Backup emails :)

Hi, here are pieces from Alex's last three emails, we've been behind!

GGGGGOOOOOOOO UTES!!!!!!!!!!

Thats sick that the utes did work! Thats something that is huge here is College football, its CRAZY! but thats awesome haha BYU aint no thang :) But yeah haha that sucks about my bike right? this week has been so unlucky!! Im FINE! actually better than fine, im EXCELLENT! I've never been so happy in my entire life! If i pray for you and you pray for me we'll all be fine, "oh ye of little faith?" hahaha just playin.but thats awesome, ill be honest if i wasnt so happy i here i might be jealous of what your all doing :) that sounds pretty fun! tell everyone hi and that i love them. But that story you told about the family being baptised is sick, thats a good one, i might have to use that in some of my talks here in Selma!! I love you all so much! I cant believe its almost been two months, if time doesnt slow down i might have to extend it haha :) but your all truely a blessing to me, even the fig. I love and pray for you both daily! I have put my faith in the lord, and i know that everything will work out. "I can do all things through Chirst, which strengtheneth me" its true, you can, you just have to believe! I cant wait to tell you about this coming week next time! Pray of Elder Fatiau and I, We ALWAYS do the same!

Oh FAMILY!!

This week has been nuts!! To start off like you already know, on Tuesday we were going about 70-75 on the highway 21 and the bike rack on our car snapped and both of our bikes were thrashed!! Luckily mine was covered but elder fatiau has to buy a new one :( so he is riding an old piece that we got from our branch president haha. But my bike hasnt come yet, they had to actually ship it from Ohio because the bike i have they dont make anymore, so they are sending me a SPECIALIZED bike that is actually nicer than TREK, and more durable. So i guess i got the good end of that deal, but it should be here thursday :) Secondly our phone broke on thursday so we couldnt contanct any of our investigators or members so our numbers this week SUCKED! Third, On Saturday was car appreciation day so we couldnt use our car, we didnt have our bikes, and we didnt have a phone. So pretty much we walked twenty miles all day to teach 3 lessons. But the upside of us walking, is Elder Fatiau and I got the impression at the exact same time to go and tract this street, we went and knocked on the first door and met a lay named Veronica with 4 kids. We shared our message with her and she accepted it and was thrilled that we had stopped by. she wants to learn more and have her children learn too. After we left we realized we had already tracted that street haha, and we knew that we got that impression just so we would tract into that house! The lord truely works in mysterious ways!! :) but other than a kind of depressing week, it was good. We have 8 baptisms scheduled and its sure to be nine after we commit veronica tonight :) I was supposed to baptise a guy named Lloyd this week, but we both felt like he needed more time, so we moved him back a week. I was going to be the one baptising him, but we decided that we are just going to ask him who he wants to do it, i would love the opportunity too, but it doesnt matter who baptises him, it only matters that he is being baptised for the right reason :) So i could be baptising someone this week or i couldnt, guess you'll just have to wait until next week to see :) I cant WAIT to send my memory card home, these pictures are hilarious!! Your going to love them! But the package you sent was perfect! Elder Fatiau is in LOVE with your cookies!! They were SO GOOD! OOOOOHHHHHH and the worst part about this whole week!! I GOT STUNG!! the day we were walking everywhere a bee flew into my hair, so i swatted it out, and it started flying towards my leg, so i tried to kick it haha and it flew up my pant leg, i slapped my leg and it fell down to the base of my ankle and stung the top of my foot! My foot swelled up SO BIG that it was cutting off the circulation in my foot! My whole leg went numb and my face started tingling so i started freakin out. President mott had given us his phone like 20 minutes before to use so we called him and asked him to come pick us up and take us to get some medicine for it. We went to a pharmacy and said i couldnt get anything like an epipen, because i didnt have a prescription. So they told me to take some benadryl, so i drank the whole bottle haha, about 20 minutes later i am TRIPPIN OUT!! Im seeing full on double vision. So the rest of the day i have pretty much forgotten, elder fatiau told me everything else that went on. I guess we walked to a members house haha which i have no memory of. We ate dinner haha and the only part i can remember about the whole night is looking at this plate where food used to be (i ate it i just couldnt remember) and thinking i was SO TIRED! Then all of the sudden i was waking up sunday morning not knowing anything that went on haha! But i guess they told me to go and lay down on the couch and i fell asleep instantly! this was around six. then they carried me out to the car because i kept falling asleep when i was trying to walk and i would just start falling face first towards the ground haha. And then i guess i went into the house and i was just saying all this random stuff haha and i was laying on the couch and elder fatiau said he kept talking to me but i dont remember anything. he said i kept saying something like "im soooooo tired" and "whats going on?" hahaha But the swelling went down and i was good by that sunday morning, just a little groggy haha. But thanks for putting that money in my account for YOU KNOW WHAT. I cant wait until you all see it, its AWESOME! but you guys are the best!! Thank you so much for you support! I continue to pray for you every single day and night! But oh wait Utah won? 51-10? oh yeah that sounds about right hahaha BYU usually doesnt even hit the double digits im kinda impressed :) hahahaha go UTES! Well Selma is still crazy!! We hear gun shots go off about every other night, the other day they were just around the corner, CRAZY!! haha but im not scared, as long as im not stealing money, girls or crack from them im okay :) But mom i was gonna play a prank on you, but i figured since i was actually out on my mission calling, that it might be a little mean haha. I wanted to say that i was coming home or something haha but that would have been rude! But you sounded amazing!! i loved hearing your voice! i miss all of your voices so much!! Lucky i can still have your smiles in pictures so thats good .Dad i never thought i would say this but i am, i have found one of my investigators named Danny, to act just like you! Even the jokes, and it makes me miss your jokes a ton, so im sorry that i was rude or disrepectful to you when you were just trying to enlighten the mood! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!! but my testimony has already grown so much, there is no doubt in my mind at all, i know this is the true church, and that heavenly father continues to reveal truth and blessings to his righteous followers and to a Latter day PROPHET! I can truely see the blessings, and feel of my heavenly fathers love for me, so strongly every minute of everyday that i am sharing his gospel, and being obediant to the rules!

