Elder Thiot is HOME!!!!!

...

"To a missionary who's on FIRE! Thanks for always shining so bright! Happy 4th!"

I dont know how to title my last letter, because how to you put a cap on the most amazing experience of your life? I think this week feels alot like leaving home all over again. I have family, best friends, and people that I will know til the end of time here in nyc. Its hard to put into words. I feel bad because there is no way anyone can experience what has happened here to me, but I can just say, it is impossible to write with words what im feeling. The best part of coming back to texas is knowing I get to see fam and friends that I havent seen for as much as 27 months. Its going to be so crazy riding on the plane home.
Im leaving alot of people I love here in new york, but I am glad I get to take one of my converts home with me, and it might be the convert I had to put the most effort and sleepless nights into, me.
For anyone ever considering going on a mission, stop, think about what is the happiest moment of your life, and then consider feeling that way for 2 years nearly non-stop. The gospel is what makes us happy, and as a missionary, we get to try and live the gospel all the time.
I was teaching young mens/young womens yesterday at church with a way cool member, and he made a comment that is profoundly true. He said, "If the church wasnt true, the missionaries would have destroyed it along time ago." We are just 19-22 year olds, but because the church is true, the work moves on despite us.
Im way excited to see everyone wednesday, and I cant wait for some good home cooking, taco bueno, and some on the border. But its a weird feeling when for a long time you look towards a mission, and then your one shot is over. But thankfully, I have had the greatest luck to go to the two coolest missions on planet earth, and meet the coolest people in the whole mundo. I love new york, but more then new york, I love new yorkers, even with all their quirks, they are amazing people.
now for Q's one last time:Questions for Elder Sky
1. How are you and how was your week? so good and it was a sweet week.
2. Did two funny packages arrive this week, I hope? One came, and i love it, that talk by prez hinckley is one of my favorites. He is the man!
3. Do you have time to share about your week? One cool thing that happened with week, I did a baptismal interview for a young woman named kerly. I have done alot of interviews on my mish, but the cool thing about this interview, it was in all spanish. I have been practicing spanish for the last 18 months, and along with the gift of tounges, it was a sweet interview. Her answers were amazing, and I could comprehend it all, it was way cool.
4. Anything we can do for you? If someone could pick my up at DFW this wednesday, it would be sweet, thanks :)

I will talk to ya'll wednesday, have an amazing monday and tuesday.

slyelder thiot(one last time)

Riding the Train to the LAST Stop

Mom mentioned that in Kansas, Ricky said he was going to plow to the end of the row, (when he was to the end of his Mission), but here in the NYC, I havent seen a stock of corn in 18 months, so I guess in New York we ride the subway til the very last stop. Which is especially cool because for most of my mission I have been within eye sight of the F train. In Brooklyn I lived at the last stop on the Coney end, and in Queens, I lived at the last stop in Jamaica. So I have ridden the train from one end to the next many times, and now its time to ride it one more time.

This week was flew by so fast I honestly cant even tell you what happened this week or last week or the week before that. I can barely tell you what day of the week it is. It was a great week though, and I am thankful to have an airconditioned car when its 90+ degrees with 100% humidity. That is the downside to having an ocean view, the humidity.

This week we met another group of new investigators, and have been busy working with our other investigators. Carson & Vickie are still super good, things are going great for them right now, and Vickie is getting more excited for her baptism. Preston is doing great, and his mom is doing better every week too. She is sooo cool. Elder Kosaka and I have defenitly been busy.

Then this week we are adding on another companion to our companionship, Elder Judd. It will be an interesting because we will inherit a whole new group of investigators from Elder Judd's teaching pool.

Life is way good, thats for sure. :) But unfortunatly I dont have much time today because I have to run up to Queens for my final interview with Presidente Nelson. So I love y'all, and I will answer all these questions in 9 days... ;)

love y'all
slyelder sky w thiot

Summer Solstice!

Despite it being in the high 80's and low 90's for nearly a month, some fancy people who are way smarter then me in lab coats have determined today is the first day of summer. So say goodbye to Spring 2010, and get out the sunblock and beach towel, summer is finally here!
Anyway, this was a fantastic week filled with new people to teach, a zone conference, and topped off with an amazing trip on the ferry.
On Monday night, the appointment with a family in the ward feel through so we got to look up a referral we had recieved the same day. His name was Anup and when we knocked on his door he was home. We had a way good lesson and should be going back later this week. Another miracle happened the next morning. Tuesday mornings are typically the hardest days for finding people to talk with, because no one is home, but this tuesday was sick. We found four new people to teach within an hour and a half(wow, 1 1/2 hours takes alot of space to write out). So it was sweet. First we went to a guy we meet on the ferry, Warren, and while we were teaching him, his wife asked if we could teach her too. I felt pretty stupid since I hadnt realzied there was anyone else home. After that we went to a man named lester who just moved to staten from Jamaica! We found him on the street and while we were talking to him, he called his friend over, John, and asked us to teach John too, and he was way interested and cool!
On Wednesday we had a good zone conferenence, and our mission prez gave a really good lesson on the Doctorine of Jesus Christ. Its cool to note that the first thing Jesus Christ taught when he came to the Americas was baptism and unity. As a missionary, thats everything we are working towards.
Then yesterday after church we went to go ride the ferry and something way unique was going on. Red Bull has a ariel racing league were planes race on a coarse that they put right over a body of water. Well, this weekend it was in the new york harbor, and the planes where flying right over our head. Another cool thing that happened on the way back to staten on the ferry is we meet the head of Judaism in NYC. He is a pretty famous guy here, and was super nice. Soo cool.

Now for Q's and A's:

1. How are you and how was your week? great and tanfastic

2. How did the Food Pantry Photo Shoot go? When will you be hitting the paper? haha, the photo shoot didnt really happen, but it hit papers on saturday, so everyone can check it out online @ http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/their_mission_healthy_eating.html

3. Was Brother Allen a branch president in the MTC or how did you get acquainted with him there? He came and spoke at the MTC every 3 weeks and we would always talk to him for an hour afterwards, so we got to know pretty well after seeing him 4 times.

4. How are your investigators doing? How about the Subway Miracle gal? Our investigators are way good, and we have 4 who will getting baptized in July, but because of the 4th of july holiday weekend, they will be on the 13th.

5. What did you get to do on Father’s Day? We went to a way cool family in the ward, the Allens, and had a father's day ham and potatoes, and then a father's day cake. It was amazing.

6. Could life get any better? Nope, its pretty much amazing.

This has been a great week, and this week is already packed full with appointments, and we are going to coney island today for frisbee on the beach, so im excited for what the near future holds. I love the beach here, the weather is going to be perfect. i love y'all,
sly Eldersky

Flag Day? Heck Yes!!

