More Flooding

Dear Family,


I don't really know what to write because this week was almost the same as last.  Because of more heavy rain, the Passaic River flooded again.  Just a week after the first flooding.  It wasn't quite as bad as the first flooding, but still worse than any flooding people have seen in years.  Luckily the damage was already done by the first flooding and not many people had enough time to fix things up yet. All we have really done the past couple of weeks is service and it has been an incredible experience.  We have received several referrals so far from people who are interested in learning more about our church, all thanks to our opportunity to do service for them.  Yesterday our church service was the same as it was last week and we went out and did service again.  Elder Olsen, who is our area seventy, was with us yesterday as we helped people on a specific street.  We came across a
man named R. who has stage 4 cancer and we talked with him and helped him for quite some time. Elder Olsen gave him a blessing and he was very grateful for our help and is interested in learning more about us.  It was a very special experience and I am excited to visit with him on a regular basis.  One home that requested our help was still completely surrounded by flood water.  We walked through water several feet high to get to them but it was so worth it to be able to help them.  Here's part of our mission president's weekly letter:


It was great to see all of you yesterday (Saturday, 9/10/11) at the Paterson Chapel for our disaster recovery effort.  Although there were lots of frustrations during the day, many lives were blessed by your efforts.  On Labor Day (Monday, 9/5/11) the Newark zone was sent out to obtain “Assessment Forms” from families in need in the township of Little Falls.  The editor of a local community on-line newspaper covering Essex County (“Baristanet”) was out covering another story when she saw “…a bunch of people in yellow shirts.”  She drove over to them to find out what they were up to.  Of course, it was a bunch of Mormons wearing Helping Hands shirts.  She stopped and spoke to Elders Munk and Montierth.  They explained to her who they were and what they were doing there.  (She said they were “outstanding young men, polite, well-mannered, well-spoken, and obviously well- prepared”.  Way to go Elder Munk and Elder Montierth!!).  They gave her my name and number to call for additional information.   She called me Wednesday night (9/7/11).  We had a delightful visit for over an hour about the Church, our missionaries, our disaster clean-up efforts, and other topics.  She published her article in her online newspaper on Friday (9/9/11).   Her article, entitled “The Book of  Mormon: Real Life in the Little Falls Flood Zone” (which included a picture of Elder Munk and Elder Montierth) is pasted in below.

“The Book of Mormon: Real Life in the Little Falls Flood Zone. In the Broadway hit “Book of Mormon,” Elder Price, waiting for his missionary assignment, really, really wants to be sent to Orlando.  He gets assigned to AIDS-ravaged Uganda instead  Maybe in the sequel, he’ll be sent to New Jersey.

Yesterday, a cluster of yellow-shirted Mormon missionaries, including Elder Devan Munk of Idaho and Daren Montierth of Arizona, were walking the streets of Little Falls on behalf of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Part of a group of 135 young Mormons stationed in New Jersey for a two-year service stint, Munk, Montierth and their fellow missionaries spent yesterday afternoon going door to door with a form designed to assess the damage of each individual home in the storm-ravaged town. That information was then given to a team of six disaster recovery experts sent  from Salt Lake City, who will decide which households need most help. Then, this Saturday and Sunday, more than 2,000 New Jersey-area Mormons  will join the young missionaries for a huge cleanup effort, armed with two tractor trailers of supplies and tools — also sent from Utah. They’ll remove fallen trees, rip up carpet and take down walls.

Jon M. Jeppson, president of the NJ/Morristown Mission, oversees the local contingent. While their ultimate goal is to share the gospel of  Jesus Christ, he says, they are a formidable army of Christian
do-gooders when a disaster strikes. “These young people are remarkable,” Jeppson told Baristanet. “They leave their families, friends, colleges, cars, pay their own way for a period of two years, and go wherever in the world they are called. They’re a significant force, who give their energy, effort and backs to provide good Christian service to people who have lost hope of being helped.” Jeppson said that the volunteers are explicitly forbidden to preach in the course of their flood recovery effort work, though they can answer questions if asked.According to Mormon doctrine, Jesus Christ himself decides where missionaries are sent, handing the orders to current church president Thomas S. Monson. Sometimes the assignments are puzzling. Munk was sent to Newark to work with a Spanish-speaking community, even though he had never spoken it before. “I learned,” he said.

Jeppson himself was planning to retire from his law practice in Salt Lake City next year before being unexpectedly assigned to oversee the NJ missionaries. Two months ago, he and his wife left their six children and 13 grandchildren, packed up their lives and moved to Morristown.”

Great publicity!  Yesterday there were photographers from FEMA who had I'll be in some article somewhere. Who knows?  I've heard a rumor that we'll be having another church service full of literal service again. They've already cancelled our Leadership Training that was supposed to be for three days this week, because we are needed for more service. Fun stuff!  Life's good, The Gospel is true.

Love,
Elder Tilley

Mormon Helping Hands

Dear family,

How's life? I don't know how much you've heard about the flooding out here, but it's really bad.  Actually I guess I should say it was pretty bad, because now we're dealing with the aftermath.  We've spent pretty much every day this past week doing service and helping those affected by the floods.  On Saturday, Sunday and Monday we had a large group of "Mormon Helping Hands" organized to help with relief.  The coolest day was definitely Sunday.  All of the wards in the Stake met for just 30 minutes of Sacrament and then went out to do service.  It was kind of strange seeing everyone in their work clothes during Sacrament Meeting, but it was such a cool experience.  The spirit of service was incredible in that room and throughout the day.  It was an awesome sight to see everyone gathered together in their yellow shirts ready to serve.  In the area we served in it was impossible to go anywhere without seeing members of our church helping out.  There were over 700 volunteers!  We were the only one's helping out and I know that it was great exposure for the church.  At first people were reluctant to allow us to help, but as the day went on more and more people accepted us in.  The damage was devestating and many people lost everything thing they had.  It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen.  So many lives were touched by our service and were filled with gratitude. 

There are people here who flew out from Salt Lake City to help organize the relief efforts.  There will be organized service for probably the next 3 weeks or so.  President Obama even came to visit Paterson, Wayne and Lincoln Park which were all hit very badly.  Our area has the most damage done to it, so we've been doing service non-stop, even when it isn't organized.  It has been quite an experience.  A lady told us that during the flooding someone came by in a boat and when she asked if she and her children could catch a ride to safety, the man in the boat tried to charge her 20 dollars per person.  It's a sad world that we live in.  It's weird to go into people's homes and just throw everything away and tear everything down.  I always thought that flooding was on the lamer side compared to other disasters... not true at all.  It's been a huge eye opener to me and I'm pretty sure I'll NEVER live next to a river. 

With all the craziness this week we haven't been able to see very many people and teach.  We stayed in four different places so I'm SICK OF PACKING AND MOVING!  It was really hard to stay organized and plan effectively.  We pretty much stopped scheduling apointments because they kept springing random service on us and we had to keep cancelling everything.  We haven't really been in touch with anyone we're teaching and I'm scared that we're losing people.  This week we're going to have to work extra hard to make sure we get in contact with everyone.  I've been here for three weeks but we've basically only had church once so it's hard to get to know everyone.  It seems like the service takes away from the work, but as I've thought about it, I've been reminded of the early saints in Utah who were building the Salt Lake temple.  Brigham Young asked that they stop work on the construction of the temple and instead focus on finishing the transcontinental railroad.  It must have seemed as if that took away from the great work they were doing, but in the end that railroad allowed them to finnish the temple much faster than they would have been able to without it.  I know that the flooding that has happened has humbled many people, and the service we have rendered is softening their hearts even more.  One lady took a picture of the back of my companion's shirt so she could forever remember who helped her during this great trial.

