Sent: Monday, April 11, 2011 1:01 PM
Hey!
Interesting week, I don't really remember much of what happened haha
it went by really fast. But first, thank you for all of your support.
Hearing from each of you is such a boost every week.
First, to answer your questions.
Mom, I think the best way to help with Haley's work load is basically
be there for her. Being so involved next year will be a challenge,
and having someone to talk to was always a big help to me. It's
simple, but I dunno. It helped me. And keep her level headed haha!
And I dunno, just being available to help out with things when there's
a lot to do. I'm not sure that I could tell you a specific thing to
help her with, but just being there to support her will help out a
ton.
Dad, I do get the Liahona in English and it's always such a boost.
This month there's an old talk from Bruce R. McConkie in there. We
watched that talk a few weeks ago and it's so powerful. It knocks my
socks off. I assume it'll be in the Ensign too. And as far as
experiences to share in the Eagle Court of Honor, I'll have to think
about that one. I'll get back to you on that. When is the Court of
Honor?
For Easter down here they celebrate 'Semana Santa' (Holy Week). It's
been really weird as I've watched them making preparations for the
celebrations. It's a Catholic holiday. Huge groups of masked people
randomly start parading in the street. It's almost creepy, but kinda
funny. During the actual week they have various other celebrations.
They choose somebody to act as the Savior and carry a cross and they
beat him and make him walk for miles. And then they have something
called prosessions? I think thats what they would call it in English.
But they have a humongous float type thing made of gold and wood and
what not. They have a couple hundred people carrying it. They pay
money to help carry it and the purpose it to pay for their sins
through the weight of the float thing. It hurts to carry it and they
believe that forgiveness comes through their pain as they carry this
thing. Kind of a different way to celebrate Easter.
Haley! Keep it up in track. Isn't the 400 killer! I love it haha.
But keep on improving and be diligent. You're a sophomore, if you
keep working on your form and build some strength over the next couple
years you'll be the Flash. Promise.
Brock and Aubrey, I already responded to you guys. Love you guys!
So this week...
I had a pretty cool experience with an evangelical guy on Saturday.
He showed up while we were chopping firewood for a less active member.
He came up and took the axe and began to teach us how to do it haha.
Keep in mind that my comp is an expert at it. But then the guy
started teaching us Spanish. He assumed neither of us could
communicate. Haha it was awkward and funny. I just went with it.
Then I turned the Spanish lesson into a religious conversation. My
comp started talking to the member and so I was left with this guy.
Turns out he had studied to become a pastor, so he was pretty
knowledgable about the Bible. We talked a bit and he realized I was
one of the 'Mormones.' He told me that he likes what we do and all,
but he just doesn't agree with the whole Joseph Smith thing. He
emphasized the fact that Jesus is the only one that can save us. I
asked him who he thinks Joseph Smith is for us Mormones. He explained
that the way he understands it is Joseph Smith to us is like the
Virgin Mary to the Catholics. I said no. The Catholics worship Mary,
we do not worship Joseph Smith. I explained to him that Joseph Smith
was called by God to be a prophet, just as Moses, Isaiah, Noah, etc.
I then reaffirmed my belief in Christ as the Savior. Then he was
like, well Joseph Smith can't be a prophet because the Lord said in
the New Testament that Paul was the last apostle/prophet on the Earth.
I tried to avoid Bible bashing, but I was unsure as to what to tell
him. Sometimes it's intimidating to talk to some of these evangelico
guys. I told him I was unfamiliar with that scripture, and then bore
testimony. I said, 'I know that the Lord did not say that because He
gave John the Revelator power to stay on the Earth until His Second
Coming. If the Lord had said Paul was the last one, He would have
contradicted Himself. I know the Lord is perfect. I know that Joseph
Smith was called by God to restore the fulness of the Gospel and
prepare the world for the Second Coming.' I hadn't planned on saying
any of that. I just opened my mouth and had faith in the power and
authority of my calling and said it. The guy stood there quiet and
just looked at me. Then he said, 'I'm going to go study my Bible and
I want to talk to you again.' I said that would be great. I tried to
not be prideful about it, but it was a cool experience as I followed
the Spirit and avoided contention.
So I've mentioned how great my companion is. And that is still true,
but we've hit some speed bumps that have really made for a rough time
this week. I try to be humble and serve him. I try to love him, but
we got in an argument and the Spirit completely left. It was an ugly
moment. It took everything I had to swallow my pride and apologize to
him. But as soon as I did, the Spirit returned and I felt better.
But it was so hard to apologize. I felt that I hadn't done anything
wrong, but there was still a spirit of contention in there. It was
tough. But I learned a lot. Ugh this mission can be tough sometimes,
but I love it. Keep Elder Eckel in your prayers, he's having a tough
time. He sent me a quick note.
Thank you all so much for your letters. I love you and miss you a
ton, but know that I'm loving it right now. Things are tough, but I'm
growing up a lot.
Take care this week and keep doing great things!
I love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
Monday, April 11, 2011
I Loved General Conference
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 12:12 PM
HEY!
This weekend was incredible. First of all, I can't even express the
excitement I felt when they announced the temple. I almost came to
tears. I can't even tell you how much I miss the temple sometimes.
They will be completing the Quetzaltenango temple in June and it's
about an hour away from where I'm at. But we can't go. It hurts to
have it be so close and I can't attend. But that announcement got me
so excited! I'm totally getting married there. Please fill me in on
any updates you get :D
So for conference, we had our own "Gringo Room" in the stake center.
We all brought food and it was very peaceful. Listening to conference
in English was so wonderful. And I learned so much! I'll talk about
all that I learned in a minute. But on Saturday in the afternoon we
got to go to Pizza Hut as a zone. Four of us Americans split a
banquet special that almost killed us haha. It felt like Thanksgiving
and Conference in the same day (one of the best combinations ever?)
except that it was a Thanksgiving of pizza.
I attached some pictures. One is me with Elder Bosen and Elder
Iniguez. Elder Bosen is the whiter guy, he's our zone leader. He's
awesome. Another is all of us gringos during the Priesthood session
while we were singing. And the other is me and Elder Tacam (I look
like a pig haha!) I don't think I normally look like that, but
whatever.
Dad, thanks for all the news. And I love that quote from Henry Ford.
Sounds like Alex is doing great. Are his papers already in? Is he
coming to the Retalhuleu mission so I can train him? Haha and it
sounds like there are some really fun things coming up! I'm not
baggy, but hearing all the news and all the things I learned in
conference make me realize how awesome it will be to return home.
That's so sad about the Kleinhenz family. That's such a sad
situation.
