Transferred...?

So.. I'm getting transferred.. I've only been here in Eatontown for 1
transfer and just when I'm starting to like, it I get called last
night! Soooo... I don't know where I'm going yet but I find out at
transfer conference tomorrow, so I'll yet y'all know next week!
Anyways..
This week was crazy! Tuesday we had an all mission conference and we
got iPads! 📱🎉Yay! We were supposed to have a general authority come
and train us with an Elder Randall.. Not the one in the seventy but
the one over the missionary tech stuff.. But the GA got sick so it was
just Elder Randall here training us and President Taggart was informed
the night before that he had to fill in for the GA. I know this
because the night before all the elders in our zone slept at the
mission home because our zone is super far to drive to Motown. Anyways
the whole mission was there to receive this training from Elder
Randall and it was just awesome! The work we are going to be able to
is super exciting! It includes online proselyting
(Facebook,Skype,FaceTime). Super cool and in some cases when we teach
on line we can have family members as team ups with us! So y'all
better be studying to help me out in my lessons next week! Hahah gonna
be pretty cool! Haha all the missionaries going home this transfer
have been waiting for iPads their whole mission and now that we have
them they're going home...hahaha 😄👉😢
The Lord is trusting us with a lot!
Some new people we are teaching: Grisel- We are putty our area books
and planners into digital for so that we can have all the info we need
everywhere we go, we've been having to clean up a lot of the old
former investigaotors and stuff in the book. We called one the former
paper records and Grisel answered and we set up and appointment with
here. Come to find out when Elder Ayers and Elder Beard went to teach
her (I was on exchange) she was baptized like 10 years ago but never
confirmed! She has some anxiety and depression issues and she can't be
around large crowds or groups. So when she found out she was going to
be confirmed I front of everyone at sacrament meeting she just bounced
and no one ever herd from her... Also 10 years ago she was having some
really rough thoughts.. And the missionaries knocked on her door and
she was able to overcome a lot of her depression! 10 years later she
starts going through some tough stuff with anxiety and depression and
her phone rang and It was us!:) Its amazing how the Lord works through
his missionaries! She Is going to have to Baptized again because she
was never confirmed. We are so excited for her! Please Pray for her!!
Tyron- We showed up at our less-active youths house and there was this
16 year old kid there with her and she said "I brought my friend Tryon
so that we didn't have to meet out side anymore. (Her mom is single so
we can't tech her inside) so we were like sweet! Tyron is this tall
black kid who can sing your ears off! Super good voice! He wasn't
raised believing in God so he is super interested in our message!
Loves the Plan Of Salvation! Pray for him!
I'm kinda mad that I'm leaving because I can't teach these wonder people!

Well there going to be a lot of change going on in our mission. My
companion just got released as a zone leader! There starting to
dissolve some of the zones. When I first came into the mission there
were 12 zones. This next transfer there's going to be 9! It's okay
though, change is good! We just need all these young bloods in high
school to graduate and get out here so that we can go back up in
numbers!!

Well I better get going.. Just got done unpacking, now I gotta pack up again!
Thank you all for your love and prayers! I wouldn't be able to do this
work with out them!
Oh and shout out to the lil Bro Lennon on turning 18! Shoooots!
Getting to be a big boy now! Good luck to Kerstin in the US OPEN
Qualifier!⛳️ In the Hole🐯! Also Shout out to Da Big Uce Danielson
Auelua committing to Utah State! 🏈 Gonna Knock Some Heads!!

So Much Ofas!

-Elder Fotu

Sent from my iPad

Hey Hey!

Best week so far in Eaton town!

So many great things going on here! All of our hard work these past 5 weeks is starting to pay off!

We have been really focusing on separating the wheat from the tares. Best way to do so is helping the people who we are teaching know our purpose why why we are here. Our mission is really focusing on extending a baptismal invite within the 1st or 2nd lesson. This has really helped us find out who is really interested in the Restored Gospel and we are able to stop wasting our time and move on to find the Lords Elect! You would think that due to this focus, our lesson and Investigator count would decrease but it went up!! And we had an Investigator at Church Yesterday!! His name is Carl he is 18! He is Awesome! Haha We found im by contacting this lady who gave us her "address" but it was Carl's address and when we knocked on the door we asked for the lady and he said "Who?" hahah she totally gave us the wrong address! But we talked to Carl and he told us to come back the next day and he was super Interested! We Invited him to church the next day and he showed up and Loved it!! We are super pumped about it and he knows some of the young men in our ward that go to his school! PLEASE Pray for him!!

