Jan. 24, 2011
Mom!
Thank you for everything! I got the Dear Elder package and it was so great! Also, a Sister in the branch wants me to ask you for an american soup recipe. I thought of hamburger potato soup. I think she wants to make it for me haha she's so cool. She's the stake Relief Society President. But yeah, doesn't really matter what kind of soup. Oh and thank you for your incites regarding the Holy Ghost. Love you!
Bubster
Hey!
Aubrey, those pictures were awesome! Haley...
For Student Body Retreat, I honestly think that whatever you think would be good will be the best thing. I always felt that the people who were honest, who had been working hard, were the ones to send to such things. Just be honest and point out why you want to go. I love that scripture about how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who publish peace and declare glad tidings and what not. It's so awesome! I think my favorite right now is Alma chapter 32. I'm working on memorizing it and I love it.
That's so cool to hear about BYU, I wish I could see a game or two. Jimmer is a stud.
This week was really interesting. I'll start with the coolest part. We met a young lady in the branch who just got married. We met her last week on Sunday and found out she hadn't been baptized. We started to teach her this week. Every commitment we left with her, she accepted excitedly. She told us she felt in her heart that everything was true and she'd known it for awhile. She got baptized and confirmed yesterday. It was so great!
The work is rolling along, but our other investigators are hard to find. I can't help but get frustrated when we walk a couple miles to get to a house in the midday heat and come to find that the people aren't home.
There's a family in our branch that needs your prayers. The Garcia Rucun family. Some gang members are threatening them. It's horrible. We see the damage and fear caused by secret combinations every day. It's so real and so evil. There are so many good people here, but they're being intimidated and forced into fear by really sick people.
This week was kind of tough for me. I went on divisions with our district leader Elder Johnson and it was a challenge but he told me this cool story about a former companion of his named Elder Savage. He told me a story about one night when they were walking towards the house. This was the third week of Elder Savage's last transfer before going home. That day they had contacted and taught a new family and Elder Johnson felt like it was a really good day. All of the sudden, Elder Savage said, "Elder, help me. I don't have faith." Elder Johnson asked, "What in the world do you mean? If anyone lacks faith between the two of us, it's me." Elder Savage explained, "No, I don't have the faith to contact right now. I don't have the Spirit. Please can we go knock on some doors!" Elder Johnson agreed and told him "Alright, and we'll contact for three hours tomorrow." (Keep in mind they were in La Maquina, the hottest place on earth). Elder Savage said, "Really? You'd do that?" They did it. And they didn't find a single person who was willing to listen. But afterwards, Elder Savage said, "Thanks Elder, I have the Spirit again." That was the third last week of his mission.
After Elder Johnson told me that, I got to thinking. And I started thinking about how I want that kind of faith. It led to a feeling of motivation to do better. But bit by bit it turned into a feeling of worthlessness. Thoughts like, "I can't even wake up earlier than 6:20 to work out in the mornings. How am I going to change all these other things?" It was really annoying. But I cleared my mind, read "Preach My Gospel" and talked to Elder Tacam. And I feel better about things. But I still get those feelings once in awhile. I realize that patience is an essential element of faith. And I also realize that I am making progress. Sometimes I want to talk to my future self and just see what's in store. But that would be cheating.
Thanks for your responses to my question! I have another...
How can I have faith to look forward with an eye single to the glory of God?
I wonder what some of my friends think when they read my letters haha. Some of the things I say must sound so weird and foreign. I think about how some of them are out partying and studying and I'm down here in Guatemala participating in the great and marvelous work of the Lord. And it really is great and marvelous. Being a missionary is hard, but so worth the effort. When people realize that the things we are teaching really are true, I feel such a sense of excitment and joy. When they reject it, I get sad. We asked one of our investigators, Arlin, if Christ Himself told her in person that these things we were teaching are true, would she get baptized. She said no. We asked her why. She shrugged her shoulders.
Stuff like that is tough.
Dang, time flies on Mondays haha I gotta go. I hope you're all doing great! Good luck with things and have an awesome week. Thank you for everything!
Love always,
Elder Austin Tyler
Monday, January 24, 2011
Some candid thoughts...
Jan. 17, 2011
HOLA!
How is everyone?
Today, we didn't play soccer. Well, the zone did, but we sacrificed our P-day to help some people move into a new house. It was a tough sacrifice, but worth it! And we went to Pizza Hut this afternoon! It was soooo expensive, but soo good. And yes, Mom, we´re eating plenty. And yes, on Sunday afternoons we eat with members. It´s so awesome, such a blessing. They always work so hard to feed the missionaries a big meal and I always feel bad when I can´t eat five servings of whatever because it´s blazing hot outside.
The Ramos family- we went to visit them twice this week. The dad apologized for some things he said when we visited him a couple weeks ago. The second time we went this week he didn't want to come into the room. But we talked to the rest of the family and they needed some help with other things, so it was good.
Haha don´t worry about me and the girls in the ward! I´m not at all concerned about it. A couple of them have already tried their tricks and I just laughed. They are physically attractive, but I´m not at all distracted. You guys sound a bit worried about that.
The family we helped with building the house- we taught them about the Plan of Salvation this week. Their 16 year old was really interested. We tried to go back again this week, but things didn´t work out. They live pretty far, so it´s been tough getting out there. But we should be able to get out there on Wednesday.
Dad, about the ruins down here...
There are tons of sites that could very well be Nephite and Lamanite cities. The thing is, during the time of the Mayans and Aztecs and all that, when a nation conquered another, they would destroy absolutely everything having to do with the enemy. And then they would build on top. So they think there aren't many Nephite ruins left. But there are lots of experts that think otherwise, due to the evidence of things that are pretty heavily supported by the Book of Mormon. It is pretty widely believed that Lehi and his family landed somewhere in our mission. And that they settled near Guatemala City. President Steimle, from the CCM, had a lot to say about it all and it was really interesting. So yeah, any snipets you hear, please share them.
That story you shared about the elder that focused on loving the people was really cool. I´ve been trying to focus more on the members here in this area, but it´s been tough for me. My companion is so good with remembering names and faces, it makes me realize that I can do better to focus on that. He´s so smart, it´s pretty amazing.
Something awesome about him... this week he told me that he got his yellow belt in Kung Fu. Later on he told me, 'Okay, I´ll be honest, I´m a black belt in Kung Fu, but I don´t like people knowing that. But I trust you.' Haha so cool!
