Week 41 BJF Aug 24

What it feels like to be a missionary!

 Well that was an interesting two weeks,

I suppose I'll quickly recap last week first then I'll catch you up on
the more current stuff.

We spent a lot of our week with our friend Erick. He's technically the
Bonn Sisters investigator but we teamed up to make sure he could reach
his baptism. Which that following Saturday, He did! He's been meeting
with Sisters since sometime last year and had been making slow
progress until more recently. Once he finally made his decision he
started learning like crazy. He had been in a world of drugs, gangs,
and parties and he has since made a complete turn around. He's
originally from Mexico so the baptismal service was half Spanish half
German, unfortunately I only kind of speak one of those two so I
missed part but the important part is that he understood. It's was the
first baptism I've seen here in Germany and it's so cool to see how
his life has been blessed and how much happier he seems.

Later that evening after our kinda 'post-baptism party' we got home
and realised we were about to get our transfer calls. We were about
95% sure the whole district was staying in Bonn/Euskirchen except for
me. Everybody knew I'd be transferred except for me, I was the last to
find out. I ended up being transferred to Wesel. It's still kind of
the same part of Germany so not too much of a change.

I wasn't very excited to leave. I'm going to miss that district and
the great people we had been working with.

The following Monday I grabbed all my stuff and hopped on a train to
Wesel where I met up with Elder Yorgason my new companion. He's also
from the same MTC group as me and E. Holyoak so we're already buddies.
Wesel itself seems to be booming with success, I think we'll have some
fun these next few months.

I also got acquainted with our new District consisting of the Duisburg
Elders and Sisters, us in Wesel, and the Krefeld Elders.

Not too much else to talk about, mainly because I haven't met anyone
yet. But I hope you have a nice week.

Liebe -Elder Fuller

P.s. I have a new address for packages/letters. Kraftstraße 9, 46485 Wesel
However you can still send stuff to the mission office, it's just a
wee bit slower.

Such an amazing group this time around!  Well every transfer is great, Ja!

They called it the Relief Society district, ha.

Lots of sparkly white teeth these German speakers have!!

Week 35 RLF Aug 21

Dear Families of Spain Barcelona Mission missionaries,
   By now you may have heard that today there was a tragic event which occurred at the Plaza Cataluña near Barcelona's City Center.  A van plowed into a crowd of people on the famed Rambla causing serious injuries to more than 20 people; CNN reports at least one death in the attack.  Immediately after I was notified of this by Church Security, my Assistants made calls to every single companionship in the Barcelona, Badalona and Hospitalet Zones (more than 70 missionaries in our mission) which are all in the Barcelona area.  Gratefully all missionaries are accounted for and none were involved.  If your missionary is not in one of those 3 zones, it would be highly unlikely they would be affected since they need permission from the mission president to leave their zone and none had requested said permission.  We are so grateful the Lord has watched over His missionaries and protected them once again. We love them very much and feel honored and grateful that we can serve side by side with them in this great work of bringing souls to Christ. We pray for the victims of this senseless tragedy and ask the Lord's blessings to be and comfort them during this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Presidente and Hermana Dayton




Dear Rachel,

As soon as I heard about Barcelona, I also read you were safe and sound. But we looked it up and its only about 20mls from you?? That was way too close for comfort and I am very relieved and grateful.

I look forward to your group email. Lots of friends have been asking and are interested in your welfare.

Here's a perseverance poem I ran across. Its called 

The Frog Poem

Two frogs fell into a can of cream,

Or so I’ve heard it told;

The sides of the can were shiny & steep,

The cream was deep & cold.

"O, what’s the use?" croaked Number One,

"’Tis fate; no help’s around.

Goodbye, my friends! Goodbye, sad world!"

And weeping still, he drowned.

But Number Two, of sterner stuff,

Dog-paddled in surprise.

The while he wiped his creamy face

And dried his creamy eyes.

"I’ll swim awhile, at least," he said-

Or so I’ve heard he said;

"It really wouldn’t help the world

If one more frog were dead."

An hour or two he kicked & swam,

Not once he stopped to mutter,

But kicked & kicked & swam & kicked,

then hopped out...via butter!

We love you,ma

 

 YEEES I live so far away from barcelona.  like 45 minutes.  yeah I need to get on that huh...hehehe HEY! daniel wrote me and he says he´s doing all good!  he is FREE and they are going to go BEAST mode this next transfer.  he loves his companion and his recent convert just received the priesthood! 

Yesss!  That's my girl...she never lets me down with news.  I am so happy she is safe and sound and the news about Daniel's new convert thrills me to no end.

 Amarillo!  

well look! 2 weeks until the end of the transfer and i haven´t written once. BAD HERMANA FULLER BAD! 

