SIX-E!!!!!!

This week was amazing! To stop myself from having all my emails sound like annoying over happiness, I will explain why Im so happy to be here in Jamaica.
In Missionary work sometimes good things happen slowly. You find and teach one person at a time, and it’s kind of like a hose that is leaking and it’s just drip by drip. But right now in Jamaica, the hose is on full blast. We have 4 companionships covering our ward, and everyone has people getting ready to be baptized, and yesterday was a great example of everything going on here in Jamaica.
There were SIX baptisms yesterday. It was such a sweet experience to see the entire front row of the baptism dressed in white. It was a so sweet. Next week, the ward has three more, including Smith, and then the week after that, there will be 5 more. For the month of February there will be 14 new members in the ward. The amazing part is how it is happening. The other missionaries here are great, and the recent converts and members are telling all their friends about the church. So despite me, the Lord is blessing the area.
Anyways, I am pretty freaking excited. We have a lot of other people who will be getting baptized in March, so we are hoping to stay to get to see all of these amazing things happen.
Now for the Q’s of the week:

Questions for Elder Sky…
1. How are you? How was your week? I am doing well. We got a foot of snow dumped on us on Wednesday, so it was pretty fun. We went around shoveling people’s sidewalks and driveways for the day. It was a good time, and got a lot of good done.
2. What did you learn this week about the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The gospel’s great plan, the plan of salvation is so great. It is fully comprehensive, so no one is left out in the cold unless the reject it.
3. Did your valentine box arrive? Are you smelling good? Yes and yea
4. Where are you e-mailing from? I’m guessing the library’s are closed there too. We are at an internet café in Richmond Hill, and neighborhood that’s about 15 minutes from Jamaica. This morning we went and ran and biked a biathlon, it was way fun.
5. What are you studying in Preach My Gospel this week? Chapter 4, it’s the most important part of the work.
6. How are your investigators progressing? When is Smith and his daughter’s baptisms set for? Smith is this Sunday, and his daughters will be a couple weeks behind him.
7. How’s Jenae doing? I love looking at his art, he’s amazing. I can picture him doing a Lehi’s and Nephi’s dream with the tree of life and the iron rod and the whole works. Janet is doing good. He is such a sweet guy, he is way selfless, and he loves the book of mormon. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see his art in the church at some point in the future, he is amazing.

Well we are running low on time since we are at a café, so I will make up with a longer email next week.
I love being in NYC, and am glad to have the chance to serve here. I wish everyone could experience what its like here. My emails really don’t do it justice. NYC just has its own soul, and it is such a cool place to serve a mission.
Love y’all
Sly, Eldre Skylre Thiot

Happy Chinese New Year!

This week could be appropriately described as being pretty super. A lot of amazing things happened, and the people we are working with continue to progress. Life is good.
I just wanted to say how much it helps to have an amazing comp as a missionary. I have been really blessed and fortunate to have amazing companion after amazing companion. I do feel bad because a lot of the times I hear stories of missionaries who had to learn patience and other Christlike attributes, but I have just had such amazing comps I haven’t had to learn those things from them. I am way thankful for Elder Merrill, he makes working in Jamaica really amazing.
Now for the week:
We had amazing things happen to us every day. The highlight of the week was our appointment with Smith. We are teaching him at a member’s house, and the member’s daughter is not a member. After the lesson which went really well, the daughter, angie, came out and talked to us for a while, and then seemed really interested. On Sunday we found out she had read First Nephi. She is really impressive. Its amazing to see the testimonies of our investigators when they share them with others.
Another amazing thing that has made life so good is that in the last 7 days, 20 people in our zone of 18 missionaries committed to get baptized in February. It is a very exciting time to be in Jamaica and to see all the amazing people that are getting fired up and find the truth. When it snows in Jamaica, it pours.
The only downside of so many people getting baptized is someone has to interview them all, so yesterday during church there we 6 baptismal interviews for next Sunday’s six baptisms in the ward. So it was pretty spiritually tiring, but the people here are amazing!
Now for the Q’s of the week:

Questions for Elder Sky…
1. How are you and how was your week? SUPER sweet.
2. What happened this week that you couldn’t even imagine? Members asking us to teach their friends. Jean Laveaux has told everyone he knows and now we are trying to find time to schedule appointments with them. Another members, Fritz Alexis gave out 12 pass along cards Saturday morning to his friends at another church, and a lot of them came on Sunday. He is awesome.
3. How are your amazing investigators progressing? Very well, and faster then I expected. It looks like Smith and two of his daughters will be baptized in February!
4. Did your valentine and Preaching Fourth arrive yet? Yes! Thanks p4th, its so sweet to be from the coolest unit on earth.
5. Have you made a decision about your release date? It is looking like the beginning of July right now, but its not in stone yet.
6. Will you see your district before valentines if I stick a package in the mail today for ya’ll? Yes, we see eachother all the time, that would rock.

I hope everyone has a great Chinese new year and valentines day on Sunday. I never know how big new years was til I came to NY. It is huge here! So get a red pocket for the ones you love, and remember that the church is true. Happy Birthday Gram! You are the greatest 75 year old I know and I LOVE you!

Sly,
Elder schuyler thiot

FEBruiffic!