Haley, something that Elder Clarke (the general authority in charge of the Central America area) told us in the CCM: He explained that his daughter was an all-american track runner in college. He always told her growing up to run with her heart before her feet. He explained it to where it made a bit more sense. Basically, you have to believe that you can be better. But you have to realize that it will hurt. But to prepare, you have to build up the courage to run faster when that pain comes. When it´s tough, that´s when you have to work harder. He related it to life in general and it was a really good lesson. Pray for help and work hard at it.
Haley, as for time in the mission... Sometimes I feel like it goes very slow. But, like you said, when I look back, six months have gone quickly. Some days are really long, just like in school. But time is picking up and it´s really weird. I don´t like how time plays tricks on the mission.
This week I saw a volcano erupt. It was epic. There are three volcanos that are pretty close to Cuyo. On the other side of them is the Quetzaltenango mission. But the little one of the three is really active. And the eruption we saw was one of its more violent ones. It was sweet.
We also found a spider that was almost as big as my hand. We think we killed it.
This week I went on divisions to La Maquina (The Machine). It´s so hot down there. Elder Tau´Fui got really sick that night. It was strange how quick it came. But he was fine in the morning. Illnesses are weird down here haha and really gross. I currently have an armpit fungus. Don´t worry, I´m only telling you because I think it´s hilarious. Armpit fungus! I have a cream to put on it and it´s helping. I just feel bad for my companion, walking alongside a sweaty gringo that can´t wear deoderante. Haha ugh
As for the work...
Things are both really frustrating and really exciting right now. We are currently the second most successful area in the mission. If we convert all of the progressing investigators that we have into baptisms, we will be at the top. That´s kind of cool. But I give all the credit to the Lord and to my Hulk of a companion. We have so many peole that we´re teaching that are so close to baptism. But some have to get divorced, and then married before they get baptized. Others still need to come to church. We´re working and praying hard. Thank goodness the fair ended yesterday, that was a big problem. We´d show up to the outskirts of our area to teach a lesson and then find out that the person was down at the fair. On top of that, music would be blasting till FIVE IN THE MORNING. And the bombs and fireworks would start going off at three. Ugh it was an interesting week as far as sleep. But now it´s over and things are settling down.
Something interesting I read this week was in 2 Nephi 32. In verse three it says the words of Christ will tell you all things that you should do. Then in verse 5 it says the Holy Ghost will show you all things that you should do. What do you guys think about that?
Tomorrow I think President is coming down to give a conference. And then the Zone Leaders and maybe the Assistants are going to come on Thursday to help us set baptism dates with our investigators. So this week should be pretty awesome. I´m excited for everything, but I feel inadequate to the task. That´s good in a way, because it helps me rely more heavily on the Lord. But sometimes I feel like I´m just not doing enough. Do you guys ever feel that? Sometimes I feel really good about things and I´m working hard, but then there´s something nagging at me that I feel like I need to do differently. Sometimes I´m thankful for it, but other times I get down about it. Not depressed or anything, just a feeling of inadequacy.
Well, time´s up and I gotta go. Thank you guys for your emails.
BROCK AND AUBREY SHOULD WRITE ME THIS WEEK... ahem cough hint.
Love you guys so much! And thank you for everything. Have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
HOLA!
How is everyone?
Today, we didn't play soccer. Well, the zone did, but we sacrificed our P-day to help some people move into a new house. It was a tough sacrifice, but worth it! And we went to Pizza Hut this afternoon! It was soooo expensive, but soo good. And yes, Mom, we´re eating plenty. And yes, on Sunday afternoons we eat with members. It´s so awesome, such a blessing. They always work so hard to feed the missionaries a big meal and I always feel bad when I can´t eat five servings of whatever because it´s blazing hot outside.
The Ramos family- we went to visit them twice this week. The dad apologized for some things he said when we visited him a couple weeks ago. The second time we went this week he didn't want to come into the room. But we talked to the rest of the family and they needed some help with other things, so it was good.
Haha don´t worry about me and the girls in the ward! I´m not at all concerned about it. A couple of them have already tried their tricks and I just laughed. They are physically attractive, but I´m not at all distracted. You guys sound a bit worried about that.
The family we helped with building the house- we taught them about the Plan of Salvation this week. Their 16 year old was really interested. We tried to go back again this week, but things didn´t work out. They live pretty far, so it´s been tough getting out there. But we should be able to get out there on Wednesday.
Dad, about the ruins down here...
There are tons of sites that could very well be Nephite and Lamanite cities. The thing is, during the time of the Mayans and Aztecs and all that, when a nation conquered another, they would destroy absolutely everything having to do with the enemy. And then they would build on top. So they think there aren't many Nephite ruins left. But there are lots of experts that think otherwise, due to the evidence of things that are pretty heavily supported by the Book of Mormon. It is pretty widely believed that Lehi and his family landed somewhere in our mission. And that they settled near Guatemala City. President Steimle, from the CCM, had a lot to say about it all and it was really interesting. So yeah, any snipets you hear, please share them.
That story you shared about the elder that focused on loving the people was really cool. I´ve been trying to focus more on the members here in this area, but it´s been tough for me. My companion is so good with remembering names and faces, it makes me realize that I can do better to focus on that. He´s so smart, it´s pretty amazing.
Something awesome about him... this week he told me that he got his yellow belt in Kung Fu. Later on he told me, 'Okay, I´ll be honest, I´m a black belt in Kung Fu, but I don´t like people knowing that. But I trust you.' Haha so cool!
Haley, something that Elder Clarke (the general authority in charge of the Central America area) told us in the CCM: He explained that his daughter was an all-american track runner in college. He always told her growing up to run with her heart before her feet. He explained it to where it made a bit more sense. Basically, you have to believe that you can be better. But you have to realize that it will hurt. But to prepare, you have to build up the courage to run faster when that pain comes. When it´s tough, that´s when you have to work harder. He related it to life in general and it was a really good lesson. Pray for help and work hard at it.
Haley, as for time in the mission... Sometimes I feel like it goes very slow. But, like you said, when I look back, six months have gone quickly. Some days are really long, just like in school. But time is picking up and it´s really weird. I don´t like how time plays tricks on the mission.
This week I saw a volcano erupt. It was epic. There are three volcanos that are pretty close to Cuyo. On the other side of them is the Quetzaltenango mission. But the little one of the three is really active. And the eruption we saw was one of its more violent ones. It was sweet.
