Elder Wm Todd Love

Flight itinerary received!

2011-06-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

Well folks, we've received Elder Love's flight itinerary. He leaves Auckland, New Zealand on the night of Tues. 7/12. He'll be in the air for over 12 hours, non-stop. Then he arrives in Los Angeles in the afternoon of Tues. 7/12--the very same day! Wrap your mind around that! Haha! I say it's like Back to the Future...or Past...or whatever! That's what happens when you cross the equator and the date line. We're sooooo happy to have our boy back with us once again and look forward to it.

REMINDER: He speaks in the Placentia First Ward at 11am on July 31st. Please come join us!

Todd returns to the US on 7/12/11!

2011-06-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I haven't kept up with Elder Love's mission blog. Here's a recent picture of him on P-day. He's working in Tauranga, which is where he first started his mission. So it looks like he started and is ending his mission in the same city! He's doing well and working hard. He arrives home on July 12th. He'll be speaking in Sacrament Meeting in the Placentia I Ward at 11am on July 31st. In Sept. he'll be heading up to BYU-Idaho to begin his Sophomore year. He'll be studying mechanical engineering.

Elder Love says his mission scriptures are worn out and falling apart. Yay! That's what every parent wants to hear! And the last time we talked to him (Mother's Day 2011) we detected a bit of an accent! At the end of our conversation he said, "Well, gotta go Mom and Dad. I gotta go baptize the rest of New Zealand!"

Notes from Mother's Day phone call with Todd

2010-05-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

Q: How do you get your emails?

A: We go to an Internet cafe. We have an hour to be on, so I just read them and work on a draft to answer you. I don't usually print them because it costs extra money. I love Stacy's letters because she tells funny stories. I share lots of those stories with my comps and we have a good laugh.

Q: Who is your comp and where is he from?

A: His name is Elder Luckhardt and he is from Calgary, Canada. We have been out about the same amount of time.

Q: Did you get your birthday package from Mom? With the fleece blanket?

A: Yes I got the package. I can only packages when there's transfers, so about every six weeks. I like the blanket and I'm using it because now it's cold here in NZ.

Q: What is your flat like?

A: It's not very insulated and we're pretty cold. We do have a space heater and a fireplace, so that helps some. The inside looks like a log cabin and the outside there is stucco.

Q: Did you loose your driving priveleges because of your recent speeding ticket?

A: No. Our mission president has a 3-strikes rule and I only have 1 strike. When I get the info, I'll let you know how much the ticket is and I'll need some money to pay for it.

Q: How is it driving on the left side of the road?

A: I think it's hard. But I'm the only driver in my companionship. You have to really concentrate and it sometimes gives me a headache. It's funny how when I dream about home and I dream I'm driving, I see myself driving on the left side of the road!

Q: What is your area like?

A: I'm working in the Rotorua region on the north island. I am in the exact center of the North Island. It's like a forest. Most of the people here are loggers. They are hard working people, but are kind of poor. The towns we cover are Tokoroa, Taupo, Rotorua and Turangi. There are volcanos and geysers and 'hot pots' around here and it kind of smells. If you watch the movie "Lord of the Rings" and see at the end of the 3rd movie a mountain called "Mount Doom"...well that's in my area and get to see him most every day.

Q: Why have you lost so much weight?

A: I've lost about 20 pounds, mostly because even though we have a car, we still ride our bikes sometimes. And if you remember what I was doing just before I left on the mission, I was pretty much just sitting in front of the TV playing video games. Now I'm active and so I guess that's mostly why I've lost weight. Also in this area, the members don't feed the missionaries very much. We try to eat at home to save money. I mostly eat rice with teriyaki sauce. I have been going to second-hand shops to get more clothes. You guys don't need to send me some, because it costs so much. Just send me some extra money and that will help.

Q: What do you do on Pday?

A: It just depends. We do our laundry and emails and then we try to go see places and do different things. Coming up we are going boar-hunting. Yep, you heard me. I'm really excited about it. We got permission to go because we are going not only for fun, but also for food. I hope we get one and that will keep us fed for quite awhile. I tasted boar meat at a members house and it was good. Another thing we do on Pdays is play squash. I really like that. It's lots of fun.

Q: What are you studying these days?

A: I am studying Jesus the Christ. Of course I have a dictionary to help me understand it. Talmage can be pretty heavy. And by the way, I have improved so much in my reading and studying skills. When I was in the MTC I took a reacing skills class. I told the sister that taught the class that I wasn't a very good reader. She promised me that if I read the Book of Mormon every day of my mission, the Lord would bless me with better reading ability. And it's happened! I'm doing so much better with that.

Q: Do you feel any earthquakes there?

A: I know you tell me in your letters that you've heard of lots of earthquakes here, but I haven't felt any. It must be because we are always moving around!

Q: Teach us something in Maori.

A: Kia ora. It means "Hi." Also here is a Maori legend I thought you might find interesting. There is a Maori belief that in ancient times a man built a big canoe and sailed from South America (around where Peru is today) and landed in the South Pacific islands. Then he traveled south to New Zealand. Weird, huh?

Q: Are you getting very many letters?

A: No I'm not. But I do appreciate letters I got from Krisen, Cameron, and even Cameron's mom. Please tell more of my friends and ward members to write. It would mean a lot to me.

Happy 20th Birthday Todd!

2010-04-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Above, Todd age 1 on his birthday!

Todd, about 9 years old, at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. And like Nephi, Todd was probably saying, "I will go and do the things the Lord hath commanded."

We are thinking of Elder Love today (4/30/10) as he turns 20!

Email 4/25/10

2010-04-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

So another week passes...

Well, this was a good week.

I want to tell all my family members this story. I was told by a man the story of his life and how he left the church and came back. To make it short, he said that he and his wife of many years were married and sealed in the temple. They had been sealed for many years. He was a good man that would help anyone anywhere if they needed him. Church College (an LDS high school here...they call high schools colleges here.) asked him to help with someting but he would be gone for 3 weeks. He left to help and before leaving he kissed his family goodbye and left to help. Within the 3 weeks his wife met a man at church and one thing lead to another and she was not faithful to him while he was gone. From there the rest of his life went downhill, but it started by something that wasn't his fault and it was started by something that should have never happened. It is a sad story. So my counsel to all of you is that, Yes I don't think there are any problems going on within the family, but just to make sure that something like that never happens to you--always be faithful to the covenants you have made and always be in the temple.
By the way, the man that told me this story is now going to be made an ordinance worker in the temple and I had to help him with his home teaching.

To my friends: Please understand the love that I have for you. On my mission I have "come out of the world"as it were, and can see life from a different point of view. PLEASE ALL OF YOU MAKE SURE YOU ARE LIVING WORTHY TO GO ON A MISSION OR TO HOLD A TEMPLE RECOMMEND!!!!! THIS IS HE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN TELL YOU AT THIS TIME!!! Please heed my counsel.