Mom, I'm doing great! Thank you for putting Elder Palea's name in the
temple. He really needs is, even more today. His grandma passed away
today and he's having a real tough time. But he's doing well with all
the opposition. Thank you for the scripture you shared. I love you!
Mother's Day is coming up! And your birfday!
So, I want to talk about conference a bit. I wrote down five
questions that I've had lately about life, the mission, my potential,
etc. Every single one was answered clearly and fully. Amazing. I
was able to connect so many ideas and themes that I listened to and
it's so clear what I need to work on.
Elder Oaks' talk on Desire was to the point and powerful (as always)
and it made me evaluate my priorities. Now that I am refocusing on my
priorities, I can apply the hope, faith (and diligence), and charity,
which Elder Snow talked about. And then President Eyring talked about
Unity and charity. Let me just say that charity has been a theme for
me lately and I want it to become a theme for my mission. President
Eyring talked about how we need to love the Lord first, then develop
charity in the home, and then direct it toward everyone else. I
realized that I need to love the Lord more, then love my companion
more, and THEN love everyone else. The love for my comp has been a
weakpoint and I need to repent. Richard G. Scott's talk melted my
heart and I feel like that idea of love is so key and so overlooked.
And it's one of the key elements that relates to President Uchtdorf's
talk from the Priesthood session. All the things I was looking for
tied together and it was so clear what I need to do. I'm so excited
to apply it all.
As I sat there listening during conference, I felt like all of this is
so much more real and important than we can possibly realize in this
life. This is the Kingdom of God and I am helping build that Kingdom
in a fairly remote part of the world. It's hard, but I know it's all
true. I can't explain how I feel about it all. It's a powerful
feeling and I think Elder Holland explained it best. How blessed we
are to have this knowledge! Why aren't we sharing it with everyone??
Why isn't everyone accepting it? I mean, I kind of know the answer to
that, but I feel so much more motivated to just get to it. I love
what the prophet said about the future being as bright as our faith.
So true.
I loved General Conference and I was thinking of you guys so much. I
love you all. It sounds like life is so great and it's so good to
hear that. Keep it up! Haley, I love you, diligence is key.
Love you guys!
Elder Austin Tyler
HEY!
This weekend was incredible. First of all, I can't even express the
excitement I felt when they announced the temple. I almost came to
tears. I can't even tell you how much I miss the temple sometimes.
They will be completing the Quetzaltenango temple in June and it's
about an hour away from where I'm at. But we can't go. It hurts to
have it be so close and I can't attend. But that announcement got me
so excited! I'm totally getting married there. Please fill me in on
any updates you get :D
So for conference, we had our own "Gringo Room" in the stake center.
We all brought food and it was very peaceful. Listening to conference
in English was so wonderful. And I learned so much! I'll talk about
all that I learned in a minute. But on Saturday in the afternoon we
got to go to Pizza Hut as a zone. Four of us Americans split a
banquet special that almost killed us haha. It felt like Thanksgiving
and Conference in the same day (one of the best combinations ever?)
except that it was a Thanksgiving of pizza.
I attached some pictures. One is me with Elder Bosen and Elder
Iniguez. Elder Bosen is the whiter guy, he's our zone leader. He's
awesome. Another is all of us gringos during the Priesthood session
while we were singing. And the other is me and Elder Tacam (I look
like a pig haha!) I don't think I normally look like that, but
whatever.
Dad, thanks for all the news. And I love that quote from Henry Ford.
Sounds like Alex is doing great. Are his papers already in? Is he
coming to the Retalhuleu mission so I can train him? Haha and it
sounds like there are some really fun things coming up! I'm not
baggy, but hearing all the news and all the things I learned in
conference make me realize how awesome it will be to return home.
That's so sad about the Kleinhenz family. That's such a sad
situation.
Mom, I'm doing great! Thank you for putting Elder Palea's name in the
temple. He really needs is, even more today. His grandma passed away
today and he's having a real tough time. But he's doing well with all
the opposition. Thank you for the scripture you shared. I love you!
Mother's Day is coming up! And your birfday!
So, I want to talk about conference a bit. I wrote down five
questions that I've had lately about life, the mission, my potential,
etc. Every single one was answered clearly and fully. Amazing. I
was able to connect so many ideas and themes that I listened to and
it's so clear what I need to work on.
Elder Oaks' talk on Desire was to the point and powerful (as always)
and it made me evaluate my priorities. Now that I am refocusing on my
priorities, I can apply the hope, faith (and diligence), and charity,
which Elder Snow talked about. And then President Eyring talked about
Unity and charity. Let me just say that charity has been a theme for
me lately and I want it to become a theme for my mission. President
Eyring talked about how we need to love the Lord first, then develop
charity in the home, and then direct it toward everyone else. I
realized that I need to love the Lord more, then love my companion
more, and THEN love everyone else. The love for my comp has been a
weakpoint and I need to repent. Richard G. Scott's talk melted my
heart and I feel like that idea of love is so key and so overlooked.
And it's one of the key elements that relates to President Uchtdorf's
talk from the Priesthood session. All the things I was looking for
tied together and it was so clear what I need to do. I'm so excited
to apply it all.
As I sat there listening during conference, I felt like all of this is
so much more real and important than we can possibly realize in this
life. This is the Kingdom of God and I am helping build that Kingdom
in a fairly remote part of the world. It's hard, but I know it's all
true. I can't explain how I feel about it all. It's a powerful
feeling and I think Elder Holland explained it best. How blessed we
are to have this knowledge! Why aren't we sharing it with everyone??
Why isn't everyone accepting it? I mean, I kind of know the answer to
that, but I feel so much more motivated to just get to it. I love
what the prophet said about the future being as bright as our faith.
So true.
I loved General Conference and I was thinking of you guys so much. I
love you all. It sounds like life is so great and it's so good to
hear that. Keep it up! Haley, I love you, diligence is key.
Love you guys!
Elder Austin Tyler
Monday, March 28, 2011
Short on time
Hey!
I got so many emails today! Ahhh I love it but I don't have much time
to write. This week was great. A lot of good breakthroughs were made
and I see some good things on the horizon. Mom, Marwin Palea could
use some help. You mentioned putting my name on the temple prayer
roll. Thank you. Could you also put his name in? He's having a
rough time. Thank you for the advice you gave me. Those quotes from
Elder Oaks were very insightful. Thank you. Dad, thank you for your
advice. The experiences from your mission are so helpful. And tell
Virginia I say hello! I'm sad about BYU, but it sounds like it was
such a fun season! Oh, Dad, the open house for the new chapel is such
a good idea, hopefully they can get it done on time. Shoot. I don't
have time to send pictures. I'm sorry! And Haley, thanks for sending
your pictures, looks like some really fun stuff! Thank you, Haley,
for your suggestions as well.
