Hey-o

I understand Indiana experienced cold temperatures and rain this past week!  It doesn´t actually rain here, not right now at least. It hasn´t rained since early December. 

So I should probably finish the story from last week. I believe I left you in the precarious situation of a young man with a need to use the bathroom (and nothing more) And a locked door. Emergency is the birth of genius. So we went out to the patio where there´s a tiny window about ten feet up the wall, that opens into the bathroom. Although we had previously tried unscrewing the screen, we had not succeeded, however, urgency lent me strength and I got that sucker open in 30 seconds flat. After I stood on a wobbly old fridge, and (carefully) with the help of my companion, went feet first into the bathroom. The problem is, I inserted myself up to the waist, but to let myself down gently (without dying) I had to turn myself around in the window, ten feet off the cold, hard, ground. This was no small feat seeing as the window was MINISCULE. This is where I almost died. But, somehow, I accomplished it, and did not die. Thankfully all turned out well.

Things are better than ever, my companion and I are really getting along well and having a lot of success. I really appreciate your prayers for me and the people I teach. Right now we are teaching a family of five that is AMAZING. They were investigators of Elder Ferrufino and I that we found my first month, and they have always been special, but the timing was never right, we were never able to focus on them, that changed recently. We started teaching them, inviting them to family home evenings, which they loved. I have found that making fun of the poor gringo who can´t speak English is a wonderful unifying factor :) We also invited them to church. When we passed by their house Sunday morning to walk to church with them we discovered that they had already left, not wanting to wait any longer. That Sunday was from Conference, and it had a wonderful effect on them. This message is making a change in this family, I see them happier, more at peace. And it´s something beautiful. One day I wasn´t feeling too good, emotionally I suppose. Just feeling a bit down. We went to their house for a lesson, and when Maryuri was praying (one of the moms) I felt a sweet spirit fill me. Truly a tender mercy. It´s hard to put it all into words, I ain´t the most wordy person you have ever met, but I learned a little lesson. Lately I have been pretty hard on myself. It´s hard not to expect perfection from myself, and naturally I tend to be pretty tough on myself when I make mistakes. For that reason I was feeling down. But during that prayer I felt a feeling of acceptance, that it´s okay that I´m not perfect, although that doesn´t mean that I shouldn´t continue improving, just that failure isn´t the end. Take the next step, and make it a good one, better than the last. The beauty of religion, of belief in God, is that we know that He has made room for our mistakes, that we can improve and that our mistakes aren´t the end. That there is forgiveness. Anyway, I felt better.

We also had the opportunity of going to the temple in San José. I find that hard to explain as well. There is a peace that exists there. An aura that surrounds the entire property but that is stronger on the inside. One finds himself feeling closer to God than in another place. And you are... filled I suppose. I honestly don´t know how to describe it. Go to the temple, it doesn´t matter who or where you are, figure out a way. It will make the difference, in whatever problem or trial you are passing through. I promise you that. Okay, my brain has been picked. 

Ingeniously,

Elder Noah M. Toney

(Sorry, he sent lots of pics this week. I cannot access them through my iPad. I will make a separate blog post of just pictures.)

Discipline

Howdy ho;

Someone asked me in their email this week how hard it will be keeping the three boys we just baptized active.  Keeping people active is just about the hardest thing I know of. Really it all comes down to getting them to come consistently to church, if they do that, they stay active. It´s like the coal taken from the fire: it cools rapidly. But when the coal is kept in the fire it stays nice an warm an happy. But sleep and the beach calls and people send the coals far from the fire. Such is life, such are my prayers. We have over 500 inactives, and so very few actives, it can be tough finding a suitable friend for people. But that´s where I try to trust that this Work is in the hands of Someone a whole lot smarter and cooler than me.
And that makes me feel better.

This is M, the troublemaker, with my backpack on.
Hah poor kid could barely stand.