We also found a spider that was almost as big as my hand. We think we killed it.
This week I went on divisions to La Maquina (The Machine). It´s so hot down there. Elder Tau´Fui got really sick that night. It was strange how quick it came. But he was fine in the morning. Illnesses are weird down here haha and really gross. I currently have an armpit fungus. Don´t worry, I´m only telling you because I think it´s hilarious. Armpit fungus! I have a cream to put on it and it´s helping. I just feel bad for my companion, walking alongside a sweaty gringo that can´t wear deoderante. Haha ugh
As for the work...
Things are both really frustrating and really exciting right now. We are currently the second most successful area in the mission. If we convert all of the progressing investigators that we have into baptisms, we will be at the top. That´s kind of cool. But I give all the credit to the Lord and to my Hulk of a companion. We have so many peole that we´re teaching that are so close to baptism. But some have to get divorced, and then married before they get baptized. Others still need to come to church. We´re working and praying hard. Thank goodness the fair ended yesterday, that was a big problem. We´d show up to the outskirts of our area to teach a lesson and then find out that the person was down at the fair. On top of that, music would be blasting till FIVE IN THE MORNING. And the bombs and fireworks would start going off at three. Ugh it was an interesting week as far as sleep. But now it´s over and things are settling down.
Something interesting I read this week was in 2 Nephi 32. In verse three it says the words of Christ will tell you all things that you should do. Then in verse 5 it says the Holy Ghost will show you all things that you should do. What do you guys think about that?
Tomorrow I think President is coming down to give a conference. And then the Zone Leaders and maybe the Assistants are going to come on Thursday to help us set baptism dates with our investigators. So this week should be pretty awesome. I´m excited for everything, but I feel inadequate to the task. That´s good in a way, because it helps me rely more heavily on the Lord. But sometimes I feel like I´m just not doing enough. Do you guys ever feel that? Sometimes I feel really good about things and I´m working hard, but then there´s something nagging at me that I feel like I need to do differently. Sometimes I´m thankful for it, but other times I get down about it. Not depressed or anything, just a feeling of inadequacy.
Well, time´s up and I gotta go. Thank you guys for your emails.
BROCK AND AUBREY SHOULD WRITE ME THIS WEEK... ahem cough hint.
Love you guys so much! And thank you for everything. Have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
Some amazing exeriences!!!
Jan. 10, 2011
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
So did none of my pictures come through? Or did a few? It takes forever to send pictures, but I can try again next week. So we couldn't visit the whole Ramos family this week, but everyone except the dad came to church yesterday. They seemed alright and we set up a FHE appointment with them tonight, so we'll see how it goes.
It's weird to hear about all those changes, and I feel a sense of relief for Grandma Lois. I hope Granddad is doing alright.
It sounds like that basketball game was epic! Haha so cool! Chris Hansen is a cool kid.
Brock, your story with your car in the ice was sweet.
I'm sitting next to Elder Tau'Fuii. He's huge. Our zone just played basketball and soccer in a huge dome arena. It was so fun, but I'm so tired haha I think I played a little too hard. But it was so much fun!
This past week was an example of ¨opposition in all things¨ but it was sweet. Lots of tough things happened, but so many cool things happened. First of all, I GOT A PACKAGE! Haha soooo awesome. It was the one with the foot cream and chocolate and Sour Patch EXPLODERZ! Those were so good. Thank you so much!
So yeah, we had a huge problem with appointments falling through this week. And then our back up plans would fall through. It got annoying, but things got better as the week rolled along. On saturday we helped a 19 year old mom and her 8,10, and 12 year old brothers construct a house. My height was such a help. We worked hard and we were filthy afterwards. And by house I mean we chopped a few beams out of a coconut tree and lassoed them together. Then we put tin roofing on top. It took about two hours. It was fun to help them out. And they were very appreciative, even though they thought it was really weird that we randomly showed up in white shirts and ties and offered to help them for free. It was almost funny how weird it was when I thought about it from their perspective.
We taught four families this week... awesome. One family is trying to work out a divorce (between the mom and her former husband) and they want to get married and then get baptized. The problem is they don't know where the former husband is. But we're trying to help them. The current husband/father came to church yesterday. During Priesthood, we were talking about fasting. This man, Rafael, asked if he could fast even though he isn't a member. He explained to the quorum how he is in adultery right now with his situation and he wants to change it. But he can't change it without the divorce and the marriage and all that. He started crying as he expressed how he thought fasting could help him. We explained that fasting is an expression of faith and we don't need to be baptized to express our faith. It was a powerful moment.
Last night we went to the Ramirez Puac home. All the family are members, except for the dad. He has rejected the missionaries for 12 years. But he's now willing to listen to us. Last night we watched 'Together Forever' and then talked about it afterwards. It was a really good and interesting discussion we had with him. Afterwards we invited him to pray to receive an answer from God that the things we teach are true. He told us something along the lines of, 'Well yeah, I'll pray, but I've kind of already received my answer.' He explained that he's been praying for an answer for a few months (while the 'other elders' were here). During that time he realized that his wife and kids have been consistently happy for the past 12 years, despite trials and difficulties. He also realized that they are going in a direction towards God, yet he has been stagnant. He thought about how he is the father and he needs to lead the family. He said he's fallen behind, but now he's ready to get on track. He also got the chance to move his business, which will enable him to attend church on Sundays. He gets a lot of flack from people at work when he talks to them about the church; but he said, for some reason, I feel like it's all true when they try to bring me down.
It was sooo amazing. I was so happy last night.
Oh, btw, the family looks great. Dad, you failed to send a picture of yourself. Whats up with that?
Aubrey, Haley, and Mom, you all are even more gorgeous than before! Brock, you're still ugly, but you look really happy! Haha just kidding, you're beautiful too.
My companion is soo cool. He's told me some pretty crazy stories. He found out last year that some of his good buddies, who he met through business, are high ranking gang members in El Salvador, Guatemala, and other places. Haha so sketchy. He's a good example of somebody who really knows how to get the job done. Whenever we need to talk to somebody, he calls them on the spot. If we need to visit somebody, we go. We're working hard and we're good buddies. It's so cool. Way different than Nueva. There's still some divisions in the ward, but we're working on it.
So I've had some tough days, but in general I'm pretty happy with things. There are long days, but I always have P-day, or a specific appointment to be excited for. It's like there were long days during school, but there's always the weekend. The other night I got really baggy and then I snapped out of it and realized how blessed I am to be here. This place is so awesome.
So yeah, things are great! We've seen some horrible things, but Satan's working hard to keep this area his. We're conquering it, bit by bit. He knows it, and he doesn't like it. The Lord has blessed us for our hard work. We have a lot of weaknesses, being new missionaries still, but the Lord is helping us so much. He blesses us with opportunities, and with inspiration when we don't know what to do. This is missionary work and it really is work. But it's a marvelous work.
Thank you all for your emails. And thank you for the package. Thank you for your prayers. I can feel the strength that comes from your support. Have an awesome week.
Dad, it's weird to think of you released from your calling in the bishopric, but I'm sure a break will be nice.
Love you guys! SO much!
Elder Tyler
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
So did none of my pictures come through? Or did a few? It takes forever to send pictures, but I can try again next week. So we couldn't visit the whole Ramos family this week, but everyone except the dad came to church yesterday. They seemed alright and we set up a FHE appointment with them tonight, so we'll see how it goes.
It's weird to hear about all those changes, and I feel a sense of relief for Grandma Lois. I hope Granddad is doing alright.
It sounds like that basketball game was epic! Haha so cool! Chris Hansen is a cool kid.
Brock, your story with your car in the ice was sweet.
I'm sitting next to Elder Tau'Fuii. He's huge. Our zone just played basketball and soccer in a huge dome arena. It was so fun, but I'm so tired haha I think I played a little too hard. But it was so much fun!
This past week was an example of ¨opposition in all things¨ but it was sweet. Lots of tough things happened, but so many cool things happened. First of all, I GOT A PACKAGE! Haha soooo awesome. It was the one with the foot cream and chocolate and Sour Patch EXPLODERZ! Those were so good. Thank you so much!
So yeah, we had a huge problem with appointments falling through this week. And then our back up plans would fall through. It got annoying, but things got better as the week rolled along. On saturday we helped a 19 year old mom and her 8,10, and 12 year old brothers construct a house. My height was such a help. We worked hard and we were filthy afterwards. And by house I mean we chopped a few beams out of a coconut tree and lassoed them together. Then we put tin roofing on top. It took about two hours. It was fun to help them out. And they were very appreciative, even though they thought it was really weird that we randomly showed up in white shirts and ties and offered to help them for free. It was almost funny how weird it was when I thought about it from their perspective.
We taught four families this week... awesome. One family is trying to work out a divorce (between the mom and her former husband) and they want to get married and then get baptized. The problem is they don't know where the former husband is. But we're trying to help them. The current husband/father came to church yesterday. During Priesthood, we were talking about fasting. This man, Rafael, asked if he could fast even though he isn't a member. He explained to the quorum how he is in adultery right now with his situation and he wants to change it. But he can't change it without the divorce and the marriage and all that. He started crying as he expressed how he thought fasting could help him. We explained that fasting is an expression of faith and we don't need to be baptized to express our faith. It was a powerful moment.
Last night we went to the Ramirez Puac home. All the family are members, except for the dad. He has rejected the missionaries for 12 years. But he's now willing to listen to us. Last night we watched 'Together Forever' and then talked about it afterwards. It was a really good and interesting discussion we had with him. Afterwards we invited him to pray to receive an answer from God that the things we teach are true. He told us something along the lines of, 'Well yeah, I'll pray, but I've kind of already received my answer.' He explained that he's been praying for an answer for a few months (while the 'other elders' were here). During that time he realized that his wife and kids have been consistently happy for the past 12 years, despite trials and difficulties. He also realized that they are going in a direction towards God, yet he has been stagnant. He thought about how he is the father and he needs to lead the family. He said he's fallen behind, but now he's ready to get on track. He also got the chance to move his business, which will enable him to attend church on Sundays. He gets a lot of flack from people at work when he talks to them about the church; but he said, for some reason, I feel like it's all true when they try to bring me down.
It was sooo amazing. I was so happy last night.
Oh, btw, the family looks great. Dad, you failed to send a picture of yourself. Whats up with that?
Aubrey, Haley, and Mom, you all are even more gorgeous than before! Brock, you're still ugly, but you look really happy! Haha just kidding, you're beautiful too.
My companion is soo cool. He's told me some pretty crazy stories. He found out last year that some of his good buddies, who he met through business, are high ranking gang members in El Salvador, Guatemala, and other places. Haha so sketchy. He's a good example of somebody who really knows how to get the job done. Whenever we need to talk to somebody, he calls them on the spot. If we need to visit somebody, we go. We're working hard and we're good buddies. It's so cool. Way different than Nueva. There's still some divisions in the ward, but we're working on it.
So I've had some tough days, but in general I'm pretty happy with things. There are long days, but I always have P-day, or a specific appointment to be excited for. It's like there were long days during school, but there's always the weekend. The other night I got really baggy and then I snapped out of it and realized how blessed I am to be here. This place is so awesome.
So yeah, things are great! We've seen some horrible things, but Satan's working hard to keep this area his. We're conquering it, bit by bit. He knows it, and he doesn't like it. The Lord has blessed us for our hard work. We have a lot of weaknesses, being new missionaries still, but the Lord is helping us so much. He blesses us with opportunities, and with inspiration when we don't know what to do. This is missionary work and it really is work. But it's a marvelous work.
Thank you all for your emails. And thank you for the package. Thank you for your prayers. I can feel the strength that comes from your support. Have an awesome week.
Dad, it's weird to think of you released from your calling in the bishopric, but I'm sure a break will be nice.
Love you guys! SO much!
Elder Tyler
Great area, great ward, great companion!
Jan. 3, 2011
Hey!
I just attached a picture of Elder Eckel. He's in a trio right now
and loving it. Haha thought that was pretty cool. He keeps telling
me how awesome it is that he can buy a tie for 5 bucks. Little does
he know that I can buy 3 ties for 2 bucks.
Brock, I really loved your email. Haha it was a boost. I hope you're
feeling better!
New Years! Crazy! Just as crazy as Christmas Eve, fireworks and all.
We were in the house and pretty tired, so we tried to sleep through
it. Impossible. Haha we were cracking up because it was so loud
outside. I took a sweet video from our second story bathroom. I'll
see if I can attach it.
Things are going so well! It was a good week, and I love my comp.
Elder Tacam is such a cool guy! He likes to work hard and he knows
how to do it!