So. This week. Elder Tacam was made District Leader, such a relief.
The District was falling apart and he's doing a good job of figuring
out what needs to be done to fix it. Tuesday we had a conference with
President. I got to see Elder Christian Molina, my buddy from BYU.
He's in my first area! Haha he's loving it and doing really well
there. During the conference we watched Bruce R. McConkie's final
General Conference address before he passed away. It was one of the
most spiritually moving things I've seen. Very powerful. I recommend
watching it. Speaking of which, I am soooo excited for General
Conference! We'll be watching it in the Mazatenango stake center.
All of us gringos will get to watch it in English in our own private
room. I'm so excited. I can't even tell you haha!
Okay, crazy thing happened this week. During a couple of lessons we
had, I felt a little awkward because of how bold Elder Tacam was
toward our investigators. I felt as if he was trying to force them to
keep commitments and stuff. Wednesday night I was praying to know how
to talk to him about it. I felt like I should study a bit about the
topic and then bring it up in companionship inventory. Thursday
morning I studied the concept of being bold without being overbearing.
Then during our companionship inventory that morning, I brought it
up. After Elder Tacam pointed out the things I should work on, I
explained to him how I admire his ability to be bold and direct. But
then I explained that sometimes I feel like we take it overboard. The
fruit of the spirit is love, joy, faith, kindness, patience, etc. I
pointed out a few specific examples of where I felt we were
overbearing. And then I asked him if he thought we were taking it too
far. He told me no, that's how we should be and he will not change.
I did not like his response at all. It made me angry and it hurt my
pride. As soon as I recognized that, however, I began to realize that
maybe I had been too soft in my approach in teaching. Later on that
day I felt the Spirit confirm to me that although Elder Tacam may be a
little bit too bold at times, I had not been bold enough. The reason
the Spirit prompted me to talk to Elder Tacam about it was to help me
realize my own error. Don't get the wrong impression from this that
my companion and I don't get along. This is just one experience that
was a bit different. But I find it interesting how my own pride kept
me from seeing my own error. And I am thankful for that experience.
Although we shouldn't force people to accept our message, we should
not fear to make comfortable lessons. I have more to say, but no
time. Dang! Haha oh well. It was a cool, but tough experience.
I love you guys and it sounds like you're all doing great. Mom, I
haven't gotten your letter yet, but I eagerly look forward to
receiving it this week haha!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
I got so many emails today! Ahhh I love it but I don't have much time
to write. This week was great. A lot of good breakthroughs were made
and I see some good things on the horizon. Mom, Marwin Palea could
use some help. You mentioned putting my name on the temple prayer
roll. Thank you. Could you also put his name in? He's having a
rough time. Thank you for the advice you gave me. Those quotes from
Elder Oaks were very insightful. Thank you. Dad, thank you for your
advice. The experiences from your mission are so helpful. And tell
Virginia I say hello! I'm sad about BYU, but it sounds like it was
such a fun season! Oh, Dad, the open house for the new chapel is such
a good idea, hopefully they can get it done on time. Shoot. I don't
have time to send pictures. I'm sorry! And Haley, thanks for sending
your pictures, looks like some really fun stuff! Thank you, Haley,
for your suggestions as well.
So. This week. Elder Tacam was made District Leader, such a relief.
The District was falling apart and he's doing a good job of figuring
out what needs to be done to fix it. Tuesday we had a conference with
President. I got to see Elder Christian Molina, my buddy from BYU.
He's in my first area! Haha he's loving it and doing really well
there. During the conference we watched Bruce R. McConkie's final
General Conference address before he passed away. It was one of the
most spiritually moving things I've seen. Very powerful. I recommend
watching it. Speaking of which, I am soooo excited for General
Conference! We'll be watching it in the Mazatenango stake center.
All of us gringos will get to watch it in English in our own private
room. I'm so excited. I can't even tell you haha!
Okay, crazy thing happened this week. During a couple of lessons we
had, I felt a little awkward because of how bold Elder Tacam was
toward our investigators. I felt as if he was trying to force them to
keep commitments and stuff. Wednesday night I was praying to know how
to talk to him about it. I felt like I should study a bit about the
topic and then bring it up in companionship inventory. Thursday
morning I studied the concept of being bold without being overbearing.
Then during our companionship inventory that morning, I brought it
up. After Elder Tacam pointed out the things I should work on, I
explained to him how I admire his ability to be bold and direct. But
then I explained that sometimes I feel like we take it overboard. The
fruit of the spirit is love, joy, faith, kindness, patience, etc. I
pointed out a few specific examples of where I felt we were
overbearing. And then I asked him if he thought we were taking it too
far. He told me no, that's how we should be and he will not change.
I did not like his response at all. It made me angry and it hurt my
pride. As soon as I recognized that, however, I began to realize that
maybe I had been too soft in my approach in teaching. Later on that
day I felt the Spirit confirm to me that although Elder Tacam may be a
little bit too bold at times, I had not been bold enough. The reason
the Spirit prompted me to talk to Elder Tacam about it was to help me
realize my own error. Don't get the wrong impression from this that
my companion and I don't get along. This is just one experience that
was a bit different. But I find it interesting how my own pride kept
me from seeing my own error. And I am thankful for that experience.
Although we shouldn't force people to accept our message, we should
not fear to make comfortable lessons. I have more to say, but no
time. Dang! Haha oh well. It was a cool, but tough experience.
I love you guys and it sounds like you're all doing great. Mom, I
haven't gotten your letter yet, but I eagerly look forward to
receiving it this week haha!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
Still in Cuyotenango!
Monday, March 21, 2011 11:45 AM
Hey! I didn't have transfers! And neither did my companion! We're
both still here in Cuyotenango.
Haley, I loved your email so much haha! I like the music video in
Denver idea. That would be way fun to do with Austin Eckel! And that
skittle bowling idea is awesome. Haha and yes, dating will probably
be kinda weird until college. But have fun with it and just do
creative stuff with your friends.
Mom, you sound busy, but you sound very happy. And you look so great
in the pictures that Dad sent! I mean, you all look great, but
especially Momma. And I, too, look forward to the Savior's coming.
The world is sooo messed up. As I've struggled with other people not
progressing or accepting our message, I've found joy in the fact that
I have the truth and so does my family. That future is bright and
there is so much to look forward to even though the world is falling
apart.
Dad, you totally should've gone to the second game in Denver. I mean,
you already know that, but I woulda gone haha! That's so exciting
they're in the sweet 16! Ahhhh but they're a year late (or two years
too early haha).
