good, one of the new investigators that we found contacting happens to be the dad of two of those kids! What a coincidence haha.

On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, we all went to our weekly meetings in the afternoon. Then afterwards, we all went as a zone to the Cardiovascular Hospital in front of the chapel, and we sang Christmas songs on every floor! It was super cool, and an awesome experience for us and for the sick people there. Then afterwards, we went to the chapel to trade Secret Santa presents! It was a great time, we have an amazing zone. Then, getting back pretty late to the area, we went to eat dinner with the Bishop! And I ate the first real ham that I have had in the mission!

Then comes...Christmas! We got up a little early to head over to the stake center in Quiroga to eat breakfast with the President, and with zones Kennedy and Ciudad Jardín. We ate some delicious tamales with hot chocolate, and then groups of missionaries from every country went up front to sing Christmas songs! It was a blast. Then when we got back, we ate Chinese rice (the cheapest food you can find here haha) and went to call our families! Then, when all of our appointments fell for the night, we went to visit an awesome member family and they gave us Christmas cookies.

So since Christmas I have been getting a little sick, coughing and a cold and stuff, but we decided to go play micro anyway haha so I am super tired and sore. It was another week where everyone is busy working or visiting family, so we haven't made a lot of progress. But I know that we will get it, we just need to be pacient and give everything we have to the Lord. I know that this is a life of preparation to meet God, and that because of our Savior, we can all succeed. Have an awesome week!!! :)

December 22, 2014 Christmastime is here!!

December 22, 2014

Christmastime is here!!

So I have been listening to all of my Christmas music recently, it is fantastic! I love the spirit that enters the house. So this week was kinda tough, we had probably the lowest number of lessons and new investigators; everybody is busy doing things or drinking haha. But it was a great week, and we are doing super well!

Last Monday we finished P-day going to Quiroga to have a Christmas devotional with the President, the Temple president, and like 150 missionaries! It was awesome, and I got to see a lot of friends there. And they fed us dinner with like 4 kinds of meat! Super good haha.

On Friday I went to La Mesa on an interchange with Elder M, with the purpose of interviewing J and A for their baptisms!!!!! I was super excited, and they both passed, and got baptized yesterday!!!! I was sad I wasn't able to be there (they wanted me to baptize them haha), but I am just super happy they got to make that choice. And we went caroling with the branch!

Today we played mirco soccer for like 3 hours, it was ridiculous and I am super sore and tired but it was a ton of fun! A great way to turn around a difficult week.

Well I am running out of time, have an awesome Christmas! I am super excited to work and continue to find new people through sharing the spirit of Christmas. I know that Jesus lives, that he loves us, and that he wants us to have a great Christmas! So have a great Christmas!!!! Feliz Navidad :)

Love,

Elder Toombs

Fotos:

Jon and Yina!

Caroling with La Mesa!

 

Caroling in La Mesa

J & A

December 15, 2014 Rellena!!

December 15, 2014               

Rellena!

This has been a great week! Although we don't have any investigators that are progressing, we found 12 new ones, and 5 went to church! The spirit of Christmas is helping everyone to open their hearts to Jesus Christ.

Last Tuesday, we had an awesome Multi-Zone with the President, and afterwards, I went to La Mesa in interchanges with Elder M! It was a good time, and I was able to help him know the area a little better.

When I got here, we had a family of investigators that live in a certain block here in Las Villas. So, in my first week here, we found another family that wants to listen a few houses down, then a lady in the corner, and this week we talked with a couple other neighbors that also want to hear us out! We have found an entire block of prepared people! Almost prepared, because almost all of the couples aren't married haha. But we will get them there!

So in our house here in Las Villas, there is a recent convert of Elder Park, V, who likes to do nice things for the missionaries that live in the 1st floor. So this morning, she made us breakfast! Scrambled eggs with hot dogs on an arepa, and a rellena! It is like a blood sausage haha, but super good, along with Hot Chocolate! Today we have a dinner/devotional with the President, so the missionaries from La Mesa and the others from Las Villas came over to our house, we ate Oreos then went to Soacha Park nearby to check it out! It wasn't super fun, but then we went and ate at a great BBQ restaurant.

ALSO It looks like A and J S from La Mesa are going to get baptized this weekend! Pray for them please! :)

I know that if we are obedient and diligent in keeping the commandments, that God really blesses us, in ways that we can see and in others that we don't know. But he loves us and wants to help and guide us, we just have to do our part! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Toombs

Rellena 

December 8, 2014 Happy Almost Christmas!

December 8, 2014

Happy Almost Christmas!

I'm stuck thinking about Christmas because of the Devotional last night, it was super cool (even if we had to watch it in Spanish). It had been kind of a hard week, but we are doing good. My new companion is Elder C, he is Peruvian, and he is the third companion that I have had from Elder P's group (Perez, M, and C).

The area here in Las Villas has a lot of improvement to make. It is a huge change from La Mesa; we had half the number of lessons, and have been outside in the cold most of the days (It is super cold here! I have been so used to tierra caliente in La Mesa and Neiva where it is nice and hot, I miss it a lot haha). So I am learning a new aspect of the mission, I am getting a lot better at contacting! And we have been using the "He is the Gift" program a lot, the video is fantastic!

So our only real investigators are part of a C family (from the coast haha), called the H family. They are great, the only problem is that the parents aren't married, and the only ones that are really progressing are the young women of 14 and 16 years. We don't want them to get baptized without their family, and the ward has had a lot of problems with youth that get baptized and never come back, so we will be working hard to get them all to come to church.

Today we were going to do a ward activity and play soccer, but nobody showed up... so we went to play with the other missionaries, and they brought a few members with them! It was super fun, even though I have a nice big bruise on my shin now.

I know more than ever that the gospel has been restored, along with the true priesthood of God. It is an amazing feeling when the right things to say just come out, and I can see that we really have authority to be here. I love you all, have an awesome week!!!

Elder Toombs

December 2, 2014 Emergency Transfers!

December 2, 2014

Emergency Transfers!

Hi everyone! It has been a pretty good last week. Elder M and I have been getting along great; he is a fantastic missionary.

So the week went by pretty fast; we don't have any big news, just that the S family is progressing to their baptism! It has been fantastic being able to work them through their doubts and struggles. We gave them talks from the last general conference to read; the talk from President Monson, and from President Uchtdorf; I read them again, and they are just fantastic talks! I know that they will be able to recognize that these men are servants of the Lord as they read and feel the Spirit testify.

Yesterday on P-day, we went all the way to Soacha to play basketball and soccer, and then the sisters from the zone make burritos! It was awesome. (pictures next week). However, we also got some surprising news: that we had emergency transfers, and that I was leaving La Mesa! I was just ridiculously sad at first, because I was excited to be able to spend the holiday season with the members there, and because I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. So we left to get my stuff all packed up! We got back to La Mesa really late, so we didn't have time to use our whole hour of internet. So last night we visited President R, José M (Elder's quorum president), and the D family to say goodbye. Then we went home, I packed everything up, and we had to wake up nice and early today to be able to get on the 6:00 bus that leaves La Mesa. I was pretty sad to be going, but now I am in the ward Las Villas, which is in the district of La Mesa, so I will be able to do interchanges with them to be able to help Elder M learn the area better and to be able to see the families there again.

Gotta go! I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church, the only one that has all of the things that we need to be able to reach the eternal life. On Sunday Elder M and I taught the class to everybody, and we talked about the difference between the testimony and the conversion. I know that we all need to work toward our personal conversion, making changed to live in accordance with the Gospel, and that was we do it, God will bless us in ways we can't even imagine. I love you all, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Toombs