What an awesome missionary. This letter cracks me up. :)
Hey Fam,
I have had a great week. we had transfers in the mission but i stayed here with the same comp so thats cool. we found the same guy that day, and hes doing alright. we are not teaching him but we felt like we were in the right place at the right time to help. its good to feel like God has that confidence in you.
so just to let you guys know what went on this week:
first we found a family that is really cool, Felix and Joseline, and their two little girls. Joseline is amazing and progressing really well. Felix is just crazy and funny. He likes to party and drink. but they're are only like 24 and 25 years old and not married, so thats going to be a hard one but, there progressing so thats awesome.
something funny, we were walking down the street and there was this old lady picking fruit. so like good missionaries we stopped to help. we picked all the fruit off that tree. then as we were finishing the neighbors walked out and noticed what we were doing. they then said to each other,"they're stealing the fruit off the neighbors tree!!" so then the old lady is like thank you, and just walks off with all that fruit. nothing happened or anything but we just robbed this guy thinking we were doing service.( not our fault :) ) but it was really funny.
also as we were in the street this huge part of a tree just fell down on top of this car with a bunch of kids in it. close call but they're all right. We passed this guy that was wasted on his bike who stopped us. at the time i didnt know he was wasted. he stopped my comp and was like "you guys have to help me because i just hate life and im all alone". so we were like ok, we are going to help you. then he told us that he was going to shoot himself. we thought oh no not again, so we tried to help him. but he just got mad. then we saw that he was just really really smashed. but at this point he wouldnt let us go. i dont think my comp noticed that he had been drinking, but i was just going to end it because we were not getting anywere with this drunk guy. so i gave him a pamphlet and said that we would go by his house. then it just turned funny because he took the thing and just chucked it, yelled at us and said "i just wanted a hug, is that to much to ask?" so i gave him a hug and left laughing. it was a great experience. helping people here in chile one hug at a time.
but we have really been blessed this week, i am mystified be the tender mercies of the lord that he gives us everyday. at the time things just seem like trials, but as we look back we realize that the times we grow the most aren't when we have easy times but the hard times. God has an incredible armor for us. as we increase our understanding of God's plan, we begin to see that hes in charge and to see the things from his point of view. its good stuff.
Love you guys,
Elder Nelson
January 24, 2011
Dear Family,
Hey Hows it going!!! I'm going great!! we have had a great week. I'll start with a funny experience. we were in a car with a few members when we ran into one of those police stops that are pretty common here. well my comp got freaked out a little bit. and when the cop, who was not having a great day, he got a suspicious of us because we don't look like we are from here. i was in the front seat and Elder Rhodes in back. I'm not sure why but my comp put his hands in the air and looked really nervous, and red, but hes always red and we are kind of burnt. so the cop started asking a lot of questions and my comp couldn't really answer very well in Spanish. well it was all really funny and ended with my companion getting searched. he was freaked out and the rest of us were laughing our heads off afterwords. its great to be new in the mission!!
i hope that dads doing alright and that hes getting better. i dont need to tell you that hearing that kind of stuff makes me worried. he better be taking good care of himself. please keep me posted. its great hearing of the success that your having there in the ward. keep it up, and keep helping the converts.
Well, love you all thanks for everything.
Elder Nelson
P.S. i got the christmas card, thats a really old picture of me, it was weird to see it. but i really liked the whole thing.
Hey Jessie, How's it going,
Its great to see the pictures, it looks and sounds like you are doing great. i got your Christmas card this last week. it looks great!!! just to let you know its alright to send the video. i don't think there is any rule against it, not that i have heard of anyway. we had an experience that was very interesting on our way here to use the Internet. we passed a man walking here, and said hi to him. then waiting at a light he caught up to us, and we passed him again. as we were walking a man fell down on his bike so we stoped to help him. as we were helping him the man walking passed us again. then we kept going and passed him for the last time. as we passed him, and he was behind us, he yelled to us( which is not unusual). what we thought is the worth of a life, so we walked with him talking. As we stopped he told us that he was going to see his dad and his brother to say goodbye, and that he was going to end his life. We were placed in his path to help him, he told us to go to his house later and to give him a reason to live. i don't know what will happen later but i know that God uses us to help his children in need and to be an instrument in the hands of God. Also to be worthy in order to be able to help. that desire weighs heavy on my soul.
Thank you so much for your support and for everything that you guys do. Jess you have always been a great example for me and i am very grateful to have been blessed with such a great family.
Love,
Elder Nelson
Hey Hows it going!!! I'm going great!! we have had a great week. I'll start with a funny experience. we were in a car with a few members when we ran into one of those police stops that are pretty common here. well my comp got freaked out a little bit. and when the cop, who was not having a great day, he got a suspicious of us because we don't look like we are from here. i was in the front seat and Elder Rhodes in back. I'm not sure why but my comp put his hands in the air and looked really nervous, and red, but hes always red and we are kind of burnt. so the cop started asking a lot of questions and my comp couldn't really answer very well in Spanish. well it was all really funny and ended with my companion getting searched. he was freaked out and the rest of us were laughing our heads off afterwords. its great to be new in the mission!!
i hope that dads doing alright and that hes getting better. i dont need to tell you that hearing that kind of stuff makes me worried. he better be taking good care of himself. please keep me posted. its great hearing of the success that your having there in the ward. keep it up, and keep helping the converts.
Well, love you all thanks for everything.
Elder Nelson
P.S. i got the christmas card, thats a really old picture of me, it was weird to see it. but i really liked the whole thing.