Things have been great for us in our trio.  Last night we were planning and the last of the 13 steps to planning is companionship inventory.  This step is usually only done during weekly planning but if needed it can also be brought up in nightly planning.  For those of you who don't know comp inventory is the time to discuss strengths of the companionship and individuals, things that might be holding the companionship from working in unity or being obedient, to resolve conflicts, to set goals... stuff like that.  Anyway, last night I brought it up more as a joke and asked if there was anything we needed to talk about.  It surprised me when Elder Tippetts said he did have something to say.  He then expressed, so sincerely, his desire to be the best missionary possible and then pleaded with me to show/teach him what he needed to do to make that happen.  We then had I guess what you would call a heart to heart moment.  I feel very humbled.  He had made a comment earlier that day that I needed to stop focusing on improving myself and start helping him to improve.  I love young missionaries and it's an incredible opportunity to work with two of them.  In all of the confusion this past week I think I've forgotten the importance of why I'm here.  I'm here with these two missionaries for a reason, and that reason is to train them how to be successful missionaries.  This week I'm going to forget myself and focus only on helping my companions, my district, and my investigators.  I'm responsible for them and they deserve all of my time and attention.  I love my companions and the area I'm in. I'M SO BLESSED!!! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Tilley

 P.S. I'm going on an exchange to my old area- Paterson! Yay!

Surviving Hurrican Irene

Hello Family!

Sooo... no.  I didn't die in the "hurricane".  I wish you could have been here to see how bad people were freaking out.  You would have thought there was about to be a zombie uprising the way people were acting.  People are crazy in Jersey!  There was a mad rush to the stores and people were fighting over water like kids fighting over the last piece of candy... super funny. 

We were instructed to evacuate and stay at the church, so we did.  Can't say that I've ever slept at the church before, but I've done it for the last two days now.  It definitely rained, and it was kind of windy.  Basically the storm was a joke by the time it got here.  Oh well, better safe than sorry I guess.  The only problem now is the flooding.  Our apartment is right next to the Passaic river, so we had to re-evacuate and we're back at the church... again.  The flooding will last for a couple of days, but thankfully one of our members has a really nice landlord who is letting us stay in an empty apartment for a few days.  We haven't been able to help anyone out yet, because we were instructed to stay put here, but later today we're going to help some members whose basement is flooded.  I feel like slothful servant because we haven't been able to do anything for so long.  I don't ever remember having time to just sit around.  It's kind of weird.  The earthquake that happened a few days ago wasn't really a big deal for us either, I didn't even feel it.  There are some trees that have fallen down and scattered debris every once in a while, but flooding has been the real issue where we are.

Lately I haven't been able to get the Book of Mormon off of my mind.  Of course, it's always on my mind as a missionary, but lately it seems like everywhere I go I'm reminded of how incredible it is.  A book written thousands of years ago, but specifically for our day.  It has the power to influence one's life greater than any other thing that can be read, at least that we know of.  It is one of the most precious treasures, yet it is so available to any who desire it.  It is of this availability which I have pondered about.  Maybe it's because of all the literal flooding that has taken place around me, but I can't help but marvel at how President Ezra Taft Benson's vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon is taking place right before our eyes.  A few days ago I met a recent convert (is probably in his late 20's) here in Caldwell.  Like with all converts that I meet for the first time, I asked about his conversion story.  Like all conversions, his was incredible! He is a writer and so naturally he loves to read.  One day he was looking through his father's library for something he had not read before.  His eyes quickly caught hold of book he had never seen before.  It was The Book of Mormon.  He had heard many things about Mormons and was interested in learning more.  His attitude soon changed from that of casual curiosity to what he called a "deep obsession" with not only the Book of Mormon, but with the doctrine of Mormonism.  He read the entire Book of Mormon in 6 days, while also spending time researching our doctrine on line.  He soon found out about the Doctrine and Covenants,  as well as the Pearl of Great Price.  His desire to learn more was so great, that he printed off every single, solitary page of those books.  He researched the commandments and began living them even before meeting with the missionaries.  For over a year, he studied and lived the Restored Gospel to the best of his ability with no help whatsoever, other than the writings of the prophets and of course the spirit.  S. is extremely intelligent, and one of the greatest philosophical minds I have ever met.  Everything made sense to him because he went about it with the right attitude, looking for truth.  Eventually, he recognized that to receive all the blessings which were his right, he needed to do something about his new found belief.  So he found the Bishop's number one night and called him and asked him what he needed to do to be baptized.  Just a few weeks later he was baptized.  All because someone, somewhere, at some point of time, had the sense enough to follow what was surely a prompting from the Holy Ghost and give S's father a Book of Mormon.  That very same day I met with another convert for the first time.  Her story was very similar.  While visiting her parents, she also was looking for a book to read in their collection of books.  She too came across The Book of Mormon.  She, along with both of her parents, her husband and her son, was baptized soon after.  Once again, someone was doing their part to flood the earth with The Book of Mormon.  I plead with any who read this letter, to share what has been such a great blessing in my life, and hopefully in yours, with someone who has not had the opportunity to receive such.  The Book of Mormon is the road map to happiness, and it is essential for gaining a divine witness that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator

Love,
Elder Tilley

P.S. Thanks for the family letter!  It was awesome and I love to hear from everyone!

Hurricane Irene

I received this email from Ryan's Mission President yesterday:

NEW JERSEY MORRISTOWN MISSION
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Brothers and Sisters, parents of missionaries in the New Jersey
Morristown Mission:
First, let me tell you what a privilege it is to serve with your sons
and daughters in this great work of bringing souls to Christ.  Without
a doubt, our missionaries are the very best in the entire church.
Thank you for your support of each of them.
As you may know, Hurricane Irene is headed in our direction and is
currently forecast to arrive in the New York/New Jersey area by late
afternoon and evening of Sunday, August 28, 2011, lasting into the
early morning hours of Monday, August 29, 2011.  We have alerted all
our missionaries of this impending storm and asked them to prepare
accordingly, including identifying a location to go to for safety,
i.e., a member’s home or one of our church buildings.
Rest assured we are doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of
your missionary son or daughter.  We are staying in close contact with
all of them.  Please do not call the mission home, the mission office,
or your missionary.  Following the passage of the storm, we will send
out another email confirming their safety.
Again, thank you for sharing these wonderful young men and woman with
us.  We love them all.
President and Sister Jeppson

The Missionary Moms email group that I belong to is reporting that they are evacuating the missionaries on the coast. Ryan is currently serving 10 - 15 miles inland, so I am not sure if he has been evacuated or not. We are all praying for everyone's safety and we know what an amazing service opportunity this will provide our missionaries. As for my family, we will be watching the news very closely this weekend.

Spanglish?

Hey Family,
 
I am now in the Caldwell area/ward.  I was actually wrong and didn't go to either of the areas I thought I would, because I'm a district leader now instead of a zone leader.  It was really weird that I didn't get a call from president to be released or a call that I was being called as a district leader so it kind of threw me off.  I'm also in a trio and we're spanglish.  We have to cover a whole ward in English and Spanish which is crazy!  My companions are Elder Tippetts and Elder Lopez.  Elder Tippetts was a brand new missionary last transfer but is a good young missionary.  Elder Lopez has only been out two transfers and is from Argentina originally.  So I have two super young companions.  Because Elder Tippetts is so young he doesn't really know what's going on so I feel kind of like I've just been doubled in.  It's been kind of crazy trying to wrap my head around all the changes and figure everything out.  Being a zone leader is nice because you always have a companion who is a skilled missionary and who shares in your responsibilities, but not as a district leader.  I'm super excited for this transfer though, and this area is AMAZING!  Elder Larsen (my trainer), who is now one of the assistants, was here right before me and he did some serious work!  Everyone here is obsessed with him and unfortunately he baptized everyone being taught.  We are going to have to find a lot of people to teach the next couple of weeks and focus on gaining the members trust.  The ward is very supportive and we have some awesome leaders.  I was surprised at how amazing our week was even in all the confusion.  As far as numbers go, this was one of the best weeks in my mission.  It's kind of weird trying to balance the English work and the spanish work but we're figuring it out.  Only the three of us live in our apartment and it's a nice one.  So far the cities that I know of that we cover are:  Caldwell, West Caldwell, Little Falls, Linkoln Park, Montclair, Bloomfield, Bellville, West Paterson, West Orange, and that's all I can think of right now.  I'm the district leader over the Paterson Elders so I can go back to my old area on exchanges now!  I'll be doing a lot of those... My address is 19 William St (Fl. 2) Little Falls, NJ.  Anyway life is soooo good.  Most likely they're setting me up to train for like the next 4 transfers but we'll see what happens.  Pray for my companions and I.  So far we get along well.  I'm really going to focus on being patient this week.  I think my companions can tell I'm a little frustrated with their lack of experience and getting to know the area.  I need to be outwardly positive so I can fill them with confidence.  It's weird but I kind of feel like a parent...
 