TO my family: Again, I love you all and look forward to talking to those I can on Mothers Day.

Elder Love

2010-03-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

Elder Love, 2nd from left, at a multi-zone conference and luncheon in Hamilton, in March 2010. His companion, far left, is Elder Adams from Canada.

Email 12/27/09

2010-02-20T21:54:00.000-08:00

12/27/09

Since I talked to you earlier this week I don’t have too much to report back on. Oh yeah a favorite saying here, mainly with the little kids and teens, is: "Hoses" (Holy-Moses). It’s awesome. Speaking of which, that’s another one: "O for awesome" (o for Owsome is how they pronounce it)

And in non-related news, I finished the Book of Mormon in under a year, and under 6 months. I finished it in 4 months. I feel really good about finishing it!!!! I really enjoyed the book of Moroni. Moroni just tells it straight forward. You can tell it’s probably by the way he had to live and was raised. It’s not like Isaiah where he tells confusing stories. And it’s not like Alma with analogies. It’s just like, INFANT BAPTISM IS NOT CORRECT TO DO! …so funny to me.
But it’s just sad to see how everything ended up in the Americas. They were such a valiant faithful people. It’s amazing to see how quickly they can change and turn into a cannibalistic war people. It’s sad, but it is wonderful to be able to see the valiant faithful descendants and how wonderful they are. (Mom) haha and in turn, me too! hahaha.

Also in slightly related news-- our mission goal was to hit a certain number of baptisms and we achieved it (probably remember me talking about the 4 minute mile). We achieved our goal for this year finishing the month strong too. This is the best within the last 23 years for the mission. We are so excited to hear this!!! and hopefully we will break that with this new year!!!!

I love you all and I will have more to say next time, bye-Elder Love
(picture above: Elder Love with a hedgehog. He just picked it up on the road.)

Email 12/20/09

2010-02-20T21:45:00.000-08:00

12/20/09
So this week started all right. I love Christmas but I don't at the same time. It’s a wonderful time for us to reflect on the Savior’s birth, but the rest of the world is busy with things like shopping and drinking and having nothing to do with the Savior. This causes lots of problems for missionary work. It’s hard to get anything done and everyone is busy--including members. Which guess what....that stinks. It was a pretty stink week this last week. Not a whole lot done but I was trying. It’s just that everyone says, “come back after Christmas.” But after Christmas we have a baptism so that’s good!!!

After having a bad week, I woke up on Saturday feeling really sick (I think I get so sick from being so busy with no rest and then starting the next week the same and then I crash) so I felt bad and we didn’t go out and so I started getting pretty down and discouraged. Then I got a phone call from Elder Fawson, who is now my zone leader. He asked how I was doing and I told him. So he shared with me some experiences he had. (he had it way worse) and told me to just keep going and to read this one section of Preach My Gospel (maybe you can read it too? it's near the end of chapter 1, my purpose, I think. It’s the last page) but it’s how to judge the success of your mission. He said it helped him heaps, so I read it and I felt slightly better. Then I was with Elder Adams at a dinner and he was saying the closing prayer, and I felt this feeling (it’s a really personal way that I feel the Spirit sometimes. It’s not all the time that I feel this feeling, so I paid close attention to it) and I felt so much better. I had a sense of love from Heavenly Father and my Savior. It just felt so good. I am so grateful for Elder Fawson and I am grateful for the promptings of the Spirit. I love you all. Have a Merry Christmas!

Email 12/13/09

2010-02-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

12/13/09

Well this has been a tiring week but in a good way. Elder Adams and I have been working very hard. Elder Fawson, my trainer and zone leader in Tauranga, has been transferred up here to my zone. He is our new zone leader. He left Tauranga with 7 people set for baptism. We have been working hard on finding new people. The goal as usual is to baptize someone every month, but the Christmas season is a tough one.

We had one we thought would be able to be baptized but now we found out that his Grandma is going to the islands and won’t be here for when we wanted to baptize him. So we have to wait until Jan., which totally stinks, unless a miracle happens we won’t be able to baptize this month. Miracles do happen though, but we have to qualify for them and use our faith as a principle of power. Because of this last month or so, before Elder Adams, I’m pretty sure we didn’t qualify but that’s not to say it still won’t happen. But just as Papa Love mentioned, we have agency (not free agency) to make choices but we don’t get to choose the consequences. I get along really well with Elder Adams. He is a fun guy and is quite sarcastic (he has our family’s sense of humor).

We had a good experience with Simon’s mom. We couldn’t get through to even talk with her but we went and surprised her by doing some yard work, and we brought Sione Mauve (pronounced SEA-O-NEH MAW-VAI). He was just called to be the new 2nd counselor in our ward. He is Tongan and he has been heaps of help so far. And we finally got the mom’s name and Sione gave some ideas to help with the mom, so we are going try those. …anyway.I love you and hope to hear back soon.

Email 12/6/09

2009-12-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

Family,
Ok well we had a transfer. I now have a new companion. His name is Elder Adams. Well it's been a good couple of days. We get along so far. He is an Aussie from Melbourne. He wasn't too happy to come here once he saw how the work was. The area is pretty much dead. We don't have much going on at all. He keeps asking what me and my last comp did and we did work hard. But we had over time started to slack off on some of the important things. I didn't notice really until Elder Adams pointed it out. (kinda like poison by degrees--I didn't really notice)

However, Elder Adams is a great elder and we are working on exact obedience (the main problem was planning and the morning schedule) so if obedience can do good work, exact obedience will bring miracles. That's what we are hoping for and NEED! He is a great and diligent elder. I am blessed to have him as a companion. I just feel bad for him but I am trying my hardest to be diligent and obedient.

Well things have been picking up since we have been working on that,. We got 3 new investigators. (we got 2 after Filipa dropped us, but those didnt actually count). One of them, Dalvin, is a new investigator and will most likely be baptized at the end of the month. I just pray and hope he does!

Filipa has gained a greater desire to quit smoking on her own! She has gone and bought these herbal smokes that help you stop and she has been doing beautifuly. Her husband says maybe after Christmas or after New Year. I am so proud of her and her desire to be baptized.

We are also a teaching a Samoan who will most likely be baptized. It's just hard to tell when. He respects us too much as missionaries. It's just amazing. He seems to know it's true too, so we'll just see what happens. And we found this man named "Lord" from Zimbabwae (not sure how to spell that). He wanted a Book of Mormon in Shona (the language) but yeah we had one hahaha!

Yeah there are good things slowly starting to happen, which is just awesome. I am sorry for not being diligent. That's my own fault. There's no one to blame. I just need to work on that. I love you so much, I look forward to hearing back from you!

Love, Elder Love
PS. Doctor hasn't gotten back which to me, which means it was probably the flu and I have been trying to less sugary foods.

