What?! Missionaries can't dance??!

The stake had a youth activity and it was in our area (which I am told is super rare because we are so far south compared to the rest of the stake!). But it was an awesome turnout! We played sports all day (it totally rained on us! Completely dumped!) and then had a dance that night (which we unfortunately couldn't attend. Something about the music not being missionary appropriate or something... but I think it was because we didn't want to make the youth feel bad with our dancing skills ;) )

I Love the photobombing ward member in the middle!!  

I don't have to remind anyone who knows Rachel that dancing is definitely NOT one of her talents!  But I am sure she had a great time playing the sports with the youth :)  So far so good in the great city of Dalton.  Adam is working with a trainer who works for a carpet company based out of Dalton, so he's spent a lot of time there.  He told us when he was there in '01, there was just a little tiny branch there.  Now Rachel told us it is actually a HUGE ward AND the Spanish ward too!  So missionary work has flourished in that area.  She shared more about the young man who came to church on his own.  I'm so glad to know what's happening so we can add our prayers to theirs for him.  Here it is:

 Last week I mentioned the young man who showed up at church of his own curiosity. Well, If you thought that was inspiring... wait till you hear the rest of his story!

Originally he was a mormon.org referral and he requested a Book of Mormon. We were planning on giving it to him on Monday when we first met with him, but because he came to church on Sunday, we gave it to him then.

On Monday we met with him, as originally planned, and found out that he had already read to Mosiah. Yep, he read to Mosiah in one night. We taught him the restoration and he happily accepted all of it and committed that if he found the Book of Mormon to be true, he would be baptized.

We met with him again on Wednesday and by then, he had finished the Book of Mormon. He had read the Book of Mormon in 3 days! He said that one night he was up until 5:30 in the morning reading it. When we talked to him on the phone one night he said, "I put [The Book of Mormon] at the top of my list of books to read and when a book holds that position, I get it read. It's kinda my priority book right now." He loved Alma 32, but he said that he didn't feel like he had a witness of the Book of Mormon being true yet.

We taught him the Plan of Salvation that day. He had really deep, good questions that he asked. In each lesson, he always seems to ask about the principles of the next lesson. He is craving knowledge! He wants to know everything.

We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ on Friday and when we asked what he had been up to that day, he said that he had been listening to conference talks. We hadn't even asked him to read, but he wanted to learn more and so he went online and looked up the conference talks! He is truly one who has been prepared by the Lord. He loves the Articles of Faith and when he was in a bookstore, he saw James E. Talmage's book on it, so he bought it and is beginning to read it. He said he is just trying to get his hands on whatever he can to learn more.

Sister Horrocks and I couldn't believe all of this. He was soaking everything in, and seemed to have no concerns about anything! Until yesterday.

Yesterday he came to church again, but left after the second hour without any real reason. We knew that something wasn't right. As we were texting him throughout the day, he expressed that he was having some doubts and was feeling overwhelmed.

We met with him that night and he shared that he was losing motivation after he had put in so much effort to find an answer, but still doesn't have one. He said he had been praying, reading and searching, but hasn't received a witness. We used the scriptures and tried to address his concerns. Right now we are praying for God to bless him with a confirmation that what he is reading is true. 

There are many ups and downs of missionary work.  Highs and lows that you have to realize are part of Heavenly Father's plan of agency.   In the end, our part is to do our best to add our efforts in bringing about the immortality and eternal life of man.  I don't doubt with caring missionaries and members, this young man will receive his answer.  

Sisters doing service helping wash a fire truck!  

One Month Out!!

This week's emails were awesome!  And she sent hand-written letters to each of us too, and even a birthday gift for Elizabeth!  Thoughtful girl :)  As she is sharing experiences, there are so many memories that come flooding back from Ken's and my missions.  The gospel of Jesus Christ provides opportunities for us here on earth for growth and experience that we could not get in any other way.  I am so grateful for what it does for me, my family and for the world. 

We have talked to many people who have connections to GA, and even to Dalton, surprisingly.  In fact Ken is working on projects at work right now with people who live there!  Rachel may even get a referral from her dad here in Utah!!   Interesting for a city with just over 33,000 people. 

Pretty, huh?

Here are excerpts and pics from Sister Trommlitz:

We have been so blessed through referrals! To start the week we had 9 we needed to contact, and then we received another 10 after only being able to contact 6! 