Brock and Aubrey. I love you guys a lot, but I would love you even
more if you wrote me more :D And Aubrey, I still need to get a letter
back to you! I hope you guys are doing great!
Oh! New car! Haha dibs on that when I get home? Nah just kidding... ;)
I'm gonna find a sweet job that pays like 20 bucks an hour and buy a
cool truck. That's my plan anyway. Hahaha right.
This week we put on an activity in a neighborhood where they've had
some of the paranormal activity that's been going on. The assistants
came down with a bunch of equipment to show a couple movies about the
Savior on a big projector. It was awesome that they came down to help
us. We invited 100 families or so. Not many showed up, but we had
about 35 or 40 people in attendance. More than half were
investigators (not members), so that was great. We were hoping for
more, but we got some references and I would say it was somewhat
succesful.
Okay, this next part I need to be careful. Haha or maybe I'll just
tell Mom starting out that I am fine and that trials are an essential
part to the mission and I'm not depressed. The truth is that it's
been a really really hard month and I need suggestions. We've been
able to find a lot of people to teach, but they always end up not
progressing. Our leaders are being really weird about our lack of
success trying to figure out what we're doing wrong and all.
Honestly, we're working hard and doing things right. We're changing
things that we need to improve and we work with the Spirit. I feel
like the Lord would be blessing us for our hard work and our desires
to improve and work by the Spirit. Obviously, there's still a lot
that I need to improve, but I'm working on those things. I talked to
Elder Peugnet (one of the APs) on Friday during the activity we had
and he gave me some good advice. I asked him if the Lord is just
trying our faith and patience still. He said that it could be that,
but he thinks the Lord already knows we have faith and patience. He
explained how we can apply the story of the brother of Jared to our
area. The Lord told the brother of Jared how to construct the barges,
but left it up to him to figure out how to make light. The Lord may
be waiting for us to come up with a plan to put into practice in order
to find His elect. Elder Peugnet told me to be creative, keep doing
what we should be doing, work with members, and present a plan to the
Lord. So this week Elder Tacam and I are trying to come up with new
stuff to apply to the area. We need to be creative. And I would
appreciate your suggestions. Dad, Mom, Brock, Aubrey, and Haley, how
can we be creative in following the Spirit in order to find the Lord's
elect, the one's who will progress and get baptized? What do you guys
think?
It's been hard. And I'm still excited to work every day and get to
it, but I feel like we need to start seeing results. We invited over
20 investigators and less actives to church this week and not a single
one showed up yesterday. It was discouraging. We had a goal to
baptize two families this month and I still have faith that we can
reach that goal, but maybe the Lord wants us to learn something or do
something before we find success. Thank you for your prayers.
There's a reason why I'm still in a good mood and excited to work
despite our lack of results. I can feel your support.
I got a note from Aunt Jan! They're heading our to New Zealand soon,
that's so great!
Well, take care this week and keep having fun with everything. Haley,
I suggest that you cut out one of the clubs you're involved in. You
don't want to get overloaded when Stuco is your responsibility. You
don't want other stuff to drown your focus on that group. As
president of that group, you need to make that your priority. Just a
bit of advice that I learned the hard way. How's track?
Love you guys so much!
Elder Austin Tyler
Hey! I didn't have transfers! And neither did my companion! We're
both still here in Cuyotenango.
Haley, I loved your email so much haha! I like the music video in
Denver idea. That would be way fun to do with Austin Eckel! And that
skittle bowling idea is awesome. Haha and yes, dating will probably
be kinda weird until college. But have fun with it and just do
creative stuff with your friends.
Mom, you sound busy, but you sound very happy. And you look so great
in the pictures that Dad sent! I mean, you all look great, but
especially Momma. And I, too, look forward to the Savior's coming.
The world is sooo messed up. As I've struggled with other people not
progressing or accepting our message, I've found joy in the fact that
I have the truth and so does my family. That future is bright and
there is so much to look forward to even though the world is falling
apart.
Dad, you totally should've gone to the second game in Denver. I mean,
you already know that, but I woulda gone haha! That's so exciting
they're in the sweet 16! Ahhhh but they're a year late (or two years
too early haha).
Brock and Aubrey. I love you guys a lot, but I would love you even
more if you wrote me more :D And Aubrey, I still need to get a letter
back to you! I hope you guys are doing great!
Oh! New car! Haha dibs on that when I get home? Nah just kidding... ;)
I'm gonna find a sweet job that pays like 20 bucks an hour and buy a
cool truck. That's my plan anyway. Hahaha right.
This week we put on an activity in a neighborhood where they've had
some of the paranormal activity that's been going on. The assistants
came down with a bunch of equipment to show a couple movies about the
Savior on a big projector. It was awesome that they came down to help
us. We invited 100 families or so. Not many showed up, but we had
about 35 or 40 people in attendance. More than half were
investigators (not members), so that was great. We were hoping for
more, but we got some references and I would say it was somewhat
succesful.
Okay, this next part I need to be careful. Haha or maybe I'll just
tell Mom starting out that I am fine and that trials are an essential
part to the mission and I'm not depressed. The truth is that it's
been a really really hard month and I need suggestions. We've been
able to find a lot of people to teach, but they always end up not
progressing. Our leaders are being really weird about our lack of
success trying to figure out what we're doing wrong and all.
Honestly, we're working hard and doing things right. We're changing
things that we need to improve and we work with the Spirit. I feel
like the Lord would be blessing us for our hard work and our desires
to improve and work by the Spirit. Obviously, there's still a lot
that I need to improve, but I'm working on those things. I talked to
Elder Peugnet (one of the APs) on Friday during the activity we had
and he gave me some good advice. I asked him if the Lord is just
trying our faith and patience still. He said that it could be that,
but he thinks the Lord already knows we have faith and patience. He
explained how we can apply the story of the brother of Jared to our
area. The Lord told the brother of Jared how to construct the barges,
but left it up to him to figure out how to make light. The Lord may
be waiting for us to come up with a plan to put into practice in order
to find His elect. Elder Peugnet told me to be creative, keep doing
what we should be doing, work with members, and present a plan to the
Lord. So this week Elder Tacam and I are trying to come up with new
stuff to apply to the area. We need to be creative. And I would
appreciate your suggestions. Dad, Mom, Brock, Aubrey, and Haley, how
can we be creative in following the Spirit in order to find the Lord's
elect, the one's who will progress and get baptized? What do you guys
think?
It's been hard. And I'm still excited to work every day and get to
it, but I feel like we need to start seeing results. We invited over
20 investigators and less actives to church this week and not a single
one showed up yesterday. It was discouraging. We had a goal to
baptize two families this month and I still have faith that we can
reach that goal, but maybe the Lord wants us to learn something or do
something before we find success. Thank you for your prayers.