So here I am, group email, vamos.

we are in Terrassa still which is about 45 minutes from Barcelona.  Don´t worry all the missionaries are safe in our mission.  The Lord really does protect us.  We´re really praying for the families that are suffering this week though.  

For times like this I´m incredibly grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know that the Lord has a plan and those people that are suffering because of the agency of others, Christ will make it right in the end.

So  on another note here in Terrassa people are super lazy and don´t like to actually do anything with their lives except, work and eat and sleep.  (oh...wow the things I have in common with Spaniards) 

so helping them commit to things so they can repent and come unto Christ is a LITTLE tricky, but my companion is very creative and likes to try new things and different ways of contacting the people.

so this week we will be drawing the plan of salvation in chalk and singing in very populated areas, we also want to find old ladies to teach us how to knit and then we hope to reach some very high goals these last two weeks.  

as far as me personally, I´m learning a lot.  Spanish is coming along slowly but surely and I´m just really grateful to feel the love the Savior has for me and for his children.  It´s crazy to have this realization of HEY no matter who you were or what you´ve done,  He´s always there for us and we can always become better. 

So ANYWAY

this week we have conference tomorrow and then Wednesday we have German class and English class and then Thursday we´re gonna go contacting with some of our young women.  so poco a poco I´m learning how to be more effective as a teacher and as a friend to the people we meet.  It´s a beautiful thing to see the love the savior has for the people that we meet.  It´s a special ability missionaries have I think, even though sometimes I´m just like....why are you a crazy person?  I still feel the love of Christ for them...it´s a miracle....

THE GOSPEL IS TRUE! 

I love ya´ll ;) 

Love, 

Hermana Fuller 

Epic burgers and swords in Spain!

Week 35 DTF Aug 21

Woweee...almost 2 weeks of this.  Well that is just 2 Preparation days without letters.  I have had worse.  We know the area where he is would not have violent activity so we are exercising our faith and anxiously awaiting some stories and pics from him about how he spent his time.  Still praying for tensions to diminish and peace to prevail, also for comfort for those who have been hurt during these elections.

These are updates from the Mission Pres and Senior Missionary couple who work in the Mission home/office.


 Hello All,
I sent a message this morning from the office but it looks like it didn't send.  We're back to normal today.  Transfers are happening today through Saturday.  It's a crazy busy time.  Missionaries going home, missionaries coming, training, transfers.  With more than 90 missionaries in two countries, things are hopping!  Thank you for your prayers.  Everyone is safe.
Love to all,
Sister Torrie

On 2017-08-16 2:14 PM, LeRon and Colleen Torrie wrote:

President Msane's Wednesday update:
“The long awaited announcement from the opposition leader unfortunately did not happen yesterday, as it was postponed to today. Though our missionaries will continue to be sheltered in place until we have a better view of the environment, we have had to effect some key movements and have plans in place for more essential movements to happen even later today should this be possible. We still hope and pray that the calm and peace experienced in most areas will continue, as the country strives to restore normality.

Your support and prayers continue to be appreciated, and we remain very grateful the

On 2017-08-15 7:03 PM, LeRon and Colleen Torrie wrote:

Hello All,
Following is President Msane's Tuesday update.  I know that it was written several hours ago but it just came in and since it was written, we have learned that the opposition is now NOT going to make a statement today.  We will await further news.
Sister Torrie

President Msane's Tuesday update:

“We await the opposition leader’s speech today to know what the way forward is likely to be. Our missionaries are again sheltered in place until we have a better view of the environment. We hope and pray that the calm and peace experienced in most areas continues to grow, and normality is achieved.

Thanks again for your support and prayers.”

On 2017-08-14 2:08 PM, LeRon and Colleen Torrie wrote:

President Msane's Monday election update:

“The reserved mood and tense environment in Kenya is currently a result of what was raised in yesterday’s update (given hereunder in italics). In line with this, and generally Kenyans still being very cautious about leaving their homes, all the missionaries serving in Kenya have been told to stay within their estates for today’s preparation day. This is a slight relaxation from the sheltering-in-place we had where they had to be in their own apartments. Any requests for essential travel outside of the estates today will be handled case by case. The plan for tomorrow is to go back to sheltering in place for the day until a review which will be done when we are aware of the opposition’s announcements and some of the reactions thereto.

The transfers, which were due to be held in the beginning of this week, have been put on hold pending the review after the mentioned meeting tomorrow. I have spoken to the missionaries that are finishing their missions at this time to let them know of this change and ask them to be patient until we are reasonably confident that the travelling required for transfers can be done safely. The families affected by these changes will be communicated to accordingly.