Email 11/29/09

2009-12-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

Well actually this week kinda stunk. Last Monday after usual pday stuff, I started feeling sick. All day Tuesday I was in the flat asleep for the most part. I tried to work the rest of the week but I had to keep coming back and sleeping. I had to call Sister Porter and let her know because she is in charge of us--health wise. I did some experimenting because I heard a story of an elder getting diabetes on the mission and it almost always seemed food related. So I ate the hi-chews Stacy sent me. (yes I got the packages {Mom and Stacy's} on Thursday at district mtg.) I just loose all my energy and sleep, and it seems to happen after I eat sugary foods. But that's just probably me being dumb, but I called the doctor anyway. I went to see him and he had a weird mustache, but not the point! Anyway, I brought that up after he made his diagnosis. He thought it's just the flu, but wanted me to do some blood testing to make sure it's nothing worse--like hepatitis A or B or diabetes. Then I told him about my experiment and how I have a family with lots of people who have diabetes. So he made sure to check for that in the blood test. I'm probably fine. I have not been eating sugary foods and have been feeling fine. It's probably just the flu so don't worry. I'll hear back from the doctor this week sometime.

An experience I had one night...I went to sleep, or at least to bed, but I felt really uncomfortable about something. I couldn't figure it out so I tried to just ignore it. After some time I was still awake and still uncomfortable. My companion was asleep, so I ran through lots of things in my mind. I was thinking things like--Did I leave the stove on? Did we forget to check a message on the phone? What was wrong? Then I felt it had something to do with the phone, so I thought I would go check just to see if we did have a message. When I stood up I suddenly felt like someone was in the flat or something. As I left the room I turned and was startled by the Christmas tree. It looked like a person. And then I turned to the left and I looked at our front door and I could see a shilouette of a person standing outside the door. Then the person knocked. I yelled at my companion "someone is here!" I was pretty scared and I opened the door with my companion behind me. It was a creepy guy asking for money because he ran out of petrol (gasoline) just down the road. He said he lived a few doors down from us. I told him we didn't have any money and I was sorry and he left. I still don't know if that was his actual intentions but I was so glad to be able to receive the prompting to go out to that room I thought it had something to do with the phone, but after I stood up I'm pretty sure it was about that man.

It's wonderful to see how the Lord protects us!

I love you so much alofa atu-Elder Love

PS. Attached are some Christmas pictures.

Also for Thanksgiving we had Subway! yeah

Email 11/22/09

2009-12-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

Malo soifua!

Well this week was kinda "stink" but it ended up ok.

This week I had two trade-offs, one with Elder Williams. He is my Zone Leader. It was really good. We worked specifically on trying to understand promptings from the Spirit. It was a great learning experience.

...And second trade-off was with Elder Tulia. He is my District Leader. He is in the Samoan programme. I really enjoyed this trade-off. It was a time for me to work on my Samoan. It was fun and I got made fun of heaps because I can't pronounce everything yet, but im working on it.

In other news...

A guy in the ward named Michael got his mission call to somewhere in Austrailia, so that's exciting. It's actually kinda like a state-side mission for them.

Well, Filipa wasn't at Church again, which is NOT good since she was supposed to be baptized that coming Saturday. So we visited her after church and her husband told her to tell us how she felt. And so she did.... she is not going to be baptized this week but probably 2 months from now.... which is pretty "stink". We tried so hard with her to help her stop smoking but she says the holidays are going to be just too tough for her.

One thing I've learned on the mission about receiving revelation (which is applicible in her situation) is that if you don't have the desire to change (or receive revelation) it's not going to happen--or come. She wants to stop, but not now, so I can't really see how it's going to happen. It won't happen, cause it's all based on desire. So she is no longer set for baptism. That's why this week was "stink."

But in related news...

There is this man tht does something with Primary and in this ward they want us to teach the kids a little (which isn't really our job--it's the parents, but whatever) but every Sunday he says, "Oh Elders, so-and-so is turning 8. Can you teach them?" But this week he told us that some of the kids we taught are having their baptism on the 11th of next month and mentioned how 2 of them are 9 and 10! They just didn't get baptized at 8!!!!! This is what is known as a miracle!!!! And so now we have 2 new investigators set with a date.

So combo of that (a positive) and Filipa no longer set (a negative), made it an allright week.

Also in related news...
Elder Tulia loves how much of a desire I have to learn Samoan. He says I have "Samoan blood" and gave me a Lava-lava. It's really nice and he taught me how to tie it and I am wearing it now. It's so cool!

Anyway, I love and look forward to letters from you in the future. I got one from Grandma and Grandpa McCune. I love you. Alofa atu (means love you). Fa soifua.

Email 11/15/09

2009-12-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

Kia ora, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei!

Well another week down. This was a very productive week. First there is a picture here of me at the Aisakes working on their car. My comp took a picture and I didn't know until this week.

Another update with the investigators: First there is Filipa. She is doing good. She is on, what Elder Fawson and I came up with, called the "Elder's Challenge." It has two parts for her (and her family). First is a calendar that has tick boxes reading a set number of verses a day and praying, and also a box for sunday for going to church. This builds a good habit of reading and praying. There is also random prize givings. So we might show up randomly and check and see where they are at. If they have done everything, then they get the treat. If not, no treat. Also if they read all of first Nephi, then they get an "extra miler" prize. (There was some 12 year-old girls in Tauranga that finished the whole Book of Mormon!) The idea to check randomly came from the idea of the 2nd Coming. Nobody knows when, so we need to be prepared.

The second part for her is the "Elder's Challenge--Smoker's Edition" It's similar but broken down into weeks to slowly taper her off smokes. She is doing great!

Probably the funniest thing of the week--we were walking around last night trying to talk to people. We were walking down the street and there was this orange cat all the way down the road. It came up and crossed the street and walked right up to me so I pet it on the head. Well it does say in the Bible to teach and baptize all creatures, so I told it I had a wonderful message about the Gospel and how it was restored (jokingly of course!) but them my comp was said, "Yeah ok stop! There are some people over there so let's go talk to them and so we did. We saw two people, but as we got closer, we could see there were 20 or more, all drinking and partying. They said "Yeah! It's the bruthas!" (thats what most people call us) and so we started talking and yes, we knew they were way drunk, but they actually had good questions like Who is Jesus and what did he do?" and "What's with your guys poligetry and why do you do that?" One guy said he would join if we still did that! haha! We talked to a bunch and a lot had member friends. One said that when he was sober he would like us to get him a Book of Mormon. It was a funny night.

Alofa atu (which is either Love you or much love, I can't remember {samoan} )...

either way I Love You So Much!

PS. JULIE IS PREGGERS THAT'S STILL WEIRD TO ME!!!!

Have a good week and again if you want to give my address to anyone who would like to write me that would be great!

