There is power in prayer!

Hi Everyone,
To answer your questions, Mom, about the temple.
I can´t go to the temple during my mission
because it´s outside of the mission boundaries. And they´re
dedicating the Quetzaltenango temple in April, and it´s right outside
our mission border. But we can´t go. So I want to go to the temple
with you guys as soon as I get back ha. I´m so sad about not being
able to go during the mission.
Dad, I think I might be the only gringo to gain weight on a mission in
the Guatemalan coast. It was as frightening as it was gross to
realize I am gaining weight. Haha it was more foreign to me than
anything about this new culture in which I´m living! But not to
worry! I have a new exercise plan and I figured out what I need to
buy as far as food. We eat so much bread and tortillas. And the past
few weeks have been kinda lonely at night, so I would eat a lot before
bed. But I got to spend a night with Elder Grover on a split and I
realized there is good healthy stuff to buy (beside bread) and I´m
gonna look for that today. My guess is that I weigh close to 190 haha
but that´s just a guess.
I´ve been eating a lot of cereal because it´s quick. SInce I do
dishes every morning (haha and night) I don´t have much time to cook
for myself. So I was eating a lot of sugar cereal. Ugh this is weird
to talk about. I´ve never had to worry about my weight. I always
tried to gain weight!
This is the last week before changes and I´m really anxious to see
what happens. I was having a tough day with my companion and was
thinking if President asked me to do another change with him what I
would say. There are times when I really do feel like I love him.
But other times I don´t. And I´m doing my best. I pray for him, I do
dishes and cook for him and all that. And I´m trying to swallow my
pride. I´m direct when I offer suggestions, but he doesn´t like those
very much. Any advice?
Sometimes time goes by really fast and other times it doesnt. This
change is taking it´s time but I feel like the weeks go by quickly.
It´s really weird.
We baptized two more members of Rosa´s family (one of the two girls we
baptized last week). Gloria Santos and Selvin Santos. El Diablo did
not want them to get baptized. They´ve had a lot of problems
financially (they live under a tin roof and on top of a dirt floor)
and this past week Gloria was in and out of the hospital with a random
blood sugar problem. So she was fighting that and still wanted to get
baptized on Friday.
On Friday we went to get the chapel ready for the baptism. We turned
on the font faucet and the water came out black. It was horrible. We
didn´t know what to do. We turned on all the faucets in the bathrooms
to try to get the dirty water out. It didn´t work. While I was in
the bathroom I said a prayer out loud and asked Heavenly Father to
bless the water to come out clean. We drained the dirty water and
turned on the faucet again before leaving to pick up the Santos
Family. As we left a huge storm rolled in and we couldn´t leave their
house. After waiting an hour or so for the rain to stop, we finally
left. We got to the chapel and the font was full of clear water.
There is power in prayer.
We still had some stuff to get ready for the baptism, so I was trying
to help out with that and my companion was frustrated with me because
I didn´t know what to do. He started making fun of me and laughing at
me when I didn´t understand. I didn´t feel very good about that.
But the night before that, Thursday night, we did splits with the Zone
leaders and they took care of interviews for the baptism. That was
when I got to spend a night with Elder Grover. That was such a
blessing. I felt so good being in their house, having companionship
prayer before bed, all that. He cooked pancakes for me and shined my
shoes! It was so cool! I had a lot of random questions for him and
he answered all of them. I asked him about the thing with people
always asking me why I´m sad or upset. He said oh you don´t even
know. That´s the story of my mission. Everyone gives me a hard time
and I´m never angry or sad! Haha so that made me feel more normal.
But not very many people ask me that anymore, I smile a lot more I
think.
I also asked him about what I can do to improve things. I explained a
lot and there were a lot of questions that I asked about the same
topic, but he gave me an answer that made me feel a bit better. He
said not to worry about changing everything right now. He told me to
remember I´m a greenie and I need to learn what I can while being
patient. He said my time will come to apply what I learn and fix what
I need to, but for now, focus on loving your companion and the people
and be patient. That made me feel a lot better. I made a list of
things to improve in the future, so that I don´t forget. And I´m just
being an example and not worrying.
I´ve thought a lot about time lately. Time is such a gift. The
scriptures say time is only measured unto man. I think God gives us
time so that everything doesn´t happen all at once. We learn
patience, as well as how to use our agency to manage our time. And
even to deal with time. Sometimes we want more of it and sometimes we
want less. But all we can do is use our agency to squeeze what we can
out of each moment. I´m learning the basics with the time I have
right now, and I look forward to the time when I can apply what I´m
learning more fully. I don´t know if any of that made sense, but
whateva.
We find a lot of our investigators by tracting, but we are starting to
work more with the members. Our Branch President gave a class on
using pass along cards and working with us missionaries. That was way
cool.
Yesterday we were hoping to confirm Vicky, because she was unable to
come to church last week. We went to her house before church to bring
her with us. Her mom wouldn´t let her go, so she still hasn´t been
confirmed. It´s. so. frustrating.
But we´re staying positive and we continue to pray for her.
They don´t celebrate Halloween anymore here, i guess it kind of died
out a few years ago. I dunno why. But today and tomorrow they
celebrate the Day of the Dead. It´s a pretty big celebration and they
honor their deceased family members.
I have to go, but I sent some pictures before writing this. I hope
you get them! Haley I got your picture and it looks like it´s been a
fun Halloween week!
Mom and Dad I hope you have an awesome time on your cruise! Happy
Anniversary!
That´s so sad what happened to Alex. I hope he heals up fast, does it
look like it´s going to end his season?
I love you guys and hope you´re all doing great! I love your emails.
And I´m so sad when Brock and Aubrey forget to write! Haha hint
hint...
Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler

Chased by a dog and bit by a chicken!

It´s sooo hot! Haha.
Haley, I´m gonna start with you! I love hearing about all your high
school experiences! except for your Spanish grade...here´s a tip.
When I study Spanish, I read out loud everything that I read, write,
or memorize. Using the senses of both sight and sound while training
your tongue to remember words and phrases helps your brain retain the
information. Try doing that, even if you have to whisper in class.
That should help. And pray for help too!
Regarding your desire to do everything... I know, right! Haha I feel
like there´s so much to do, so much I want to do. And I simply cant.
I started praying for the gift to prioritize this week and I think
that will help. But you can always try to figure out what is best out
of your options. It´s tough to sacrifice the other things that you
want to do, but sometimes we have to. Just remember not to waste your
time. I got your letter and I loved it!
I also got Alex´s letter through Dear Elder. And that was so great!
I wrote him back and should be sending that today. Mom, I finally
sent you a letter, that should arrive in a few weeks haha!
Brock, it sounds like things are going great! Thanks for you email,
and your advice. Keep up the good work in school. You sound way
happy, I love it!

It sounds like the two missionaries are way cool! It´s neat to hear
about stuff like that.
Dad, to answer your questions...
Transfers are every 6 weeks. Elder Herrera (from El Salvador) has
been here for 4 months. He is a convert of four years and his parents
aren´t members. His brother and sister are, but I think he´s the
first to serve a mission. He´s awesome.
And I´ll be reading D&C 53 today during personal study. I´m excited
to check that out.
This week was crazy!! Lots of good stuff, some tough things too. The
mission is such a roller coaster! On tuesday and Wednesday we had a
Seminary with President Maravilla. It was amazing, I learned so much!
I was able to see a couple other greenies who are also having some
interesting experiences haha! Elder Thomas (6´8¨) basketball player
was chased by a drunk gay guy, he doesn´t have running water, and he
goes poo ten times a day. I gave him some of my Immodium on Wednesday
haha. I hope he´s doing better.
President talked about a lot of things, especially the importance of
finding families. He also emphasized the need for every investigator
to read and pray every day and attend church. We focused on that this
week and it went great!
Thursday we met with the Santos family and applied some of what we
learned in the Seminary. They told us they wanted to be baptized on
Saturday!! We then talked with Vicky, the girl who had a baptism date
set and then dropped it. She also said she wanted to get baptized on
Saturday! It was amazing! Then on Friday we met with Julio. He got
an answer to his prayers and expressed a desire to get baptized. He
came to church with us yesterday and it was great. On our way to
church we walked by the house of his pastor, who was standing in the
front yard! That was awkward and funny. Julio didn´t know what to
do, so we just said good morning and kept walking. My companion
warned him that his pastor is going to say all kinds of things about
the church, and to remember the answers he´s gotten to his prayers.
I´m praying for him.
So on Saturday, we planned the baptism and it was kind of hectic.
Rosa, the 20 year old sister in the Santos family still wanted to be
baptized, but the rest of the family did not. So it was just Vicky
and Rosa, but it was still great. Elder Grover came to interview them
and I accompanied him with that. I kept being blamed for stuff not
getting done during the day and I still don´t really understand what I
failed to do. But everything was ready for the baptism. Then Elder
Herrera asked Rosa and Vicky if I could baptize them! And they said
that would be great! I had assumed he would be doing it and hadn´t
memorized what to say. I stumbled on the words, but it was all good.
It was a wonderful experience.
Yesterday Rosa was confirmed, Vicky didn´t show up to Sacrament
Meeting. I had thought Elder Herrera had called her to make sure she
was coming, so that was an unfortunate assumption on my part. Our
Zone leader wasn´t happy with us. I learned a lot from this weekend.
I didn´t like the rushed feel of preparing everything. As amazing as
the experience was, it would have been so much better had we planned
it out better.

Two more members of the Santos family want to get baptized this week,
so hopefully we can do a better job assuming all goes well with that.
Last night we had a District (stake) leadership meeting with our
mission president! It was awesome. He laid down the law and it was
powerful. He has been called of God and he has an ability to
communicate what needs to be said in a way that makes you really want
to get going on it. Haha I don´t know how else to describe it. But
he´s stopping by our house today to visit with us and interview my
companion.

Elder Herrera told me we could use bikes to get to our appointments if
we didn´t have time to walk. So we borrowed two bikes on Thursday and
did that. I didn´t feel right about it, so I asked Elder Grover if we
can use bikes. He said no. I told Elder Herrera that Elder Grover
said we shouldn´t ride bikes, so I wasn´t going to ride a bike
anymore. He wasn´t happy, but he respected my desire to follow the
rules. We took the bikes back that afternoon.
One night when we were riding our bikes back to our house, two nasty
dogs started chasing us! With a well-aimed kick to the face of one of
them, Elder Herrera fended off his opponent. I was too fast for mine.
It was intense, but hilarious. I couldn´t stop laughing. The dogs
here are disgusting! Ugh. I miss Ginger haha! I was also scratched
and bit by a chicken this week.

I finished reading ¨Jesus the Christ¨this week. I´m sad it´s over, I
learned soo much! Towards the end I felt such a strong feeling of
appreciation for the Savior. The Spirit was so strong as I read the
last few chapters. I fear that I don´t fully appreciate the Atonement
or the Savior simply because I don´t fully understand the significance
or the impact of His life and sacrifice. That book is amazing.
I have pictures to send, so I´m gonna try and do that. I love you
guys and I hope you all have an awesome week! Thank you for
everything! I love you!!!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler

Settling in

Holy cow! Lot´s of questions to answer. And tons of awesome news
from you guys! Dad that´s awesome what happened on the plane! And
that´s sooo cool about Alex! I wish I could see him play sooo bad.
Haley it sounds like you´re keeping busy and staying awesome. Keep it
up! I love hearing about your high school experiences. I remember
thinking the same thing as you regarding how cool it was to finally be
driving and hanging out in high school. And then before I knew it, it
was over! Slow down and enjoy it when you can. It goes by fast. Mom
I love that scripture you shared. The thing you said about sharing
the message about Joseph Smith is very applicable here. Most people
believe in Christ, the special message we get to share with them is
how Christ´s true church is on the Earth. Sometimes they think it´s
really interesting and other times they get offended at the idea that
all the other churches aren´t Christ´s church. Even though we explain
that those other churches are wonderful, they simply lack the
authority of God. It´s tricky, but when we follow the Spirit we
always know what to say.