Flag Day? Heck yes!
Flag day, probably my favorite holiday of the year because its just insignificant enough to not shut down the library, :) Any day when the library is open is a good day en mi libro. verdad.
Well this was another amazing week, which I think makes about 90 or so in a row, so things out here in new york are about perfect. We were able to meet with alot of the people we meet with and meet last week, and we were also able to start teaching a load of new people too. its pretty awesome.
Highlights of the week:
Tuesday morning I got interviewed by the newspaper columnist, and it was a way cool experience. She was way nice, and hopefully when the article comes out it will spread the word about the church around the island to way more people then we could knocking doors all day. The photographer from the paper is coming tomorrow to take pictures of while we're doing service at a food pantry. It should be good advertising for the food pantry too, a nice bonus. I will let you know more by next week.
On Wednesday, we had a meeting with the head of the missionary department of the church, Stephen Allen. I had spoken to brother allen 4 or 5 times while i was in the MTC because our district got to know him pretty well, so it was good to see him 2 years later. He told us(and hopefully he doesnt tell everyone this) that New York City is one of the most prepared places on earth for the gospel, and specifically Queens, and Jamaica. It was cool to hear that from someone who works with missionaries all day, everyday. I can tell ya though, jamaica is filled with the most prepared people I have ever seen. Its an amazing place.
On Friday we traded in our 06 gold Toyota Corolla with some missionaries on long island for a 09 gold Toyota Corolla. Its sooo sweet, and we have named the car Funrolla II, after its father, Funrolla I. Its a nice car for sure, and makes driving around this island way nice.
Saturday was a busy day of running around teaching lessons and getting feed by investigators. We ran into the subway miracle lady again that day, it was soo cool. Miracles are still happening these days.
now for Q's and A's:
1. How are you and how was your week?
2. How are your amazing investigators doing and progressing? soo goood, and they are all progressing pretty well. Vicky and Carson have become super busy this last week, but we are going to be over there tonight, so things will go well.
3. Have you seen the “Subway Miracle” gal again? YES, she is the coolest lady. We also started teaching another sweet family who knows the bishop and his family. They are sweet, and we are going over again on wednesday, :)
4. What did you learn this week about prayer? Prayer is the key to the door of answers. ask and ye shall recieve, so true.
5. Is this the week of the Newspaper interviews? last week was, but the pictures are this week.
6. Anything we can do for you? Nope, I am completly perfect. :)


It hit me this week the magnitude of knowing this church is true, and knowing about the book of mormon. We were walking around the ferry when i saw a guy who just seemed like i should talk to him. I asked him if i could give him a bomo pass along card, then I told him that God revealed his gospel to people in the america's thousands of years ago as he did in the bible. His reaction caught me off gaurd, and made me laugh. He looked at me and said, "Wow, thats amazing! How do I get one of these?" haha, we got his address and are stopping by wednesday morning.
This island is amazing, but the best part about the church is, its true wherever you are. I love y'all, and stay classy this week, and ricky, no more kidney stones.
Relyksevol

One Last Push to the End

At Fleet Week on Memorial Day, Love that RED, WHITE & BLUE Tye Elder Sky!

Elder Sky's Desk and wall decorations.

Elder Sky's bedroom & bed. Love that quilt Elder!

One Last Push to the End...
This week Elder Kosaka and I were running at the beach, I think it was Wednesday, and as we were running, we had gone about 5 miles and we were coming to the last stretch of the board walk and then the final half mile on the side walk. I was dead tired, and my body really wanted to just walk and take a breather, but something said, you can give it one last push to the end. Instead of jogging the same pace and hoping to just make it, I started going faster and trying to make it my best half mile. When I made it back to the car, I was ready to collapse, but it felt so good knowing that I pushed it, and had nothing left.
Yesterday, we were on the ferry talking to people after church got out at 1. I was so tired walking along, I felt like there wasnt much left in the tank since starting this "run" 27 months ago, but I realized its the same as running at the beach. There is enough gas in the tank to make it to the end, but I have to push hard, so thus far, its working. My body is about as tired as it can get, but everyday we are still able to push.
Staten Island is amazing, as always. There was a baptism for John Carlo on saturday, and it went really well. The ward is getting excited about missionary work. On Monday, a member called us and wanted us to start teaching her co-worker. The Bishop talked to his neighbor, and got their permission for us to come and teach them the resoration. A young woman brought her friend to church yesterday, and he uis getting taught thursday, and a less active we have been visiting for months came to church this week, and brought her son who wants to be baptized. So things are pretty much amazing.
On top of that, Monday night we didnt have an appointment after p-day was over so we went down to the ferry and meet 4 amazing guys who were are meeting with again. Every person we talked to was interested that day, and that kind of excitment spilt over for the whole week. We went and visited Elizabeth, the member who referred her co-worker, on Saturday and had a cool miracle experience. She works at subway and while we were talking to her and her friend, Fernando, a lady walked into subway and looked at us and said, "your mormons, Ive been looking for you" It was a sweet experience. She had been to SLC a few years back and always wanted to know more. So now we are teaching Fernando, and this lady is coming to church this week!
To be totally honest, if we werent so busy, finishing the mission would probably be hard, but the schedule is packed, and we always have places to go, so its going to be a sick month.

Questions for Elder Sky…
1. How are you and how was your 3rd first week of June in the mission field going? Its good and nice and hot. It feels like july already. This island is as humid as heck. It makes texas feel like a dry desert. I dont know how many shirts I will be able to take home, alot of them are kind of worn out at this point, and my ecco's are getting worn out too, but everything else is hanging in there.
2. What were you able to do this week that you would have never imagined? Just meet so many people who wanted to talk to us, that made the week. It was sweet.
3. How are Carsen, Vickie and Mike doing? What did you teach them about last lesson? Sooo good. They have a very important event happening today for them, so they have been excited for that, and are so excited for vickie to become a member, and hopefully mike will jump on board too. We taught them Gospel of Jesus Christ this week, and its like they were helping teach because they already understand the principles, they just needed to have some of the blanks filled in.
4. Can you give a little more information on what it’s like to be chassed by Wild Turkeys? Are they like crazy Mia Maids? Yea, you just gotta run baby run. Dont look back. :)
5. How was John Carlo’s aka Filipino Chuck’s baptism? Way good, it was on saturday about noon here, and it was a cool filippino event, complete with food and festivites, it was sweet.
6. Anything we could do for you? Nope, thanks for the stamps, now I can finish sending alot of letters, thanks :)

I'm so happy to be here in NYC for however long I get to be here. Its so sweet to know that God the Father, and Jesus Christ appeared in the same state as Im serving in, but I feel like this city is my sacred grove. The experiences that I have had here have solidified my testimony of this church in such a way that I could have imagined when I got my mission call 30 months ago. It has been the best experience of my life, and the best part is, its not done yet.
I love y'all a ton!
SlYSkY

Memorially!

Memorially...Its the 5th monday of the month, so besides a combined 3rd hour, we get to questions at the beginning of the letter, so....

Questions for Elder Sky:
1. How are you and how was your last week of May? Im soo good, and the last week has been gorgerous. We had one day that was sooo hot, but it has been amazing.
2. What happened this week that put a smile on your face? We got invited by Carson, vickie's husband(I hope I talked about them last week, if not, let me know) to go to an event called fleet week. They brought like 6 ships into port on staten island so people can come and check them out. Carson is a cop and is friends with the guy who was in charge of bringing all the ships in so we got to be VIPs. There was one coast guard ship, it was 270 feet long, and it was huge. The tour was sweet, but the coolest ship was a 350 foot long naval destroyer. It was ginormous. So coool.
3. Where are you in your Book of Mormon studies and in Preach My Gospel? In the Book Of Mormon Im in 3 Nephi for atleast another week, its soo good. And in PMG, Im all over the place. This week our district meeting was about ch. 8 and ch. 4, so we were studying that alot, way good sections, and very interconnected.
4. Have you heard any more about the newspaper article they wanted to do on Missionaries? Yeah, we are going to be meeting with them in 2 weeks for the article, pretty cool.
5. What is on the horizon for the month of June on Staten Island? Lots of good things. There is a baptism on Saturday of a members husband, Juan Carlo, and he is actually fillipino, chuck. They are way cool. And we should have 3 more baptisms for the rest of June if things work out. This island is great.
6. Anything we can do for you? Nope, I could use about 10 stamps to last the rest of the way home, so that would be amazing.