One of our referrals we received was a self-referral from mormon.org. He was requesting a Book of Mormon. We called him and he seemed very interested so we set up an appointment for the 18th to deliver the Book of Mormon and share a message.

Yesterday, we are sitting in ward council (a leadership mtg. that ward church leaders and missionaries attend) when we get a knock on the door from the ward clerk who says there is a boy here for his first time. Hermana Horrocks and I look at each other and suddenly realize that he is the referral that we talked to on the phone! We jump up and introduce ourselves and then show him to the chapel. We couldn't believe it! We hadn't even met him yet, didn't even invite him to church and he just showed up! He already knew a lot about the church from mormon.org and lds.org, but we were able to teach him a lot throughout church. The Elders told us that he even said the closing prayer in Elder's Quorum! (the teacher didn't know he was an investigator when he asked him... whoops! ha!) We then invited him to the baptism that night of an 8 year old girl in the ward, and he came! He is 18 and attending Dalton State. He truly has been prepared. We are teaching him today about the restoration of the gospel and I still can't even believe how all of this has happened. Heavenly Father has truly led him here.

Then on Tuesday the Relief Society had an indexing activity that we attended. A member invited a single mother of 5 kids working at Wendy's which is where they met. I sat down next to her and began talking to her - first about family history, but soon about the Book of Mormon and how it can answer the questions she has in her life. She began to get a little emotional as we testified that the Book of Mormon can help her with the trials she faces. The spirit was very strong. She accepted our invitation to come to her home and teach her more.

On Saturday we had our first lesson with her. We met her children who I fell in love with! They would LOVE primary. The lesson went well and we hope to visit her again this week. 

The couple who got married is still working towards baptism.  They have been coming to church and Rachel and S. Horrocks are hopeful it will be soon.

I got a little emotional when reading the story about the single girl with 5 kids.  It sounded similar to my own family's conversion story.  My mom was raising us 3 kids by herself when introduced to the church through a client whose hair she was doing as a beautician in California.  It was through the weekly children's primary program that we attended as children, that our family's journey to the gospel began.  Since being baptized 40 years ago, mom has never looked back.  I can't recall a single Sunday that we missed church.  Not to mention all the activities and teaching opportunities we were able to be a part of as youth during those years.  Fast forward to today and mom's 6 children, 13 grandchildren have been baptized, with at least 2 more to come in a few years. All of us are  active and participating members of the church along with wonderful spouses, but 1. He'll come back around... :)  Baptism surely is the key to the gate that leads us back home to our Heavenly Father.  We miss Rachel, but wouldn't want her to be anywhere else!   

Settling In

"I want to be a missionary now"...

No Georgia pics from this email (added some later) :(  So just a quick update from her:

 "The first Sunday in church I was asked,"do you play the piano?" Of course, I happily responded yes, and was then asked to sub in Primary the following week. Yesterday was the day and I LOVED it. Even though I was only in there for one day, I loved being with the kids and playing songs that I cherish, but have not heard for a while."

"The best is meeting the members and actually teaching." 

"As I have been here, I have realized how prepared I am, but also how unprepared I am. Heavenly Father really knows how to work with me. He compliments me, and then shows me what I need to do to improve and become who He needs me to be." (Sound like a good recipe for parenting??...:)

 "It has rained the past couple of days so I got to wear my rainboots! but afterwards, it was soooo hot! The rain was crazy though! It really pounded down and I LOVED it! If I weren't in a skirt, I would have totally danced in it and enjoyed getting drenched!  There are so many trees! It is hard to find our way around because of it, but it is gorgeous!" (Could it be any better for a girl who had her start in Oregon!)

 

Dancing in the rain :)

"I have loved my personal study lately. I am focusing on the Christlike attribute of humility which has been a great quality to develop early in my mission. I learned today that saying something is too hard is an evidence of pride in yourself because you are relying on your own abilities rather than God. So in a way, you're right when you say that, because alone, it is too hard to do. However, with God, we can do all that he asks and commands us to do." 

