Week 34

Hey, this fall has been amazing. The weather is super great right now - nice and cool. The ward is taking good care of us. We have a good number of meal appointments this week. Things are still going great between me and Elder Denton, we are doing super well together.  I can’t say the same for my district leader though.  I went on an exchange with him and we don’t get along very well.  So yeah Nolan’s baptism is on Saturday and we are so excited for that. I’m super excited for Nolan. Other than Nolan we aren’t teaching anyone. No one is keeping commitments but that’s ok because things are getting better here. Me and Elder Denton are doing great! I’m so excited for this transfer, its great!

  So the guy on the side of the road got antied hard core and he’s going to Mexico. By the way he’s a little nuts. He claims to be an apostle and believes in the trinity, which I don’t judge him, but he argued about it a lot. He called us two nights in a row at like 10 and preached to us for like an hour. Oh, and then another guy tried to convert me. He bashed with me and my district leader. So this week was interesting for sure but it just strengthened my testimony even more about the truthfulness of this gospel and I know how true it is. I love you so much and appreciate all you do for me. Love you all!  Have a great week!

Love, TJ

Week 33

Hey everyone! This week was great!  Things with Elder Denton are going really really well. We get along super well and it’s really fun. Its fun to tell people we are cousins and then they always ask if we’re first cousins and we’re like YEP!! so it’s really great. The work is going really well. Nolan is progressing really well and will be baptized on the 21st and we have a temple trip/zone conference tomorrow to see the new temple video so that will be fun. The weather here has been super hot but it’s been good. So how’s grandma doing? Hope she starts to feel better.

     So that’s really cool that Forrest got to listen to Elder Bednar because I got to meet his oldest son who lives in the Crestwood ward. So here is the story. We went to check up on a member to introduce Elder Denton to them (the Engleman’s) and they invited us to eat dinner with them.  They were having a bbq with Elder Bednar’s oldest son, so we got to eat with him and his family.  It was really fun! Well I love you so much! Hope you have a wonderful week.  Love you! Love Elder Sutherland

Week 32

Hey all, so you will never guess who my new comp is. . .  drummroll please.....................

Its elder Denton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, I’m not joking, he is my new comp. And yep, it’s going to be great! We were in transfers and Elder Denton is called to Rolling Hills and I was like HEY, that’s my cousin. So yeah, it’s pretty great. So this last week was really tough. We did set a baptismal date with Nolan though, so that’s good. It’s for September 21st and we are still in the process of getting Tim in contact with the other missionaries. But other than that it was kind of a stinky week. Elder Johnson was super area trunky, which means he wanted to be out of the area. So it was a rough week trying to motivate him to go to work but he did really well.

    I can’t believe Jeff is about to leave on his mission, but its cool because we are e-mailing each other, so its nice to hear how excited he is. But if you go to his farewell, tell him how proud I am of him and that he will be a great missionary. Well, I am doing great! I will probably have more next week. Love you so much!

Love, TJ

Week 31

Hey, what’s up? Yeah so transfers are next week so we will find out on Saturday. I can’t believe the transfer is over already. It feels like it just started. But yeah, Elder Johnson is hoping he gets transferred because he’s been here for like 6 months. I hope he stays because we get along so great. But I kind of think he will be transferred which is scary because I don’t know the area at all!  Well, it  sounds like you had a good week, I hope you all enjoyed the package I sent.

So this week was so amazing! Probably the best of my mission so far.  So on Tuesday we contacted this guy and started talking to him. He was kind of nuts.  Anyway we start talking to him and it starts raining just a bit, then it just starts pouring rain and we just talked for like 20 minutes in the rain. Then his wife came outside and told us to come in so we did. And we talked to him for like two hours - WAY TOO LONG BY THE WAY, but we just couldn’t get out. We tried like 10 times. It was bad. He started talking about like aliens and stuff. I'm pretty sure he was drunk and high - or just nuts. Either way  - I don’t know. Something about Adam and Eve coming from aliens. Anyway, random awesome story to look back on. It was super funny. So then we talked to Nolan’s dad about his baptism and he said that we could set a date for Nolan to be baptized when we go over because we were talking on the phone and he wanted Nolan to be there to get excited about it. So then we had a zone meeting on Friday and we had it on the basics like the book of Mormon, prayer and church, and following the spirit. So that night we went to an older guys house and I just wasn’t feeling like this is where we should be. So because I’m still learning the area I asked Elder Johnson how far away Ann lives and he said pretty far. And I was like, ok lets go see her, and he was like well ok. So we went over there and knocked on Ann’s door and talked about the Book of Mormon and church and she said she couldn’t come to church because she had like a conference or something she had to be at. So we invited her to come to the mission home fireside at 7 on Sunday and she said she could probably do that. Then we talked about baptism and set a baptismal date for September 21. So that was amazing. Then on Sunday we went to check up on Ann and she wasn’t home yet so we left and went some where else. Then I felt like we should go back and Elder Johnson didn’t really want to because it was out of our way, so I kind of argued my point some more. So then he thought about it for a few minutes and agreed to go. So we went to Ann’s and she wasn’t there. So I was bummed but we saw Sam and talked to him and told him to have Ann give us a call back and he said he would. So then we went to a less actives house and talked to her on her door step for a while and she really wasn’t interested in coming back. But we talked with her for longer than I thought we should but as we were leaving, I was going to grab my bike and this car stops in the middle of the road and starts talking to me. But I couldn’t hear him so I ran across the road and he asked if we were the Mormon missionaries and I was like yeah, and he asked if he could pull off the road and talk with us. And I was like YEAH! Of course! So he got off the road and we talked for like 15 minutes and he was really interested because the church he was going to had like 80 families and now it has like 20. And he was thinking that in the bible it says by the fruits ye shall know them, so he was thinking well I need something better. Then he was watching TV and saw something about Mormon missionaries and then saw us and he was like I have to talk to them! So yeah, that’s his side of the story. Anyway, at this point its like 5:50 and me and Elder Johnson are both like, hey do you want to come with us to this mission home fireside? They are really amazing. And he asked when and we said in an hour and he was like sure, got nothing else going on. So we were like sweet! So he went home and got changed and came and picked us up and drove us to the fireside and he loved it. It was great! Then we talked about the church the whole way home and he loved everything and basically believes everything already. And at the end of the night he was like, hey do you believe in laying on of hands? And we said well yeah and he bowed his head and said can you pray for me? So we gave him a blessing of comfort and counsel. And we also set a baptismal date with him BUT he’s not in our area so we have to refer him to the missionaries that cover that area. None the less it was an amazing week. I think everything lead up to us meeting him. All of the promptings that we were getting to follow the spirit and not get discouraged when we could see what the end result was going to be. I still don’t know the reasons for things but I do know that God loves us and will guide us as long as we are humble and will listen to what he is saying, and I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that this is the true church that Christ set up when he was on the earth, and I’m so thank full for the experiences I have had on my mission. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I LOVE MY MISSION SO MUCH!!  Thanks for all of your support and encouragement.  I love you so much! Have a great week.

