Ahh I love emails!!
This week has been NUTS! Thank you all for the advice. Dad, I was
thinking a lot about your visit to California last week, that must
have been pretty awesome. Mom, it sounds like your talkimony was
great! I wish I could have been there!
Haley, keep on keepin on! StuCo is challenging sometimes, but think of ways
to make it fun! Im trying to figure out how to make things fun when
everything is going wrong. Maybe we can help each other figure it
out.
I weigh 185 lbs. Thats ten lbs more than when i entered the mtc. And
it isnt fat :) I do push ups every morning. I hate it, but im
getting a bit bigger.
I never imagined how hard it would be going into a Latino district. I
thought it was tough living with a companion, but add on top of that
learning a new culture (AND language) and it has its ups and downs.
This was the hardest week yet and I cant wait to get into the field.
Elder Granja is awesome. But hes different. He said the F word twice
this week haha oops.
To give you an idea of the Latino mentality (or at least for this
group) is this: Elder Taylors companion goes to the bathroom nine
times a day. Every morning he adds four scoops of fiber to his
oatmeal. Elder Taylor explained to him that fiber makes your stool
soft. The next day, his companion added five scoops.
They dont ever take our advice. In my exit interview with President
Steimle, he asked about my experience (After making sure i understood
that it was a blessing). I told him theres a psychological effect
that takes place that makes everything really frustrating. Because we
dont have the ability to communicate well, the Latinos assume we dont
know anything else. It isnt an issue of pride, its just natural i
think. But that dont accept any of our suggestions and they wont take
our knowledge as legitimate. Elder Hock, Elder Taylor, Hermana Pelaez
and I frequently pulled each other aside to vent. All week. Perhaps
it wasnt a good thing to do all the time, but it was crazy. There was
so much bad stuff happening all the time. It was weird and soooo hard
to deal with. I dont know why but they dont realize weve been trained
for six weeks longer than them, they still wont listen to us about
anything. but it has been worth the difficulty. My spanish is way
better. My companion is reading this right now, i hope he doesnt
understand much English haha.
The temple this morning was great, I felt much better about everything
and Im so excited to get into the field. President Steimle told me
not to expect a studly trainer. He shared DyC 84:106 and explained
that I may need to help train my trainer...great. But he said it in a
way that got me a little excited about it. He told me to learn to be
direct, which I applied this week in district meeting.
Weve been having a huge drama problem in our district. Elder Granja
is our district leader and hes had some issues with other elders not
liking him, and making it obvious enough. Then he would fight back
and it just got ridiculous. So during the meeting, I shared Mosiah
18:21 and explained that I wanted to make the most of this last week.
And I cant feel the spirit when theres contention in our district.
Then I proposed a goal to overcome our differences and show our love
for each other. Then Elder Granja (who was one of the people I hoped
would try and change a bit) started to preach about the same thing.
Then it erupted into a nice long discussion about issues with one
another and i think everyone decided to change. It was sweet, but
this week was still tough.
Some of these elders are really prideful, while others are so amazing.
I dont understand what causes such a stark contrast in people who
supposedly have the same goal, the same mission. It frightens me.
But President told me to get used to it. He told me im going to be in
a leadership position for a lot of my mission (kinda caught me off
guard) and im gonna have to deal with that problem a lot. He said
that my president wont be crazy, he is guided by the Lord. And he
counselled me to have fun with improving myself as I help uplift my
companions. Im scared for that, and i dont know how excited i am to
deal with stuff like that, but i know i will and I better make the
most of it. We had another proselyting activity in the park this week
and it was tough. ill try and write about it in a letter. i havent
received any mail for a month. i dunno what the deal is. but im sure
its on its way. I have to go. UGH i have so much more to write. i
shouldnt have complained to much haha
But Haley, I love you. Mom and Dad, I love you and thank you so much
for all your advice. Brock and Aubrey, I love you too. Good luck
with things. Next week Ill be in Reu! Until then...
Love ya!
Elder Austin Tyler :D
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Two Weeks Left in Guatemala City
Woohoo! I love emails! Haha there´s been a hold up in the mail, and
I haven´t gotten anything for two weeks. It´s a bit frustrating haha.
Mom, if you could go ahead and send an SD card, that would be great!
I don´t think I´ll have time to buy one. And about your
testimony/talk, that sounds good to me! I think personal experiences
are the most interesting and powerful ways to explain and teach. It´s
still in the 60s and 70s here, but that will change when I head to
Reu. And I have two weeks left in here! I´m so excited to get to the
field!
It´s been reeeeealllllly tough being in a Latino district. It´s so
hard. The sister in my district from Utah cries almost daily. It´s
rough on all of us North Americans, but it is soooo worth it. I´m
learning way more than before. It´s hard to communicate with my
companion, but we´re always able to figure out a way to explain
things. Elder Granja is a stud. He´s my comp, and our district
leader. He spent the last year as a security guard here in the city.
He´s funny. It´s really interesting being in a Latino district. they
all have extremely powerful testimonies, but sometimes they lack basic
knowledge about the gospel. It´s hard to go back to the basics again,
but it´s helping me better understand and appreciate those things.
I keep hearing crazy stories about violence in Guatemala, particularly
here in the city. Two nights ago we heard gunshots in the street as
we were all lying in bed. We think it was just a drunk shooting out
of his car window, cause we heard no sirens afterwards.
One of my teachers, Hermano Contreras told me a story last night. He
mentioned his wife and I asked why he didn´t have a wedding ring. He
explained that it was because he rides the bus and it´s dangerous to
have rings, watches, etc in public. He said he would drive a car, but
his car was stolen six months ago. He was driving one day, and
stopped at an intersection. Two cars pulled in front and behind him
to keep him from going anywhere. A bunch of gangsters with machine
guns popped out and yelled at him to get out of the car. He got out
and they got in and drove away.