Fa soi fua (bye) or just Fa

Email 11/08/09

2009-11-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday for me, but today (Sunday) for you, is my 4 month mark. So that's exciting! It doesn't feel like it but it is!

Well this week was a good one. I mentioned last time that I couldn't figure out what to do with Uli's younger brother and sister, cause the parents wouldn't let them be baptized. Well just the next day after, Tuesday, I went over there and we happened to walk over there. Uli's dad was talking with some neighbor and flagged us down. He handed me a belt for an engine. I recognized it, that much! He told us to give it to Uli. So we went over and gave it to him and then went inside and had a lesson.

After the lesson we were standing around and were watching Uli's older brother working on the car. He was complaining that he couldn't get the belt on and that he didn't know how to do it. Then Uli says, "Oh I remember Elder Love, you are a mechanic right?" I said, "Well sorta. Not really though." He says, "Oh come on you can fix it." So they handed me the belt and I rolled up my sleves and looked at the engine.

It was a Ford (a v6 16v dohc) which if i remember correctly, is the same engine as "Rosa" (Mom's Taurus). After just taking some time to look at it, Uli's dad walked over and I could hear him the whole time. I didn't pay any attention to him but he was saying things like "Oh look, he's going to get his shirt dirty" and "Don't have him do that" and things like that. I then saw that there were 2 belts (the timing belt and the cam belt) and so I took of one belt and then tried to put the cam belt on. After some struggling we got it on, and then the other belt.

After all about 5 to 10 minutes it was ready to go! They were impressed that I got the belt on. Uli's dad said, "Oh here, wash your hands off." He yelled at the kids to get me a bucket and some soap. Then he asked where we lived and said if he ever saw us on the road he would give us a ride and that he would make us a big "feed" (which is like a big sign of gratitude). I walked off feeling good but they never started the car while I was there, so I was nervous. We were supposed to see Uli at the Church later. He came and said that the car runs just fine.

This was and is a miracle. A miracle being anything where divine intervention has happened. I was only trained on how to change oil and rotate tires...not that changing belts is hard but I know I didn't do it in any sort of correct process...and it still worked!

Uli's parents still won't let Simon and Elizabeth get baptized but their hearts were softened a little. We have a service project set up this week to mow their lawns and we plan to just give all we can in service and see if that can't work.

Later on in the week we had Zone conference, which was awesome. Our President said our mission is doing really great in baptisms and that our numbers are almost better than they've been in the last 28 years! But it's going to take a lot of work from everyone! President compared it to the story of the man who broke the 4 minute mile. So he challenged us to break our personal 4 minute mile. It was an awesome conference. We set goals for oursleves and went out. I have also decided to sacrifice something. One thing I've learned is that blessings come in many ways. Obedience always being most important! When we are obedient we can also sacrifice things. Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac (in obedience) and they were blessed by his willingness and obedience to the Lord. So in the same way we are not asked to sacrifice a child but we can sacrifice other things. So for the next 2 months (til the year is out) I will sacrifice drawing I have been drawing almost every day in my free time since I have been out and for many years before my mission. It will not be easy for me to do but I have made this decision. I hope that I can break my personal 4 minute mile and also try and help the mission break their's also.

Also we have set a 35-year old women for baptism at the end of the month and she needs to stop smoking, PLEASE PRAY FOR HER!!! Her name is Filipa. On a trade off with one of my new Zone Leaders (Elder Feomai'a) we found a new investigator so please also pray for him. His name is Joseph. He is Fijian-Indian. Pray for him to have a desire to learn. Also pray for Uli, Simon and Elizabeth Aisake, pray for their parents' hearts to be softened to let them be baptized. PLEASE TRY TO GET AS MANY PEOPLE AT HOME TO PRAY FOR THESE PEOPLE. I KNOW THAT ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE LORD AND I KNOW THAT PRAYER CAN BRING ABOUT MIRACLES!!! PLEASE HELP US!!!

Love, Elder Love

The Aisake family at the Auckland New Zealand temple.

Email 11/1/09

2009-11-05T10:30:00.001-08:00

Pday in Auckland, NZ

Family:

Ok, well this was still a good week but me and my compainion both got sick, so that wasn't good. He got sick and then gave it to me, whatever it was. My companion is a cool guy. I get along with him really well. Even with the sick days we still got quite a bit done.

We found 3 new investigators--which is way cool. We are teaching Uli's (17 year old Tongan from Tauranga--my first baptism) younger brother and sister. Their names are Simon and Elizabeth. It makes me sad though because they both want to get baptized but the mom won't let them. It's very sad :(

Also on another sad note, there was a brother in our ward who passed away. I never met him but by the sound of him, he reminded me of Dad. I was listening to his daughter talk about him and how he was always giving service and how even in his old age he was going around mowing lawns and things like that. And guess how he died... he just stopped breathing...(family joke!) No, not really. I'm not too sure how he died. I heard heart attack and flu, so I dont know.

Yeah it's weird seeing that picture of Julie .... ah she is so preggers hahaha! But yeah I look forward to Julie's letter, and Nathan, yes and no...it works, but it doesn't, because my pants aren't.... :/ so if you sell it for rainy weather, sell it with pants too. haha!

I would really like to get snail mail letters from home too or just from anybody who wants to snail mail me. I feel like I haven't gotten any in a long time. Also thank Chuck for his letter that was nice. I Love you so much!

-- Elder Love

Todd's Get a Package From Home!

2009-10-26T12:13:00.001-07:00

Check out this post from Sis. Porter's Auckland New Zealand mission blog-->Hey Daddy Love!

Email 10/25 - Elder Love Transferred to Auckland

2009-10-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well yes! I have been transferred! Before I was in Tauranga, which is considered to be the "country." Now I am in the "city." I am back in part of Auckland in an area called Papatoetoe (pa pa toy toy). It's a cool area. It looks and feels like Santa Ana. hahaha! It's mainly Islanders (Samoans and Tongans, Nuiens, Fijians and many more) and Indians (punjab). But yeah, it is really cool.

My comp is Elder Watkins. He is a "caveman" (from American Fork!) He doesn't know Uncle Bob or those Loves. He sounds like he doesn't really live close to them at all. He has been out as long as Elder Fawson (my last comp).

When I left the area I went to say goodbye to some families. The family from Kiribus was a sad one to say goodbye to. Originally there were 3 or 4 families living in one house in Te Puke. But the landlord was mad, so the Nehemiah family and Lita, who we baptized, and her mum moved to a house in the mount. Bwenita and his family are still in Te Puke. His granddaughter is Burnadette, who we just baptized. When I said goodbye to Bwenita and his family, (he is an old mean islander) he cried while giving us a closing prayer and told me he would miss me. Then I visited the Nehemiahs and they had prepared all this food and things for me. Alice, the mom made me some pillow cases that have the Kiribati flag and "Sleep Well" on it. And a black pin stripe shirt. I got emotional saying goodbye and it was hard.