Hey! Wow, what an exciting week I have had here in Jamaica this week. We had some amazing miracles and I got some exciting news from Bensonhurst.
I will start with some of the amazing things that happened:
On Friday night we went to meet with one of our Haitian investigators, Smith. He hobbled into the lesson and told us that at work that day a large piece of machinery had fallen on his foot. As he shared the story, I was shocked he was sitting right in front of us. He said that when the machinery fell on him, he didn’t feel the full force of the hit, like something was lifting it up. Even though his foot was injured, from the size of the thing that fell on him, it could have easily led to much worse damage, and even amputation. But thankfully the Lord has guardian angels following these sweet people here in Jamaica.
Another miracle from this week was from Janet. Janet was having some health issues this week and called us last second to tell us he wasn’t going to be able to meet us at the church. So we were sitting at the church trying to figure out what to do when a man walked up and it was Jamaica Steve, the man who was playing in the snow 2 months ago.(in phot0) We hadn’t been able to meet with him for a couple of weeks but we had a powerful lesson with him, and he told us he is feeling ready to get baptized soon! He is soooo cool. I realized if Janet hadn’t been sick, we would have never been at the church, and wouldn’t have been able to meet with Steve. Janet is feeling a lot better now, but the Lord directs his work in amazing ways.
One of the highlights of the week was Sunday, when Jean was confirmed a member. The first counselor in the bishopric is Haitian and confirmed him in Haitian Creole. It was really cool, and the spirit was really strong. After church Jean was interviewed and he will receive the priesthood next week! He is growing in the church leaps and bounds, and a lot of the members were surprised to see him confirmed because they thought he was already a member.
Another bit of great news came from Bensonhurst. Phalles called me and told me that yesterday he gave his first talk in church. When I first meet him he was very quiet so for him to give a talk his huge. He also was called to be in the Young Men presidency in the ward! I am so excited for that man. He is a spritiual giant. Also, Phalles and Mendy are expecting a child! So they are very excited for the opportunities the Lord is providing them!
So many amazing things keep happening here! The mission is an experience that you cant get anywhere else.
I also wanted to give you an exciting story from the non-spiritual side of things. Elder Merrill and I play a game as we walk down the streets called kick the rubbish. Since there is so much garbage on the streets here we try to kick it through each others legs. It sounds pretty dumb to an outsider, but for us it is pretty fun and competitive. Anyway, this week we had an amazing occurrence. We were walking with the other missionaries (the trio) and Elder Merrill kicked an empty Dunkin Donuts cup in the air and I kicked it from mid air right between the legs of Elder Gibson, the missionary right in front of me. It was the first alley-oop in the history of kick the rubbish, and it was very impressive. The street was empty so Elder Merrill and I had an improtu celebration dance. It was pretty much amazing, but maybe you had to be there.

Now for the Q’s of the week!
Questions for Elder Sky
1. How are you? How was your week? I am great and the week was pretty much perfect.
2. Did you get your ward list with photo’s done, what a great idea and big undertaking. Its not done, but we got the first couple people done, so now its just a matter of finishing it up.
3. What’s your plan for Preparation Day today? I have no idea, we have to figure that out. It is way cold, so we need to find an indoor activity around here. There is not a gym in the chapel in Jamaica so its hard to find things to do.
4. How are your investigators doing? What about the Russian family you got a referral for? Our investigators are great. We have a lot of people progressing towards baptism, so it is exciting to see the fire in their eyes. It is so sweet. The Russian family is great, but having a hard time making to church because of work conflicts, but they are working on it.
5. Anything we can do for you? Nope, im pretty good.
6. Do you have any plans for Ground Hog Day tomorrow? I forgot that was tomorrow, lets pray he sees the shadow!
7. How was Jean’s confirmation? I LOVED seeing his photos, it made me smile. It was amazing.

Well, I am all out of time, but I love all of y’all, so stay cool! The church is true so don’t be afraid to tell people about the book of mormon. It is the greatest thing you can do for your friends.

love,
elder sky

A Week Juxtaposed

This was a totally different week then last, and it has been incredible to live. Since most people here in nyc are starting to see that the end of winter is coming, there is a certain brightness in people’s faces. A bounce in the city’s step. And it was personified in Jean Laveaux of Port-Au-Prince Haiti. This is a man that 13 days ago lost a number of close loved ones and now has been baptized into the Lord’s living church. What an amazing transformation I have seen in this man’s life in the last 20 days.
He knew the church and the missionaries in Haiti but was never baptized and then when he moved in NY he just never found the church until a 5 weeks ago. He hasn’t missed a church meeting since then. And we were able to teach him all the lessons this week. We were at his house ever night. It was a great experience. The baptism was really nice as well, and the members came and supported him. He has done amazing at making friends with a lot of the members and has been able to become part of the ward.
I am just so excited, because we have seen so many amazing things happen in a very short amount of time in Jamaica. The Lord has provided a lot of people for us to teach, and the people have been touched by the spirit.
I don’t have time for questions because my time is almost up!
I will make up for it next time.
Tell Brooklyn that I love her and Happy Birthday. She is the coolest niece I could ask for. Life is so awesome. I love NYC, and I am so glad I ended up here.
I love y’all!
Keep praying for the people in Haiti, as well as all the people here in Beautiful New York!

With all my love,
Elder t.o.