Elder Taylor´s companion is named Elder Morales (i think). He´s from
Retalhuleu. Three years ago he was walking home from work with his
day´s earnings. A couple thugs approached him and his friend
demanding their stuff. They resisted. His friend was shot twice and
he was shot thirteen times! Crazy. But he said he was in a rough
part of the city and he was really stupid to resist. And I know I´ll
be protected. Don´t worry Mom :) I´ll be smart. And obedient.
On a lighter note, I´ve become much better at understanding the
Spirit. Last night I was trying to figure out what I should focus on
today. And I got an impression telling me to help my companion in the
temple in the morning. I thought... what?? It seemed so random, so I
asked what I should help him with. I felt like I would find out when
the time came. So I wrote it down and waited till this morning. At
the temple, they split me up from Elder Granja and sent me with a
Latino Elder who was going through the temple for his first time. He
didn´t have the opportunity to speak with a member of the temple
presidency about the temple, so I had the privilege of explaining
things and helping him out with everything. Huge testimony builder.
It was soo cool.
I´m so thankful to be able to go to the temple every week. Even
though everything is in Spanish, I´m still able to learn more every
time.
On Sunday, we had a devotional by Elder Hatch. He taught us about how
we can help other people accept and understand the gospel. it was
really cool. He talked about how we need to be bold. How the
authority and power of our calling gives us the ability to make
miracles happen. How we have the ability to help people change their
lives, how we are angels to the people looking for the gospel of
Christ. He talked about how our calling enables us to bear testimony
with thunder, and bring light to the lives of people living in
darkness. I´m being kicked off the computer, so I love you guys! Thanks for your
letters, I´m praying for you! And thank you for your prayers! I feel
the strength that comes with the calling of a missionary. Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
I haven´t gotten anything for two weeks. It´s a bit frustrating haha.
Mom, if you could go ahead and send an SD card, that would be great!
I don´t think I´ll have time to buy one. And about your
testimony/talk, that sounds good to me! I think personal experiences
are the most interesting and powerful ways to explain and teach. It´s
still in the 60s and 70s here, but that will change when I head to
Reu. And I have two weeks left in here! I´m so excited to get to the
field!
It´s been reeeeealllllly tough being in a Latino district. It´s so
hard. The sister in my district from Utah cries almost daily. It´s
rough on all of us North Americans, but it is soooo worth it. I´m
learning way more than before. It´s hard to communicate with my
companion, but we´re always able to figure out a way to explain
things. Elder Granja is a stud. He´s my comp, and our district
leader. He spent the last year as a security guard here in the city.
He´s funny. It´s really interesting being in a Latino district. they
all have extremely powerful testimonies, but sometimes they lack basic
knowledge about the gospel. It´s hard to go back to the basics again,
but it´s helping me better understand and appreciate those things.
I keep hearing crazy stories about violence in Guatemala, particularly
here in the city. Two nights ago we heard gunshots in the street as
we were all lying in bed. We think it was just a drunk shooting out
of his car window, cause we heard no sirens afterwards.
One of my teachers, Hermano Contreras told me a story last night. He
mentioned his wife and I asked why he didn´t have a wedding ring. He
explained that it was because he rides the bus and it´s dangerous to
have rings, watches, etc in public. He said he would drive a car, but
his car was stolen six months ago. He was driving one day, and
stopped at an intersection. Two cars pulled in front and behind him
to keep him from going anywhere. A bunch of gangsters with machine
guns popped out and yelled at him to get out of the car. He got out
and they got in and drove away.
Elder Taylor´s companion is named Elder Morales (i think). He´s from
Retalhuleu. Three years ago he was walking home from work with his
day´s earnings. A couple thugs approached him and his friend
demanding their stuff. They resisted. His friend was shot twice and
he was shot thirteen times! Crazy. But he said he was in a rough
part of the city and he was really stupid to resist. And I know I´ll
be protected. Don´t worry Mom :) I´ll be smart. And obedient.
On a lighter note, I´ve become much better at understanding the
Spirit. Last night I was trying to figure out what I should focus on
today. And I got an impression telling me to help my companion in the
temple in the morning. I thought... what?? It seemed so random, so I
asked what I should help him with. I felt like I would find out when
the time came. So I wrote it down and waited till this morning. At
the temple, they split me up from Elder Granja and sent me with a
Latino Elder who was going through the temple for his first time. He
didn´t have the opportunity to speak with a member of the temple
presidency about the temple, so I had the privilege of explaining
things and helping him out with everything. Huge testimony builder.
It was soo cool.
I´m so thankful to be able to go to the temple every week. Even
though everything is in Spanish, I´m still able to learn more every
time.
On Sunday, we had a devotional by Elder Hatch. He taught us about how
we can help other people accept and understand the gospel. it was
really cool. He talked about how we need to be bold. How the
authority and power of our calling gives us the ability to make
miracles happen. How we have the ability to help people change their
lives, how we are angels to the people looking for the gospel of
Christ. He talked about how our calling enables us to bear testimony
with thunder, and bring light to the lives of people living in
darkness. I´m being kicked off the computer, so I love you guys! Thanks for your
letters, I´m praying for you! And thank you for your prayers! I feel
the strength that comes with the calling of a missionary. Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
History is made at the Guatemala City MTC (CCM)
Hola!
This week is a bit crazy because the older missionaries (and the
Latinos) left today. So there are only about 40 missionaries here and
we write our emails today. Tonight, the new North Americans arrive
(at midnight and 2AM!) and tomorrow we welcome the new Latinos. And
GUESS WHAT! I get a Latino companion tomorrow! Our district is the
first one in the history of this CCM to get switched to Latino
districts! There are a few elders who get switched after three weeks,
but never an entire district. So that will be awesome! I´m so
excited but so nervous. Everything (class, devotionals, etc) will be
in Spanish. But I´m ready and I think it´s going to be a huge
blessing.
Last week I sent an envelope home with a couple quick letters and a
bunch of letters for friends. That should arrive this next week, I
think. I do get to work out every morning. I wake up at 6:00 every
morning and do push ups and sit ups. And then we get 45 minutes of
gym time. There are two basketball/soccer courts in the back of the
CCM property. I play soccer pretty much every morning. It´s a lot of
fun. The Latinos are soo much fun to play with.
