Week 69: The Best week of my life!

Welcome to the best week of my life!

Scripture of the week: alma 26:16

This scripture will really tell how i feel right now, but i will try to do it justice in my email as well. Alma 26 is the chapter in the Book of mormon that really just sums up a mission perfectly, and how i feel this week.

Saturday was such an amazing day, even though i was not wth yall at the temple it was still the best day of my life. Just knowing that you were all there just made me so happy. Not a worldly happy, but the kind of happiness that only come from the truthfulness of the gospel of jesus christ.

Spring has sprung here in the hamp,and with that has come alot more people to talk with on the streets, which is actually yeilding a teaching pool. And not only a teaching pool, but a baptismal DATE! In Bedford you may ask... Heck yes in Bedford. When he told president he was so surprised. Man it was jsut awesome. His name is Adam and he is 20 years old. the lesson with him was just amazing and it was the first time in a long time that i cried while teaching a lesson. He came to church yesterday and it was just so stinkin amazing.

Other awesome things that happened this week... the word from essex.. Loren got baptized so cool. Alix is now in the young womens presidency, and Brian is now the gospel doctrine teacher. this work is so amazing. Tough as all get out, but it is the most rewarding that could ever be done, i love my mission with all my heart i hope you all know that!

Elder Z and Elder Neilsen

If i am not mistaken this week is the all utah show. Pretty jelly that i dont get to be at that too, but its all good i will be at it next year. Wow that is a weird thought.

Speaking of the cows, its time for updated pictures of every body.

Sounds like every one else is doing super good on the home front. missions are so stinkin COOL!

 

My new comp is Elder Holley. He too came out with me. I miss elder N like crazy but i think elder holley and i will be able to do some good work together.

I cant believe Karson is home already. I miss that kid. If you see him give him a big old hug for me.

 thanks for the debt card and insurance info. Could you send me the info on our insurance, ive been putting off the root canal, but one of these days i really just need to go in and get it done, even though its not going to be fun at all.

Sister Reid, Elder Z, and Elder Neilsen

 

Im sorry this email is so short, my mind is just super scattered today cause i am in such a good mood. Hope yall know how much i love ya though.

This week is easter that means we are celebrating the ressuraction of our savior. I hope you will all reflect on what that means to you this week. it gives so much light and hope to our lives here on earth. We will live again after this life. With the restored gospel we will be able to live with our loved one for eternity. Please take time this week to think of how you can more personally apply the atonement in your every day life.

 

I love you all so much!

Hold to the rod

Elder Toner

Week 68: General Conference

Hola family,

Scripture of the week: 1 nephi 3:7,15

Well yup it is monday, so that means i am not going to the temple tomorrow. We found out friday night that Elder Nielsen is being transferred tomorrow, so i will be gettting a new companion. Pretty sad our companionship only lasted 6 weeks, but the lord has things in store for us this transfer. I will be getting a companion that is a new zone leader so i will be training another one. Two zone leader babies dang!

 

Sounds like you all had a great week with moscow, ashton, and genconf! Life is good!

Conference was pretty fantastic. I forgot my conference notes so i cant give you all of my normal insights so you will all just have to rely on your own insights for a little while. But i will give you the list of talks to re listen to asap...

• Linda S. Reeves
• Dallin H oaks priesthood session
• David A. Bednar
• Bayd k. packer
• Lawrence Corbridge
• D todd christopherson
• Elder Ballard

Thats the list of some of my favorites and of course elder holland as well.

 

Not a whole lot other stuff happened this week. Tuesday we had our leadership meeting and then that night we got to drive the mission van to vermont to return missionaries. I got to spend the night back in Essex and it was just amazing, sister poll made me cinnomon rolls. Pics will follow.

 

Elder and Sister Poll

So this week our car was in the shop cause elder Nielsen hit a snow bank back before i got here. So instead of walking all week president let us drive the 15 passanger van we call it moose. Well moose looks alot like one of those creeper kidnapping vans, and we pulled into a subdivision to contact some less active peeps and saw a sign that said neighborhood watch, we then both looked at each other and said yup we will come back another day when we are not in our creeper van. Gotta love it.