Week 30

     Hey, how is everyone doing? How was getting ready for school? So yeah, Buffalo Wild Wings was great! We actually went twice this week with the member who took us. His name is Brother White, he’s a regular there. He goes like once a week and invites us sometimes. It’s great, he’s such a great guy. So we don’t have anything exciting planned for  p-day today other than the norm. We played basketball and that was amazing. Then we will probably shop and do laundry and stuff.

     So my week was great! I felt great all week and I feel great again today, probably because we played basketball today which was great. So this week was great. We had dinner with one of our investigators and shared a scripture with her, but first I have to back up. Ok, so a couple of weeks ago we were thinking we needed to go see a former investigator, but we didn’t do it. Then like that Monday we were walking home with our groceries and this truck comes in the parking lot and this lady is like hey, my name is Ann Holloway and I love the missionaries! They always used to come to my house. So we set up a time to come and teach her and she fed us dinner and we left her with Alma 32 to read and invited her and her friend Sam (he might be her boyfriend, we don’t really know yet but he lives in Bardstown my last area) Anyway, so we invited them to church and they came and loved it. They only stayed for sacrament, but hey it was great!  And we have a couple other investigators that we are working with: Nolan is a 9 year old boy but his dad has to get permission from his ex wife and that will probably take some time, and we have a few other people, but no one has a baptismal date yet. But Ann and Sam should have one hopefully this week. The zone baptismal date that we are all shooting for is September 21, not the 23.

    So I have a story for you. So one day (I can’t remember exactly when because they all run together) anyway we were tracting in this area and there’s a no soliciting sign posted (and a lot of people don’t understand what soliciting is.) Since we are not selling anything, we are not soliciting, so we can tract there.  But because people are awesome they don’t understand that. So anyway that’s my rant, sorry, back to the story. So we lock our bikes up and I see this old man so we go up to talk to him and he looks at our nametags and back up to me and says some unpleasant words to me and walks away. So I look at Elder Johnson and he just shrugs and starts laughing and we’re like, ok that was great, moving on. So we start tracting and he makes another lap and we wave politely at him and he starts yelling at us that we can’t be here because we are soliciting. (ha-ha no we’re not.) But I did not say that - I just wanted to, and then he tells us to leave and that he’s going to call the cops. So we’re like ok, what ever. So we leave that street - not the neighborhood but off a different section, and he follows us over there and calls the cops and yells at us a little more, so we just laugh and say have a nice day. And so we are really done with this guy so we decide to leave, and yeah the cops never showed up. Anyway we left and yeah it was great. So then we felt like we needed to go back because a few numbers stuck out to us that we should go back to and so we did. The first door we knock on a lady comes out and starts telling us we can’t be here and she’s calling the cops, and we’re like, ooooooooooooooooooooooh awesome! Not this again. So we knock the rest of the doors we came to knock and left. We didn’t find anyone so that was a bummer.  So yeah that’s my story for the week. It was intense.

     Well, that’s all I got for this week.  I just want you to know how much I love you. Thank you for all the help you have been throughout my mission, I love you so much.  I hope you all have a great week.

Week 29

Hey family, what’s up?   I feel amazing today!  Probably because I got to play basketball. It was so much fun! Oh yeah, and a member is taking us to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings so that should be great.

So my next transfer is on the first Tuesday in September, so not for a while. The weather is getting cooler. I love it! It’s nice while riding our bikes.  So things here are getting better. The work is a little slow right now but we are trying to turn things around. So the zone has set a goal that every companionship will baptize on the 23rd of September. So that will be neat for the zone to all baptize together. We have a few people we are working with: Nolan is a 9 year old boy whose parents are both members but the dad’s ex-wife is not a member, so he will have to ask her for permission to be baptized. We also have a less active we are working with. Her husband is not a member so we are going to try to work with him. So things are looking up. I am so excited for this area - its great! The members are amazing as well. So yeah, everything is going well. Things are going great!  I am loving my mission and loving life! I am feeling great! I think the medication is starting to work. I love you so much and hope you have a great week.  Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support.  Love you tons!

T.J. dirt biking it up.

Elder Sutherland and Elder Johnson

Week 28

     Sorry,  I guess I was confusing. ,The kid in the picture was my MINE MTC comp.  - not my actual MTC comp. The mine MTC where we got two youth and showed them what being a missionary is like. That was him, my actual MTC comp was actually with Chazz for a transfer.

     Hey dad, sorry, I thought I answered those questions in the email I sent to mom, sorry about that. So transfers went well.  My comp is great, his name is Elder Johnson and he is from St. George. He has been out for 14 months. Our area is Rolling Hills. Its in Lyndon. Its the rich part of Louisville - very wealthy. The houses are massive and Anchorage is in my area - its where Papa Johns lives. The area is great and the members are amazing. They feed us well except for this week because we forgot to bring our dinner calendar. So yeah, we don’t have any dinner appointments for this week, but the ward is great. We got a referral from the Storms, a family in the ward. Their daughter’s friend is interested.  Her name is Sabrina. We taught the restoration and it was amazing. We hopefully have a lesson with her this week. And then there is Nolan. He is a 9 year old boy whose dad is a member but his mom is not. They are divorced, so the dad will have to get permission from the mom to baptize him. So yeah the work is going well.

     So the bike track was a lot of fun last Monday.  My biking is getting better -  I didn’t fall off this week so that was good.  So yeah, I had a cut on my hand from flipping over my bike but its all right now.  I liked the pics Forrest and Bailee drew for me about not dying on my bike, they were great!