This was an awesome week here on Staten. We got to go aboard some big boats, get chased by wild turkeys, and see a couple families continue to progress.

One of my favorite parts of the week was yesterday after church. We went and taught Carson and Vickie, and Vickie's brother Mike, the plan of salvation. They loved the lesson, and were so accepting of all of it. They loved the idea that there is a heaven for the richeous, and a heaven for "G's(gangsters) and rappers" haha, Mike is a funny kid. I loved the whole experience. I wish all the lessons we taught went that well.

Other then that, we got to celebrate Elder Oliverson's b-day yesterday, and also welcomed a new missionary to the apartment, Elder Judd from Sandy. He is a super good guy.

Because its memorial day and therefore the libraries are closed, we are once again in the apple store. Its pretty busy today because of the holiday, so we dont have too much time.
I love NY, and the people in this amazing city! its the sweetiest place on earth, and the coolest place you could go on a mission.

I love y'all a ton, so stay classy
slysky

PS Happy Memorial Day, and for those that missed it last week, Happy Buddah day too! Its amazing to think about the sacrafice of all the people in the armed forces, thanks for everything you have done and do

Running, 70's and a New Golden Investigator...

This week was spectacular. Maybe my favorite week since we got to staten, but its debatable. It was chuck full with cool experiences that I wont forget.
First off, yesterday we had our transfer calls, and Elder Kosaka and I are both staying here on Staten, but we are loosing one of our padmates, Elder Wright, my comp from last summer. So we will get a new pad-mate tomorrow and have 6 weeks weeks to watch good things continue to happen on Staten Island. I love this place.
So on thursday we had a special zone conference with half the mission and we had a 70 come and do a tour of nyc. It was michael T. ringwood, and he was sooo good. He talked about changing hearts, and how when our hearts are truly converted, missionary work comes as an instinct. he was freaking sick. he is a good man. Afterwards as we were leaving I was saying goodbye to former companions and he looked at me and asked, "Wheres my hug?" So needless to say it was first hug with a General Authority.
Although I have to say that wasnt the highlight of the week. That came on Wednesday. We have been trying to get in contact with a less active member Carson for the last 5 weeks and finally got a hold of him monday, and made an appointment for wednesday. While we were at his house talking, his wife asked the question that music to missionaries' ears, "How do I get baptized?" His wife, Vickie, has been reading the Book of Mormon for a while now, and knows its true, just hadnt know where the church was, but now she is getting ready for a baptism at the end of june. Its such sweet news for the end of my mission to have someone like her to work with.
ok, now for the questions and answers

Questions for Elder Sky…
How are you and how was your week? Couldnt get any better, and sweeter then fiction.
It’s transfers tomorrow, I think, are you staying or going? How about your comp? we are both staying, so he will be my last companion.
What happened this week that you still can hardly believe? Defenitly has to be meeting Vickie and Carson. I cant even stress how prepared she is, and how charitable they are.
Do you have some fun plans for Preparation day today? Yep, we are heading over to the Brooklyn Bridge with a bunch of the missionaries in our zone. It should be good if it doesnt rain.
What did you learn this week about being a good companion? Thats a good question. With Elder Kosaka, he teaches me things everyday, but Im not very good at putting what he teaches into practice. I have alot of work left to do.
Anything we can do for you? I should be good to go for the next 6 weeks. But letters are always a nice thing to find in the mail box. :)


I love new york and the mission so much. Im starting to realize that there is a reason that the mission is 2 years though, my body is tired. I have never slept better my entire life. As soon as my head hits the pillow at night its 630 again. Another cool thing from this week was finding a pair of amazing running shoes last week on p-day. We went to a store in Brooklyn called Century 21, anyone who comes to nyc should stop by, and found a pair of adidas boston marathon runners for half the normal price, and these are nice shoes. So every morning we have been running at the boardwalk and been able to see the sun rise over the city. The sand, sun, and waves make for an amazing way to start the morning. Makes it easier to stay awake during studies.
I gotta run, but i love y'all, stay classy.
sly,
elder sky tee`o

Wait, It's May????

I have to admit something that makes me feel incredibly stupid, and out of touch. This morning I woke up and walked over to my daily calender to tear off the monday daily article(a christmas present from elder merrill) and I realized something that pretty much shocked me, its may. Did anyone else miss the memo? It feels like the time I found out its neaopalten ice cream and not napoelan flavored. Wow, so 17 days in, May has begun in NYC.
This was another great week filled with cool moments that will be hard to forget. I went on exchanges with the spanish missionaries on Staten this week and got to practice my espanoel. T would have been proud. We went finding on the ferry when I was with Elder Tyrrell(of riverton, ut fame) and ran into a man who was way nice. We had a great conversation and invited us to comeover and deliver a Finding Faith in Christ. but on saturday morning he called to tell me he had been told by his catholic priest not to let me into his house, so I could bring the DVD but we couldnt even talk. After much persuading, he decided we could come over, but after hanging up he called back a minute later and said we couldnt come. But the miracle was on Sunday he called to talk and find out more. Its funny to see how people behave around us here. This island is probably about 60-70% Roman Catholic, so we are frownded down upon more then in Brooklyn and Queens, but its providing cool opportunites to talk to people here. The local paper is gettting ready to do a story on us missionaries, so we are hoping it gets good publicity for the church here, we have our fingers crossed.
Wow, that was a long paragraph.
Sunday was a way good day too. We recieved alot of referalls from memebers, and the talks in sacrament meeting where focused on missionary work, pretty exciting fo show.
Questions for Elder Thiot…
1. How are you and how was your week? im doing way good, and the week was fantabulious.
2. What did you learn this week about listening to the still small voice? Talk to the people the spirit tells you too. Last night on the ferry I felt like i needed to talk to a man, and it turned out to be a super prepared guy from Coney Is. He should be meeting with the missionaries this week.
3. “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.” What do you think President Benson meant by that? Do you agree? For sure, obedidence is a big part of missionary work. The key is not making obedience your only focus, but doing what your supposed to do, and obedience just follows that.
4. How are Natalie’s Mom and Grandma doing with the lessons? I loved seeing their picture, thanks! They are doing way good. They feed us some homemade fried chicken this week then we had a good lesson. It was a good way to spend a thursday night.
5. What was your best meal of the week? (spiritual or physical) See question 4. Although we also had some good homemade stromboli from the allens, and some great chilli from the amorinios.
6. Anything you need? Did your flash drive arrive? got the flash drive so now I have everything I could need, thank you a ton!