Consequently, please also note that the normal Monday communication for these missionaries who are serving in Kenya will not be forthcoming. We apologise for this happening two Mondays in a row, but trust that you understand the context and how it is effectively beyond our control. We continue to appreciate your prayers as we all work through this together.”

President Msane's Sunday update:

“Though there are still tensions, and some worrying activities in the areas of concern, overall the situation is relatively calmer.  The areas of concern are still the same, suggesting that protests to date have not spread out.  We await an indicated announcement from the opposition leader scheduled for this Tuesday.  The opposition is telling people not to go to work tomorrow.

Consequently, the next two days will give an indication of what this week and the near future will be like.  The missionaries attended church today, and yesterday they did some of their essential shopping to restore their emergency storages.

We still hope and pray for calm and peace, and thank you for all your su

On 2017-08-13 5:39 PM, LeRon and Colleen Torrie wrote:

President Msane's Sunday update:
Though there are still tensions, and some worrying activities in the areas of concern, overall the situation is relatively calmer.  The areas of concern are still the same, suggesting that protests to date have not spread out.  We await an indicated announcement from the opposition leader scheduled for this Tuesday.  The opposition is telling people not to go to work tomorrow.

Consequently, the next two days will give an indication of what this week and the near future will be like.  The missionaries attended church today, and yesterday they did some of their essential shopping to restore their emergency storages.

We still hope and pray for calm and peace, and thank you for all your support.

Hello All,
Things are pretty quiet here in Nairobi.  We're all still in our flats.  We're waiting on the latest report from President Msane and I will send it as soon as I get it.  All the missionaries are fine.  We haven't had any power outages and the cell phone systems are working so that has been a blessing.  All missionaries have checked in with the Assistants each day so we know they are all fine.  I'm sure they're going crazy cooped up in their apartments.  But it may be business as usual this coming week.  I'll keep you posted.
Love,
Sister Torrie

On 2017-08-12 9:48 AM, LeRon and Colleen Torrie wrote:

President Msane's Saturday morning report:
The final results were announced last night.  President Uhuru Kenyatta won, thus getting himself the second term.  There were protests already from last night in some areas.  We will see how it goes today.  In the meantime, we will still stay sheltered in place.

On 2017-08-11 11:02 AM, LeRon and Colleen Torrie wrote:

President Msane's Friday morning election update:
Yesterday was a quieter day than the one before it, though lower level protests / disruptions were reported.

 The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is still busy aggregating result forms and comparing with the data that was transmitted electronically so as to establish if there is any variance. In the event that there are some discrepancies, the data from the hard copy forms takes precedence over the electronic data and will therefore be used to declare the results. This process is likely to be completed today and the final results announced as soon as possible thereafter.

 Given that the Kenyans themselves largely stayed indoors yesterday, the protests that happened in the last few days including some disruptions even in areas that were otherwise expected to be quiet, the different announcements made to date on the outcome by different parties as to which party won the presidential elections, and the uncertainty on the actual timing of the final announcement of the results, the missionaries have been told to continue sheltering in place until we see the reaction to the final results.

 We will continue with the daily review and updates at this stage.”

On 2017-08-10 9:01 AM, LeRon & Colleen Torrie wrote:

Thursday morning update from President Msane:

The first day of counting in the Kenya elections did not go as calmly and peacefully as the actual voting did. To quote one of the reports received: “Opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Mr Raila Odinga on August 9 alleged that the results of the August 8 presidential election had been compromised and were therefore fraudulent. With ballots from 94% of polling stations counted, incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, of the ruling Jubilee Party of Kenya (JPK), had secured 54% of the vote to Mr Odinga’s 44%. (Source: Control Risks)” There were isolated protests in a few areas that are opposition strongholds, with burning of tyres and stones thrown at the police who fired teargas and reportedly some live ammunition at the protesters.

“Control Risks Comment: With a JPK victory increasingly likely, members in opposition strongholds and closely contested areas should monitor developments, exercise high levels of caution, and be prepared to stand fast directly following the official announcement of the results. Members in the former Nyanza and Western provinces (Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kisii, Kisumu, and Migori), coast regions (Kilifi, Lamu, and Mombasa), the south-east (Kitui and Machakos), and the vicinity of low income, high density neighborhoods in the capital Nairobi and Mombasa over the coming hours should minimize movement as a standard precaution.” 

This is largely in line with how we understood the potential risks from before the elections, and our missionaries were moved away from these areas last weekend and sheltered in other relatively safer areas.

Consequently, our missionaries will continue today to be sheltered in place. We will review our status on a daily basis from now on, as we continue to monitor the situation in the public environment. It is possible that the status may be changed by proselyting area as against generally from here going forward.