This week has been tough. So now Elder Herrera and I have the whole
area to ourselves. It´s a big responsibility, and I want to get going
on things again. Things were slow last week because of the sudden
changes and leaders coming through to check on us. We didn´t get much
done and my companion was really depressed for a couple days. Also,
one of our investigators was hit by a car and passed away. It was
really weird even though we hadn´t taught her much yet. But we had
the opportunity to talk to the family about the gospel and we´re going
back there tomorrow. Also, we had a meeting with the Branch
leadership and the two counselors in the branch presidency said they
would not help us with missionary work. My companion patiently and
admirably tried to explain the benefits of helping with the work, and
they yelled at him. It was weird. President Maravilla is coming this
week to our Branch. I think he might be coming to see if this area is
going to have missionaries after this next change. It´s been a crazy
week haha ahhh

So it´s always hot. The thermometer on my alarm clock says 81 to 84
every night. But I´m getting used to it. I have trouble sleeping
sometimes, especially when I get a freaky dream or something. I had
one last night that kinda threw me off and I couldn´t sleep much after
that haha. But I might take a nap today because nobody´s playing
soccer for P Day. Lame.
Haha but I think we´re gonna clean up around the house and buy some
food. So that´ll be nice. Yesterday we had bread and butter, rice,
and water for dinner. It was a caused by a misunderstanding on how
much food we had in the house.

Sometimes it´s really tough to love somebody you live with, especially
when you come from different cultures. I can rarely understand my
companion, but I´m getting better at understanding other people. I
ask him to clarify or explain things and I get even more lost. It´s
really weird. I don´t think he does it on purpose, but I don´t
understand why it´s getting harder to understand him the more Spanish
I learn. But I´m focusing on the fact that I am learning so much!
It´s great!
We eat lunch at the restuarant on every day except Sunday. The owners
are the landlords of our house and they´re like our grandparents.
Hermano Kike is a member of almost two years and he´s awesome. He and
his wife are really old and cute and they like to talk to us when we
come home at night. It´s fun to talk to them, they make my day.

We eat lots of chicken, beans, eggs, rice, and bread. And sometimes
steak, I eat a lot of cereal. We eat well. I love the food. One of
the members wants to make an iguana dinner for me soon. That´ll be
cool.

I can remember names, but I can´t remember places very well. I´ve
never been good with directions, and it´s harder when my companion
tries to explain where stuff is haha! Ahhh but I´m figuring it out
finally.

I gave my first talk in Spanish yesterday! It went well I think.
Hermano Kike said it was good, but that was the only comment I got. I
spoke about the importance of working together in missionary work, how
every member is a missionary and we need the help of the members. I
invited the branch to pray about people they know who we can visit and
that we would be asking them for references in the coming weeks. So
hopefully that will help things pick up.

I´m still getting used to the concept of not having personal space.
Haha especially with kids. They walk past me so they can feel my
white arms. It´s uncomfortable, but whatever haha!

Some of the members here are soo awesome and they´re willing to help
us with anything. I love visiting members´homes, they always help me
feel welcome.

So I´ve been thinking a lot about what you said, Dad, about not
waiting to be great. I´ve been trying to figure out how to leave
things better than when I found them. As a greenie, I´m not taken
very seriously, so I´m trying to patiently change one thing at a time.
We don´t use our time very well, so I use extra time to study. And
that´s helping me learn a lot, but that´s not what that time is for.
Sometimes I feel guilty for not using time more wisely, but I don´t
know what to do. I obviously can´t go contact alone, but I don´t know
what to do. Sometimes I feel like, as a greenie, I should just sit
tight and learn as much as I can while I figure out what to apply
later when I have the opportunity to make a difference. But then I
feel like I should be applying that stuff now. But I don´t know how!
Ahhh it´s bugging me. I guess i need to rely more on the Spirit.

It´s been an interesting week, but I´m loving the work! It´s been
cool becoming accustomed to this environment. I´ve learned a lot
about myself and I have a lot to do and become. Julio wasn´t home
twice this week, but we talked to him and his uncle last night. He´s
going to come to church next week even though he doesn´t feel like
he´s gotten an answer to his prayers yet. He likes what we have to
say and he has a strong desire to learn. I keep praying that he will
recognize the Spirit. I gotta go, but it was awesome reading your
emails! I´m sending a few letters today, just a heads up! I love you
guys and hope you´re loving life! I read Romans 5:1-5 this week and
it´s cool. It helps me keep a proper perspective. Love ya!
Elder Austin Tyler

