Hola a todos!

This week was pretty normal, and we were able to find a lot of cool people. Our baptism didn’t happen this week but it should happen this Sunday before general conference. I'm so excited to hear what the prophets have to say to us! It seems like yesterday that I heard them last in my home jaja. I know they receive revelation to answer any questions we may have. I have some written down, and I encourage y’all to do the same!

Anyways so Tuesday we had our district meeting and then afterwards we filmed our new video and then we had a lesson with family Turrubiates and then with Alexis. We were able to have our branch mission leader there and he helped so much in the lessons! It was so nice to not be the only one talking!

Wednesday we had a full day planned and then we remembered we were supposed to take the car in for oil change and tire rotation. They said it was going to be an hour, so we got on Facebook to add people and message them while we were waiting.  Well 4 hours later we had missed dinner and like 4 appointments. We rushed to our last one with a member family and then on our way home, the members that were supposed to feed us gave us money to order a pizza. We ate at like 10pm 

Thursday we also had a lot of lessons planned but a lot were not home. We taught the Turrubiates about the priesthood and gave the wife a blessing cause she was feeling sick. Later our lesson wasn't home so we went contacting. This was at like 8 at night and so very few people were out. We walked down this one busy street where there is a school on one side and apartments on the other and were blessed to find 3 people back to back! That was just one of the little miracles we saw this week.

Friday was another day of grinding. We finally got in contact with this part member family and taught the wife. Only one son got baptized before and the husband and wife aren't married but we told her the importance of being married so we will see if they are willing to get married.

Saturday morning, we did a service for a lady the elders are teaching. We had a lesson with a family but they weren't home. So, we stopped by some members and then later were heading back to the car when I saw an older lady on the ground. At first, I thought she must be pulling weeds or something and then as we got closer, I realized she was reaching for her can and she must have fallen. We immediately ran through her gate and helped her up. She had fallen just barely before we had got there, but no one was around to help her get up. So, we are so blessed the Lord put us there at that exact time. She recognized the blessing too and we were able to talk for a bit and gave her a Book of Mormon and set up a time to go back.

Sunday, we had invited like 12 people to church and none of them were answering. Zenaida Turrubiates had gotten sick over the weekend and couldn't come and Alexis had gotten home at 1am the night before. So, we hurried to Alexis' house and woke her up just as the member got there to take her to church. I had called her like 20 times trying to wake her up. We are just glad she came to church! Later we were able to make some more videos and then we had correlation.

This week was super successful, and I love everyday here being a missionary. I hope you guys are all excited for general conference!! I know that Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God and he along with the other General Authorities receive revelation for us in the now! The heavens are open and if we listen to what they say to us we will be able to be blessed spiritually and temporally.

Have a great week!

Les quiero mucho
Elder Tolman

Familia Turrubiates

 Hola a todos!

 This week was super long and stressful. We just wanted Saturday to come sooo fast! So we had the Turrubiates family that we were visiting almost everyday this week, as well as Alexis who was going to get baptized the 26th. We had to prepare the Turrubiates family for their interview and on Friday is when we had it. They came super late and we were supposed to have a lesson with Alexis but she also came late. And so then we were there till 8pm and way late for dinner with our Branch President. Earlier that day we called like 20 members to have them help us with our baptism and so that was stressful too. All that happened on Friday lol. 

 Other than preparing them we have been trying to contact a lot of people but not too many are progressing super fast which is sad but we have a whole bunch of people to be able to visit this week now. We ran into a couple and almost set a baptismal date with them, but they need to get married first so we will hopefully be helping them do that. Anyways the rest of the week felt like a drag. Like I said we just wanted Saturday to come so I'm gonna get right to it!

 Saturday, we got to the church at 8:30am to set everything up for the baptism. The Turrubiates family was early for once! Jaja and we were able to take pictures and then had the baptism. I baptized the mom and her daughter and Elder Cookson baptized the dad and the son. He did a super good job. We had been practicing the prayer all week! They were all super excited and happy afterwards!

 Then on Sunday I was able to confirm them all. They are the first full family I have baptized on my mission, and I am so excited for them! Carlos, the dad is going to be able to receive the priesthood soon too and baptize one of his other daughters who turns 8 in 2 weeks! Alexis unfortunately didn’t come to church. We were at her house for like 10 minutes waiting for her as her mom was trying to break down her door to wake her up. We had a lesson with her Sunday night and moved her date to October 3.

 A few pictures -The one of us in the rain was one of the two days it started pouring super hard for about an hour and then stopped.

 Elder Tolman

La Tierra Prometida

 Hola todos!

 Hope you all had a great week! For me it felt so long! But that’s a good thing this time. I am just so excited for the family we are teaching to be baptized!