Love,
Elder Tilley

Transfers

Dear Family,

I'm being transferred!  It's super sad but at the same time I am really excited!  I've been here for so long I can't even remember being anywhere else so it's going to be really strange when I arrive at my new area.  I'm still a zone leader, so there are only two possible places for me to go.  The first place I could go is to the Hightstown area which covers part of the Princeton 2nd Ward.  The area covers the cities: Hightstown, East Windsor, West Windsor, Hamilton, Robinsville, twin rivers, plainsborough, Cranberry, Monroe, Monmouth Junction, South Brunswick, Kendall Park, Princeton and Princeton Junction.  Yeah... It's a pretty big area, at least for our mission.  Elder Breur was there just before he became my companion, so that's how I know so much about it.  It's the area that President Eyring lived in when he was young.  It's a huge ward, about the size of the Ledgewood Ward.  The other place I could go to is the Eatontown area which covers the Eatontown Ward.  I don't know too much about that area, but it's down by "the Shore".  Redbank is the only other city that I can think of that it covers.  It's the zone that is farthest south and it takes forever to get to meetings and conferences from there.  Elder Larsen (my trainer) served in Eatontown right after he was my companion. So you can check out the map and know that I'll be in one of those two places before you even hear from me next week.  I thought that I was going to be dropped from my zone leader position and was hoping to train, but that's not what the Lord wanted.  It's going to be really weird because now I'm one of the older zone leaders even though I still have half of my mission left.  Tomorrow is the transfer conference and then I'll be off to a new area. 

So how is everything?  How's Elder Campbell doing?? I haven't heard about him for a while.  He probably only has like one transfer left. Crazy!  The mission goes by WAY too fast.  I can't believe I already past my year mark.  I try not to think about it too much.  Anything new with the extended fam?

So this week was pretty amazing.  The last couple of weeks we have found some really cool families (of course right before I leave...) The other day we were out walking and a lady named Q. pulled up right beside us in her van and asked, "Are you Mormons?"  We responded and as we talked she told us that she loves our church and used to attend in East Brunswick.  She was pleased to have us come by and she is interested in learning again.  We went over a couple of days later and talked to her mother and her sister.  They both said that Q.  had nothing but good things to say about our church and they are very interested in learning as well.  It was an awesome miracle.  It really strengthened my testimony that the Lord will lead prepared people to us.  I am grateful that his spirit not only guides us but also those who desire to find truth and happiness.  I love all yous guys.

Love,

Elder Tilley

I am so Grateful to be a Missionary

Dear fam

This week has been a great week especially since we had 5 investigators come to church! it was super awesome. I can't believe Laresa met Carter out at the pageant! How did they even make the connection? I don't know what address to give you, because transfers are this upcoming week. I've been here forever so I'll probably get transferred... If you think it will get here before next Tuesday, you could send it to my apartment. I think you have the address.   I couldn't really understand what you were asking/saying about it in your letter. It didn't make much sense to me... sorry. President Jeppson just approved the use of Mp3 players so it's a good thing that I held on to the IPod you sent out. I think I'm going to send it back out to you with a list of artists and songs that you could put on it for me. Would that be OK?

We just got back from Rio Rodizio's which is an all you can eat Brazilian Barbecue place. It was so delicious! It's all the way in Newark though, so we still have to go shopping and there isn't much time for me to email. I feel bad when I can't write in detail. Just know that I really love you all and I am having an amazing time being a missionary. I am so grateful to be a missionary in the New Jersey Morristiown Mission. I can't begin to tell you how great of a mission it is. Jay E. Jenson is the 70 over our mission and we received great reports from him about our mission's results thus far this year. Out of the 26 missions in the North Eastern part of the U.S. and Canada which he is over, we are 3rd in total baptisms, 2nd in baptisms per companionship, and 1st in retention. We have so many great missionaries and amazing leaders in this mission! When considering overall obedience, you won't find many better missions. It is such a blessing to be here. Pray for the people here in New Jersey, and pray that we will continue to have success. Many souls are finding light and are on their way to receiving salvation. I love you all!

Love,
Elder Tilley

Great Things are Happening

Dear Family,

This past week we some great things happen in our area. Although we only found 1 new investigator, we have found some great potential families. We hope to follow through with them this week and start preparing them for baptism and eventually a trip to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. There is still much work to do, but I feel that we will see a lot of improvement soon.

  After many months of trying to get some support on creating a ward mission plan, we finally have our ward mission leader on board. We had a great coordination meeting and had an inspired brainstorming session. Hopefully the ward council as a whole will be supportive. The missionary work here in Scotch Plains would greatly benefit from a ward mission plan that is implemented. I see great things for the future.

  One miracle that we have seen lately is a family that moved in from Utah into our ward. None of them are members, but they are very involved in the church. We taught the father of the family and the rest of his family will be moving here in about a week. We were also able to teach B. again and should be able to meet with her regularly again. She was the one who got baptized but then her family told her they would disown her if she joined the church. They are still not supportive, but at least we can meet with her.

It's the beginning of the month which means we have to set goals and plan out zone meeting. We never have the time we need to prepare as much as we would like, but that's just life I guess. The Mission President usually creates a training schedule each month, which is a basic outline of the things we need to train our zone on, but this month we don't have one. That will require us to take even more time planning it out. It's all good though, we have some great ideas already. Things are going really well. I love my companion, I love my new mission president, life is good. That really stinks that school is already starting back up again. I swear you just told me that school got out. time flies... Love ya all!

Love,
Elder Tilley

Families are Forever

Dear Family,

For the second week in a row we have not had a very good week. I can't tell you how bad it feels to look back on the week and see that you fell very short of reaching your goals. We had some bad breaks again, but I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. We should have done better. This is the Lord's time and it must be put to the best use. Fortunately we do have some great things set up for this week, and with great effort and reliance upon the spirit, I am confident that we will have a great week. We need to set a better example for the zone and find prepared people who will progress and make covenants! It has been a struggle the last couple of weeks. I have never worked as hard or put as much effort as I have now in my entire mission, but we aren't seeing the success that we would like. I only pray that it's not because of my weaknesses and short comings that we aren't having more opportunities to build the Lord's Kingdom. It's been very difficult for us to find new investigators. I've spent a lot of time on my knees pleading with the Lord to direct us to the elect. I hope I don't sound too negative, because I don't mean to be. I love this area and I know that great things can happen here. I need to look a little deeper and figure out how we can improve, because we have to do better. There is nothing that will ever stop me from serving the Lord with everything I have. I love him too much and I can't bear to see my brothers and sisters miserable because they don't know how or where to find happiness. This week my companion and I have to kick it into overdrive. There is no room to waste time on good things, we can only afford to do the best things.

So those are kind of my thoughts and feelings right now. I received both the package of shirts and also the package of goodies. Thanks so much! I forgot to tell you that I wear tall shirts, but it's OK, they still fit... barely. How is everything? I haven't heard from you all in a while. I hope life is great. Lately I have pondered a lot about the blessings of the Gospel. They are to numerous to count and when I try I am overwhelmed with gratitude. What a blessing. I have a testimony of many things in the Gospel through experience, but the witness that has been borne to me the most in my life, is the eternal importance of families. There are many things that I don't understand about the gospel but the Lord has blessed me with a great understanding of how a family should be established: only on the principles of the everlasting gospel. There is NO OTHER WAY. You can not receive all that our Father is offering without a family that is sealed in the temple. Not in this life and certainly not in the next. There should be no greater effort put into anything you endeavor to do than the effort you put into strengthening your family. There is no room for anything other than parents who love righteousness. I am grateful for my family and I love you all. Families are forever, but only if you do what is right.