A Sad Week

Unlike my last 50 or so weeks, this week was not amazingly happy or even supper happy, but the only word I can think to describe it is sad. Almost everyone we are working with and a lot of people I know from Brooklyn are affected by it. It is the disaster in Haiti that occurred on Tuesday. I don’t know if I knew too many Haitians before my mission, but something a lot of people don’t know about NYC is there are over 150,000 Haitians here, so we know a lot of them. They are heavily based here in Jamaica and in Canarsie, a neighborhood I covered In Brooklyn.
On Tuesday night I received a call from Phalles, a man I baptized in Brooklyn and he was in total shock a despair at what he saw on CNN. He has all of his family in Port-Au-Prince, and felt totally helpless and didn’t know what to do or even say. We talked and talked, and he felt comfort in the knowledge that he has in this gospel. He is an amazing man with a powerful testimony.
Later that evening we got a call from our investigator Janet, who also has all of his family in Port-au-prince. As the night went on, the calls continued to come in. In fact, of the people we are teaching in Jamaica right now, all of them are from the area around Port-au-prince.
The first night we couldn’t really understand the magnitude of what had happened until later on in the week. Thankfully, God provided many miracles to help us out during the week. On Wednesday night we had an amazing lesson with Janet about the plan of salvation. He found comfort and peace in the knowledge that God provides every single one of his children the same opportunity at salvation. I love that knowledge as well. As the week went on, more information trickled from Haiti to NYC, and people started to find out the fate of their relatives. It was difficult to learn one of the recent converts here had lost 6 siblings, and found out through a text message.
I wish I could describe the relationship I feel to these people, but it is truly impossible, since they are like family, so this has been a hard week for me to see so much of my family in pain.
The work of God does go forward and we did see a miracle occur on Saturday. We were teaching Jean, who is also from Port-au-prince. During the lesson he was telling us about his family and his feelings at the time. He then expressed a desire to be baptized next Sunday. We are going to have to do a lot of teaching before Sunday, but he is ready and we are excited for him to have the testimony he does. What an awesome man Jean is.
Church was awesome yesterday, and we had a new Haitian man come to church who is a friend of a Haitian Recent convert. He was to be taught the lessons and become a member as well. So many good things are going on here it is a great time to be here in Jamaica. That is also some good news. Elder Merrill and I are both staying here for another transfer, but one of our roommates is changing. Also, Sister Kevan, the sister missionary who I have been serving with for a year now is going to finish her mission here in Jamaica so we will have served together for a record 10 transfers in the same ward. It’s been nice to have consistency when working with the other missionaries when one of them is always the same.
I hope everyone who has the opportunity can help with the Haitian relief effort. Haitian people are some of the nicest people on earth. Whenever we knock on a Haitian persons door, we get let in and have a warm place to stay. They are so friendly and nice, and Phalles and Mendy, the couple baptized in Brooklyn are amazing examples of charity to me. They were willing to do anything for me, and always helped us out.
I hope all of you have a great week, and I know this next week will be the beginning of a rebuilding for those people, as well as a time where a lot of people continue to progress towards Christ. Sometimes disasters have to happen to help us recognize we do have a Lord and Savior.
Love,
Elder Skyler Thiot

Yes, it Really is THAT good!

Good morning fam and friends! As you can see by the title of this letter, life really is as good as you may have heard. NYC is amazing, and I cant think of how it could get any better.
I have been in Jamaica for 5 weeks now, and I am starting to get a feel for the area. I still get lost because there are so many stinking buses to choose from and they all go different places. But the good news is I am starting to know the members here, and they are awesome.
This was our second week at 1pm church start time, and we continued to have a ton of people in sacrament meeting, including 20 investigators. It was an amazing Sunday for sure.
I wanted to tell a cool miracle story about one of our newer investigators, Roosevelt. He came to church last Sunday for the first time, and enjoyed it so much that he brought two more of his friends to have us teach. When we first got here we didn’t have many people to teach but now our weeks are packed from start to end. Being busy has its down side though; the time goes by too freaking quick.
Janet is doing great, and continues to read and love the Book of Mormon. He read Alma 32 this week, and especially loved the parable of the seed and how it relates to faith. He made an observation I had never heard before. He noted that after the seed is planted and nurtured, it became a tree, but it wasn’t all done then. If the roots didn’t take into the soil, the tree would just waist away and be cast out. He hungers so much to learn from the BoMo, and continues to teach me things.
We also started working with a man named Jean, who has come to church a number of times now, and while we were teaching him, his daughter, who is in her 20’s came in, and wanted to listen too, it was an awesome experience. They both read from the Book of Mormon, and Jean’s daughter should be able to make it to church next week.
Transfers are coming up next week but I am hoping I will be staying here with Elder Merrill for a 2nd time, so we are both crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. Now for the Q’s of the week:

Questions for Elder Sky???????
1. How are you and how was your very cold week? Great and frezzing cold, but I have noticed the days are getting longer, and this weather will soon warm up. Where is the global warming though? That would sure be nice.
2. How are the good people in Jamaica, New York? So good. We had a lot of people talk to us this week out of the blue on the buses and trains. I don’t know what happened, but they said there was an article about the church in the Times or something. Whatever it is, it sure is nice for missionaries!
3. What happened this week that you had been hoping would? We would see the people we are working with come to church. And they did! Church is the place where people can feel the spirit and see the blessings that come from membership more then anywhere else.
4. Have you been able to see the Russian Miracle Family again? Yes, and I will tell you more next week.
5. What’s on your Preparation Day agenda? Going to Flushing-Meadows park. (see photo above taken last fall) They have the US open tennis tournament, and I guess there is a lot of cool stuff to do.

I have ran out of time, but I just wanted to say how much I love y’all, and how much I love being out here, and the church is true. It is such a great feeling to know the truth has been restored. Stay warm!
Sly,
Elder tio

TwEnTy TeNfAsTiC!

Happy New Year! I can't believe we are in a new decade! Holy smokes, time has flown by since Y2k. But I couldn’t be happier to be starting a new decade off on the right foot like we are out here in Jamaica, Queens.
This was an amazing week here. Because of the new year starting, we were going around and telling all the members that church would be changing from 9am to 1pm. After telling everyone we could find, something amazing happened. We had 110 people in church this week. It might be a lot of people enjoy sleeping in here, but we had 30 new people come that haven’t come in a long time. It was really exciting to see the Sunday school classes have standing room only. It is an exciting time to be in Jamaica.
Unfortunantly, we weren’t able to meet with the Russian family this week since they went out of town this week, sad day. But we are meeting again this week, so it is pretty exciting.
Although, in good news, we have an amazing new investigator this week, his name is Janet(pronounced Ja-nay). He is from Haiti just like Mendy and Phalles. He is an amazing artist, and has been interested in finding the right church for a long time, and feels very good about coming to ours. He has read everything we give him, and is constantly looking for more to find out. Im pretty sure if you google Janet Sanon you should be able to find some of his art, he does “dreamscapes”, which are amazingly beautiful. *This is one of his on top of the blog
Anyway, this was an awesome week, and now for your Q’s and A’s:

Questions for Elder Sky….
1. How are you and how was your week? Soo good. I cant even tell you, it was just an awesome week. It went by way to fast. I feel like P-days are every other day, which is scary because I only have about 20 left.