Hey Jessie, How's it going,
Its great to see the pictures, it looks and sounds like you are doing great. i got your Christmas card this last week. it looks great!!! just to let you know its alright to send the video. i don't think there is any rule against it, not that i have heard of anyway. we had an experience that was very interesting on our way here to use the Internet. we passed a man walking here, and said hi to him. then waiting at a light he caught up to us, and we passed him again. as we were walking a man fell down on his bike so we stoped to help him. as we were helping him the man walking passed us again. then we kept going and passed him for the last time. as we passed him, and he was behind us, he yelled to us( which is not unusual). what we thought is the worth of a life, so we walked with him talking. As we stopped he told us that he was going to see his dad and his brother to say goodbye, and that he was going to end his life. We were placed in his path to help him, he told us to go to his house later and to give him a reason to live. i don't know what will happen later but i know that God uses us to help his children in need and to be an instrument in the hands of God. Also to be worthy in order to be able to help. that desire weighs heavy on my soul.
Thank you so much for your support and for everything that you guys do. Jess you have always been a great example for me and i am very grateful to have been blessed with such a great family.
Love,
Elder Nelson
January 17, 2011
oops, sorry i didnt write last week. there was a problem and i couldnt get to it. but before i forget i will write the letter to the scotts.....done. ;) so im trying a new thing and i made a list of some of the things that happened during the week. we had a crazy week full of ....challenges. here it is.
we were in the house of some members teaching a lesson about charity, when suddenly they start telling us about a lot of problems that they have been having and how the father is going to just leave. then the son started yelling, and then the dad got up and just started beating up of the kid. i couldnt just sit there so i got up to stop it. but i wasnt able to. It was the weirdest thing i have felt, because it was like i could not move. well God helped me out a lot because it is not something that we do as missionaries...we cant get into that kind of thing. then he left and left us there with the mom. i didn't know that to say or do, but was prompted to give a blessing. as we put our hands on her head, i felt a feeling of love so strong. it was like something that i have never felt before, we just started crying. i know that it was the love that the savior feels for her and that he used us to let her know.
that was my real dramatic experience this week.
some other funny things that happened are those funny Spanish mix ups. my companion was buying Turkey (pavo) but said dirt(Polvo), needless to say i was laughing my head off. And you would think that with older people that kind of thing never happens, but we were buying lunch another day and a sister from the ward was buying. so she told us to go next door and buy a drink. but as she was saying it she repeated the "next door" part at the end. well in Chile when talking they don't say the d at the end of the word very much, so instead of understanding ´´a lado´´ i understood Helado. in Chile they say the two words very much the same, she was very confused when we walked out with ice cream.
Also our tires got slashed on our bikes. that was a bummer. a sister we just got active broke her foot going down the stairs at a Family night we were having in the church. ( there's another cool blessing story with that one, and she is doing a lot better)
what else?
i played basketball for the first time in a long time, that was embarrassing.
a lot of things happened but more than anything i could really see the hand of God in my week. the work goes on and we are finding the people that need us, the best thing it to get to a family and hear that we got there right when we needed to and that we gave the mesage that we needed to give in that moment. the Spirit is a wonderful thing.
well i hope that that was better.
Love you guys,
Elder Tyler Nelson
Typical missionary food. Eating a bag of cookie dough.
A really cool bike ride.
we were in the house of some members teaching a lesson about charity, when suddenly they start telling us about a lot of problems that they have been having and how the father is going to just leave. then the son started yelling, and then the dad got up and just started beating up of the kid. i couldnt just sit there so i got up to stop it. but i wasnt able to. It was the weirdest thing i have felt, because it was like i could not move. well God helped me out a lot because it is not something that we do as missionaries...we cant get into that kind of thing. then he left and left us there with the mom. i didn't know that to say or do, but was prompted to give a blessing. as we put our hands on her head, i felt a feeling of love so strong. it was like something that i have never felt before, we just started crying. i know that it was the love that the savior feels for her and that he used us to let her know.
that was my real dramatic experience this week.
some other funny things that happened are those funny Spanish mix ups. my companion was buying Turkey (pavo) but said dirt(Polvo), needless to say i was laughing my head off. And you would think that with older people that kind of thing never happens, but we were buying lunch another day and a sister from the ward was buying. so she told us to go next door and buy a drink. but as she was saying it she repeated the "next door" part at the end. well in Chile when talking they don't say the d at the end of the word very much, so instead of understanding ´´a lado´´ i understood Helado. in Chile they say the two words very much the same, she was very confused when we walked out with ice cream.
Also our tires got slashed on our bikes. that was a bummer. a sister we just got active broke her foot going down the stairs at a Family night we were having in the church. ( there's another cool blessing story with that one, and she is doing a lot better)
what else?
i played basketball for the first time in a long time, that was embarrassing.
a lot of things happened but more than anything i could really see the hand of God in my week. the work goes on and we are finding the people that need us, the best thing it to get to a family and hear that we got there right when we needed to and that we gave the mesage that we needed to give in that moment. the Spirit is a wonderful thing.
well i hope that that was better.
Love you guys,
Elder Tyler Nelson
(Sorry, I can't get this image to flip around...)
Getting my hair cut from a sister. It was her first time.
Typical missionary food. Eating a bag of cookie dough.
A really cool bike ride.
January 3, 2011
Hey hows it going, I'm writing a little later because we went on a 3 hour bike ride through the mountains this morning and it took a lot of time, but it was a lot of fun. it sounds like a lot of fun what everyone is doing, i was really happy to hear from jessie and kevin also, it sounds like they're doing great, and i cant wait to get the pictures. i wanted to ask breanna a favor, if she could. i found out that in the mission, nobody asks for emails. Instead they just look everyone up on facebook. i know that sounds dumb but it is huge here in chile. i know nothing of facebook but its the only way that i can keep in touch with companions and converts and members here in chile. i was wondering if bre could make me one and get it going so that i can just give people my full name and be able to keep in touch with them, after the mission. i cant use it on the mission and i don't want to have to worry about it and have it be a distraction so if she could do it that would be great. love you guys!!!!
