12/19/2016
Yeah so when I was in Santo Domingo it wasn't really opening but kind of because what happened there was that the elder had worked a bit in his sector but they combined the sectors so he worked a lot in the other sector. he knew our sector at the time but there was no program which is helping me a lot so the experience is helping me a lot.
Normally we take buses since train is usually only for tourists. The buses are kind of uncomfortable but they have enough room. I am happy about no bus ride this year (Mom's note. Last year, Tyler was in Santo Domingo at Christmas so he had to ride the bus all the way in for Christmas at the Mission Home). Our Christmas dinner will be the last Christmas dinner and that will happen on the Friday and Saturday it sounds like we have a Christmas dinner with some members in the evening as we can't work that evening due to the risk to us. For the Skype call 4 should be fine for us here. We have a member set up to help us local time
To talk about our week we had a better week. It still has been hard but we have located all the investigators that the sisters left behind and we did find 2 new investigators (called the Loor family) So it went better for us. It still was hard and we did have some hard days but Elder Wilson still seems animated. He is learning Spanish better and that seems to help him a lot. He has improved a lot and I have learned from him as well. He has had some interesting insights. We are hoping to get things moving better now. next week seems like we will have a lot more. We have had more success with contacts and we will be working more with members. Today we had a zone activity were we went bowling. That was fun (although I did not do so great) But I still enjoyed it. I am enjoying it with Elder Wilson and he seems great. I just have to make sure I am patient even when everything is hard. It has been really stressful sometimes but I am enjoying it though. I hope you have a great week and look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
Elder Throop
Monday, December 19, 2016
Monday, December 12, 2016
Opening a Sector Can Be Stressful, Unmarried Investigators Slow the Progress, Training is Fun
12/12/2016
Well yeah it has been pretty stressful opening a sector. I knew some of the parts (like the church building because I was in Vargas but the actual sector I didn't know too well. There were two sisters working here beforehand and the ward seems very enthusiastic to help (bishop, ward mission leader, etc) are really ready to help. Our big problem this last week was a poorly kept area book. There were not exact addresses in the area book of really anyone and the maps were not very accurate. So a bit of last week we were trying to find the houses of the investigators and help people out. That was rather hard for us but we have found a good majority of the families.
Another difficulty which we might enfrent is that a good portion of the investigator families were unmarried and so they can't get baptized until they get married. We are unsure where they are in the marriage process, but I feel we will need to desperately find new investigators and especially families that are married or just people that can progress. so that is our main work. This ward actually seems pretty strong. We had members already helping us in this week and we have a new ward mission leader who is eager to help and also the Bishop was ready to help. We are hoping to receive some referrals because the members already seem to understand their missionary duty. This will indeed help us out immensely as I anticipate we will receive referrals(we have already received some here) and we will start to augment the program.
As for the part of training that was fun getting my trainee. I was in the capacitations (training) and there were a lot of trainers that I knew some incidentally from my own group (Elder Cox and Elder Rhees) so we had a fun meeting there. Elder Wilson is my trainee and he is from Highland Utah He is 18 years old and indeed he is a little taller then me. I found that very ironic. He seems very enthusiastic and animated to work. I don't want to disanimate him but opening the sector is hard and it might be hard to have success at first. I do see that he has a great disposition to learn and he wants to learn spanish pretty bad and he has made some great progress in these last days. I am helping him actively participate and I have enjoyed it. More than anything I am trying to avoid stress from opening the sector.
Our sector isn't too hilly in some parts but in one part there are some hills I just haven't gone there yet. We are still experimenting to see what ways we can find news and how to set up the schedule. I need to learn how to direct this sector and then help him to be able to direct the sector. I do have a photo and I will send that soon. To be honest I have not had any cuy recently the last time was in Santa Ana. I guess only really rich people serve that. We did have a turkey recently for a Christmas dinner as a ward activity. I really don't have any strange food stories. Quito is pretty tranquil compared to other parts. I hope you have a great week.
Elder Throop
Well yeah it has been pretty stressful opening a sector. I knew some of the parts (like the church building because I was in Vargas but the actual sector I didn't know too well. There were two sisters working here beforehand and the ward seems very enthusiastic to help (bishop, ward mission leader, etc) are really ready to help. Our big problem this last week was a poorly kept area book. There were not exact addresses in the area book of really anyone and the maps were not very accurate. So a bit of last week we were trying to find the houses of the investigators and help people out. That was rather hard for us but we have found a good majority of the families.