2. What did you do to celebrate the New Year? We had to be in the apartment at 6, so we just played some monopoly and tried to hear all the people in Times Square, but they were just too far away.
3. Does they Jamaica Ward have Dinner Appointments for the Elders? Not really, but we get feed by investigators plenty,
4. Was your sweet new convert confirmed on Sunday? What an exciting time for her. Yep, it was amazing, the Bishop did a really good job with the blessing, it was sweet.
5. Did your memory card arrive safe and sound? yep
6. Anything in the whole world we can do for you? Not that I can think of, except maybe send a junk drive so I can put my pictures on it and send my old card home to you.

I have ran out of time and have to go, I love y’all, and have a great 2nd week of 2010!
Sly,
Elder sky

My Russian Christmas Miracle!

Hello family! I saw a poster at a bus stop for a new movie with Harrison Ford and Breandan Frasier, I think its called Extraordinary Measures, or something along that line. Anyways, on the poster it says if your looking for miracles, then make one. Well I can say this week I was looking for a miracle, and we received and amazing Christmas miracle.
So the story starts on Christmas day. After making the phone call home, and talking to the family, I got a text message of a referral, a Russian couple, Alexander and Yelena, from Missionaries in the ward that is directly next to ours. I called and they said they were busy until Sunday night, but would be happy to meet with us then. I was so excited to have spoken to a Russian person, that on Saturday and Sunday I was just counting down til Sunday night.
Finally we got on the J/Z train, and headed to this apartment building. The first thing I noticed as I walked in the door was the names on the building register. They were Russian names. Now many of you may not know, but here in Jamaica there are not many Russians, but to see a whole apartment building filled with Russians, I was as excited as it gets, to say the least. The couple buzzed us up, and they had the door open as we walked off the elevator. They were the nicest and warmest Russians I have meet in along time. Although Im not a Russian, it felt like a homecoming for some reason. We sat down and discussed how they had heard about the church.
It turns out on a trip out west they stopped at Temple Square and the missionaries got the information and sent it to NYC. They had no idea that they lived 6 blocks away from the same church in Utah. They were really excited. Neither of them have a religious background, but they both were very warm and receptive in the lesson. It was probably one of the strongest lessons I have witnessed on my mission. They are both excited to read and learn from the Book of Mormon. Im not sure what will happen, but it was truly a miracle for me here in Jamaica, Queens. The Lord knows us and knows what we need and he delivers amazing miracles to us right when we need them.
And that is only one miracle. Nerissa Benny was baptized yesterday, and it was great. The spirit was strong and her non-member dad came and enjoyed the baptism. He was excited about coming to church when we talked to him later on. She is an amazing convert though, and when she bore her testimony at the end of the baptism, it was moving, and everyone there could feel the spirit bearing witness that the church is true!
Christmas day was also amazing. We got feed by Nerissa and her family for lunch, and then we went to the Mike family at night. Brother Mike is an amazing member who I have gotten really tight with in my first few weeks here.
The internet here is working a little weird so I cant open emails, but Im hoping that this will send.
I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and I hope everyone is excited for 2010! This decade has flown bye really fast, and I can hardly believe it is already over. Lets all resolve to do a little better and be a little stronger this year.
I love y’all,
Sly,
Elder skyler t.h.i.o.t

SNOW!!!

What a wild n' crazy week before christmas this has been in Jamaica, NYC. This week I have been the coldest I can ever remember, but yet a number of amazing things still happened. On Monday night it started getting cold so I was sure grateful for my jacket and gloves but by Wednesday, it was bitter cold. We have been really lucky this year because the cold came later on in the year then normal, but it is trying to make up for it.
On Saturday we woke up and hear that it was going to snow and we were pretty excited, but little did we know it was going to snow more then a foot. It made for an amazing Saturday. One of the people we are working with is a man named Steven. He is Jamaican and just moved to NYC a couple of months ago. We were talking with him when it started to snow, and so he wanted to run outside and just play in it, so we did. It was so cool to see how excited he was, for something that can seem kind of inconvienient. He looked over at us, and said, "brothers, this is a miracle from God" He helped me realize that it was a miracle.
Chruch in NYC was cancelled except in Jamaica. Our Bishop doesnt cancel church for anything, so we enjoyed a very small sacrament meeting and 2nd and 3rd hour classes. We had around 20 people of the average 80 show up, so it was pretty cool to get personally connected to some members.
We had a load of sucsess this week with talking to people on the buses too. People just seemed much more willing to talk to us when we started by talking about Christmas. It was cool to get to meet alot of people and share the message of the restoration.
We also went caroling as a zone on friday and had alot of sucsess and enjoyed getting alot of people's interest, and alot of leads to people to teach.
The most exciting news is Nerissa, our Investigator, is going to be baptized on the 27th. It is exciting to see the progress she has made very quickly, and it will be an exciting week for her! So sweet!
Now for the Christmas Q's:Christmasy Questions for Elder Sky????
1. How are you? How has your 2nd week in Jamaica been? Great! I love this area sooo much. At first I wasnt excited to move, but now Im very glad. There are so many amazing people here, and my companion is so awesome, its a great time to be a missionary.
2. What have you learned this week? I studied alot about Christ's teachings. Something that especially caught my attention was the parable of the prodigal son, and how it is connected to the atonement. I always felt bad for the prodigal son's older brother, but this week I realized that he hadn't been perfect, and because he wasnt willing to see his own sin, he wasnt able to enter in to his Father's home. We have all sinned, and all need to recognize our weakness before the Lord and repent, and be allowed to ented in to our Father's home.
3. Does your companion speak Spanish? Nope, but he is a genius, he is 20 and has already attended BYU-I for 3 years and has studied Chinese, Ancient Greek, Arabic and RUSSIAN! He is pretty freaking sweet.
4. Did your package ever get to you? Christmas cards? Distribution order? 12 days of Christmas? Yes, yes, and YES! They we so sweet, thank you soo much. Y'all are amazing.
5. What are your plans for Christmas Day? Any idea what time we can call you or will you call us or how will it work? I dont know yet but I will let you guys know before Thursday. Im guessing it will probably be in the early afternoon here, so like noonish there. We will see. Our plans are up in the air.
6. You mentioned you had an investigator with baptism plans, how is that coming along? Great. We are all set for next Sunday, so things are looking great.
7. Can you tell us about your new ward? It is the Jamaica Ward. It is filled with Recent Converts. The ward is entirely people from the Carribean, except our Bishop, who is from Jamaica. We have about 80 people come to church on Sunday, and it functions pretty well. The members are way and always offer to help out.

