Travis's letter dated 12/22/2012

 

I finally have pictures to send.  So, the picture I sent here include myself and all of my companions that I've had since arriving here in Washington.

November 19, 2012

Everything is going awesome here. It's raining HARD CORE today. Since "sunrise" I guess you could call it, the big drops haven't stopped falling. So, no sunshine today as I look out the big bay windows of the Lynnwood Library. I busted out the rain fly today. Truth is that we usually just don't wear rain gear because it would get really annoying if we paid that much attention to the misty, everyday weather. But today was deserving of some weather protection.

Oct 27, 2012  Week 12

Hello family and friends!

Alright. So I’m going to try to lay out the day-to-day and paint a picture here for ya. Missionary life:

Every morning, we get up at either 6 or 6:30 and exercise at a fitness center in another Elder's apartment complex. It's dark and cold in the mornings, and always wet. Usually when we go outside it's foggy and the street lights and the lights on the radio towers are all misty and crystally lookin and stuff, and you can ALWAYS see your breath because the dew point's all weirded out and what not. You can constantly hear airplanes flying over, and the main take-off flight path for shipping planes, like 777's and 757's goes right over our apartment.

October 15, 2012   Week 10

 

After reading 1 Cor 2:1-5:   So very true! I completely agree with that, and that's what's made me realize that a major part of our purpose and calling is to invite the Spirit into our lessons and into everything we do. We were talking about it this morning in the sense that we need to really be using the Spirit to help us find people. The reason is that if we let the Spirit guide us and lead us to people and people to us, then we're going to find those who are prepared for the message. That way, once we begin really teaching them, they'll be sensitive to the Spirit as we teach. The entire process of missionary work has to be done with the Spirit to guide and direct.

October 8, 2012   Week 9  1^st week in Washington

 
Whoa missionary service is SO awesome!! I am having so much fun and learning SO much! First of all, what a blessing it is to have General Conference the first week I'm in the field. General Conference is without exaggeration just like Christmas for missionaries. You receive new tools and guidance to work with, and it's a FANTASTIC 10 hours of God's words for investigators and less actives to watch and feel the Spirit. I really loved conference and saw some huge underlying themes.

Sept 27, 2012  WEEK 8

 

Whoa! Got my travel plans! The final week at the MTC is crazy awesome! We're preparing and really kicking things in gear this week. We speak Spanish constantly, and teach frequently, and we are using The Book of Mormon SO MUCH!!! It's the most powerful tool for conversion, by FAR. There is an inexplicable power to this record. My favorite story is that of the brother of Jared. I hope that I can develop faith even a fraction of his, and exercise it to bring others unto Christ.

This is Travis's mom.  If you want to post a comment, I will forward that onto Travis for you.  He is doing great and is excited to get to Washington.  Thank you for your support.
Joyce

WEEK 7   Sept 20, 2012 

 

I have been having marvelous experiences with The Book of Mormon. I know that it is a vessel for us to acquire personal revelation. In order to understand personal revelation better, I would direct you to the beginning of the 138th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith History, and the story of Nephi's vision and desire to see what his father saw. Study these scriptures and take note of what these men did to acquire revelation.

Week 6  Sept 13, 2012

 

This week has been going very well! We welcomed a new district to zone 40, and today Elder Crowley and I are training them and getting them started on their MTC experience. It's super cool to be able to welcome and thank these Elders for devoting 2 years of their lives to come and serve the Lord. I really appreciate their choice, and I want to make sure that I do everything I can to improve their MTC experience. In order to help our zone be most effective, here is a new theme and goals for our zone that Elder Crowley and I outlined with the help of the district leaders from the 4 districts in our zone:

Week 5, Sept 5, 2012

 

Well, here's what I want to share this week. I hope that by sharing some inspiration, revelation, and blessings that I received, that I can help others learn something in turn.

 

The MTC is an oven. With hard work, it turns green missionaries into seasoned oak.  It brings calluses to smooth palms. It takes Elder “Coal”, and turns him into Elder “Diamond”.   This is a school of the prophets, where we learn at the feet of the Lord, according to His design and plan. That being said, it is certainly a refiners fire that can cause missionaries to introvert and close up against themselves as harsh critics of their imperfections and deficiencies.

Thing are going really well here at the MTC. Our schedule is jam packed because of the 6 week program that we're on, but it's neat that we get the opportunity to see if it works. I want to make sure I'm prepared when I get to the field. We've talked a lot in our class about how instead of becoming an expert teacher of the gospel by the end of 2 years, we can become masterful teachers now and know the best ways to teach the gospel. I know that's true, and I'm doing everything I can to figure out how to get the Spirit to people's hearts and rely less on my own ability to teach.

Week 3 - August 23, 2012

 

Hello everybody!