So Cuyotenango is a bit higher in elevation and it's farther from the
coast than Nueva Concepcion. That's why it's a bit cooler. But it's
still pretty hot during the middle of the day. Right now I'm in La
Maquina (THE MACHINE) haha with our district to have email time. I do
not like my district leader. I'm going to struggle with him, but
everyone else in the district is awesome. They're having a hard time
with him too. There's a Tongan elder in the district (Elder Tau´Fui)
and he is soooo coool! Haha I love him! He's teaching us some
Tongan. La Maquina is the hottest area in the mission (probably the
hottest in all of Guatemala). Only Nueva comes close haha. But it
makes me even more grateful to be in Cuyo.
No packages yet, I should get mail tomorrow. Our zone leaders pick up
mail whenever they go to Reu for meetings and they have a meeting
today.
The phone messages have finally stopped. We gave the phone number and
name to our zone leaders and they gave the info to President. I don't
know if anything has happened. But we don't have to worry about it
anymore.
The branch here is so great! There are so many solid Priesthood
holders and families. There seems to be a bit of a division in the
branch due to what seems to be issues of pride. I don't know, but
maybe we can help with that. The branch is almost a ward. I think
they just need some more consistent attendance. But it's way
different than Nueva.
There's something really weird about the Branch. There are six or
seven young women (between 17 and 23 years old) that are all
absolutely gorgeous. Half of them have won awards in local beauty
pageants and stuff. It's awful! They're all strong in the church
too. Some of them like to flirt. I'm not too worried about it
though. None of them ski, so it's not like I think they're all that
attractive haha!
This week I had a dream that kind of freaked me out. I dreamt that I
was in an airport with Troy! And it was at the end of our missions.
For some reason I hadn't finished my mission. But I was there with
him and we were swapping stories, only he had way more stories than
me. And I could barely speak Spanish (less than I can in reality) and
he was fluent. It was really weird and I had this awful feeling that
I failed at life. I don't know why in the world I had it, because
I've been really excited about things this week. But when I woke up I
started to think about how awesome it will be when John, Troy, and I
will be able to swap stories and talk to each other in our different
Spanish dialects haha! I'm way excited for that. Stupid dream
though.
There were some really sad and weird things that happened this week.
There's a family in the branch whose father is not a member. He has
been free from alcohol for over a year until the day after Christmas.
We found out when we went to visit them the other night. The father
was there and we started to talk to him. He was in tears and
explained how much he loved the elders for helping his family through
the years. He then told us his life story (a common occurence among
Guatemaltecos) and it was pretty crazy. He explained how he killed
people to save his daughter and a bunch of really gruesome things that
happened. And then he told us he didn't want to change his life even
though he feels horrible about his life. He feels like there's no
hope for him. We explained what we could and tried to getting him to
realize how there was hope. He wouldn't listen to us. Before we
left, his wife said a prayer. She was crying so hard and it was just
all horrible. If you could pray for that family, that would be great.
The Ramos family. They need help and support.
In addition to celebrating with fireworks, people here drink
themselves to sleep. It's so annoying. All the drunks try to talk to
me. I hate talking to drunks here. It's pitiful to see people
enslaved to alcohol. They're desensitized to the Spirit. They lose
sight of what's really important. It's awful.
I have learned that Satan and his angels are very real. But I have
also seen the power of the Priesthood and I know it is real.
Weird things happened this week, but a lot of small and good things
also happened. We have taught a lot of people and we're just waiting
for our next appointments with them. I'm really excited for this next
week, month, etc. It's going to be great! I don't feel so
overwhelmed with time right now. My companion is a blessing and the
members here are so great. I'm so blessed to be here. Thanks for all
your prayers and your emails! I love you guys and hope you all have
an awesome week!
Love you so much,
Elder Austin Tyler
Hey!
I just attached a picture of Elder Eckel. He's in a trio right now
and loving it. Haha thought that was pretty cool. He keeps telling
me how awesome it is that he can buy a tie for 5 bucks. Little does
he know that I can buy 3 ties for 2 bucks.
Brock, I really loved your email. Haha it was a boost. I hope you're
feeling better!
New Years! Crazy! Just as crazy as Christmas Eve, fireworks and all.
We were in the house and pretty tired, so we tried to sleep through
it. Impossible. Haha we were cracking up because it was so loud
outside. I took a sweet video from our second story bathroom. I'll
see if I can attach it.
Things are going so well! It was a good week, and I love my comp.
Elder Tacam is such a cool guy! He likes to work hard and he knows
how to do it!
So Cuyotenango is a bit higher in elevation and it's farther from the
coast than Nueva Concepcion. That's why it's a bit cooler. But it's
still pretty hot during the middle of the day. Right now I'm in La
Maquina (THE MACHINE) haha with our district to have email time. I do
not like my district leader. I'm going to struggle with him, but
everyone else in the district is awesome. They're having a hard time
with him too. There's a Tongan elder in the district (Elder Tau´Fui)
and he is soooo coool! Haha I love him! He's teaching us some
Tongan. La Maquina is the hottest area in the mission (probably the
hottest in all of Guatemala). Only Nueva comes close haha. But it
makes me even more grateful to be in Cuyo.
No packages yet, I should get mail tomorrow. Our zone leaders pick up
mail whenever they go to Reu for meetings and they have a meeting
today.
The phone messages have finally stopped. We gave the phone number and
name to our zone leaders and they gave the info to President. I don't
know if anything has happened. But we don't have to worry about it
anymore.
The branch here is so great! There are so many solid Priesthood
holders and families. There seems to be a bit of a division in the
branch due to what seems to be issues of pride. I don't know, but
maybe we can help with that. The branch is almost a ward. I think
they just need some more consistent attendance. But it's way
different than Nueva.
There's something really weird about the Branch. There are six or
seven young women (between 17 and 23 years old) that are all
absolutely gorgeous. Half of them have won awards in local beauty
pageants and stuff. It's awful! They're all strong in the church
too. Some of them like to flirt. I'm not too worried about it
though. None of them ski, so it's not like I think they're all that
attractive haha!
This week I had a dream that kind of freaked me out. I dreamt that I
was in an airport with Troy! And it was at the end of our missions.
For some reason I hadn't finished my mission. But I was there with
him and we were swapping stories, only he had way more stories than
me. And I could barely speak Spanish (less than I can in reality) and
he was fluent. It was really weird and I had this awful feeling that
I failed at life. I don't know why in the world I had it, because
I've been really excited about things this week. But when I woke up I
started to think about how awesome it will be when John, Troy, and I
will be able to swap stories and talk to each other in our different
Spanish dialects haha! I'm way excited for that. Stupid dream
though.
There were some really sad and weird things that happened this week.
There's a family in the branch whose father is not a member. He has
been free from alcohol for over a year until the day after Christmas.
We found out when we went to visit them the other night. The father
was there and we started to talk to him. He was in tears and
explained how much he loved the elders for helping his family through
the years. He then told us his life story (a common occurence among
Guatemaltecos) and it was pretty crazy. He explained how he killed
people to save his daughter and a bunch of really gruesome things that
happened. And then he told us he didn't want to change his life even
though he feels horrible about his life. He feels like there's no
hope for him. We explained what we could and tried to getting him to
realize how there was hope. He wouldn't listen to us. Before we
left, his wife said a prayer. She was crying so hard and it was just
all horrible. If you could pray for that family, that would be great.
The Ramos family. They need help and support.
In addition to celebrating with fireworks, people here drink
themselves to sleep. It's so annoying. All the drunks try to talk to
me. I hate talking to drunks here. It's pitiful to see people
enslaved to alcohol. They're desensitized to the Spirit. They lose
sight of what's really important. It's awful.
I have learned that Satan and his angels are very real. But I have
also seen the power of the Priesthood and I know it is real.
Weird things happened this week, but a lot of small and good things
also happened. We have taught a lot of people and we're just waiting
for our next appointments with them. I'm really excited for this next
week, month, etc. It's going to be great! I don't feel so
overwhelmed with time right now. My companion is a blessing and the
members here are so great. I'm so blessed to be here. Thanks for all
your prayers and your emails! I love you guys and hope you all have
an awesome week!
Love you so much,
Elder Austin Tyler
Transferred~ New area and new companion
Dec. 27, 2010
My soccer skills are back!!! The last few times we've played I've
played so well, I love it! We played as a zone today on this really
nice turf field. It was so fun, but really hot haha I'm pooped.
Ah hanging up the phone on Saturday was rough, but I'm feeling pretty
good. My boo is gone, thank goodness!
So my companion's name is Elder Tacam (I don't have a picture of him
yet). My area is called Cuyotenango and it's part of the Mazatenango
(also called Mazate) Zone. Our zone is huge. 28 missionaries. And a
lot of chambones (lazy missionaries).
Church was amazing, so different from Nueva Concepcion! It was in a
big chapel and it was full! And all of the men were in white shirts
and ties. It was cool. I can tell it's going to take a little work
to earn the trust of some of the leadership, but I think they know
we're here to work.
So I don't know why the elders that were here before are still in the
mission. We get messages from their girlfriend(s) almost on the daily
(shout out to Kendy and Megan for that phrase). So we reported that
today, I don't know if President knows about that stuff, but we'll
see.
Last night we went with Hermano Hugo in his truck to visit members.
He knows where every member lives (including almost all of the less
active members). It's so cool. So at one member's house there was a
box full of kittens. I hate cats and all, but I couldn't help but
play around with the kittens. Later on they mentioned that the cats
have fleas. Awesome. Haha I don't think I have fleas, but really!
They could have at least mentioned that before we started playing with
them!
I hope all the pictures go through. I don't have much more time and I
gotta write President. What did everyone get from Christmas? Brock
filled me in a bit. Dad, thanks for your advice. I love you. Mom,
thank you for everything, I love you. Haley, I love you, hope you're
enjoying break. Brock, thanks for the advice, I like your idea about
reflecting on the mission as someone else. I love you, man. And
Aubrey, I love you! Thanks for your emails. Have an awesome week!
Elder Austin Tyler
My soccer skills are back!!! The last few times we've played I've
played so well, I love it! We played as a zone today on this really
nice turf field. It was so fun, but really hot haha I'm pooped.
Ah hanging up the phone on Saturday was rough, but I'm feeling pretty
good. My boo is gone, thank goodness!
So my companion's name is Elder Tacam (I don't have a picture of him
yet). My area is called Cuyotenango and it's part of the Mazatenango
(also called Mazate) Zone. Our zone is huge. 28 missionaries. And a
lot of chambones (lazy missionaries).
Church was amazing, so different from Nueva Concepcion! It was in a
big chapel and it was full! And all of the men were in white shirts
and ties. It was cool. I can tell it's going to take a little work
to earn the trust of some of the leadership, but I think they know
we're here to work.
So I don't know why the elders that were here before are still in the
mission. We get messages from their girlfriend(s) almost on the daily
(shout out to Kendy and Megan for that phrase). So we reported that
today, I don't know if President knows about that stuff, but we'll
see.
Last night we went with Hermano Hugo in his truck to visit members.
He knows where every member lives (including almost all of the less
active members). It's so cool. So at one member's house there was a
box full of kittens. I hate cats and all, but I couldn't help but
play around with the kittens. Later on they mentioned that the cats
have fleas. Awesome. Haha I don't think I have fleas, but really!
They could have at least mentioned that before we started playing with
them!
I hope all the pictures go through. I don't have much more time and I
gotta write President. What did everyone get from Christmas? Brock
filled me in a bit. Dad, thanks for your advice. I love you. Mom,
thank you for everything, I love you. Haley, I love you, hope you're
enjoying break. Brock, thanks for the advice, I like your idea about
reflecting on the mission as someone else. I love you, man. And
Aubrey, I love you! Thanks for your emails. Have an awesome week!
Elder Austin Tyler
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
AUSTIN'S ADDRESS
Elder Austin Michael Tyler
Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission
Barrio Concepion, Boulevard Centenario
Salida a Coatepeque, Zona 2
Retalhuleu
GUATEMALA
Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission
Barrio Concepion, Boulevard Centenario
Salida a Coatepeque, Zona 2
Retalhuleu
GUATEMALA
Bringing hope to a man who is sad
December 20, 2010
Sounds like skiing was awesome AGAIN! I'm jealous, but not bitter haha
So the power has been out, off and on today, so we went to find
something to do while waiting to write email. Luckily I decided to
bring my frisbee when we left the house! Haha we played ultimate
frisbee in this huge grassy field! It was blazing hot and I'm
sweating like a wild boar, but it was so fun! (We won 5-2). Then the
power was still out, so we found a place with pool tables! And it's a
clean place, not a bar. And there aren't dirty pictures everywhere,
it was awesome! So the six of us went in and four of us played pool.
Elder Rigby and I won :D
It's been a fun P-day!