Thinking about church I realize that as a missionary, we focus A LOT on getting people to church. And I got to thinking why. Just why is it so darn important? I mean, heck, who wants to get up early to go sit in a chilly room and be bored? These are hard working people and daggumit if they aren't gonna enjoy their sleep Sunday morning. I understand the sentiment. I empathize. Sometimes I´d rather stay in bed too.

But I can tell you, as someone who has a bit of an eagle eyes view of the lives of these people ( I see and talk with them nearly every day), That there is a marked difference between those who make the sacrifice, and those who don´t. There is a difference in happiness, energy, peace, unity in the family, and success in general. Now please understand me, I am not suggesting that the only factor in these equations is church assistance, nor that going to church is a magical pill that just changes everything. But when I see these people consistently in the chapel, I see a difference. Setting religion aside, I believe that doing something like going to church, where the results or rewards are not always clearly evident, doing something that requires "discipline" is good for us humans, I think it helps us better deal with life. Adding religion to the mix, it´s really a win win situation. If you go and this church is of Jesus Christ as we claim, and as I personally testify, then you are fulfilling a commandment of that all powerful being we call God, and that my friend, is good for your health, speaking figuratively. Because if there is one thing I have learned, it is that if there is a commandment, there is a blessing attached, and that applies to literally every single commandment. I could go on and on, I do believe that I can ramble with the best of ´em. To simplify, it sure doesn't hurt to try, especially when there are so many good things waiting.

´nuff with the preachin' stuff. This week I just about killed myself trying to break into our bathroom. My companion had accidentally locked, and shut, the door to the bathroom, and OF COURSE we don´t have the keys. So I tried opening it with my lock picking skills (people say I´m almost Salvadoran) Alas, unlike the last time, I did not prevail, that durned door stayed firmly shut, even after an hour of mind numbing tries. So we gave up and went to work for the day. We came back in the evening to try again, but to no avail. So I do what I always do in such situations, I ate. That was a bad idea because shortly after, nature called and well... I was up the creek without a paddle.

And I´m out of time, So I´ll have to finish the story next week.

Precariously,

Elder Noah M. Toney

This is all of the arroz con leche que tenemos que entregar... Who has room for food?

Better than that

Hello Everyone,

Todo bien todo bien! ME interesa que habla en tú, es muy raro aquí. casi nadie habla en tú, casi solo en mexico. Eso dicho, realmente me gusta hablar en tú, y vos, vos es tuanis.

I didn't even know it was Easter. We have the Holy week here, which is pretty much a different holiday. Holidays here are an excuse to go to the beach, hence we didn't have very many lessons. Speaking of lessons, I remember that someone asked me how much we usually have, and I totaled them up the other day, we usually have thirty to the high forties, but it depends.

This week has been beautifully hectic, in that we have been cementing plans for six baptisms this past weekend (one from the sisters, five from us). My part in the baptisms was...teaching them, and baptizing them ;) But honestly it´s all a bit of a miracle. Ironically, the week in which I had the most success is the week in which I really realized how hopeless things would be by myself. Instead of feeling like I´m awesome and strong and wise and what not, I feel on the contrary, rather small, insignificant, and ignorant. And even more contrary to that, I´m grateful. Because the truth is, I ain't all that and a bag of chips, but I know someone who is. I don´t care what you say, I know myself, and I know what happened this week, and you would be wrong to attribute any of it to me. Things really hit home Sunday when I was sitting in the chapel, thinking. Listening to the talks in Sacrament meeting. I´m grateful for someone who makes up for what I´m not, and does good things through me, almost despite of me. I often find myself confused amidst the barrage of my changing life, and more specifically changing heart, and although there is oh so much I don´t understand, and although I feel constantly assailed because it feels like I´m built of one mistake after the other, and the second I do something good, I make another mistake that helps me feel sufficiently like dirt again, although all of that is true, I find my core strength, which is that I just want to be good. A good person, a good missionary, a good companion. Scratch that, I´m sick of good. I want to be better than that. And I´m done being satisfied with barely passing the bar. How often in our lives do we fall short of greatness, not for lack of ability or talent or even probability, but because of fear, laziness, disbelief? Because of past events, or a hard life, or because the odds seem to be stacked against us? I think that´s why I like the idea of baptism. That of having past wrongs being erased, and starting anew. What a blessing. Sorry. I kinda threw up some ideas there. I just hate mediocrity, especially when it´s in my own life. Mediocrity is so over rated. But greatness requires discipline, that whole "mind over matter" deal. And that can be tough. But to conclude my earlier thought, of what I was thinking while sitting in the chapel, I realized that although today I wasn't the best, I have tomorrow. I want to encourage you to break out of one of your molds tomorrow. Try greatness out, see how you like it. But if I may throw in a bit of what I personally believe (I am a missionary after all) I think you´ll accomplish said greatness a lot easier with the man upstairs. In fact it´s guaranteed. I´m more of who I want to be because of Him.