There's a reason why I'm still in a good mood and excited to work
despite our lack of results. I can feel your support.
I got a note from Aunt Jan! They're heading our to New Zealand soon,
that's so great!
Well, take care this week and keep having fun with everything. Haley,
I suggest that you cut out one of the clubs you're involved in. You
don't want to get overloaded when Stuco is your responsibility. You
don't want other stuff to drown your focus on that group. As
president of that group, you need to make that your priority. Just a
bit of advice that I learned the hard way. How's track?
Love you guys so much!
Elder Austin Tyler
A great interview with the Mission President
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 1:48 PM
Family!!!! Thanks for all the awesome news. First of all, Momma, I
didn't get your email last week. But I had the treat of reading two
from you today :)
So transfers are on Wednesday and I don't find out what's going to
happen until tonight. I'm ready for anything I feel like. It'll be
good.
Today we played soccer and volleyball with the whole zone, including
the sisters. It was a good time. It got a little intense and that
was fun, but a bit dangerous haha.
Mom, to answer some of your questions... Studying is still my
favorite time of the day (personal study). I need to work on making
companionship study more enjoyable and effective. Sometimes it feels
like an interview and I don't learn a whole lot. But I'm working on
improving that.
Members are doing well. It's hard not having a chapel in Cuyo. The
attendance fluctuates a lot and the members have a hard time making
visits because the area is so big. A lot of the responsibility falls
on us missionaries. It's tough, but it's good to get to know all of
the members. Last night we visited Luis, the recent convert, and his
family. They're having some really tough trials and I was glad to be
there to help them out. It was really weird though, I felt
spiritually exhausted after that appointment. It was unlike anything
I've ever felt. I felt really stressed for them, but also like there
was hope and all that. It was a heavy appointment, but I feel like we
helped them out.
And Mom, I'm glad you were able to go to the temple. It sounds like
that was a huge boost. Thank you so much for your love and prayers.
I can feel it. And I love you so much. I pray for you daily. I hope
you have a good week :)
Dad, thank you for the banking FYI. I'll keep that in mind, ha I had no idea.
We heard about the earthquake, but I wasn't aware that it was so
devastating. We had tsunami alerts here, but nothing happened.
People were freaking out here in Cuyo even though we are up high and
like 40 miles from the coast.
My buddy, Elder Palea, told me to tell you, Dad, thank you for the
quotes you send. He said, 'Tell your Dad the Hawaiian kid says thanks
for the quotes.' I shared a couple with him and they helped him
a lot this week. Thank you for those.
What you said about ignorance is so true Dad. When there is a lack of
education, it is devastating. A lady tried to explain to me a few
weeks ago that stars are actually giant worms in space. She said she
heard it somewhere and was convinced that I had no idea what I was
talking about when I explained that stars are balls of gas and fire.
And sometimes when we teach people, we ask them if they want to
know if it's all true (leading into the explanation that they can pray
to ask God if it's true). And they tell us that they already know
it's true because we used a couple of verses from the Bible. So then
they aren't willing to keep commitments because they aren't willing to
ask the Lord for a spiritual witness to obtain a testimony. It's
frustrating. And I constantly have to think of how to make lessons
more simple to help appeal to the people we teach who haven't been
taught to think very complexly. It's tough. Sometimes I love them
for it though. Other times I get frustrated. But it makes me
thankful for my education. So thankful.
This week we had interviews with President and it was sooo good.
Hermana Maravilla (the mission mom) reviewed our planners and talked
with us indivudually. She's a really cool lady. The interview was
powerful. President asked me what my most positive attribute is. I
told him it is my desire to always improve. Then he asked my biggest
weakness. I told him patience, oftentimes with myself. He chuckled
haha. Then he told me he wants me to focus on following the spirit.
He said to study and practice it. Then he asked me what attribute I
want to work on. I told him charity because that's what I fasted for
this month. He told me to study it and practice it. He said the
study part is essential in order to understand what I ought to put
into practice. Then he said we learn through practice and that
applies to everything in the gospel as well.
At the end of the interview he congratulated me for my progress with
Spanish and then told me to tell you guys something. He said to tell
you that he is extremely grateful to have me in the mission and he is
very proud of my work. That made me feel good haha.
Haley keep going strong in everything. Seek Heavenly Father's
help in every aspect of your life and he'll help you. Be happy and
have fun!
Brock, you sound like you're doing well. Take it to em at school.
You're a stud. Thanks for making me laugh haha!
I love you guys! Have an awesome week. The Lord loves us more than
we can understand. I have a strong testimony of that. Thanks for
your love and prayers.
Oh snap! I got a letter from Elder Eckel this week! So awesome!
He's doing well. He's safe haha. Ah what a stud.
Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
Family!!!! Thanks for all the awesome news. First of all, Momma, I
didn't get your email last week. But I had the treat of reading two
from you today :)
So transfers are on Wednesday and I don't find out what's going to
happen until tonight. I'm ready for anything I feel like. It'll be
good.
Today we played soccer and volleyball with the whole zone, including
the sisters. It was a good time. It got a little intense and that
was fun, but a bit dangerous haha.
Mom, to answer some of your questions... Studying is still my
favorite time of the day (personal study). I need to work on making
companionship study more enjoyable and effective. Sometimes it feels
like an interview and I don't learn a whole lot. But I'm working on
improving that.
Members are doing well. It's hard not having a chapel in Cuyo. The
attendance fluctuates a lot and the members have a hard time making
visits because the area is so big. A lot of the responsibility falls
on us missionaries. It's tough, but it's good to get to know all of
the members. Last night we visited Luis, the recent convert, and his
family. They're having some really tough trials and I was glad to be
there to help them out. It was really weird though, I felt
spiritually exhausted after that appointment. It was unlike anything
I've ever felt. I felt really stressed for them, but also like there
was hope and all that. It was a heavy appointment, but I feel like we
helped them out.
And Mom, I'm glad you were able to go to the temple. It sounds like
that was a huge boost. Thank you so much for your love and prayers.
I can feel it. And I love you so much. I pray for you daily. I hope
you have a good week :)
Dad, thank you for the banking FYI. I'll keep that in mind, ha I had no idea.
We heard about the earthquake, but I wasn't aware that it was so
devastating. We had tsunami alerts here, but nothing happened.
People were freaking out here in Cuyo even though we are up high and
like 40 miles from the coast.
My buddy, Elder Palea, told me to tell you, Dad, thank you for the
quotes you send. He said, 'Tell your Dad the Hawaiian kid says thanks
for the quotes.' I shared a couple with him and they helped him
a lot this week. Thank you for those.