Love Elder Tilley

I Love my New Mission President

Dear Family,

So transfers are tomorrow, but neither I nor my companion are being transferred. That means I'm starting my 5th transfer in Scotch Plains. At the very least I will be here for 7 and a half months. I'm very excited though, because we have a lot of great things happening here right now. I also really love working with my companion, so life is great! Today my companion and I have the special opportunity of meeting the new missionaries coming in and are going to be present at the "fear buster". We (experienced missionaries) will each pair up with one of the new missionaries and walk around in the middle of Newark and contact people like crazy! It's supposed to help them get over their fear of talking to random people and show them by example that we are here to work. When I came out I didn't have this opportunity because of the fiasco with the flight being booked wrong so I'm super excited!

The 4th of July was a regular work day for us. We were given the option to go watch fireworks and get back late, but it just didn't appeal to my companion and I. We need our rest so we can work to our full capacity. We did hear fireworks as we tried to fall asleep though...

Our trip to the Temple was excellent as always. I really have grown to love the Manhattan Temple so much. It's sad that we aren't able to go more often so we always cherish each of the 4 temple trips we are allowed to go on. It's so strange to walk through New York in all of its chaos and noise and then enter the Temple which is completely polar opposite. It's like walking from Babylon right into Zion with no time in between. It's pretty awesome.

This week we finally met our new mission president and his wife and they are AMAZING!!!! I was blown away. I've never been so empowered in my life after the meeting we had with them. I know that he's going to take things to the next level and we are going to see some incredible miracles! He's very funny, musically talented and a spiritual giant. He was in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and loves to play the guitar. He even played and sang to us at the meeting. I don't know if you know who Alex Boye is but their daughter is married to him. After his musical number he told us about himself and his life. It was really neat the way he taught us as he was telling us about himself. He and his brother were very close growing up and were about the same age difference as Matthew and I. When he was 17 his brother went on a walk and never came home. He assumes that he came across the path of "an evil one" as he put it, but whatever happened his brother was never found. while serving his mission he had a really neat experience with his mission president where he was able to find out that his brother had in fact passed on. Shortly after his brother's death, his father committed suicide. When he was finally about to serve a mission, he found out that he had malignant cancer in his leg and the doctors gave him 60 days to live. He opted to have his leg amputated and eventually was able to serve a mission. Later in life his second oldest son was stung by a bee at a church softball game. They didn't know that he was allergic and unfortunately he passed away. He's faced some serious trial in his life and the whole time he talked about prayer and how in each of these circumstances he prayed for a miracle or for things to work out and never did they turn out the way he would have liked. The whole theme of the meeting was trusting the Lord. He said that after his leg was amputated he was filled with anger and bitterness, but as he laid there for weeks and weeks he prayed over and over again to know if God even existed. Slowly he was able to see the light and gain a testimony that he had a loving Heavenly Father. What I've written is kind of all over the place and just can't do it justice, but it was so amazing. He was a Patriarch for 10 years which has allowed him to become so spiritually sensitive. He can look into your soul when he looks in your eyes. It's pretty crazy. Anyway I already love he and his wife sooo much.

I have so much more to talk about but unfortunately I have to get going because there is a member in our ward who has a Karate place and we're going over so he can train us. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Love,

Elder Tilley

This Week has Been Super Awesome!

Hello!


I want to start by apologizing. We're going to the temple on Wednesday, so we have to switch our P-Day to that day. I only have a few minutes to write a quick e-mail and I won't be able to write back until next Monday. Anyway, life is awesome and I love being a missionary SO much! Transfers are next week and I've already been in Scotch Plains for 4 transfers now so we'll see what happens.

This week has been super awesome! We have 3 more people set with baptismal dates and have found some really cool new people to teach. I'll have to go into greater detail next week. A couple of days ago I had to interview a missionary due to an inapropriate relationship that was going on with a member. It was the first time I had to do that so it was pretty weird. Nothing bad happened, but he'll have to be transferred for his protection. Sorry but I have to go.


Love Elder Tilley

The Book of Mormon has the Power to Change People for Good

Hello family!

This week was packed full of stuff and it was a great week! Tuesday we went on an exchange with the assistants, Wednesday we had an all-mission conference and on Friday we had Summer Scrub day.  Unfortunately the Bahrs are leaving in like 2 weeks and then the Jepsons are coming.  That was the reason for the conference on Wednesday.  It was the last time most of the missionaries will see President and Sister Bahr while they are missionaries.  Luckily I will get to see them a few more times because of the meetings I have to go to.  They really are such amazing people and they have inspired me in so many ways.  I will miss working with them,  but I know I will grow to love President and Sister Jepson as well.  On Friday we cleaned more than I ever have in my entire life!  We scrubbed all of the walls mopped all the floors,  cleaned all the carpet and cleaned pretty much anything you can think of.  It took us about 7 hours, but we had a lot of fun doing it.  Our exchange was also really great and I learned a lot from Elder Potter.

It's funny that you asked about Nikki Sixx, because she kind of went crazy on us.  While I was gone on the exchange, they had a church tour/lesson.  When she saw a picture of the first vision she flipped out!  She was saying that we worship graven images... She refuses to believe that God and Jesus Christ are separate, and does not believe that anyone has ever seen God.  She said she'll read the Book of Mormon but she won't pray about it.  Me. is doing great and we set him with a baptismal date.  That also happened while I was on the exchange and we haven't seen him since but I'm excited to keep teaching him.  Jo. is about 36 and his wife and step kids are all members.  He has been taught for about a year now and hasn't progressed too much.  They have a lot of family issues and can't seem to ever get along and so we've been trying to help them all out.  The mother, A., might get deported and so they are facing a lot of trials.  We have found that the best thing for all of them is to go over and read from the Book of Mormon with them.  Last week we were able to get the whole family to sit down and read together.  It worked miracles! Later they told us that after we left they were able to sit to talk as a family without fighting for the first time in a long time.  We're going to try and do that with them 3 times a week so they can develop the habit of doing it on their own. 


Our experience with them has really strengthened my testimony of family scripture study.  I LOVE the Book of Mormon.  It has the power to change people for good and to give direction to those who are lost.  I know that it was written for a wise purpose and specifically for the people of our day. Those who are strongest spiritually are those who thirst for and rely on the Book of Mormon.  Study from it every day, every day.  I have an undying love and testimony of that great Testament of Jesus Christ.  If all I ever had to study from was the Book of Mormon my soul would be content.  I am grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith and for his role in bringing forth those great words spoken out of the dust.  Our Bishopric has issued a challenge to the ward, to read the entire Book of Mormon in three months.  I have seen a change in many of the members who have taken on this challenge.


 I leave with you my humble testimony that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. I echo the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith himself "... the Book of Mormon (is) the most correct of any book on earth,... and a man (will) get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."  I know that the Book of Mormon changes lives.  It plays a vital role in our salvation.  I pray that you will all read from it often.

Love,

Elder Tilley

I am Eating Good Enough to Get the Job Done

Hey hey hey!


How is everyone? Things are great where I'm at. Sorry that I haven't told you about the people we're teaching. We're still teaching J., I'm not sure how much you know about her but she keeps all of her commitments, is always at church and enjoys the members, but for some reason just won't quite fully commit. We've invited her to baptized several times, but she always says "I need to learn more before I get baptized". She'll definitely be baptized eventually, but she is a slow mover.

  Jo. hasn't really changed much since I've been here. Right now he really can't progress until his family starts being a better example and start to help him out more. Everyone else in the family are members. We stopped teaching T. and L. for a while, but we started teaching them again. So far I haven't seen to much difference in their willingness to change, so we'll see if they start progressing. M., a recent convert from Liberia, has a friend and his uncle is living with him now. We set up an appointment to see how M. was doing, and when we went over we had met both G. and Me. and started teaching them. It was really unexpected and was a really cool miracle. G. has been out of town for the last couple of weeks, but Me. has been reading the Book of Mormon. He always has a list of questions for us to answer which shows that he really wants to know if it is true. It surprises me how specific his questions are. Last time we visited he asked us, "What is the relationship between Alma and Gideon?" Who asks something like that??? It was kind of funny, but it does show how much time he's spending to understand the Book of Mormon. 