 I’m feeling pretty good this week. I still feel anxiety but I think that’s normal for missionaries. The depression is getting better. I think the anxiety has picked up a bit -  that or ADD cuz I am having a hard time focusing. I’m kinda all over the place, but I don’t know I should be fine… So yeah I think that’s all, if I missed a question just ask it again. Like I said I can’t focus all that well so my mind is kind of everywhere so I hope I got every thing.  Oh yeah, we have to catch the bus to go get groceries and we almost missed our bus on the way back to the apartment because the Wal-Mart is a long ways away. We have a Walgreen’s but its not the same. Anyway I think that’s it. I love you so much! Have a great week. 

Week 27

Hey there, how’s it going? Sounds like you had a great week. The family reunion sounds great. So yeah I remember Nauvoo. Its basically like that - we go outside for 10 minutes and we are drenched. But its good, I love the bike area so far. The ward is amazing. I forwarded some pics to you from a member and her family. The one with the Superman shirt was my MTC companion so that was cool. We had dinner with them last night and are going to a bike track with them today for p day so that should be fun. So the ward is great and so is Elder Johnson. We are teaching a few people but not a ton, so we will definately work on that. No, we don’t take showers during the day because we will just go back out and get sweaty again, so it’s not really effective. But I love biking except I almost got hit by a car twice on Saturday and flipped over my handle bars a couple of times. It was a rough couple of days. I'm pretty sure I'm going to kill my self on a bike but it’s fine. Hahaha I'm just kidding, I will be fine.

    So yeah, not a lot to report on other than I'm trying to learn the area and stuff. The members are amazing and I love Elder Johnson, he’s great. So yeah I hope you have a great week.  I'm doing well. I fell pretty good other than I woke up a little sick today but not too bad. Well I can’t think of anything else to tell you so hope you have a good week. 

Week 26

Hey there, how are you doing? So I'm getting transferred to an area called Rolling Hills. It is in Louisville. I was hoping to stay but I'm excited to go to Louisville. So this week was rough, we were on a bike all week so the work was slow. Oh yeah and my new area is a bike area as well.  Yeah we were on bikes all week - we get the car back today just in time for me to leave - hahaha. Oh man. For the most part I'm still not felling all that great. Today has been really bad.  I think I'm just anxious to get to my new area but its been a rough couple days. Most of the week was really good. Being on a bike was good for me, but anyway yeah. The people here are still doing well. I leave tomorrow for my new area. So yeah if you send the package they will forward it to us. We don’t go to the mission office like ever, but now I'm going to be in Louisville so we will go more often.  But yeah this week was good. The last couple days were rough. The medicine hasn’t really had much of an effect on me yet, so I'm not sure with that. Well I will have a lot more for you next week. I will have a new companion and a new area, so I'm way excited for that and I'm going to elder Hawes' last area so he told me all about it. I'm really excited for the area and my comp’s name is Elder Johnson. I haven’t met him yet but Elder Hawes told me about him. So yeah it should be good. Well I think that’s it. Hope you all have a great week and hope grandma is ok, she is always in my prayers. I love you so much. Have a good week.  

Week 25

So this week was good for the most part. We set 3 baptismal dates. One is with Doug who is a stud. I don’t know if I told you the story but he is married to a member and they have been married for like 3 months and we started teaching him. Then out of nowhere he calls us and tells us that his wife kicked him out of the house and wants a divorce. Now he is living in Cincinnati. He has gone to church there 4 times and is still praying about the church. Most likely he will be baptized in Cincinatti because it would be weird for him if he was baptized into the ward where his ex wife is. So it’s a weird situation, but Doug is so awesome. We had a lesson with him at the church and showed him the font and had a kneeling prayer in front of the font - it was so powerful. Then we set a baptismal date with Patricia. She is engaged, we haven’t met her fiance yet, but she is solid. Then we set a date with Ronald. It’s kind of cool because we tracted into him about a month ago and he was totally not interested, but we street contacted his son the other day, and then got a text that told us to go talk to his dad so we did and set a date for Aug. 31. It was really cool. It was a great week as far as the work goes but mentally I’m not feeling much better. They upped my dose of medication but I don’t know, it will probably take another couple weeks to kick in. I’m still struggling, but I’m hanging in there. I know the Lord will watch over me and I feel his presence every day. I’m so thankful for the time that I have to serve. There’s nothing I would rather be doing. 

     This week we are going to be on bikes, because before I got here one of the other elders backed into a trailer hitch and dented the back. So we are going to get that fixed and we have a super big area so its going to stink but its good exercise I guess. So transfer calls are on Saturday. I can’t believe it’s already that time again. I kinda think I might get transferred because me and Elder Hawes have been together for 2 transfers almost and I think one of us will leave and its probably going to be me. So I will have some transfer news next week. I really don’t want to leave again because it feels like I just got here, but I think I’m probably gone.  I can’t believe I have already been out 6 months, it has gone by super fast. I can’t believe I have been in Georgetown for 2 months. But yeah, with all of the new missionaries, it’s nuts. They’re mostly sisters. There are so many of them - transfer meetings are nuts with all the new missionaries coming in. Well that’s all for this week. Hope you have a good week. I love you so much and am so thankful for all you have done for me - love you so much.

Week 24

 So, sounds like you had a great week with Forrest home again. That’s really exiting. So are you doing anything exciting for his birthday? The 4th was fun, we had dinner at a members home and then watched some fireworks from our porch. People here are nuts about fireworks. It was crazy, they shot them off all week, it was cool. Sounds like you had a great week.  So yeah, the baptism for July is not going to happen. His mom isn’t going to allow it, so we were kind of bummed, but I expected it. So Doug hasn’t answered our calls in like a week and a half, so not really sure what’s going on there. 

   So to answer your question about how I have been feeling is I am always drained of energy, always tired and just want to sleep.  I have lack of focus and just don’t feel like myself and sad for no reason and I can’t explain why. But I went to the doctors and I got some medication. The doctor told me it will be like 3 or 4 weeks for it to really start working, but I am feeling a bit better this week. I’m not sure if that’s the medication or what, but I am feeling little better than before. 