Sesi, who just got his priesthood back, and Ana (Sesi's non-member wife, who has been waiting to be baptized by her husband) are others that we taught. I had a hard time saying goodbye to them also. Sesi is going to be baptizing his wife on the 3rd week of November, so I'll miss that. But their goal is to seal their family, including a son of Ana's which she had before marrying Sesi, that died. They said that they would stay in touch and that in a year when they go to the temple that they would invite me (which is allowed) to come. I am so excited for that and I pray that they keep on it and make it to the temple.

That's pretty much it me for this week.

Love you so much! --Elder Love

Emails 10/11 & 10/18/09

2009-10-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Email 10/11/09:

Well this week was a good week. I had a trade off with the AP's!!! That was interesting. Elder Brady is a really good elder. It was nice to get to work with him. At the same time, my companion was working with Elder Dixon, an aussie. They were able to set our really cool investigator Jared for Nov 7th. So that's way exciting!

We are planning to play some tennis with Jared today (pday). Claire was baptized this weekend which was way cool.I'll be sending a pic of that too. (above) She had no family support but a lot of people from the ward were there, so I was happy. It was emotional for her.

We also got to watch General Conference this weekend, my highlights were Elder Holland, HE IS THE MAN!!! He's just so cool and such a great leader. I wish I would have paid attention when he was at our Stake. And Elder Callister-- he is (I believe) the new Area Seventy in my area. Elder Baxter was released (he has a brain tumor and had to go back to the states for treatment) and Elder Callister was one of his counselors. Elder Callister just told it how it is. I really liked that.

Email 10/18/09:

Well this was another good week. We taught 27 lessons this week, which is a new record in our area. And we still had 3 trade offs this week.

I was with Elder Komene first in the area of Kawerau, which used to be a branch, but has since been shut down. So the people have to go to Whakatane (fakatane). When I was there Elder Komene and I found 2 new investigators on a walk-in lesson. We just stopped to talk to them and they invited us in. Then I had a trade off in Greerton which is on bike...during a storm (hence the picture...above) We found 2 investigators there too. I was with Elder Belk. He's cool!

Then I had Burnadette's baptism, which was so cool. She wanted to be baptized so bad. She was so excited!

Then a trade off in Otumoetai, which I didn't find any new investigators. But it was a good day. On Sunday we taught this young boy that wants to be baptized named Mana. He is a cool kid. I think he is about 12, and so he is now set for baptism on the 14th of Nov.

Everything is going well here, and the Church is true down under too... haha

I love you! Elder Love

Email 10/5/09

2009-10-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Family,

Well, well, well, this has been a crazy week. First I'm fine and I'll get to that later.

One of my investigators, Rangi (pronounced Rungy) had a stroke last Saturday. On Monday we finally got her to go to the hospital... for some reason she wouldn't. Then a few days later her partner (term used for people living together that aren't married) got some crazy blood infection and is still in the hospital.

And now the tsunami thing...We got a phone call in the morning in personal study time from the AP's saying that there was a tsunami on the way and that we needed to find out if the ward had some kind of evacuation plan. We called around and they said when the siren goes off....run to high ground. Then the AP's called back and said that the area office told us and others on the coast to head to at least 40 feet above sea level. We went to the other elders' flat in Greerton (suburb of Tauranga) and we were fine. It never even hit and we didn't feel the quake. (Mom, you asked if I was scared...yes and no. I was nervous and then I was worried about the ward because it was early in the morning and I wanted them to be safe.)

We have done very well this week. Claire is still set for next Sat (10th) which is when we get to see General Conference. And another girl from Kiribus (she leaves at the same home as Lita) is set for the 17th.

Transfers are on the 22nd. We will find out what's going on, on the 21st. Elder fawson thinks he is going. I'm not to sure what's going on. It's all speculation.

--Elder Love

I love you Mom, Dad, Julie, Stacy, Nathan and Tyler (poopie, rob and tink... I have forgotten about Ruby. I am sorry ...included)

PS. Congrats to Skankey that's a great time (in the St. George marathon)

Also to Julie and Tyler--there is an Elder Belk in my Zone from Tremonton, Utah.

(this picture is a road that looks down the kiwi fruit orchard in Tepuke. It's the kiwi fruit capital of New Zealand) (This is Wilfred a Kiribati boy... he is so funny, he is 2 years old.)

Email 9/27/09

2009-09-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

(After a rainstorm in Tauranga)

Family,

Well this week was a good one. It was a pretty average week, same as usual, but this is something good that happened:

Last week we found a young man. (I think he is about 18 or older) while we were walking down Maunganui road. We stopped to talk to one guy but he didn't speak English (he was from Argentina). So we tried to tell him what we do and what we share. He still wasn't getting it, so I decided to call Miguel (one of the Chileans from Te Puke I've told you about before.)

As I was on the phone, this young man came up and started to talk to the Argentinean in Spanish (not very good Spanish) but it was better than ours. So we asked him if he could translate for us. He said "Probably," so we told him we share a message about how God has called a living prophet and that there are 12 apostles who help lead our church. The guy started to translate and then was like "WHAT?! Your church has apostles and a prophet?" I answered, "yeah it does. They have been called by God." He was like, "Wo, Can you guys teach me about that?" So we said we would, and then now this week I taught him. (I was on a trade off)

After talking a little bit I was trying to figure out what sort of a background he had in religion and he is Christian/Catholic sorta. He said he believes in Christ and that seemed about it. He had this way old Bible that he said some guy just gave to him about 2 weeks ago (a fortnight). It's an old King James version. He said he was going to just start it from the beginning and go from there. He got to Genesis 14 and he said that everything has been going so good since he started reading it. He got a job and school is going good. He asked some odd questions like about how old people were in Old Testament and he was really curious about Enoch. So we read from Moses. He was curious when it said Moses walked with God.

He thought that it was really cool and we went over the Plan of Salvation. He said it just makes sense compared to other things he learned about. We gave him a Book of Mormon and told him to read it from the title page and on. So we are going to meet with him on Thursday. He just seems so "golden." He's just an awesome kid. He seems like some of the guys I hung out with at home. So cool!!!

Also I spoke at last Sunday's Sacrament Meeting about my conversion. Man, apparently it touched so many people and gave a bunch of people hope for themselves and their kids. It was a great thing to share.

Hope all is well with you, Mom, Dad, Julie, Stacy, Tyler, Nathan

PS. That's so awesome for Shane and Chris and everyone who got their mission calls.

Email 9/20/09

2009-09-22T09:15:00.001-07:00

Well everything is well here. We had zone conference. I dont think I'll be in Welcome Bay and the "mount" much after the end of October. That's when transfers are. They tend to have problems with modesty because we are so close to the beach. It's starting to turn to summer so I think we will be pulled out and they will drop some sisters in here.