We also just picked up a lady that was being taught a couple of years ago named Nikki Sixx... No, I'm not joking. She literally bought the name in court back in the 80's. She's a cool lady in a crazy kind of way. We've only met with her once so far. I'm not sure how much you know about some of our investigators I just mentioned, so ask questions if you want to know more. Right now we don't have anyone scheduled to be baptized and are trying to find the elect.


The zone leader duties are... well, they're duties. It's really great to be able to work with the other leaders and with the Mission President often and I'm learning so much. We have great opportunities to see how the church is run as we attend meetings such as stake correlation. We work with the stake leaders and get to learn how to successfully run a stake, and even how to unsuccessfully run a stake. We have to sacrifice a lot more of our time, but that doesn't really bother me at all. Being a zone leader gives you such a special opportunity to serve other missionaries on top of the members of your ward and the investigators that you teach. I think I'm healthy... I feel like I always do. I'm eating good enough to get the job done which is all I need. Who needs to feast all the time when there's so much work to do.


My companion Elder Breur is from Cedar Hills Utah. He is a great missionary and is always working hard! We both push each other to be better and are very unified. We have seen some miracles together already and are really enjoying working together. He was a wrestler in high school, and some how we all end up battling at night as we're getting ready for bed. We live with Elder Vidmar and Elder Strong. Elder Strong also went to Orem High, but he graduated a year before me. He's a really cool kid. We have some good fun in our apartmentship.


We met this guy from India yesterday that we started talking to, and then all of a sudden he starts going off about how he's a vegetarian and everyone else should be a vegetarian too. He exclaimed,"You know something, every night 35 million chickens are killed!... slaughtered." It was sooo funny. Maybe you had to be there, but my comp and I thought it was hillarious the way he said it. We quoted him all day long.


LOVE YA!
Elder Tilley

I thought the name Nikki Sixx sounded familiar, like it might be someone famous, so I looked it up. Nikki Sixx was the bassist for Motley Crue. I wonder if this woman was obsessed with him and had her name changed. I sure would like to know the circumstances of thet one!!

There is Nothing Better Than Quality Prayer

Familia!


How goes it??? Life out in NJ is great for me right now. This past week was really great. That stinks about Matthew's finger. How long is the recovery time? It's a good thing that you got things figured out. It seems like doctors never get the right diagnosis. Why can't he still go on his trips? Tell him that now he can write me lots of letters since he has nothing else to do. I know I stink at writing back, but I will try to do better. Cameron just turned 5? I thought his was going to turn 6. I can never remember how old everyone is.

My new companion is E. Breur. I get along with him very well and because of that all aspects of my life are completely different. It has really taught me how important unity is, not only in missionary work, but in life. It's good training for when I'm married. We have seen a lot of miracles already, because we are one in purpose.   I am back to having a positive outlook on things and I feel so much better. 

We have a lot of opportunities set up to find new people to teach. This past week we focused on being guided by the spirit in everything that we did. We started off by following every thought that came to our mind, even if we weren't sure if it was a prompting or not. By doing this we proved to the Lord that we were willing to follow the spirit and we received more and more specific direction as we gained his trust. We should really seek revelation more in our lives and when we do receive instruction from Heaven, we need to treat it as the sacred treasure that it is. Being on a mission is the perfect training ground for how to receive personal revelation. Our Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves, and it's such a comfort to know that we are doing what is best for us. 

I love you so much and I hope that you will do all that you can to build a stronger relationship with your loving Father in Heaven. Remember that prayer is a form of work. It takes great effort to communicate effectively with God and it is spiritually demanding. There is nothing better, however, than quality prayer.


Love ya all! Elder Tilley

Cameron really did just turn 6. Turns out it's the mom who can't remember how old her children are.

"Give Your Heart"

Dearest Family,


I am doing very well actually. I would say that I am doing better than I have in quite some time. We've had some very tough times here in Scotch Plains, but this last week was really good. Yesterday we found a potential family which was very exciting! Right now we don't have a lot of people to teach so hopefully it develops into something great. By the way transfers are tomorrow. My companion E. Rosas is being transferred and I'm staying.. again... I think I'm going to be here forever. There must be a reason for it, so hopefully I figure it out this transfer. I'm pretty excited to have a new companion. It's always crazy wondering who it's going to be. This Sunday we had a regional broadcast for stake conference and it was awesome! We got to hear from Russell M. Nelson and President Eyring who both gave awesome talks. Thats cool that Josh and Jackie moved to St. George. I'm sure they love it! What else is going on with the family.  Yeah I got Matthew's Graduation anouncement. It's crazy that it's already summer vacation. I hope you have a lot of fun things planned.


I'm really looking forward to this upcoming month in the mission. In our last Zone Leader Council, we decided that we needed to focus on becoming true Disciples of Jesus Christ. We're calling it "Give Your Heart" month. We will work out the details on Friday in our next council, but basically it will be a month of 100% concecration. It's going to be awesome! With the great effort we will put forth we will see amazing miracles. It's also going to be a sad month, because it is the last month President and Sister Bahr will be here. They are SO amazing and will be greatly missed, but change is part of life. Anyway got to go, because my companion needs to start packing. Love ya!


Love Elder Tilley


P.S. Missionaries never really know what's going on sooo.. I was wondering.... Did the world end?

I Try Hard Not to Take Anything for Granted

Dearest Family,


How are you? It's been so long... Not much has changed in the last 24 hours. Just doin the regular P-Day thang. It would be awesome to see Randy! I don't know if I would be able to unfortunately. I'll ask President if I can. It might be good if Randy calls the mission office to see if it's possible, but he shouldn't call my number. Hopefully it will be ok but I guess we'll see what happens. 

We're starting week 5 of this transfer and time continues to fly! I try my hardest to not take any of my mission for granted. I want to be able to look back and know that I worked to my fullest capacity at all times. It can be difficult to stay consistantly focused on my purpose, but the Lord helps me out a lot. I love ya lots and will have a lot more to say next week.

Love, Elder Tilley

I Couldn't Do it Without God's Help

Hello Family

Happy Mother's Day!!... in a week. I am SO excited to talk to all of you! I'm not sure when I'll be able to call yet, but it will probably be like Christmas. Hopefully I will be able to call you the night before and tell you when I'll call. We shall see. Sounds like you had a crazy/fun weekend. I didn't realize it was Christmas time already, but whatever. I know you love TSO (a little too much). Life is good out in Dirty Jerz. It's starting to get hot and it rains like every day. The summer will soon be here and then I get to enjoy the scorching heat. Yay. I'm going to send two memory cards and a couple of CD's full of pictures and videos, so get excited! I know it took forever and I feel terrible but I do what I can.

Things are not going too well as far as missionary work is concerned. Pretty much everyone we were teaching either moved, fell back into drugs or is avoiding us. When I say everyone I literally mean everyone except two people. It all happened in about a week so we're pretty much starting at ground zero. Oh well, we keep working.

B is having troubles with her family right now. They were fine with her meeting with us and even getting baptized, but Satan has worked really hard on them. She hasn't been confirmed yet, because her family hasn't let her go to church since she was baptized. Her mom told her that if she joins the church she has to leave and they won't pay for her college or anything anymore. She said they wouldn't have anything to do with her anymore and they will disown her. She has great faith and is willing to leave everything behind for the church, but that is kind of a last resort decision, so she's hoping everything will calm down and that her family will be reasonable.

"Everything that can go wrong will go wrong" should be the slogan in this area. Nothing surprises me anymore, and I automatically assume the worst. It REALLY stinks. It's nearly impossible to get referrals from members and they only get involved when asked. I have been here for quite some time and I feel as if I've tried everything I could and still nothing changes. The ward is still lacking excitement. and due to neglect by previous missionaries there hasn't been really anything recorded in the area book, so there is nothing to really work with. We need to find new investigators but all we can do is knock doors because that's the only option we have and are given. So we truck on doing the most unproductive thing you can do as a missionary.

