11-29-10
Haha whats up guys!
Where to start...
I killed a big ol scorpion this week! It was crawling up the wall.
Not cool. I'm okay with spiders and cockroaches, but scorpions cross
the line. Ugh.
So i finally got sick. I had some wicked boo and a nice little fever
on Tuesday. But all is well now. Haha I still get some aftershocks
in the bathroom, but nothing too severe.
Mom, don't worry about not writing last week! And Dad, I hope your
hand is alright! Sounds like that was pretty nasty.
So Wednesday, my companion had a meeting in Rehu, so I was on a split
with Elder Rigby and Elder Thorley. That afternoon we went to Cocales
to pick up my companion. We waited two hours and Elder Herrera still
hadn't showed up. And there were no more buses going to Nueva
Concepcion. Haha so we got a ride to Patulul (paradise) and stayed
with the elders there for the night. At 10:30 my companion finally
showed up there (there was a huge accident and backed up traffic).
And he brought mail with him. In the mail was a HUGE box full of
American candy!!! (I didnt open it until we got home the next day).
Thank you soooo much! I've been pigging out and I love it haha. I
also got a little package from Brother Teeples, which had a microfiber
towel and a letter inside. It was awesome. I'm writing him back
today, but please tell him thank you for me. I also got letters from
Kelley, Rita, Kendy, and Megan! Awesome. Haha that made for an
awesome night. But I slept on the concrete floor without a blanket or
pillow. Didn't sleep much. But I still had enough energy to get
through the next day.
So on Thursday we went to Tiquisate for Thanksgiving. We cooked an
actual turkey! It was so expensive, but worth it. We had mashed
potatoes, sweet potatoes, cake, bread, gravy. It took forever to cook
and everyone was bored and in a bad mood. But I was loving it! Haha
I helped cook and that was fun. I got some time to play the piano in
the chapel there and that was so great. And we got to talk and just
hang out and stuff. There are 6 greenies in our zone right now. It's
crazy! It was funny to talk to them. They're all gringoes. So yeah,
everyone was in a really bad mood and I was like, what the heck! It's
Thanksgiving! The Latinos were especially upset. They didn't like
the food and they were ticked off that we wasted an entire day
celebrating Thanksgiving haha! I couldn't help but get nostalgic. It
was really tough to sit there among grumpy company, eating a partially
raw turkey in a circle of chairs (haha we didn't have a table) and
listening to Hillary's Christmas cd. Haha it was almost like a movie
and I just sat there thinking about you guys and the snow, Harry
Potter, leftovers, movies, Settlers, etc. Haha it was sad, but it was
so awesome to have a legit Thanksgiving meal. I successfully didn't
let other people get me down.
I love hearing about your guys' Thanksgiving! Ah sounds like it was
awesome. I wrote you all letters and sent those off this morning. As
far as calling for Christmas, I think I'll be able to buy a card and
call with that. I'm still trying to figure it out. But there
shouldn't be any problems.
Haha so Elder Rigby found out that my companion still rides on the
back of peoples' motorcycles and he was like WHAT!? What is he
doing!?? Haha I just sat there and said, yeah, that's my companion.
Haha so things are still up and down. But we've made progress.
Sorry I don't have a lot of spiritual stuff to write. I was sick two
days, then we had Thanksgiving, so we didn't get to work a whole lot
this week. But last night we did get to help someone out. One of our
recent converts was contemplating suicide. It was an intense night.
We found out where she was, calmed her down, and talked to her. We
shared some scriptures about the Atonement and encouraged her to pray.
She said she felt so guilty for something she did and couldn't go to
the Lord or to her family. But she said she would pray. I shared DyC
45:3-5 with her and explained that nobody is perfect. We all make
mistakes, and we have the Atonement to help us out.
I love that scripture. When I read that, I get such a powerful mental
image of the Savior pleading our cause before the Father. I think of
standing there, at the final stage of judgment, leading to the
eternities with our families, with an eternal companion. Standing
there with the Savior. Ah I dunno, it's just so powerful, so
personal.
Well, I need to go, but I hope you are all doing great! Enjoy those
leftovers, enjoy the snow. Love life!
I love you guys! Take care and have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
