This week has been crazy!!

My companion and I taught lessons yesterday in Spanish and to be honest I had no idea what the heck was going on haha!  I was no help.  Sorry, but it is going to be a short email today because I do not have much time but know that I love you all and I am sorry for the short email, I will write a good one next week!

Elder Traveller

Tyler sent the following to his family.  This gives much more insight!

The Mission Field in Mexico City:

The field is crazy.  There are a ton of people and I have no idea what is going on almost all of the time.  I really like the food.  The food is amazing and the Sangria here is great.  I had tacos last night and they were incredible.  I am pretty much downtown in the city and it is crazy.  There is always something going on and there are buildings everywhere.  In my first meeting with my Mission President, he told me that I would be going downtown, so I thought oh nice...big buildings maybe the apartment with be pretty nice...but no I am not near the big buildings or the nice apartments.  That is where the sisters are because are really nice.  The part of the city where I live is definitely not as nice, ha!

You would be proud of me Mom.  When I got here everything was a mess and so dirty, so today we deep cleaned everything and I cleaned the heck out the nastiest fridge I have ever seen.  The cupboards were also soooo gross so I cleaned them too!

My companion is from Ecuador and he is so hard to understand. I don't know what he is saying most of the time.  He is a great guy but I cannot understand his Spanish and he speaks very little English.  We went to the store today and I had no idea where to find anything, so I had to follow him around.  I really wanted to buy cinnamon for Dad's rice recipe so I kept saying we needed cinnamon and he had no idea what the heck I was talking about. Pretty frustrating.

I am in a new place with new people that can not even understand me and I can not understand them.  It causes me to think, what is my purpose here, I feel like I'm doing nothing, helping no one, and it is hard.  But I believe my faith in Jesus Christ and my ability to push through hard things is what is keeping me going right now.  Without those attributes, I probably would have told the mission president that I wanted to go home.

I know in the end it will be alright, it always is.  Do not worry about me,  I will be fine, and I know that Jesus Christ is looking out for me.

Love,
Elder Traveller

The following is a letter from President Naumann.

Dear family of Elder Traveller,

I send you Greetings from Mexico City!  I would like you to know that Elder Traveller arrived safely in the field this morning.  The group left the MTC early this morning and arrived at the mission home at 8:00 am.  We had a good breakfast here where we could get to know each one of them a little better.

After breakfast, we had a personal interview with each one of the missionaries in the group, where he was assigned his new area and his trainer, Elder Traveller will be serving in the Cuauhtemoc Ward in the Industrial Stake.

His new companion will be Elder Salas from Quito, Ecuador, one of the finest missionaries in the field.

Please know that all is well and Elder Traveller is very happy to begin his mission,

Sincerely,

President Naumann

                                    

Tyler at the Mexico City Temple on October 26, 2018

Tyler's district departing for the Mexico City East Mission 

on October 29, 2018

Last group picture from the CCM.

(Loving Tyler's outfit?!)

Elder Traveller at the Mexico City Mission Home with

President Siegfried A. Naumann and Sister Ritta Pyykko Naumann

The newest missionaries of the Mexico City East Mission!

Elder Traveller and Elder Salas.  Tyler's first companion in the field. 

Elder Salas is from Ecuador.

Family Room in first apartment.

Look who finally found the cinnamon! (;

 The kitchen of Tyler's first apartment.

Desk area.  You can learn a lot about Tyler from this picture...

Mexico is lit

Sorry everyone, it is gonna be short and sweet today.  Not a lot of time.

All is well and I know that the most peace and happiness we can find is by serving others and turning to the Lord and His Atonement for help.

Once again, another great quote below!!  Love you all and I hope all is well.

"Don't you quit.  You keep walking.  You keep trying.  There is help and happiness ahead.  Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.  It will be all right in the end.  Trust God and believe in good things to come."  - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Elder Traveller

The following letter was sent to Tyler by his Mission President, President Naumann.

Dear Elder Traveller,

I hope that you are as excited to begin your service in the mission field as I am for you and your group to get here.  We have known of your call for months already, and now it is time to get started!