So this past week was really interesting. On Tuesday we had the
Christmas Conference. We all got a gift bag from a group of mission
moms living in Utah. They assembled things like socks, ties, shampoo,
play-doh, candy, and cards from primary kids. It was sooo cool! I
got two pairs of thick black socks haha! They'll last forever, but I
think I'll wait to wear them until I go somewhere a bit cooler.
It was awesome, as always, to see some of my buddies from the MTC.
Elder Shannon is a stud! His companion talks about World of
Warcraft all day, sounds like Elder Shannon is a bit tired of that.
Elder Hock has pooped himself five times now, but he's finally
recovered from his boo.
We did skits and it was a bit ridiculous. There were some hilarious
ones, but they were all sooo long! We did a rendition of the Grinch.
The missionaries serving in Whoville contacted the Grinch and stuff,
it was pretty funny. But there were about three hours of skits! It
was sooo boring! And there was some questionable stuff in some
of them. Elder Treanor, one of the Assistants got slammed over and
over. And it was his last week in the mission. I felt bad for him.
Before we left I went up and thanked him for everything. He looked at
me, and then gave me a huge hug. I felt bad for him, but he seemed
alright. He worked hard to the end.
I found out why missionaries like handwritten letters! I was
having a tough day on Thursday. I was really discouraged with a
couple things. Then I read some letters. I read Brother Teeples' and
Kendy and Megan's letters and they were a huge boost. Having
something to reread helps when I'm discouraged. I felt great after
that.
Friday we had another conference with President and it was amazing. I
want to share a bit of what I learned. He talked about Agency. So
I've always stuggled to understand the purpose of Satan's plan. I
understood that he wanted to destroy the ability of men to choose for
themselves, and to force them to be obedient. That would result in
nobody being lost. But I didn't quite get it. We discussed it in the
conference and now it all makes sense. The purpose of our ability to
choose is that we can learn and grow, eventually we can become
exalted. Satan sought to destroy our agency so that we wouldn't learn
and grow, so that nobody would be exalted. Then he said that he
wanted the glory (or power) of the Father. With that, he would be the
only exalted being in existence, with no competition. He would have
all power, the only power. It was a selfish plot devised in greed and
pride. I had never quite understood it that way.
President then talked to us about how we use our agency. He said that
when we disobey, we are violating laws put in place by the Lord. We
are in open rebellion if we aren't trying to do what's right. Then
Elder Reyes, the new Assistant, said that when we talk badly about, or
neglect to support our zone and district leaders, we are denying the
fact that they were called by revelation through a mission president
who was called by a prophet of God. In then end, we are denying that
this church is directed by Jesus Christ. I hadn't thought of it
that way either.
Another thing President talked about was the difference between a
habit and an obligation. He said an habit is something we want to do,
we do it of our own free will. An habit lasts beyond the mission,
whereas an obligation stops at the end. He said that if we want to be
succesful, we will take seriously the things we learn on the mission.
If we want to continue to progress after the mission, maybe we should
make a habit out of getting up early. And that includes going to bed
early. It made me think a lot about how the mission is changing me.
I don't want to go back to college and stay up late every night.
Maybe on the weekends, but I have responsibilities that are more
important than staying up late. Sure, I'll still have fun, but I will
prioritize my time differently. I'm excited to try it out.
Something else, along with that, is with companions. There are two
reasons why the church emphasizes getting married quickly after the
mission. The first reason is that it's a part of God's plan. The
other reason is that with a companion, you progress. When you live
alone, you're stagnant. And I've found that that is so true. Kind of interesting for me to think about.
Saturday was exhausting. We went to the Trochas on bikes. And these
are bikes made for people under five feet tall. It was blazing hot
and dusty (as always) and it was a long ride. We sang on the
way. Two of the three investigators we went to weren't there. But we
did teach a great lesson with on sister. It was worth it. We got
back and went to an activity at the church. It was a soccer activity.
We played for an hour and a half and it was intense. It was so fun,
but I was sooo tired. We got back to the house and there was no
water, so we couldn't shower. Haha awful!
Something I despise: alcohol. I'm sick of talking to drunk people.
I'm sick of seeing children trying to carry their passed-out fathers
home during the day. Ah I can't stand it. The other night we saw a
guy at a fast-food chicken place and he yelled to us. It was a guy
that had asked us for money one night. I was a little scared,
especially when we noticed he was drunk. He offered to buy us a meal.
We told him no thank you and that we had to go visit someone. He
wasn't happy, but we left.
Lately I've been praying to have the courage to act quickly on the
promptings I get from the Spirit. Last night we were walking down a
street and I saw a man standing in his doorway. I couldn't see his
face, but I thought, ¨that man needs our help.¨ I walked toward him,
my companion didn't know what I was doing. The man turned and looked
at us and I recognized him as the drunk that we had met twice. He
yelled, ¨My friends!¨and invited us into his house. He's a young guy,
25. His name is Henry. I was nervous, but I went with it. I asked
him how he was and he just said, I´m sad. We sat down and talked to
him. He knows quite a bit of English and wanted to talk to me in
English. He asked me what he needed to do to become a member of our
church. He said he was sad and he has a lot of problems and he's
looking for happiness. I taught him about our purpose as missionaries
and explained that the gospel is the way to happiness and peace. He
doesn't work on Sundays (which is rare here) and he wants to come to
church. After we talked to him, we knelt down and prayed. It was one
of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had. It was so cool. I'm
so excited to teach him more. It was a great way to end the night.
So yeah. I'm so stoked to talk to you guys on Saturday! I think I'll
be here. And assuming the power doesn't go out, I'll call you guys
probably between 10 AM and 4 PM. I'm sorry I can't be more specific,
but I don't even know that I'll be here still. But yeah, I'll call
you, and then if it's okay, I'll have you guys call back. It's way
expensive to call with our phones to the US and everyone suggested I
do it that way. By using caller ID I think I can just hang up and
have you guys call back. I won't be able to email before then, so I
hope that works out.
I love you guys! And I hope you enjoy this week. Don't worry about
having a white Christmas, it's fine haha!
Until Saturday! WOOOO! Merry Christmas!
Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
Sounds like skiing was awesome AGAIN! I'm jealous, but not bitter haha
So the power has been out, off and on today, so we went to find
something to do while waiting to write email. Luckily I decided to
bring my frisbee when we left the house! Haha we played ultimate
frisbee in this huge grassy field! It was blazing hot and I'm
sweating like a wild boar, but it was so fun! (We won 5-2). Then the
power was still out, so we found a place with pool tables! And it's a
clean place, not a bar. And there aren't dirty pictures everywhere,
it was awesome! So the six of us went in and four of us played pool.