This morning we got to go to the market, which was sooo cool. We had
MCDONALD´S for lunch!!! It was soooo amazing haha! Before that
though we went to a park that had a huge topography map of Guatemala.
We got to see the contrast between the mountains and the coast and
everything. Right now we´re at about 6000 feet (I think). Retalhuleu
will be about 100 or 200 haha. And it´s going to be hot. It´s about
60 degrees every day here and I love it. But the map was cool, there
are a bunch of huge volcanos and little towns around them. Not sure
why, it doesn´t seem a very smart place to settle considering how most
of the volcanos have been active since this place was settled.
So after that we went to the market. We drove past the red zone on
our way, which was crazy to see again. I got a couple blurred
pictures this time. But the market was really interesting. It´s all
underground, under the central park. It´s really cramped and smells
kinda funny in certain places. Some parts of it are really loud and
people are shouting and cooking, and then other places look almost
like an overstuffed hobby lobby. There were soooo many cool things to
buy. The tricky thing is bartering for everything. Since we´re all
white, the vendors increase their prices by about 75% right off the
bat. So you have to cut that in half and work your way toward a
legitimate price. I bought a German soccer jersey for 60 Quetzales
($7.50) and a little woven bag for 50 Quetzales. And then I spent
about $6 dollars on lunch and $2 on bread later on. Everything is so
cheap, but I was sure to avoid being like a lot of the missionaries
and buying a bunch of useless stuff haha. Some of them got
ridiculous. But there are so many cool things to see and buy there,
it would be a great place to visit as a tourist. And it was really
strange, I was about a foot and a half taller than everyone else. I
felt very intimidating. I was sure to smile at everyone and it was
kind of funny. We got a lot of funny looks.
After the market we went to a modern mall. And it was a nice mall.
Just as nice as any in the US. It had Puma, Nike, Cole Haan, Bath and
Body Works, everything. It was strange to see the contrast of people
and prices. that´s where we ate McDonalds :) There were a lot of
wealthy people, lots of couples making out (Latinos don´t really care
about displaying love in public). There was a museum inside the mall
that had some cool info about Mayan architecture and culture. It was
cool. And that was ALL today! I´m sooo exhausted already!
I´ve been praying for you guys and I think about you a lot. It´s
weird to think about the similarities and differences in experiences
between Brock, Haley, and me, specifically regarding high school. It
sounds like you guys are very busy, but doing some great stuff.
I didn´t think to buy an sd card while I was at the mall, but I think
I´ll be able to get one once I get to Reu. But I have a few cool
pictures to send, and I won´t be needed my camera for anything cool
for awhile.
I have so much to study, but at the same time, I continue to learn so
much! I´m almost halfway through the BoM in spanish, and that´s been
really cool. We just read about Alma and Amulek and tonight about
Ammon. I love the book of Alma, it´s so powerful!
And I´ve been studying a lot about the Spirit lately, Preach My Gospel
has some great study activities and it´s helped sooo much. Although I
am still working on feeling the Spirit more strongly, it´s no longer a
concern for me. I just need to be more attentive, and have the
courage to act on the promptings I receive. That has made all the
difference this week. And the meeting with President Garrett came to
mind this week.
It sounds like you guys are doing great! I love hearing from you
guys. Mom, I loved your email. Thanks for the updates and the
advice. And the rest of yall, sorry I had to email a day early, but I
look forward to double emails next week ;)
Oh and no I don´t get to print out emails, which is a bummer. But
maybe in the field I´ll be able to do that. I don´t have any more
time, so I love you guys! Something that´s been a blessing since I´ve
been here is having the attitude of: Things are better because I was
here. That can apply to people, places, homework, everything. It´s
an awesome attitude that helps me think of ways to improve the things
around me. Love you guys! Good luck with this week!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
This week is a bit crazy because the older missionaries (and the
Latinos) left today. So there are only about 40 missionaries here and
we write our emails today. Tonight, the new North Americans arrive
(at midnight and 2AM!) and tomorrow we welcome the new Latinos. And
GUESS WHAT! I get a Latino companion tomorrow! Our district is the
first one in the history of this CCM to get switched to Latino
districts! There are a few elders who get switched after three weeks,
but never an entire district. So that will be awesome! I´m so
excited but so nervous. Everything (class, devotionals, etc) will be
in Spanish. But I´m ready and I think it´s going to be a huge
blessing.
Last week I sent an envelope home with a couple quick letters and a
bunch of letters for friends. That should arrive this next week, I
think. I do get to work out every morning. I wake up at 6:00 every
morning and do push ups and sit ups. And then we get 45 minutes of
gym time. There are two basketball/soccer courts in the back of the
CCM property. I play soccer pretty much every morning. It´s a lot of
fun. The Latinos are soo much fun to play with.
This morning we got to go to the market, which was sooo cool. We had
MCDONALD´S for lunch!!! It was soooo amazing haha! Before that
though we went to a park that had a huge topography map of Guatemala.
We got to see the contrast between the mountains and the coast and
everything. Right now we´re at about 6000 feet (I think). Retalhuleu
will be about 100 or 200 haha. And it´s going to be hot. It´s about
60 degrees every day here and I love it. But the map was cool, there
are a bunch of huge volcanos and little towns around them. Not sure
why, it doesn´t seem a very smart place to settle considering how most
of the volcanos have been active since this place was settled.
So after that we went to the market. We drove past the red zone on
our way, which was crazy to see again. I got a couple blurred
pictures this time. But the market was really interesting. It´s all
underground, under the central park. It´s really cramped and smells
kinda funny in certain places. Some parts of it are really loud and
people are shouting and cooking, and then other places look almost
like an overstuffed hobby lobby. There were soooo many cool things to
buy. The tricky thing is bartering for everything. Since we´re all
white, the vendors increase their prices by about 75% right off the
bat. So you have to cut that in half and work your way toward a
legitimate price. I bought a German soccer jersey for 60 Quetzales
($7.50) and a little woven bag for 50 Quetzales. And then I spent
about $6 dollars on lunch and $2 on bread later on. Everything is so
cheap, but I was sure to avoid being like a lot of the missionaries
and buying a bunch of useless stuff haha. Some of them got
ridiculous. But there are so many cool things to see and buy there,
it would be a great place to visit as a tourist. And it was really
strange, I was about a foot and a half taller than everyone else. I
felt very intimidating. I was sure to smile at everyone and it was
kind of funny. We got a lot of funny looks.