So this week a 70 is coming to nyc to tour our mish and give a fireside so we are going to be in queens alot this week, so that will be way cool, and at the zone conference on thursday, all of my comps, howells, oliva, wright, grimm, merrill and kosaka will all be there, so it will be cool to rememeber the good times of the last 15 months here in new york.
the church is true, even in new york city.
stay classy,
elder t chan (my chinese nickname in the mission)

a FERRLY scary week

This week was an exciting one for sure here on staten. The biggest news would probably be the first crash the SI ferry has had in 7 years. I was 14 when the last crash happened, and had no idea that there was an island called Staten, that I would one day call mi casa. The good news, we rode the ferry later in the day then when the ferry crashed so we avoided getting injured, and we got to ride the ferry with Gov David Patterson, the governor of this great state.
I love it on this island, it is amazing. We keep meeting really awesome people, and the work keeps getting more exciting, and the members keep helping us out more and more. When the members are involved in the missionary work, life gets super easy for missionaries.
I feel like i talked about everything exciting yesterday so I will just answer your questions and hopefully fill you in on anything i forgot yesterday

Questions for Elder Thiot
1. How are you and how was your week? Im great, and the week was FEERly sweet, and was filled with great appointments with way cool people.
2. You mentioned on the phone that you had learned some things in the past six months that you wish you had known at the beginning of your mission, can you tell us about 2 of those things? Just on how to work as a missionary, and how to find investigators. I started out almost robotic in finding people to teach, but the key is to let people know you're a human. Also, the key to really finding people is to work through the members, which i have learned alot more about.
3. Did you get to have a Mother’s Day dinner? Thank you for praying over our dinner. It was nearly as great as having you there with us. We went to our Ward Mission leader's and had steak and potatoes, and it was ammmazzing. So good, I love our WML and his wife. amazing people.
4. Can you tell us about a great teaching appointment you had this week? On Tuesday we went to Natalie's and taught her mom and sister and grandma, and it went really well. It was an experience I cant really describe.
5. Where was your companion when we got to talk to you? He was talking to his family who live in flo-rida right now.

It was a great week for sure. Right now im writing my email from the Jamaica queens library because one of my favorite members in jamaica is moving to japan, so we came over to have a farwell party to see her off. Amazingly, it only took about 30 minutes to make to Jamaica, NYC is small when you have a car.

I love y'all more then you know
with all my sellotape
elder skyler thi()t

A Thirty-One-Year-Tastical Week

Meet Natalie, the newest member of the Church on Staten Island. Her Mom Yvonne on the right and her Grandmother Iona on the left.

Today, May 3rd, is celebrated around the world as the day the Thiot family was founded, 31 years ago. From humble beginnings in a temple in Salt Lake, to a nation wide family that spans 4 time zones, its true what they say about the Thiots, our family rocks.
I'm happier then anyone my parents were married 31 years ago, because if one of them would have had cold feet and called it off, then poof, I wouldn't exist(sp?), and I wouldn't be having the fun I am having here in the NYC.
This week was a great week that offered alot of chances to serve the members here on staten, and I saw an amazing young woman get baptized and join the Kingdom of God.
The weeks fun started last monday, when Elder Kosaka and I drove to Brooklyn to hang out with some of the missionaries there, and parked on a street we thought offered two hours of free parking. Well, as a $60 parking ticket taught us, it was actually a 2 hour max parking, and you have to buy your time to park there. Pretty crazy, but it was a fun lesson to learn. haha, oh well.
That next day I went into the city(manhattan) on the ferry and went and saw a doctor to check out a pain I had been experiencing and I got a clean bill of health, so I can keep on keeping on here. The next major event was friday. Friday is day we have district meeting and try and get everything planned for the weekends, which is typically the busiest two days of the week for us. But we got a call from a couple members who were moving and spent the day from 11 to 9 helping some families move. The first family was thankfully just moving across the island, but the second family, the Ellises, were packing up and headed back to utah. It was a sad day because they are a sweet family. The ward will miss them for sure.
The next day we had Natalie Brown's baptism. It went really well, and she had family members from all over the place come, and one of her good friends from school came too. Her friend liked it so much she came to church the next day for the confirmation. The baptism was smaller since alot of people werent able to make it on a saturday morning, but it was still really nice. Natalie was grinning from ear to ear. The ward is getting excited about the baptism. One of the less active members we have been seeing even brought a friend and her friend's son. They stayed for all 3 hours and loved it and we will be meeting with them this week. The woman's name is Angie, and she is from Sri Lanka. She was actually telling us about the Tsunami. It turns out she was there 5 years ago when it happened. Its pretty nuts, but she is a way sweet lady trying to find the truth. Its the ultimate for a missionary with the members bring their friends to church, you couldnt ask for anything better.
Now for the questions and answers:
Questions for Elder Thiot….
1. How are you and how was your week? im great and the week was pretty much the best week I have had in a while.
2. How was Natalie’s baptism? I was smiling just thinking about you on Sunday. it was sooo good. the spirit was so strong.
3. Did the GPS arrive in one piece? Does it work on Staten Island? yep and yep. Its amazing and a lifesaver. This island has the most complicated street layout in history.
4. What did you learn this week about the power of prayer? Thats funny you ask that. I have been praying alot more recently, and without going into much details, it has been way energizing, and motivating. The prayer is the power to life.
5. How was your Sacrament/Fast and Testimony Meeting on Sunday? It was very good. The less active woman who brought her friend bore her testimony, and talked about how great it is to invite people to church.
6. Did you see any miracles this week? everyday. The only down thing that happened all week was the rain on p-day, again. This is like the 5th time in 6 weeks that it has rained on p-day. what can you do?
7. What is on your Preparation Day Agenda? Heading back to brooklyn to see some members over there, I'm psyched. I miss that ward alot.

I love y'all, talk to you in 6 days. (Missionaries get to call home twice a year, Christmas Day and Mothers Day.)
sly,
elder s.w.t

Statue of Liberty-y...

Happy earth week everyone! The air has been especially clean this week thanks to the rain we have had. For the first time I can remember in nyc, we had a lightning storm last night, and it was amazing. I missed the sound of thunder alot. I realized that is one of my favorite things about texas, when those sweet storms roll into town in the summer.

Speaking of summer, this week lacked any sort of relation to summer. In fact, after sprinting from winter to summer, we have fallen back through spring, and landed in a sort of wintery-springy mix. But thankfully we have a car this week.

In a break from my last 90 or so emails, Im going to jump right to the questions
Questions for Elder Thiot...

1. How are you? How was your week? im doing pretty darn good. I dont have to many complaints. With the rain we have had, i am defenitly glad to be in a car for the first time. the week was great. We are getting ready for a baptism this week of natalie, and she is soooo excited. Its really cool to be a part of. We had stake conference yesterday too, and it was pretty good. Since Queens had its stake conference 2 weeks ago, my last four sundays have been: Generalconference, stakeconference, sacrament meeting, stakeconfernce. Not that stake conferences arent great, but as a missionary they screw alot of stuff up for investigators, oh well.
2. How’s your new area, can you tell us what a day on Staten Island is like? its great. We typically roll out of bed around 630 and start getting ready for the day. personal studies then comp studies takes you to ten, when I study russian, and my comp studies english(Elder Kosaka's english is very good). Then we run out to the car and go look up less active families in the ward. After that we can run down to the ferry for some finding on the big boat. Only problem, most of the people are tourists. Then we go and cook lunch/dinner. After that run to teach some lessons, look up some referalls, and crash back at our apartment around 9ish. All in all, its a pretty sweet area.

3. Was Brother Boston able to make it to church on Sunday? He wasnt because of stake conference.

4. What miracle did you see this week? We were teaching a lesson with Natalie this week and after starting her grandma came down, and then after that her cousin came down. And then her uncle. At the end we were able to teach a room full of people who where interested. 4 of them made it to stake conference which was pretty sick.