Oh and one more thing, my new favorite song is hymn 335 Brightly beams our fathers mercy! So now whenever you hear it think of me, because that song is what im doing and what everyone can do! "Some poor fainting, struggling seaman, YOU may RESCUE, YOU may SAVE"!! :)

Love, Peace and Blessings,

Alofa ia te oe, E faavavau,

AIGA!!!!! (FAMILY)!!!!!,

Im glad you liked the picture, sorry it's not amazing i didnt have a lot of the stuff i needed out here, but i made do with what i had :) i hope its okay i sent it later, rather than never, i felt i needed to keep my promise. So happy birthday and WEDDING hahahaha. can you say 2fer one? ;) But the mission is going awesome! i said my first prayer in Somoan on Saturday, can you say GANGSTA? We have 9 baptisms scheduled in the next month or so, so that should be cool. :) We had my third baptism on Saturday, it was an awesome experience. There lord is gathering his sheep into the fold, and its happening right before my eyes! What a blessing! I never thought i'd admit it, but i lOVE READING! i wish i would have read before i came out, there is so much to learn, and so many things i missed out on, and now that i have to catch up with! But what better time to learn then on the Lords time and under his direction right? Im almost done with Jesus the Christ, and im pretty close to finishing the book of mormon. My new goal is to read it in 2 weeks when im finished, its going to be sweet!! Elder Fatiau and i play the coolest game ever out here called "book of mormon baseball" so what you do is one person says "pitch" and starts flippings randomly through the book of mormon, when the other person says "swing" they have to stop on that random page and say "left or right", the other person then chooses a side. Whatever side they choose you say the number of scriptures that go through it, for example verse 1-17, the other person then chooses a verse and the pitcher reads it, you then have to guess what book, and chapter the scripture is in. You get three stikes until "YOOOUUURRR OUTTTTT" haha. Say you guess its in Alma and you guess chapter 12 and its really chapter 17, you then say "stike one, higher" if they guess chapter 19 then it's "stike two, lower" haha it sounds lame but its actually pretty fun when that's the only type of game you can play :) and you become more familiar with the BOM or BIBLE :) i cant believe grant is already coming home, thats nuts haha, you'll have to tell him and brice to write me :) But i look forward to conference this week! Watch and listen carefully, i always took this for granted when i shouldnt have! We have a latter day prophet upon the earth, and we would have to be CLUELESS not to listen to our heavenly fathers words revealed through him!! I love you and know this church is true with all my heart! I pray daily for my family and friends in English and Somoan haha :) i love you all, pray for me!

