February 18, 2014 BridgeLeave your area better than when you came

Dear Family, 

This week has been a interesting one with many blessings. I baptized a little girl this week outside! It  was really cool and different. Something I noticed while sitting there with her and getting ready to enter into the water is how much you feel the Sprit during that moment and how happy you are.  It's pretty weird.  It's very hard to describe.  I wasn't to the point where you just fall over and you're on the ground like Ammon or Alma.   That's just crazy.  I don't even know how to get to that point. But there have been moments were I have just started whoopping or do a scream that they do in Mexico. Haha and where I just jump straight out of my chair and just have so much energy.  You just want to run around everywhere. But most of the time I just have a huge smile that you just can't get rid of.  Much of the time things are hard and there are always problems and  you're always tired but when you have those special occasions it's always worth it and you don't even remember those challenges.  That's a gift I think God gives us to always push forward in faith and to remember the good rather than the bad.

This week we are hoping to have the blessing to baptize a good amount of people, hopefully 5. One of them that we have only been teaching for 2 weeks just straight up called us and said that he wants to be baptized and that the only catch was he wanted to hangout with us and go teaching every day haha. Sometimes you just get those golden investigators (it's rare though don't expect it) He is real special and I can see him being a great leader someday.

It's still very weird to me that it is so cold there in Virginia.  I forgot what cold feels like.  It's very weird I can feel my mind starting to change into Spanish with just the way I think and being able to understand everything much more clearer.

Hopefully we will be baptizing the older couple.  The `problem is she is afraid of water haha and he is super sick all the time but they both have a lot of faith and we're going to see more miracles this week.

We are teaching about 15 people a day so we are always busy and most of them are progressing. But we are trying to find more and more people and prepare more people so that the missionaries that come after us have it all set up for them.  That's what makes a good missionary when they leave their area better than when they came.  There are so many less actives we can't really do anything about it so we are trying to get the members to go out and contact them.

Bridge in Santa Barbara

But haha I really liked that little poem thing you sent me dad that was pretty cool just because of the truth of it all. But everything is good here and the iguana was actually pretty good,  kinda like beef jerky hah. 

Love 

Elder Toma   

We crossed a bridge in my area into a mysterious area part of our zone I have never been to my area is so big! 

Below is the "poem" Hunter was referencing

A Typical LDS Mission

THE MISSION PRESIDENT:
Leaps tall buildings in a single bound,
Is more powerful than a locomotive,
Is faster than a speeding bullet,
Walks on water,
Associates with God.

THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT:
Leaps short buildings in a single bound,
Is more powerful than a switch engine,
Is just as fast as a speeding bullet,
Walks on water if the sea is calm,
Talks with God.

THE ZONE LEADER:
Leaps short buildings with a running start and favorable winds,
Is almost as powerful as a switch engine,
Is faster than a decelerating bullet,
Walks on water in an indoor swimming pool,
Talks with God if special request is approved.

THE DISTRICT LEADER:
Barely clears a mud hut,
Loses tug-of-war with locomotives,
Can fire a speeding bullet,
Swims well,
Is occasionally addressed by God.

THE SENIOR COMPANION:
Makes high marks on the wall when trying to leap tall buildings,
Is run over by locomotives,
Can sometimes handle a gun without inflicting self-injury,
Dog paddles,
Talks to animals.

THE JUNIOR COMPANION:
Runs into buildings,
Recognizes locomotives 2 out of 3 times,
Is not issued ammunition,
Can stay afloat with a life jacket,
Talks to walls.

THE GREENIE:
Falls over doorsteps when trying to enter buildings.
Says, "Look at the choo-choo!"
Wets himself with a water pistol,
Plays in mud puddles,
Mumbles to himself.

THE SISTER MISSIONARY:
Lifts buildings and walks under them,
Kicks locomotives off the tracks,
Catches speeding bullets with her teeth and eats them,
Freezes water in a single glance,
Knows God.

THE RETURNED MISSIONARY:
Leaps at a chance to enter a certain building with a "special someone",
Is loco,
Speeds while driving,
Walks on water if there are girls around,
Thinks he IS God.