Another difficulty which we might enfrent is that a good portion of the investigator families were unmarried and so they can't get baptized until they get married. We are unsure where they are in the marriage process, but I feel we will need to desperately find new investigators and especially families that are married or just people that can progress. so that is our main work. This ward actually seems pretty strong. We had members already helping us in this week and we have a new ward mission leader who is eager to help and also the Bishop was ready to help. We are hoping to receive some referrals because the members already seem to understand their missionary duty. This will indeed help us out immensely as I anticipate we will receive referrals(we have already received some here) and we will start to augment the program.
As for the part of training that was fun getting my trainee. I was in the capacitations (training) and there were a lot of trainers that I knew some incidentally from my own group (Elder Cox and Elder Rhees) so we had a fun meeting there. Elder Wilson is my trainee and he is from Highland Utah He is 18 years old and indeed he is a little taller then me. I found that very ironic. He seems very enthusiastic and animated to work. I don't want to disanimate him but opening the sector is hard and it might be hard to have success at first. I do see that he has a great disposition to learn and he wants to learn spanish pretty bad and he has made some great progress in these last days. I am helping him actively participate and I have enjoyed it. More than anything I am trying to avoid stress from opening the sector.
Our sector isn't too hilly in some parts but in one part there are some hills I just haven't gone there yet. We are still experimenting to see what ways we can find news and how to set up the schedule. I need to learn how to direct this sector and then help him to be able to direct the sector. I do have a photo and I will send that soon. To be honest I have not had any cuy recently the last time was in Santa Ana. I guess only really rich people serve that. We did have a turkey recently for a Christmas dinner as a ward activity. I really don't have any strange food stories. Quito is pretty tranquil compared to other parts. I hope you have a great week.
Elder Throop
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| Elder Wilson |
Monday, December 5, 2016
Sixth Area, Opening New Area, Don't Have New Companion Yet
12/5/2016
Well we received changes on Sunday. I left Vista Hermosa. I am now assigned to a sector called El Dorado (which is in La Colon I feel like I have been here a really long time) I will be training and opening the sector which means that the two missionaries that were here before left. That is why I am writing a little earlier than what I expected. I don´t know at what time you normally write but there are a few occasions when this can happen. The thing is that I need to go with the secretaries tonight at 6 and normally we write from 430 to 6. However due to travel time we had to write early to give us time to be able to get to the offices on time. I am with two other elders of the district here. They are working in Vargas which was my old sector. El Dorado touches Vargas and is part of the same district. So it will be a little interesting. The things is I need to wait to receive my new companion who comes on Wednesday so I have to wait a bit. Still it should be fun. Our last week in vista Hermosa went pretty well. It still was hard with Elder Marquez but there was a great deal I learnt and I progressed greatly.
We had the stake conference there so that was also interesting. President filled out the ecclesiastical endorsement so that should be there. So that is the status there. it should be fun having Christmas in Quito. I just don't know what to expect in this ward because there were two sister missionaries working here beforehand. So this will make things rather interesting. I won't know who my companion is until the middle of this week so I will tell you then. Also about the ward because i have nothing to go on really. Still I am excited and this should be a great experience. I hope you guys have a great week.
Elder Throop
*Mom's Note
I got a sneak peak at Tyler's new companion, Elder Wilson before Tyler can post next week as Sister Christensen posts pictures of outgoing and incoming missionaries on her facebook group for Missionaries. Tyler's new companion is actually taller than him, but if you look at their legs, Tyler still has the taller legs!
Well we received changes on Sunday. I left Vista Hermosa. I am now assigned to a sector called El Dorado (which is in La Colon I feel like I have been here a really long time) I will be training and opening the sector which means that the two missionaries that were here before left. That is why I am writing a little earlier than what I expected. I don´t know at what time you normally write but there are a few occasions when this can happen. The thing is that I need to go with the secretaries tonight at 6 and normally we write from 430 to 6. However due to travel time we had to write early to give us time to be able to get to the offices on time. I am with two other elders of the district here. They are working in Vargas which was my old sector. El Dorado touches Vargas and is part of the same district. So it will be a little interesting. The things is I need to wait to receive my new companion who comes on Wednesday so I have to wait a bit. Still it should be fun. Our last week in vista Hermosa went pretty well. It still was hard with Elder Marquez but there was a great deal I learnt and I progressed greatly.
We had the stake conference there so that was also interesting. President filled out the ecclesiastical endorsement so that should be there. So that is the status there. it should be fun having Christmas in Quito. I just don't know what to expect in this ward because there were two sister missionaries working here beforehand. So this will make things rather interesting. I won't know who my companion is until the middle of this week so I will tell you then. Also about the ward because i have nothing to go on really. Still I am excited and this should be a great experience. I hope you guys have a great week.