   Well thanks for all your prayers, I know they have defenatly helped. Thanks for all you do. I love you so much, hope you have a great week.

    Love, Elder Sutherland

Week 23

Hey mom and dad, what’s up?  How’s Scotland? besids the rain? haha well hope you’re having fun. Any fun plans for the 4th? thats really cool that you can see some of the people Forrest got to serve around.Well hope you’re having a good trip. Well, the work is going well. We have a baptism coming up on the 20th of July. By the way, can I say how nuts it is that its already July - I can’t believe it. Anyway, so the only problem is his mom is a Jehova’s Witness. He is 25 but has a mental disability. It really isn’t all that bad but we would probably have to ask his mom for permission to baptize him. So that could be a problem. But we have some others who are progressing. We have one named Doug. His wife is a member but she is divorcing him, so its really rough but he likes the church and has gone to church twice in Cincinnati so we just call him like every other day because we can see him a lot because he’s in Ohio. Anyway, the work is going ok. and I’m doing ok, it depends on the day. Some are better than others, but hopefully I will get back to normal here soon. Oh yeah and yesterday we went to a mission home fireside and I saw Lauren there so that was really cool to see her again. I loved the pics you sent me. Forrest looks pretty good  - not too fat. hahaha but yeah the one missionary looks like Jason Nieman. Its really cool and  he looks like he’s 12 - not that I can say much but I look at least 15. haha. So yeah, hope you all have a great week. I should have a package for ya’ll coming with in the month of July, or maybe next month, but I am working on it right now so if there is anything you all want from Kentucky just let me know. I will try to send some pictures as well in the package. Well I think that’s all I’ve got for this week. Love you so much.  Have a great week! Love you so much and apreciate all that you do for me. Have a great week love you

Love, TJ

Week 22

Hey mom and dad, how’s Scotland? How’s Forrest doing? is he way fat now? haha well I hope you’re having a great time. I like the pics you sent me, thanks for those. Ok, so the baptism was great, everything went well. They are moving to Florida because Nancy is old and is having a hard time taking care of Brooklyn and herself.  It will be sad to see them leave but we are exited for them because they told us they still want to go to church. We found the ward that they are going to be in so everything should go pretty smoothly. This week was pretty crappy. Other than the baptism, Friday and Saturday were great but the rest of the week was rough. I called Sister Woodbury and she thinks that I might have depression or anxiety, so we are looking into getting some help.  I have a doctor’s appointment this week so hopefully we will have something figured out by next week.  But I will be fine. The work is still going really well and the baptism was amazing. And we are working with some great people. Thanks for all you do. I love you so much! Have a great week with Forrest and enjoy Scotland. Love you soooooooooo much!

Week 21

So  I have been struggling lately. I get sad a lot and I think that I still might be struggling with depression. Last week was pretty bad. The work and everything is going great, but I'm not feeling good mentally. I don't know what's wrong but its been really hard the last couple of weeks. That's why I didn't say much last week because I'm trying to be positive, but its hard. I love my mission, but its hard. I knew that it would be. But yesterday and today I just have been really sad and I don't really know why. But I will be fine, so don't worry too much. I will be fine because I know what I'm doing is right and so the Lord will bless me. But no, it hasn't been peachy. Everyone here is great and have been helping me. I love my companion, he is amazing and so are all the others in the apartment. So thats all the depressing stuff, how about some happy stuff? Spencer got baptized on Saturday. It was so amazing - probably the most spiritual experience so far on my mission. And Brooklyn is still good for this week, so that's exciting. I hope that you and dad have a great time in Scotland. I miss you so much, but I know that I need to be here and that what I'm doing is right. I hope that you have a great time picking Forrest up. I love you and miss you so much. Have a great week. Love you and thanks for all you do for me. You always know how I'm feeling - its kind of scary. But I just want you to know that I love you so much and appreciate all you do for me.  Well, thats all I got. Sorry its kind of a depressing email, but this week will be better and we have another baptism, so everything will be great. Love you all.

 At Spencer's baptism

Week 20

T.J. and Chazz old district.  Transfers are tomorrow.

Nice photo

Hey everyone, hows it going? Hope you had a great week. So Spencer's family is active but since he has Down's syndrome  he has not been able to be baptized, but the bishop has given them the ok for him to be baptized. He is 12 I think? or 11. He gets baptized on Saturday and Brooklyn gets baptized next Saturday so I'm so excited. So we did some serivce at the blue grass festival.  We just took tickets and stuff, kind of like  we do at the rodeo. So it was fun. I have some pics I will send you. The  weather has been really good.  It rains a lot though, but I still hate the humidity. But other than that life is great. I can't believe you leave for Scotland in a week - thats nuts. I hope yall have fun. Send me lots of pics. I'm sure you will so I don't have to tell you. But  anyway transfers are tomorrow. I'm staying and so is Elder Hawes and basically the whole district minus Chaz.  He is getting transferred so thats kind of a bummer, but I'm sure I will see him again. Thanks for getting all of those emails and addresses for me I really appreciate them.  Have a great week. 

Week 19

So this week was sooooooooooooo amazing! I can't even tell you everything that happened but I will do my best. So we are working with Brooklyn and we taught her like three time this week and invited them to church and they came! It was so exciting, we had three people there yesterday, it was great. Brooklyn has a baptismal date for June 22 so thats really exciting. The formers are going well, we invited them to church but they didnt come, but thats ok. Spencer is still doing well. We were supposed to have a baptism set for next week, but they cancelled so we are going to try to set up another one, but we dont really know yet. We also got in a bash this week. It was so awful. So we knock this guy's door and he answers and is like hey come in. Then he tries to bash with us. It was horrible! We tried to get out, but he kept asking stupid questions, so we answered them, but finally we just bore our testimonies and left. So yeah, I hate bashing! You get nowhere and its not fun. I have had like small bashes, but that was the first full on. He just wanted to bash. but its all right.  Well sounds like the Lewis's had a good trip. Hope you are enjoying the summer. Love you so much! Have a great week.