What you said about ignorance is so true Dad. When there is a lack of
education, it is devastating. A lady tried to explain to me a few
weeks ago that stars are actually giant worms in space. She said she
heard it somewhere and was convinced that I had no idea what I was
talking about when I explained that stars are balls of gas and fire.
And sometimes when we teach people, we ask them if they want to
know if it's all true (leading into the explanation that they can pray
to ask God if it's true). And they tell us that they already know
it's true because we used a couple of verses from the Bible. So then
they aren't willing to keep commitments because they aren't willing to
ask the Lord for a spiritual witness to obtain a testimony. It's
frustrating. And I constantly have to think of how to make lessons
more simple to help appeal to the people we teach who haven't been
taught to think very complexly. It's tough. Sometimes I love them
for it though. Other times I get frustrated. But it makes me
thankful for my education. So thankful.
This week we had interviews with President and it was sooo good.
Hermana Maravilla (the mission mom) reviewed our planners and talked
with us indivudually. She's a really cool lady. The interview was
powerful. President asked me what my most positive attribute is. I
told him it is my desire to always improve. Then he asked my biggest
weakness. I told him patience, oftentimes with myself. He chuckled
haha. Then he told me he wants me to focus on following the spirit.
He said to study and practice it. Then he asked me what attribute I
want to work on. I told him charity because that's what I fasted for
this month. He told me to study it and practice it. He said the
study part is essential in order to understand what I ought to put
into practice. Then he said we learn through practice and that
applies to everything in the gospel as well.
At the end of the interview he congratulated me for my progress with
Spanish and then told me to tell you guys something. He said to tell
you that he is extremely grateful to have me in the mission and he is
very proud of my work. That made me feel good haha.
Haley keep going strong in everything. Seek Heavenly Father's
help in every aspect of your life and he'll help you. Be happy and
have fun!
Brock, you sound like you're doing well. Take it to em at school.
You're a stud. Thanks for making me laugh haha!
I love you guys! Have an awesome week. The Lord loves us more than
we can understand. I have a strong testimony of that. Thanks for
your love and prayers.
Oh snap! I got a letter from Elder Eckel this week! So awesome!
He's doing well. He's safe haha. Ah what a stud.
Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
Monday, March 7, 2011
Good communication is key
Whoooaoaaaaoaoaoaoaoaaaaa Haley!
Hahaha CONGRATULATIONS!
That is soooo cool! Good job x1000 and then some!
I wrote you a letter like three weeks ago and the mail place has been
closed the whole time, so I haven't sent it. And now with this news I
gotta write another one! But I'll send that one today if I can and
write another. But quick advice, based on what went through my mind
when I was elected. Be careful of pride (I mean, you're practically
immune to it), but just be careful. And have fun with it! As things
get rolling, have fun, or else you'll burn out. Use the stress as
motivation to work hard, but have a good time with it! The stress
won't hit for awhile, so learn as much as you can now before all the
responsibility shifts. But seriously, fo realz, props.
Haha Dad, don't worry about the doggy pictures. When I say it made me
baggy, it was more of an awwww doggyyy! Not a depressed homesick
baggy. There are different levels of bagginess and I never get the
depressed homesick baggy. Haha so don't worry, I really do like the
pictures of the Ginge.
And thank you so much for that quote by President Hinckley. I wrote
it down and I'll add it to my collection.
Oh and as far as the world news, thanks for keeping me posted on that.
But could you include specifics as to what's happening? haha I get
really curious when you talk about governments collapsing all over the
place. Is it still Libya and Egypt? Who else? What's up with Greece?
So we got a new Zone Leader, his name is Elder Bosen. He's from San
Diego and he reminds me so much of Nick Allegretti. He seems way cool
(he has 20 months and he's still working hard) and he's excited to get
to work here.
Elder Tacam and I fear that one of us is out of here next week (with
changes). We both want one more change together in Cuyo, but we'll
see what happens. We have interviews with President this week and I
look forward to that.
I learned a good lesson this week. So Elder Tacam and I have had some
problems in our companionship, nothing big, but I could sense a bit of
contention. It was kind of weird and I was just trying to take it
easy with things and let it pass. In our companionship inventory on
Thursday, I brought it up. I told him that if there was anything I
could do to help us overcome that, to let me know. That opened the
door to communicate openly how we felt and what was going on. It
turns out his nephew went to the hospital last week and is in a pretty
critical condition. And obviously, he's stressed about that. On top
of that, we both have been frustrated with our lack of success lately.
But that idea of communication helped us figure it all out and get
our heads back on straight. I feel like communication is so key when
it comes to our relationships and interactions with other people, more
than I though before. We can never assume that we know what someone
else is thinking. That's dangerous. That enables contention to come
between people. It's something I know I will need to apply throughout
my life, especially in marriage. It's interesting how much I've been
learning that I can apply in the future.
But yeah, we discussed the advice President gave us. President told
us to take it easy, not get frustrated, and not turn into robots. He
said he know's we're working hard, not only because he trusts us, but
also because he's been watching our area ha. He warned the whole
mission to be careful this month, and he repeated that caution to us.
He said Satan is going to work very hard in March because he isn't
pleased with the mission's success in the past few weeks. He told us
to be very careful. I kind of perked up my ears with that, and Elder
Tacam and I discussed how we need to completely eliminate pride in
every aspect because that's the only way we've seen the adversary get
involved. So it was a great discussion and I was so glad we were able
to talk things through. I'm still a bit (I don't know how to say this
in English) miffed? about our lack of success. It's a bit
frustrating. We're working hard and doing things right and
continuously improving. But all we can do is our best. So that's
what we're going to keep on doing.
It sounds like everyone's really busy, but good and happy. Sorry I
don't have a lot of specific stuff to right about this week. It was a
solid week, a good one, and I'm excited for this upcoming week. I
love you guys a ton! More than you know! Can you believe it's
already March? Time is picking up.
Take care, tell everyone I say hey!
Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
Hahaha CONGRATULATIONS!
That is soooo cool! Good job x1000 and then some!
I wrote you a letter like three weeks ago and the mail place has been
closed the whole time, so I haven't sent it. And now with this news I
gotta write another one! But I'll send that one today if I can and
write another. But quick advice, based on what went through my mind
when I was elected. Be careful of pride (I mean, you're practically
immune to it), but just be careful. And have fun with it! As things
get rolling, have fun, or else you'll burn out. Use the stress as
motivation to work hard, but have a good time with it! The stress
won't hit for awhile, so learn as much as you can now before all the
responsibility shifts. But seriously, fo realz, props.
