Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Hello Everyone September 21, 2015

Hey everyone!
It has been a CRAAAZZYYY week!! There have been lots of missionary
firsts! On Monday I broke into a house. It was my house but all the
same. And probably the strangest, we had a tooth fall down the drain.
We also had a guy brake into our house for us before that. Also a
first. We committed somebody to baptism!! Woot woot! I had my first
zone meeting... And gave my first zone training. I saw fireworks this
week. Not just baby ones either. Like BOOM *oh my lanta I felt that!!*
kind of boom. So this week has been real crazy! Also the new season of
Doctor Who came out this week and I can't watch for 18 months so that
happened. Anyways...

Ok to expand on the braking into our house thing... So this was on
Monday. We had gone on splits because sister soelberg and sister
rice's car was being lame. So sister rice and I had just realized
neither of us had a key to the house. Soooo we tried braking in with
an old credit card that I had. This was sister garcia's idea. She my
senior couple mama. Anyway so we're working on this and we cannot for
the life of us get in. Then this guy yells across the street, "you
guys alright?" We wave him on, because ya know, nothing to see here.
Just 2 missionaries braking into a house. Then sister Garcia gets the
idea that he might know the credit card trick. So I yell across the
street plus some because he's a ways a way at this point, "HEY! Do you
know how to brake into a house using a credit card!?" So he comes over
to help us. Yeah he didn't actually know how to do it. Bbuuuuuttt
luckily earlier that day I had opened my window!! Except my window is
a ways up. But it just so happens that the guy who lives next to us
has a razor (jeep type thing but cooler). So the guy climbers on top
of that and jumps through my window and let's us in. THANK YOU MATT!
Turns out he was already a member. Good thing to because little did he
know we woulda baptized him! Anyway later that day when I was back
with sister Wilcox, we realized neither of us had a key either....
Soooo I went through the window. Yes there's a video. Shoot me an
email with a request and I'll send it to ya!

Next on the missionary firsts is a tooth down the drain. This was
Tuesday. For all of you that don't know, i have a fake tooth on a
retainer thing. Anyway to clean it I just use my tooth brush. Soooo
the tooth broke and fell down the drain! *dramatic gasp* I'm laughing
way hard and my companion is having a semi panic attack. At this time
I'm or allying the time the tooth went through the tuba. So I call
elder Garcia to see if he has plumbing skills. Turns out he does and
he safely retrieves the tooth! He didn't know he was gonna get paid
but turns out there was a quarter, three dimes, four nickels and a
pair of nail clippers that were all completely black and smelled like
death. The tooth was not black and yes I cleaned it and super glued it
on my retainer. Boom crazy day. Also the day we got somebody to commit
to be baptized!

Now the fireworks I feel aren't a huge deal but still kinda neat. That
being said we gonna skip that one and move onto bigger events. I don't
know what was running through the zone leaders head when they asked
sister Wilcox and I to give a zone training. At this point I was a
week old, didn't know anybody, and slightly panicked. I mean I tell
you what I don't know why they wanted a week old greenie to train
missionaries that have been out for many much more months than me. But
turns out they did. It was on discouragement vs. hope. Not the topic
isn't really that big of a deal, it's what happened before that. Oh my
lanta all the embarrassingness! We were the last ones to do the
training and so were walkin up there and sister Garcia decides to grab
my hand to tell me good luck. Yeah that was all fine and good until I
tripped over a garbage can. I kid you not. This was in front of the
whole zone. Luckily there wasn't that much garbage but I'm still
embarrassed and everybody's laughing. Then we did the training. All I
can say is that afterwards I felt like Fat Amy after the acapella
additions in pitch perfect. *crushed it* anyway afterwards I was
looking for a garbage to throw away a muffin tin thing and this sassy
lady from a senior couple I didn't even know starts laughing and says
"I know where a garbage is!!!" Well played senior lady, well played.

Needless to say, it has been a crazy, fantastic, obnoxious, uplifting,
save me I'm surrounded my crazy, I love everybody, let's baptize the
world! week. I've seen the hand of Heavenly Father in ways I've never
seen before. Sometimes the timing is so right that there is no way to
deny that it wasn't from above. The Lord knows who needs That guidance
and he'll find a way for them to have it. There have been moments that
I have struggled, of course, but the thing is, I know why I'm out
here, I know that the gospel is true, I know that Heavenly Father has
a plan for each of us. I know my plans don't even compare to the plans
of my Heavenly Father. I've tried making my own plans and I think it's
safe to say that I'm not in Italy right now teaching English. I am
exactly where I am supposed to be, right here in Tooele, Utah serving
the Lord. Not my will, but thine, be done.
I love you all!
Sister Tomkinson
Sent from my iPad


Sunday, September 20, 2015

Hello Everyone from Tooele UT!

Ok everybody it's been awhile and lots have happened!! I went to the MTC and i absolutely loved it!! It wasn't what I expected but I also didn't know what to expect! My companions name was sister Kemble And I just loved her! She is in the same mission as me so I'll see her and transfer meetings and such. I roomed with two other wonderful sisters named sister Farley and sister Arrington. They are both currently in the Bentonville mission right now and probably baptizing everybody!! The elders in my district were seriously all fantastic also! Most went to the Bentonville mission too. They are elders green, McDonnell, Kealer, and bedolla! I miss them like crazy! Two elders came to my mission and they are both fantastic! They are elders Stephen and Tyler! It's pretty great because elder Stephen is in my district again!  Moving on to more important matters....

Soooo I am currently in Tooele. My companions name is sister Wilcox and she's fantastic! This is her last transfer and is going home soon! I live with two other sisters and I flippin love them all!! There is sister rice and she does sign lango so that's pretty neat. I mean how neat is that!? Then there is sister soelberg! She is also fantastic and pretty much the queen of street contacting!  Anyway they are great!.... On to other matters...



So my companion and I are opening up a new area. Before we came sister rice and sister soelberg were covering one stake that consisted of TWELVE WARDS!! Yes twelve.... That's insane. Buuuut there was a stake split (hallelujah) and so now they cover six wards and we cover six wards. We got here on Tuesday and have just been trying to get to know the area and people and such. Yeah I can't keep names and stories straight it's out of control. We do everything on iPads and that's all good and dandy but we don't have wifi in our apartment. Soooo when we are planning it gets tricky. Most of the time we go mooch off of the wifi at the church.



Also I got to go to temple squAre twice this week! One was for an appointment for my companion and the other we got to take a family of investigators and it was seriously amazing! We watched a video about families and I swear in that moment I saw them being baptized! My companion says I say that about everybody sooooo.... 

Ok imma end on a funny and maybe a spiritual at the end... We'll see. So last night I kept waking myself up because I was talking in my sleep. But the thing was I wasn't just talking in my sleep... I WAS TEACHING IN MY SLEEP!! I kept waking up and thinking "why am I teaching laying down? That's not appropriate missionary behavior!" So yeah apparently my life revolves around missionary work and that's good and exciting! 

Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.
The further the sky, the greater the length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow
                           Douglas Malloch


Until next week! 
Sister Tom
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