Alofa ia te oe,

Love, Peace and Blessings,

Elder Tolman

Well to start off the BEST NEWS of the day!! IM STAYING IN SELMA for another transfer with Elder Fatiau!! YAY! i couldnt sleep last night because i was so nervous i was gonna leave!! I know the lord will put me where he needs, but all the ward members all express how wonderful we are doing with baptisms and church attendance, and said they were praying we didnt leave haha so i guess their prayers were answered! This last week we went from 45 people attending to about 70! Its SO AWESOME out here!! Elder Fatiau is a wonderful trainer!! He has definitely started me out how i need to be! This week was pretty good though. We had a baptism on Saturday, Brother Underwood (our ward mission leader) baptised him. We felt that was best just so when we do get transefered he will always have him to keep him going and strong in the church! But we have about 9 schedule in the next month or so, so i should get my chance soon :) I'm learning Somoan so fast haha i said my first prayer in Somoan on Saturday, i gotta say it was pretty awesome! On sunday i got to say the closing prayer in sacrament, that was pretty nice. We met a lot of people this week! Saturday we went tracting for 7 hours straight haha it was cool. Things are going to amazing out here! I'm almost done with Jesus the Christ, and my new goal is to read the book of mormon is two weeks, after i finish it this time and finish marking it. Think i can do it? :) hmmm what else is going on. Oh i got my new bike, its pretty sick! Its a SPECIALIZED HARDROCK, its a way nice bike! Well there is a peom ive been reading whenever i am discouraged, and i know that it can help everyone in any aspect of life, not just a mission, so here it is...

