My favorite Ninja Turtle is Raphael

Hello all my quarantined friends and family. This is the best isn't it? No jobs, no responsibility. We all just get to lie down and do nothing all day. You get to watch movies. I get to read the Book of Mormon. Happiness all around. 

Not gonna lie, It is kinda boring in this house. I have been here about 2 weeks now and I have talked to I think nobody from America. I do talk to people on Facebook but for some reason they are all from the Philippines. I went through my friend requests and they were from all over. I had requests from Nigeria, Colombia, Mexico, Thailand, Laos, some America, and lots of Philippines. You check my followers. It's quite a sight. I have been talking to some people and I have a few people who seem very interested. They ask me questions and I ask them some back about their beliefs and religious background. It is pretty cool. I never got trained when I got here so I don't really know what is happening but I am figuring it out. It is slowly starting to make sense. Maybe one day I will get it, then the next day I will be sent to Thailand. 

This week not much has happened. I read more books, studied Thai by myself and I got to call Elder Smith one day. He came to Gilbert with me and will be serving in Thailand. This week I also got to play lots of spikeball. I am basically a pro at spikeball. One day while I was playing, I looked down at myself and realized I was bleeding and I was screaming at everyone. That game changes you. Scary. Be careful if you play spikeball. Also this week we cleaned the house. This place was nasty but now now it's basically heaven. So clean. You can lick the floor and you will probably be fine. 

On Wednesday we asked a youth to tell his Mom we needed some water and she posted it on facebook and soon enough we had about 8 huge packs of water. Now we are peeing all day because we just drink water nonstop. It's the best. My pee is always so clear. Stay away dehydration and Corona. 

I still have no news about Corona and what is happening to me. All non-natives in Thailand got sent home this week so it may be awhile until I get set there but I am pretty sure I will be sent there eventually because a temple is being built. Nobody knows anything. I just go with the flow and hope we get to Thailand soon. 

In other news, today I called a member from Thailand and am helping him learn English, and I am talking to some other people from Thailand looking for referrals and more people to teach. This week is going to be a good one. 

Well, I love you all and hope you are preparing for general conference. It's coming up very soon. I am not sure what they will say but it will be life-changing. Make sure you read the First Vision and ponder the questions President Nelson asked us to ponder. Love you all. Have a good week and you will hear from me next week. 

Elder Slavens

Corona ไม่ดี แต่คริสตจักรเป็นความจริงและการประชุมทั่วไปจะดีมากในปีนี้ใช่มันจะ

Corona is bad but the Church is true and general conference will be very good this year. Yes it will.

Read all of Joseph Smith History this week and be ready for conference. You can do it! Yes you! You can do it!

I finally got my English nametag. It's legible and I look like a true Gilbert missionary now. 

Good old days when I was Trenton. Now I am super smart, super mature Elder Slavens. 

Just look at that garage. Take it all in. It wasn't this clean before, but baby look at it now. 

Just me and my best friends. Books. They are always there for me when I need them. 

And I need them now because I am bored.

When a member makes you pillow cases just reminding you that you are still locked inside. 

Awww thanks. 

1 day in Gilbert and I don't get to see Gilbert

Hello world. It is me Elder Slavens. I am emailing from nice little Gilbert Arizona. I am no longer living in the MTC. I am free. I left on Tuesday now I live in the real world. My final days in the MTC were amazing. Sunday we were able to meet as a district and have a baby sacrament meeting. It was so cute. The rest of the week was just saying final goodbyes and packing. It was so sad to leave the MTC. Even though 9 weeks was a very long time and I was ready to leave it was still hard to leave my teachers and my district. I cried so much. Yes, I cried, and that’s ok. Don't judge me. I got sad. I wouldn't have been as sad if we all got to go to Thailand but we all got transferred to different states. We split up and I'll be in Gilbert with Elder Smith from my Thai district. Great boy. He was actually born in San Ramon where I am from. Small world. We flew to Phoenix then drove to Gilbert and now I am here having a blast, kind of. 

And now I will tell you a little about what I have been doing this week. I got here Tuesday and was a normal missionary for a day. Biked around, had fun, talked to a few members. It was a great beginning. I am in a trio and we have another companionship in the house I live in. One of my companions name is Elder Groesbeck, he is a real bull riding cowboy from Wyoming, and my other companion Elder Welch is 25 years old. That's all you need to know about him. The other companionship has one huge Samoan named Elder Hunter that could kill me with his thumb, and the final Elder is Elder Parnes, an anime loving, redhead. Quite a wide range of humans in this house. Ok then I finally started my real first full day in the field. Wednesday we were having a good day then we receive a text saying sorry quarantine time. We are now locked in our houses. 

I have been in my house for 5 days now. I was bored after 3 hours. All I do is study and sleep. It's great! Every day I just get to read. I've been reading The Book of Mormon, Preach my Gospel, Saints, The New Testament, and I study Thai every single day. I'll be honest it isn't the best thing I've ever done, but I am really learning a lot. All of the Elders here talk about how much they miss the outside but I just got out of the MTC so I don't even know what being a missionary is. I'm totally happy. I get to workout and read and use facebook. Super duper fun if you ask me. 

My facebook is Elder Slavens (Trenton Slavens) if anyone is interested in seeing my life as an indoor missionary. It's really cool to use technology to proselyte and still invite others to come unto Christ. I get tons of random people trying to friend me every day which is kinda weird. A lot of Thai grandmas love me so that's nice. It is sad because my companions don't work that hard. Almost every other person in this house just sits on Facebook all day. I don't want that for me. I got languages to learn and books to read. So I have been working really hard. 

Besides being inside not much has happened. We go on walks sometimes and play spikeball. Pretty exciting. Any time we are outside we feel good. I feel like the sun is evil now. It touches me and I yell because it's been 2 days since I have seen the real light.

This is my schedule most days. Wake up at 6:30, lay in bed for a long time. Get up and workout for like 2 hours because I can. I then eat usually eggs with smoked ghost peppers on top and then I proceed to showering and changing. At this point I have a few options. Read Saints, the Book of Mormon or any other book I feel like. I read until it's lunch time. I then make maybe a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich for lunch then lay down on facebook send some messages and then guess what. I read again! More reading and studying until dinner or something else exciting happens in the house. I may then play spikeball or go for a nice walk or I may just keep reading. Then members usually bring us dinner so I eat dinner and study a lot of Thai, read and then go to bed. Then I wake up and start all over. That has been me for 5 days. It's the greatest. Oh boy reading makes you tired. Sometimes I just fall asleep then wake up and boom back to reading. 

It may sound bad but I love it. I am learning a lot and am working hard. Just today I found 3 new investigators. 2 people randomly messaged me and one of my friends from the MTC referred another to me. 2 of them speak Thai so I have to try to type out messages in Thai. Boy it's tough but super fun. It is amazing. I love it so much. I could stay here forever. 

Well that's about it for this week. I will let you know if anything changes. So don't expect anything big. I hope you are all doing well and are safe. Keep it up and wash those hands. BYE BYE. 

Elder Slavens 

สะท้อน

Reflection 

การผ่าต่ด

Surgery (an operation)

Moroni 7:48 I do suggest you read this.

The final tears the final day in the MTC. Don't make fun of us. Everyone cries it's ok. 

Elder Smith and I heading to good ol’ Gilbert Arizona. 2 photos, 2 legends. 

My pinky nail I have been growing for 9 weeks. I was excited to show off this bad boy when I got to Thailand 
but that plan failed. I had to cut it so I wouldn't get made fun of. Rip pinky 2020-2020

Approximately 10 minutes before learning we are under quarantine.
We were not this happy when we received that text.

The Facebook flirting.  I love it.  Keep it up Grandma.

Me typing Thai like a professional. Ok so I thought speaking Thai was hard,

but typing is like 48 times harder. Do not suggest.

Elder Slavens has been reassigned

Hello fans. I got news, lots of news that's for sure. It has been quiet the week. Many changes, life is crazy. 

Let’s list some of the changes:

1. Corona is killing us all.

2. We can't go to church or the temple, have large gatherings, probably can't baptize people, life is wild. 

At least I can go outside. If I went to Thailand I would be in quarantine and be locked in my house. So I'm happy I am being reassigned. 

So you may be wondering, ”Where is this kid serving?” Let me answer with a riddle. What is hot and is like a 2nd Provo?  It rhymes with Filbert, Corizona.  Correct! It's Gilbert, Arizona. I will be leaving the MTC on Tuesday heading out to Gilbert. I am excited I will be living in a warm, nice place. Elder Slavens does not like the cold that's for sure. I get warnings every day that Gilbert is having flash floods so that is something I have to look forward too. Many adventures coming my way. Be ready for stories. 

This week we kept getting more news every day about Corona and how everything is shutting down. I’m sure you already know all this.  BYU is closed so no school, Costco is insane, toilet paper is impossible to get. People gotta learn to stock up before Corona. C’mon. Get it together. That's why Goldfish snack crackers were invented right? The snack that smiles back and can feed you for months. I could live on Goldfish for so long, I know it. In other news I don't even know what I am doing tomorrow. I really just have to go with the flow and every day say, “Whatever happens, happens.” I just expect stuff to be shut down now. Speaking of shut down, the MTC is soon to be shut down. No more missionaries are being let in. Glad I got here when I did. That makes me happy. Today I opened a fortune cookie and it said, “Your health is of utmost importance.” I guess those things are true. Gilbert here I come! Follow the fortune! 

This week I have really learned to better trust in God and His plan for each one of us. Life is hard right now. People are sick and Costco has no toilet paper. We need to trust in God and know this is His plan. He needs us to learn and grow from this. We have trials and struggles to change ourselves and help us to rely on Christ. Continue to push yourself each day and learn to better rely on Christ. 

Besides a crazy amount of news, not much else has happened. For me now, the MTC is all about learning as much as I can until I’m gone. We had 4 TRC's this week. We taught one investigator named Caden in English, then the other named Jae in Thai again. I have grown so much and know so much more now. Sometimes I'm sitting in a lesson then realize oh yeah this isn't English. It's pretty cool to think I have learned this much in only 9 weeks. That's the gift of tongue for you, baby. It's great. I am excited to get out to Gilbert, Arizona and teach the people there. I know someone in little Gilbert needs me. I'm coming for you. Don't worry. I'll be there on Tuesday. 

I hope you enjoyed this weeks email. Remember to use hand sanitizer if you were able to get some before the lines were 3 hours long and the aisles were empty. I wish you all the best of luck. Next time you hear from me it will be in flash flood Gilbert. Love you all. Talk to you soon. 

Elder Slavens 

Costco ต้องใส่สต็อกกระดาษชำระใหม่!

Costco needs to restock their toilet paper supply!

Mosiah 24:14-15

We all have burdens and trials. Let Christ help you through the tough times. 

Elder Slavens aka เอ็ลเดอร์ สะเลเว็นส์ He lives and breathes Thai. 

Our favorite investigator ever Jae Hunt. Loves to ask hard questions and use words we don't understand. My favorite!

Next up and coming boy band; Thailand Thai's sing in Thai. 

There are too many Thai's. I'm not gonna lie. 

When Elder Slavens found out he's going to Gilbert. He/I am so happy. Warm and floods perfect!

Where in the world is Elder Slavens serving?

Hello listeners and readers of my weekly mail. I hope you enjoy this week. I enjoy writing so if you enjoy reading, well then It's perfect. 

News update on my life: still no clue what is happening. Nobody has learned anything. We heard we would get our calls yesterday but, nope. We are still here with no knowledge of the next 2 years. Kinda exciting. It's getting stressful cause we are supposed to leave in 9 days but not sure where or when we are really leaving. We are all guessing where we will be serving and I’m hoping for the East Coast. I hate the cold but it sounds fun to me. We’re going to have a second mission call opening when we get our calls so be expecting a video. 

This week was a very fast week. Less construction, more work. It was an amazing week. I learned so much and kept pushing myself to do more. I learned the more you push yourself and truly try, the more you will gain. Yeah, it's pretty obvious but it is so true. I have truly learned to rely and trust in God and His plan. In class we talk about the reassignment a lot. We still don't know what is happening but we have faith that it is for the best. We know whatever happens is what is suppose to happen. We are just going with the flow and know we gotta push forward with faith. 