Week 18

Hey! I forgot to tell you I'm in a ward and it is so much bigger than the branch I was in. There's like 300 people I think - sooooo much bigger. But its great, we get fed a ton more here. We had a dinner appointment every day this week except for Wednesday. It was great! I still don't cook. Cereal, peanut butter, bread,and pizza rolls is basically what I eat, but hey its great because now we get fed. We also had a dinner appointment yesterday and that was really good. We have had a good variety of food, but a lot of chicken - just about every dinner apointment has chicken. Sounds like Sunday was great! Tell both of them good luck for me. Sounds like the Lewis's should be having a good time on their cruise. This week was amazing! So we set a baptismal date with Spencer and teaching him is so much fun! One of the spanish elders had a good idea for teaching the restoration to Spencer. You use the game Janga. So I bought Janga and used it in the lesson and it was great, it helped a ton and it was a lot of fun! Then later in the week we found this less active that has an 11 year old grandoughter. So we are trying to reactivate her and we actually set a baptizmal date with Brooklin the 11 year old. It was great, we used janga for that lesson as well. Probably my favorite way to teach the restoration. We also tracked into another less active. Its so crazy how many less actives we tract into. Thats the second here and we had two in Bardstown. Anyway she got offended by some members about a lot of different things, so we apologized for what happened, but tried to help her come back to church. She doesn't understand tithing and we tried to explain the blessing but she didn't really listen. It was a great week anyway. It seemed way long but it was great. Yesterday was so amazing! We called a bunch of former investigators and one called back and told us we could come by! The wife is a less active and the husband is not a member and neither is the daughter. So we went over and talked with them - it was great. We are going back on Saturday and they are going to feed us, so that will be great! And another former called us and I don't know why she isn't baptized. She's met with missionaries for like 8 years and she sounds like a member, but she's not baptized so we are going to try to teach her as well as get her to church. Also we are working with Doug. He just married a member who is actually a RM. They're  like in their 40s. He is great. He has come to church twice and we are teaching him tonight after pday - so excited for him. Well, I think that's just about it. Hope you have a great summer. Enjoy the weather. The weather here has been amazing! Not too hot, but really nice all week. Well, have a great week! I love you so much!

                                                                       Love,  TJ

Nice look you two.  Chazz and T.J.

Week 17

Hey Mom and Dad,  how are you? GUESS WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK? WE HAD A BAPTIZIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

His name is Cody Baker and he goes to the marines in like a week. I met him on Friday and we played basketball with him on Saturday. He didn't know me or Elder Hawes very well because Elder Hawes has only been here for two weeks more than me. So Cody didnt know either one of us all that well, but I got to know him a little bit and he is a stud. He doesn't have a lot of home support, his family didn't want him to be baptized, but his girlfriend is a member and thats like the only support he has. He is so cool, and I had the privlige to baptize him. It was sooo amazing to be able to baptize him! It was the coolest feeling in the world! I can't even tell you how amazing it was, but it was sooo great! Then Elder Hawes confirmed him yesterday. It was so great. We also have an investigator who is 13 years old and has downs syndrome. I dont know how it works, but I think the bishop gave him the ok to be baptized. They said he is accountable so we are teaching him the lessons. His name is Spencer and he is such a stud! It was great! I love working with kids with special abilities. Helping Jack last year really helped because I knew how to work with him. We used a ton of pictures and played some games. It was great, Spencer is so great! I love working with him. We are also working with a part member family. We had dinner with them last night and he is going to take the lessons, so thats super great. This week has been so amazing! I love Georgetown. We also do service every Tuseday and Wednesday for 3 hours at a food bank. and yes, we have been eating lots of doughnuts at that doughnuts at that shop.  We ate there like 3 times this week - its great. We are also in a ward, which is so wierd now after being in a branch for so long. So yeah, its pretty great. I am loving Georgetown so much and its really fun having Chazz in my district too.  We get along a lot better out here than we did at home,  so thats really cool. That's crazy that Gavin and Porter leave already. I can't believe its June!  What the crap, its going by way too fast! It has already been 4 months! I can't believe it. It's so crazy, it feels like I just left and now I'm already in my second area - it's nuts.  I love the 4 elder apartment. its great. Thats cool to here about Judd's homecoming. Well I think that's it. Hope you have a great week  - the last week of school. That should be fun. Oh and can you have Bailee see if she can get Alissa Kenington's address for me? That would be great. Thanks,

Love, TJ 

Week 16

Hey, how is everyone doing? It was great to talk to you yesterday.  After I talked to you we visited some members, said goodbye, then packed up my stuff and left. I got to my new apartment at like 10:30 because we started going the wrong way so it took a lot longer. So yeah I'm in a four elder apartment and its great! My companion's name is Elder Hawes. He is from Boise, Idaho and he's way cool. He has been out 9 months, but he has only been in the area for about 12 days, so he doesn't know the area super well and the bike elders are white washing.  Chazz is in my district, so that's way cool. He's actually coming over to Gtown to play basketball with us so that will be fun. I will be in a car, but will probably end up biking a lot this month because they're short on miles.  We have 3 baptismal dates, so that's super awesome.  This morning we woke up and played basketball, and then there's a member who owns a donut place, so we get free donuts! We went there today and it was soooo good! I'm gonna love that place. Well, thats all I can think of so have a great week! Hope school goes all right for ya. Love you so much - have a great week!  Love TJ 

T.J.'s new comp. Elder Hawes

Week 15

Sister Baldwin (Lauren) and T.J. at the mission home

T.J. and his new companion Elder Cox

So this week was great. At transfers I got to see Chazz and Lauren. Chazz is now with my MTC companion and Lauren is opening a new area somewhere. Not sure where that is, but it was fun to see them. My new companion's name is Elder Cox. He is from Montana and he's been out for like a year and a half.  We are still working hard and its different being with Elder Cox, but its really good.

So Kitty and Dakota are doin good. Neither of them came to church but they had legit excuses so that's ok, but we did get Josh Thompson to come and that's super awsom. It was stake conference and it was broadcast at the church so it was different and really long but I think he liked it, hopefully anyway.

   Yes, I did hear a bit about the derby. An investigator we are working with was watching it when we went over there. But yeah its been raining like all week. On Friday we walked around in the rain for like two hours and got completely soaked - it was great. hahaha!! Anyway that's crazy to think you are done coaching dad. That's crazy, sounds like it was a fun year though so that's good. That's awsome to hear that Rylee Rockhill is going on a misson!  Tell Jay good luck for me. 