 

Im excited to see who my new companion will be. I had a dream this week that it was Elder Vanderholm. Fat chance of that happening, but it would make my life if it did happen!

I will attach some pictures from this week here in a second. Feel like i dont have much to report, but i sure do love all of you guys.

 

I was doing a study this week and came up with the following...

In D&C 90:11 the lords says that everyone will hear the gospel in his own tongue we always think of that as his own language but i have decided that could very easily be taken to mean in his own way or style or fashion, in what ever way will best touch his heart. Well along with that, every one does missionary work in their own way as well... the lord will put people in your path that will be touched by the way you do missionary work. Never forget that!

Hope that made sense. Sure do love ya

Elder Zilles

Hold to the rod

Week 67: become Christ like-Show more love

Hey Erry Body,

Yes i meant to spell it that way, not a type, when you live in the manchester ghetto you get to talk sweet!

Scripture of the week: Hymn 169

So yesterday was ward conference here in the Bedford ward, and i think it was probably the best normal sacrament meeting i have ever been to in my entire life! All the talks were just really fantastic, and the spirit was just blowing up in the chapel, it was just great! We sang hymn 169 as the sacrament hymn, and i dont know what it was this week, but i must have just really needed to hear the words in that song, because they touched me so much. So i thought i would share it with the lot of you.

The lesson in sunday school was of course a combined priesthood and relief society lesson the topic was "how to become more christ like" I think the conclusion we came to is that the best way to become more christ like is to show more love. Everything he did for us he did out of pure perfect love, so as we strive and pray to be able to have the pure love for everyone, we will become more and more christ like each day! 

So we were not able to go to the temple this week, so we are planning to go next tuesday the 8th. That is as long as neither of us are getting transferred, cause yup this week is already week 6. where did the time go? We will be going to the temple with Ian Hagen, a member of the ward who just got home from his mission, hes a super cool cat. I cant wait to go to the temple. 

I was on exchange with a new missionary named Elder Harper this week, and well lets just say it was an adventure. I go on an exchange with someone in the zone almost every week, but this one was interesting. Elder Harper reminds me way too much of Elder Guinn when he first got into the mission. It was crazy how similar they are. It was really good for me to be able to reflect back to that part of my mission and see what i could use from then to best help this backwards new missionary. im sure he will be just fine when its all said and done. After all Elder Guinn has turned out just fine. Elder Harper asked me what my key to success on my mission was and as i thought about it i realized it is not my key to success at all. I have essentially accomplished nothing out here. I have simply just been the tool heavenly father has used to bring souls to Christ. But without his help i would have been able to do none of the things that have been so amazing in the last 15 months. But i did come up with what i call the "Elder Zilles 3 Steps to a successful Mission"

1. Love the savior with all your heart.

2. Strengthen your testimony each day

3. Work diligently and be obedient. 

Those three things are the reason i am able to look at my mission with zero regrets. I was thinking about it, and those 3 steps can be applied to any one in the gospel regardless of our calling in the church. 

My contacts made it to me this week, thank you so much. The dentist however sucked. I have to get a stinkin root canal some time here real soon. So someone here from the office will probably be calling home to get details on a place somewhere close that will take our insurance. I dont even know if our insurance covers stuff like that. Im sorry to burden you all with this crap, but i really am so grateful for all that you do for me. Sure would be nice if while on a mission we didnt have to deal with any normal health issues, but obviously that is not the case what so ever. 

Sounds like nacho had a great birthday. Sorry once again i didnt get anything put together to send to her. Life has just been too crazy. But im glad it went good. 

Sounds like all else is pretty good on the homefront. You are all constantly in my prayers. Im so grateful you get to go to the temple with the gregory family, i wish i could be there but it will be so great to have you there for me. 

So our teaching pool doubled this week. Yup we actually found someone to teach. So we now have two investigators. The new ones name is Matt. We tracted in to him. young guy, lives a very humble life style. Had to take dads advice and not knock doors in the well off parts, so matt lives in about the most humble place in manchester, the projects, so far he seems like a great guy though. 

