Troy Family Tales: Merry Christmas, y'all!

Hello, friends!

Yesterday we were able to see Elder Troy for the first time since he left in November. We Skyped him with a video chat. It was so good to see and talk with him! He is very happy and focused on his work there in Texas. We got all of those pesky questions answered that he NEVER responds to by email, so that was awesome! He's going to be in Spring, TX, for a while. Likely about another month. He will have a mission-issued iPad after this month, so he'll be able to take more pictures. Right now he's dependent on his companion and others to take pictures. Luckily, he recently attended a large Christmas conference with his mission and there was a photographer who took lots of pictures. I've downloaded a few for you to see.

He SOOOOO appreciated all the gifts, letters and cards he received from you for Christmas. THANK YOU! His favorite was the only thing he actually asked for: A tool kit. He said that he encountered so many people who have simple home or auto repairs that need help and he and his companion are not prepared to help, so this will assist them in serving others.

Please continue to pray for him and all our missionaries to stay safe and happy while serving the Lord. If he doesn't respond to your emails, please know that he reads ALL of them. He just doesn't have very much time on his P-Day (just an hour on the computer), so he sometimes will just print them off and read them later. Keep emailing him!

As always, thank you for your continuing support. We love you!

JD, Terri & Family

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Hey y'all, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

Maybe I was just not away long enough to be homesick, but I really enjoyed Christmas! It was simple and uplifting.

This week my favorite experience was tracting in the 'hood. It can be tough but you also meet lots of friendly and humble people. We stopped at one house to chat with a family who was curious about our message. Out of the blue, a woman so sauced that the only way she could speak was at 100% volume took a particular interest in us. Among my favorite lines of hers:

"I hope y'all aren't offended if I drink, 'cuz I'm an alcoholic, yaknowwhaimsayin?? heyooooo hehe"

"do ya think there'll be weed in heaven? Cuz I neeeed my weeeeed hehe"

and my favorite: "I'm just playing wit'chu" *proceeds to give me uncomfortable hug, wherein I find that her clothes are inexplicably damp*

But to her credit, when we went down the street to knock on a sketchy double wide, she yelled from her driveway to warn us 'uh uh, don't go knockin' there boys, they ain't friendly'. We later inferred from the neighbors that it was a crack house run by gangsters.

Just a couple of doors down, we found a new investigator named Shirley, who is sweet as can be and wants to read the Book of Mormon for herself to find out if it's true. It's surprising how close the stony places and good soil (Matt 13: 3-8) can be.

I hope everyone is having a good holiday season and is driving safely.

Much love from Texas,

Elder Troy