   So I don't know exactly what's going to happen on Sunday but fear not because I will just give you a call I I think on Saturday to let you know for sure. That's what Elder Cox says he usually does and it is approved by president. It will just be a quick minute or 30 seconds or I will leave a voice mail. Sorry its not really organized yet, things are still kinda crazy with a new companion. I will let you know a bit later this week.  Well hope all is well. Have a great week and I will talk to you next week. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Week 14

Hey Everyone! I am staying in Bardstown and my new comp will be the new DL. That's all I really know as of now. We will go to transfers tomorrow at 10 then I will get my new comp, then we will buy food and then get back to work. We all go to a stake center in Louisville and have the transfer meeting. I haven't got any letters yet because we are going to transfers so they hold the mail for five days or so before because we will just pick them up at the mission office. I am really excited for mothers day as well. I should have info for you next week when me and my new comp make plans for it. I can't believe I have already been in the field for 12 weeks and have been gone for 3 months. It has gone by pretty fast for the most part. Some days feel like forever, but it has been really good. So the less active didn't come, she canceled last minute and we don't really know why, but we are trying to get back in contact with them. We went to the Shcmids anyway to go to family night and we gave the FHE lesson. It was fun! We had hot dogs and played soccer - it was really fun. I haven't seen Lauren yet because Corbin is not in my zone and I have no clue where Corbin even is, but I might see her at transfers. I might see Chazz as well, you never know. The patio looks really good, ya'll did a good job with it.  The Civil War Museum - the red suit was like an officer for the Confederacy I think. I'm not really sure, but it was cool, and we went inside the houses. They had some stuff in there, but nothing too exciting. The outside of them were a lot cooler. So it seems like most of the people who have a baptismal date decided to disappear and not talk to us. Other than Helena, everyone else is avoiding us and we might have to drop them if we can't get in contact with them. But hopefully not. But on the plus side, we have two new investigators who are super solid and we set a baptismal date with one of them. Her name is Kitty. She is in her 40s and she is Baptist, but she loved the restoration and committed to read the Book of Mormon. Her date is for the 22nd of June and the other one is a 16 year old boy named Dakota. He is super cool. We taught him the restoration and parts of the plan of salvation, but it's going to be a long road for him because he struggles with the word of wisdom. That basically includes the whole word of wisdom. So that's a problem, but he likes meeting with us so things are going well. WE FINALLY GOT SOMEONE TO CHURCH! I'm so excited! One of them is a less active kid who is 10 and not baptized, and the other is a brother of a recent convert. So that is really great. So Friday we had like a mini MTC where the youth in the Louisville stake came and we each got two youth to work with. We went to classes with them that missionaries taught, then we stayed the night with the missionaries in E town. There were 8 in the apartment, and like 30 all together. The youth stayed at members homes. There were like 60 of them. It was really cool. Saturday we woke up and went to the members home where the youth were staying and studied and ate breakfast with them. Then we went out to a couple of teaching  appointments. It was so much fun. The two kids I worked with were 15 and were so awesome! It was really fun. Then we had a super powerfull testimony meeting. Then we went back to bardstown and had a going away party for Elder Tolman at the Schmids. It was really fun. It was such a great week! Well, I love you.  Hope you have a great week.

Week 13

Hey, how is everybody?  The civil war museum was really cool. I took a lot of pics. I will send you a couple of them but it was cool. It had some really cool stuff and there was like a little old town that we could go through. It was cool, I think yall would like it. Yeah this is Elder Tolman's last week. Transfers are on Tuesday. He's doing a really good job about not being truncky.  Its really hard not to make him trunky though so we are teaching a lot of people. But no one will come to church. Mary Shelby is a less active and she has a 10 year old son who has a date for June 1st. They were supposed to come but texted us like 5 minutes before sacrament started and told us she wouldn't be there. But she is coming with us to a combined famly night at a member's house. Her and her 3 kids, Tyler 10, Kyle 5, and Amber is like 6 months or something, so that should be really fun. That's really cool about that lady. Just keep working with her. Maybe if you referred her to the missionaries and told them to do a normal tracking a porch, maybe they could get in. We have done that with a referral and they let us in. They still were not interested, but at least we still got in. I don't know, just a suggestion I guess. But that's super cool. 

    So last week the temperature was in the 80s. It should get a lot hotter and I hate the humidity with a burning passion!  It is not my friend, especially when its 80s and humid and you go outside for like 10 minutes and you are super sweaty. I like it being warm, but the humidity is not my friend.  So this is my last p day with Elder Tolman because on the Monday before you leave you are supposed to proselite, but I should still be able to at least send a quick email to yall in the morning. Well, I'm starting to get to know the members a lot better. Last Monday we went to the Fullkersons and had dinner and had family night with them. We played corn hole, it was so much fun! Well, I hope yall have a great week. I love you so much!

T.J. and Elder Tolmen in there new Louisville NCAA Camp shirts

They went to a Civil War Museum

Week 12

Hey guys how are you?  Yeah I can email friends, so if anyone wants they can email me. But that's only if we have time so I might have to hand write them. But I have only received mail from Jeff and a girl I met at the MTC and you. No one else has really written me but that's ok. If they want to Email that's ok. We get the Ensign so you don't have to send that to me. I am so excited for p day today! We went to a members home between conference sessions on Sunday and they gave us free tickets to the Civil War Museum so that's what we are doing today and I'm super excited for that. I bought a confederate blanket and flag last p day. I will send you pics of them they are really cool. So Elder Tolman goes home at the first of May so I will be getting a new comp next transfer - so in like 2 weeks. I'm getting nervous.  I really like Elder Tolman and am not looking forward to him leaving. But that's ok, I will deal with it. So mom, I heard you are making Forrest trunky!  That's kind of funny. It's really hard not to. I try super hard not to make Elder Tolman trunky because he only has 2 weeks left in his mission - its so crazy. Well, the work is going good. We have 3 more people with a baptism date. Amanda and Chris Metcalf - their date is May 25th. Tyler Shelby is 10 years old and his mom is less active - his is for June 1st. Well, same story as last week, we had 5 people commit and no one came to church. They want the blessings, but don't want to do anything about it. We have a new investigator who is very emotionally unstable. Her life is kind of a mess and we are trying to help her, but she doesn't want to help herself. We are working with a couple of those. We got fed 3 times this week. I haven't had to eat anything crazy. We did have instant potatoes that I didn't like, but that's the worst thing I have had and they weren't even that bad. I still eat cereal, toast, poptarts, and I can make mac and cheese. Its pretty impressive - I think so anyway. The weather was sooooooo nice! It got up to like 80 and humid. The humidity slapped me in the face! It was kind of rough, but super nice. My allergies are getting worse. I need to get something for my eyes as well. Well that's my week. Hope y'all had a good one! 