5. I noticed you live on Railroad Ave, are there trains that go past? Yep, but they only run about every 30 minutes.

I hope that makes it so im not answering all the questions before i get to the questions part. If im doing some simple math right, which i might not be, I only have about 9 emails left, which is way scary. I cant even imagine how much im going to miss this area. At 1pm yesterday, I got a text message from Janet Sanon in Jamaica, and it made me realzie how awesome the mission is. I would have never meet such an amazing man. One of the best artist from Haiti, who lived in America for exactly 25 years to the day when he was baptized, and notes that being baptized into this church was the greatest thing to happen to him in America.

As we rode past the Statue of Liberty on the Staten Island Ferry on Saturday, it made me think about what those millions of people who came to ellis island must have been thinking when they saw that great statue. I love what it says on the statue.

"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"


That same message is being callled out by Jesus Christ to all of his Children. New York City was the golden door for the past centuries, and it still is. I have meet with and taught people from 50 countries, and from every religious background imaginable. From Columbia to Egypt, from Russia to Uzbekistan, and from the Czech Republic to Haiti, this gospel is for everyone. How freaking lucky am i to come to the cross roads of the world. NYC has people living from every continent, speaking every language, all united in the fact we are sons and daughters of God. We allow ourselves to focus on our differences more then we should, while we should be focused on everything we have in common. Which makes all the difference in the world. It really makes you thankful to be a country that still remembers who our creator is. Everyone who lives in this country still handles money that says, "in God we trust". And as missionaries especially, if we cant trust in God, we cant trust in anything.

Love,
Elder tio

Macbook Monday

So today here i am on the chunk of rock they called staten. This is the first time in my life i have lived on an island and so far its pretty sweet. We are doing emails from our local macstore because we couldnt get library cards yet, but they were nice enough to let us use some new macbook airs, which are sick. plus the ambiance music is coldplay right now, :) i love motab but a break every once in a while is nice too.
This island is soooo different then brooklyn and queens. Its techincally nyc but barely, its super nice. the people here mostly live in big house with yards, and arent too interested in any church that doesnt begin with catholi. But things are going really well so far.
We are working with a woman named yvonne and her daughters naomi and natalie. None of them are members, but yvonne's mom is a less active. Anyways, natalie turned 12 this week and now is planning on getting baptized in 2 weeks. We are hoping naomi(15) will jump on board this week and catch her sisters fever. Its awesome to see.
oh, I have to tell you about this amazing miracle that happened this week. elder kosaka and I were driving home from transfers and trying to figure out where our apartment is, and an hour and half later we decided we were lost. we called the other missionaries and told them were we were, and they said they would come and get us. When we were waiting, I felt like i should talk to the guy walking by our car in the parking lot. i grabbed a passalong card and jumped out. when i called out to say hey to him, he turned around and started laughing. He was shoked to see us. he was a member who had moved from boston 3 months ago but hadnt been in contact with the church. I was just a surpised that the first person i talked to was a member. We meet with him saturday and taught his roommate john, and both of them will be coming to church this sunday, hopefully. It was just such a testemant that even getting lost on a totally foreign island can be part of the Lord's plan.
anyways, now for Q's and A's:
(bob marley is playing now, i feel like im back in jamaica!)
Questions for Elder Sky…
1. How are you? amazing
2. How is your new area? so sweet, the members here are so cool. most of them are from the west and are transpanted here for school or work and most of them have served missions. They are so amazing, we have dinner appointments every night this week. A big change from Jamaica. 3. Can you introduce us to your new companion? Name, where is he from, how long has he been serving? He is Elder Kosaka, from Osaka, Japan! He is my second foreign comp in nyc, and he is way rad. his english is really good, and he is teaching me some japanese. Do itashe mashite. He has been out for about 6 months, and it a cool kid. Good companion to have when your blinded into an area. A japanese family in the ward feed us some really japanese food last night, and it was amazing!
4. How is your new ward/branch? amazing. They are all willing to go out with us, we just have to find people to teach first! :)
5. How did transfers go? Did all your “stuff” fit back in your bags? Did you take a bus or train or ?????? The senior missionary couple, The williams, who serve in jamaica drove my stuff to transfers and then we have a car here on staten so we drove it back. but my stuff fit, barely..

This week was sweet, and Im excited to be here on staten. There is alot of good things that are getting ready to happen here, so im psyched. Its hard getting used to being in a car, i miss the trains and buses. Being in a car is a bit like being trapped away from the people we want to talk to. but thankfully they have the staten island ferry which travels between staten and manhattan and we can find people there. and see the statue liberty there and back. its a sweet deal.
Ya'll are my heroes, love ya
sly,
elder nemo(my nickname from mac, a 3 year old in the ward)

Crossing the River

After spending the last 15 months on Long Island, the island which is the location of Brooklyn, and Queens, I am finally leaving this chunck of rock for a smaller island, Staten Island. The least populated of all the borough's in new york city, Staten is about the size of Brooklyn, but only has 4 english missionaries covering that area. So its going to be a big change since there are about 45 missionaries in Brooklyn, and 50 in queens. I got the call Saturday morning, and at first I was a little T.O'd. Staten is in the same zone as bensonhurst, and is just across the verrazzano Bridge from my last pad. So its crazy that I will be so close to all the people I love in Brooklyn. I dont know who my new comp will be, but we are both going to staten new to the area, which should be another adventure like here in jamaica.
Im way sad that Im leaving this area and Elder Merrill. We have three people who are going to get baptized in the upcoming weeks, so its hard to leave them and go to a new area. I am way excited for one last area though, and Elder Wright, who was my comp back in August and September of last year, is currently one of the missionaries there, So I will get to live with him again.
Anyway, this last week was really good. We went with the other missionaries in the district to the same woman in the ward's home on tuesday and got to move a giant pile of gravel and bricks and other rubbish from one side of her backyard to the other. We didnt have a wheel barrow, so we just started throwing the bricks across the backyard one at a time, until finally the pile moved, it was sick. Thankfully we didnt brake any windows, although while we were working, a little girl who lived next door decided to start throwing stuff at us. First it was a basketball, then a broom. in just a few short minutes we had mop and doll missels(sp?) flying over the fence towards us. At one point, a broom hit someone right in the head, and cause a nice bumb. It was the funniest and most random thing I have ever see. We still dont know why she disliked us so much, but it might be she has been reading some anti...
Now to move on to the Questions:

1. How are you and how was your week? Freaking good and great
2. Are transfers this week? Is your “pad” changing at all? Lots, me and Rowley are both leaving, and elder gibson and merrill are both staying, so they will get new companions.
3. What did you study in the scriptures this morning? I wish i could say something great, but i was packing, i did hear elder holland's talk on the bomo.
4. Can you share a miracle you saw this week? yes. we didnt have church on sunday because of stake conference. after conference was over we dropped by jamaica chapel to meet with janet. At the same time jean showed up, and i got to say my goodbyes to those men, even jean hadnt heard i was leaving yet. It was great.
5. How are all those amazing new members of the church doing? so good. of the 25 new members, 25 are still amazing, so things are looking really good.
6. How can I help you with registration for fall semester. I think it’s time to do it. You have a contract at Liberty Square in Provo for Fall/Winter in apt 28, I think. We drove by and it looks like a great spot, not very far from campus. I am going to get on my route y next monday and sign up for classes.
7. Anything else we can do for you? Not that I can think of.

