Jan. 10, 2011
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
So did none of my pictures come through? Or did a few? It takes forever to send pictures, but I can try again next week. So we couldn't visit the whole Ramos family this week, but everyone except the dad came to church yesterday. They seemed alright and we set up a FHE appointment with them tonight, so we'll see how it goes.
It's weird to hear about all those changes, and I feel a sense of relief for Grandma Lois. I hope Granddad is doing alright.
It sounds like that basketball game was epic! Haha so cool! Chris Hansen is a cool kid.
Brock, your story with your car in the ice was sweet.
I'm sitting next to Elder Tau'Fuii. He's huge. Our zone just played basketball and soccer in a huge dome arena. It was so fun, but I'm so tired haha I think I played a little too hard. But it was so much fun!
This past week was an example of ¨opposition in all things¨ but it was sweet. Lots of tough things happened, but so many cool things happened. First of all, I GOT A PACKAGE! Haha soooo awesome. It was the one with the foot cream and chocolate and Sour Patch EXPLODERZ! Those were so good. Thank you so much!
So yeah, we had a huge problem with appointments falling through this week. And then our back up plans would fall through. It got annoying, but things got better as the week rolled along. On saturday we helped a 19 year old mom and her 8,10, and 12 year old brothers construct a house. My height was such a help. We worked hard and we were filthy afterwards. And by house I mean we chopped a few beams out of a coconut tree and lassoed them together. Then we put tin roofing on top. It took about two hours. It was fun to help them out. And they were very appreciative, even though they thought it was really weird that we randomly showed up in white shirts and ties and offered to help them for free. It was almost funny how weird it was when I thought about it from their perspective.
We taught four families this week... awesome. One family is trying to work out a divorce (between the mom and her former husband) and they want to get married and then get baptized. The problem is they don't know where the former husband is. But we're trying to help them. The current husband/father came to church yesterday. During Priesthood, we were talking about fasting. This man, Rafael, asked if he could fast even though he isn't a member. He explained to the quorum how he is in adultery right now with his situation and he wants to change it. But he can't change it without the divorce and the marriage and all that. He started crying as he expressed how he thought fasting could help him. We explained that fasting is an expression of faith and we don't need to be baptized to express our faith. It was a powerful moment.
Last night we went to the Ramirez Puac home. All the family are members, except for the dad. He has rejected the missionaries for 12 years. But he's now willing to listen to us. Last night we watched 'Together Forever' and then talked about it afterwards. It was a really good and interesting discussion we had with him. Afterwards we invited him to pray to receive an answer from God that the things we teach are true. He told us something along the lines of, 'Well yeah, I'll pray, but I've kind of already received my answer.' He explained that he's been praying for an answer for a few months (while the 'other elders' were here). During that time he realized that his wife and kids have been consistently happy for the past 12 years, despite trials and difficulties. He also realized that they are going in a direction towards God, yet he has been stagnant. He thought about how he is the father and he needs to lead the family. He said he's fallen behind, but now he's ready to get on track. He also got the chance to move his business, which will enable him to attend church on Sundays. He gets a lot of flack from people at work when he talks to them about the church; but he said, for some reason, I feel like it's all true when they try to bring me down.
It was sooo amazing. I was so happy last night.
Oh, btw, the family looks great. Dad, you failed to send a picture of yourself. Whats up with that?
Aubrey, Haley, and Mom, you all are even more gorgeous than before! Brock, you're still ugly, but you look really happy! Haha just kidding, you're beautiful too.
My companion is soo cool. He's told me some pretty crazy stories. He found out last year that some of his good buddies, who he met through business, are high ranking gang members in El Salvador, Guatemala, and other places. Haha so sketchy. He's a good example of somebody who really knows how to get the job done. Whenever we need to talk to somebody, he calls them on the spot. If we need to visit somebody, we go. We're working hard and we're good buddies. It's so cool. Way different than Nueva. There's still some divisions in the ward, but we're working on it.
So I've had some tough days, but in general I'm pretty happy with things. There are long days, but I always have P-day, or a specific appointment to be excited for. It's like there were long days during school, but there's always the weekend. The other night I got really baggy and then I snapped out of it and realized how blessed I am to be here. This place is so awesome.
So yeah, things are great! We've seen some horrible things, but Satan's working hard to keep this area his. We're conquering it, bit by bit. He knows it, and he doesn't like it. The Lord has blessed us for our hard work. We have a lot of weaknesses, being new missionaries still, but the Lord is helping us so much. He blesses us with opportunities, and with inspiration when we don't know what to do. This is missionary work and it really is work. But it's a marvelous work.
Thank you all for your emails. And thank you for the package. Thank you for your prayers. I can feel the strength that comes from your support. Have an awesome week.
Dad, it's weird to think of you released from your calling in the bishopric, but I'm sure a break will be nice.
Love you guys! SO much!
Elder Tyler