Gratitude

Holy cow!
So much good stuff in your emails! Mom, your email pumped me up.
Thank you for all you shared, sounds like you had a great Sunday! I
can honestly feel the strength of your prayers. Thank you so much.
Haley, make the most of this last week of CC! Don´t leave the season
with any regrets! And be an example. Sometimes we´re given
opportunities to be a light in other people´s lives. And when you
hold a torch to light another´s path, you inevitably brighten your
own. Brock! Congratulations on your new job!! That´s soooo awesome!
Dad, you should send me a picture of that new tree if you get the
chance, sounds like it was quite the project. And New Orleans almost
sounds like Nueva Concepcion in a few ways! Haha! Oh and I know your
birthday isn´t till Saturday, but Happy Birthday!!!
It´s sooooo hot! I love it! Not really, but I´m starting to get used
to it. We played soccer today and I think it´s about 100 degrees.
Absolutely nuts. I drank about a gallon of water afterwards. I´m
doing well with sunscreen and drinking water, but it´s a pain. I´m
tired of water haha but what a blessing!
That´s something I´ve been learning lately. I feel more blessed than
I ever have before. Never before have I really been truly thankful
for the ability to read. Never have I been truly thankful for dental
care, or for carpet. Little things like that. It sounds weird, but
those kinds of things just aren´t common down here. Counting my
blessings has made me realize I´m blessed to be here. It´s made it
easier to cope with such a different environment.
We worked hard this week, but our only baptismal date was dropped. I
don´t understand what happened. My companion´s Spanish is terrible!
Haha it´s comical how I can´t understand him, but I can understand
other people. But I´m getting better at recognizing words.
Yesterday we taught a young man named Julio. When we showed up at his
´house´he was reading the pamphlet we left him. It´s a pamphlet on
the Restoration of the Gospel. He was also reading the Bible and
writing things down. It was exciting to see. As we asked him about
praying to know the truth of the gospel, he explained that he prayed,
but didn´t get an answer. My companion started talking about the ways
in which we feel the Spirit. I then shared Doctrine and Covenants
8:2,3 and then explained that Galatians 5:22,23 explains the fruits of
the Spirit. That was the scripture I had memorized for the day. As I
explained it he looked at me kind of funny. It wasn´t until I looked
down at what he had been writing that I understood why. When we
showed up at his place he was reading Galations 5. He had written
verse 22 in his journal. I then explained that something that helps
me feel the Spirit is the Book of Mormon. I explained what the book
is and marked 3 Nephi 11 for him to read. We have another appointment
with him on Wednesday and I´m praying hard for him. He has a desire
to find the truth and it´s exciting to teach him.
On Tuesday we had a branch presidency meeting. It was interesting
haha! To start the meeting they passed out cokes and crackers. It
was funny, and a bit different. There´s a counselor in the presidency
that quotes a scripture or a prophet every chance he gets, no matter
if it´s relevant haha. It´s ridiculous. I´m trying to think of ways
to help strengthen the branch. At church yesterday there were 101
people in attendance. It was testimony meeting and I bore my
testimony and introduced myself. I wasn´t nervous, I felt really good
about it. And I was enthusiastic (something I´m trying to be better
at).
People here always ask me what´s wrong if I´m not smiling or talking.
I know they´re trying to look out for me, but they assume I´m angry or
sad all the time! Haha so I´m trying to show my happy feelings more
abundantly.
There´s a particular girl, or snake, that I think I mentioned
last week. She is obsessed with me and it´s disturbing. She comes to
church but never listens to our lessons. Her sister was the one with
the baptism date. But the snake found out where we live and stopped
by a couple days ago! Lovely. And we went to their house yesterday
to bring them to church and she was dressed like a prostitute. It was
awkward.
I keep having to go on splits, which is hard. I´m expected to
remember people´s names, addresses, how to get to those addresses, and
what we taught. Most of that´s easy because I can write it down, but
sometimes I forget how to get somewhere. It´s frustrating. I don´t
feel like a greeny, aside from my lack of ability to communicate
comfortably. But I can teach most of a lesson now, so I´m making
progress. During one of the splits (they´re usually all day), I was
studying after lunch (we have language study in the afternoons). We
had an appointment at three, so I ended study time at 2:45. I went to
grab my companion, Elder Matamoros. I couldn´t find him. I went
outside and didn´t see him. Then I looked up and saw him sitting in a
palm tree 25 feet off the ground. He was cutting coconuts from a
tree! We were late to our appointment. Typical. But funny.
Sometimes I feel like we aren´t working hard enough. This week was
way better, but sometimes I don´t know. We supposedly can´t contact
after dark because it´s considered rude in this area to knock on
someone´s door after 7 pm. So I asked if we could schedule
appointments later at night, and contact in the day. That´s helping a
bit. One night we didn´t have any appointments scheduled, so we
contacted in the morning and studied at night, I don´t know if that´s
allowed, but I felt better about not wasting time.
There´s a lot I don´t know. I need a companion who I know wants to
work hard. That way I can learn what´s appropriate, what isn´t.
What´s expected, what I can do to improve. I just don´t know
sometimes. But I feel better about things this week.
I´ve learned a lot about opposition. Opposition puts things into
perspective. It´s sooo hot, but that makes me appreciate when I´m not
burning. We work hard and that makes us appreciate rest. We get
hungry, we see hungry people, and that makes us appreciate food.
Everything is soo dirty here, but that makes me enjoy cleaning. About
that... people throw their trash in the street into piles and then
burn it. It makes for a lovely smell in the evening haha but that
makes me appreciate when there isn´t trash burning everywhere! All
the appreciate makes me happy.
I´m gonna try to figure out how to put up pictures. I don´t have much
time so hopefully it works. Thanks for all the updates and for your
advice. Mom, I want to write you a legitimate letter, hopefully I can
do that today. I love you all and miss you and it´s great to hear
from you. Thank you for your prayers!
Love,
Elder Tyler