Ward units not functioning properly is nothing new, but for as big as the ward is it should be run a lot better. It's hard to get along with my new companion, for some reason we just don't click. We are very different and because of the lack of success we are having right now, we have an even harder time getting along. Being here has been one of the greatest trials in my life. It's hard to have so many negative things going on and still stay positive. I know that I couldn't do it without God. When I get on my knees and talk to my Heavenly Father before I go to sleep, I feel his reasuring love. Very often that is the only good thing I experience all day. I find myself thinking often thinking of Moroni who watched a whole nation perish. He was constantly surrounded by terrible things and yet he always had his Father in Heaven. I hope you don't think I'm depressed or anything like that, because I'm not. I love life and I love being a missionary! Right now we're focusing on getting the ward excited. For whatever reason there are a lot of reserved people here. LAME. The root of the problem are the leaders in the ward. Just to give you a taste, our Elders Quorum President has us come home teaching with him every month and expects us to set up the apointments with the families he teaches. He literaly leans on us to do home teaching and he's the Elders Quorum President! One of the recent converts here is supposed to be home-taught by a member of the Bishopric but never has. This is not a recent convert who fell away and is avoiding the church. This is a recent convert who is more active than any of the members here. He wants to learn and continue to progress in the church SO badly, and hasn't ever been home taught. An active member of the Bishopric living beneath his Priesthood privelages. How sad. Anyway, I love you lots and can't wait to talk to you! Love you all!

Love Elder Tilley

I Love My Family!

Dear Family,

I love you sooo much! I am grateful for family, specifically mine. How wonderful you all are! Family is the most important social unit in this life and in the eternities. We are so blessed to have temples, which allow families to be forever. Families are the best place for growth and learning to take place. This is why Satan works so hard to destroy them. I see the damage that has been done to members of fallen families, which too often is fatal. Loss of life, not physically but spiritually, becomes a great concern and likely a reality in these circumstances. Remember the importance of strengthening the family.

My companion is a very talented individual. He speaks Spanish, English and French fluently and before his mission was a professional painter. It's great to work with someone as intelligent as he is. His language skills have already come in handy in the short time we have been together. We started teaching a lady that speaks French named Claudine. She's from the Ivory Coast and speaks no English. I don't really contribute much, but Elder Rosas has done an amazing job teaching her by himself. After sharing with her the First Vision, she gasped and said "I felt the Holy Ghost! God is with us right now! I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet!" This was all in French of course, so I thought my companion offended her or she had a sudden migraine or something. God is good!

This Easter season was great and just what I needed. The Atonement is real. "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." (1 Nephi 19:9). Jesus Christ suffered for each and every one of us. I have felt the cleansing power of his atonement many times in my life. This is how I KNOW the Atonement is real. Jesus Christ has felt all of our pains, so he knows how to succor his people. The Atonement enables and empowers us and gives us the opportunity to become like God. Jesus Christ is the Way. I love him, so I will keep his commandments. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Love Elder Tilley

Sometimes you Have to Take a Step Back to Keep Moving Forward

Hey Family!

Sorry I wasn't able to write last week. With transfers, we (or rather my companion) spent all of P-Day packing. Elder Brickey (my comp) and Elder Elder, who lived in my apartment, were both transferred last week. My new companion is Elder Rosas. He's from Mexico.... he's actually a spanish missionary, but they switched him to the English program. It's all good though, he actually speaks perfect English. He even lived in Nashville for a while. He's WAY different than my last companion which has taken some adjusting, but he's a great missionary. He is always very obedient and wants to see success. TRUE success comes through obedience. He is willing to do whatever it takes, which is something I appreciate very much. I am excited to work with him and I know we will see many miracles together. Elder Vidmar is the other missionary who move into our apartment. He's pretty cool too.

Right now our area isn't doing too well. Our teaching pool just kind of collapsed all in this past week. Bad things have been happening left and right and I am reminded of how things were when I got here. I won't go into much detail, but basically everyone who was progressing chose to use their agency poorly and now we aren't left with much. Our investigator D is moving which doesn't help either. I'm used to these things happening all the time now, so I just kind of roll with the punches. We were teaching too many drug addicts, so I kind of foresaw this happening. Right now we need to find some people who are truly prepared to receive the Gospel. There are a lot of things that need to be changed and the transition may be a little rough, but sometimes you have to take a step back to keep moving forward. In the long-run things will be great here if the foundation is built correctly. Now that I'm in charge here in Scotch Plains I plan on changing a lot of things for the better.

I am so very grateful to be a missionary. It has opened my eyes and helped me to understand God's plan more than ever. I know my weaknesses, but I know I can be made strong if I am humble and seek divine help. It's so important that we strive to become like our Savior so that we may one day be perfect like Him. Putting off the natural man is not always easy and is a life-long endeavor. I know that the scriptures give us not only the desire, but the power to be righteous. The Holy Ghost has been such a wonderful gift in my life and I am trying my hardest to only do things that invite him. I LOVE missionary work!

Love Elder Tilley

"Forget Yourself and Go to Work"

Dear Family, I still have not gotten the other package yet. I should get it this Tuesday at transfer conference. Subway cards are great! We eat there at least once a week, and so far I haven't had to pay for any of the meals, so keep sending them! I really enjoy the new camera I bought and have been taking lots of pictures. I'll send some soon. Sounds like you met Sis Hernandez. She is a lady in our ward that we visit a lot, mostly because 4 of our investigators live right next to her and we teach them at her home. General Conference was great! I received a lot of personal revelation and had many questions which I had been pondering answered. I learned many great things and can't wait to read the talks in the Ensign. I was deeply touched by Richard G. Scott's talk, greatly enjoyed President Monson's talk in Priesthood, gained a lot of insight from Dallin H. Oaks talk and learned many things from all who spoke. Something really neat that I did this conference, was write down specific questions that I had. All of my questions were more than answered by either one of the speakers, or by the Holy Ghost. It was really neat. The last session I felt the spirit and God's love for me so strongly, that I could hardly even stand it. Conference always motivates me to be so much better. It's so important to find ways to nourish and strengthen ourselves spiritually. We need to seek out the spirit so we can be sanctified, and become like Christ. Then, when we are judged not just for what we have done, but for what we have become; all will be well with us. We have been called to repentance. We live in the last days where many are lost and blinded by the craftiness of men. As disciples of Jesus Christ, more is expected of us. One of the greatest things I have learned on my mission and from the last couple of conferences, is that we have to be better. There are too many people in this world who struggle. We CANNOT afford to be weak. Too many lives depend on our examples and on the work that we perform. Our mission president always says, "Forget yourself and go to work." We can't feel sorry for ourselves or mope around asking why our lives aren't better. We CANNOT afford to live like the rest of the world. We need to put off the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. After all, we refer to ourselves as saints. We have to BE saints. I pray that all who watched conference are motivated to be better. I am so grateful for the brethren and their council. Love, Elder Tilley

Are you a Slacker or a Stud?

Happy March 28! Thank you So much for the birthday shout-outs and for the package! The best thing a missionary can receive is a letter full of love and support. I am so grateful to have a family that loves me. I haven't received the other package you sent, but I will eventually. This week has been a good one. I'm really getting excited for General Conference, and to be given council for TODAY. How incredible. I love our prophets who relay to us God's will. What a blessing to live in this dispensation! I feel like I haven't done a very good job of writing you lately, especially about the people we are teaching, so today I will tell you about some of the awesome people we have been sharing the gospel with. First I have to tell you about B. I can't remember how much I have told you about her, but she is one of if not the most prepared person I have ever taught. She is the girlfriend of a recent convert here named J. After the first time we taught her she told J that she wanted to be baptized. She wasn't able to come to church because she had to work every Sunday. Her boss had been a jerk in the past so she prayed for help and was able to get Sundays off. Yay! She loves the gospel and tells us all the time that she can't help but bring it up every time she talks to someone. She talks about it with her family and her friends all the time! She loves temples as well, and wants to go very badly. She loves the message or rather the truth that families can be forever and looks forward to being sealed in the temple. That's the difference between people who progress after baptism and those who don't. The desire to progress, goal setting, and then taking massive action. SOOO important. That's the difference between the slackers and the studs in the church. Anyway, she is set to be baptized on April 10! I am always amazed at how intricate God's plan for us is. A member in the Plainfield branch introduced the gospel to his girlfriend K who was baptized. She then was an example to her friend J who was baptized. He then introduced his girlfriend B who will be baptized in a couple of weeks. All in less than a year. How incredible is that?! God really does have a perfect plan. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it. Being a missionary is the best! T just finished his letter to the prophet, but still has a few interviews to go through before we can send the letters off. I wish you could meet him. He's one of the funniest little buggers I've ever met. You really learn to love the crazies as a missionary haha! For some reason they're usually the only ones that will listen. We also started teaching a lady named D who wants to be baptized. We set up a plan with her to stop smoking, so hopefully she will do it. She is very sincere in her desire to change and now we will find out how much real intent she has. She could be baptized in a few weeks if everything works out. Like I said, things are really good. I love being a missionary so very much! There are so many lives waiting to be blessed, so much to learn and gain, so much work to be done. I have learned so many valuable eternal lessons, and still have a lot of time to learn more. I have had experiences that will bless my life forever, and have gained eternal friends. I wouldn't trade being a missionary for the riches of the world, because the eternal rewards are too great. I don't know where I would be if I wasn't here. I know with out a doubt that this is where I am supposed to be, because there isn't a day that goes by that the spirit doesn't witness it to me. Full of love and happiness, Elder Tilley