For the next week if you want to drop me a line, just send it to the mission office, the elmhurst, ny address, and they will forward it my way! I love y'all
sly,
elder t'yo

April on the Mission, Take Three

Skyler entering the MTC in April 2008

I cant even tell you how happy i am right now! I just found out the high for today is 70 degrees. Our zone is getting together to play ultimate frisbee in the park, and we just had conference. Could live getting any sweeter?
This week was amazing. Honestly i dont remember alot of what happened. On saturday though, life started to get great. The baptism for this week got pushed because there werent many members who could attend, but that would have been more sad if it wasnt for conference being so freaking sweet. We watched Saturday A.M. session(which actually starts in the PM here) at the chapel with 14 missionaries and about 10 members. That session was way good. Then we headed over to some Recent Converts in the ward, Mike, Reshma, and Ashley. They are the coolest family you could ever meet. They have BYU tv, so they invited us for for curry and roti and some conference. What a session that was. Im sure life everyone else I loved Elder Holland's talk, I freaking loved how he said, "el diablo" what a great man. I also loved D. Todd's talk on the Bible. It is amazing to hear how people died to give the book to the people who God wanted to have it in the first place. Because of them, we all have it.
After that we headed back to the church for Priesthood which was phenominal. Elder Rasband and Prez Eyring both had was good talks. Sunday morning we returned to the church for Easter Sunday, and after handing out flyers all week we had alot of people show up. The talks were way good. My favorite talk of conference came from Sunday, when Prez Dieter talked about being the hands of Christ. What a powerful message to all of us. Christ wants of embrace us, and he does that through the arms and hands of others. That talk probably spoke to me the most.
I also love how each talk with speek to different people differently. Janet loved Elder Hales' talk, even though his voice was enough to put me to sleep. Man, the church is true.
So today I realized this is my 3rd time to visit April as a missionary and it made me really glad that I went into the MTC in the spring and not the fall. Im defenitly a warm weather kid. This is glorrrious. I think the weather in upstate was probably similair to this on a spring morning back 190 years ago. I also realized im now the oldest cousin in the family who hasnt been married. Im still on my mission and the pressure is on.. sweet.. Otherwise life is good. I love being here, and after talking to pres nelson this week, it looks like elder merrill and I will be staying together for an unpresidented 4th transfer together. Once again, we have our fingers crossed, and Im pretty sure that is not even close to how you spell unpresidented. oh well.
I also wanted to share a cool story from the week. We got a call from a sister in the ward on tuesday night and she was freaking out about some scaffolding that had fallen down near her house. I could really understand what she was saying because dechyphering accents over the phone is an art that im not even close to mastering. so on wednesday morning we drove over to her house with 2 other elders who have a car and realized that some scaffolding had been partially blown over by a strong gust of wind. Our job was to pull down 3 stories of scaffolding with some rope, which, is like a dream come true for 4 20 year old boys. After five minutes, the whole things was on the ground. The only problem was that the whole thing almost fell on Elder Pape(pronounce POP), but no worries, he walked away un-injured.
Now for Q's and A's:

Questions for Elder Sky….
1. What did you think about General Conference? Why does it go by so very very fast? It was pretty freaking amazing, I loved hearing for the leaders of the Lord's church.
2. How was your week and how are you? Soo good. I have no complaints. I recieved a freaking sweet easter package on Friday, with the best easter tie I can ever remember. Its a beauty. the primary kids also loved the conference packets. we also had a good game of conference bingo going during sunday am
3. Did your Easter Package arrive in time for Easter? Yep, it was sick!
Thats so crazy about Lindsay Ence, that will be a sweet mission for her to go to for sure. I cant believe the girls my age are going on missions now, and the crazier part is, I'll be home before she leaves, thats nuts! I love y'all, and stay classy.
sly,
elder shiler thio

Holy Week!

As a missionary, I dont think there is a better weekend in the year then this upcoming weekend. Its time for General Conference again! For two days, we get to be like every other member of the church and just enjoy the words of the prophet. For 50 sundays a year, church is freaking hectic for missionaries. We dont get to much of a chance to relax but are typically to busy running around. But conference is a time we get to kick back and relax, which once ever 26 sundays, is really welcome.
It also creates fun concrete memories. The first gc in new york i was with Elder Howells and lives with Wu and Grow. Now Wu and grow are both home, and the two sisters in bensonhurst at the time, sisters brown and kevan are both home too. 6 months after that I was with Elder Wright, and I feel like I was just serving with him. Time is crazy.
This week was pretty freaking great though. The baptisms were on Saturday instead of Sunday this week. Two sisters were baptized, Julia and Rebecca. Yesterday they were confirmed along with the 4 people baptized last week. The 6 confirmations took a good chunk of the time for sacrament meeting. It was sweet. We had to bring in extra rows for the people who showed up a little late. One of our investigators brought a friend with her and they both loved church, but are kind of bummed (becuase we have stake conference the week following gc) that there wont be primary for 2 weeks in a row.
The sweetest news from yesterday is that they announced the ground breaking for the Jamaica chapel. Right now we meet on the second floor of a food court in the midddle of Jamaica Center, and now they are going to build a brand new 5 story chapel 2 blocks over ontop of a parking lot. We are all way excited to have a real chapel that has a baptismal font. The only problem...it wont be open til 2012. Yikes on bikes..
Now for the Q's and A's
Questions for Elder Sky….
1. How are you and how was your week? I can hardly wait to hear all about it. I am soo good. The weather this week couldnt really decide what it wanted to do. It was warm then cold then warm. Anyway, we had a sweet cold spread around the pad, but now everything is cleared up again and everyone is feeling a ok(where does that saying come from??)
2. How was Sunday, yesterday? Did the Baptism Miracles keep up their winning streak? Yep, but on Saturday. And there is baptism planned for 10am next sunday, so have the baptism, then everyone jumps on the train and goes to the jamaica chapel for church.
3. What moment stands out among the rest this week? Sitting in PEC when the stake president announced the new chapel. Thats really what this ward needs.
4. What would a perfect Easter Package look like to you? Starburst jellybeans, other fruity candy, and an egg dying kit.
5. Are you getting excited for General Conference? freak ya

I wanted to tell one funny story from this week. When one of the missionaries was sick this week I went on exchanges with Elder Gibson. Elder Gibson is from ATL georgia and is black, so we got on a bus heading to the appointment, and when we were sitting down a little girl came up to me and asked, "are you lost" and I said, "nope" She just looked at me and said, "you sure arent normal," then walked away. It made my day. Love y'all
sly,
Eldah Skylah Tio

Spring Time? fuggitaboutit

This was another great week for all in Jamaica Queens. After 4 days of amazing spring weather here, we woke up this morning to cold rain. The good news it should be back to glorious level weather in the near future.
Alot of amazin things happened this week. My highlight was going to Brooklyn to see Mendy and Phales and their new son! He is a beautiful baby boy, and it was awesome because I will get to travel to Brooklyn in a couple months for the Baby's blessing, and Phales will be able to do that. It is very exciting times for their family.
Another highlight was Janet being confirmed then being ordained a Priest later the same day. He is amazing man, and missionary. Smith's daughter's came to church and are excitied about baptism, but we werent able to meet with them this week so it might get pushed back for their baptism.
We also had a couple of new investigators come to church as well. One spoke only french but with the help of a translator really enjoyed church and felt the spirit.
after church there where 4 people who where baptized. Mike, the dad, Reshma, the mom, and Ashley, the daughter were baptized with their family friend Narilee. They are all from Guyana, and are part of a large group of friends who have begun attending, and then joining the church. This ward is so excited about the people coming into the church, it almost seems like with baptisms everyweek we might get into a "Mexico mindset" where is almost becomes a normal thing, but to the contrary, the members are just getting more and more excited. Its just amazing for this ward, this something they have really been looking for, and now its happening. Needless to say, we are all way excited.