Anyways, back to the baptisms. Sorry about the mindless babble. it probably doesn't make any sense. If not, ignore it :) The couple, Keior and Yolanda, are amazing.

We had no doubts that they would show up the day of. (Although transportation was an issue, seeing as they didn't have money to take the bus, Keilor was ready to ride his bike to the chapel, a trip of 2 hours or more, but luckily that wasn't necessary.)




But the children were more of a worry. Their father, who is a bit of an unsavory character, that lives far away and normally has no part in their life, was initially opposed to the baptism, although he didn't know us, and had no desire to know us. So we were pretty sure that the baptisms weren't going to happen. But the day of, we saw one of the kids, and he said, I told my mom that I´m gonna get baptized, what time are you coming to our house to pick us up to get baptized? Alright then. So we talked with their mother, and she said that seeing as all of her children really wanted to get baptized, she would allow it. And that although she couldn't come, she would come the next Sunday, and bring friends. Things work out.

Okeedokee this letter is impressively long, I´m such a wind bag.

Love you all,

Auspiciously,


Elder Noah M. Toney

Kissin the ol plac. proud to be missionaries.

A wedding and a birthday

Firstly, sorry about the delayed email, Sunday night  I started throwing up and well, to spare you the imagery, it was prolific. Needless to say, we didn't leave the house, I seem to have a knack for getting sick only on P-days. Or maybe that's Heavenly Father's way of saying, "Get to Work". Who knows?

I suppose the biggest news is that our investigators actually GOT MARRIED. And boy was it a whirlwind. This past week was also the week of sacrifice, so in between traveling hours by bus in several different cities, we were making arrangements for a wedding.

 You could say I've been busy.

 Also just as a minor side note, a disclaimer, if you will. NEVER LET MISSIONARIES PLAN YOUR WEDDING. We do not know what we are doing, we are bone heads, as my uncle Matthew would say. Beyond that, people seem to think that we DO know what we're doing, and seek our counsel. This whole past week I've been thinking, "what the heck do I know about marriage?" This is when I believe that a loving Heavenly Father steps in and helps the not-so-wise.wise missionaries. The thing is, we weren't planning on having the wedding so quick, but the lawyer said that he'd be in town, and we had to take advantage of that because that means he'll cover the wedding for less. Oh that's another thing, we also had to plan a way to raise money for the wedding, because the couple doesn't have much. So we're going to sell arroz con leche. Turns out people are willing to lend a hand every once in a while in the walk of
Divine Providence.

We have yet to make the rice, that comes this week, along with the baptism, So we're still not off the hook, but I believe that everything will work out alright. That being said, I've learned a couple things this week. 1. How to plan a wedding (I´m pretty sure I´ll do a better job the next time) 2. How to be a witness at the wedding, I got to sign some cool document (and on a slightly more serious note, be a part of a beautiful union) 3. I should never try to help find the dress for the bride, even if they ask me, I REALLY am out of my league in that area, and, Finally, 4. The Lord qualifies whom he calls. I may not be the wedding planner of the year, and I surely will not receive any awards for style or flare, but darn it if that wedding didn't come off alright, despite me.