After the market we went to a modern mall. And it was a nice mall.
Just as nice as any in the US. It had Puma, Nike, Cole Haan, Bath and
Body Works, everything. It was strange to see the contrast of people
and prices. that´s where we ate McDonalds :) There were a lot of
wealthy people, lots of couples making out (Latinos don´t really care
about displaying love in public). There was a museum inside the mall
that had some cool info about Mayan architecture and culture. It was
cool. And that was ALL today! I´m sooo exhausted already!
I´ve been praying for you guys and I think about you a lot. It´s
weird to think about the similarities and differences in experiences
between Brock, Haley, and me, specifically regarding high school. It
sounds like you guys are very busy, but doing some great stuff.
I didn´t think to buy an sd card while I was at the mall, but I think
I´ll be able to get one once I get to Reu. But I have a few cool
pictures to send, and I won´t be needed my camera for anything cool
for awhile.
I have so much to study, but at the same time, I continue to learn so
much! I´m almost halfway through the BoM in spanish, and that´s been
really cool. We just read about Alma and Amulek and tonight about
Ammon. I love the book of Alma, it´s so powerful!
And I´ve been studying a lot about the Spirit lately, Preach My Gospel
has some great study activities and it´s helped sooo much. Although I
am still working on feeling the Spirit more strongly, it´s no longer a
concern for me. I just need to be more attentive, and have the
courage to act on the promptings I receive. That has made all the
difference this week. And the meeting with President Garrett came to
mind this week.
It sounds like you guys are doing great! I love hearing from you
guys. Mom, I loved your email. Thanks for the updates and the
advice. And the rest of yall, sorry I had to email a day early, but I
look forward to double emails next week ;)
Oh and no I don´t get to print out emails, which is a bummer. But
maybe in the field I´ll be able to do that. I don´t have any more
time, so I love you guys! Something that´s been a blessing since I´ve
been here is having the attitude of: Things are better because I was
here. That can apply to people, places, homework, everything. It´s
an awesome attitude that helps me think of ways to improve the things
around me. Love you guys! Good luck with this week!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
Friday, September 3, 2010
Trip to Guatemala City Central Park
Family!
I love email! Haha and i have so much to write, and not enough time
to write it all. I wrote Haley a letter today with some letters for
her to send to friends. I have no idea how long it´ll take to get to
you. And if you ever send a package, tape a picture of the savior to
it and write religious materials inside. the postal workers are very
superstitious and won´t open anything with a religious message.
The stomach problems are much better, but apparently it comes back
after a week of recovery haha. bring it.
Dear elders only come once every week or two, and regular mail is even
slower, just so you know. I may not get a dear elder from last week
until next week.
I´ve already been here two weeks! It´s crazy, but I love it!
On monday we had an incredible day, we went to the central park of
Guatemala City to proselyte. Most of the gringo missionaries had a
native speaker to be in their group. But Elder Frodsham and I were on
our own, which was awesome, but tough. If you can, look up pictures
of the central park in Guatemala, it´s like a gigantic square with a
big fountain and a beautiful catholic church overlooking it. It´s
cool. When we left the CCM (MTC), there were about 50 of us who all
piled into one bus. The bus driver made bank haha there was a whole
army of us. We drove for about 20 minutes through the city. Most of
the city is concrete, it looks rather ghetto. Little did we know we
were driving through the nicer parts of town. When we got to the
park, we were given some instructions and then sent to go talk to
people. It was sketchy. There were a bunch of homeless people, and
people doing drugs right in front of us. Lost of people were taking
hits from some type of liquid. It was really weird and really sad.
Elder Frodsham and I talked to about 20 people, handed out two Books
of Mormon, tons of pass a long cards, and had some interesting
conversations. Some people are sooo crazy, but so cool haha. We
talked to three old men, two of which were blind and they were really
into the idea of religion. A couple of people felt like there was
little more to life than survival, and we wrote down their names and
addresses so the missionaries in those areas can visit. During the
two hours that we were there, the Catholic church was celebrating a
holiday by exploding bombs in the middle of the square. It was really
loud and freaked us out haha.
On our way back, we all piled into a bus and drove through a different
part of town. I dunno if i´ve mentioned the red zones before, but
they´re places where missionaries aren´t allowed to go, neither are
the police. The last two missionaries that went into one barely
escaped with their lives and had nothing left but their undergarments.
Everything else was stolen. We drove by one on our way back to the
MTC. It looked like Hell on Earth. People talk about ghettos in
America, but these were something else. It was a gigantic valley with
´´houses´ stacked on top of each other. It looked like a million
people live in the valley. I don´t even know how to describe it. All
I´ve heard about from those places is drugs, theft, rape, and murder.
I went to bed in tears that night thinking about it.
Monday night, our teacher invited a friend of his wife to come to the
MTC. She expressed interest in the church and has had a rough week.
Her husband left for the United States (illegally) four months ago.
Usually it takes one or two months to get there from here. She hasn´t
heard from him, but in the news there was a story about 70 illegals (5
from Guatemala) being shot on their way across the border. She has no
idea if her husband is still alive. We had an opportunity to share
our beliefs with her and help her out. It was a very emotional
evening for her. I talked to her about the purpose to our trials in
life, and the hope that we need to have to endure such trials. I also
talked about the power of prayer and the knowledge that I have that
God loves me. It was really cool and our teacher said she really
enjoyed it.
AHHH not enough time to write. We eat beans and eggs for breakfast
every morning, usually with some sort of pancakes or french toast.