Austin's address - Update

Friends and Family,

This is the mission home address where you can write to Austin for the next two years. He said he currently does not have an address so this is the most reliable way if you want to send it regular US post.
Also, you can use the previous address I posted (Pouch mail service through Salt Lake City), or email them to me (Post dated 8-19-10). Sticking religious symbols on your letters will help keep people from going through things as they are superstitious and will leave things alone that look religious. We were discouraged sending packages but I'm going to try it and if you want to, putting religious symbols on boxes will assure a better chance of them getting to him.
As always, thanks for your support. His last letter was very tender and I can't help but think there is no better way to gain this kind of experience than devoting two years of your life to serving the Lord.

Elder Austin Michael Tyler
Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission
Barrio Concepion, Boulevard Centenario
Salida a Coatepeque, Zona 2
Retalhuleu
GUATEMALA
(phone: 011-502-7771-2404)

"Hardest week of my life!"

I love you guys!
This has been the hardest week of my life. I miss the MTC. I miss home. I know I shouldn´t be complaining, but I feel like I need to vent and let you know how I feel. Dont get me wrong, I have so much to be thankful for, but this week has been a shock.
Our president is amazing. I love him. He and his wife are really cool and I feel so blessed to have them here. We had a tough time getting to the Mission Office because of strikes and riots in the streets. Nothing violent, but a lot of road blocks. But everything happened according to schedule, so it was okay.
I am serving in the Tequisate Zone, the Nueva Concepcion Area. It´s the hottest area of the mission. And it´s sooo hot. And sooo wet. Yesterday was the first day that I ended with dry feet. The first night it started pouring and I was in my suit pants. They´re moldy now. I´m trying to figure out how to wash them. We were hiking around in knee deep water, it was an interesting welcome to my first area. That night, my companion and I saw weird lights in the sky. And then all the power in the city went out. It was weird and kinda scary. We couldn´t see anything. Luckily I had packed a flashlight in my bag. That was a blessing.
My companion is named Elder Herrera. Everyone says he´s a really hard worker, but I think this past week was rather slow. I´m hoping things pick up. I´m trying to figure out how to use an Area Book. I asked one of the APs what I could do personally to improve the mission. He said to use the area book. It´s a trend I hope to start today.
I forgot to bring my camera, I think I can hook it up to the computer to send pictures. And the pictures you sent are so great! Haley, you´re beautiful!
Oh! I don´t have an address, so just go ahead and send things to the mission office. I got seven letters this week! It was so wonderful! I don´t know how well I will be able to respond to them. If you could tell Brother Teeples thank you so much for his letter, I would appreciate that. It was so great to hear from him. Also, Rita Argueta and Holli Machmer wrote me! If you could message them on facebook for me and thank them for their letters, I´m going to try to send them something when I get the chance.
Like I said, I forgot my camera. But to give you an idea, our house is very different than the luxiorious apartment I saw in one of Troy´s pictures haha :)
I shower with what looks like an outdoor spout, and the water is less than cold. But I´m getting used to that. Everything is always dirty. Today I´m going to buy cleaning supplies to give me something to do. There are lots of bugs, but that doesn´t bother me much. I sweat all the time, and I´m getting used to that too. It´s either blazing hot, or pouring. But night time is wonderful... when it isn´t raining haha.
It´s really hard to focus. I miss home and it´s mhard when I can´t relate or communicate a whole lot with anyone. I need to forget myself and realize that I´m here for other people. But I don´t know how to focus on their needs when I can hardly understand them.
General Conference was the most wonderful thing ever. Ever talk was comforting and so helpful. I nearly cried at the end of yesterday´s session because it was so great. I´m sad that it´s over.
There was a lot I learned about finding comfort during times of trial. And that has helped. Never before have I needed the comfort of Christ, the companionship of the Holy Ghost more than I do now. Constant prayer is the key. Hope and faith are the key.
Enough complaining. The people here are so poor. It´s sad, but I´m glad to be here to help them. Almost everyone is religious, which makes it tough. They think every church is true. Regardless, I think I´m in one of the most successful areas of the mission. I haven´t seen the fruits of that yet, it being my first week. But I´m excited to get working.
During the talk yesterday about parenting teenagers, I felt a bit guilty for the past. Mom and Dad, I´m sorry if I ever made it seem like I would be offended by your counsel. Now I am starting to realize how much I miss your advice and counsel. Please feel free to offer whatever advice you have.