He's Been There Before

The alarm rings at 6:30; I stumble to my feet I grab my companion's bedding and pull off his sheet. A groan fills the room. It's already time to arise?" It seems like just a second ago I was able to shut my eyes. The morning activities follow: study, prayer and such When its time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven't accomplished much "We have a super day planned," my Companion says with a grin. I lowly utter a faithless breath, Yea, if anyone lets us in. With the word of God and my faithful schwinn, we ride off in the street. Prepared to face another day of humidity and heat It's 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through. My companion and I are riding home, not accomplishing what we thought we'd do. We ride up to the mail box hoping to recieve a lot. Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "AIRBOX" We go up to our apartment; the day is now complete the only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet It's past 10:30 Pm, my companion is fast asleep. Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep In the midst of sadness I kneel down to pray; I need to talk to Father, but I'm not sure what to say. "Oh Father," I begin, "What happened to us today? I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away My hands, my aching hands worn, hurt and beat If our area was any smaller,we'd have knocked on every street." Why on missions are the days so much alike? the only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike. Will you send some cooler weather? the heat is killing me! I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes. Its very hard to see. Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough? People always laugh at me and call me stupid stuff. Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack; I want to give them Books Of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back." And what about my Family? They don't have much to say. I'm sick of not hearing from home day after day after day. Oh Father,why am I here, Am I just wasting my time? Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind. My Companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me? The way he rides his bicycle I don't know if he can even see! Now you have it, I can't go on. I DON'T KNOW what to do! That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I leave you." My prayer now finished I stand up, then jump right into bed. I need my feet for tomorrow; we have another long day ahead Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away. Then it sems a vision takes me to another time in another day. I'm standing alone on the hill, the view is very nice. A man walks towards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ." Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet. "Arise he states, follow me to the shade you and I need to speak." My attention towards my Saviour, total and complete He says, "Your Mission is similar of what happened to me. I understand how you feel, I know what your going through; In fact, it would be fair to say I've felt the same as you. "Even know how you felt when no one listened to you At times I felt not quite sure what else that I could do. I know you don't like to ride a bicycle for you a car would be sweet. Just remember the donkey I rode I was not equipped with 21 speed. I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something to hate. I remember when I sweat blood from every pore, " Oh, the agony was great. I see you don't like your companion you would rather have someone else. I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth. It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you. I remember when they put thorns in my head and called me King of the Jews. So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack. I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back." Your hands hurt from tracking and knocking on doors all day I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way. It's hard not to hear from home when your family was not there to see. I lost communication on the cross and cried, "Father, why has though forsaken me?" We have a lot in common, but there is a difference between us you see. I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me." He embraced me with his arms, His light filled me with His love. With tears in my eyes, I watched as he went back to the Father above. I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head. I listened and heard the alarm, when I realized I was in my bed. My companion let's out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!" I sat up and said. Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!" No matter what we go through when we feel we can't take more, Just stop and think about Jesus Christ, He's been there before what an amazing poem right? that poem can change the most discouraging days into the most successful, and fulfilling day. I encourage you to print off a copy of it and hang it somewhere in the house, and when you look at it always remember, "he's been there before". :) Well the mission is awesome!! Keep praying for me!! I pray for all of you so much, i hope you can feel of heavenly fathers love for you daily! continue studying and praying as a family! I promise you'll see the blessings in you life and i will see them as well! It's extremely humbling to be out here, and see how little people have, and how open and humble their hearts are. Strive to be christ like in everything you do, and heavenly father will see you good works, and pour out blessings that there wont be room enough to recieve them! I love you all so much! THE CHURCH IS TRUE! OKAY not only was this the GREATEST EMAIL I have EVER READ, but it made me by far the most JEALOUS!! TAYLOR SWIFT???!!!! What are you trying to do get me to come home hahahaahah jk, but that's SO SICK!! PLEASE TELL ME you got me a shirt!! Remember you PROMISED!!!! Awh I am laughing and crying right now in the middle of the library because I loved this so much, people are gonna thing I'm all cracked out hahaha.Your the best brother and sister in the world, i could never express in words how thankful i am for you both. Pray for me, and I continually do for all of you. Let my friends know i pray for them daily by name, for strength, comfort and guidance. I can't wait to hear from you next week. Oh and yes brock was right, I loved the talk by Callister, it was PERFECT for our investigators. Good luck in school and life. Let god be your priority and all will fall into place, I PROMISE. No sacrifice is gone unnoticed by the Lord. WOW is all I can say about this week!! It has truely been a blessing to listen to living prophets and apostles on the earth!! I have never taken in so much information from conference, as I did this last Saturday and Sunday sessions. That was the biggest boost of confidence, and the greatest reassurance I could have ever asked for as a missionary. My heart is filled with the happiness and joy of knowing that I am able to spend eternity with you, my loved ones. The Lord continues to show me his tender little mercies daily, as I strive to humble myself, and to be an obedient servant. We had 6 investigators attend general conference with us this week, it's the most we've had a church so far. It's so incredible to not only hear, but see the miracle of those inspired men and the message they brought to our investigators about the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Each investigator expressed to Elder Fatiau and I the joy and comfort they received, from hearing these wonderful men and women explain to them, the importance and standards of the church, related to the rest of the world. They then realized what it really means to be a Latter Day Saint, not just a mormon. I am faithful and confident in the Lord, and know that he will provide for Elder Fatiau and I, as we strive each day to be obedient tools in the hands of the Lord. I have been reading the Book of Mormon non-stop these last couple days. My knowledge of the gospel is continuing to increase at a rapid rate, but most importantly my understanding. I have realized out here that you cannot convert someone past your own conversion. So I strive daily to further my knowledge and understanding, so that I can more fully convert the Lords investigators that he places in my path. My hope and prayers each day, center around my family, friends, investigators, companion and knowledge. It is my prayer that you will continue to set those high standards for yourselves, and like President Monson said, "Stand up". Mom and Dad I can't explain the love I have for the people out here. All I know is that it grows daily as I continue to humble myself, keep the commandments and read and pray. It's so amazing to see that I can truely desire to love and help someone receive salvation, that I don't even know. The Lord has blessed us with these wonderful leaders and the Book of Mormon as our guide. Now it's OUR responsibility as members and saints, to spread this great and marvelous work. I am truely blessed to have you in my life, not many parents could have put up with a handful like me. You never gave up on me, your child, and the Lord will never give up on you, His children. Continue to show that faith in the Lord, and he will guide you back to him. Man I feel like I haven't stopped smiling since conference. I absolutely LOVED the priesthood and relief society sessions! President Uchtdorf continues to touch my heart in everything he teaches, especially the "Forget me not". That's the awesome thing about being missionaries out here in such a small town. Is that we get to set up the satalite, and watch EVERYTHING and ANYTHING the church puts on, it is truely incredible. I'm extremely glad to hear that you enjoyed the poem. I think any missionary who reads it feels the same as I did, and that is blessed. I read that and my blessing each morning, what a marvelous and straight forward promise the Lord will give me, if I just keep his commandments and repent daily. Well I had an amazing experience yesterday. We were teaching a less-active member and I got the STRONGEST impression to teach her about enduring to the end. As I told her about the topic we were planning to teach, and asking her if we could first open with a prayer, I prayed that we would be guided by the spirit and touch her heart. As i finished the prayer not knowing where to start, I asked heavenly father in my heart to lead me to something, I then opened my book of mormon, and the first page I opened to was Omni, with the PERFECT scripture about enduring to the end after baptism. We then explained why it's so important to come to church each Sunday and renew that baptismal covenant, she replied "well it says in the bible that we don't meet a building to be forgiven, but in our hearts", I then again prayed for help and got impressed to go to the index and search "sacrament", the first verse I saw was in 3 Nephi 18, it tells us why we need to go to church and partake of the sacrament, and renew our covenant, and not only is it suggested, but a COMMANDMENT, she then committed to attending church :). What a blessing it is to be so enveloped by the Lords spirit, so that we can be guided and directed, if we just DISCERN the needs of our investigators. Well you guys are such a blessing in my life, pray for me, and pray for the Lords almighty hand in helping you through this immoral world, that the adversary so diligently seeks to DESTROY and DIMINISH. I love you all from the deepest parts of my heart, and look forward to the next E-mail. Keep up the good work, and trust in the Lord. Alofa ia te oe, Peace, Love and Blessings, Elder Tolman.