tyler's letter

This week hmmmmm. It was pretty great. We got a lot of work done on the Ward. Meeting and finding, mucho mucho. We found a lady whose name is Chui and she is about 60 and she has a super strong testimony. She sits there and takes notes during our lessons jaja. Its wonderful! We asked her if she will be baptized and she said YES!She has already been to church like 3 or 4 times in the past and you have to go 5 times here to be baptized so it should be pretty soon that she is baptized. I am really happy and excited for her to make this fantastic step. So in our Ward we have been trying to figure out a game plan for the less actives. Because it is about 30 percent actives and 70 percent menos activos. I was a bit off on my percentages last week. But ya its a bit cray cray (M sizz what up dog) So ya hopefully our plan Works. Oh the food got to me this week.... I will leave it at that.... ya....k...

I have grown a lot spiritually this week! It has been the best week yet for me in my spiritual growth. Which i didnt think could happen because the mtc is spiritual heaven. Seriously being out here makes me not miss but appreciate how easy, and fun, and wonderful the mtc was. You constantly feel the spirit so strong. You get to speak english..... and you are around your best friends all day in a room. But its pretty great here too because we get to help out people to make eternal decisions! I still am not bueno at español. wowzers its so tough. But hey its not some weird language so i cant complain. I just wish i knew more so that i could help out a Little bit more. But i am really good at bearing my testimony, especially at bearing it on familias. I can bring the spirit pretty strong, because every time i bear my testimony on mi familia i tear up a bit, because you  guys are so darn awesome!!!!! Holy cow every time I see a Little boy here I think of you kyle, all i wanna do is play some ping pong with you!! I sure do love you guys like you cant imagine! But i will be alright! Oh happy birthday dad!!!!!!!!! and grandpa!!!! I love you all so much! you are in my prayers always! Feel free to keep me in your prayers i can use all the help i can get!!! jaja i know you are!

Love you so much!!

Elder Allison

Helloooooooo,

So this is it! Last email before I am in MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Wowzers. It's crazy! I really can't imagine it. This time next week I will be in a little house teaching a family the gospel, knowing very little of what is being said! Can't wait! But I can bear my testimony so hopefully that will do the trick :) It has been another wonderful week, I continue to learn so much! I have been learning so much about how to be more like Christ and it is so awesome! My relationship with my Heavenly Father is growing tremendously! I really really love this so much :) I truly love it here and think it will be kind of sad not being here any more learning. But at the same time I think that will all go away the second I land in Mexico :) So I am the "travel leader" for like 14 Elders all going to MCNW. jajajajajaja I don't think the people got the memo that I don't know what I am doing in air ports seeing as I've only flown twice..... It should be interesting ;) We leave the MTC on Tuesday morning at 2:30 in the morning! ya 2:30..... should be interesting, who needs sleep anyways? jaja. But I should be able to call home that morning or around 10 in our layover in Dallas. I will email you again on like Saturday. They let us since we are leaving :) There have been a few missionaries struggling in our zone lately, so it is kind of our job to look over them and help them in every way we can, so this week has been kind of focused for me on how I can help them. I have tried learning and learning about Christ as a leader and bringing on those attributes in my leadership. I know that I have received much help especially with just loving them and praying for them each day.

Ahh funnnnnnnnnnny story for ya.

So for about the past 2 weeks our thermostat "magically" keeps on changing at night.. or so my roommates (the 3 others i am with) think jaja. They enjoy turning the temperature down to 45 degrees! which is pretty much Antarctica. So every night I finish my prayer around 10:40-10:45 and everyone else is already done with their prayers and almost asleep. So I pretend like I'm going to the bathroom and I always turn it way up and turn it from cool to off or heat :) They were so confused how this was happening jaja. I said some thing like "maybe it is one of the security guards" because they don't really like the security guards here. They had a bad encounter or something once. So they were like "ya! It totally is them!!!" They are still convinced that it is the security gaurds jajajajajajajaja. They set up a "trap" to try and catch them. The past 2 nights they put the Ironing board right in front of the door with things on it so that "when he opens the door and sneaks in our room in the middle of the night it will fall down and we can catch him!" jajaja Wowzers too funny! So last night I unlocked the door so it would look like one of them tried to sneak in but saw the trap and turned back. They totally fell for it. It is really to easy :) I think I will keep going with it. It's just to much fun :) 