Haha Dad, don't worry about the doggy pictures. When I say it made me
baggy, it was more of an awwww doggyyy! Not a depressed homesick
baggy. There are different levels of bagginess and I never get the
depressed homesick baggy. Haha so don't worry, I really do like the
pictures of the Ginge.
And thank you so much for that quote by President Hinckley. I wrote
it down and I'll add it to my collection.
Oh and as far as the world news, thanks for keeping me posted on that.
But could you include specifics as to what's happening? haha I get
really curious when you talk about governments collapsing all over the
place. Is it still Libya and Egypt? Who else? What's up with Greece?
So we got a new Zone Leader, his name is Elder Bosen. He's from San
Diego and he reminds me so much of Nick Allegretti. He seems way cool
(he has 20 months and he's still working hard) and he's excited to get
to work here.
Elder Tacam and I fear that one of us is out of here next week (with
changes). We both want one more change together in Cuyo, but we'll
see what happens. We have interviews with President this week and I
look forward to that.
I learned a good lesson this week. So Elder Tacam and I have had some
problems in our companionship, nothing big, but I could sense a bit of
contention. It was kind of weird and I was just trying to take it
easy with things and let it pass. In our companionship inventory on
Thursday, I brought it up. I told him that if there was anything I
could do to help us overcome that, to let me know. That opened the
door to communicate openly how we felt and what was going on. It
turns out his nephew went to the hospital last week and is in a pretty
critical condition. And obviously, he's stressed about that. On top
of that, we both have been frustrated with our lack of success lately.
But that idea of communication helped us figure it all out and get
our heads back on straight. I feel like communication is so key when
it comes to our relationships and interactions with other people, more
than I though before. We can never assume that we know what someone
else is thinking. That's dangerous. That enables contention to come
between people. It's something I know I will need to apply throughout
my life, especially in marriage. It's interesting how much I've been
learning that I can apply in the future.
But yeah, we discussed the advice President gave us. President told
us to take it easy, not get frustrated, and not turn into robots. He
said he know's we're working hard, not only because he trusts us, but
also because he's been watching our area ha. He warned the whole
mission to be careful this month, and he repeated that caution to us.
He said Satan is going to work very hard in March because he isn't
pleased with the mission's success in the past few weeks. He told us
to be very careful. I kind of perked up my ears with that, and Elder
Tacam and I discussed how we need to completely eliminate pride in
every aspect because that's the only way we've seen the adversary get
involved. So it was a great discussion and I was so glad we were able
to talk things through. I'm still a bit (I don't know how to say this
in English) miffed? about our lack of success. It's a bit
frustrating. We're working hard and doing things right and
continuously improving. But all we can do is our best. So that's
what we're going to keep on doing.
It sounds like everyone's really busy, but good and happy. Sorry I
don't have a lot of specific stuff to right about this week. It was a
solid week, a good one, and I'm excited for this upcoming week. I
love you guys a ton! More than you know! Can you believe it's
already March? Time is picking up.
Take care, tell everyone I say hey!
Love you!
Elder Austin Tyler
A lesson learned comes in handy when teaching about tithing
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 11:56 AM
Subject: Re: New Month...
Hey!
Haha okay I'll be honest. That picture of Ginger made me baggy. Haha the dogs here aren't quite the same.
Sounds like a lot of interesting stuff happening at home! Thanks for all the news! Haley! Running for president!? Technically you have the same amount of time in Stuco when I ran, but dang girl! I hope you're sure you want to do that. Being president was hard. Realize that. Pray about your decision, and if it feels right, go for it! If you do decide to go through with that, realize that you may need to give up some other clubs in order to focus on stuco. I recommend sticking with sports, because the exercise is essential. But don't worry about trying to impress on college applications by being involved with everything. Regardless of the outcomes of tomorrow, have fun with it! And I have something important for you to read. It's a talk by Spencer W. Kimball titled 'Jesus: the Perfect Leader' from the August 1979 Ensign. Read it and apply what you can from it. I wish I had realized some of the lessons in there as a leader at school. And take Mom and Dad's advice seriously. They both have a lot of leadership experience, they remember things that Brock and I went through, and they're way smarter than us. During high school, I blew off some of their advice and I regret it.
Mom, I'm doing great! It was another tough week, but I had a few pick-me-ups that helped me out a lot.
Dad, there are no cultural things to do here on P-day. It's really weird, there's nothing in our mission like that. No ruins, no museums, no volcanos, and the beach is about three hours away. (we can see the beach on a clear day from the top of our area, but the roads are so bad that it takes forever to get there). All the other missions in Guatemala have a ton of cool stuff like that. But I guess our mission trades that for more success as far as baptisms. I'm content with playing soccer. Maybe we can come back and visit some of the cool stuff after the mission.
Transfers are in two weeks. I think either I or my companion are out of here. But we'll see.
So on Tuesday I went on splits with Elder Maurer, our zone leader. It was such a great day. I went to his area and his companion came to Cuyo with Elder Tacam. We took care of a lot of zone leader stuff and finally got to teaching in the evening. I haven't known him for long, but he's already one of my best friends in the mission. And I love his area. His bishop is a multi millionaire that speaks english and fed us pizza that night. And we ate it in his mansion.
Elder Maurer was pretty stressed out that day and we had some good laughs to stay sane, but we also had some really cool gospel discussions. I asked him a question that I often ask myself and he had a really interesting response. I explained to him that we all have different gifts and blessings during this life. So that means we should be using those gifts to progress during this life to reach a potential. A lot of times I feel like I'm not working with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. My question was, 'What if I'm not progressing as a missionary at the rate the Lord expects of me? Does that mean I'm failing to reach my potential?' He explained to me that he often worried about that and then he said I need to forget myself. He said that when we worry about stuff like that, it's like we're walking around with a mirror in front of our face all day. We focus on ourselves and see our errors, and that keeps us from seeing the needs of others. When we take that mirror away and focus on others, we progress a lot faster and we're a lot happier.
I was impressed by that response, and it helped me a lot. The Savior never worried about himself, he was always focused on others. Of course, he had no errors to worry about, but perhaps we would have no errors if we were always focused on the needs of others.
I asked him another question, less serious, but it's always something i've kind of wondered about. I asked him what Christ did on the seventh day to rest. He said I dunno and we sat there wondering about it for awhile. After I came back to Cuyo, he called us on the phone that night and then told me he had an answer. He asked his bishop that question. His bishop explained that the Savior admired and enjoyed His creations and expressed gratitude to the Father. I felt like it was a big, duh! Haha it's simple, but it's so cool! Haha why didn't I realize that?