 

I have completed 3 weeks here at the Provo MTC! Everything is going fantastic. Some of my district left for Guatemala this week, so our group is much smaller, but it's cool to see them get out into the field! Today we had the opportunity to go to the Provo temple, and I really enjoy being able to go to one of the Houses of the Lord.

Hello Family and Friends!

Things are going great here at the MTC. Let's see if I can cover what's been going on:

We've been doing role plays and lessons with investigators (teachers and volunteers acting as investigators) and learning a lot about what it's like to teach. I spoke of our investigator named Angel. We only had a few lessons with him, and he was progressing well, but we weren't able to committ him to baptism. What we learned from that is that we are certainly able to challenge people to be baptised much earlier than I had previously thought; as soon as the FIRST lesson actually, which is pretty neat. That way they understand what the end goal of learning about the gospel is. That was really interesting for me. So the teacher who had played the role of Angel has been teaching us a bit, and has some good stories. He served in Sonora, Mexico, and it was super cool hearing what the mission field is like.

Thursday, August 9, 2012   Week 1

 

Hello family!!

Today is my first preparation day. They will be on Thursdays for the remainder of my time in the MTC. During the day we have the opportunity to attend the temple, email, and take care of laundry and any other personal affairs that we need to get done with our time. The temple was fantastic this morning, and it was neat to be there with a lot of other missionaries. I'm particulary enjoying the time in the temple since I'm not sure whether or not I will be able to go when I'm in the field.

Here are my mission addresses:

For the Missionary Training Center:
Elder Travis Lee Talbot
MTC Mailbox #307
WA-EVR 1002
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793
United States

For Letters in the Mission:
Elder Travis Lee Talbot
Washington Everett Mission
POB 13390
Mill Creek, WA 98082-1390
United States

For Packages in the Mission:
Elder Travis Lee Talbot
Washington Everett Mission
16124 35th Ave SE
Mill Creek, WA 98012
United States

Hope to hear from EVERYBODY!!!

I will report on the 1st of August, 2012 to the Provo MTC to begin my mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!! I have been called to serve in the Washington Everett Mission, and I will be teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Spanish language for the next 24 months! I anticipate this will be the greatest experience of my life; one that will be filled with struggle and triumph, with rejection and embrace, and all the while with the whisperings of the Holy Ghost as a guide. This guidance will impress upon us the needs of those we will teach. It will push us down boulevards, and compell us to doorsteps. And in our humblest hour, contingent upon our preparations, it will reach out to the tattered soul and the hungry spirit, proclaiming the truth of the restoration and the power of The Book of Mormon as a witness of Jesus Christ. All this to be done with empowered minds and tongues loosed upon a language which by spiritual power we will command with the very ministering of angels. I know the gospel is true, and that is why for the past 19 years I have prepared to give this tithe on my life. And even though it is a sacrifice, there is NOTHING I would rather do, and NOTHING I need more than to serve a full-time mission.

It'll be two years of backpacks and bicycles, prophets and pamphlets, and suit jackets worn beyond repair! I look forward to violent guard dogs, mud puddles, and ohhhh the endless assortment of Mormon casseroles. I'm prepared to say that the church is true, the book is blue, and perhaps I'll have to dispel a funky Mormon myth or two... And if all goes well, we will send up a thankful prayer to God for the sound of running water in the church.

I am extremely excited to get to know an incredible area, though it'll be in drastic contrast to the high desert of Arizona! Though apparently there are more sunglasses sold here than ANYWHERE else in the United States!! People buy them for the one week of sunshine and then put them away for the rest of the year. But by the time the next season's sunny week comes around, the glasses can't be found, and alas another pair must be bought! My mission extends from about twenty miles north of Seattle all the way up to the Canadian border. The mission also includes the beautiful San Juan islands where many orca pods live, and many other incredible sights which I may inadvertently see in my sojourn to proclaim the truth. I will have to say goodbye to my Arizona tan, clothes that dry instantly, and to my cat and dog. But that's nothin. It's leaving the family that will probably make my eyes leak a little. And that's ok. 

I know the love that my parents have for me, and without it I know that leaving for two years wouldn't be possible. I have received unconditional love and support from goodly parents who love me and who have shown me their love for the Lord. Moreover I know the love that Father in Heaven has for me, and that is what has given me the strength to serve Him with a full purpose of heart, body, and mind. I am EXCEPTIONALLY excited to spread the gospel and see how the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ can change people, and change human nature. I already love these people who I have not yet met because I know they are God's children. I want to tell them that and show them the love He has for them too.

I bear my testimony that God lives and that the gospel is restored. I love the Lord and want to serve Him. My mission will be the most important two years of my life, and I'm ready for it. SO. Here we go: