We went to the Zoo - November 6, 2017

Fun fact about Elder Turley:
He LOVES Tigers!!

I'm wearing my tiger tie!

November 6, 2017
This week has flown by. I feel like I was sitting in this library writing what I did last week, yesterday.  To be honest not much has happened. We worked our butts off this week to get the work progressing in our area.  Through out the week we had no success. 

     But finally on Saturday.... okay Saturday was crazy.  We had a lesson with an investigator at a members house, and I accidentally made Elder Pond crash his bike... He was pretty mad but eventually we were able to laugh about it. Then we taught the lesson and it went very well. Then we were going to a dinner appointment, we were flying down this road and Elder Pond crashed his bike again. The front tire came off the bike and he slammed into the ground. He is doing well but there is obviously something wrong with his sternum/collarbone area, so we are going to get it x-rayed today. Then we made it to our dinner. Then we had one more lesson tonight and a member came with us to this one. We taught Mercedes about smoking and we are trying to help her do only one pack for 5 days. Then her granddaughter came in and out of the room and the member asked the granddaughter (Amanda) if she wanted to come to church.  She said yes. Then as we were leaving the lesson. Amanda was talking to her boy friend (Isaiah), who we have played basketball with, and the member asked him if he would like to come to church.  He said yes. So we had THREE people at church and it was awesome.  We were definitely blessed this week. It just took diligence.  That's all for this week. We also went to the zoo. I saw a tiger, so my week was great! btw I love tigers (I'm not really sure why) 

 but yeah. 

I met God - October 30, 2017

The work out gang. 
Bro Lambert bought us matching tanks.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 join the ward trunk or treat.

Trumpkin

October 30, 2017

   So this week has been a really fun week. A lot of things have happened. I feel like I should be saying like spiritual stuff in these emails but I feel like I always have really funny things to say and those things are way more interesting!

      So this random guy showed up to our church and he volunteered to go out on splits with us. So we talked to him and found out that he wasn't a member. So we told him that we couldn't do splits with him but we could always meet up and we can talk and share some things with him.  He shared with us some very bold beliefs of his.  He LITERALLY THINKS HE IS GOD. Like God is inside his body and controlling him. He thinks his purpose in life is to find the lost books of the Bible and put together the original Bible, so that he can find the way to ascend to heaven with out dying.  He thinks Christ made reincarnation happen and trapped everyone here on earth so he thinks his purpose is to solve the problem of over populating the earth and find a way to bring people to God with out dying. So that was an interesting experience. 

       On Friday we had our ward trunk or treat and some member made me and my comp some costumes. (we aren't allowed to dress up but we were still wearing our church clothes we just threw a shirt over and a wig) but it was awesome. We were thing 1 and thing 2. Our Ward loved it, and we won best couple costumes! hahaha it was fun. 

      The ward is really starting to love us and they are starting to invite friends over for dinner so we can meet them. So that tell us that we are doing something right. Elder Pond and I aren't very good with the doctrine but when it comes to people and getting along we do great at that. We were walking out of this dinner one night and the teenage daughter says to her boyfriend "these are by far the coolest missionaries we have had here" and then they realized that we heard them say that. But it was nice to hear that we are pretty cool.  We get along with the families very well here.  

     This area is still very difficult. We are trying our best to get some people to teach. We are teaching this one Chinese chick who we found in the downtown area.  Not much has happened with her yet. Maybe next week, we will have her on date. we will see.  Keep us in your prayers. 

Thanks everyone for everything. 

Email me.

District Leader - October 23, 2017

Wigs for our Halloween Costumes!

October 23, 2017

So not much happened this week. it was pretty lame. Transfers are this next week and we found out that Elder Pond and I are staying in the Carmel, Indiana area and we will still be with each other. So that's good. We get along great and we have a lot of fun together.

    I also found out that I will be DISTRICT LEADER.  It really isn't a big deal for everyone that has been on a mission, they know that the DL really isn't important.  It's nice to see the president trusts me even tho I am still so new to the mission. 

