1/2/12
Happy 2012!
I feel like I'm going to love this year. I put a lot of goals. I'm going to tell you some of them because when I tell people my goals it's makes it more of a commitment.
Study the Atonement and/or character of Jesus Christ three times a week.
Have a conversation with the Lord every night.
Put other missionaries' needs/desires above my own.
Be in bed by 10:30 every night.
No English outside of P-Day.
Write a spiritual experience and one thing to love about my comp every night.
So far I have only one goal written down for when I get home. I have others, but they aren't written down.
Attend the temple once a week.
Some lofty goals, but I'm so excited! The New Year was great! We ate with some of my favorite members and the fireworks were great! They were the same as Christmas, but less gunfire haha. We played Risk again. I won twice out of four games. I'm tired of it though ha.
Mom! This week was great! Still hard as far as finding and teaching because of all the celebrations, but it was better than last week. I don't really know how much money for souvenirs and stuff. Maybe 100? Ah I dunno. I'm sending the painting today, I packed it with some shirts and Haley's bag. I hope it makes it there safely. If you guys want any of the shirts, feel free!
Things with the other elders has been kinda tough lately, but everyone was in good spirits for New Years. Elder Colindres found out that he will no longer be a zone leader and he'll be training instead. He's upset. And Elder Moss and I also have transfers. We don't know where to yet, but my comp is probably the only one staying. The radio hasn't shown any fruits in our area yet. I'm sure it has in other places, because it's a huge radio station. But I won't be here anymore, I'll let the bishop and the new elders decide if they want to keep it going.
Also, this is what I remember about AP Psych with Williams. It may or may not be correct haha. It's not that hard of a class, but it is cool. The catch is that it's a little hard to do well on the AP test, but the class itself shouldn't be too hard. I would definitely trust Williams when he says it's a 6 out of 10.
Haley! Glad to hear the new ward is good. That will be awesome.
YOU HAVEN'T BEEN SKIING??? Mejor no me digas. Hahaha
Sounds like you're enjoying your break. I'm happy to hear that you liked the letter, hope your birthday was good! I heard that song you mentioned when I was at an investigator's house one day. People here have huge sound systems, even if they don't have other more important things. And they blast music all day. But yeah, music is crazy here. So is that song. Regarding the whole thing with Stuco.... if you don't know what to do, spend some time thinking about it by yourself, weigh the options, ask the Lord, and look for His advice.
Dad! That's cool to hear about Alex. Paisley haha. Sounds like things on the house are starting to settle. Good luck with the whole job thing, I'll be praying for you. The political front sounds interesting.
We haven't officially heard about transfers yet, but I got a phone call from Elder Maurer last night. He told me I needed to call President and said that President sounded angry. So I called him not sure what to expect. He asked me how I was and asked me what challenges we've had in the district. I explained some stuff. Then he asked me if I had any sins to confess. I said no, a little weirded out. Then he asked me if I was more loyal to him or to my companions. He asked if I would call him in a situation where my companion was messing around. I thought, 'What on earth did my companion do??' But then he asked me if I would accept the assignment to be a zone leader. I said yes (though curious as to what he would have done had I said no haha). He then explained that loyalty to the him is so important in this assignment. He said even more important is loyalty to the Lord. So I'm out of here Wednesday. I'm excited to move on and start fresh with a new area and new companion. I don't know where or with who, but it will likely be an improvement.
But I realized this week that I really will miss Tecun Uman. We went to visit the bishop on Friday and he was telling us about a stake leadership meeting he went to this week. He explained that the Stake President asked for a raise of hands of who all read the Book of Mormon this year. Five raised their hands, four were from Ayutla (my ward). He asked who had prepared names to take to the temple. Three raised their hands, all from Ayutla. He asked who completed their goal of baptisms for the year. Ayutla was the only ward (the goal was 24 and they ended with 25). He was very proud of the ward. This ward is a powerhouse with so many great members. Of course there's pride here and there, but the ward gets things done. It's been a challenge, but I've learned so much here. It will be hard to go. Especially after eating dinner with so many of them on New Years Eve, that was so fun!
I had a very rewarding experience yesterday. Although the Central American missions baptize a lot, there is always a serious challenge with retention. It's so sad to hear that converts go inactive, it's been hard for me to hear that. But it's so rewarding to hear that some are still strong. We do what we can to keep everyone active, but it's a serious struggle (though the mission has greatly improved on that front since President Maravilla came). Yesterday we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and the bishop called Dridmy to serve as the Relief Society secretary! She's the one that attended church for two years and finally decided to get baptized in November. And then in Priesthood Jose received the Aaronic Priesthood and then conferred the Priesthood on his son! It was such a wonderful Sunday, a great way to end my time here.
So I'm in a limbo between saying goodbye and preparing for my new area. I'm excited and ready. It will be great. A lot of my success and personal progress depend on my diligence in applying these new goals. That's the biggest thing I need right now. I need to jump out of the hole I've been stuck in the past little bit and be my best. Thank you for everything you guys do. It was so good to see you last week.
Brock and Aubrey, I love you guys! Good luck with work and school as the new semester approaches. Love it and keep having fun. Maybe go skiing once every three days or something, that would be cool. Haha.
Have an awesome week!
Lots of love,
Elder Austin Tyler