Elder Throop
*Mom's Note
I got a sneak peak at Tyler's new companion, Elder Wilson before Tyler can post next week as Sister Christensen posts pictures of outgoing and incoming missionaries on her facebook group for Missionaries. Tyler's new companion is actually taller than him, but if you look at their legs, Tyler still has the taller legs!
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| Tyler's new Companion (greenie) |
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| Elder Wilson has the height, but Tyler's got the legs! |
Monday, November 28, 2016
No People on Streets, All-You-Can-Eat Mushroom Pizza is Unfortunate, Changes this Week
11/28/2016
We did have a good number of appointments this week and we did get some more referrals from members. More than anything the problem was contacting as we normally knock doors in this particular sector because there aren't a lot of people in the street. The problem is that we have contacted a lot of the doors here and so there aren't many doors left to contact. And there aren't a lot people in the streets.
That also sounds like fun for Thanksgiving. After our district meeting which was on Thursday we went to pizza hut to do the all you can eat offer. The only unfortunate part is that they give you mushroom pizza or in our case mushroom tomato pizza and that is the only option. I feel it is designed that way so that people can't eat that much. You also are supposed to buy the drinks in the restaurant but the drinks are super over priced so no one can really win there. Still it was fun I got to 15 slices.
Today we cleaned the house a bit and played some football with the other elders in our district. So that was a lot of fun. Nothing more then that today. We have rescued a less active here as well and he baptized his younger sister which was really great to see. So we are seeing some signs of success. We did have a few investigators attend church. Just the thing is that the ones with a definitive baptismal date have it for the 10th which is the week after changes (we get changes this Sunday) So I am not sure if I will be here to see those baptisms. I am doing well enough with my companion it just requires a lot of patience sometimes. Still I have learned new things and I have seen a progress in him and the district which is really important. I hope you have a good week,
Love
Elder Throop
We did have a good number of appointments this week and we did get some more referrals from members. More than anything the problem was contacting as we normally knock doors in this particular sector because there aren't a lot of people in the street. The problem is that we have contacted a lot of the doors here and so there aren't many doors left to contact. And there aren't a lot people in the streets.
That also sounds like fun for Thanksgiving. After our district meeting which was on Thursday we went to pizza hut to do the all you can eat offer. The only unfortunate part is that they give you mushroom pizza or in our case mushroom tomato pizza and that is the only option. I feel it is designed that way so that people can't eat that much. You also are supposed to buy the drinks in the restaurant but the drinks are super over priced so no one can really win there. Still it was fun I got to 15 slices.
Today we cleaned the house a bit and played some football with the other elders in our district. So that was a lot of fun. Nothing more then that today. We have rescued a less active here as well and he baptized his younger sister which was really great to see. So we are seeing some signs of success. We did have a few investigators attend church. Just the thing is that the ones with a definitive baptismal date have it for the 10th which is the week after changes (we get changes this Sunday) So I am not sure if I will be here to see those baptisms. I am doing well enough with my companion it just requires a lot of patience sometimes. Still I have learned new things and I have seen a progress in him and the district which is really important. I hope you have a good week,
Love
Elder Throop
Monday, November 21, 2016
Good Week with Investigators, Referrals are Still the Best, Getting Better with Companion
11/21/2016
Well this last week has been pretty good for us. In terms of investigators we have had some more success and we have found an investigator recently who was really prepared for receiving us. He wants to get baptised pretty quick just the problem is that we have a stake conference and we have to go over the teaching to help him out. This last Sunday we did have some investigators go to church and two of them are set for a baptismal date. The third we weren't sure when to set the date as he was a referral from his wife (well they aren't married yet. They live apart but really close at the same time.) And we taught him yesterday. We know we know when to put a baptismal date to help him progress. He has a lot of desires and he does want to get baptised. Another investigator that we are teaching needs a little of a repass with the lections to help him understand better. The other person that was progressing is an old guy who was a referral and he has a lot of desires. He also was really rich and now he doesn't have as much but he has plans to make money. He also wants to find the true church which is great.
I really like getting referrals here which means that you invite someone to listen to the gospel and you invite them to go to church and everything. Here and really everywhere I think referrals are easier to baptise as they already have a friend in church. And they progress a lot faster. The people progressing were referrals and they all want to be baptised. There is one who was a referral that went. His difficulty is that he hasn't felt the church is true yet but he has improved and that is because of member help. I want to give you guys a challenge.