Elder Nelson
Elder Nelson
Christmas Call Notes, 2010
Mom and Dad had some trouble getting a hold of Tyler right at 12:00 because they had the wrong area code for Tyler’s area. They finally got through on the calling card about 12:05. They starting recording the phone call a few minutes in for Jessie, Kevin and Breanna to hear later. They were up at the cabin for Christmas and had Chad with them.
They just asked Tyler what the area he was in is like…
T: Little town areas, little communities so we go around to the little communities
Is it a new area?
We opened the sector there was no work done here at all and there are no members here.
So is it hard?
It was pretty tough but it was a lot of fun. Like I’m having so much fun in this last place. A lot has changed and we have worked our buts off.
So the people that you spent Christmas with, are they members?
Yes well not all of them but they are new members and they just moved into our ward from another sector. They are really cool in fact Sister Sanchez she was really worried that she kept thinking about her kid who is 15 years old and will be leaving on a mission and she was like Oh I hope your parents are worried that you will be alright during Christmas and so she did all these things for us and cooked dinner and everything and she was like crying at the end. She was so sad that we were so far away from home. They are really cool.
That makes us feel good that someone was taking care of you.
Right so I said that I would tell my parents that we are good.
Well tell them thank you very much.
Yeah I got a lot of cool ties and everything.
And you have a new companion now too?
Yeah the new elder, its my second time training so that’s cool.
Where is he from?
Logan, Utah
Oh really that’s where we lived.
Did we live there really?
Well you didn’t but Jessie was born there. Dad –Utah State is where I graduated.
Oh he goes to Utah State.
Chad’s here. Chad- Hi Tyler
Whoa (Tyler was surprised at how deep Chad’s voice was..), hows is going?
Its going good.
That’s good. How is football going?
It’s good. It’s over right now
Did you guys win state?
Oh yeah.
Who did you play again?
Mountain Ridge I think
So Hamilton is doing pretty good in football this year?
M: We didn’t have a lot of competition this year because the top teams lost early in the competition so we ended up playing kind of easy teams so we just kindof blew everyone away. It wasn’t very competitive.
Well that’s alright.
Jessie, Kevin and Breanna are driving here right now and we are trying to get ahold of them but they are in a bad area so they just wanted to make sure I told you Merry Christmas from them and they love you and everything.
Tyler - Ok that’s cool. Its alright. I know that they want to be there.
Mom- We are still trying to call them. We are trying to hook up with them but they are not in a good area.
Tyler- Right
Mom- But we are recording it so they can listen to it. And we are excited to see Lexi too
Tyler- Right me too. That’s very cool that I have a niece.
Dad- Yeah you are an uncle.
Mom- Well you sound awesome. Everyone asks about you all the time.
Tyler- Really? They haven’t forgotten about me yet?
Mom- No, in fact the Scotts that you hometaught. They sent you money again.
Tyler- ah man
Mom- I’ll put that into your account, so if you want to get something you can. You need to write another note to them
Tyler- I’ll write an email. How are they doing?
Dad- They are doing well. They always ask about you.
I forgot to tell you I had to take out money for the bike. We had to buy some things. I haven’t bought anything for a long time. They are going to reimburse me.
Mom- that’s fine. I’ll check it. You did get the work out thing for Christmas right?
Tyler- Yeah, it’s so cool. I’m into working out right now.
Mom- I love the last pictures you sent. Send as many pictures as you can. It makes it easier for us to imagine you there.
Ty- I’m taking a lot more pictures now. Especially during the Christmas time. I didn’t really take many pictures before.
Mom- that’s good. There are a couple things I want to ask you. I don’t know if we can, but have you thought more about us coming to get you?
Tyler- Yes! I want you to come.
Mom- we’ll figure it out. We’re not sure if we can, but we want to.
Ty- I haven’t heard anything bad about coming down. If you can’t financially, then it’s totally fine.
Mom- we’ll need to get tickets soon because it will be a better price.
Tyler- there’s some really cool places that I’d like to take you to. And, there’s some great families I’d like you to meet. Oh! I’ve got to tell you about something. This last Monday, I helped another elder that opened the sector I was already in. They put me with him for the day. Both of us were trained. I went and visited this family. They look so good. He just got the Melchizedek priesthood. They are taking temple classes.
Is that the one you can maybe go through the temple with?
Yeah, that’s the last one I can maybe be there for when they go through because of the time frame.
Is there anyone else that you are teaching now that is looking good?
Yeah.. and no. We are doing well. But, we are starting from zero. I feel bad because I trained another elder, I wanted to have a baptism with him here.
M: How were those rabies shots?
D: Yeah, what was that all about?
T: Did I tell you about the other time I got bit? The first time, there was this dog, nasty looking. It bit me in the back of the leg. It was just a scratch. But, if blood comes out, you have to get shots. So, I went in and got some. It was a series of 5 shots. It wasn’t too bad. I got shot another bite. My garments protected me! I have a garment story. You always look for those stories. I had never had one before, but now I do! Dogs don’t like you here. We get bit a lot.
That’s cool. Did you get our Christmas bard?
I haven’t gotten anything else. You have not sent me many letters, just so you know!! It’s alright. I hear from you Mom every week. Grandma and Grandpa Sheldon write. They are doing really great. They are like baptizing people! That’s really cool. It’s alright though. It’s just funny. Don’t worry about it. It’s just a joke. Once you hit your year mark, your letters stop. That’s exactly what happened to me. I’m actually perfectly fine with the emails. I feel bad because I never write back. I feel fine with not getting letters because I don’t write back.
Yeah those little short emails are hard, but I understand. We’re looking forward to a huge report when you get back.
Yeah, I’ll start making a list of the things I’ll tell you.
One other thing I need to talk to you about. You don’t need to decide, but just start thinking. I just need to know what your preference will be for school. You need to be accepted first. Just think about what you first choice would be.