And they have a really sweet cream of wheat type thing that´s really
good. We eat a lot of chicken, lots of mystery meats, and a lot of
rice. They always have really potent juice and I´ve been avoiding
that lately. sticking to the water. I´m now the only elder in our
district that has not received a letter from a girl (besides family)
haha but i don´t care. I take pride in it?
The Spanish is coming along okay. I need to be more diligent about
speaking Spanish more often. Last night helped with that. Elder
Clark, the area authority of the Seventy spoke to us. It was sweet.
He talked about the importance of Love, obedience, faith, the spirit,
and work in the life of a missionary. It was a huge boost. Speaking
of which, I struggle with feeling the spirit, it´s one of my
weaknesses. I am able to listen to the spirit every night before bed
(when my roommates aren´t talking), but I´m trying to become more
proficient with it during the day. Do you have any advice? I want to
become comfortable with receiving revelation before I go out into the
field, and I´ve really been working hard at it. It´s been bothering
me. I feel worthy to receive revelation and I have the faith that the
Lord can and will answer my prayers, and I have specific questions.
What am I missing?
Oh! This week we taught a sweet lesson. The teacher who was watching
and evaluating us told Elder Frodsham and I that we did a phenomenal
job. He shared the scripture about a good tree bringing good fruit.
He said we were good trees because our lesson was amazing fruit. it
was cool. The next night he had me recite the first vision to his
native speaking class who didn´t think it was possible to memorize
something so long haha. It was funny, but I felt awkward. I have so
much more to say, but I don´t have time! Brock, I got your letters,
thank you for those. Good luck with the job search, I´ll pray for you
and Aubrey. Haley hang in there! I have a letter for you. Keep up
the hard work. Mom and Dad I love you, thank you for the advice. And
sorry if I didn´t answer every question you asked. Email is so rushed
here. I love you all! Tell my friends to write me if you see them
haha.
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
I love email! Haha and i have so much to write, and not enough time
to write it all. I wrote Haley a letter today with some letters for
her to send to friends. I have no idea how long it´ll take to get to
you. And if you ever send a package, tape a picture of the savior to
it and write religious materials inside. the postal workers are very
superstitious and won´t open anything with a religious message.
The stomach problems are much better, but apparently it comes back
after a week of recovery haha. bring it.
Dear elders only come once every week or two, and regular mail is even
slower, just so you know. I may not get a dear elder from last week
until next week.
I´ve already been here two weeks! It´s crazy, but I love it!
On monday we had an incredible day, we went to the central park of
Guatemala City to proselyte. Most of the gringo missionaries had a
native speaker to be in their group. But Elder Frodsham and I were on
our own, which was awesome, but tough. If you can, look up pictures
of the central park in Guatemala, it´s like a gigantic square with a
big fountain and a beautiful catholic church overlooking it. It´s
cool. When we left the CCM (MTC), there were about 50 of us who all
piled into one bus. The bus driver made bank haha there was a whole
army of us. We drove for about 20 minutes through the city. Most of
the city is concrete, it looks rather ghetto. Little did we know we
were driving through the nicer parts of town. When we got to the
park, we were given some instructions and then sent to go talk to
people. It was sketchy. There were a bunch of homeless people, and
people doing drugs right in front of us. Lost of people were taking
hits from some type of liquid. It was really weird and really sad.
Elder Frodsham and I talked to about 20 people, handed out two Books
of Mormon, tons of pass a long cards, and had some interesting
conversations. Some people are sooo crazy, but so cool haha. We
talked to three old men, two of which were blind and they were really
into the idea of religion. A couple of people felt like there was
little more to life than survival, and we wrote down their names and
addresses so the missionaries in those areas can visit. During the
two hours that we were there, the Catholic church was celebrating a
holiday by exploding bombs in the middle of the square. It was really
loud and freaked us out haha.
On our way back, we all piled into a bus and drove through a different
part of town. I dunno if i´ve mentioned the red zones before, but
they´re places where missionaries aren´t allowed to go, neither are
the police. The last two missionaries that went into one barely
escaped with their lives and had nothing left but their undergarments.
Everything else was stolen. We drove by one on our way back to the
MTC. It looked like Hell on Earth. People talk about ghettos in
America, but these were something else. It was a gigantic valley with
´´houses´ stacked on top of each other. It looked like a million
people live in the valley. I don´t even know how to describe it. All
I´ve heard about from those places is drugs, theft, rape, and murder.
I went to bed in tears that night thinking about it.
Monday night, our teacher invited a friend of his wife to come to the
MTC. She expressed interest in the church and has had a rough week.
Her husband left for the United States (illegally) four months ago.
Usually it takes one or two months to get there from here. She hasn´t
heard from him, but in the news there was a story about 70 illegals (5
from Guatemala) being shot on their way across the border. She has no
idea if her husband is still alive. We had an opportunity to share
our beliefs with her and help her out. It was a very emotional
evening for her. I talked to her about the purpose to our trials in
life, and the hope that we need to have to endure such trials. I also
talked about the power of prayer and the knowledge that I have that
God loves me. It was really cool and our teacher said she really
enjoyed it.
AHHH not enough time to write. We eat beans and eggs for breakfast
every morning, usually with some sort of pancakes or french toast.
And they have a really sweet cream of wheat type thing that´s really
good. We eat a lot of chicken, lots of mystery meats, and a lot of
rice. They always have really potent juice and I´ve been avoiding
that lately. sticking to the water. I´m now the only elder in our
district that has not received a letter from a girl (besides family)
haha but i don´t care. I take pride in it?
The Spanish is coming along okay. I need to be more diligent about
speaking Spanish more often. Last night helped with that. Elder
Clark, the area authority of the Seventy spoke to us. It was sweet.
He talked about the importance of Love, obedience, faith, the spirit,
and work in the life of a missionary. It was a huge boost. Speaking
of which, I struggle with feeling the spirit, it´s one of my
weaknesses. I am able to listen to the spirit every night before bed
(when my roommates aren´t talking), but I´m trying to become more
proficient with it during the day. Do you have any advice? I want to
become comfortable with receiving revelation before I go out into the
field, and I´ve really been working hard at it. It´s been bothering
me. I feel worthy to receive revelation and I have the faith that the
Lord can and will answer my prayers, and I have specific questions.