With my companion some things have smoothed over. I have asked for some help and everything and that has given me a great help to serve him. It still can be a little difficult with his personality sometimes and I can be a little frustrated but I am still learning. The other elders in the district will have their baptism this week. Unfortunately for them another family didn't want to get baptised yet. When I gave the interview the father said he didn't have desires. They are considering baptising his daughters to show a good example but they will have to see what he says. This week I did have an activity planned but there was a zone already there so that didn't happen. We did get Jose Luis confirmed which was also great and he should progress well. I hope you do well.
Elder Throop
Well this last week has been pretty good for us. In terms of investigators we have had some more success and we have found an investigator recently who was really prepared for receiving us. He wants to get baptised pretty quick just the problem is that we have a stake conference and we have to go over the teaching to help him out. This last Sunday we did have some investigators go to church and two of them are set for a baptismal date. The third we weren't sure when to set the date as he was a referral from his wife (well they aren't married yet. They live apart but really close at the same time.) And we taught him yesterday. We know we know when to put a baptismal date to help him progress. He has a lot of desires and he does want to get baptised. Another investigator that we are teaching needs a little of a repass with the lections to help him understand better. The other person that was progressing is an old guy who was a referral and he has a lot of desires. He also was really rich and now he doesn't have as much but he has plans to make money. He also wants to find the true church which is great.
I really like getting referrals here which means that you invite someone to listen to the gospel and you invite them to go to church and everything. Here and really everywhere I think referrals are easier to baptise as they already have a friend in church. And they progress a lot faster. The people progressing were referrals and they all want to be baptised. There is one who was a referral that went. His difficulty is that he hasn't felt the church is true yet but he has improved and that is because of member help. I want to give you guys a challenge.
With my companion some things have smoothed over. I have asked for some help and everything and that has given me a great help to serve him. It still can be a little difficult with his personality sometimes and I can be a little frustrated but I am still learning. The other elders in the district will have their baptism this week. Unfortunately for them another family didn't want to get baptised yet. When I gave the interview the father said he didn't have desires. They are considering baptising his daughters to show a good example but they will have to see what he says. This week I did have an activity planned but there was a zone already there so that didn't happen. We did get Jose Luis confirmed which was also great and he should progress well. I hope you do well.
Elder Throop
Monday, November 14, 2016
Reactions to US Election, Frustrations with Companion, Capture the Flag
11/14/2016
Yeah I did hear a lot about the elections. A lot of people knew. On Wednesday we visited a less active person and that was the first appointment we had and they said yeah you know Trump won. There are a lot of unhappy people as they fear that Trump is racist. I am not sure on his policy but I know a lot fear him and don't like him either. Still you do hear a lot about those things as it affects even Ecuador. I don't really have any worries. I just hope that nothing too bad happens. There have been nothing too bad that has happened but we will see.
This last week we have been working hard to find new investigators and have more success. It has been somewhat frustrating with my companion as he is somewhat prideful and doesn't listen very well to any counsel or constructive advice I give him. When I was trying to explain things to him he said and what about the goals I put on you? I said well you can give advice but it isn't for you to decide goals. Afterwards I explained it a little better and asking well who gives goals to our mission president or the assistants or zone leaders or district leaders etc. It is a little frustrating. He does seem a little annoyed about some small things in my personality. I am trying to be funny and help members and we have seen some success especially yesterday. Yesterday we didn't have investigators show up until late but we did receive two references in church and we were able to teach one of those people and they were actually interested. More then anything I am a little frustrated right now as I am trying to help my companion he just seems to ignore me. I will be trying different things and i will be talking with our mission president and others for help to help out. He does seem very irritated with me and he does seem to focus a lot on little flaws.
The sector is going well but I am unsure if we will have other baptisms in this change. Still we will continue working hard and helping people. Today we did have an activity where we hiked a mountain which had this big cross on top. It was rather interesting but it was fun. We played a round of capture the flag then we had to go down. It was pretty fun. I am hoping to do a district activity next week.
Love to you all,
Elder Throop
Pictures from the hike
Yeah I did hear a lot about the elections. A lot of people knew. On Wednesday we visited a less active person and that was the first appointment we had and they said yeah you know Trump won. There are a lot of unhappy people as they fear that Trump is racist. I am not sure on his policy but I know a lot fear him and don't like him either. Still you do hear a lot about those things as it affects even Ecuador. I don't really have any worries. I just hope that nothing too bad happens. There have been nothing too bad that has happened but we will see.