 

Week 11

Hey, how is everyone? I'm glad you all enjoyed spring break. We are certainly enjoying spring weather. It has been in the 70s all week - it's really great.   Conference was amazing, we didn't get anyone there.  We had like 5 people commit, but no one came. We are trying to get people to keep commitments. The people are great, but they just don't understand that they actually have to do something - not just go to confession and be saved. There are a lot of non denominational people who are like . . . nope, I'm saved, and I'm ok - good luck. Anyway its kind of frustrating but I will be all right. My favorite talk was Elder Holland. His talk was a throw down! It was great, I loved it!  I like the talks about every member a missionary because we struggle with getting the members excited. It is getting better though, so little by little I guess. Patience is not a strength for me so the Lord is helping me make it a strength, because patience is a virtue and I need His help for everything and am being blessed so much! The work is moving forward. We are doing a lot we have some people who we are working with: Helana has a bap date for June 7th.  Lanisha and her daughter have a bap date for May 25th, and we met Josh yesterday. He is 17 years old and is in the army and is nervous about basic training. He wants to be baptized before he goes, so we have a date for May 18th.  I got bit by Helana's dog on Saturday. That thing is so dumb! It's a tiny yappy dog and  thankfully it only got my pants, not my skin but it was close. It was really random, it just snapped and bit me. It was fine for like ten minutes when we were there, but as we were leaving it snapped. 

Well, it sounds like everyone had a good break. That's good.  I'm loving my mission and am so blessed to be here to serve. There is nothing I would rather be doing. It's hard at times, but I know as long as I trust in the Lord all will be ok and my weaknesses will become strengths. Thanks for helping me have this chance to serve. I am being blessed every day. The people are so amazing and I love being able to help them come closer to their Savior.  I hope your week was as great as mine and I hope you enjoyed conference as well. It was so great to hear the words of the prophet and his apostles.  I know this church is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet.  I love what I'm doing and am so thankful for the chance I have to serve. I love you so much and am thankful for all you do for me.  Love you tons!

Elder Tolman drew this for T.J.

Elder Tolman's mom made these for the Elders

Week 10

Hey ya'll how are you doing? Hope you're enjoying spring break. The baseball game sounds like a lot of fun, tell the Lewis' hi for me. So this week was great! Sooooooo much better than last week. We picked up like 10 new investigators and we actually got someone to church for the first time in like a month and a half so that was exciting! She is a less active mother in her mid 20s and has two kids who are accountable and two younger kids. We taught this girl who is also mid 20s.  She's single and has a 4 year old boy named Hunter. She couldn't come to church this week but promised us that she will be there next week.  For Easter we had lunch with Brother Hubberd and that was really good. Then we had dinner at the Campbells and they had all their kids and grandkids there. It was fun! The food was really good and it felt like being at grandma's for Easter because there were a lot of  kids, but they were all super awesome!  I love the Campbells, they are super awesome! That was the Randy Campbells.  Jim is his brother and we had dinner with them on like Tuesday and his birthday was the next day, so they invited us back for cake and ice cream. They are super great people. So I kind of expected to hear more about the tourney but I really haven't.  People aren't going crazy for Louisville yet but probably will later this week. Go Cardinals!  That would be so cool if they won it - I hope they do. The weather here is spotty.  One day it will be in the 70s, the next its raining or snowing, but the weekend was gorgeous weather. It was mid 70s Saterday and Sunday, so really good. On Saterday we tried to track Main Street and had no success there. People were in a  hurry or something. Then they wished us a happy Easter and we thought it to be ironic because its a holiday about Christ but no one wanted to hear a message about Christ. We thought it was kinda funny, but it was a much better week all in all. I hope you enjoy the break. Have a good week! 

Week 9

So this week was  kinda hard, I’m not going to lie. So Monday was good. Lebonan is like 40 minutes away, we played basketball and had a nerf war. It was really fun. Then we had dinner with a less active member and then had a lesson with the Graves. So that was really good. On Tuesday morning Elder Tolman woke up sick, he was throwing up all night. This was a huge problem because our day was packed. We had 8 appointments and we needed to find someone to come with me and someone to stay with him. Well, everyone was at work so we couldn’t really find anyone, so we ended up canceling all our appointments until 4:00 - that's when Lebenon could come help us. They were at transfers and Elder Haws is training, so he has a new missionary and they have to come help us. So me and Elder Haws went to Kathy’s and she wasn’t doing very well because she’s still way afraid of her husband’s reaction to the church.  So then we went back and switched and I went with the new missionnary. That was scary because I have been out for 6 weeks and he got here on Monday. This was the first day in the field for him, but we went to an appointment with a lady named Beth. She is cool and the lesson went so well she said she would read the Book of Mormon and pray and come to church. We also set a baptismal date with her for the 13th of April.  So she needs to come to church every Sunday to make it because you have to go to church 3 times before you can get baptized. So she said she would. Then on Saturday we stopped by and she said she would be there and that nothing would stop her, so when she didn’t come we were worried about her. So we went to check on her and she wasn’t there. We have an appointment with her tomarow so we will see.  Then Kathy Kaminsky ended up dropping us because she doesn’t dare talk to her husband about being baptized.  Austin dropped us as well - he left the Book of Mormon and a note in a zip lock bag taped to the door that told us he wasn’t interested anymore. So that was disappointing and it has been hard because we haven't been able to work a lot other than Saturday, because that is when Elder Tolman  started to get feeling better.  We were inside a lot and it was just a rough week, but he is feeling better now and this is going to be a good week. We have an appointment with the Graves later today so that's exciting. We are going to play basketball with Lebenon district again today. They came here because their library’s computers are getting worked on, so they came to email and then we are going to play basketball with them. I’m super excited! Well, it was a rough week but it was only a test of faith and I know that no matter what happens we have the Lord on our side, so we will always win and everything will work out. 