Elder Rigby and I won :D
It's been a fun P-day!
So this past week was really interesting. On Tuesday we had the
Christmas Conference. We all got a gift bag from a group of mission
moms living in Utah. They assembled things like socks, ties, shampoo,
play-doh, candy, and cards from primary kids. It was sooo cool! I
got two pairs of thick black socks haha! They'll last forever, but I
think I'll wait to wear them until I go somewhere a bit cooler.
It was awesome, as always, to see some of my buddies from the MTC.
Elder Shannon is a stud! His companion talks about World of
Warcraft all day, sounds like Elder Shannon is a bit tired of that.
Elder Hock has pooped himself five times now, but he's finally
recovered from his boo.
We did skits and it was a bit ridiculous. There were some hilarious
ones, but they were all sooo long! We did a rendition of the Grinch.
The missionaries serving in Whoville contacted the Grinch and stuff,
it was pretty funny. But there were about three hours of skits! It
was sooo boring! And there was some questionable stuff in some
of them. Elder Treanor, one of the Assistants got slammed over and
over. And it was his last week in the mission. I felt bad for him.
Before we left I went up and thanked him for everything. He looked at
me, and then gave me a huge hug. I felt bad for him, but he seemed
alright. He worked hard to the end.
I found out why missionaries like handwritten letters! I was
having a tough day on Thursday. I was really discouraged with a
couple things. Then I read some letters. I read Brother Teeples' and
Kendy and Megan's letters and they were a huge boost. Having
something to reread helps when I'm discouraged. I felt great after
that.
Friday we had another conference with President and it was amazing. I
want to share a bit of what I learned. He talked about Agency. So
I've always stuggled to understand the purpose of Satan's plan. I
understood that he wanted to destroy the ability of men to choose for
themselves, and to force them to be obedient. That would result in
nobody being lost. But I didn't quite get it. We discussed it in the
conference and now it all makes sense. The purpose of our ability to
choose is that we can learn and grow, eventually we can become
exalted. Satan sought to destroy our agency so that we wouldn't learn
and grow, so that nobody would be exalted. Then he said that he
wanted the glory (or power) of the Father. With that, he would be the
only exalted being in existence, with no competition. He would have
all power, the only power. It was a selfish plot devised in greed and
pride. I had never quite understood it that way.
President then talked to us about how we use our agency. He said that
when we disobey, we are violating laws put in place by the Lord. We
are in open rebellion if we aren't trying to do what's right. Then
Elder Reyes, the new Assistant, said that when we talk badly about, or
neglect to support our zone and district leaders, we are denying the
fact that they were called by revelation through a mission president
who was called by a prophet of God. In then end, we are denying that
this church is directed by Jesus Christ. I hadn't thought of it
that way either.
Another thing President talked about was the difference between a
habit and an obligation. He said an habit is something we want to do,
we do it of our own free will. An habit lasts beyond the mission,
whereas an obligation stops at the end. He said that if we want to be
succesful, we will take seriously the things we learn on the mission.
If we want to continue to progress after the mission, maybe we should
make a habit out of getting up early. And that includes going to bed
early. It made me think a lot about how the mission is changing me.
I don't want to go back to college and stay up late every night.
Maybe on the weekends, but I have responsibilities that are more
important than staying up late. Sure, I'll still have fun, but I will
prioritize my time differently. I'm excited to try it out.
Something else, along with that, is with companions. There are two
reasons why the church emphasizes getting married quickly after the
mission. The first reason is that it's a part of God's plan. The
other reason is that with a companion, you progress. When you live
alone, you're stagnant. And I've found that that is so true. Kind of interesting for me to think about.
Saturday was exhausting. We went to the Trochas on bikes. And these
are bikes made for people under five feet tall. It was blazing hot
and dusty (as always) and it was a long ride. We sang on the
way. Two of the three investigators we went to weren't there. But we
did teach a great lesson with on sister. It was worth it. We got
back and went to an activity at the church. It was a soccer activity.
We played for an hour and a half and it was intense. It was so fun,
but I was sooo tired. We got back to the house and there was no
water, so we couldn't shower. Haha awful!
Something I despise: alcohol. I'm sick of talking to drunk people.
I'm sick of seeing children trying to carry their passed-out fathers
home during the day. Ah I can't stand it. The other night we saw a
guy at a fast-food chicken place and he yelled to us. It was a guy
that had asked us for money one night. I was a little scared,
especially when we noticed he was drunk. He offered to buy us a meal.
We told him no thank you and that we had to go visit someone. He
wasn't happy, but we left.
Lately I've been praying to have the courage to act quickly on the
promptings I get from the Spirit. Last night we were walking down a
street and I saw a man standing in his doorway. I couldn't see his
face, but I thought, ¨that man needs our help.¨ I walked toward him,
my companion didn't know what I was doing. The man turned and looked
at us and I recognized him as the drunk that we had met twice. He
yelled, ¨My friends!¨and invited us into his house. He's a young guy,
25. His name is Henry. I was nervous, but I went with it. I asked
him how he was and he just said, I´m sad. We sat down and talked to
him. He knows quite a bit of English and wanted to talk to me in
English. He asked me what he needed to do to become a member of our
church. He said he was sad and he has a lot of problems and he's
looking for happiness. I taught him about our purpose as missionaries
and explained that the gospel is the way to happiness and peace. He
doesn't work on Sundays (which is rare here) and he wants to come to
church. After we talked to him, we knelt down and prayed. It was one
of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had. It was so cool. I'm
so excited to teach him more. It was a great way to end the night.
So yeah. I'm so stoked to talk to you guys on Saturday! I think I'll
be here. And assuming the power doesn't go out, I'll call you guys
probably between 10 AM and 4 PM. I'm sorry I can't be more specific,
but I don't even know that I'll be here still. But yeah, I'll call
you, and then if it's okay, I'll have you guys call back. It's way
expensive to call with our phones to the US and everyone suggested I
do it that way. By using caller ID I think I can just hang up and
have you guys call back. I won't be able to email before then, so I
hope that works out.
I love you guys! And I hope you enjoy this week. Don't worry about
having a white Christmas, it's fine haha!
Until Saturday! WOOOO! Merry Christmas!
Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
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