We had a baptism this weekend, I GOT TO BAPTIZE HER!!!! That was way cool. I didn't mess up either. Her name is Lita and she is from the island of Kiribus. I'm not sure if that is spelled correctly.

Things are so good right now for us, but my zone is having trouble finding people though, so that stinks. Also my companion is having some back problems (actually he has had problems with it for many years it sounds like) so he is trying to get that taken care of. That's really about it. Not too much else. Oh, actually we set a 60 year old lady named Claire for baptism and she will be getting baptized on the 10th of Oct. Yes, I think that's it.

Love Elder Love ...ha.

I love you Mom, Dad, Julie, Stacy, Nathan and Tyler (also baby J on the way) haha that ryms haha also the poopie and rob and tink!

Email 9/13/09

2009-09-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Family,
Well this week was better than last week. I have been feeling better.

This week was the end of my first transfer (6 weeks). That means I've been out on my mission for over 2 months now. It has flown past for me. I didn't get transfered. I'll be in Tauranga for at least 6 more weeks. There tends to be modesty problems being close to the beach and they usually put sisters in when it's warm down there.

(view of Welcome Bay, the mountain in the background is called the Mount...Todd writes, "clever kiwis! hahaha!)

We have been teaching a family from Karibus (a small island I have no idea where...) and we have one baptism this Saturday with them and probably another next month. We have a girl getting baptized next Saturday. I will get to do that. It will be my first baptism that I get to perform on my mission. It's exciting.

(a recent baptism)

There is a small town outside of my main area that we cover its called Te Puke. This is where a few of our investigators are from. It's pronounced "teh pookeh." Also if you see anything on the map of New Zealand with a wh--it's pronounced with a "f" sound. Anyway in Te Puke, there is a family we have been teaching. They are less active. They don't come to church because of the language barrier. THEY SPEAK SPANISH! They are from Chile and have come to work in the kiwi fruit orchards. and of course I don't know Spanish.... it's ridiculous!!! And yeah, I'm helping them work on their English.... so yeah, we'll see how that goes!

That's pretty much the past week.

-Elder Love

I love you Mom, Dad, Julie, Tyler, Stacy, and Nathan.

ps. I got Stacy's letter yesterday with the Peru pics. Awesome! and of course the Poopie, Rob and Tink

(Elder Love's zone just before transfers.)

Email 8/30/09: First Baptism!

2009-08-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

Well this has been an interesting week. We had a lot of opposition from someone who didn't want Udi to be baptized. (we found out its spelled Uli) He had to pay his parents 50 dollars before they would give permission to join the church. But he paid it and he was baptized. The baptism was awesome. He was baptized by a relative--an uncle.

(Above, Uli, with Todd and his companion Elder Fawson)

We also had our stake conference this weekend. It was really good. It was all about saving the rising generation. Pres. Porter spoke. His advice for parents, which feel free to share this with anyone, was to teach your childern who the Savior is--not just a name but that He is a real person. Also teach your childern to understand revalation, not just 'oh the Spirit is here' and it feels good, but to understand the promptings. And that obedience is the most important thing to teach your children! I'm learning that everything in my mission and in life is based on obedience. It's also the first law in heaven.

Everything is good here. I have had a cold this last week, just a lack of vitamin c, but I'll be fine. I LOVE EVERYONE SO MUCH (Mom, Dad, Julie, Tyler, Stacy, Nathan, Poopie, Rob and Tink)
ps. I'm so happy for Artie!!!!!!! he's the man!

(pictured above: Todd with a member Sesi and Elder Fawson)

(pictured above: Todd--right--with his MTC district)

(pictured above at the MTC dorms with 2 boys from our Stake. Center: Bobby Jacques now serving in Lisbon Portugal. Right: Nate Rosell now serving in Cape Verde, West Africa)

Email 8/23/09

2009-08-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, this week was tough one. I had three trade offs this week and Elder Fawson put me in charge of the area. I felt that I didnt do a good job but at the end of the week we were recapping what happend and it was a pretty good week. It was my first time having to be a leader in my area. It was pretty tough.

Elder Love's area

We have now 4 people set for baptism. All have been set since I've been here. The Lord has been blessing us with so many miracles. It's been wonderful.

To answer some questions, let's see, we are in a car. It's a silver Toyota Yaris 4 door. It's nice. Also, I am warm enough. I think I'm good on money. Also, about my mission president--he is the MAN!! He is a man of many miracles and has been working with us to try to use faith as a principle of power.

At a recent Zone Conference, Elder Love-far right

Things are just so awesome. We might still have 2 more set for baptism in this month 2 of the 4 we have set were "etern-igators." They were both investigating for over a year!

Eating with the members.

The church is true. Jesus is my Savior. His gospel is on the earth once more and it is my privilage to spread the gospel to the world.

-Elder W. Todd Love

I love you mom, dad, Julie, Tyler (and child on the way, let me know what the sex is. I could give you some sweet Maori names), Stacy and Nathan, and the Poopie, Rob, and Tiddlywink!

New Postal Code for Todd

2009-08-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

Just got an email from the mission president's wife. This is the new postal code to send letters to Todd:

New Zealand Auckland Mission
PO Box 33-840
Takapuna, North Shore City 0622
New Zealand

Email 8/16/09

2009-08-17T23:40:00.000-07:00

Well this week was awesome. I set two more people for baptism and Udi still looks good. There are still two more we might be able to set.... I have to do a lot of trade-offs because my companion is a Zone Leader (ZL) but things are going well. I have 20 or maybe more investigators right now. One of the two we set for baptism was what is known as an "etern-igator." She has been investigating for more than a year now, but she is finally set. Things are going good.

--Elder Love
ps. I love you Mom, Dad, Julie, Tyler, Stacy and Nathan (and poopie of course)

Email from a Missionary Mom

2009-08-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from an email I received from Jenny Larsen, who's son is also serving in the Auckland New Zealand mission about sending letters and packages:

"In my experience, letters take about 10 days and packages take about 11-20 days to get to New Zealand. Your son won't be able to pick up his packages however until there is a transfer usually every six weeks. The packages sit at the mission office until either a zone or district leader picks them up if they are traveling to a specific area where a package needs to go or a zone conference or transfer takes place. Letters, on the other hand, are forwarded to the flats of the missionaries and they get them at a pretty steady pace.

Remember when sending packages not to send any beef jerky. It will just be confiscated at the post office. Candy must be in its original wrappings. We have had no problems with packages being lost or stolen but we did lose some jerky (but they put a note in the box explaining why). Packages will be opened and searched but don't worry about things being taken.

Be sure to check out flat rate boxes if mailing from the USA. They are free at the post office and they offer 3 different sizes. I get the middle size and it costs about $40.00 to send but I can pack that box chuck full of stuff and I never go over the weight limit. It is cheaper than sending your own box. Just get in the habit of knowing when transfers are and have a package there beforehand and your missionary will get it.