Welp i hope you all have a fantastic time in moscow with my little girl. im pretty jealous. Its raining here right now with a mix of sleet, so at least its not lots of white crap. Have Mission leadership tomorrow, then conference this weekend which i cant wait for, and then the transfer is over. Slow down time!!!

Love ya muchly. 

Hold to the rod

Elder Toner  

Week 66: Members and Missionaries are called to do the exact same work

Hola mi familia,

scripture of the week: 2 Nephi 4:20


 Well, it sounds like things in IDAHO are going well. Lou is gonna be 15 i think right? That makes me feel like an old man. And maybe I just have a bad memory, but I don’t have a clue what play she is doing, so please fill me in on that, and make sure you take pics and send them my way.


 things here are good. Spring may or may not ever come. They are calling for more snow this week, but last week they said that and it never came, so i guess we will see if we get it or not. sure is a dragging winter though. I must say that probably the best part about new hamp over Vermont is the amount the sun shines. The sun shines way more here than in my Vermont, but still not enough to make me love it more. Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to put on a short sleeve shirt and then go out and go to work, but until that time sweaters and coat it is.


 Our teaching pool sadly didn’t grow at all this week. Saturday we stopped by every house that had records for the town of Bedford and not a single person or their neighbors were interested. It was a tough day, but we made it through it. We decided that in ward council we were just going to pretty much beg for help in the most humble manner we could muster. Well we got into WC and said we have been here for 4 weeks and have had nothing happen, then after that, everything that we had planned to say, the bishop took over and said it for us. So at least from this we learned that we have the bishop on our side. It is really a great ward, they just need some help in the right direction. We have put together a "work of salvation" lesson to share with the members, and shared it with bishops family last night and it was a hit. The spirit was super strong, so I think in time we will be able to start getting the members fired up about the work of salvation.


When you sit back and think about it, members and missionaries are called to do the exact same work. We are here for the same purpose. Just cause you don’t have a badge on and you get to watch TV does not mean you are not called to do the work of the lord. Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. That is not only the purpose of the full time missionaries, that is the purpose of every member who has ever set foot in a baptismal font of this church. We read in the scriptures that it is our duty, once we have been warned to warn those we meet each day. That warning can come in many forms, but the thing that matters is that we raise that warning voice and give them the clear choice to accept or reject the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been committing the members here to make a list of EVERY one that they know and pray to know who on that list to share the gospel with. So now here is your commitment, will you all make a list and pray to know who to share the gospel with? yes you will? ok good I’m glad we are all on the same page!


 Today I am headed to the dentist to get a filling replaced. It fell out and now my tooth hurts pretty good so that should be fun, NOT!

 We are trying to get it arranged to go to the temple next Wednesday so if that ends up working out then I won’t be emailing till Wednesday so don’t panic.


 Well that’s about all I can think of for today. Hope you all have a splendid week. Stay strong and have a fantastic birthday time.

Hold to the rod
Elder Toner
PS I got the cheese and cookies but forgot to say thank you last week you’re the best

Week 65: every day good examples-effective missionary work

Hey Family,

Scripture of the week: D&C 10:5

Well i am happy to hear things are well on the home front. Jealous that spring has hit you in full force, but i guess it will be here sometime for me. This week was better for us here in Bedford, but still not a whole lot of teaching happened! You are correct about the ward not being to pumped with missionary work because the assistants never had time to get them excited about it! they are an awesome ward and they love the gospel, they just are not quite sure how to take their everyday good examples and turn it into effective missionary work. We are in the process of planning something to get them excited about it. We want to use the work of salvation broadcast as part of it, so we will have to see what out little minds can come up with.

Elder Nielsen is from Riverton Utah. Remember Elder Jessee whos parents you met at the wilkeys home coming? He and Elder Nielsen grew up as neighbors and now are in the same mission, pretty cool. Elder Nielsen was on the other mtc district, but i do rememeber meeting him at the mtc. If you look back at those old mtc pics in front of the map... he is the one with the goofy red scarf. Elder Childers is the one you were talking about from riverdale, i see him once in a while at meetings, but not very often because he is in maine. Ive decided that my goal is to never get to maine. Few more months here in The HAMP and then back to my Vermont.