We only have 9 days left in the MTC. It is weird to think that pretty soon we will all be out serving. It doesn't feel like we will ever leave here. It's like we are just living here the rest of our lives. But nope, we are out of here. We hope our whole district doesn't get separated. If we get reassigned we will have some language study time each day and it would be much better if we could study and speak Thai with others. If only. 

Today I had one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. We have a Sister in our district from Myanmar and today we got to baptize her for her mom. I have never felt the spirit so strong. I was able to confirm her and my hands were mega shaking. It was such a cool experience that I will never forget. When I got out of the temple Dallin and Hannah were walking in. It was such an amazing day and it just keep getting better. Just all in all a happy day. 

Alright, so this week we had a huge sleepover. We all threw our beds into one room but went to bed on time so no rules were broken. Nice of us. It was just a party week. We were all crazy all week and it was just super fun. I loved this week and can't wait to have another fun week and learn where I will be serving. Good week coming to me now. 

The end. I love you all so much. I hope you have a good week. See you next week. I'll let you know if anything changes. Bye bye world. 

But wait theres more! Everyone follow President Nelson's invitation and prepare for general conference. Read, study, and ponder. Do what you need. Love you. You got this!

Elder Slavens

The sleepover to end all sleepovers. 8 beds, 8 Elders. 

When service leads to CapriSun. Happy Friday to all of us. If you have extra CapriSun 

you can send it to me. Thanks. 

Elder Tiraphatna. That's all I need to say. 

Thailand I may be coming for you

Another week in the MTC down. I've been here 7 weeks now. Man time flies by fast. We have 2 more weeks and a lot more to learn. We are grinding it out everyday and learning like crazy. It's been stressful not really knowing what's happening with our mission but it will all work out in the end. 

News update: So like I said, we don't know what is happening. We haven't really been informed and don't know where we are serving. We have received emails saying that people preparing will be reassigned or postponed but we are in the MTC now. Not too sure. We assume we will be reassigned but we have 2 more weeks here so we don't know. All I know is where ever I go I am suppose to go to. It would be pretty cool to serve in the states or somewhere for a little while to learn the gospel and the lessons better. Then I would get to Thailand after a couple transfers probably and my Thai would suck but I would figure it out. We will see what happens. I will most likely find out in the next week because we need to get our flight plans. That will tell us where we are serving and what's happening. 

On a more positive note, a new little Thai district just got here. They look so young, like babies. Most of them are older than I am but man, the MTC changes you somehow. Odd stuff happens here. I think the caffeine free Coke must make you older. Crazy how Coke does this to you. The baby Thai’s know so much already. They definitely are gonna pass me up in knowledge of this difficult language. That's ok. I am fine with that. 

Finally, I had my birthday this week. Happy Birthday me!  I am 19. I am old. Nothing big happened. We studied and had a TRC. Jae Hunt is a Thai monster. He speaks so fast and so many words nobody will ever understand. I don't suggest teaching him. He blows your mind and you just sit there lost and scared. It got better over time but it was a struggle. A great birthday present that's for sure. We told scary stories that night and I felt straight spooked. Scary stories are pretty scary. If you don't believe me try it. Tell scary stories. Good luck.

Ok not much else happened but I try to tell you what's important. I love you all and miss you all. Keep working hard and remember to rely on Christ. He loves you and always wants to help you. Keep that chin up. 

BYE. 

คอมพิวเตอร์

computer

แรงกดดัน

pressure

Elder Slavens

Trentbabe

I received In n Out this week. Shout out to Amy. If you know Alyssa Slavens and you know her aunt and it's your birthday. You are in luck.

This week there was a lot more construction and I loved it. It made my week. I would just sit there and stair. I forgot to study often and learned a lot about cement and how to make a sidewalk. 

It was a great week.

One of the sisters in my district is from the Philippines. She likes to draw. She drew me sleeping. 

Happy birthday me. 

The Thais. So many thais. So much language learning. So smart.

Dang Corona

Another week down and they just keep going faster. This week was a lot of hard work; lots of learning and studying and working. We focus a lot on memorizing phrases and words now and it is hard but the more you practice the better you get. In class we get to teach our teachers as if they were investigators and it is such an amazing experience. Even though I know it's my teacher, it always feels so real. I feel like they are learning and growing. It really helps me see how much I am improving. Each lesson I can say more and testify better. I am growing and improving each day. 