What am I missing?
Oh! This week we taught a sweet lesson. The teacher who was watching
and evaluating us told Elder Frodsham and I that we did a phenomenal
job. He shared the scripture about a good tree bringing good fruit.
He said we were good trees because our lesson was amazing fruit. it
was cool. The next night he had me recite the first vision to his
native speaking class who didn´t think it was possible to memorize
something so long haha. It was funny, but I felt awkward. I have so
much more to say, but I don´t have time! Brock, I got your letters,
thank you for those. Good luck with the job search, I´ll pray for you
and Aubrey. Haley hang in there! I have a letter for you. Keep up
the hard work. Mom and Dad I love you, thank you for the advice. And
sorry if I didn´t answer every question you asked. Email is so rushed
here. I love you all! Tell my friends to write me if you see them
haha.
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Austin's 2nd Week
Hola Familia!
It´s so awesome to hear from you guys, I love reading emails! For
one, it´s all in English, which is nice! My district has a goal that
whenever we are wearing ties, we have to speak in Spanish. It´s
helping me learn a lot, but I go to bed with a nice headache every
night. I don´t even know where to begin...
Okay, I know where to start. Montezuma´s revenge came with a swift
and fiery vengeance. I learned the hard way not to force anything
while sitting in class. I´ll leave it at that. The food here is way
good, but my stomach doesn´t always agree. We get to eat a lot, but
i´m still adjusting to the culture of eating the largest meal during
lunch and eating a smaller portion for dinner. It kinda throws me off
ha.
I´m learning a lot of spanish, but I sometimes feel inadequate when
I´m talking with my companion. Elder Frodsham is a Spanish
Dictionary, it´s awesome. As jealous as I am, I´m twice as grateful.
He´s a huge blessing.
I´ve taught a few times in Spanish now and it gets easier every time.
The teachers here are really helpful and they´re good at understanding
spanglish haha.
I went through the temple this morning (we get to go every week on P
Day) and it was awesome. Although it was all in spanish, i still
learned a lot and was able to understand quite a bit. It was a great
experience. A few of the Latinos in our Zone were going through for
the first time, and it was really cool to be there with them.
I´m already forgetting how to say some things in English. It´s weird
how that happens so quickly. I feel like I´m entering a limbo where
I´m not proficient in Spanish, but no longer able to remember
everything in English.
My birthday was pretty low key, i didn´t want to tell anyone about it,
but my companion remembered at the end of the day. I had mentioned it
to him three days before. And my district sang happy birthday and
what not. It was nice.
The schedule here isn´t quite as strict as Provo. I wake up at 6 and
work out, then go to gym. After gym we shower and have a quick
breakfast and then personal study time. then we have four hours of
instruction before lunch. After lunch we have companionship study and
three hours of TAD (personal) time. Then dinner and four more hours
of instruction. We have a snack time at 8. It´s awesome.
My district is way cool. We have three hermanas (sisters), who are
funny. And then all the elders are soooo awesome and down to earth.
I love being in class with them, it´s a good time. My teachers are
great too. They´re both from Guatemala City. Hermano Mendez served a
mission in El Salvador and Hermana De Moran served in Honduras.
The Guatemalan mail is run by the Canadian government, so apparently
it´s pretty reliable. And you can send one package per year without
paying anything, but after that I guess they get kind of expensive.
In three weeks we get to go to the market and spend a day in the city.
That will be so nice. As much as I love this CCM (MTC), it´s a bit
cramped. We do get to leave to go to the temple and la casa de CRE
(where we practice teaching), but those are all right next to each
other.
Every Friday and Saturday we get to go contacting at the temple and on
the street by the temple and CCM. It´s really cool. The people at
the temple are always so nice and so excited to talk to us. Saturday,
we talked to a group of construction workers who were on their way to
lunch, but they didn´t want to talk to a bunch of gringos haha.
For devotionals we watch recordings of devotionals from the Provo MTC.
Sometimes we get an area authority, but that hasn´t happened yet.
This week we watched a talk by Elder Holland, and it was awesome. It
was about making our companionships more devine and making the Holy
Ghost the third member of our companionship. It was really inciteful
and powerful. He talked about how the Spirit enables us to speak with
the tongue of angels and cause the earth to tremble. It was intense.
Elder Frodsham and I have been working on making the Spirit our senior
companion. it´s difficult, but possible, and effective.
I only have three minutes left. It´s pouring right now. The city is
beautiful. From my window I have a view of the temple and the
mountains/jungle. It´s amazing. The people in the city are very
poor. Today a man tried to sell me replica watches and pens,
explaining that he was very hungry and needed help. I had no money on
me, but it was so hard to tell him no. It was an eye opening
experience. Haley, I´ve been thinking a lot about you this week, I
hope you feel better! Work hard!
Mom and dad, thanks for your emails and advice. I´ll be obedient to
all the rules and stay safe. I heard a story this week about gunshots
being fired in the street the week before we came. It was a crazy
night i guess.
This is a marvelous work and I´m so excited to share the gospel! The
people of Guatemala are amazing! I love you guys!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
It´s so awesome to hear from you guys, I love reading emails! For
one, it´s all in English, which is nice! My district has a goal that
whenever we are wearing ties, we have to speak in Spanish. It´s
helping me learn a lot, but I go to bed with a nice headache every
night. I don´t even know where to begin...
Okay, I know where to start. Montezuma´s revenge came with a swift
and fiery vengeance. I learned the hard way not to force anything
while sitting in class. I´ll leave it at that. The food here is way
good, but my stomach doesn´t always agree. We get to eat a lot, but
i´m still adjusting to the culture of eating the largest meal during
lunch and eating a smaller portion for dinner. It kinda throws me off
ha.
I´m learning a lot of spanish, but I sometimes feel inadequate when
I´m talking with my companion. Elder Frodsham is a Spanish
Dictionary, it´s awesome. As jealous as I am, I´m twice as grateful.
He´s a huge blessing.