Now for the Q's and A's:Questions for Elder Sky…
1. How are you and how was your week? Im way good, the week was awesome. It was nice to sweet(sp?) for the first time in a while, we have really missed the sun.
2. How was the 7th straight week of baptisms? I can’t believe that amazing Jamaica Ward? Freaking sweet. It was an amazing service. The family that was baptized even brought curry chicken, which was sooo sick. I love anything curry, but this was especially good.
3. Can you share a miracle you saw this week? My favorite miracle of the week was from a woman who came to church for just the 2nd time since she moved from Florida years ago. She moved to NY as a recent convert and was working on Sundays and didnt know where the church was. Last week she had sunday off and so she decided she wanted to find the church. She came and felt the spirit and knew she needed to be attending every week. At work on Monday she asked her Boss for Sundays off, and he refused. So she quit. Just like that, after wokring there for years. She came yesterday and was excited to be able to attend, and knew the Lord would help provide a job that would allow her to work and go to chuch.
4. Preaching 4th is coming out this next week, what can I share about you? NYC is the greatest city on earth, and is the greatest place you possible serve the Lord. There is no doubt about that. Everywhere else can make their claims for 2nd place. After a long winter here, the weather is looking to de-thaw and change into the spring. Its a freaking exciting time to be a missionary, no where else I would rather be.
5. Any thoughts on roommates/places to live, etc? I know you hate to think about it but it’s time to get those things rolling. See where mckay and ryan are going, that sounds like some good people to tag along with.
6. Have you ever gotten to follow up with the Russian Christmas Miracle Family? yes, they are very hard to catch when they arent working, but they have been reading and just to need to prioritize things.
7. Have you got some fun plans for preparation day today? We are going to the mission office to say goodbye to Sister Kevan. She is leaving tomorrow so I get to say goodbye one last time. Its crazy that we served in the same area for over a year of our missions.
8. Anything you need that we could do for you here? Not that I can think of now, things are great here.
Have the best week ever,
sly,
elder sky Tea-oh

March Madness!

This week was another unbelievable week here in NYC. I continue to love being in Jamaica Queens. It couldnt get any better. Janet Sanon, the artist, was baptized yesterday, and it was a great service. Since we dont have a font in the Jamaica Chapel, we have to ride the subway 3 stops down to Richmond Hill's chapel for all the baptisms. Which makes it harder to get members to come to baptisms, but members keep coming. It is amazing. Yesterday was the 6th straight week with a baptism in the ward, and there are 4 baptisms next sunday, and 3 more the next week. It has made Sunday scheduling really nice though. We go to church at 12 more PEC, then have church for 3 hours, a baptism at 5, and then typically go over to a family's home for dinner afterwards, and thats the day.
Janet's baptism was especially cool because the program featured his own art work. It made it feel very special, and afterwards members were asking him to sign their copy. It was sweet. I will have to send home a program for you.
On Friday night, Elder Merrill and I were on exchanges, so I was with Elder Rowley and we went to go visit Smith, who was baptized 2 weeks ago(and became a Priest yesterday). When we got there, Smith wasnt there yet, but one of his friends was. His name is Alladin, and it turns out that his 3 children live in Haiti, and are strong active members of the church, and he has never known were the church was here, and wants to be baptized. When I got home and told Elder Merrill he almost laughed because that is the 3rd time since we have been together that we have meet someone from Haiti who WANTS to be baptized before we even taught them anything. Our job here is very easy.
Now for the Questions of the week:

Questions for Elder Sky…
1. How are you and how was your 2nd week of March? Sooo good.
2. Did New York ‘s March come in like a Lion so that it will go out like a Lamb? Its been a lion this week. We got off a train on Saturday night and saw trees had been blown over and signs bent over. The wind was blowing like a hurricane.
3. Can you tell us about church yesterday? I can’t even imagine the missionary spirit that is in the Jamaica ward. I wish you could bottle it and send it all over the world. It was great, three recent converts were given the priesthood today, which makes 9 men who have recieved the Priesthood in the Jamaica Ward in 2010. Its so awesome.
4. What did you study in the Book of Mormon today and in Preach My Gospel? I am studying alot of Jacob, but actually today I was reading in Psalms. I love Psalms, and have fallen in love with Poetry of all kinds since I got to NYC. The Psalms are cool, and speak alot of the coming of a great atonement. The message we bring to people everyday.
5. What are you wearing today? Remember when I would always tell Gram when you left for work. Shirt, Suit, tie, socks, shoes, coat, hat? I have jeans, rainbow shows, hoodie, jacket, and a beanie. Its cold and raining, but after this we are going to go play basketball.
6. Anything you need? I got everything I needed in my St. Patties day package! thank you so much. I dont know how my body feels about eating nothing but green stuff/
7. Also, I dont know about rooming yet, I will think about it this week and let you know.

I am so happy I am able to be in Jamaica at this time. As a missionary, you couldnt ask for a better group of members to serve with. They are so awesome, and are so willing to share their testimonies with anyone.
I love y'all a ton, and thanks for the letters and emails. I always love hearing from you. Especially gram and gramps, I feel bad because I hardly ever write back but I love the letters I get from you every week. You two are the bomb.

Stay Classy
Elder T:0

Happy Un-Official Mother's Day!

Happy Un-Official Mother's Day!
I am beginning to think that there are alot of holidays, but way to few days dedicated to Mother's! So today I am presenting the second Mother's day, or Mother's appreciation day.
As far as my life goes, this week was amazing. We found new people who are interested in learning more, and place alot of Book of Mormons. We also were able to see another person baptized by the other Elders, David Watson. I got to intereview before, and he is an amazing man. That makes 5 straight sundays with a baptism in Jamaica. And in that time, 16 people have been baptized.
The spirit was very strong yesterday in Fast and Testimony meeting as recent converts stood up and bore their testimonies about their conversions. The one that touched me the most was from Nerissa Benny. She was very nervous, but stood and told her simple, and piercing testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and His love for us shown in the atonement.
The rest of the week was beautiful. The weather has turned around this weekend, and after seeing snow Friday morning, we are flirting with 50 degrees now. That would be amazing. Conference is less then a month away, and its time to put away my suit coat except for church meetings. In otherwards, life couldnt get much better!
Now I wanted to dedicate the rest of my letter to a woman that most of love and hear alot about. She gets lots of praise, but she doesnt get nearly enough for how much she does. She is the defenition of what a Latter-day Saint should be. She raised five children, all 5 would serve honorable missions, and 4 have already been sealed to their own amazing eternal companion. Her ability to love her children was what lead us to make choices that were right. We werent scared of being punished, but we knew if mom said so, it was probabaly for a reason. Dont get me wrong, none of us were close to perfect(except Tatia) but ultimently the big choices that make the biggest affect on our lives were the right choices. From an early age we learned what it ment to choose. We were given choices. We could wear the green shirt or the pink shirt, but it was up to us. It allowed us to get used to making those decesions of more importance later on in life. As a side note, the freedom to choose was suspended during family vacations when we had only the choice between the pink shirts everyone was wearing to disneyland, or the pink shirts everyone was wearing to disneyland. :)
I couldnt think of how someone could be a better example as a mother either. She showed us love and compassion, and was never afraid to help us with our science project that was due in 2 hours.
I want everyone to know how awesome Robynn Thiot is, because I couldnt be here in New York City if it wasnt for that woman. Everyone I am able to meet is because of my mom, and for that, blessings will be poored on her head in this life, and in the next. God holds a very special place in his Heart and Kingdom for his most loved and loving woman, and my Mother has a very prominent position in that place. She goes beyond the call of duty daily, and for that, my siblings and I can never pay her back, the best we can do is to say, I love you.
And that is the truth of it Mom, I Love you. I dont know how to say it any other way.

