Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 1:38 PM
Hey!
I can't tell you how excited I am for the temple! I want to go so
bad. I think we'll be able to go to the Quetzaltenango open house and
then to the weddings of some of our converts. How cool would that
be!? In February Luis' family can get sealed and then in June Pedro
and Maria are planning to be sealed! A few local monsters and witches
have been trying to convince them to leave the church before that
because they heard that the sealing involves having the number of the
beast sealed on the forehead. Thankfully they understand that all
that isn't true. They're going strong. It would be so cool to be
there when they go to the temple!
So thank you for writing! Mom, thank you for sending the package.
And isn't going to bed sweaty the worst?? Gotta love it ha. And yes
I did go to state camp at CSU. It was a good time. It was right
after EFY, however, and seemed pretty insignificant compared to EFY,
but it was a great camp. How are things with the house?? I love you!
Dad, you sound as busy as I am sweaty. And that's just crazy.
Regarding weather, it's rained a few times. We're in somewhat of a
drought and we had a couple of really hot days this week. But that
just makes the rainstorms that much more appreciated. No problems
with fungus. Just the stubborn rash on my legs. It's not too bad,
just adds some variety to the daily routine. Thanks for the news
updates. It's interesting to compare politics between here and the
states. The elections here are coming up (September?) Politics here
are sad. By that I mean worse than American politics. Yes it's
possible. It's good to hear that your trip to California went well.
I think of Granddad often. I hope he's happy. Has he received a
blessing?
Yes, transfers are next week. I'm out of here. President told me
last week. He asked me if I'm ready for a leadership position. I
looked at him for a second and was kind of surprised. I said yes and
he said good. So I dunno exactly what that means, but it for sure
means some sort of change. I've been a junior companion for a year.
Having that change is kind of a weird thought. Knowing that you're
going to leave an area two weeks before you actually do is hard. I'm
still motivated to work hard, but it's just kind of sad knowing that I
won't be able to see the results of our current efforts. At the same
time, however, I love starting fresh in a new area and situation. It
makes it so easy to change things I've been learning. A new companion
and all that makes it easy to be whoever I need or want to be. And I
have a lot of stuff I want to change and do.
I've always been warned to kick it in gear at the year mark. There's
a lot of temptation to get lazy. I could never betray myself or the
Lord by slacking off at this point, but I need to pick it up. Dad, I
love how you compared the mission awhile back to the 400. It's so
true. This was my least favorite part of the race (the 200 mark), but
it was almost as important as the start and the finish. I love the
400! Same with the mission.
Pedro and Maria are so amazing! Every night they kneel down, one of
them starts with a prayer. They read the scriptures and then the
other says a closing prayer. I shared that in the branch council
meeting yesterday and the room went silent. Unfortunately, that
silence was a result of guilt. Nobody reads the scriptures! It's so
hard for me to see. We teach them and pray for them and teach them.
We get the members excited for ten minutes about scripture study and
then it just dies off when we leave. How can I motivate people in a
way that they stay motivated?? Is it just that Pedro and Maria are
that special? They are setting the example for the 'seasoned' members
haha! They make me happy. Pedro is already visiting investigators
with us.
Being in a trio, just like you said, Dad, has its ups and downs. I
get so frustrated sometimes, but I've learned a lot about patience.
It does add a lot of spontaneous fun and good conversation. And we
can easily go on splits with members.
Since Elder Haws is new, we got to go to the New Missionaries and
Trainers conference with President. I learned so much. We spent some
time practicing teaching and watched President participate. We were
all in awe as he taught the most powerful lesson we'd ever witnessed
(in a practice situation!). Then Elder Maurer asked me to teach about
the Book of Mormon in front of everyone. I started. President cut me
off 30 seconds in and just tore me apart. Then he smiled and said,
'again.' Haha I was so flustered, but I started again. He waited to
after I was finished and then he looked at everyone and said,
'Absolutamente perfecto.' Haha that really appealed to my pride.
Actually I really felt like a child for realizing how much I have to
improve. It was such a good conference.
Setting goals in the mission is really hard. The agency of other
people comes into play so often that it's hard to set the right goals.
I feel like a lot of our goals are blind. We need to do better to
follow the Spirit in everything we do. So much to do and so much to
learn. It's as hard as it is fulfilling. I guess that's how it
should be.
Well I hope everyone's doing great! If she hasn't already, Haley
should read 'Jesus: The Perfect Leader' by Spencer W. Kimball. It's
amazing. Sounds like she is doing so well. So I gotta go. Have an
awesome week! Share the gospel!
Love you all SO much,
Elder Austin Tyler