At this Christmas Season, Im so glad to have the chance to know who Christ is, and more then that, to understand what it means that He died for us. I have loved singing christmas carols all week, and am excitied to go caroling more this week. I love the spirit of the season and just wish it could last all year round.
And Thankyou so much for the first 8 days of the 12 days of christmas. I love my tree, CD, Creche, amazing chex mex, pillow case, T-shirst, choclate orange, and brownie mix. It makes the cold days alot warmer when you get to go home and open a new present each day. Thanks for everyone who helped with that. I love y'all more then I love brownies, which is a ton.

Sly,
Elder sky tee'o

Jamaican Good Times!

Right now for the first time on my mission, I am writing my email from the Queens public library, here in beautiful Jamaica. The weather today is a huge improvement over the cold and damp weather we had this weekend, so I am pretty happy.

Getting adjusted to a new area has not been easy, but has been an adventure that I am glad I finally get to take. This has been the longest week of my mission though, its is kind of like leaving home all over again, but I am way excited to be in such a sweet area and to be serving around some amazing missionaries.

So my companion is Elder Merrill from Rexburg, ID. He has been out for 14 months, and is an awesome missionary. Me and him are getting along really well and Im really excited to be serving with him! He is such an amazing guy. He is the main reason Im so excited about being in Jamaica.

The area here is sweet. The only white people here are me and my comp. And Im not even exaggerating. Almost everyone is from Jamaica(The Island) and Haiti. It is really cool to get on a bus ad realize how diverse this place is. Its such a different experience then Brooklyn.

Geographicaly, our area is alot smaller then in Brooklyn, and people are more spread out. Here people actually have small houses instead of living in apartments. Thankfully the streets are all done on a grid like SLC, so it is pretty easy for us to navigate around, but are still having to get used to new buses and trains.

Its crazy to think Im still in the same city, because Queens is just so different. The apartment here is really nice too, and alot bigger then the old one, we actually have a kitchen table, its sweet. And the Ward is so awesome. They were really easy to start talking too, but learning there names is going to take a while because I am so used to Bensonhurst.

Anyways, we got blinded into the pool, so we are trying to get some things started, and we actually have a investigator who we think should get baptized on the 27th, so I will keep you updated, but we are very excited about them!

I cant even tell you how excited I am to be here, it is such a sweet place.

I feel kind of lost without any questions to answer, so I will just say that I am sooooo happy here, and excited for this season we are celebrating. In District Meeting on Friday, we read from Luke 2, and it just reminded me of my last 21 chrsitmases at home and how great the family is to have at this time, and thankfully I am finding a whole new ward family here in Jamaica.

Before I got my call, I have a dream I was going to get called to Jamaica, so now 2 years after recieveing my call, who would have guessed I would have actually ended up in Jamaica, so sweet.

I Love y'all, and since I got transfered, Im not going to be able to get my family christmas presents sent home, since they are still in Brooklyn, but you will defenitly get them in May, so sorry about that.

/ly
elder /ky t-o

TRANSFERIFIC!

This week president called and let me know in advance that I am leaving Bensonhurst after nearly 11 months here. It was a hard call to get since I have loved the area so much and have put all my time and effort in the last 8 transfers to building up the ward. He told me I am heading to Jamaica Queens, which is a poverty stricken part of NYC. Almost the entire population is immigrants from the Carribean.
The ward there is pretty great though, and I'm excited for a new challenge, which is allowing me to not feel so down about leaving this area and ward family I love so much.
Another interesting thing is that since I got here in January, Sister KeVan, one of the sister missionaries in our ward, has been in Bensonhurst. And She got a call that she is coming to Jamaica too. So we are breaking alot of records, because we will end up spending over a year serving in the same ward together. Its pretty unbelievable and crazy, but she is really cool and reminds me alot of Tatia.
Anyway, this last week here has been tough but good. We had a number of investigators at church yesterday, and I got to say goodbye to 6 converts in the meeting. It was truly a sweet experience. I will miss this ward alot!
Now for the Q's and A's:
1. Did you get to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional last night? I loved it thinking that our whole family was watching it together, only spread apart. We did get to see it, and it was amazing. I love President Monson so much, and President Uchtdorf's talk was really great. But my favorite part was the singing and playing by the motab and orchestra at temple square. They are amazing. I love Handel's the messiah.
2. What happened this week that you were totally not expecting? Getting transferred! I did not see it coming, it felt like i got blindsided on that one.
3. What do you know about the Queens’s area in your mission? Is there a population of Russian people there too? I dont think there are too many russians. President is sending me there for other reasons, so my Russian language is currently on hold, for the time being.
4. How do you get there? Trains? Bus? Van? We will ride a train to the mission office tomorrow morning, and then take a train to Jamaica.
5. How do you feel about the transfer? Mixed. Excited and disappointed. I cant be too mad because I feel extremly lucky to have lived here for so long.
6. I was wishing you might by some luck know your new address. I’ve got the 12 days of Christmas and some Christmas cards ready to send your way, where should I sent them? Send them to the mission office for now, that should work, since I wont be too far from the office.