I would rather go to BYU-Provo. Idaho is far away.
Well, Breanna is there. She’s having a blast.
There’s nothing to do up there!
She finds lots to do. She’s having a great time. But, I understand what you are saying
If I go there, I’d want to pick up snowboarding. I’ve done it before. It’s not hard. I could take her and teach her.
Okay, Well when I email you if you get in, we’ll have to start talking about classes.
Well, just know that I’d like to start going into Electrical Engineering. Something computer related too.
Dad-EE degrees are mostly combined now with computer science.
Tell us more about.. you.
Uh…
What are some things you do on your off day?
Um, we go, I don’t know. We went and played futbol a lot in Santiago. Here in Los Andes it’s all really spaced out. We can’t get together much. We went on a bike ride- 2 hours. I just about killed my companion. This is his first week in the mission and I woke him up early and took him on a huge bike ride. We go to this hill right next to us. Our sector is right by these hills. I run up them everyday. I like to be active now.
Is it nice to be out of gang-ville?
Game world?
Like where you were.. Were it was kind of violent.
Uh. I don’t know. I don’t understand very much.
Is it nice to be out of the city?
OHHh.. the GANG world?? I see. It’s like really calm here. It’s almost boring. I went form the most dangerous to the sector that there are little towns. It’s like the complete opposite. I don’t have to worry about gun shots, drugs, arrows in the streets. It was actually kind of fun!
I’m sure it was exciting for you, but not so much for us.
Right, right. It’s cool here. It’s great. There all country people. They are nicer. They’ll stop and talk to you. It’s easier to train here. They won’t swear at you in English.. stuff they don’t understand
Do you get to the mission home now?
I do a lot. Because I’m training. We go in a lot for meetings that we have to be there for. It’s a long ways away. But we were there for the Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. It was a dinner for the whole mission. I got to see a lot of my old companions.
Do they have zone conferences and mission conferences?
They have something called a zone class. You have a little mtg with the zone and with the district. They don’t have mission conf. anymore. We used to every month. It’s now on a 3 month period. Interviews are every 3 months instead of every change. It’s so the President doesn’t go crazy with mtgs and can focus on the missionaries.
That’s good. It reminds me of the new handbook. Mtgs are cut back so you can focus on the individuals.
It’s all about just having the spirit now. It’s great. It’s all geared towards that. The meetings, everything. Do you have any other questions?
We wrote down some, but we’ve already asked them… ha.
Is it hard to speak in English? You sound fluent in Spanish.
I’m actually doing a good job right now. The last change, I was with a person who needed a lot of English. He didn’t know Spanish. I was speaking a lot of English. My companion was having a hard time. They don’t understand anything. I had to speak quite a bit of English. I had a comp that was native for 4 ½ months. Now, I’ve had two companions right out the states. I’ve had more practice with only Spanish now. My new companion, Elder Rhodes. He’s the coolest guy I’ve ever met. He speaks Spanish really well. It’s true that he’s so good. He’s saying its not.
Where did he learn it?
I don’t know! He’s just really cool. He must have actually payed attention in Spanish Class.
Well, Chad got an A in Spanish, so you can talk when you get back.
Right, I remember those Spanish classes. We’ll see how that goes. It’s two different things.
He’s doing really well. He’s taking honors and got straight a’s.
He’s a stud! It’s weird. Chad, you’ve changed a lot. It’s all really cool. I remember getting your last pic. Mom said you were 15. I’ve been telling everyone you were 13!! You’re 15!! No way.. I thought you were 13 for a long time.
Yeah, we went out yesterday and shot the guns.
Have you gone hunting yet
We haven’t drawn since you left. We are going to put in for bow hunting.
I want to go when I get back
Chad was really excited because when you get home, he’ll be able to get his permit. You’ll be 21 so you can teach him
That’s going to scare me out of my mind, but I can do that! I haven’t driven a car for a long time. So, we’ll see how that goes.
Oh, well maybe we won’t do that!
No, it will be fun. I’ll teach you how to drive on the other side of the road like they do here and everything! I saw a few pictures that you’re using my wake board…. Hm..
Oh, you weren’t supposed to see that!
Oh, right..
Well, we really haven’t been much. Only once this last year. Chad with football, we can’t leave a lot. We only went one week the entire year. I keep trying to tell them into selling the boat..
NO! I still want to go when I get back
We’re going to plan a trip when you get back before college. You’ll go just before and just after. Chad tried Dads, but it didn’t fit, so he used yours, sorry.
You guys are doing well! I saw the pictures.
Yeah, Chad actually clears the wake now once or twice during a run. He does really well. Not quite to your level. Dad and I, we’re having knee and hip problems so we don’t go very much anymore
-we’re on the down side now.
………………… (Spanish Speaking..) Oh, sorry I was speaking in Spanish..
What?
(laughing). You guys haven’t done very much?
Yeah, we haven’t been going very much. We like watching you kids.
I heard that dad lost a little bit of weight.
Yeah, he looks great! I’ll have another 30 off when you get home. He looks good.
Awesome! I’m planning on coming home skinny too.
Breanna is looking so old, college girl too.
Everyone is really different! Jessie’s got a family, Chad’s different, Breanna’s in college. Weird! Everything’s changed. I haven’t heard about anyone else. How’s everyone doing?
Everyone’s really good. There’s not much new news.
I haven’t kept in contact with many people. It’s hard. There are a lot of different distractions, so I don’t talk to many people.
You’ll be surprised with everyone growing up and moving in.
Dad- btw we got our final on the cabin. It’s basically done.
Yes! You’ve got to send pictures!! I haven’t seen them with furniture, since the first ones you sent in the beginning.
You guys did a great job. It looks really good. We’ll send some for sure.
