Sent: Monday, August 01, 2011 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: Here Comes August...
Hey!
Brock and Aubrey! You won a 40" TV! Haha that's so awesome! And
Aubrey, that's weird to hear about cute ducks. I see a lot of ducks
here. They all have leprosy. And I watched one eat a dead rat
yesterday. No joke. Don't buy a duck haha. And thanks for the
update on Aubrey Evans, I need to write her! The picture was
funny, does she know you're stalking her facebook? Creeeepers haha
Brock, do you work out regularly? That's something that always helps
me fix my sleeping patterns. And you are too a missionary! Your
calling never ends. You're no longer a full-time missionary, but your
are a representative of Christ at all times! Now that you don't have
the stress of being a full-time missionary in Germany, I feel like
missionary work could be more fun and carefree, but still important.
The year mark was weird. Haha no, I didn't burn socks, but we did eat
cake. You and Aubrey sound really blessed. It seems like there are
always challenges, but you guys have a lot going for you. I'm always
happy for you guys. You've overcome a lot of stuff. And I look
forward to watching moovies on your new TV :D
Haley, you and your friends are soo cool! You guys always seem to do
something fun. And your new kicks are sickk. I approve. Haha and
your poem was deep, but I liked it. You should check out my Mormon
facebook thingy. I made one a few months ago. They want all the
missionaries to have one. I made it really fast when I was in Champe,
so I don't even remember what I wrote. Tell me what you think.
Mom, what you said about the word 'remember' hit me. I'll
explain more in a minute, but basically, I forgot a lot of things this
week. Thank you so much for the package you're sending. I feel so
spoiled.
That's weird about the smoke alarms and stuff going off the other
night. I don't like nighttime like I used to, weird things happen. I
hope you guys have fun in Utah. Tell everyone I say hi!
Dad, even though nothing particularly eventful happened, your letters
are never boring. The year mark is a weird time. I still feel
new.
Tecun Uman is very flat. There are mountains in the distance, but
they're usually covered by clouds. There's a lot of things that have
changed in the last couple years, thanks to the drug lord mayor
pumping a bunch of money into renovation projects. Ironic to think
about. The train doesn't come through anymore. The biggest thing is
the crossing into Mexico. Lots of people work there and make a lot of
money. The other people who have a lot of money earn it illegally. I
meet a lot of immigrants. It's weird. Some love me, some don't.
My comp, the area, the zone, the ward. Ohh what to say haha...
My companion, Elder Cartagena, is from Honduras. He grew up in the
church, but his father left home a long time ago. He and his mom have
been through a lot together. He has three siblings who are all
married. He's from the Ceiba, in the northern coast of Honduras.
He's struggling. He was trained by a guy that doesn't work well.
They developed a lot of interesting habits. His trainer left
mid-training to serve in the mission office. I still don't understand
that. Elder Cartagena is great with people and is really good at
soccer. Lots of people think he's a gringo because he's black. Haha
he thinks it's funny. He's a fun guy, but he knows the area and the
members better than I do. That combined with being trained by a goof
off does not help me in my position. He doesn't like to work. I'm
trying to help him. I'm tired of being the only one to contact, the
only one to clean, fill out the area book, etc. Those are such little
things, but I get to bed so late, and wake up early to get it all in.
That's how it's been almost the entire mission. I'm tired.
Haha this week was so hard. I had some really dark dreams and woke up
in the middle of the night scared to death feeling like people were
watching me sleep. Satan is real and he hates me. Haha that has been
established. On top of that, our zone leaders have been acting so
childish. When I came here, President told me specifically help the
zone leaders. I feel like the zone, even though it's so small, just
doesn't have much direction. So I'm giving some. I softly rebuked
everyone (in a loving, motivational way) for not doing what they're
supposed to do. Thankfully the Spirit was present and we're all still
good friends. But I don't like doing that. I hate doing that.
Having to be direct and bold with people is so hard for me. And I've
had to do it a lot lately. I shy away from it and then I feel weak.
I feel like there's such a thin line between boldness and
overbearance. I don't feel prideful, but others are so quick to judge
leadership. It's tough ha.
On the bright side, we had a baptism this week! We're teaching the
rest of the family now, and it should lead to more great stuff this
coming month. But it all felt so rushed, so pressured by our zone
leaders. Our bishop (who I absolutely respect and look up to) got
upset with us. I failed to remember to do some things that I should
have done way ahead of time. We had baptismal clothes and my comp
told me we had everything. We got to the baptism and he informs me
that we didn't get shirts. I didn't know what to say. Luckily, we
got some fairly quickly. It was a baptismal service combined with the
zone leaders' ward, and they showed up 45 minutes late. The bishop
pulled me aside and asked me what in the world was going on. I didn't
know what to say. But I just told him the truth and he reprehended me
a bit. Later on my comp gave the bishop some attitude. I wanted to
smack my companion. Haha I didn't. But I corrected him.
Bah! Thank you for letting me vent to you guys. Really, it was just
a hard week and I'm excited for August. It'll be an awesome month.
We're teaching a lot of families. They all just need to get married
(and most of them don't have papers, which are required to get
married). And the ones that are married aren't progressing! Haha so
frustrating. But at least we're teaching and finding! I feel so
blessed in that respect. Thank you guys for everything. I love you
each so much. Brock, I love you. Aubrey, I love you. Haley, I love
you. Dad, I love you. Mom, I love you. Thank you for writing me.
It's always such a boost to start the new week. Have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