Im a bit freaked out that my little sis has her permit, not because i dont trust her just because that makes me feel old. I am old enough now that i can actually say "remember when"! thats a weird thought. Also crazy to think dad is going to be 50 this year. Just as long as he doesnt decide to get like a tramp stamp or something for his mid life crisis. A brother in the bedford ward came in the other day and said im going though a mid life crisis... can you see a difference? we were all confused and wondering what he was refering to.. he then said... i used a blow dryer this morning! ha it was pretty stinkin funny!

Im writing this email in the mission office, they are all in staff meeting, so we snuck in here and stole the computers for a while! You asked if we have taken on office duties, and i guess you could say yes. What happens is there is too much for the assistants to do sometimes so we get called on because we are the zone leaders and are so close. President doesnt like to call regular office elders or sisters so things can get pretty crazy around here, but we make it work, and things actually run quite smoothly. This will be the first week we wont have a bunch of elders sleeping at our apartment and eating all of our food. We have a huge apartment, we have 6 bunk beds, so any time there is a meeting here in manchester we have elders staying the night with us. Gotta love it, except for when they eat my food and then make my apartment a mess. Only problem with a big apartment is having so much more area to keep clean.


So the highlight of this week was when we got to dump a bunch of coffee down the toilet...! We taught a LA and commited him to get off coffee again, he wasnt so sure about it so i said " give it to us and we will dispose of it" it was quite enjoyable!

Well family i sure do love you and hope yall have a fantastic week.
Hold to the rod
Elder Toner

Week 64: Shot Gunning

Hello Family,

Scripture of the week: D&C 103: 7-9, 12

Q's Vermont Crew, before the Transfer

Hope all of you are doing well this week, don't worry about me, all will work out here in Beford, but I cant lie to you this has been the hardest week of my mission so far. Shot gunning is just really hard, I learned that in Newport, so I shouldn't have anticipated this would be any different, but boy oh boy this is kicking my butt! The assistants are so busy that they didn't have much of a teaching pool, but even the few they had have fallen off the face of the earth and we haven't been able to meet any of them. For the first time of my mission I didn't get to teach a single lesson this week, never thought I would be able to say that! All in all it was just a rough week, but that is enough about the negative parts of the week.

NHMM Leadership 

Tuesday we had Mission Leadership, and that was fantastic, those meetings are always fun because get to see so many good friends. Never thought I would be so happy to see elder davis, but it was great to see him! Elder Wells and I ate lunch that day with president and we spent the whole time telling him why it would be a really good idea for he and I to be companions, so I think it put a good bug in his ear, just gotta give it some time now. After the meeting we had to drive a load of missionaries back to maine, so yes I have now set foot in maine, spent the night there actually, it was dark though so I don't really know what it looks like!

Thursday we had interviews with president and those were great as always. I just love that man so stinkin much. He trusts me way too much though its pretty scary sometimes!

By the time sunday got here I was so excited for church, I don't think I have ever enjoyed church so much in my entire life. I just needed it so much to be able to feel that spirit and just cool down and talk with heavenly father.

Tonight we are driving to Massachusetts to pick up some missionaries, tomorrow we are talking a visa waiter to the airport, and then tomorrow talking missionaries back to mass. Gonna be another event packed week.

So our zone covers Bedford, the four sets of missionaries in Manchester and then the 3 sets in concord. We live in Manchester cause we cover just a sliver of it, but most of it is Bedford. Bedford is the richest area in the state, ao its a bit different. Very nice area though. Once you get out in Bedford its spread out a lot more just huge houses!

So I met ward Nielsens Sister at church yesterday, she is a sweet heart ill send a picture.

Ward's Sister :) (Can you tell?)

Sorry this is a short email. Just know that I love you all bunches.

Keep us in your prayers, but don't you worry about me!

I read in a talk the other day I cant quote it perfectly but it said along the lines of... heavenly father has designed our earthly existence to prepare us for our lives in eternity. So this is just another one of those time when I get the privilege of growing and learning. We will get the work going here and it will be wicked awesome before I leave this area!