Estoy en la ciudad de Dalton, Georgia

Yup, you got it, she's speaking Spanish!  Well, at least introducing herself and praying in Spanish for now!  We got the email from her first area of Dalton, GA.  It looks really nice from pics I've seen on the internet.  She got put into a "zebra" companionship (her word :)  and is the only non-Spanish-speaking missionary in her district. But she is serving in an English-speaking ward.  So they are requesting Spanish materials from the MTC so she can learn.  HS Spanish may pay off just a little after all!  Senors Carrillo and Vogt would be so proud!  You'll see from the pics that she and her 1st companion look alike and are both from here, she is from Bountiful and went to BYU last year as well.  They're enjoying being together, and are both new to the area.  She already has a baptism scheduled.  A couple that was being taught and got married this past week so they could be baptized this Saturday!

  That is wonderful!  Here are some excerpts from her email and pics:

 Her MTC district outside the Provo Temple; Sisters all going to Tennessee and Elders to Houston, TX

Monday night was a busy one! We said goodbye to our MTC district and got back to our residency around 10pm and still had to pack and clean. Needless to say, we did not get to bed by 10:30 :) In fact, we got to bed by 11:30 which may not seem bad; however, we woke back up at 12:30 to shower, eat breakfast, at make it to the travel office by 2:30am! whew! 

So on one hour of sleep we drove to Salt Lake. It wasn't bad, but that might have been one of the most difficult parts up to that point (probably only 1 hour of sleep contributed to that). (I told her that she should be used to that as a veteran college student!) We drove past the Marriott center, the UPC, Wyview and other areas of BYU that have many dear memories. We then drove to Salt Lake - the same route I would take as if I were going home. And then we headed west to the airport when I was only 45 minutes away from my home. It was sad, but I was so excited to be flying out to Tennessee that it didn't last long :) 

At the Salt Lake airport

Our plane departed from SLC late, so by the time we got to Dallas, Texas, we had to rush to our next plane! We arrived in Tennessee and finally met our mission president and his family. We were the first group they picked up from the airport and the first group they will be over for their entire mission!

 Some tired Sister Missionaries before going to their first areas

Her first companion in the mission field, Sister Horrocks

They are sharing a car with 2 other sisters so every other week they are on bikes!  Now that's a picture I'd like to see :)  She'll look like Maria Von Trapp with her skirts flowing through the streets of Georgia!  

Tenacious Trommlitz in Tennessee!!

She's finally there!  From completing requirements in December, to submitting papers in January, to receiving a call to serve in March, to entering the MTC in July, to arriving in her field of service this week. (I should have said, from being prepared for 19 years--and even before, at the beginning!)  

She told us in her last emails that she would call on travel day (Tues., the 29th) possibly from Salt Lake at 4:30 a.m. and/or from her layover in Georgia around 9:30-10:30 a.m.  It was Elizabeth and my first day at our Stake's Laurel's conference up in the mountains.  So I had my phone with me ALL DAY waiting for it to go off.  I waited...and waited...and waited...
Nothing :(  Since I was busy and taking care of the girls in our ward and all the activities they had planned for us, I didn't feel overly sad or worried.  Although Elizabeth received a picture on her Ipod from a friend of hers who happened to see Rachel in the SL airport early that morning!  His family was traveling on vacation to Hawaii.  That was wonderful to see she was actually there! No coincidences...
The next day Ken texted that the mission had sent an arrival email with a picture!  So we knew she was safe and where she was supposed to be.  Thank goodness!  I kept thinking that the day she turned in those papers, I turned her life (and her safety) over to the Lord.  So she is His for a while now.  Whatever happens is right for her and for the people she is serving in TN. Here is an excerpt from the mission home email.  What wonderful people they have taking care of our young missionaries.  Ken and I are hopeful we will get to do that someday!   

"They have Arrived! All missionaries arrived safe and sound, although a little tired! They are as excited as are we to be here in the Great Tennessee Knoxville Mission! They are at the mission home having dinner together and having personal interviews with President Griffin. Tomorrow they will start at 9:00 a.m. with orientation and then they will meet their trainers. From there they go right into Transfer/Testimony Meeting. Then off they go to their new area and will be teaching by Wednesday night!"

Amazing, huh?  Right to work!  President Griffin is from right here in our neck of the woods, Farr West, UT.  About a 1/2 hour north of where we live. We have talked to several people here who know him and his young family.  And have heard nothing but wonderful things about them. What a blessing!  

If you would like to write to her, I know she would LOVE letters from any of you!  All correspondence goes through the mission home for her mission.  
Here is the address:

 Sister Rachel Trommlitz

11320 Station West Dr., #101

Farragut, TN 37934