I also learned that CTR rings make great wedding rings! You can adjust them and everything! I know you told me to give them to the children, mom, but the situation seemed worthy, and ain't nobody got money, so all is well :) Admittedly I like the idea of a wedding being founded on the principle of Choose The Right, with a ring to remind you. I sure do hope it helps..

The work has been going well, I´m excited for this weekend, we have a lot planned so keep me in your prayers. My companion and I get along famously. We surely aren't perfect, and well, it ain't easy (don´t censor the ain't:) But we have a pretty good rhythm going, we´re teaching a lot of great families. At this point I've been in Santa Cruz for about six moths, and I´ll likely be here for another month and a half. That being said, I seem to know a good number of people. My companion and I are generally well liked, and well received. So I have been eating A LOT. What a nice change. As previously mentioned, I did a lot of vomiting yesterday, but on a normal Sunday, things are pretty slow, as a lot of people are at the beach. Every other Sunday we have ward counsel, so I get to play the piano while I wait. I´m teaching myself to play hymns. I´m not very good, but I enjoy it. It really stresses my patience, but I've found that I have a lot more patience to work through it then I ever have before. I´m learning lots :)

This past P-day (a week ago) we celebrated the birthday of an hermana by smashing eggs, throwing flour, and flinging honey. Knowing that you reap what you sow, I threw nary an egg (but I did take the video) What started with a cake in the face of our zone leader three months ago had escalated. And guess who´s birthday is next? I think I´ll just stay in my house on my birthday, for fear of my life. My only hope is that they´ll have mercy on me because I haven´t been the one throwing eggs. I do believe said hope is in vain.

I hope all is well at home, I love you all bunches.

Serendipitously,

Elder Noah M. Toney

Walking and walking

Hello Everyone!

This week has been fairly eventful. Wednesday we went searching for the house of less active member. We really had no idea where it was, just that it was past a lumber mill. So we walked. And walked. And walked. And walked. We ended up walking a good 12 to 15 kilometers. On the way there a car stopped, at first we thought that it might be rich members offering us a ride, because no one else stops to talk to us. Turns out it was a bunch of pot smokers who wanted to give us money to buy water. I told em that they could help us better by going to the church. They didn't like that as much, I´m afraid. He was holding a bong in his hand and driving, I hope that he drives safe! We finally found the house have three hours of walking, and the guy wasn't there

The second rather cool story of this week is about a couple named Keilor Y Yolanda. They're a wonderful couple who are progressing really well. The problem is that they aren't married. And getting people to marry can be very difficult. I suppose I didn't have a lot of hope, or faith. But we continued teaching them. This past Sunday we fasted (where you go without food for 24 hours for a special purposes, asking help of God) for our investigators. This Sunday after church they came up to us and told us that they had news. My heart dropped, surely they were going to tell us that they didn't want anything more to do with this church. Never have I been more glad to be wrong (and I´m wrong a lot) They told us that they had decided to be married. Suffice to say I was excited, I might have let out a little squeal. Maybe.

The wedding is in two weeks, I´d love to have your prayers.

The last experience that I am going to relate is about a five year old named Manuel. This kid is little hurricane of annoyingness. He´ll kick you, punch you, slap you in the face, hrrrg. I have exercised a lot of self control with him. But it got me thinking, why is he  like this? And what is the best manner of responding on my part to help him? I don´t really know, but I´m thinking. The other night I was at his house and he was acting up again. So we talked, he calmed down a little. I asked him to say the closing prayer with me, and the bugger said no. Nonetheless, when we about to say the prayer, he came over to me and said that he´d say it if I helped. So I whispered the words and he, dutifully, repeated them. It made me feel good, like maybe I can help him a little, when in his life he has zero male role models (Of the good sort) I couldn't help but think of the parents that go up with their kids on Sunday to the pulpit to help them bear their testimonies. I want to help. These are good people, and they are making me better. For that I am thankful to a Heavenly Father who loves me, and all of you.

Inexorably,

Elder Noah M. Toney

Durak!

Hello Everyone!

I helped build this corral! We spend a lot of time with these recent converts.