You say it’s good because you don’t know the things I messed up on.
Just don’t look too close.. haha. It’s good to enjoy it after all that hard work. Dad talks a lot about all the time you spent up here.
That’s cool. I loved all the time working on the cabin. I’ve actually used a lot of the skills here on the mission that I learned building the cabin. Like, service projects. It’s just a little heads up for Chad. There are skills you’d like to be able to know. It’ll serve you.
He does a lot of football. He can still help your dad.
You’ve got 10 minutes. I need to share you missionary experiences. Is there anything you’d like me to share? Being ward mission leader, I need to be sharing those.
Well, the only thing I’d like to tell you is the mission, you think of knocking doors, pamphlets. That’s not the mission. It’s about the members. You need a ward that’s willing to work. People that are willing to invite people and be a good help and give references. Everything goes better. The missionaries will love you and help you. The biggest experience I can give you.. well, the biggest thing has come from the members. The biggest differences have come from references from the members. No contacts or things have gotten me baptisms. It’s all the ward members. It’s cool your ward mission leader. I want to do that when I come back. It’s fun! You just need to get the members excited. Have the missionaries pass through the houses. Give them spiritual experiences. Challenge them and then follow through, verify. Help them feel the spirit. That gets them going. That’s just things that I’ve learned.
Dads trying. It’s hard when people aren’t excited about it. It’s hard when it’s an uphill battle all the time.
Well, that’s missionary work! It’s always uphill battle.
Good point!
You’re always fighting with members. Trying to get them to work. It’s the most satisfying thing in the world. Help other recognize the commandment of doing missionary work and how they are not going to get in the celestial kingdom if they don’t do it. Let it weigh on their souls so they are compelled to share the gospel, then they feel the joy of it and they never want to stop. Some of the happiest members I know are the ones that are always sharing the gospel and inviting others to church and getting references to the missionaries. You as our family can be like the example for the ward. You go to get out there and start inviting the neighbors
I agree. I can tell the ones that are out there on a regular basis. They are happy and keep doing it because they want to keep doing it.
As far as cool experiences… it’s hard to think of good ones. As I look back, it’s all in one. It’s hard to pick something out. But, the biggest experiences I’ve had are working with people that were inactive and then when they return.. they come with their family. When they come back and get baptized with their family. Just seeing the contrast in their life and the joy they have. They never want to go inactive. It’s darkness when you are out of the church. As members, you are in the light. You feel the spirit all the time. It’s not strong all the time. Some houses, you go in, it’s so dark. There’s an absence of the spirit. When you walk in, sometimes they just start crying. That’s my favorite thing.
That’s great. Dads been working with some. It’s been neat to see them come back.
That’s great! Just support them. Invite them over, call, and never judge. People get offended really easily. The biggest thing here in Chile, there’s a problem with pride issues. I’ve learned the importance of being humble as a member.
It’s a problem everywhere. Definitely universal.
So, that’s what I’ve learned.
Those are great things.
Has there been any cool games come out???
Chad- Yeah! There’s the Call of Duty games, 3 new ones.
Wow.. They just want money.. Are there other cool.. things?
The Madden games are really good now. Metal of Honor. It competes well with Call of Duty.
Did they ever come out with Assassins Creed 2?
Yes, a 2nd one. And one I’m hopefully getting for Christmas tomorrow.
Wait, tomorrow? Christmas was today!
Not for our family.. We’re waiting for the kids to get here.
They open Presents here in Chile as 12 in the night. So everyone is sleeping here now. Is it snowing there now?
No.. it’s sunny and nice. It’s warmer than normal here right now. It’s 50 degrees.
Wow, it’s almost as warm there as it is here.
We don’t have any snow here. It’s good for the kids driving, but we wanted some snow. Btw, Chad is a dead on shot. He can outshoot me. He is dead on.
Wow! I’m surprised!
Mom- I shot guns too! I actually hit some things too.
Tyler- I’m so excited for when I can go shooting again.
Dad- that’s what’s nice about here. You can go about a mile away just out in the woods. We had a huge buck in our yard yesterday. It had huge antlers.
Wow, that’s so cool. I bet your trigger fingers were itching… Okay. Like 3 minutes.
Is there anything else you need to know? Everybody’s just doing their own thing!
T: How’s the ward?
D: They’re great. There’s a bunch of boys coming up that will be serving a mission. Remember the Platts in the MTC? They’re back now!
T: You know you’re old in the mission when the senior missionaries are back in the home.
M: I’m glad you’re such a good example to your brother.
T: right..
M: Though, I found out about some things… your secrets are coming out. Like car surfing!
T: Ah, man. I only did that like once! Hey, how my car?
M: It needs some work. We might let Breanna take it to school, but when you get home it will be yours. She doesn’t have a car. She drove yours while you’ve been gone. It still drives. It just has some quirks.
T: Alright, I gotta go.
M, D: we’re proud of you! You’re doing a great job!! Love you. Talk to you later.
T: Chau! Bye! Love you.
The biggest difference we noticed from the last call was how relaxed and confident he sounded. Mom and Dad felt like he seemed at home. It seemed that he was a little more willing to talk about his next phase, coming home. Whereas last time he wanted nothing to do with talking about home. He is doing really well. We can tell how happy he is. He tells us often how he doesn’t want to leave. You can tell he has the Spirit and is completely immersed in the work he is doing. He loves the people of Chile. We loved talking to him.
They just asked Tyler what the area he was in is like…
T: Little town areas, little communities so we go around to the little communities
Is it a new area?
We opened the sector there was no work done here at all and there are no members here.
So is it hard?
It was pretty tough but it was a lot of fun. Like I’m having so much fun in this last place. A lot has changed and we have worked our buts off.
So the people that you spent Christmas with, are they members?