 

Last Monday we went fishing but didn’t catch anything. We have also started watching The Chosen as a mission. We watched the first episode. I would love to hear what y'all think about it! 

 

Tuesday we had a meeting in the morning but later in the day we were grinding trying to find people. We ran into this guy named Hilario who was super down and by Friday we had invited to be baptized and were going to pick a date but then he wasn't sure and is still attached to his old preacher. He is struggling to come to terms with that fact that we are the only authorized church of God. So he doesn't want to talk to us anymore until he had made up his mind.

 

Wednesday we had a lesson with Emely and she also seemed super down and had a ton of good questions and everything was making sense to her. We went over Friday planning on setting a date and she asked our beliefs on same sex marriage. We briefly summarized the church's standings and at that point she didn’t want to hear more. She thought we were saying that we don’t love people with same sex desires. We tried to re- explain it to her but she just kept blowing up in our face saying she didn’t want to be converted and things like that. I was super sad after that but we went contact grinding instead of getting down. Hopefully one day, missionaries can stop by and she will have a change of heart.

 

Thursday we had exchanges and I went to the zone leader’s area and we had a lot of good contacts and lessons. It was a good break from leading our area all the time. 

 

Friday we had a lot of struggles finding and teaching people because of the above mentioned people. I have been super excited this whole week for people we have been finding and want to put everyone on date. So it was sad the two before we couldn't, but then we finally got in contact with a former person the missionaries had taught and she accepted a date to be baptized! 

 

Saturday we did a lot of contacting and had a few good lessons. We are still preparing our family for their baptism! Then on the way home a guy we had contacted in a past exchange reached out to me and said that because we reached out to him months earlier he is in a better place and believes more in God and is a changed man. We invited him to be baptized but since then I haven't heard from him. We are hoping he gets back to us soon!

 

This really is the Lord’s work and he is always listening to prayers and waiting to answer them! We will always have trials and afflictions, but I know that as we strive to do what is right and to become closer to God, our loving Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ, we will reap the rewards he has in store. I am so grateful for this time to be in Brownsville, the Promised Land!!

 

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Tolman

Families can be forever!

 Hola mis amigos y familiares,

 This last Tuesday I received a phone call that my Grandpa Eskelsen had passed away. He is my second grandpa to have passed while I have been on my mission. I am so grateful for my family and for the gospel I have been brought up in. Because of it, I know that we will one day be reunited and be able to rejoice, in this I find comfort and peace and I am so grateful for this time I have to serve the Lord and be able to bring this news to so many people!

 Highlights of the week!!

 I had found a phone on the street while contacting and on Tuesday I called the police to have them come pick it up.

 It is also the start of a new transfer and we had so many new missionaries come in so we were switching and moving beds until everyone had what they needed.

 Wednesday, we had dinner with a member which was super fun! I had helped them with a funeral a few months ago and they still remember and keep thanking me. Later Wednesday we went to this guy’s house to do some service. We had contacted him for a few seconds the week before, and we came back and were cutting his trees down for him. As we were helping, I got talking to him and turns out he had heart surgery, so we were even happier we had offered to help him. We shared a message after, and he was super down to come to church too!

 Thursday, we had a lesson and we were going to bike to it. We got maybe 5 minutes out and elder Cookson’s tire went completely flat. So, we locked up our bikes and walked the rest of the way. We got to the house 30 minutes late and the parents were outside waiting. Now I'm going to go back to last week when we first talked to them. We were walking by their house and I asked if they wanted a Jesus card. There were like 5 guys and they all looked at me like I was crazy and wanted me go away, but for those of you who know me I can be a little stubborn sometimes and I decided we were not leaving until someone grabbed this card from my hand. They finally made this woman come grab it and we talked to her and invited her to church before she had to go break up a fight that had started. She didn't come to church and we had come back the day before to see if we could talk to them. So here we are, they are outside their house waiting. We start talking and the husband has a bunch of questions and we start answering them with the Book of Mormon. We talked about the restoration, the plan of salvation, baptism, and the word of wisdom all in one lesson. We came back two days later and taught them and set a baptismal date for the 19th. Then we remembered they had kids and invited them to bring their kids for a lesson. We were already late for our next appointment, but we briefly taught them and put two of her kids on date too. Very long story made a little bit shorter but still long Haha, they came to church and are so ready to be an eternal family!

 I am so grateful for the chance to share this message with everyone! There are so many people who don’t realize the blessings they are missing out on, and the privilege I have to help others on the path to be an eternal family is indescribable! It brings so much joy and there is no other feeling that comes close, not even scoring a hat trick in soccer haha. I know this gospel to be true and I know that all sincere seekers of God’s will and plan will have it be made known unto them through the power of the Holy Ghost who testifies of all truth.

 Les quiero mucho!
Elder Tolman