This week we had the opportunity to hear from Jeffrey R. Holland. It was an amazing experience. I got to sing in the choir and we sang Hope of Israel. It was very very powerful. If there is any way you can find this devotional online do it for the following reasons: 

1. You will hear an amazing talk about missionary work

2. You will hear an amazing choir and bonus,

3. I was on screen a lot while singing so you can see me. That's all. 

Also this week we learned that the Corona Virus has spread to Thailand. We don't know for sure what is happening but all of the missionaries serving there now can not leave their apartments. All people are locked inside and they may shut down the mission for a little. We heard we will be probably reassigned at least temporarily but we don’t know where to. I know whatever happens it’s part of God's plan. He knows what is best and knows how we can be better. I am excited to see what the future holds. I'm not too sure at this point. I was sad at first because I was excited for Thailand but I see it as a second mission. Whatever it is it’ll be a good adventure. 

We see lots of new missionaries come in to the MTC and leave while we’re still here slaving away. It is sad and makes us excited to get out of here. We have 3 more weeks and a lot more to learn. Let's hope we learn enough and are ready to serve. Again, no clue where I will be or what language I'll be speaking, but i'm ready for whatever is coming. Bring it on. 

That's all. Love you all and I will let you know if any news comes out about my future. Exciting! Love you bye bye. 

ฐานะปุโรหิต

Priesthood  

โจเซฟ สมิธ

Joseph Smith

Alma 7:11-13 Read. Ponder. Love.

Elder Slavens

Elder Slay

Trentbabe

Room did not smell the best. Now it smells like Angels.

The mashed potatoes here are just a ball. Do not recommend!

TRC party. We love learning and teaching Thai. That's for sure. 

1 month down 23 to go

This week went by mega fast. Weeks go by faster and faster and I learn more and more. I actually can somewhat speak now and can understand a lot more than I used to be able to, unfortunately just not in Thai, lol. I have officially been in the MTC for a month now. That went by very very fast. I really can’t believe it. It feels like I've been here for 6 hours, but no, Elder Slavens it’s been 4 weeks. Nice try. 

This week. . . .  let's see what I did.

We decided to set a random goal for each day and let me just say, nearly impossible.

Monday I tried to eat only fruit and water. Failed. 

Tuesday I did 300 push ups. Success.

Wednesday, let me take some time to discuss this day. The goal was to speak Thai and only Thai all day. Everyone else failed but I knew I could do it. Since I know almost no Thai, I just sat around all day quiet. No words. Nothing. So sad. I was so lonely. Life sucks without English. Success? (You decide).

Thursday try to read 12 verses of the Book of Mormon in Thai.  Fail. 

Friday give 30 compliments. Fail (how did I fail that one?)

So all in all not a great track record.

On a positive note, we taught our first Thai TRC this week (lesson with an outside investigator). It actually went so much better than we expected. We taught about Joseph Smith and the first vision. It was such a spiritual experience. It was amazing. We repeated ourselves a lot because we don't have a very extensive vocabulary but I learned so much and I know our investigator did too. We bragged about how good we were afterward. Everyone was pretty jealous. 

Not a ton happened this week. I want a funny story but I’ve got nothing. Usually I am laughing while writing my email but this week was a lot more work and a lot less play. Less construction, less broken elevators, no ladies rooms, but I still have my fort. I sleep like a baby every night. I look forward to getting in bed and having complete darkness. It makes me so happy.

We are learning a lot and are working hard. We have a month left in the MTC and a lot to learn. Let's hope I keep working hard and learn what I need to learn. Again, if anyone has a pill or food that makes you learn a language go ahead and send it. Thanks.

Peace out fans. See you next week. Enjoy life and don’t learn Thai. Its rough. BYE

Elder Slavens

Elder Slay

Fish Boy

โจเซฟ สมิธแปลพระคัมภีร์มอรมอนโดยอำนาจของพระผู้เป็นเจ้า 

Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. 

Happy Valentine's Day from us 2 to you Earth.

Prepping for hosting. Feeling fly, not too shy.

All I know is we are good at self timer mode. It's a beautiful thing. Technology.