I´ve taught a few times in Spanish now and it gets easier every time.
The teachers here are really helpful and they´re good at understanding
spanglish haha.
I went through the temple this morning (we get to go every week on P
Day) and it was awesome. Although it was all in spanish, i still
learned a lot and was able to understand quite a bit. It was a great
experience. A few of the Latinos in our Zone were going through for
the first time, and it was really cool to be there with them.
I´m already forgetting how to say some things in English. It´s weird
how that happens so quickly. I feel like I´m entering a limbo where
I´m not proficient in Spanish, but no longer able to remember
everything in English.
My birthday was pretty low key, i didn´t want to tell anyone about it,
but my companion remembered at the end of the day. I had mentioned it
to him three days before. And my district sang happy birthday and
what not. It was nice.
The schedule here isn´t quite as strict as Provo. I wake up at 6 and
work out, then go to gym. After gym we shower and have a quick
breakfast and then personal study time. then we have four hours of
instruction before lunch. After lunch we have companionship study and
three hours of TAD (personal) time. Then dinner and four more hours
of instruction. We have a snack time at 8. It´s awesome.
My district is way cool. We have three hermanas (sisters), who are
funny. And then all the elders are soooo awesome and down to earth.
I love being in class with them, it´s a good time. My teachers are
great too. They´re both from Guatemala City. Hermano Mendez served a
mission in El Salvador and Hermana De Moran served in Honduras.
The Guatemalan mail is run by the Canadian government, so apparently
it´s pretty reliable. And you can send one package per year without
paying anything, but after that I guess they get kind of expensive.
In three weeks we get to go to the market and spend a day in the city.
That will be so nice. As much as I love this CCM (MTC), it´s a bit
cramped. We do get to leave to go to the temple and la casa de CRE
(where we practice teaching), but those are all right next to each
other.
Every Friday and Saturday we get to go contacting at the temple and on
the street by the temple and CCM. It´s really cool. The people at
the temple are always so nice and so excited to talk to us. Saturday,
we talked to a group of construction workers who were on their way to
lunch, but they didn´t want to talk to a bunch of gringos haha.
For devotionals we watch recordings of devotionals from the Provo MTC.
Sometimes we get an area authority, but that hasn´t happened yet.
This week we watched a talk by Elder Holland, and it was awesome. It
was about making our companionships more devine and making the Holy
Ghost the third member of our companionship. It was really inciteful
and powerful. He talked about how the Spirit enables us to speak with
the tongue of angels and cause the earth to tremble. It was intense.
Elder Frodsham and I have been working on making the Spirit our senior
companion. it´s difficult, but possible, and effective.
I only have three minutes left. It´s pouring right now. The city is
beautiful. From my window I have a view of the temple and the
mountains/jungle. It´s amazing. The people in the city are very
poor. Today a man tried to sell me replica watches and pens,
explaining that he was very hungry and needed help. I had no money on
me, but it was so hard to tell him no. It was an eye opening
experience. Haley, I´ve been thinking a lot about you this week, I
hope you feel better! Work hard!
Mom and dad, thanks for your emails and advice. I´ll be obedient to
all the rules and stay safe. I heard a story this week about gunshots
being fired in the street the week before we came. It was a crazy
night i guess.
This is a marvelous work and I´m so excited to share the gospel! The
people of Guatemala are amazing! I love you guys!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Mailing Instructions to send Austin Mail
Austin would love to hear from his family and friends during his mission so here is how to contact him.
You can e-mail your letters to this e-mail address (missmarie123@msn.com) and they will be forwarded to him.
(OR)
Write to him at: (Make sure you read the instructions below!)
Elder Austin Michael Tyler
Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150
USA
If you send letters to the above address there are some specific instructions on how to do this. Your letters will be forwarded to his mission in Guatemala from SLC using a 'pouch mail service.'
Pouch mail service is the best method to use in countries where mail service is not reliable.
So, the instructions are that your letter has to be a single sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper written on one side only. Then fold it into three-panels and tape at the top only (it should look like a folded letter you would put into a legal sized envelope). No envelopes are allowed to be sent through the pouch. Once you've folded and taped you may address the middle panel as you would do a normal envelope and put a stamp on it and mail it.
Should be pretty easy.
Also, the above address is for letters only.
***RE: PACKAGES - We've been told not to take the time or spend the money on sending packages to him because of the excessive cost and the likelihood that things will be stolen out of the packages.
Thanks everyone for helping to support him!
You can e-mail your letters to this e-mail address (missmarie123@msn.com) and they will be forwarded to him.
(OR)
Write to him at: (Make sure you read the instructions below!)
Elder Austin Michael Tyler
Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150
USA
If you send letters to the above address there are some specific instructions on how to do this. Your letters will be forwarded to his mission in Guatemala from SLC using a 'pouch mail service.'
Pouch mail service is the best method to use in countries where mail service is not reliable.
So, the instructions are that your letter has to be a single sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper written on one side only. Then fold it into three-panels and tape at the top only (it should look like a folded letter you would put into a legal sized envelope). No envelopes are allowed to be sent through the pouch. Once you've folded and taped you may address the middle panel as you would do a normal envelope and put a stamp on it and mail it.
Should be pretty easy.
Also, the above address is for letters only.
***RE: PACKAGES - We've been told not to take the time or spend the money on sending packages to him because of the excessive cost and the likelihood that things will be stolen out of the packages.
Thanks everyone for helping to support him!