With all my Love,
the Caboose

p.s. I will answer any missed questions in next weeks email, sorry

Editors Note: I hesitate to even post this beautiful e-mail from Elder Sky. I've had a crazy week and I think somehow he knew this is just what I needed. Thank you everybody for the love and support you give to our Elder Sky too.

Snow, Dickies BBQ Pit, and MORE Baptisms!

This week was one of the best ones I have in recent memory. I received some great news on transfers, got to enjoy some amazing food from Texas, had another foot of snow, and you can’t forget the miracles going on in the Jamaica Ward.
On Thursday afternoon the office elders called and asked for a favor. One of the office elders is my old companion Elder Howells, and the other is one of Elder Merrill’s old comps. So they called and asked if we could help them go pick up a car in a repair shop on Long Island. We were excited to help, and didn’t have anything planned for the morning except planning. (I also haven’t left NYC in the last 13 months, so a chance to venture out of the city was pretty exciting) We made it to the repair shop and my comp and Elder Howells comp went to drive the other car home. Then I saw it. Next to the repair shop was a brand new Dickies BBQ pit. I was shocked because I didn’t realize that there were any Dickies outside of the Dallas area. We stopped and I had my first westerner in over a year, and it was just as good as I could remember. They also had all you could eat ice cream and pickles. It made for a freaking sweet lunch. Im also pretty excited to have a yellow cup here up in NYC. Anyway, I was pretty excited.
The next amazing thing that happened this week was the snow. It started snowing Thursday morning and kept snowing for 36 hours. It gave us a chance to perform service again, and continue to help out the members and investigators here in Jamaica.
The next big news is about transfers. On Saturday night I got the call that Elder Merrill and I are staying together for another 6 weeks. Its very rare in this mission to stay together for 3 transfers, so we are psyched to keep the good things going here in Jamaica.
But the highlight of the week was after church on Sunday. The other missionaries in Jamaica have been working with the Robinson family for years, and after seeing the excitement of all the people getting baptized here, they decided now was the time for them to join the church they knew was true. Also, another family, the Frazier family, was completed. Brother Frazier has been a member for years, but had fallen away, but recently has returned to active, and now the rest of his family was able to be baptized. There 13 year old son, Troy Jr asked me to baptize him, and it was great experience to be dressed in all white with those amazing families. It was just a great day.
The Jamaica ward hit a new record for attendance yesterday with over 130 people there. It is starting to get close to the max this building can hold! This ward has seen 20 baptisms in 2010, and we are only 2 months in, so the rest of this year will continue to be miraculous. In February about 1 in 3 people baptized in NYC were baptized in Jamaica, which is amazing. The excitement is not coming from the missionaries though, it is all from the members. They are the ones telling their friends, and their friends are telling their friends. One woman, Sister Elizabeth Sing was baptized in January and had brought 10 friends with her to church already. It is so awesome to see. I am just really glad to be here and be able to witness this.
Now for the Q’s of the Week:

1. How are You and How was your Week? I am great, and my week was awesome. If anyone could make it warm already, that would be pretty nice though.
2. How was Smith’s Priesthood Ordination? What a lucky Priests quorum your ward must have with so many new Priesthood holders. It was great. There are 6 new prospective elders in this ward now. It is great to see a new generation of priesthood holders building up in this ward.
3. I think it’s transfers this week, are you staying or a going? STAYING!
4. How about your companion or housemates? We are all staying. They kept the district identical, so that’s pretty exciting.
5. Did you get to help shovel away the snow storm this week? WOWSERS! Yea, and I heard there might be more snow this week. How do people in utah deal with snow, I miss Texas weather!
6. Anything you need or anything we could do for you? Just keep on keeping on.

I love y’all. Thank you for your support and love. I am really blessed to be here in NYC, the greatest city on earth, and am so pleased to be able to serve the Lord here.
Sly,
Elder skyler T O

GOLD

In honor of the Olympics going on the other side of the continent, we had a bit of gold this week in the greatest city on the planet. Smith Colin, a Haitian who we have been teaching for about 5 weeks was baptized yesterday with his sweet daughters there to see it happen. He is sooo golden. In two weeks, he is planning on baptizing them, so it is going to be sweet!
His daughters have such a cool miracle story. They just got to America a few months ago, right before the Haitian Earthquake. The timing was amazing, and it allowed them to miss out on the devastation that occurred. The oldest daughter, Jasmine, slept over at two of her friends’ house all of the time, and those two friends died the day of the earthquake in the room that they always hung out in. They are very happy to be alive. They would have been baptized this week but haven’t been able to come to church as often as he has, so a few more weeks and they will be ready to go!
It is amazing to witness the miracles that are happening here, not just for me, but for the people around us. Even though the weather has been pretty cold(except for the weather in the 40’s this weekend) seeing so much success makes the work so much more fun. Mio Compo is so awesome, everyday we are having fun and getting things done. It makes it super easy to be a missionary, and he is definitely part of the reason for why I love it out here so much!
So now for the Q’s and A’s:
1. How are you and what can you tell us about third week of February? This was a freaking golden week. Despite some snow, the sun has been out most of the week so it has been beautiful.
2. How are you feeling? All these dear people at Stake Conference asked about you and asked how you are feeling. I always say, I hope good as he never complains. Feeling? Sooo good. Cant even tell you, I haven’t physically felt better in my entire life. Last pday we ran a 5k and bike 10 miles, and it felt way good to be able to do that.
3. Which day this week do you wish you could live over again? Yesterday. With a baptism and a sweet 3 hour block, I would love to do it again. One of the coolest parts of church yesterday was in 3rd hour, we had 3 men who had just moved from the Indian-Pakistani border come to class and want to learn about Christianity. They are coming again next week and loved their experience. Also, in Sacrament meeting, there were 130 people there, which is a good and a bad thing. The building can only hold 135 so we are 5 away from having to turn people away. But there are talks of splitting the ward before the summer.
4. Is your Stake Conference Coming up soon? It seems like our last ones were close by each other. I switched stakes from Brooklyn to Queens so our next SC isn’t for a few months.
5. How did your lessons you taught this week go, is there one that stands out among the rest? They went really well. I cant think of one right now, but that just goes to show how sweet they were.
6. Anything we can do for you? Nope
I almost forgot to mention. Yesterday, 3 of the recent converts in the ward received the priesthood, and Smith will next week, and then 2 more will the week after that. It is amazing to see what can happen in a ward when the people get excited about Missionary work.
Sly,
Elder t’eeo