My son actually told me to scale back on the treats because the members feed them so well and he is fearing that he will gain weight. I hope this information helps!"
Jenny Larsen MM to Elder Jeffrey Larsen NZAM 12/10

Email 8/9/09

2009-08-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well first things first, sorry to everyone who I sent letters to last week. Apparently I still cannot email friends. It has to be direct family. But I can still write you snail-mail. Julie, I did get your letter. I only can email family and the mission president. Sorry I didn't know and need to be obedient.

Any who, let's see, my first night in Tauranga, I didn't have a blanket and it was way cold. So my companian decided to take me to a family's house to see if they had an extra blanket. We found one who did. It's a big warm blanket with a tiger on it. Also in the flat we have heaters. I learn at night that it can be bad to leave things too close to the heater. Luckily the blanket didn't catch fire, but it did melt two holes in it. So on last p-day I went and bought a replacement blanket and I gave it to the family. They just laughed at me!

Well Udi the 17 year old Tongan, who was going to be baptized on the 15th, backed out of his commitment. He said he wasn't ready. It was really quick but still, he knows what we have taught him is true--that the Church is true and all that. But I recommited him a few days later and he accepted to be baptized on the 28th. But now he is going to Auckland until the 25th. He is causing me too much stress!!!!!

Everything else is going ok. I just don't like knocking doors yet but I'm working on it. I spoke on Sunday about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think it went well. Also for those asking, my p-day is Monday and that would be Sunday for those in the states.

We have been teaching a bunch and have been talking to a heaps of people. We talked to 71 people this last week. Mom I dont have Jordan's address, so if you could get that, that would be great. Congrats to Artie I'm way proud of you!!! To everyone else, please keep writing I love getting letters. Feel free to send snail-mail. It doesn't take too long I hear.

The Church is true--

Elder Love

P.S. I love you Mom, Dad, Julie, Tyler, Stacy, Nathan, and The Poopie.

Email 8/2/09

2009-08-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad,

Yeah so I'm serving in the Tauranga zone, Mt Manganui and Welcome Bay area. My companion is Elder Fawson from Salt Lake City. He is the Zone Leader for Tauranga. I've been out here for a few days. I get homesick in the morning but I think it's just cause I'm making the transition into the missionary life. It's a tough one. haha. I'm just realizing that I'm gonna be here for two years and you and the family are over 8,000 miles away! But I just keep praying and remembering why I'm here.

Yeah, so today is pday. The last couple of days we have been just knocking doors and stuff like that. We have had a few lessons. My comp met this 17 year old Tongan boy named Udi. He is really cool and he's being baptized at the end of the month, exciting!!!! We get most of our work through referrals, mostly less actives or part member families.

The weather is pretty cold out here. It's pretty southern. We went to help the ward mission leader this morning, he needed a blessing. Then we went to a less active home.

All is well here. I would have sent pictures but I forgot to grab the cord to do that so sorry. My address is 3/4 taupo ave, Bayfair. Our flat is a little white tiny place, but it's right near the street. I gave you the address so you can google it.

Ok, so I gotta go. I'll try to talk more next week. I love you, dad, Stacy, Nathan, Julie and Tyler so much. bye :)

******
Note from Vivian: check out the mission president's wife's blog. Todd's in some of the pictures!
Link here: New Zealand Auckland Mission

Email from Pres. Porter

2009-07-29T22:26:00.000-07:00

7/30/2009

Dear Bro. and Sis. Love,
It was a great pleasure to welcome your son, Elder Love, to our mission. He arrived in good health, ready to begin his missionary work here in the New Zealand Auckland Mission. I have interviewed him carefully and find him well prepared, with a strong testimony. He is a credit to his parents and we appreciate the privilege of having him here in the mission. I feel honored to be his mission president and know that the Lord has prepared many people here to receive the testimony of the Restoration he bears.

Elder Love has been assigned Elder Fawson to be his first companion, his “trainer,” who will help your son adjust to missionary life. They have been assigned to work in the Tauranga area. We are confident that as they work diligently together that the Lord will bless them in accordance with their faithfulness, and they will experience the joy of seeing our Heavenly Father’s children progress towards baptism in His church.

Your son will look forward to your weekly letters of encouragement and support. Monday is his preparation day and will be when he is able to check for and write emails. All mailed letters should be sent to the Mission Office, which address is located in the letterhead above.

Thank you for all you have done to prepare your son for his mission. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Sister Porter and I will do everything in our power to help him have a wonderful and productive mission. We pray the Lord will bless and sustain you in his absence.

Love and Appreciation,

President Benson L. Porter
New Zealand Auckland Mission

He Arrived!

2009-07-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

7/28/09

Hi Mom and Dad, I have arrived safely in New Zealand, I am super tired and I can't talk too much. It's so beautiful here, I love it already.... the only problem is that long flight. Anyway I need to go. I love you so much! -Elder Love

Phone Call from LAX 7/27/09

2009-07-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight Todd was able to call from his layover at LAX. He was at the Bradley terminal waiting to board Air New Zealand on a 16 hour journey to Auckland. That's the last time I'll hear his voice until Christmas. So as you can guess, this mom is a basket case tonight!

He was able to call Will in Peru too. He also talked to Stacy and Nathan who are there too. His plane was starting to board and he wasn't able to call Julie and Tyler, but he said he was going to write them soon.

Todd said he's with a group of 10 missionaries headed for New Zealand--1 sister and 9 elders. We didn't talk too long, but he did say he had a stomach ache the whole time he was at the MTC. The way he described the food, "It's good, but maybe not good for you." lol

He said he loved the MTC experience and getting trained and ready to go out and serve. He wanted everyone to know that if you wrote him through the dearelder.com service, he did get all your letters. He said he didn't have much time to write back to everyone on his p-days, so he apologized.

He shared that his district had a parting fireside together and they sang "Come Come Ye Saints." He told the elders that song was very special to him because it's a family hymn. He shared with them that one of his ancestors, William Clayton, wrote that hymn.

Before Todd hung up with me, he bore his testimony to me. It was wonderful. He's only been gone for 19 days, but I could already hear that his testimony has grown. He'll be a great missionary and I am so proud of him. He sends his love. We look forward to hearing from him again soon. (maybe he'll send some pictures soon too!)

Look out New Zealand, here comes Elder Love!

Email 7/20/09

2009-07-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad,
I think I'll just email the rest of the time I'm here. It's really useless to send things snail mail. I think it should be email in New Zealand. I have my departure date. It's July 27th next week. Only 7 days left in here. We leave at like 4:30 pm. Sorry, you are not allowed to see me at the airport! But I heard I can call anyone while I'm waiting. It's a 3 hr layover.

I got your package you sent. Thank you. I haven't really used the camera that much so I'm not going to send a disc back yet. I've been studying. I did some work at the building where the people pretend to be investigators. I committed a lady to baptism on our first visit with her. Too bad she's already a member. haha.