This last week we have been working hard to find new investigators and have more success. It has been somewhat frustrating with my companion as he is somewhat prideful and doesn't listen very well to any counsel or constructive advice I give him. When I was trying to explain things to him he said and what about the goals I put on you? I said well you can give advice but it isn't for you to decide goals. Afterwards I explained it a little better and asking well who gives goals to our mission president or the assistants or zone leaders or district leaders etc. It is a little frustrating. He does seem a little annoyed about some small things in my personality. I am trying to be funny and help members and we have seen some success especially yesterday. Yesterday we didn't have investigators show up until late but we did receive two references in church and we were able to teach one of those people and they were actually interested. More then anything I am a little frustrated right now as I am trying to help my companion he just seems to ignore me. I will be trying different things and i will be talking with our mission president and others for help to help out. He does seem very irritated with me and he does seem to focus a lot on little flaws.
The sector is going well but I am unsure if we will have other baptisms in this change. Still we will continue working hard and helping people. Today we did have an activity where we hiked a mountain which had this big cross on top. It was rather interesting but it was fun. We played a round of capture the flag then we had to go down. It was pretty fun. I am hoping to do a district activity next week.
Love to you all,
Elder Throop
Pictures from the hike
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| Zone Starting from the top is left sisters gutierrez and rios and then Elders Marques(my companion) Palacios Morris and Paiva(they are the elders in the district Elder Paiva is from Graham) and elder Yanqui Next row Elders Socola, Chavez, Shaw(with the bandana) me, Valenzuela and Mooney. It was pretty cool |
Monday, November 7, 2016
New baptism, Getting Member Referrals is the Best, Still Working with Companion
11/7/2016
The day of the dead is pretty tranquil here. It's just that no one is interested really to hear us during that time. We had a lot of rejections during that time which wasn't so much fun for us. We did have a baptism last Thursday which was great for us. He seemed very prepared. His name is Jose Luis. He couldn't get confirmed yesterday due to the fact that he was working. He will get confirmed next week. So we were really happy. I do have some photos of that which I will send you guys. It was really great. We didn't have any one attend but we are seeing other investigators that are accepting a baptismal date and that are wanting to progress. The hope is that we can have more baptisms this change and help more people out.
The ward is doing well enough just only one member really gives us referals. Fortunately his referals are usually good. The other elders in the district are doing well and seem to be having more success. I went on divisions with them last week and went with a guy called Elder Paiva from Graham Washington. He is still in his training so it was interesting. Still he seems great and he likes to learn so I set some goals with him. Today I got a little small instruction manual about some duties of a district leader to help me out. There were some things I allready knew and some things that will help me out in the coming weeks. It has been a big learning experience and I have grown in many aspects.
I am doing well enough with my companion. I just sometimes get the feeling that he can be frustrated with me or some different things. I feel it is just him learning the sector. There are some things I do have to due for the assignment but I hope to help him learn the sector better so that he can direct it better. There are some teaching skills that I am trying to help him improve so he can be a better missionary. So that is what we have been working on. I hope everything goes well.
Elder Throop
Here's some pictures of the baptism. Tyler's companion was asked to perform the baptism since there's such a height difference in the man getting baptised.
The day of the dead is pretty tranquil here. It's just that no one is interested really to hear us during that time. We had a lot of rejections during that time which wasn't so much fun for us. We did have a baptism last Thursday which was great for us. He seemed very prepared. His name is Jose Luis. He couldn't get confirmed yesterday due to the fact that he was working. He will get confirmed next week. So we were really happy. I do have some photos of that which I will send you guys. It was really great. We didn't have any one attend but we are seeing other investigators that are accepting a baptismal date and that are wanting to progress. The hope is that we can have more baptisms this change and help more people out.
The ward is doing well enough just only one member really gives us referals. Fortunately his referals are usually good. The other elders in the district are doing well and seem to be having more success. I went on divisions with them last week and went with a guy called Elder Paiva from Graham Washington. He is still in his training so it was interesting. Still he seems great and he likes to learn so I set some goals with him. Today I got a little small instruction manual about some duties of a district leader to help me out. There were some things I allready knew and some things that will help me out in the coming weeks. It has been a big learning experience and I have grown in many aspects.
I am doing well enough with my companion. I just sometimes get the feeling that he can be frustrated with me or some different things. I feel it is just him learning the sector. There are some things I do have to due for the assignment but I hope to help him learn the sector better so that he can direct it better. There are some teaching skills that I am trying to help him improve so he can be a better missionary. So that is what we have been working on. I hope everything goes well.
Elder Throop
Here's some pictures of the baptism. Tyler's companion was asked to perform the baptism since there's such a height difference in the man getting baptised.
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| Ward Mission Leader, Tyler, Jose Luis |
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| Jose Luis and his girlfriend, who is a member |
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| Tyler and Comp |
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| All dressed in white for baptism |
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| Jose Luis, his girlfriend and her family |
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