Baptisms A-Plenty!

White Oak finally had a baptism!

Andrew and Aden were baptized this weekend in a very smooth and well attended baptism.

The only hitch was that the entire Spanish branch was there at the same time using the building for an event, even though we had the building reserved. The Spanish cultural event was supposed to start at 6:30 but nobody arrived to even set up until 7. Haha. Bro. Martinez went out into the hall to keep all of the rowdiest kids quiet during the baptism (he’s the man!) so it worked out! The Spanish folks were all super nice and tried to send us home stuffed.

It turned out though, that Aden (age 8) though that when we talked about how baptism symbolically represented our deaths, that it meant that he would literally die under the water and come back to life, so he was secretly pretty worried hahaha. His Dad, Andrew, said that when he woke up on Saturday, Aden was already awake, looking tired and a little nervous in the kitchen. 😂 But Andrew set him straight.

That was the first baptism the ward has had in 10 months, so we feel pretty accomplished! I did both confirmations and am super proud of their family.

I also got to go back to the College Station Stake (where I served for a total of nearly 9 months) for a ‘why I believe’ fireside event. While there I got to see all 3 of my missionary trainees again (all of whom I trained in that stake) and even reunite with Rudy Martinez. Always happy to see my CSTAT family!

We aren’t sure who is getting baptized next here, but we know that we’re baptizing. Come hell or high water (better not jinx it though, it is still flood season) we will find the person who is prepared here.

We got a sweet referral yesterday and are pumped for where he will go. A few months ago, we talked to a fellow on the street who was polite and talkative, but declined our invitation to learn more. This weekend, a member actually referred him to us as a friend of his. He had no idea about that earlier event. Cool ‘coincidence’!

Love y’all!

Elder Derek Troy 

Campus conversations continue...

Hello! I am alive. This is the last week of the transfer (I’m very unlikely to be moved) and next transfer is my last :(

Andrew and Aden’s baptism is looking good for this weekend!

We’ve been meeting lately with a YSA aged girl named Milan from the college. She’s been doing awesome. She has been reading the Book of Mormon a lot. Her priest (her family is Catholic) has been telling her a lot of interesting things about us. She doesn’t believe them, which is good, but she will have a lot of family opposition to overcome.

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We’ve been meeting a lot of catholics on campus lately. It usually goes like this:

“Hey! Would you mind answering the question on the board?”

“Sure, no problem”

“Cool. Are you very religious?”

“Not really”

“No worries! Our job is to help people become closer to God. What do you think that you need to do to get closer to him?”

[10 minute chat, lots of questions...]

“I’ve had a great time talking with you. You have some great questions that we would love to help you to answer. Can we schedule a time to meet this week and continue our conversation?”

“I would, but I’m Catholic.”

“Didn’t you say that you weren’t religious?”

“I’m not. I’m Catholic...”

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What can you do?

Anyways, here are some pictures:

I have a weird affinity for running lights on pickups. But this guy overdid it, even for me:

Keeping campus conversations going!

Here’s a school playground in our area with oil and gas equipment in the background. 

Elder Derek Troy

Laser focused

I’m trying to finish my mission focused, so you’ll definitely be hearing less from me until November. Sorry! I haven’t emailed anybody much the last few weeks, and that’s not going to change.

We cover a YSA campus, and it’s been surprisingly fun to proselyte there! I’m including a picture of working on campus. Elder Loveland and I split up (within sight and sound) to talk to more people. We have to stay in the ‘free speech zone’. I like to set up a whiteboard about 50 ft from the entrance of the Arts building, so that it’s the first thing all of the students getting out of class see when they exit. It’s worked really well! I think I’m getting pretty good at it.

Sometimes I talk to groups of three or more people at a time. Now I just need a milk crate to stand on! Frequently, while I’m sitting and teaching someone, other people will walk over to the board and discuss it. They often even take pictures of it.

This week the question is: “Could your spirit have existed before you were born? Where was it?” 

I’ve gotten some interesting responses!

We’ll find 4 people to teach in as many hours on campus. That would take about 14 hours of door knocking over the course of a week. Campus is super productive!

Also, here’s a pic with some of the leaders I serve with, and most of the Elders I came out with.

Love y’all! Have a great week!

Elder Derek Troy