I have had to learn that I am nothing. I am just a vessel for the Spirit to abide in and bear testimony to things that I say to the "elect of God". I know that many of my friends are some of the "elect of God". In D&C it says the "elect" surround themselves with members.

Dad, have fun in Peru. I think Hermana Churchill left today but I'm not sure. My branch is great. My district is awesome. We have Elder Snow, Elder Brideau, Elder Gibbs, Elder Lunt, Elder Blake, and Elder Lauchuer. All are going to Edmonton Canada. And then there is me, Elder Barbic, Elder Subramanian, and Elder Lizenbee. Elder Lizenbee went home. He had to take care of some things. He will be back out though. We pray for him very often. I gotta check my laundry but I'll check my mail again soon so please write me. Write through Dearelder.com a bunch please. It feels so good to get letters. Also I got my hair cut... its basically buzzed. It looks good though. --Elder Love

Letter 7/13/09

2009-07-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Mom and Dad,
It's Monday. My first P-day. Later today I'll set up an email account but I'm not sure when that will be. Today was a good day. We went to the temple. It was a very nice session. The temple is so beautiful. One of my roommates told me something that has turned out to be totally true. He said the days at the MTC go by like weeks, the weeks go by like days. I can't believe I've been here for almost a week. But each day feels like 3 or more. I dislike waking up so early but I can't do much about that. Yesterday I had the coldest shower I've ever had. I jumped in and couldn't breath. It made most of the day miserable. But I prpbably broke a record for shortest shower time. Well it's been fun learning so many scriptures. I memorized "My Purpose as a Missionary." We have our first teaching assignment on Tues. I've been working really hard trying to learn what to do to be a more effective missionary. 1. Teach with the Spirit, 2. Have faith, 3. Keep things simple. "With faith in the Lord, all things are possible." --Elder Todd Love

Letter 7/10/09

2009-07-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

Hey Mom and Dad,
This is obviously Todd. I've already found it hard to get used to saying Elder. Sorry for the paper, I realized I forgot to bring normal paper. My companion is Elder Barbic. He's the son of the bishop in Seaside, OR. Grandpa Love met him. I want you to know that everything is cool and I'm adjusting fine. I was supposed to write to let you guys know everything is ok. I love you both and the rest of the family, including The Poopie. --Elder Love
PS. I had to get a typhoid shot here.

Off To The Missionary Training Center

2009-07-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

July 8, 2009, The big day finally arrived. The day Todd was to report to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah. Here he will be until July 27th, learning how to be a full-time missionary.

While in Utah, we visited lots of friends and family. We stayed with Uncle Bob and Aunt Carolyn in American Fork. Todd got to see his sister Julie and her husband Tyler. They spent a day with him taking him around Salt Lake City. Read about it here: Todd. He's pictured below with Julie from the top of the Conference Center, with the McCune mansion in the background.They also ate lunch at Parker's Drive-in, Todd's favorite!

The morning Todd reported, we went to visit our good friend Bro. Scott Cameron, a dean at the BYU Law School. He is also on the General Board of the Young Mens organization of the LDS Church. We met him two years ago while camping at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. He's been a good friend and mentor to Todd. Pictured below, Scott Cameron, Todd, and his parents.
For lunch, we stopped over at the Cougar Eat at BYU. Just as Todd was about to start eating, he said, "Man! I wish I could see Sean Rooney." He had just said those words, when he looked up and there he was! Sean's sister Cami was also there. They were so happy to see each other. Todd and Sean went to El Dorado High School together.

Just before we dropped Todd off at the MTC, we quickly ran up to the Provo Temple, which is just across from the MTC. There we asked some nice folks to take our picture.
Next we took Todd to the MTC. We were not permitted to enter, and had to just leave him at the curbside. Some nice elders were there helping to show him where to go and what to do.

We quickly said our goodbyes and a nice sister missionary took some pictures for us.

Todd's mom and dad cried the rest of the way home. We will miss Todd, but are so proud of him.

Set Apart as "Elder Love"

2009-07-20T00:06:00.000-07:00

July 5th, 2009 Todd was set apart as a missionary. He would now be called "Elder Love". He was set apart by our Stake President, Randy L. Burnett. Todd is pictured here with (left to right) Bishop Mike Rooney, Pres. Nile A. Sorenson, Pres. Randy L. Burnett, Elder Love, Pres. William Love (his dad) and good family friend, Tim Morris.Here is Todd with his mom and dad:Pictured below, left to right, Nathan-his brother in law, Stacy-his sister, Elder Love, Vivian-his mom and Will-his dad. Read this wonderful blog post Stacy wrote about her little brother: Todd.It was a wonderful morning. Next, Todd and his parents were headed to Provo, Utah.

Spending Time with Family

2009-07-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

June 21, 2009 Todd spoke in Sacrament Meeting. Many family and friends came to hear him speak. That weekend he spent lots of time with his family. Here he is pictured with his family and cousins that came to visit him. One day his sisters, their husbands and Todd all wore matching t-shirts and spent the day at Disneyland. The shirts were to commemorate Todd's mission call and even had kiwi birds on the front. They were designed by his sister, Julie and printed by his brother-in-law Nathan. While at Disneyland, they ran into actor Sean Astin, who is Todd's 4th cousin!
During that weekend the whole family attended the Newport Beach temple. Afterwards, we arranged for a photographer to meet us at the Balboa Fun Zone, where we had family pictures taken. After all, this was the last time our whole family would be together for the next 2 years!

Enjoy some of the shots:

Read this nice post his sister Julie wrote about going to hear Todd speak: Todd

Going to the Temple

2009-07-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

April 18, 2009 Todd went to the temple. This is something that all missionaries do to prepare for their missions. More info here: Why Temples?

Todd had the opportunity to attend the Newport Beach Temple.

Here he is pictured with family members who were also there with him. Left to right: Stacy-his sister, Will-his dad, Vivian-his mom, and Nathan-his brother in law:

Other friends who were also there were Bishop Rooney, Brian Plummer and Art Reck.

Here is pictured with his family outside the temple.

It was a wonderful day!

Receiving The Call

2009-07-19T22:08:00.001-07:00

Mar. 20, 2009 Todd received the call in the mail. Here we are getting cameras ready.

Everyone is excited, even the Poopie! Nervous? You bet! Opening the envelope... Finding out he is called to the Auckland, New Zealand mission, to report July 8th, 2009. Showing everyone the call... signed by Pres. Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of our church.

Todd was thrilled! And even did a 'happy dance'!!!

Calling friends and relatives to share the great news. He's pictured below with Mark Keough, his friend since 2nd grade and Arturo Riquelme, another good friend.

These two parents couldn't be more proud.

Of course he got a big hug from his mom!
and one from his sister Stacy!