Yes well not all of them but they are new members and they just moved into our ward from another sector. They are really cool in fact Sister Sanchez she was really worried that she kept thinking about her kid who is 15 years old and will be leaving on a mission and she was like Oh I hope your parents are worried that you will be alright during Christmas and so she did all these things for us and cooked dinner and everything and she was like crying at the end. She was so sad that we were so far away from home. They are really cool.
That makes us feel good that someone was taking care of you.
Right so I said that I would tell my parents that we are good.
Well tell them thank you very much.
Yeah I got a lot of cool ties and everything.
And you have a new companion now too?
Yeah the new elder, its my second time training so that’s cool.
Where is he from?
Logan, Utah
Oh really that’s where we lived.
Did we live there really?
Well you didn’t but Jessie was born there. Dad –Utah State is where I graduated.
Oh he goes to Utah State.
Chad’s here. Chad- Hi Tyler
Whoa (Tyler was surprised at how deep Chad’s voice was..), hows is going?
Its going good.
That’s good. How is football going?
It’s good. It’s over right now
Did you guys win state?
Oh yeah.
Who did you play again?
Mountain Ridge I think
So Hamilton is doing pretty good in football this year?
M: We didn’t have a lot of competition this year because the top teams lost early in the competition so we ended up playing kind of easy teams so we just kindof blew everyone away. It wasn’t very competitive.
Well that’s alright.
Jessie, Kevin and Breanna are driving here right now and we are trying to get ahold of them but they are in a bad area so they just wanted to make sure I told you Merry Christmas from them and they love you and everything.
Tyler - Ok that’s cool. Its alright. I know that they want to be there.
Mom- We are still trying to call them. We are trying to hook up with them but they are not in a good area.
Tyler- Right
Mom- But we are recording it so they can listen to it. And we are excited to see Lexi too
Tyler- Right me too. That’s very cool that I have a niece.
Dad- Yeah you are an uncle.
Mom- Well you sound awesome. Everyone asks about you all the time.
Tyler- Really? They haven’t forgotten about me yet?
Mom- No, in fact the Scotts that you hometaught. They sent you money again.
Tyler- ah man
Mom- I’ll put that into your account, so if you want to get something you can. You need to write another note to them
Tyler- I’ll write an email. How are they doing?
Dad- They are doing well. They always ask about you.
I forgot to tell you I had to take out money for the bike. We had to buy some things. I haven’t bought anything for a long time. They are going to reimburse me.
Mom- that’s fine. I’ll check it. You did get the work out thing for Christmas right?
Tyler- Yeah, it’s so cool. I’m into working out right now.
Mom- I love the last pictures you sent. Send as many pictures as you can. It makes it easier for us to imagine you there.
Ty- I’m taking a lot more pictures now. Especially during the Christmas time. I didn’t really take many pictures before.
Mom- that’s good. There are a couple things I want to ask you. I don’t know if we can, but have you thought more about us coming to get you?
Tyler- Yes! I want you to come.
Mom- we’ll figure it out. We’re not sure if we can, but we want to.
Ty- I haven’t heard anything bad about coming down. If you can’t financially, then it’s totally fine.
Mom- we’ll need to get tickets soon because it will be a better price.
Tyler- there’s some really cool places that I’d like to take you to. And, there’s some great families I’d like you to meet. Oh! I’ve got to tell you about something. This last Monday, I helped another elder that opened the sector I was already in. They put me with him for the day. Both of us were trained. I went and visited this family. They look so good. He just got the Melchizedek priesthood. They are taking temple classes.
Is that the one you can maybe go through the temple with?
Yeah, that’s the last one I can maybe be there for when they go through because of the time frame.
Is there anyone else that you are teaching now that is looking good?
Yeah.. and no. We are doing well. But, we are starting from zero. I feel bad because I trained another elder, I wanted to have a baptism with him here.
M: How were those rabies shots?
D: Yeah, what was that all about?
T: Did I tell you about the other time I got bit? The first time, there was this dog, nasty looking. It bit me in the back of the leg. It was just a scratch. But, if blood comes out, you have to get shots. So, I went in and got some. It was a series of 5 shots. It wasn’t too bad. I got shot another bite. My garments protected me! I have a garment story. You always look for those stories. I had never had one before, but now I do! Dogs don’t like you here. We get bit a lot.
That’s cool. Did you get our Christmas bard?
I haven’t gotten anything else. You have not sent me many letters, just so you know!! It’s alright. I hear from you Mom every week. Grandma and Grandpa Sheldon write. They are doing really great. They are like baptizing people! That’s really cool. It’s alright though. It’s just funny. Don’t worry about it. It’s just a joke. Once you hit your year mark, your letters stop. That’s exactly what happened to me. I’m actually perfectly fine with the emails. I feel bad because I never write back. I feel fine with not getting letters because I don’t write back.
Yeah those little short emails are hard, but I understand. We’re looking forward to a huge report when you get back.
Yeah, I’ll start making a list of the things I’ll tell you.
One other thing I need to talk to you about. You don’t need to decide, but just start thinking. I just need to know what your preference will be for school. You need to be accepted first. Just think about what you first choice would be.
I would rather go to BYU-Provo. Idaho is far away.
Well, Breanna is there. She’s having a blast.
There’s nothing to do up there!
She finds lots to do. She’s having a great time. But, I understand what you are saying
If I go there, I’d want to pick up snowboarding. I’ve done it before. It’s not hard. I could take her and teach her.
Okay, Well when I email you if you get in, we’ll have to start talking about classes.
Well, just know that I’d like to start going into Electrical Engineering. Something computer related too.
Dad-EE degrees are mostly combined now with computer science.
Tell us more about.. you.
Uh…
What are some things you do on your off day?