Brock, I want to thank you for serving a mission. I realize that I am blessed to be here... so blessed. I admire your perseverance and thank you for your example. I love you.
I was able to watch Conference in English with Elder Grover, the zone leader. That was such a blessing. I was able to ask every question I wanted to ask. And he answered them all. Right now it´s hard not to think of home. And it´s hard not to think that I have two years of tedious work. But he told me to focus on the needs of the people and time will fly. I´m trying to do that, but again, it´s hard to help them when I can´t understand them. His words were comforting, and I´m thankful for the time I had with him.
I wonder how my friends from the MTC are coping. I´m going to try to email them.
Oh! It´s such a blessing to live next to a restaurant. We have our lunches (the biggest meal of the day) cooked for us. That´s soo wonderful. And costs less than two dollars each day. Also, we have our clothes washed for us. That´s a blessing too. But I don´t know how long it takes. So tonight I´ll be washing some of my own clothes because I´m running out haha!
As difficult as this time is, I´m thankful for it. I learn so much every day. I pray every day that I can feel God´s love. When I seek it I find it. I dedicate every day to the Lord, and I hope to become the best I can be.
I asked Elder Grover if everyone has a tough first week. He said yes. That´s comforting to know I´m not the only one who has a rough time. We had the opportunity to listen to the testimonies of all the elders who were going home. That made me nostalgic. But as much as I look forward to that day, I need to focus on the here and now. I have work to do. And this is such an opportunity!
My Spanish is improving, but it´s hard to go every day (except for conference :)) without English. It´s a comfort to write in my journal in English and read the scriptures in English. Despite my feelings of loneliness and depression, there are moments of joy and excitement. The little things, like food and clothing make me happy. Learning makes me happy. Understanding something that somebody says makes me happy.
The people here are impressed with my Spanish, and my height. They say I´m much farther along than the other North American greenies that come through here. I´m grateful to be able to understand the bit that I can. I think my Spanish is a lot better than I sometimes give it credit.
The women here are obsessed with us missionaries. It´s weird and annoying. By no means am I tempted to fall into the trap that so many elders fall into, it´s annoying and they are distracted from our purpose here. Nothing too weird happens. They just try to flirt and what not. It´s easy to take care of.
My companion is from Honduras and he´s a bit hard to understand sometimes. He´s the district leader and he´s a cool guy. I look forward to playing soccer with him today. He´s been a great help. He´s a lot more mature than the elders in my district in the CCM. I´m grateful for his companionship.
It is so great to hear from you guys. Dad, good luck with your trips and work. Thank you for your advice and counsel. And that was awesome to hear an update about Alex. I want to email him. Could you send me his email sometime?
Mom, I got a couple of your dear elders this past week and it was so great to read them, even though they were a bit old. Thank you for writing me.
I can feel the strength of your prayers and I thank you for them. Everything really isn´t as bad as this email makes it seem. I have so much to be grateful for. It´s just that right now I´m having a tough time. The food is great, my companion is great, my president is great, conference was amazing, I have stuff to do like cleaning the house and building the area book, and I´m loving the people. Wet feet are a small price to pay for all that.
Real quick about the people... they are easy to love, which is such a blessing. I´m so grateful to be in this area. The members are awesome. There are tons of inactives, and I look forward to bringing them back into the fold. There´s so much work to be done here. Thanks for listening to my venting. I feel better haha! I still miss you guys. And I miss my friends too. But I´m here for a great purpose.
Haley, check out the style of music Reggaton. It´s extremely popular here and I think you might like it. I don´t know how clean it is, or if they have much of it in English, but it seems like it would be fun to dance to.
Last thing, I´m running out of facewash and don´t know if i´ll be able to find anything legit down here. If you could send some next time you send a package I would appreciate it. Thanks again for everything. Thanks for your love and examples. Please tell the ward I love them and thank them for their examples. Tell Alex he´s such a stud, and the Lord needs him. And tell him I love him. Thank you guys for everything, I wish I could talk to you face to face, but email is such a blessing. Love you!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler

Leaving the Guatemala MTC

Hola! They gave us some time to write today! I leave tomorrow
morning! I GOT MAIL! Haha Dad, I got your letter with the SD card.
So I'm sending you guess a letter today. Mom, I tried to write you a
letter, but I only had time to reply to Dad's. I'll write you a
personal note as soon as I can. Dad, thanks for the letter. It was
awesome to read it.
I don't really know what to write about! Haha I've been so focused on
getting ready to go that I haven't really thought much about the past
week. For one, I'm really excited to get out to Retalhuleu. We have
an awesome group going and I'm excited to put into practice everything
that I've been learning the past nine weeks. I'm also nervous. I'm
afraid that I'm going to forget something important, that once I get
the hang of things (whenever that will be haha) that I'll will have
forgotten some essential part of what I should be doing. But I know
that with the guidance of the Spirit, everything will be okay.
This past week was a bit weird. A lot of people were waking up in the
middle of the night screaming. People were having nightmares and
stuff. It was over a period of two nights. The second night I had a
really creepy and awful feeling. I couldnt sleep and it was terrible.
It was weird. But yesterday made up for all of that. We watched
"The Lamb of God", "The John Tanner Story", and "The Joseph Smith
Movie". They were all amazing. I felt the Spirit all day and fasting
was a great way to start this new week. I think it's so cool that I
get to have conference my first Sunday in the field! That will be way
cool.
Adjusting to Latino culture is very difficult. Here are a few things
I've needed to get used to: I have no personal space. They don't have
any concept of respecting other people's things, space, etc. Haha
it's almost funny how awkward it gets. The second thing is that they
don't like to support leaders. They point out as many things as they
can to bring the leader down. We evaluated our teachers this week and
they got upset at me when I voted for anything less than an
"excellent" rating. It was so annoying. They would push me out of
the way and yell at me haha. Everyone else had the same problem. One
of the funniest things is when we sing hymns. Nobody knows how to
sing, but they all think they have the voices of angels. It's
absolutely hilarious sometimes! I've learned to appreciate the words
of the hymns more than the notes.
As an "adopted Latino" I've had a tough time the past three weeks, but
it's all worth it. I've learned so much. Haha some of the Latinos
didn't like the idea of having Gringos in their zone. Some of them
legitimately hate us. It's weird. Despite the divinity of this work,
there are a few in the group that don't even try to develop
Christlike love. I wonder what kind of past experiences theyve had
that have influenced their feelings toward us Gringos. All I can do
is smile and say 'love you brother!' It makes them even more mad
sometimes haha.
Haley! How was Homecoming?? Mom said it was great, but I wanna hear
more! How exhausted are ya? Was it worth the effort?
Apparently, we only have twenty minutes to write today. So I have to
get off soon. To conclude, I was reading in 2 Nephi 2 and 3 yesterday
and I learned sooo much! I don't know if it's the power of being a
missionary or that I was simply oblivious before, but I learn sooo
much more from the scriptures. You guys should check it out! I love
you and I'll inform you all about the heat of Reu next week! Love
you!
Elder Austin Tyler