My week was really good. They closed Huacas, one of the areas in our district, so all of their area has been added to ours. I don´t even know how big my area is now. REALLY BIG will have to do. They also closed it a week before transfers, so the two elders from Huacas came to live in our house and work in our area for a week. Needless to say. that was CRAZY. Our apartment really isn't that big, but we made space. With four elders it was a party. Pizza every night, the soda flowed. I was with one of the elders from Huacas (who also happens to be called Elder Lopez) and goodness gracious we worked well together.  It seemed that every lesson we had was powerful and guided by the Spirit. Every day is busy now as we are preparing four families for baptism. We´ll see how that turns out, I have hope. Six of them came to church (which is more than I've ever had at one time.) It really feels like Heavenly Father is doing a lot here, cause it certainly isn't me.

A baptism of the hermanas.

Thursday we had an appointment with a very old man. We arrived at his house and attempted to enter, but darn it if we couldn't figure out how to open it. It seemed to be tied shut. Finally after five futile minutes, we gave up and climbed over the fence (dumb gate) which is when I discovered, to my embarrassment, that yes, it was tied shut, but one only had to slide the rope loop off the post to enter. Oops.

I taught a couple people in my zone the game Durak (learned from Michael Anderson) And now literally all of my zone is playing it. It cracks me up, but I think I've started a trend. Thanks Michael!

I´m also told that I sound like a Russian/Italian when i speak in Spanish. I really have no idea how that works. And it hurts my head to try, so I´ll just stop thinking :)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnd I have no time, I will answer the questions the siguiente semana.


Love you all!

Increasingly,

Elder Noah M. Toney

I'm not much for selfies (in fact I despise them) but these were just too funny not to send. 

Trials are small

Howdy howdy!

In our zone, there are four major cities, Liberia is the largest and has an airport, that´s where the zone leaders work. Then there´s Santa Cruz, Nicoya, and Huacas. We worked in one city each day. In Santa Cruz, we've contacted just about all of the investigators, and three of them came to church last Sunday. Next week we hope to have eight. We are teaching some amazing families.

By the way, sorry for not writing yesterday, I got a little sick, so we stayed in house all day.

Also, I had no time to write in my journal this week, and I´m having a hard time remembering what happened, so if this email is short...sorry :) Also the man at the computer next to mine just exclaimed ¨I believe in Satan, Not God!¨ So I offered him a card with a picture of Jesus, it seemed to help.

They closed an area in our zone yesterday, so my area just got bigger, again. AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way to the beaches. I´m going to figure out how many miles it is, all's I know is it´s a lot. Days of walking, hours by bus.

If you remember the name Cesar, it´s because he´s the first person I baptized. After his baptism, he kinda dropped off the edge of the earth, we called, passed by his house, sent texts, nothing worked, he was always busy or not at home. When we finally had a lesson with him, he informed us that he was moving away, and that he doesn't really have a whole lot of time at the moment for a lesson. So we left. And honestly I felt like a complete failure. It felt like it was all for nothing, this message can´t help those that choose not to live it, and I knew that if he moved away, he´d stop coming to Church for good. (He hadn't been coming for awhile.) Fast forward a month and a half, he shows up in church and tells me that he decided to stay in Santa Cruz, and he moved into the apartment under mine! Golly me it felt like a tender mercy. It felt like there is a Heavenly Father who looks out for His children. Now maybe you´re thinking ¨What about all the bad stuff that happens? Where´s the love in that?¨ I think about that a lot. And I have found a fairly simple answer. If our existence were limited to this mortal life, I´d have to say that it is all rather unfair. But I believe that there is more to us than meets the eye, and that it doesn't all end with an eternal sleep. That even though things may be hard now, there will be a recompense. I believe in Justice. I believe in Mercy. And I believe in a God who is both. With those premises the only logical conclusion is that this pain we endure can and will be alleviated. And that the end result (resultant of the pain, which equals learning and progression) is a person who is more like God. Therefore, happier, infinitely more able to Be. Trials are small when considered in a long perspective, they only loom indomitable when we put blinders on.

Thankfully,

Elder Noah M. Toney