Um, we go, I don’t know. We went and played futbol a lot in Santiago. Here in Los Andes it’s all really spaced out. We can’t get together much. We went on a bike ride- 2 hours. I just about killed my companion. This is his first week in the mission and I woke him up early and took him on a huge bike ride. We go to this hill right next to us. Our sector is right by these hills. I run up them everyday. I like to be active now.
Is it nice to be out of gang-ville?
Game world?
Like where you were.. Were it was kind of violent.
Uh. I don’t know. I don’t understand very much.
Is it nice to be out of the city?
OHHh.. the GANG world?? I see. It’s like really calm here. It’s almost boring. I went form the most dangerous to the sector that there are little towns. It’s like the complete opposite. I don’t have to worry about gun shots, drugs, arrows in the streets. It was actually kind of fun!
I’m sure it was exciting for you, but not so much for us.
Right, right. It’s cool here. It’s great. There all country people. They are nicer. They’ll stop and talk to you. It’s easier to train here. They won’t swear at you in English.. stuff they don’t understand
Do you get to the mission home now?
I do a lot. Because I’m training. We go in a lot for meetings that we have to be there for. It’s a long ways away. But we were there for the Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. It was a dinner for the whole mission. I got to see a lot of my old companions.
Do they have zone conferences and mission conferences?
They have something called a zone class. You have a little mtg with the zone and with the district. They don’t have mission conf. anymore. We used to every month. It’s now on a 3 month period. Interviews are every 3 months instead of every change. It’s so the President doesn’t go crazy with mtgs and can focus on the missionaries.
That’s good. It reminds me of the new handbook. Mtgs are cut back so you can focus on the individuals.
It’s all about just having the spirit now. It’s great. It’s all geared towards that. The meetings, everything. Do you have any other questions?
We wrote down some, but we’ve already asked them… ha.
Is it hard to speak in English? You sound fluent in Spanish.
I’m actually doing a good job right now. The last change, I was with a person who needed a lot of English. He didn’t know Spanish. I was speaking a lot of English. My companion was having a hard time. They don’t understand anything. I had to speak quite a bit of English. I had a comp that was native for 4 ½ months. Now, I’ve had two companions right out the states. I’ve had more practice with only Spanish now. My new companion, Elder Rhodes. He’s the coolest guy I’ve ever met. He speaks Spanish really well. It’s true that he’s so good. He’s saying its not.
Where did he learn it?
I don’t know! He’s just really cool. He must have actually payed attention in Spanish Class.
Well, Chad got an A in Spanish, so you can talk when you get back.
Right, I remember those Spanish classes. We’ll see how that goes. It’s two different things.
He’s doing really well. He’s taking honors and got straight a’s.
He’s a stud! It’s weird. Chad, you’ve changed a lot. It’s all really cool. I remember getting your last pic. Mom said you were 15. I’ve been telling everyone you were 13!! You’re 15!! No way.. I thought you were 13 for a long time.
Yeah, we went out yesterday and shot the guns.
Have you gone hunting yet
We haven’t drawn since you left. We are going to put in for bow hunting.
I want to go when I get back
Chad was really excited because when you get home, he’ll be able to get his permit. You’ll be 21 so you can teach him
That’s going to scare me out of my mind, but I can do that! I haven’t driven a car for a long time. So, we’ll see how that goes.
Oh, well maybe we won’t do that!
No, it will be fun. I’ll teach you how to drive on the other side of the road like they do here and everything! I saw a few pictures that you’re using my wake board…. Hm..
Oh, you weren’t supposed to see that!
Oh, right..
Well, we really haven’t been much. Only once this last year. Chad with football, we can’t leave a lot. We only went one week the entire year. I keep trying to tell them into selling the boat..
NO! I still want to go when I get back
We’re going to plan a trip when you get back before college. You’ll go just before and just after. Chad tried Dads, but it didn’t fit, so he used yours, sorry.
You guys are doing well! I saw the pictures.
Yeah, Chad actually clears the wake now once or twice during a run. He does really well. Not quite to your level. Dad and I, we’re having knee and hip problems so we don’t go very much anymore
-we’re on the down side now.
………………… (Spanish Speaking..) Oh, sorry I was speaking in Spanish..
What?
(laughing). You guys haven’t done very much?
Yeah, we haven’t been going very much. We like watching you kids.
I heard that dad lost a little bit of weight.
Yeah, he looks great! I’ll have another 30 off when you get home. He looks good.
Awesome! I’m planning on coming home skinny too.
Breanna is looking so old, college girl too.
Everyone is really different! Jessie’s got a family, Chad’s different, Breanna’s in college. Weird! Everything’s changed. I haven’t heard about anyone else. How’s everyone doing?
Everyone’s really good. There’s not much new news.
I haven’t kept in contact with many people. It’s hard. There are a lot of different distractions, so I don’t talk to many people.
You’ll be surprised with everyone growing up and moving in.
Dad- btw we got our final on the cabin. It’s basically done.
Yes! You’ve got to send pictures!! I haven’t seen them with furniture, since the first ones you sent in the beginning.
You guys did a great job. It looks really good. We’ll send some for sure.
You say it’s good because you don’t know the things I messed up on.
Just don’t look too close.. haha. It’s good to enjoy it after all that hard work. Dad talks a lot about all the time you spent up here.
That’s cool. I loved all the time working on the cabin. I’ve actually used a lot of the skills here on the mission that I learned building the cabin. Like, service projects. It’s just a little heads up for Chad. There are skills you’d like to be able to know. It’ll serve you.
He does a lot of football. He can still help your dad.
You’ve got 10 minutes. I need to share you missionary experiences. Is there anything you’d like me to share? Being ward mission leader, I need to be sharing those.
