Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 1:04 PM
Hi family!
Haley, Brock, and Aubrey. I miss your faces. write me. :D
Harry Potter already came out?? Crazy. It better be legendary.
It sounds like life never slows down for you guys. I guess that's a
good thing, but I hope you're all enjoying all the stuff going on.
Mom, how is the ipad? How much do those things cost? Thanks for the
updates on the family. You're going to be great as a seminary
teacher. I'm excited for you! I love you!
Dad, thank you for all the news and updates. You sound really busy.
Are you going to get a break from travelling for awhile? That just
doesn't sound too fun. Despite being so busy at work, it still sounds
like you're getting lots of stuff done at home. I dunno how you guys
do it. Thanks for everything you do, especially your advice.
So I was emergency changed! An elder was called as AP, and I was
called to replace him as district leader in a place called Tecun Uman.
´Teh-coon Oomahn´. It's on the border of Mexico. I saw Mexico this
week, kinda cool. A lot of people were crossing the river haha.
Weird stuff to see.
So the area I'm in is called Ayutla, it's one of two areas in Tecun
Uman. I feel like I'm in another country. It's wealthy. There's a
ward with about 10 returned missionaries. They all want to help the
missionaries and teach with us. It's so foreign to me! It's amazing!
My house is a mansion (three stories) and we have an AC in our
bedroom? What is this? But hey thank goodness. When I went to the
office for changes I told Elder Maurer that they had run out of hot
areas to send me to, so I was looking forward to going to the
mountains. He just laughed. This has happened almost every time.
They tell me the area I'm in is the hottest in the mission. Then I
hear that there's one more area that's hotter. I end up going there.
Then I hear there's a hotter one. I go there. Tecun is hotter than
Champe haha! Some people here say it's the hottest place on earth!
What luck. Haha but I love it.
Our cook is amazing too. :D
So yeah, the area is very wealthy. But there's a catch. I'll put it
this way, it's on the border of Mexico. Secret combinations. Lot's
of weird stuff. But I know what you're all thinking, dangerous. It's
not that way. Everyone here respects the Mormons and especially the
missionaries. We are protected. I would say that this is really the
safest area I've been in. I have seen no crime. So yeah, don't
worry, there are a lot of gringos and foreignors that visit here
because it's wealthy and safe. It's kind of funny, but weird. I've
met a lot of people passing through on their way to the states....
weird. Don't know what to think of that.
Yesterday at church was so different. In Champe I was always busy at
church, teaching, speaking, etc. Yesterday I had nothing to do but
pay attention. I got sleepy! Haha
I've met about 150 people this week and it's hard to keep track of
names and faces. We have a new investigator who I saw and didn't
recognize on Saturday (after teaching her on Wednesday). I didn't go
up to her to say hi. She yelled at me in front of a lot of people.
That didn't feel good. I felt so bad, but there was nothing I could
do. I'm doing pretty well with memorizing names and stuff, but it's
still a big challenge with such a big ward. It'll come haha.
We had two interesting lessons yesterday. The first one was
frustrating. We taught about the restoration to a 25 year old lady
and her younger brother. We presented the Book of Mormon. After
explaining it, we challenged her to read it and pray about it. It was
one of the clearest presentations I feel like I've ever done. She
said no. I asked her why. She replied that she already had a bible.
She doesn't need any more Bible. Can anyone quote the scripture
there?
I asked her if Jesus Christ Himself told her the Book of Mormon is
true, would she read it. She replied that she already has a pastor
who tells her what she needs to do. Can anyone sympathize with my
frustration and sadness in that moment? I felt so weird. Here these
people are, professing to be followers of Christ. Yet they do not
know Him, their hearts are so far from Him.
We had another lesson with a man named Tito. He is the only nonmember
in his family. We taught him about the importance of families. We
presented ´The Family: A Proclamation to the World´. We asked him a
lot of deep questions and got him thinking. He began to explain how
he's always tried to be a good example for his family, but he needs to
do better. I asked him what he though he could do to improve that.
He replied, go to church with them. We then testified of the power
behind a good example. His wife was really happy, there were tears in
her eyes. It was a powerful lesson.
There's so much opposition against the church, but the Lord's chosen
are out there. We just gotta keep looking for them. And the Lord
always helps us find them.
Oh! My companion's name is Elder Cartagena. He's a gangsta. Haha
he's from Honduras and he's a funny guy, and really good at soccer.
He likes to spend a lot of time with the members, so we're working on
using our time more wisely. The district has some challenges, but
we're working on those.
I'm happy and excited to be in this area. Thanks for everything. I
love you guys so much! Have an awesome week.
So much love,
Elder Austin Tyler