Week 8

So IQ means Inspired questions, or in other words street contacting - just a fancy name for it. So we got a ton of new investigators, I think we got 21 this week. So we are finding like banchees but they are not following through very well. We found this less active who isn't on the branch records and she has a 9 year old son who isn't baptized.  We are having dinner with her and the Campbells. The Campbells are an older member family, they are way nice. We got fed twice on Wednesday - we had dinner at a recent convert's house and we had pizza. It was so good and she gave us cupcakes too!  Then our branch mission leader took us to a buffet and we had a correlation meeting.  Today we are going to Leben with the other elders in our district because one of them is getting transferred. So we are going to play basketball and stuff there. Usually all we do is write letters, clean, and relax on p-day. We also buy food and do laundry and stuff, so its always a good time. My headaches are getting a lot better. I only had like 2 this week. So the Graves, the famliy with a lot of kids, we weren't able to see them this week, but we have an appointment today after dinner so I'm way excited. The members here are really nice but we need to get them to be more excited about missionary work. They like us but don't really want to do anything, which is kinda lame, but we are working with them. We think that if we have the members help, more appointments will stick, because we find a lot of people but they stand us up or really aren't interested. It's kinda frustrating. 

  We went to a baptism in Etown and we had an investigator who was going to come, but she never came and we were super bummed out because we talked to her the night before and she said she was going to be there. But the baptism was good. I didn't know her but Elder Tolman taught her before she moved to Etown, which is like a half hour away. One of the speakers didn't show up, so they asked me to give a talk on baptism. I only had 15 minutes to prepare for it and I thought it went well, then this guy stands up and was like, can I say something?  So he goes up there and talks and I felt a little dissed because I felt like he didn't need to go up there.  It destroyed my self confidence, but I guess that's just me being prideful, but it really bugged me.  Well, that's my rant. The baptism was really good, she was awesome and I am happy for her.  So yeah, that's basically my week. Thanks for making the music, I really appreciate it.  Hope you have a super duper week. Later.

  Love TJ

Week 7

How are you doing?  Hey dad, thank you for the sports updates. I really like those. It sounds like the baseball team is doing a lot better so that's good.  So my headaches are not getting much better, but I'm not too worried about them. I will be fine. My allergies are starting to kick in. The last two days have been sunny, which has been a change because it was snowy and rainy most of last week.  That's cool that you got to talk to Forrest yesterday. We do a lot of tracting and some teaching. We like to IQ, we are doing a lot of finding, which is good. I had a fun experience with tracting an indoor apartment complex.  We decided to do that because it was snowing like crazy, and the first door we knocked, this guy yelled at us for soliciting and told us to leave. He was not nice. We could have argued with him because we aren't solicitors. They couldn't do anything to us, plus there was no sign. But we decided to choose the right and not argue. We told him to have a nice day and left. So that was fun. -- I haven't heard about Noah yet, but yes, it is leukemia that he has.  Kathy may be moving to Louisville because that's where her husband works, but we are still working with her and proceeding normally. We haven't been able to meet her husband yet, but he seams to be ok with her getting baptized now, so that's good. We are trying to get back in contact with Greg. We didn't get to teach him this week, but we did find a less active who is really excited about church. She just doesn't have a ride and she has like 6 grandkids and 3 of them are accountable and want to be baptized, so I'm way excited for that. We are going back tomorrow to talk with them a little more.  I haven't had to give a talk or a lesson yet, but we did teach the primary kids about the priesthood for like 5 minutes.  We had our first dinner appointment with President McGwire (the branch president). We had kiesh and potatoes and salad. It was way good and we have another dinner appointment on Wednesday. 

     So our phone didn't recognize daylight savings, so we woke up an hour late. We didn't miss anything except that we should have been awake.  Oh well.  I love the area, the branch is good but we are trying to get the members more excited about missionary work. Me and Elder Tolman get along great! We have a lot of fun and we work well together.  It was cool to see Chaz.  Will you send my allergy medication?  because I can feel it coming. Well, that's all I have for this week.  Love you so much!  Have a great week!

T.J. at the MTC Map

Week 6

Hey Mom and Dad, how are you doing? So my headaches are about the same, maybe a litle worse. Me and ElderTolmen don't cook together at all really but thats ok. We still haven't been fed by a member yet. I eat lots of cereal, toasted peanut butter and honey sandwiches. And casadillas and hotdogs. Its not too bad. That's too bad to hear about Grammy.  I hope she gets feeling better soon. I got to see Chaz on Saturday and will send you a picture of us. The mission conference was amazing! Elder Clatin, Elder Cook and Elder Perry were there and spoke to us.  That was way cool, the spirit was so strong there. All of us got to shake their hands, so that was way cool. We car pooled with the other elders in our district and one of them - his name is Elder Haws, his grandpa is Elder Perry and so they went to eat with all the people that spoke.  Since we were their ride, President Woodbury took us to dinner. It was us and the Boligures and the assistants. We went to Applebees and it was way good - the best thing I have eaten for a while.  On Sunday we had a special stake conference and Elder Perry and Elder Munes spoke, it was soo good! It was way cool to hear from an apostle two days in a row. So I have a sad story for you. There is a family in the branch - the dad is a recent convert and the wife was less active for a long time. They have a one year old little boy. His name is Noah and he has cancer in his blood or something. I'm not really sure, but he is sick and so we went to their house and gave him a blessing. It was a good experience, but it was really sad to see. They are going to the doctor tomorrow to see what they are going to do.

        So the teaching is going good. We met this guy who was a member referral and he is really cool. He believes a lot of the same things that we do, but he doesn't like the idea of religion. He believes in Christ and everything, but doesn't believe that any church is correct. But we gave him a Book of Mormon and told him to read and pray about it and he said he would, so we will see. We are going to visit him tomorrow. So he is a solid investigator and we have Kathy. She has a baptismal date on April 20th, so that's exciting.  Her husband isn't really on board, but hopefully we can meet him and answer some questions he has. Well, I think that's about it. I hope you have a wonderful week. I love you very much. Love, TJ  

Mini Family Reunion.  T.J. and his cousin Elder Denton