I watched a mormon message I beleive it is called Heavenly Father-Earthly Father. Man oh man It is way powerful! I couldn't help but think of you throughout the whole thing dad! You really are everything it says in the message! You are the bestest ever! :) 

I love you all so much remember who the ultimate example is in our lives. Jesucristo! If we try and try each and every day to be more like him I know that our lives will be so much better! I love him and his sacrafice for me and for everyone! Without the Atonement we'd be struggling big time! I know without my Heavenly Father I am nothing Alma 26:12. One of the best scriptures out there in my opinion anyways :)

Alrighty hear goes my best attempt at my testimony.

Yo sé que Jesucristo es mi Salvador y Redentor y Él es su Salvador y Redentor.

Yo sé que a traves la expiacion de Jesucristo nosotros podemos limpio de nuestros peccados. Esté conocimiento me ayuda a tener esperanza en mi vida.

Yo sé que El Libro de Mormon es verdadero, porque yo orado a saber por mi mismo.

Yo sé que Dios es nuestro amorozo Padre Celestial.

Yo sé que nostoros podemos orar a Dios todos el tiempo y recibir una respuesta.

Yo sé que las familias son eterno, este conocimiento me ayuda a tener faliz por que mi familia es todo cosa in mi vida.

Este es mi testimonio 

En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

( The spelling is way off. I can say it just not really quite type it fully correctly yet ) Love you all!

-Elder Allison

Jarrett Nielsen

In class today Bro Willard told us a story about this Elder and how the first three weeks he had no idea what his teacher was saying but he put in the faith and the work than he was the best japanese speaker in the mtc. You have no idea how much that motivated me. I can't tell you how much I like Bro Willard he is truely an amazing guy. I got a letter from grandpa today and it is always good to hear from him. I probably have learned 75 new words in the past 2 days. The MTC goal is 700 and if I can do 75 each day I could reach that goal in like 15 days.

Reading the scriptures is always the best I wish that I could read more! Today during class I just feel like our teacher just didn't care about us anymore and he has just gave up on us, this is a different teacher than Brother Willard. So I got down on myself but I just said a nice little prayer and all the sudden I just felt the strength again that I could do anything with the Lord. During our teaching I was able to say a lot more sentances it was the gift of tounges! Than our next class Bro Willard really helped me today and he really show me that he loves me he is one of my heros.

Last night me and Elder Sizilio (brazilian) and Elder Scott we had a sleepover it was super sweet. Because Sizilio had surgery we had to wake him up every hour to make sure he was alive. It was super fun we stayed up until like two in the morning which is the latest I have stayed up yet on the mission. It was super fun, Suquilio is an amazing guy he truely loves this gospel and his family because he has helped them out with money a lot he has had a rough life I really connect with him a lot, he is another one of my heros. About the language I love it, it is honestly amazing.

Well I want to share with you guys experience; well I am not sure if you would call it an experience. I just have realize how important prayer is. I can tell the difference when I forget to pray in the morning and when I do I can just tell because when I do I really do have amazing experiences throughout the day. I realize that we are able to talk to our heavenly father all the time whenever we need him, and that our relationship with him should honestly be best relationship we will ever have with anyone. There are always times that when I get down and discouraged and I think to say a prayer and it is amazing how fast my day will turn around. I love talking to my Heavenly Father; and I hope that me and his relationship can go stronger.

Love
Elder Nielsen

Landon Wilson's Email- 8/26/13

Family!!!

I love being a missionary.  If you didnt know that already, I love being a missionary.  Its the best ever! The work is going great here! Tough as always on a mission, but it is ALWAYS worth it.  Always.  So lets just start with this.... Im 2 transfers in on saturday... what?! Where the heck is the time going? That 6 weeks felt like a solid 2 weeks... tops... maybe 1.  I honestly dont know where the time is going, and I dont know how I feel about it.  Its moving sooo fast! Im so scared for transfers on saturday.  Elder Ortiz and I have to stay together!! I love our investigators sooo much and were so close to baptism with a couple of them! Im sure he´ll get moved to train someone else or something.... Or be the AP.  One of the AP´s is going home, and he is seriously so solid.  Hes the zone leader and everything.  Hes a complete stud! So we´ll see! I really hope we get to stay together, but Im thinking its unlikely! Ill update you on that next week though!

So funny story... real quick.  We were just walkin up the street... like always!:)... and I look over and of course see this grandpap.  Hes walking with a cane and a top hat and just enjoying the morning like the grandpas do here.  Well the next thing I know its like hes 30 years younger and starts going crazy on this empty beer can thats on the ground.  He starts wacking it with his cane and crushing it with its cane until he is completely satisfied.  I died.... Literally died.  So funny.  Later, he just continues on his daily stroll.  Gotta love the grandpaps here.  hahaha! 

So Alcala is crazzzy.  Its end of summer parties alllll week.  And you know how I described to  you the parties before? Well the ones before dont even compare.  Everyone just stays in there house until it starts cooling off... then EVERYONE comes out to the party.  All the streets are lit up.  Literally every street.  They have little stores through the streets that sell cool little things and super good looking food.  Hot churros dipped in chocolate, bbqs cooked with deer legs just hanging there.  Parades, games, and everything.  Its alpine days on steroids.  Its crazy! Its pretty much all day for 8 days straight! All the tables are pulled out into the road just to fine dine.  Its not really eating.  It looks like they give you food sufficient for a bird, and it probably costs a boat load.  Its all about the social aspect here.  Everyone pulls out there ciggerates and acts all elegant here when there dining.  Its pretty funny! Its crazy though.  We try to avoid it and just get to work on the out skirts of town.  Because 1) The people there just want to party and 2) we dont want to be there.  The work is way more important.  We dont even want it as a temptation. So we just head straight out there before the party starts.  We have to walk right by it though to get back to our piso.  I mean its ALL of alcala so its just crazy! I love it.  Its super cool, and family friendly.  At least in the main zone of the party in the Plaza.  Its so awesome! 

Another quick funny story... So we live  by this place called pinky burger.  Ill send pics... but we went there and theres this HUGE sign out front that says "All you can eat and all you can drink" so we figured last P day what the heck we walk by this place every single day we need to try this buffet.  So we go there and start with 2 items from the menu..... we go up and ask for more... and they say "Oh your still hungry?"....  If I was with the fam at that moment I would have said "Who do you think we are a bunch of aubreys??" hahaha Your a light weight aubs.  You need to start poundin it for Bball season! But yeah so we totally got schammed into eating 2 very mediocore burgers.  Article Circle quality burgers.... Kdub.  For 8 euros.  But whatever! It was a very necassary bad decision.

So the investigators real quickly.  Alba didnt end up getting baptized... before us she had been meeting with the Jehovah Wittnesses for almost 2 years... soooo she thinks she needs to take her sweet time with the baptism.  Which she does... But we have taught her everything.  And she told us the church is true.  She has a testimony! And just wants to wait.  Please pray for Alba family! She needs your prayers to take this step.  Were working with her lots, and one day she will take that step.  Melani... she has been working soooo much, but is movin along for her baptismal date of September 8th.  Shes so awesome! From Genieu in Africa.  Pedro has been on vacations for 2 weeks and doesnt get back till saturday.  So we havent heard from him much.  Hes trying to quit smoking over the vacation... pray for him too! Please family this is so important to me! I can just see those 3 all in white standing in that font, taking that necassary step for eternal life.  

So something Ive learned this week... IM SO BLESSED.  I have the best family in the world.  I have the best companion in the world.  I have the area in Spain.  I have been blessed with 3 investigators very close to baptism.  I get to wear the name of Christ over my heart every day.  Wow I cant even believe it sometimes! When I start to feel tired or like Ive worked hard enough, or just a little disappointed... this week I just think of what I DO have... and that I know these investigators can have to! Its amazing how a attitude can change yourself from dragging your feet, to having your companion chasing you.  hahaha! But really Family, If Ive learned anything out here its to BE HAPPY!! Like really, smile.  Just smile! I love being a missionary so much! Be happy in the hard times.  Find something to be happy about! We are so blessed! I love you family! I feel your prayers.  I love being a missionary for God! 

Elder Weelson