Okay, I don't have a question this week, but I have a favor to ask. A long time ago, I heard that a modern prophet made a promise to full time missionaries and explained that if they memorize a scripture a day on their mission they will come back with a photographic memory. Could you confirm that quote for me? That would be awesome. Regardless of whether or not it's true, I'm gonna keep doing it, but I'm just curious as to whether or not that's a legitimate quote.
Ha blessings in disguise... A lady in the ward, Margarita, was talking to us the other night about financial problems. She wanted advice. We eventually got onto the topic of tithing. I was thinking 'okay, here I am, a gringo, apparently with tons of money, how can I tell them they ought to pay their tithing while they're having financial problems?' Then I remembered when I crashed Brock's car... and how I didn't have much money. And then I needed a job in the summer. I kept paying tithing as I looked for more work and was eventually blessed with a lot of job opportunities. I shared that experience and it really helped out. As horrible as it was going through that experience with crashing the car and all (and how I still have no money), it is all a blessing in disguise. I've been able to use that experience to help other people understand the blessing of tithing. And even though I don't know what I'm going to do for money in the future, I have faith that the Lord will help me out. Maybe that means tough times ahead, but it'll all work out. And when I explain that to other people, it helps them be motivated to stay strong and have faith that it'll all work out.
I found out today that Elder Maurer has changes tomorrow during the leadership meeting. That's kind of a downer, but he's needed elsewhere. Haha he's been here for over a year!
Well, take care everyone. You're all in my prayers. And thank you for your prayers, emails, and support. I love you guys so much! Have an awesome week!
Elder Austin Tyler
Subject: Re: New Month...
Hey!
Haha okay I'll be honest. That picture of Ginger made me baggy. Haha the dogs here aren't quite the same.
Sounds like a lot of interesting stuff happening at home! Thanks for all the news! Haley! Running for president!? Technically you have the same amount of time in Stuco when I ran, but dang girl! I hope you're sure you want to do that. Being president was hard. Realize that. Pray about your decision, and if it feels right, go for it! If you do decide to go through with that, realize that you may need to give up some other clubs in order to focus on stuco. I recommend sticking with sports, because the exercise is essential. But don't worry about trying to impress on college applications by being involved with everything. Regardless of the outcomes of tomorrow, have fun with it! And I have something important for you to read. It's a talk by Spencer W. Kimball titled 'Jesus: the Perfect Leader' from the August 1979 Ensign. Read it and apply what you can from it. I wish I had realized some of the lessons in there as a leader at school. And take Mom and Dad's advice seriously. They both have a lot of leadership experience, they remember things that Brock and I went through, and they're way smarter than us. During high school, I blew off some of their advice and I regret it.
Mom, I'm doing great! It was another tough week, but I had a few pick-me-ups that helped me out a lot.
Dad, there are no cultural things to do here on P-day. It's really weird, there's nothing in our mission like that. No ruins, no museums, no volcanos, and the beach is about three hours away. (we can see the beach on a clear day from the top of our area, but the roads are so bad that it takes forever to get there). All the other missions in Guatemala have a ton of cool stuff like that. But I guess our mission trades that for more success as far as baptisms. I'm content with playing soccer. Maybe we can come back and visit some of the cool stuff after the mission.
Transfers are in two weeks. I think either I or my companion are out of here. But we'll see.
So on Tuesday I went on splits with Elder Maurer, our zone leader. It was such a great day. I went to his area and his companion came to Cuyo with Elder Tacam. We took care of a lot of zone leader stuff and finally got to teaching in the evening. I haven't known him for long, but he's already one of my best friends in the mission. And I love his area. His bishop is a multi millionaire that speaks english and fed us pizza that night. And we ate it in his mansion.
Elder Maurer was pretty stressed out that day and we had some good laughs to stay sane, but we also had some really cool gospel discussions. I asked him a question that I often ask myself and he had a really interesting response. I explained to him that we all have different gifts and blessings during this life. So that means we should be using those gifts to progress during this life to reach a potential. A lot of times I feel like I'm not working with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. My question was, 'What if I'm not progressing as a missionary at the rate the Lord expects of me? Does that mean I'm failing to reach my potential?' He explained to me that he often worried about that and then he said I need to forget myself. He said that when we worry about stuff like that, it's like we're walking around with a mirror in front of our face all day. We focus on ourselves and see our errors, and that keeps us from seeing the needs of others. When we take that mirror away and focus on others, we progress a lot faster and we're a lot happier.
I was impressed by that response, and it helped me a lot. The Savior never worried about himself, he was always focused on others. Of course, he had no errors to worry about, but perhaps we would have no errors if we were always focused on the needs of others.
I asked him another question, less serious, but it's always something i've kind of wondered about. I asked him what Christ did on the seventh day to rest. He said I dunno and we sat there wondering about it for awhile. After I came back to Cuyo, he called us on the phone that night and then told me he had an answer. He asked his bishop that question. His bishop explained that the Savior admired and enjoyed His creations and expressed gratitude to the Father. I felt like it was a big, duh! Haha it's simple, but it's so cool! Haha why didn't I realize that?
Okay, I don't have a question this week, but I have a favor to ask. A long time ago, I heard that a modern prophet made a promise to full time missionaries and explained that if they memorize a scripture a day on their mission they will come back with a photographic memory. Could you confirm that quote for me? That would be awesome. Regardless of whether or not it's true, I'm gonna keep doing it, but I'm just curious as to whether or not that's a legitimate quote.
Ha blessings in disguise... A lady in the ward, Margarita, was talking to us the other night about financial problems. She wanted advice. We eventually got onto the topic of tithing. I was thinking 'okay, here I am, a gringo, apparently with tons of money, how can I tell them they ought to pay their tithing while they're having financial problems?' Then I remembered when I crashed Brock's car... and how I didn't have much money. And then I needed a job in the summer. I kept paying tithing as I looked for more work and was eventually blessed with a lot of job opportunities. I shared that experience and it really helped out. As horrible as it was going through that experience with crashing the car and all (and how I still have no money), it is all a blessing in disguise. I've been able to use that experience to help other people understand the blessing of tithing. And even though I don't know what I'm going to do for money in the future, I have faith that the Lord will help me out. Maybe that means tough times ahead, but it'll all work out. And when I explain that to other people, it helps them be motivated to stay strong and have faith that it'll all work out.
I found out today that Elder Maurer has changes tomorrow during the leadership meeting. That's kind of a downer, but he's needed elsewhere. Haha he's been here for over a year!
Well, take care everyone. You're all in my prayers. And thank you for your prayers, emails, and support. I love you guys so much! Have an awesome week!
Elder Austin Tyler
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