       Not much has happened this week tho. The members here are awesome in the Keystone Ward. I'm excited I will be here for the holidays because they are wealthier so maybe they will give us nice presents. lol I'm excited.  I love every and thank you so much for everything that you guys do. We are trying our best out here in Indiana. The work is slow in my area but we are doing everything we can to grow the Lords vineyard. 

      I'll share one cool experience. So we were just PCing (talking to people) in the downtown Carmel area. and I got lazy and I said lets just sit on this bench over here and maybe people will come and talk to us.  Right after this, some guy asked if we knew where the padthai food place was.  We pointed in which direction it was. He stood there for a couple seconds just like kicking his feet and not saying anything, finally he asked "what do you guys do? " So we gave him the whole schpeel about missionaries.  He just broke down and opened up to us. He was in tears on this bench in front of the whole downtown area. He was just telling us how crappy his life is and how he needs Jesus. So we pointed him in the direction of the closest catholic church. SIKE!! Of course we taught him and we invited him to come to church with us and meet new friends and talk to people, but he didn't show up.  We are going to teach him hopefully and dunk him. (spiritually). 

           I know God is out there and I know he is real. He puts people in our path, all we need to do is pray for those opportunities and he will give them to us. We just need to pray and then show up, so that when we show up he can use us in ways that we might not even know we could be used. we all have special gifts for a reason. 

I love you guys.

Old African Lady -October 16, 2017

Repping my old work shirt.  Told my boss I was taking it.

Elder Pond borrowed my Camera

A weight machine a member gave us.
(perks of living in a rich area)

A week of funny stories - October 16, 2017

 So this week was chalk full of funny stories.  I hate typing so I will only do a couple. BUT you are probably wondering what I mean by the subject of this email.

     So we bike down to the southern part of our area every Friday (which is the northern part of Indy) and its pretty ghetto there.  We visit with an old African man, who speaks barely any English, named Brother Boateng (idk his first name). He is HILARIOUS last week he told us that he has SWOLLEN TESTICLES so he cant walk very well. haha. This week we were teaching him and he asked if we knew how to use a blood pressure machine. and of course, I said yes because I knew he needed help with something. So he said that we needed to go into his room and help put it on his wife. 

      Let me give you a BACK STORY, she has a problem were she urinates involuntary, (because she is very old) and they cant afford diapers so they use newspaper. so their room STINKS OF URINE. 

         So we walk into the room and the wife, who is pretty hefty, is just chilling on the chair. BUTT NAKED. WHAT DO YOU DO IN THIS SITUATION?? I quickly turn to my companion and he is just dying laughing, we had to go in and out of the room to gasp for fresh air so we didn't contaminate our lungs with urine infested air. We are so confused on why this is happening to us. So I turn back to Bro. Boateng and I asked he could dress his wife and he eventually did it.  It was hilarious and we were able to help her and all is well. 

Also this week. Elder Pond CRASHED his bike TWICE. We were right by our apartment and he tried to do a no hander over this curb, which I successfully did, and I hear some metal clashing against the ground and I looked back and what do you know? Elder Pond was lying on the ground. hahaha so of course I had to make fun of him a little. but we laughed about it.  Then later that night. (on the SAME DAY) we were flying down this hill, and it was DARK,  he must not have seen the entrance to get on the side walk and again I heard the same noise. I looked back and he was face first on the ground.  Luckily he was fine, and some cars were able to witness this one so it made it even better. 

    We are having a fun time here in Carmel as companions. transfers are this week. I have been out on my mission for 3 months and time is flying by. I love the mission. the gospel is true. Also, the second counselor texted us during sacrament and asked if we would HELP him teach the lesson.  We said yes and it turned out he meant teach the WHOLE LESSON.  It was on mission work so no biggie. 

sorry its long. 

peace out.

Started Raining - October 9, 2017

Shout out to MacKenzie for the Kodiac Pancake Mix and sugar free syrup.

Our pet Bee Snoopy (RIP)

October 9, 2017

So as you can tell from the subject, it rained every day this week and i loved it. My comp and I would always go out in the rain and get as wet as we can. Just yesterday we had to bike pretty far and we were just soaked and honestly it was pretty fun. The house that we knocked on, no one was there so we biked all the way there and then had to bike all the way back but it was still fun. 