Sure do love you all

Hold to the Rod

Elder Zilles

The Seay's Before the transfer

Week 63: Bedford New Hampshire

Hey family,

Scripture of the week: D&C 123:17

Oh how I love my wonderful crazy fantastic just really crazy sometimes almost over whelming life!!! Tuesday morning when I woke up I had the thought in my head that I would be shot gunning an area this transfer. I thought to myself "please no,… shot gunning Newport was hard enough" and I knew I would still be a ZL so I thought shot gunning as a ZL would just be way too hard. But guess what the lord must think I can handle it, cause here I am sitting in an area that we are shot gunning. Welcome to the Bedford New Hamp days. Yup the big city, I am right in the hub of missionary life here in the Hamp, all the office staff, and president and sister stoker are in our ward, not that they ever can come to this ward cause of their travels, but still pretty cool. The city is so stinkin huge, I am seriously way out of my element here, and have found myself wanting my Vermont back many times this week, as all the sirens and loud city business goes on around me, but i know for a fact that the lord called me to this place at this time. 

I am serving with Elder Nielsen, we came out together, so it’s really cool to be serving together. Our area used to be the assistants area, so there has been absolutely Zero work done here for almost 11 years, cause the assistants are always in the office doing mission stuff. So we have plenty of work cut out for us. Of the two lessons we got to teach this week, one of the people speaks primarily Arabic, and the other speaks Napoli. Neither of which either elder Nielsen or I speak, so this is really going to be quite the adventure. But the ward is awesome, we had a great testimony meeting yesterday, and we are really gonna get things rolling here. Elder Nielsen and I get along wonderfully, as we know each other very well from partying at leadership meetings. We have leadership meeting all day tomorrow, and then we have Wednesday to plan for zone interviews and then we have those on Thursday. So please pray for me to be able to handle all of the craziness here.

I really, really miss my Polls. I have started to rely on them so much over the past 4 months, I just really miss them. Elder poll gave me a fantastic blessing right before I left, and it really comforted me. Sometimes I just wonder why heavenly father sees fit to pile so much on my plate. I asked Elder Poll that right before he headed back to Essex after dropping me off and he said "it’s because he knows you are the one that can handle it". It’s comforting to know the Heavenly Father knows me better than I know myself, cause sometimes life is just tots crazy. But don’t get me wrong I love my life, I love my mission, I am absolutely stoked to be serving here in the Bedford ward, and serving with the concord south zone. It is going to be a great transfer. I have already told president that i want to go back to my Vermont for the last 6 months of my mission. 

I would love to hear where you all guessed i would be headed.... so fill me in on those next week. have to see if any of you were remotely close!

Sounds like all is going well back home which is always so comforting for me to hear.
The lord really does bless us so much for our service. I think I will just stay here forever so you can all keep receiving the blessings of having me in the field. As much as I miss you all I love this work so much. That doesn't mean I am perfect at it every day, as some days I get lazy and could work harder, but I really do love this work so much. I love the gospel with all my heart, and each day I am more and more grateful for the atonement that at times is really the only thing that keeps me going. It is an amazing feeling to lay down at night so exhausted that you don’t think you will be alive in the morning, but at the same time you feel so fantastic because you know you gave all you had to give that day. The gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing we are so blessed to have it in our lives, Never forget that.

Wish I was better with words so I could really fully express how I feel right now. But what you need to know is your son and brother loves the Savior with every fiber of his being, I would give all I have for the gospel. It’s an amazing feeling to feel that way, as that is not how I have always felt. In a few months when I have to return home, I pray you will be able to see the difference that the atonement has worked in my life, and I hope I will return and be able to give you all a huge hug knowing that I have given all that I have to give in the service of our savior. Think of all he did for us, these two years of my life are so small in comparison, and it is a huge blessing that I have this time to give to him.

I don’t know if any of that made any sense at all, but I hope you feel the spirit in this email, as I have felt it so strongly while writing it.

I love you all

HOLD TO THE ROD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Quinton J. Zilles

(Lori’s  notes- In Newport Elder Q and Elder Vanderholm were both brand new to the area. So we think that is what he means by shot gunning his new area. He and Elder Nielsen are both new to the area and starting from scratch- some would call this white washing, however there have been missionaries there before, the assistants to the PresidentJ)