It's almost Elder Tilley's Birthday!

On March 24th Elder Tilley turns 20! I can't believe how the time has flown by! I know how much he loves receiving mail so I thought that maybe anyone reading this blog could send him a little note with a birthday wish. I know that he will love it and that it will lift his spirit! Thank You for all the support you give him, he has mentioned several times that he feels all the prayers on his behalf. He is not real good at writing back, but I know he loves the letters and packages he has recieved.

Being a Missionary is Always Worth It!

Dearest Family,

This week has been another tough one. Since I've been here, I feel like nothing we do is right. Nothing we ever do is enough. sometimes I think it would be better to just not care because it hurts too much. Then I look back on my own words and I sound like a 13 year old school-girl. Haha! I'm not going to go into detail about the things that make me feel terrible, because I don't want to dwell on it too much. Just know that right now things are not too good. There are little rays of sunshine that penetrate the over-cast sky that is Scotch Plains, so can't complain.

We have had the amazing blessing and opportunity to start teaching J.D.'s (recent convert) girlfriend B. She has recognized right off the bat, the happiness that comes as she lives the principles that we teach her. After the first time we taught her, she told J that she wants to be a member. She is set to be baptized on April 3. She always tells us how happy and how much better she feels about herself since she has been meeting with us. For the most part her testimony has come from reading the Book of Mormon. She has felt it's power each and every time she has read it. We have met with her only 3 times and she already wants the rest of her family to be taught. When she told us this, I shared with her part of Lehi's vision, when he desires to share the fruit with his family. She has little religious background, but is so willing to exercise faith. She is truly one of God's Elect. T, who was supposed to be baptized about a month ago, is working on his letter to the Prophet, so he can get permission to be baptized. Being a missionary is such a blessing. Although times can get tough, it's ALWAYS worth it.

This past week we had leadership training on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday I was really sick and I had to give a training. I'm pretty sure I looked dead but hopefully someone got something out of it. It was weird to be there and be one of the ones running it. I feel like I learned a lot and I know it will help me be a better missionary.

It's starting to warm up out here which is really nice. I'm really excited for the spring so we can enjoy being outside a little more. Everyone says there will probably be one more snow storm, but hopefully not.

Love Elder Tilley

More Elders

Dear Family,

Things are much better with more Elders in the ward! We have had some things finally take place this week that we have been waiting for the whole time I've been here. The Lord is definitely opening up opportunities for us now that we actually have time to accomplish the tasks the Lord has for us.

This Sunday I felt the spirit very strongly and it lasted all day. I had the opportunity to give a blessing to a lady in our ward, and it was the most powerful blessing I've ever had the opportunity to give. We also had a great lesson right after. I felt the spirit working through me very powerfully all day. It was super cool! Things are great out here and I'm so glad to be a missionary! It's the best and I cherish every moment of it.

My brain doesn't seem to be working very well and I don't know what else to say... We did figure out the other day that we're teaching like 6 people who would need the Prophets permission to be baptized. Anyway things are awesome and I love the work! Sorry my letter is so lame... LOVE YA!

Love,
Elder Tilley

Inviting the Spirit

Dear Family,

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to learn from Elder Bednar. One thing that was really reinforced was not only that I can receive the revelation I need, but that I need to seek it out. This is something that I really intend to make an effort to do. I need to act in a way that invites the spirit in more abundance. I've been so busy "doing", that I've forgotten to take the time to stop, think, and wait for inspiration. To teach is to touch a life forever. This can be done with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the real teacher, and I need to make sure that He is the one my investigators are learning from. I can't afford to not have the spirit with me at all times. I am really going to focus on softening my heart and letting the Holy Ghost in. Elder Bednar taught many other profound things which have really inspired me.

I have never been let down and had my heart broken as much as I have this transfer. If I could sum this transfer up in one word it would be "struggle". Struggle just seems to surround me. People everywhere are struggling. One of the major insights I have had on my mission is that people really are so fragile. It's been very difficult for me to watch people turn their back on God and abandon him. It seems as if the odds are against people at times, but I know that is not true.
I've watched too many people fall away. This Sunday I had a great experience in sacrament meeting. As I watched a recent convert and a returning less-active speak in sacrament meeting I was filled with relief and joy. I felt the Holy Ghost confirming that there are those who make it. There are those who "press forward with a perfect brightness of hope". There are those who hold to the Iron Rod. There are those who come back. I felt the love of God so strongly that I couldn't help but shed a few tears. It was a great experience.

Nobody in my apartment is being transferred (first time ever for me) which is awesome because our apartment is a lot of fun. For the most part our whole zone is the same. We also found out that they are going to put two more elders in our ward (sigh of relief) so that will make our job A LOT easier. I'm excited to be able to focus on a concentrated area instead of just trying to hold everything together.

Blessings from above!

Love, Elder Tilley

p.s. Mom- the missionaries are not supposed to teach the new member lessons. That defeats the whole purpose of them. The missionaries teach the new member lessons because either no one else will, or no one understands the purpose of them. Yes, we do teach them when no one else will, but we already teach them so it doesn't really make much of a difference. The purpose of new member lessons is so that they can have their learning reinforced, but more importantly to make the transition of being a member smoothly. They need to be fellowshipped and they need to learn that they can rely on the ward for support. Missionaries come and go, but the members will always be there.

Recent Converts

My sweet family how are you?

Thanks for the love and support and especially all of the prayers! I really appreciate it and know that it strengthens me. This week has been very similar to other weeks have been, here in Scotch Plains.


There are so many people who are struggling. It's frustrating that we haven't been to ward council or PEC since I've been here. There is a lack of communication between us and the ward leaders which is a direct result of not being invited to those meetings. We have valuable info that they need and are ready to take assignments which can't be given. If we don't attend ward council, the many recent converts and others who are struggling will go un-helped. No new member lessons are being taught either. What else is new as a missionary?

This past week we have talked with several people who are considering turning away from the church and turning away from God as a result of not properly handling trials. Trials come regardless of how you handle them. You may as well choose to turn to God and earn Eternal Life in the process. Try telling that to someone who is struggling, and all of a sudden a concept that is so simple that anyone with a particle of a brain-cell could comprehend becomes difficult to understand. That's not the attitude I have when helping people, but sometimes I can't help thinking that on the car ride home. In all seriousness it really has been such an eye-opener. My companion and I often reflect on this transfer (which will end after this week) and we are mind boggled. There have been so many people who have needed help desperately, and we of course have been the one's they have turned too. This happens everywhere you go to some degree, but it's been unreal here. I have never spent so much time on my knees praying with everything I have for so many people. There have been many disappointments and it takes a lot of effort not to get discouraged.