         My comp and I this week tried to be more diligent in our work and we did just that.  The week went by so fast and I would say we had some success. Every morning we pray for a miracle to happen and then through out the day its crazy because we see so many miracles happen on a daily basis. I mean those miracles probably would have happened with out that prayer but our eyes were opened and we were able to recognize those miracles and be thankful for them. So that was something that was cool for us this week.

         The two brothers that kinda dropped us last week are doing good. kinda. We have met with them and the younger brother is still interested in learning more about the bible but that's pretty much it. So we showed him some cool chapters to read in the Bible and we haven't met with him yet to talk about those chapters but hopefully we can get him back on date to be baptized. The older brother isn't too interested in progressing but we aren't giving up yet. 

        We met some guy from Egypt that we are going to start teaching him English and some things about the Bible because that's what he wants to learn about. We will slowly make our way into the BOM but his name is Youssef Youssef.  He is so hard to understand but the gift of tongues is real. Even tho i'm speaking English. but other than these things, this week has been pretty lame.

             Oh we found a huge bee on the ground and it was just crawling and we put it on a stick and brought it home and we were going to keep him as a pet but he kept escaping the box we put him in.  He couldn't fly so he couldn't go far, but we could pet him, it was pretty cool. I have pics and videos of him. Also we found this little Chinese joint on the side of the road in the ghetto part of our area so we went in and they had the candy called pocky, which is like a pretzel dipped in chocolate. and also back home at Mackenzies, her step dad brought back Chinese stuff from trips and there was there little rice cakes that felt so weird, and I found them in the store so I bought some and made elder pond try it. so I have pics and videos of that. 

Miscellaneous news from the Mission Social Media - November 2017

Nice ending to a very busy mission week
Interviews and Fireside

Look at this group!
Specialized training for the July arrivals and their trainers.
These are talented and spirited missionaries.

Indy North Zone Conference.
Excellent comments about the power of Preach My Gospel
 and the Scriptures.

First day of Mission Tour with Elder and Sister Nielsen.
September 18, 2017
Indy North, Indy West, and Lafayette Zones 

Awesome group of new missionaries and their trainers... What a beautiful sight.
October 5, 2017

There was a chill in the air, but not in the Fisher building.
Indy North interviews November 1, 2017

Indy North and West Stakes fireside.
"Why I Believe"
November 12, 2017

Conferenc Week in Indy - October 2, 2017

Exchanges with Elder Gamble

P-Day with Pond

Chilling to "Watching you"

shout out to Dylan and Ray

Sister Freeze - 

Her family fed us breakfast, lunch and dinner on

conference Sunday!

October 2, 2017

So honestly I am getting tired of writing these weekly emails already. haha So sorry if this one is pretty boring and lame. but this week has been pretty good. 

       We are still trying to work with Zach and Tyler. The 18 and 16 year old, but our Young Mens President screwed us over so we are trying to figure stuff out still. Here is the story. We brought up Zach and Tyler in ward council and everything went fine but then on Tuesday we get a text from Zach and he says "Hey we don't want to meet with you guys anymore, we need a break from the lessons" and I was shocked because they seemed pretty solid.  Then a little after this we get a text from our Young Mens President and he says "Hey sorry. I called Zach and Tyler and invited them to church and for them to come to mutual and come over to my house".   He didn't even ask us about this at all???? We were suppose to ask them and they weren't ready to be invited to meet people yet because they are pretty shy and wanted to take things slow. So now since the Young Mens President called them and invited them over to his house (Zach and Tyler have no idea who this man is) they thought the church was over bearing and didn't want anything to do with us. So we stopped by and asked what was up and they talked to us for a little. They explained that their mom is also anti Mormon so that's gunna be rough. So we are trying to figure out what to do with them but we are still teaching (casually). but yeah that is where we are at. 