Well, the only thing I’d like to tell you is the mission, you think of knocking doors, pamphlets. That’s not the mission. It’s about the members. You need a ward that’s willing to work. People that are willing to invite people and be a good help and give references. Everything goes better. The missionaries will love you and help you. The biggest experience I can give you.. well, the biggest thing has come from the members. The biggest differences have come from references from the members. No contacts or things have gotten me baptisms. It’s all the ward members. It’s cool your ward mission leader. I want to do that when I come back. It’s fun! You just need to get the members excited. Have the missionaries pass through the houses. Give them spiritual experiences. Challenge them and then follow through, verify. Help them feel the spirit. That gets them going. That’s just things that I’ve learned.
Dads trying. It’s hard when people aren’t excited about it. It’s hard when it’s an uphill battle all the time.
Well, that’s missionary work! It’s always uphill battle.
Good point!
You’re always fighting with members. Trying to get them to work. It’s the most satisfying thing in the world. Help other recognize the commandment of doing missionary work and how they are not going to get in the celestial kingdom if they don’t do it. Let it weigh on their souls so they are compelled to share the gospel, then they feel the joy of it and they never want to stop. Some of the happiest members I know are the ones that are always sharing the gospel and inviting others to church and getting references to the missionaries. You as our family can be like the example for the ward. You go to get out there and start inviting the neighbors
I agree. I can tell the ones that are out there on a regular basis. They are happy and keep doing it because they want to keep doing it.
As far as cool experiences… it’s hard to think of good ones. As I look back, it’s all in one. It’s hard to pick something out. But, the biggest experiences I’ve had are working with people that were inactive and then when they return.. they come with their family. When they come back and get baptized with their family. Just seeing the contrast in their life and the joy they have. They never want to go inactive. It’s darkness when you are out of the church. As members, you are in the light. You feel the spirit all the time. It’s not strong all the time. Some houses, you go in, it’s so dark. There’s an absence of the spirit. When you walk in, sometimes they just start crying. That’s my favorite thing.
That’s great. Dads been working with some. It’s been neat to see them come back.
That’s great! Just support them. Invite them over, call, and never judge. People get offended really easily. The biggest thing here in Chile, there’s a problem with pride issues. I’ve learned the importance of being humble as a member.
It’s a problem everywhere. Definitely universal.
So, that’s what I’ve learned.
Those are great things.
Has there been any cool games come out???
Chad- Yeah! There’s the Call of Duty games, 3 new ones.
Wow.. They just want money.. Are there other cool.. things?
The Madden games are really good now. Metal of Honor. It competes well with Call of Duty.
Did they ever come out with Assassins Creed 2?
Yes, a 2nd one. And one I’m hopefully getting for Christmas tomorrow.
Wait, tomorrow? Christmas was today!
Not for our family.. We’re waiting for the kids to get here.
They open Presents here in Chile as 12 in the night. So everyone is sleeping here now. Is it snowing there now?
No.. it’s sunny and nice. It’s warmer than normal here right now. It’s 50 degrees.
Wow, it’s almost as warm there as it is here.
We don’t have any snow here. It’s good for the kids driving, but we wanted some snow. Btw, Chad is a dead on shot. He can outshoot me. He is dead on.
Wow! I’m surprised!
Mom- I shot guns too! I actually hit some things too.
Tyler- I’m so excited for when I can go shooting again.
Dad- that’s what’s nice about here. You can go about a mile away just out in the woods. We had a huge buck in our yard yesterday. It had huge antlers.
Wow, that’s so cool. I bet your trigger fingers were itching… Okay. Like 3 minutes.
Is there anything else you need to know? Everybody’s just doing their own thing!
T: How’s the ward?
D: They’re great. There’s a bunch of boys coming up that will be serving a mission. Remember the Platts in the MTC? They’re back now!
T: You know you’re old in the mission when the senior missionaries are back in the home.
M: I’m glad you’re such a good example to your brother.
T: right..
M: Though, I found out about some things… your secrets are coming out. Like car surfing!
T: Ah, man. I only did that like once! Hey, how my car?
M: It needs some work. We might let Breanna take it to school, but when you get home it will be yours. She doesn’t have a car. She drove yours while you’ve been gone. It still drives. It just has some quirks.
T: Alright, I gotta go.
M, D: we’re proud of you! You’re doing a great job!! Love you. Talk to you later.
T: Chau! Bye! Love you.
The biggest difference we noticed from the last call was how relaxed and confident he sounded. Mom and Dad felt like he seemed at home. It seemed that he was a little more willing to talk about his next phase, coming home. Whereas last time he wanted nothing to do with talking about home. He is doing really well. We can tell how happy he is. He tells us often how he doesn’t want to leave. You can tell he has the Spirit and is completely immersed in the work he is doing. He loves the people of Chile. We loved talking to him.
December 27, 2010
it was great to hear from you all. you all sound so different, much has changed. i and am glad that life is going great. its great to see those pictures and to see how the cabin looks and how you all look. lookin good!!! i do have one cool story. we were riding our bikes and passed a house with a man out front. we just past by with out doing or saying anything. we kept going a little bit and then we felt this strong desire to return and talk with that man. so we did and he accepted us and is now an investigator. just goes to show that Gods in charge and leading this work. i love being able to learn from someone new on the mission, i am very blessed for the opportunity. we had a great Christmas but i am excited to be back to work.
December 20, 2010
Hey hows it going. there are changes today, and i am going to train again. the new elders are coming tomorrow, so i dont know who it is. some times changes are hard, but its always what the lord wants done. so i forgot to give you the number thanks for saying something. it is (XXX)XXXXXX. i think you have to put in that first part, i forgot how long distance calls go again. it has been very crazy, the hardest time of my mission the last 6 weeks, but i know this is the work of the lord and that he is in charge.
here are some pictures of the last change.
the important thing is that im happy, trying to be obedient, and working my butt of.
I love you guys and thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!!!
here are some pictures of the last change.
the important thing is that im happy, trying to be obedient, and working my butt of.
I love you guys and thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!!!
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