Last night we talked with a recent convert who has one of the saddest stories I've ever heard, concerning her experience after baptism. She has one of the most dysfunctional families I've ever seen. Her family and friends don't only disprove of her choice to join the church, but actually hate her. She does everything for them and never does anything for herself. All she gets in return are disgusting comments and rude remarks. So many people have abandoned her. She barely finds the strength to make it through the day let alone find happiness. What do you say to someone like that? There isn't much you can. We are there for her, however, and I think that counts for something. She has always handled this very well until the day I arrived here when she found out that her boyfriend (who is serving a mission) fell for an investigator and wrote her off (so despicable). She really is an amazing person, but because of experiences she's had and because of poisonous words uttered by her family members each and every day, she believes that she is incapable of being loved. It breaks my heart. This is one of the many people we are working with right now.

This transfer has been so different. We have focused almost all of our efforts on helping recent converts and less-actives, instead of finding and baptizing. I don't mind though. What's the point in baptizing if there is no retention? In a perfect world the members would reach out and help them. I'm not saying that they don't, but I know that someone could make that extra effort and change or even save a life. Other than that things are going very well. My companion and I are getting along very well and we have a blast. We have to work very hard to keep our spirits up with all the chaos around us, but we manage. Oh by the way, Tom who was going to be baptized this next Sunday will not be baptized as soon as we thought. I know that it will happen eventually so I'm not to disappointed in the set-back.

Love Ya Lots!
Elder Tilley

The Gospel is the Best

Happy Valentines Day!

As far as getting things done, this has been the best week of my mission. From a numbers standpoint we had amazing success! We worked hard, got the members involved in just about everything we did, and we were blessed in so many ways by the Lord. We have so many people that we are teaching, that it is very difficult to get to them all. We try to prioritize, but it always feels like we let someone down, or that someone slipped through the cracks. This ward is also pretty needy. I think I've given more blessings and rendered more service in the past four weeks here, than I have in my entire mission if not my entire life. It's pretty nice to always have something to do. Never do I feel that I'm not working to my full capacity. There is no issue of working hard, I just evaluate the day and decide if I worked as smart as I could have.

I don't think I've mentioned this, but we have been teaching a man named Tom and a woman named Laurie. Tom has been taught for quite a while, but we started teaching Laurie the second day I got here. They both live right next to each other and both know a member who also lives right next to them (Sis Hernandez) and so we teach them both at her house. They are all really close and are always together, so they are able to strengthen each other and help each other out with the homework assignments we give them. Anyway, they both have accepted invitations to be baptized, and should both be baptized on the 27th. Hurray! They have both changed so much. I love being over at that house. We teach a lot of people there, and there are always members who are there hanging out who will help us teach. The Gospel is the best!

This Sunday we found out that it is David A. Bednar who is coming to speak to us. I'm so excited! I know that it will be a huge blessing and benefit to both the people of New Jersey, as well as it's full time missionaries. I really can't tell you how much I love this mission. All the time we are reminded of how our mission is bucking the trend of the East Coast. The work in most of the missions out here is slow and has been getting slower. Our mission has made enormous improvement from year to year since President Bahr has been the mission president. I can't remember the exact statistics off the top of my head, but the baptisms here per year have increased from like150 to 300, to 400. Our goal for this year as a mission is 500 baptisms. In the first month of this year, we set a record for most baptisms in a month for this mission. The previous record was 45 and we had 58! It's an exciting time to be here and especially to be a zone leader and have a direct impact on the planning and carrying out of our goals. I really have learned so much on how to be successful as a missionary, which directly translates to success in life. I will forever be grateful and in even more debt to the Lord, for the opportunity I have to serve as a missionary. I can't even come close to describing the life-changing, no eternity changing effect it can have on you as a child of God, if you will but give yourself completely to the Lord's work and serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength. "He will create of you more than you will ever, ever in all eternity create of yourself. You will create of yourself a smudge, he will create of you a masterpiece..." (I forgot who said that). It's so amazing that when you not only forget yourself, but lose yourself in helping others, that you actually find yourself and end up gaining more than you ever could by focusing on what you need. We are a church of service. I think many of us forget that. It's sad to see members who "can't" magnify their calling because they're "too busy". I wish everyone truly believed that their church calling was just as important, and in my opinion much more important, than their profession, or hobbies. Oh well, one day they will learn. It may not be in this life, but when they stand before God and give an accounting of their life, they will learn. I love serving the Lord. I pray that we all will find a greater desire to do so, and they we will re-prioritize our lives. What's really important in life? What's really important in the Eternities? I love you all and hope you continue to find peace and happiness through the Great and Everlasting Gospel.

Love, Elder Tilley

I Love My Mission

How art thou my family?

This week was a great one as we were blessed by a servant of the Lord who taught and inspired us. Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy visited our mission and it was great to hear from him. He taught a lot about faith, and what we could do to strengthen it. I really enjoyed learning things I can do to improve as a missionary. At the end of the meeting my companion and I were one of four companionship's to be interviewed by Elder Johnson. It was a neat experience to be able to talk and interact closely with such an experienced person. It was a privilege. I'm still really excited for the end of the month when we will have another two surprise general authorities visit us! We're extremely lucky.

This month we have focused on faith as well as all Christ-like attributes as a mission. It's been something that I really needed. So much has been going on and there have been so many responsibilities to take care of, that in a way I have lost myself. I've spent so much of my energy and efforts helping others, that I've forgotten to take care of myself. Both my companion and I have felt the same way. Everything is "business". We've really taken a step back and are helping each other remember that we are sharing the Everlasting Gospel and changing lives.

We need to develop greater charity and love. It's especially important as we continue to experience more and more drama. I didn't think it could get any worse than it was. Without going into much detail, one of our newly acquired, recent converts from the other missionaries area did something to another recent convert that has landed him in jail and will probably lead to excommunication. It's been one of the greatest eye openers in my life watching the consequences of those missionaries decision. So many terrible things have happened to people they taught or influenced since they left.

I don't mean to give an excuse to those who poorly used their agency, but I can't help but think that if they were there during the last couple of weeks, certain things would have been prevented or ended up differently. The impact those two could have had, as they were lead and guided by the spirit, could have changed many things. Instead, there area has been left (for the most part) neglected and abandoned.

We have stewardship over it now, but it has taken all of our remaining time in the past week, just to learn who people are. So many of their investigators are disappointed and even furious that the missionaries didn't say goodbye. They feel like the missionaries didn't even care about them, which makes everything they taught invalid to them. It has been quite a mess to clean up. On top of that, we found out that one of our members has a crush on my companion. She wrote him a love letter of sorts.... It was actually pretty funny. I'm not too worried about it, but I will be keeping a close eye on things. This same thing has happened to either my companion or I in every area I've been in, and from what I've seen so far as a missionary, it's pretty unavoidable. Luckily I have complete trust in my companion. There is just too much to think about and do.

I've learned a lot about life in these few short weeks as a zone leader. The use of ones agency has so much effect on others around them. I've seen those who use their influence for good and those who use it for evil, I just wish that more would do the latter.

To answer your question mom, both my companion and I are zone leaders. There are 9 zones (each of which has about 20 missionaries) so there are a total of 18 zone leaders. The area I am in now is a lot like Ledgewood, my first area. The ward is not quite as big, there are usually about 120-140 who attend sacrament each week. I am really enjoying my time here. In our ward there is a young man (I think he's 22?), who is a recent convert that I really love. He was just made a ward missionary and has been so enthusiastic in sharing the Gospel! He was baptized the transfer before I got here, and has been inviting his parents and his brother to church. He also talked to his girlfriend about the gospel, and she wants to meet with us. This Sunday he told me that he was fasting for spiritual guidance, and he decided that he is going to serve a mission. I'm so excited for him! Our ward Mission Leader's son just came home from BYU because he is leaving for his mission to Cote D'Ivoire in a few weeks also. It's such a privilege to take those two out and help them understand what a mission will be like. I love It!

This Mission is so incredible. I love my mission president and his wife so much. I know that I was fore-ordained to serve here and no where else. I am so grateful that I decided to serve a mission. When I think of the people I have met whose lives Heavenly Father has been able to touch through me I feel such an amazing joy. I feel bad for those who chose not to serve. Both they and the people they would have touched miss out on so much. I love the work of the Lord, and will always be a part of it. I love you all so very much.

Love Elder Tilley