Its defenitly a bitter sweet feeling getting transferred, especially right before christmas break. But Im also excited for all the new opportunities in store for me in the new area. Today is going to involve alot of packing since I havent had to do that in a long time, and I have accumilated alot of "stuff." Oh well, Im hoping it will all fit on the train! I love y'all!

sly,
T.O. elder

ThAnKsTasTiK!

Today is December eve, and despite December being the coldest month, it is also my favorite because of the fantastic holidays and the spirit of this season. It is great to see people who typically walk around with their heads down, looking happy and excited! This season defintly brings out the best in people.
This week was great! I loved being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my amazing companion and my families here in BRooKlyn. Thanksgiving was alot different this year to last, but the spirit was the same, and the people around me were just as great as the food.
Our thanksgiving started with an early morning turkey bowl played at a sweet park in the middle of two highways. It was alot of fun, and no one was injured, which is a plus. We hoped on the subway, showered, and went off to the Lai family. They feed us some amazing traditional chinese food, including chicken, shrimp, and duck! It was a really unique way to celebrate such a great day.
Next we went to the Deolivera family where we had the traditional thanksgiving dinner. It was sooo good. The turkey and stuffing was really great. After that we went to stop by an investigators, and it was an amazing day.
The rest of the week was pretty much amazing. We had a number of good lessons, and on Sunday Jenna was confirmed. It was a very special moment to see how happy she was. She loved her gift from you, mom, and it was a very special moment. I could feel the spirit very strongly, and I will never forget that amazing family.
I love Brooklyn, its too sweet.
now for the Q's

Questions for Elder Sky?
1. How are you Elder Thiot? How was your Thanksgiving Week? Im doing sooo gr-8, my week was amazing.
2. If you could live one day over this week, which would it be and why? Sunday, or Thursday. They where both amazing days, days I will not soon forget.
3. How is your weather, has it turned into winter there too? It is getting there. It is going to be in the 40's and 50's this week, but should be raining alot, but Im not complaining, there isnt any snow in the forcast! YEAH!
4. Is there anything you need to stay warmer? I need to get some thermals out here, but thats about it.
5. What miracle (s) did you see this week that you can share? So many. There is a man who had talked to some elders in midwood (a different neighborhood), but lived in our area. We went over to talk to him, but he wasnt home. But his brother was, who was interested and we will be going back to see him. The Lord puts us in the right place @ the right time for a reason.
6. What more can you tell us about your new companion? Is he a hard worker and a good rule follower? He is amazing. His middle name is Xavier, and he is a rocking missionary. He is such a hard worker and makes my job as his companion really easy.
7. Do you know we love you? of course.
oops one more for Preaching Fourth, anything special you would like me to share? Let the other guys know that this is the greatest time to be a missionary in the history of the world. Im sorry they arent in NYC, but im sure there missions are pretty nice too. Haha, but this is the greatest work on earth, and im really excited to be a part of it.
8. Did you get a noisy package this week? He he he he he gobble gobble Yes! The other missionaries loved it, and wanted me to tell you thanks!

This is the true and living church on the earth today, and of that, I have no doubts. During this Christmas season is the best opportunity to talk to your friends about who Jesus was, and is, and why it matters to you. The Book of Mormon makes a great gift to give to a friend(and its free)!
I love y'all, thanks for everything. I cant believe how old brooklyn, keelie, and addie are, its crazy. IT feels like addison was just born last week. crazy!

Sly,
Elder T.*

GoBbLe GoBbLe

RusSiAn ChUdA (Miracle)!

Elder Sky, Ivan, Jenna's husband, Elder Grimm, President Nelson and Jenna.

Elder Sky, Ivan and Jenna just minutes before the baptism!

Ivan, Jenna, Sister Mat and Brother Mat (Ivan's parents) and President Nelson, Mission President of the New York, New York South Mission.

How Sweet it is is CORRECT!

This week was amazing! All the miracles I saw lead up to the greatest part of the week when on Sunday afternoon Jenna Matvyevskyy entered the waters of baptism and joined the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth today! It was an amazing experience, and the spirit was strong for the entire baptism.
It was great to see someone who I have become such great friends with decide to get baptized and see the power of transformation it has in her life. Her story is amazing, and I will give you a quick synopsis.
Just 2 months ago she was happily living with her family in Brighton Beach, and going to college, and dating a man in our ward, Ivan Matvyevskyy, when she started to ask questions at church. We started meeting with her, but when her parents discovered her interest in the church she was kicked out of her home. She moved in with Ivan and his family. They got married a week later and now she was really asking alot of questions. 3 weeks ago she decided to get baptized on December 6th, and we were all very excited. But earlier this week she called and asked if she could get baptized on Sunday. She didnt need to ask us twice.
She is one of the coolest people I have ever meet, and I know she is truly converted, and it was a beautiful sight to see her and her husband after her baptism. They are already planning on getting sealed in the DC temple one year from yesterday. WOW!
I dont think anything else that happened this week really compares to that, except that we had more people that are taking steps to get baptized, it is amazing to see! I love BRoOklYn, did you know that?
This is the city of miracles. Now for the Q's and A's!

Questions for Elder Sky
1. We can hardly wait to hear about the baptism yesterday? How did it go? Great and amazing, see above.
2. The Preaching Fourth is coming out next week. I need some new photos if I could. Hopefully those will help, I will send some more next week.
3. How was your week? What happened that you’ve been wishing might? The baptism. I also had a number of great experiences in personal study. I actually reorganized my desk and got rid of all the clutter, and Im able to have much better studies now, its amazing! Organization Rocks.
4. How’s your November weather? beautiful. Today is a bit nippy, but I think they said it will be in the 50's all week, wahoo.
5. I love that you are the apartment (pad) barber. Are you cutting your own hair too? yep, Im not that good, but with the money I save I can buy some amazing chinese bakery items, so its well worth the trade off.
6. Does the BensonHurst ward have a special class for Russians for Priesthood and Relief Society like they do for Sunday School or do they have translators? translators. We dont have enought russians yet, but we are making steps towards being big enough to have our own sacrament meetings.
7. What’s on your schedule for Thanksgiving Day? We are having dinner appointments with a couple of families in the ward, and we got a approval to play football in the morning, so it should be the perfect day!

