June 13, 2022 Sad to lose President Newman!

Hey everyone!

I hope your week has been good. Ours was great.  We got to go to our tri-zone conference which was awesome! I was able to see some old comps and some awesome Elders and Sisters from past districts.

Sadly though it was the last zone conference with President and Sister Newman! I'm super sad to see them go but I know that wherever they are going they will definitely be blessing everyone they come in contact with.  So I can't complain too much. 

Also, our friend Tyler is progressing really well.  We have a family in our ward helping with fellowshipping and they are just super awesome.  They have been a super big help with him. They have definitely strengthened my testimony on member work and having members join in on lessons. 

Other than that though we are mostly just trying to get in contact with friends which can be fun... and also not so fun. We also were able to meet with some awesome members as well which is always great. I have been making some goals though in terms of missionary and going home goals. 

Goal number 1. I want to be able to grow four Christlike attributes before the end of my mission.

Goal number 2. I want to lose 30 pounds before the end of my mission 

And finally, goal number 3. I want people to see me as a representative of Christ even after my mission and also as a person to trust as well.

June 6, 2022 Good birthday and good week!

Hello everybody!  Hope your week  was awesome.  It has been pretty awesome for me! Not only did I have my birthday this week but I also was able to spend some time with some very kind and wholesome people all week as well, which is always the best! We had dinner at a member’s house and they fed me my favorite and most cherished meal: beef stroganoff! We then had some ice cream and some cake which is always welcomed. It was a good day.

We also got to meet up with some friend of ours, Tyler and Bob.  One is the kid we play basketball with, and the other is an old friend of a member who has been meeting with missionaries for a long time.  They are again really great people, but they can sometimes be a little rough to teach or share a message with.  But they are slowly but surely progressing so I can’t complain too much. 

We also went to a cool potluck with native American food as the theme which was interesting because I have never had native American cooking, so you learn something new every day I guess lol. 

Other than that, though it’s just been a lot of tracking and knocking every were also calling people like crazy. But hey that’s the work so again can’t complain and hey it’s all about that one soul. Anyway, that’s been my week I hope this week goes just as smoothly but with more success. Oh, we also have tri zone conference this week which will be crazy but also a lot of fun so it will be great it will also be the second to last zone conference for our mission president so that is terrifying and very sad at the same time. but I’ll let ya’ll know how it goes. 

Love you guys and thanks for all the awesome support!

-Elder Toma

May 29, 2022 Turing the big 20 in a couple days!

 Hello everybody!  Hope ya’ll are doing alright.  I heard about grandpa Toma and I hope he's doing ok.  I'm praying for him and grandma every night.  

This week was good.  I gave a talk yesterday and it was scary! It was the first time I didn't just write everything out and actually just saying what's on mind.  It went well though and I liked doing it because it’s definitely more Spirit led.  We had a member that we haven't seen in a while show up as well which was awesome and we were super happy to see him. 

Also, to answer your questions dad, I definitely want to keep my cleanliness up and my organizational skills as well. I also want to keep my studying the scriptures every day and also waking up earlier as well. 

I’m recently trying to help new missionaries get over their insecurities in terms of not wanting to talk to people and also not feeling bad when things don't go their way. I would also tell them that they need to always have the spirit to be with them always because without it you lost your greatest tool for missionary work and it's like building a house without a hammer or nails. 

My mission president has taught me to be open to what is going on in my head and really just telling people what I'm struggling with or need help with. So really just to be less prideful in things and to always be ready for work. 

I'm grateful for all the things he has taught me and helped me with and I'm excited to meet the new mission president and see how he will help me grow as well. It’s going to be interesting.

Love you guys and hope you’re doing well thanks for the birthday wishes and have a good week!

-Elder Toma

May 23, 2022 Staying in Christiansburg!

Well, I'm staying in Christiansburg! But hey I don't mind.  It’s an awesome place, so I don't mind.

I also hit my 19 month mark this week as well which is just crazy!  But other than that fun stuff it's been a pretty chill week.  We had some dinner with some members, and we also had some lessons with some of our friends. 

I will say I did see a cool miracle this week as well.  We were able to find this part member family and really connect with them and have fun with them as well. The dad just loves asking crazy questions like Bigfoot and aliens and Cain and all that sort of stuff which is always definitely interesting. But their daughter Lilia is actually really interested in the gospel which is awesome.  She's actually just about to turn 14 and she's just got an amazing love and interest in the Gospel and everything else we talk about, it's really cool to see. Other than that, though it’s just been tracking and more tracking but I can't complain. We also have been assigned talked for this week so we will have to prepare for those so that will be fun... 

Anyway, that's my week ill make sure to send ya’ll the talk and also any other awesome news as well I love you all and thank you again for all the love and support.

-Elder Toma