Austin- Just arrived in Guatemala 8/18/10
Original Message -----
From: Austin Tyler
To: KURT TYLER
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 1:23 PM
Subject: Re: :)
Hola Familia! This keyboard is a little different than american ones, but i get to email today! I only get twenty minutes though, so ill try to type fast. this place is amazing. I wish they had sent me here for nine weeks instead of 3 weeks at provo. actually i dunno about that because my teachers in provo were amazing. the mtc in guatemala is intense. there are armed guards keeping watch and everything. and the fence is like ten feet high. its so awesome. i dont know how to make separate paragraphs... frustrating. last night we were in the miama airport (it did not end up haivng a mcdonalds) and there were about twenty of us that were at the gate for the guatemala city flight. we had a two hour delay, which was lame. but while we were all sitting there talking, a jamaican lady approached me and was looking at my name tag. she was holding an ensign haha! her eyes got all big and she started talking to me in broken english. she was a member of the church and she said that as she was reading her ensign, she looked up and saw us. she said she felt an overwhelming spirit and said she had to come talk to us. she was on her way to atlanta and she said she felt really lucky to have seen such a big group of us before she left. she almost got emotional and thanked us for serving as missionaries. it was so awesome. on the plane, i sat next to a one legged latino and he was really funny. i did my best to talk with him in spanish, and we had some good conversations. his son (one of five sons) had been to the church, i dunno if the son was a member, but this man i talked to was familiar with the church. He himself is Catholic. we talked about futbol, the weather in guatemala, work, school, our families, and funny things we saw people do on the plane. i really held my own as far as holding a conversation in spanish. halfway through the flight, he handed me a business card and wrote his cell phone number on it. i dont know if it his address on the card though, because it says the last name is johnson, which isnt a latino name. but i want to write him a letter and thank him for talking to me and give him a pass a long card or something. when we were about to land i looked out the window of the plane and saw the city. there was a random soccer field in the middle of nowhere (at 10:30 at night) and it was full of people playing soccer. it was really cool. we landed and went through customs and everything. i wasnt given one of the two sheets of paper we needed for customs, so i explained that when i got to the desk. the man at the desk said 'youre with these guys right?' ( he was pointing at the other missionaries). I said yes. he giggled and said just go. haha they didnt care about any sort of regulation. it was hilarious. oh and then that tall elder that almost missed his flight and almost left his luggage in security, he lost his passport haha! but they let him through after awhile. the mtc is right across from the temple, and my window has a perfect view of it. my new companion is named elder frodsham, and hes awesome. he isnt fluent, but his spanish is much better than mine. so thats exciting. im in the Enos district and all four of us from my provo district are in my new one, so thats really cool too. there are only about 100 missionaries here right now, but this is the largest group of north american missionaries the guatemala mtc has ever seen. my spanish is much more advanced than most of the american elders, but i have the latinos to keep me humble :) when we landed last night it was pouring rain, and its raining again right now. its about 70 degrees and very humid. all of the guatemalans who are familiar with retalhuleu keep telling me that retal is very hot haha. great. its really green everywhere and the city has some really poor areas (from what i could see from the bus). its interesting, there were a TON of farmacies that we saw on our way from the airport last night. but there were tons of american stores, like chuck e cheese and random places like that. ill write a letter explaining more when i get the chance. theyre kicking me off now, so i gotta go. thanks for your emails and letters! love you all! Love, Elder Austin Tyler
From: Austin Tyler
To: KURT TYLER
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 1:23 PM
Subject: Re: :)
Hola Familia! This keyboard is a little different than american ones, but i get to email today! I only get twenty minutes though, so ill try to type fast. this place is amazing. I wish they had sent me here for nine weeks instead of 3 weeks at provo. actually i dunno about that because my teachers in provo were amazing. the mtc in guatemala is intense. there are armed guards keeping watch and everything. and the fence is like ten feet high. its so awesome. i dont know how to make separate paragraphs... frustrating. last night we were in the miama airport (it did not end up haivng a mcdonalds) and there were about twenty of us that were at the gate for the guatemala city flight. we had a two hour delay, which was lame. but while we were all sitting there talking, a jamaican lady approached me and was looking at my name tag. she was holding an ensign haha! her eyes got all big and she started talking to me in broken english. she was a member of the church and she said that as she was reading her ensign, she looked up and saw us. she said she felt an overwhelming spirit and said she had to come talk to us. she was on her way to atlanta and she said she felt really lucky to have seen such a big group of us before she left. she almost got emotional and thanked us for serving as missionaries. it was so awesome. on the plane, i sat next to a one legged latino and he was really funny. i did my best to talk with him in spanish, and we had some good conversations. his son (one of five sons) had been to the church, i dunno if the son was a member, but this man i talked to was familiar with the church. He himself is Catholic. we talked about futbol, the weather in guatemala, work, school, our families, and funny things we saw people do on the plane. i really held my own as far as holding a conversation in spanish. halfway through the flight, he handed me a business card and wrote his cell phone number on it. i dont know if it his address on the card though, because it says the last name is johnson, which isnt a latino name. but i want to write him a letter and thank him for talking to me and give him a pass a long card or something. when we were about to land i looked out the window of the plane and saw the city. there was a random soccer field in the middle of nowhere (at 10:30 at night) and it was full of people playing soccer. it was really cool. we landed and went through customs and everything. i wasnt given one of the two sheets of paper we needed for customs, so i explained that when i got to the desk. the man at the desk said 'youre with these guys right?' ( he was pointing at the other missionaries). I said yes. he giggled and said just go. haha they didnt care about any sort of regulation. it was hilarious. oh and then that tall elder that almost missed his flight and almost left his luggage in security, he lost his passport haha! but they let him through after awhile. the mtc is right across from the temple, and my window has a perfect view of it. my new companion is named elder frodsham, and hes awesome. he isnt fluent, but his spanish is much better than mine. so thats exciting. im in the Enos district and all four of us from my provo district are in my new one, so thats really cool too. there are only about 100 missionaries here right now, but this is the largest group of north american missionaries the guatemala mtc has ever seen. my spanish is much more advanced than most of the american elders, but i have the latinos to keep me humble :) when we landed last night it was pouring rain, and its raining again right now. its about 70 degrees and very humid. all of the guatemalans who are familiar with retalhuleu keep telling me that retal is very hot haha. great. its really green everywhere and the city has some really poor areas (from what i could see from the bus). its interesting, there were a TON of farmacies that we saw on our way from the airport last night. but there were tons of american stores, like chuck e cheese and random places like that. ill write a letter explaining more when i get the chance. theyre kicking me off now, so i gotta go. thanks for your emails and letters! love you all! Love, Elder Austin Tyler
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