I wish all of you could be here in BRookLyn this week so you could experience everything going on here! How Sweet it is! Alot of people have asked me why I sound so excited in my emails, well, its because Im so excited about being here. I love this city, and these people. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Thanks for everything I get from all of you. Sure love y'all.

Sly,
Ldr Sklr Tht

SUMMERinNoVeMbErTaStIc!

I think that might be the longest word so far, but with the weather so great right now, nothing else would fit. I don't know what it is about NYC and me, but I love everything about it. The members of the ward have told me this is the warmest November here they can remember, and I can't complain at all! It was made for me.
This week was filled with surprises, miracles, and great memories. One of the Russians we are teaching decided they wanted to get baptized, so she is preparing for her date and it should be really soon! She is so awesome. I cant remeber what I have told you about her, but her name is Jenna, she is from the Ukraine, and is now marrried to one of the Russian members here(They just got married about a month ago). They are an amazing couple, and she is going to be an amazing member.
The miracles didn't stop with Jenna, as we had great experiences with Alberto and his family, an amazing lesson with Nicholas, and even found some promising new investigators. It was pretty much amazing.
I can't even tell you how much happiness missionary work brings, and I don't want to think about it stopping.
One of the best parts of being in such an awesome ward is being able to celebrate the holiday seasons with them. We are excited for Thanksgiving dinner with some of our favorite people, and then the Christmas music is already starting to get me excited for the holdidays. I'm just so happy to be in the greatest city on earth for the this time of year. I can't believe how much has happened the past year, its so crazy.
Now for the Q's of the week:
Questions for Elder Sky

1. How are you? How was your week? gr8 and fantastic.
2. How’s your new companion doing? Did either of the other two Elder’s in your apartment change? he is really good, we are getting along gr8. Wow, a russian man sitting next to me in the library just asked me a question in russian as if im a russian, i think im turning into a little russian out here in Brooklyn.
3. What did you learn in Preach My Gospel this week? The importance of the Book of Mormon in everything we do as missionaries.
4. Do you have Thanksgiving Day plans yet? yea, its going to be an amazing day for sure! We have a couple appointments with members that Im really excited for. We were also given permission to participate in the turkey bowl, but im going to try not to break my nose, ;)
5. Who did you meet this week that you will never forget and why? Malika's husband. Her husband is such an amazing man. He was an olympic skier in the USSR, so sweet! Anyways, we had an amazing lesson and meeting with him on saturday that i will never forget.
6. What was your favorite meal of the week? Not to brag, but on Thursday I made really good teriyaki chicken on noodles. It was really good. Living in the chinese district for 10 months has helped me become a much better chef.
7. What scripture did you read this week that had great meaning to you as a Missionary? Its a really simple, but amazing scripture I read during studies. 1 nephi 3:7. One of our investigators is quiting smoking, and has that scripture hanging in his room now to help him remember God is providing a way for us to follow him.
8. Did you stamp(s) arrive? yep!

This was such a great week, but I have a feeling this next week will be even better, and I might have some exciting news for the next email! I love it out here, and wouldnt give it up for the world! I love y'all, and thanks for all the prayers and support.
sly,
elder tē-o

p.s. good luck in El Savador to my friend Breanna!

ThAnKtAsTiC!

In my mailbox today was the cutest thank you note with this darling photo of the two Sister Missionaries in Elder Sky's district. They got their SpOoKy HaLlOwEeN Ghosts and loved them. What sweet thoughtful girls. I LOVE Sister Missionaries, and Elders too.

Yankeriffic!!!

What a great week it has been to live in NYC! When Peaches was in st.lou on his mission the cards won the world series, and now the Yankess have won here in new york. The people here where really excited, and were really open to talking to us after they won. It made for an amazing teaching opportunity on saturday.
We were talking to this man last week, Alberto, and we set an appointment to come and meet with him on Saturday. We came to his house down in the Coney Island area, and he let us in and we met with him and his wife. It was amazing! He and his wife were very interested, and asked us to come back again this Saturday. They were excited to hear about the book of mormon, and it is great to see the power that book has to change peoples lives!
On one down note this week, Phales got sick friday, and wasnt able to come to church and get ordained, so that will have to wait one week, but he is still excited, and it will be great to see that. He is such an amazing man!
The weather here has take a turn for the better, and it is supposed to hit 70 degrees today! yahoo! That should be freaking sweet for probably our last warm p-day until march.
now for the q's and a's:
Questions for Elder Sky?????????????????????????????????
1. How are you doing this fine Monday? How was your Week? Great and fantabulous
2. What do you have this week to be Thankful for? Everything. All the amazing things that happen here are all a blessing.
3. If you could live one of the days this week over, which would it be and why? Saturday, we had 4 amazing lessons that I won't be able to forget.
4. What do you have planned for Preparation day today? We are doing a scavenger hunt around brooklyn with all the missionaries here, so it should be a pretty fun day to enjoy the weather.
5. If you could change one thing about your week, what would it be and why? I would defenitly have made sure phales didn't get that flippin' swine flu.
6. Would you like to do some Christmas cards? If you send me the photo you would like, I know an old woman who would LOVE to make them and send them back to you. sure, and i will grab a picture this week.
7. Did you get a Conference Ensign? Or would you like one? not yet, and sure.