        Nothing else really happened this week. Conference was pretty bomb. The members are really starting to take care of us. We met the Freeze family and they just kinda took us in and they do so much for us now. They send pictures of us to our moms. (so that's pretty cool)  They fed us breakfast lunch and dinner on Sunday. And they gave us a whole extra rack of ribs, so we are eating like kings now. 

         But me and my comp continue to work out every day, still trying to get swole. I weigh 190 so i have gained 10 lbs. and that is like good weight. I wanna be 200 by Christmas. So Bro Lambert has me eating a lot and lifting heavy (he's basically my personal trainer). I wrestled him the other day and he just man handled me, it was embarrassing.  The mission is great. My testimony grows every day in the Book of Mormon, I love reading it. shout out to Bro Lindblom back home for having a strong testimony of the BOM and helping me gain one. love that dude. 

yeah just loving life here in Indy. 

email me. 

First Person On Date - September 25, 2017

This is what we do.

"No handers"

Down town Carmel

There was an Art show down town.
This was a picture I liked. idk don't judge.

September 25, 2017

        So this week has been pretty awesome. On Monday we went to the Colts stadium and did a tour of that, and that was awesome. We were able to go up in the press box and see the really nice sweets that they had for like Peyton Manning and his family.  Then we were able to go in the locker rooms and see all the lockers, then we saw like the press room where they interview the players after the game. We were able to go on the field and then we went into like the basement and saw all the kegs that they have.  There are so many. its insane. We also went into the NCAA hall of champions and we were able to play basketball and see how fast we can throw the baseball and play all those cool games that you like hit the ball and it hits the screens and then goes into the video game. So it was a fun p-day and we also walked around the downtown. 

          This week has been pretty eventful though. So we have gotten threatened by this apartment complex, multiple times, that they will call the cops on us for soliciting (which we aren't) but they think we are.  On Wednesday we went back over to the complex because we had some appointments there.  The guy stopped us and yelled at us for being here and we told him that we have appointments. So he checked the addresses to make sure we weren't lying to him. Then after the appointments, on our way out of the complex, I think of a good idea that we need to stop by one of our potential investigators.  The guy that has yelled at us was right there, so of course knowing me I go into the apartments just to piss him off and I knock on the ladies door and he comes up the stairs and yells at us and threatens again to call the cops.  I said "you wont" and he still never called them.  My mission president called the police and they said we can go back as much as we want. So we went back again and we continue to get yelled at and its awesome.  

           On Thursday we had an appointment with two brothers, Zach and Tyler. They are 18 and 16. We taught them the restoration, the first lesson, and I was like hey lets invite them to be baptized so I gave them the invite, AND THEY SAID YES! So it was my first time asking and it was successful. they are pretty solid. The date is Oct 28 so hopefully we can help them get there. We told our bishop during ward council. and this is where it gets crazy. He looked up their name and it turns out that there dad is an inactive member in our ward and we had no idea. We tracted into these two on the street when they were walking their dog. So it turns out to be a cool story. Hopefully we can dunk them and get the whole family to return back to church. but we will see. That's how my week went. but email me, I love to hear from everyone back home and to hear how everyone is doing.

 love you guys.

Colt's Stadium September 19, 2017

Touring the Colt's Stadium

This is his kind of sight seeing!

Elder Turley Loves Football

First week of training September 19,2017

Elder Pond from Mapleton Utah

The White River

(we bike over this a lot)

First week of training 

 training is going great! my new companions name is Elder Pond. He is so awesome. We get along great. He is from Mapleton Utah, which is basically like Provo Utah. So my mission president comes up to me at transfers right before I pick up my new comp on Tuesday and he says "Elder Turley have you met your trainee yet?" and I said no and he says "okay lets go meet him, don't worry you will really like him because he is a jock like you." hahaha it was funny. So i'm not sure if that's a good thing that he thinks I am a jock as well as my new companion but president is right, we get along get because we both like sports and similar things. He just graduated high school and he played football and baseball. So he is pretty athletic

             Since he is athletic I got him on a good work out routine so I have been ale to keep up and continue to get into shape. I also got him on the no sugar diet and he is actually enjoying it. So now we are getting swole together. 