We also went on Exchange and I got to go to Long Branch with the biggest Boss of a missionary! Elder Jessop! He from Lehi and he is 25 and this is his first month on his mission! Haha. He was in the Army for 8 years and has an AMAZING story to his Life! He wakes up at 5 every morning with his companion to run to the beach to watch the sunrise! I didn't want to throw off his running schedule so i got myself to wake up and run with him! Totally worth it! We had an awesome exchange though! Elder Jessop Works so hard! Love Him!

Im Grateful to be here Serving! I wouldnt be anywhere else! Even though some people here truly are from the east and show it by being Extremely grouchy, I still love them!:)

Thank You for all the support and letters!! 

Love You All!      

-Elder Fotu 

(no subject)

Heyyy!! Well weeks just get Crazier and Crazier, and Shorter and Shorter...

We had a little more meetings... Friday was my first MLC. Its where all the zone leaders and Sister training Leaders Meet and discuss the needs of the mission. 

After MLC we went on Exchange with the assistants! I went to Elizabeth with Elder Maddox! haha we couldnt help but just talk about fun times at LP and Football! Who knew Maddog would be and assistant!? hahah jk! He is an Amazing Missionary and has taught me so much! One great experience we had was we were on our way back from an appointment that had canceled and Elder Maddox and I were waiting at a light and right next to us was this house that really stuck out to me and i was just starring at it. All of the sudden Elder Maddox pilled the car over and parked the car in the front of this house. Thinking that he had a prompting from the spirit to stop at this random house i was super pumped! But he told me it was someone they contacted before... So i was kinda disappointed.. haha. But we knocked on the door and Juan answered the door and let us in. We read a couple scriptures with him and i forgot what scripture it was but we could tell he really felt the spirit. Then we invited him to read the rest of the chapter and left.. And right as we were leaving I thought: "Why didnt we commit him to be Baptized!?". And so you would think that i would just turn around and ask him to be Baptized. but i didnt... Elder Maddox and i got in the car and started driving. Elder Maddox turned to me and said:"Your thinking what im thinking right??" and i said:"Yep! Turn around" hahah so we went back and Asked Juan to be Baptized! He said YES!!! Such an amazing Experience! 

Im so grateful for the spirit and for a Leader to be such a great example!

I love My Mission!

-Elder Fotu

           

Work = Fun

Wow! I didn't think being a zone leader would require so much energy! I've been so tired this week its not even funny. Our zone is the farthest south in the mission so when we have meetings in Morristown and East Brunswick (1 1/2- 2hours away) 2-3 times a week it gets pretty exhausting. But what is said in the meetings and the spirit that's felt just wants to make me work harder and improve as a missionary! I sent some pictures of Leadership Conference. President Taggart and the Assistants Talked a lot about setting goals and making plans but most importantly, Following up! President shared a Story about how when he helped start Ogeo (the bag company) they weren't doing so good as far as sales, they really couldn't figure out what was going on. So they hired a new guy to be over sales and a couple months later Ogeo's sales doubled, out of nowhere. President asked they new guy over sales what he did different, and he said one word: Followup. They compared that to missionary work and how a lot of time us missionaries meet with people and teach them this great lesson and it goes great and were all exited and we set up a time to come back, we come back to leach the second lesson and we ask them how their reading went or whatever it was that we left with them and they say: "oh i forgot..". We need to follow with then during the week and how them accountable. But not only is it key that we followup, but how we followup. So instead of us calling or texting them, having the member that taught them with us calling or texting them and asking them how their reading is going during the week. The Assistants: Elder Welburn & Elder Maddox (Maddog From LP) Gave some great training's on creating a Vision for our zones and for ourselves, and being a full purpose Missionary. Really Great Meetings this week!!

Its been Kinda hard this past couple of weeks with being doubled in here in Eatontown and not having regular church the past two Sundays, because we have hardly met any of the members of the ward. But Yesterday was Regional Conference! New Jersey along with New York, Connecticut,PA and like a bunch of other states had a Broadcasted Conference at the stake conference. Elder Hails,Elder Neil L. Anderson, Elder Ketcher of the 70 and Sister Reeves from the Relief Society spoke. Such great talks! I wish they had them on lds.org or something.

Well between Meetings and Conferences we are still able to meet with people, thank goodness! We have a goal of 12 new investigators this month and at the beginning of this week we were at 0 and we finished with 6 at the end of the week!! 3 more day to get 6 more! We can do it! We just have to rely on the Lord and put in the work!! Your prayers would work aswell!:)

Thank You for all the Love and support!!

Love you all!!

-Elder Fotu