WAHOO! I'm sorry, but I'm just really excited for everything going on here, and I want everyone to know being a missionary in nyc is the best. I'm sure everywhere else in the world is fine, i just feel bad that everyone else isn't here, its the best. i love y'all, and the tape will be in the mail this week!

SLY,
elder T.Ö.

NOVEMBERIFIC

How sweet it is! Life here in Brooklyn keeps getting better! The weather keeps getting chillier, but life keeps getting better! I love mission life, I can't even tell you how amazing it is out here. I got a new companion this week, Elder Grimm from Kerns, Utah. He is my first companion from Utah. I really like him and he is a great missionary. He has been out for almost two months, and is excited to be a missionary.
I love the work out here, and we have alot of progressing investigators right now who are looking so promising. I'm really excited for the baptisms that are getting ready to happen.
I can't believe it is November already. Addison Mae is already 4 months old! It feels like a few weeks ago I got the first picture of her. WOW! Time is a crazy thing, and it goes by waaay to fast out here.
The highlight of the week was yesterday in church. Phales, Mendy's husband was interviewed an is going to be recieving the aaronic priesthood next sunday! Its really amazing to see a man who has prepared himself and is now going to hold the very priesthood he has learned so much about. His testimony is unbelievably strong. I just love him and his family. It looks like he will be able to baptize his daughter in the upcoming months!
Also, Malika, one of the Russian members who got baptized right as I got here is getting ready to go through the temple at the begining of the febuary, so we are teaching her temple prep, in Russian. Its cool because its alot of vocab I didnt know, but now I get to learn. She is one amazing woman!
Now for the Q's and A's:
Questions
1. How are you Elder Thiot? How was your week? Great! So Great!
2. Tell us about your new companion. Where he is from, how long has he been out? What languages does he speak? Is he tall? Elder Grimm is a big kid! He is 6'3, and very strong. He is an english elder.
3. Where did Elder Wright get transferred to? Queens! He is now serving with Elder Howells, my first comp.
4. What did you get to help with this week that was amazing? We went out Thursday night with our mission president and taught some lessons. On every lesson the investigators had questions that were perfect for President Nelson, and it was fantastic to know he was there for a reason.
5. Where are you in your Book of Mormon study? 2 Nephi, cruising through the Isaiah chapters.
Did your Halloween box get there in time for Halloween? Could you hear the tape? Did it work? I hope so. Yes, yes, and yes!
6. Did you find a new coat? Do you need more money in your bank account? Actually I didnt have time to return that coat but I will hopefully have time today.
7. Aunt Laurie said she sent you a check for your birthday, did you get it? If you mail it home to me I can put it in your account if you can’t cash it there. I got it, and i will send it to you, and yes, Thank you Aunt Laurie!

I'm so happy right now, I'm just glad I can be out here doing what I love. I can't imagine doing anything else anywhere. NYC is the place to be, and its the greatest city on earth for this work. I love the peace that this message brings to the lives of those around me, and love sharing it with them. I love y'all

with all my love,
elder skyler Tea O

A Boo-tiful Tuesday!

I had the funnest Tuesday. When Ricky was a missionary in the Missouri Independence Mission, I purchased a book called Missionary Mailers, Volume 1. It had the pattern for this cute ghost that has a slit in the back and you fill it up with candy. I have made these for all our missionaries and had almost forgotten about it for Elder Sky. Fortunatly, I remembered and put together a box of them for him to share with his District.

They looked soooooooooo cute all boxed up and ready to mail. I couldn't resist snapping a picture and sharing with you. I LOVE Missionaries and I LOVE Elder Sky!

It's Almost HALLOOOOOWEEN!!!!

What a fantastic week it was! Another week filled with fun experiences, amazing miracles, and even a few crazy people on the bus, overall, it was perfect.

This week I logged a recored number of miles running around town and having appointments with all sorts of people all over the place. I'm getting familiar with many of the bus drivers on the lines we frequent and I about have the subway schedules memorized.

This week is the beginning of my 8th transfer in Brooklyn, and I never want to leave. It is my home now, and I love the people here, even the crazy ones. The ward continues to be fantastic and supports us in many ways. Our investigators continue to progress, and are able to come to church on Sundays. I love being here. The one down side is I'm loosing Elder Wright this week. which is a bummer. He is an amazing companion, who never complains about anything and just works hard. He reminds me alot of Mckay Crandall. Now I will find out who my new compaion is on Tuesday.

One miracle for the week was on Wednesday night. We were riding the bus out east towards Canarsie, the farthest east neighborhood in the area, and I felt like I shoudl check to see if our appointment was going to be there, I called and they said they weren't going to be home. We then got off the bus and went to go find someone who had ordered a Restoration DVD who lived close to where we were. They answered their door and told us it was pretty rare for them to be home at that time, and it was amazing. They told us they wanted to meet again, so we set a return appointment and are heading back this week! So cool. Now for the Questions:

Question for Elder Thiot

1. Have you been thinking about what you would like to be for Halloween? Any fun ideas? On Halloween night we get to stay in the apartment all night, because NYC is a pretty scary place, but I will be dressed up as a Ninja Turtle as we play a game of Monopoply.

2. How was the 3rd week of October? It was pretty much amazing.

3. What happened this week that you have been hoping would? I was hoping that our Russian investigators would be able to make it to church, and they did.

4. Have you been back to meet with Nicoli again? I loved Mr apartment #3. Yes, and we are heading back again this week!

5. Does the Bensonhurst ward to trunk or treating? Do you get to go? They are having a halloweeen party, which is kind of like trunk or treating, but nobody here has a car, so it is just inside.

The Primary program was yesterday here in Bensonhurst, and the kids did an amazing job. While they weree singing I thought about how blessed I am to have My Eternal Family, and to see how all my siblings are building their own eternal families, it's so amazing. I love all of Ya'll! Thanks for the prayers of support! I know that this church is Christ's very own, and we are his tools in His Hands.

Amore,

Elder Tee-e