             Well missionary work is still kinda the same here in Carmel Indiana. not much has changed. it is still super slow. we don't really have anyone that is progressing. I have only taught the restoration and nothing past that to an investigator. So I feel bad as a trainer because Elder Pond has all these questions and I have no idea because i'm still brand new and don't know whats going on. haha. so when we get an investigator that we will be able to progressively teach past restoration, that will be our first investigator past that so it will be our first time teaching all those lessons. hahaha So we are kinda both learning with each other. It's really fun. Elder Pond is a really natural missionary. He is kinda like me. haha That sounds cocky but he is just super natural with talking to people and people like him. so we work well together. We are super competitive (because you know me, I cant lose) so we will see who can pass out the most cards or talk to the most people.  We are constantly laughing and having a good time and i know that's what the mission is about just bringing people closer to Christ but having fun doing it and making memories. 

           Yesterday we had an area 70 come and tour our mission and he talked to us all day. That's why today is my p day.  He is awesome. He is super bold in his talking and he taught us a couple techniques on how to not take no as an answer on door approaches. it was super cool. president picked 4 missionaries to be interviewed and talk one on one with him and I was one of those 4 missionaries. So he is just asked what i've learned out here and why I am out here and my family. It was sooo awesome. He is great.

          Today we are going to downtown Indy and touring the Colts stadium and going through the ncaa museum that's here and just walking downtown so next week you will definitely see pictures of all of that. but yeah that has been my week. I am still loving my mission. A good quote i like this week. "The harder the challenge, the greater the blessing".

 I love you guys. spread the gospel. you will be blessed.

I'm Training September 11, 2017

Wearing a Scottish kilt
 (because he does those Scottish games and throws big things for a living.
I feel like my dad would be the type of person to watch that stuff.)

Downtown Carmel Indiana

Matching shirts that "Point Blank Nutrition" gave us for free.

Caught during person studying time.

so yes by this subject of the email you all know i am training. I'm not sure why i am training, i honestly have no idea what i am doing yet but obviously i am suppose to be with this companion for some reason so i am excited to meet him and teach him my knowledge of how to be a missionary. hopefully i don't corrupt him and teach him apostate things because that would be bad. but yes i am only 6 weeks out and training, its not common at all for this to happen so president must feel like i know what i am doing. 

but this week has been very fun. my companion is leaving and going to like to the center of Indianapolis and it is super ghetto there but the work is so fast paced there so he is excited and he is going zone leader. so he will be my zone leader, which will be fun because we can go on exchanges together when we want to.

but yeah since he is leaving the members have been treating us so nice and have been talking to us and trying to feed us and this next week when my greenie comes in we have like 5 dinner appointments and usually we have a solid one. so we have some fishy members but its alright. food is food. but hopefully the dinner appointments will stay pretty high because free food is always good. but the members have a hard time feeding us because the rule is that dinner has to be from 5 to 6 because we need to be proselyting from 6 to 9 and none of the members are home at 5 because they are all super rich and work really late.

since it was Elder Allreds last week with me we did a lot of fun things. and we took a lot of videos of each other. i have videos of us doing more wheelies (even tho i suck at doing them), videos of Allred going down a stair case on a bike. of us throwing a tennis back and forth while biking, videos of us passing out cards while biking. all these videos just represent what we do on a daily basis as a missionary to pass the time. this week has just been full of laughs.

 if you watch the videos you can tell that i love my mission. i have so much fun out here sharing messages about Jesus Christ. we teach repentance and baptize converts. i love what i do. we are still working on the second part of that (baptize converts), we don't have any investigators but we are close with a couple people. we met this guy name Zach on the streets and we came back and taught him a lesson and his older brother stepped out on the porch to hear us and they were super engaged in the lesson. it was so awesome. we are going to invite them to be baptized when we see them on Thursday so hopefully that goes well. pray for us. but i love the keystone ward. i love being in Carmel Indiana. i love my mission. thank you guys for everything. i will try and upload the videos and some pictures. the computer i am on sucks so i don't know if it will let me. but i love you guys