I want you to know all that will be happening on your first day in the field, 29 Oct 2018.  Here is the schedule of events.

(A detailed timeline was give to Tyler. He will basically leave at 6:30 am and spend the day with the Mission President and the assistants.  He will then depart to his service area at 2:30 and work until 9:00 pm)

Thank you for accepting your call to serve, especially in the Mexico City East Mission.

Sincerely,

President Naumann

The group of missionaries that entered

 the CCM the same day as Tyler.
(He is sitting on the third complete row up on the right side)

In class at the CCM.  Tyler mentioned that he can finally

 understand everything that the teacher is saying!

The lobby at the CCM

The cafeteria at the CCM

(Tyler loves the food here.  He also makes sure to eat a

 peanut butter sandwich with every meal!)

Volleyball court at the CCM

The common grounds at the CCM.  It is a 90 acre campus.

The CCM can accommodate over 1,000 missionaries.

Tyler's view at night.

Happy Birthday to Tyler in the CCM!! 

Sangria from Dad!

Tyler's Great-Grandma Paulene Boyce Greenwood passed away on Monday, October 15, 2018.  She loved being a missionary.  She served three missions in
 California, New York, and South Dakota.

"Mom, I am so sorry about Grandma, I just cried when I got your letter because I love her and I already miss her so much.  And I know how much you love Grandma.  But it is also such a blessing for her to move on from this life.  She has fulfilled her mission and she is now with Grandpa Green!"

1st week at the Mexico CCM!!!

So this week has been crazy, and there have been many ups and downs haha.

On Tuesday me and a bunch of other missionaries flew out to the Mexico CCM.  (Missionary Training Center in Mexico)  We had to be up at 2:30 am in order to make the bus that was headed to the airport.  That was really fun.  No worries though I just chugged the two Rockstar drinks that my Dad sent me hahaha.

The flight was okay, but when we got to the Mexico City airport it was a mad house hahaha.  The natives here are so nice though and they always seem to want to talk to you.  They are the best and I already love them.  We then got to go on a bus ride to the CCM and that was super cool.  The city reminds me of New York, but not as nice.  There was literally dudes just chilling in the street in between the lanes selling tamales to the cars as they drove past.  So funny.  We got to the CCM and honestly I hated it at first.  I had a really negative outlook and I was just upset, I wanted to go back to Provo.  But then as I started looking at all of the good things about it, I realized how amazing it was and I love it here now, it is so pretty.  Everyone bashes on the Mexico CCM food but I think it is honestly pretty good.

I try and talk to the workers and holy cow they talk fast.  I start off with something like, Como le va, and they just start going off and I have no idea what they are saying so I literally just nod my head and say, Si, hahaha.  I know the language will come eventually though through faith and hard work.  Also, I love the fireworks and gun shots every night!!! haha.

Not a super spiritual or uplifting email so I will leave you all with a little quote that I really like.  I hope you all have an awesome week!!

"It's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack." - Germany Kent

Elder Traveller

In a letter sent to his parents...

"I like it here more than Provo now and my Spanish is going to be better and a lot faster.  It is also way harder though because the teachers pretty much only speak in Spanish.  Everyone in my district has taken 2 to 3 years of Spanish, so I am way behind, but my teacher told me for never studying Spanish before my mission that I was doing very good and that she is not just telling me that to make me feel better."

"We also have been lifting and we play a ton of volleyball, and that is super fun.  And yes, still lots of basketball.  Every time we play someone tells me that I am super quick so that always helps me feel good haha, since everyone else kicks my butt in Spanish."

Lastly, "The weather here is literally perfect, a little overcast but still warm.  They had an insane rainstorm the second or third day that I got here and kids were literally walking on the sidewalks with water up to their ankles.  Also the thunder and lightening here are insane.  It literally sounds and feels like my subwoofer speakers when the thunder hits."

Last District picture at the Provo, MTC

Tyler's breakfast of choice every morning at the Provo, MTC

One of Tyler's favorite gifts for his mission.  The longest shoe horn possible.

  He loves it!  (From cousin, Riley Traveller)

A very special tie from one of Tyler's favorite cousins, Austin Haws.

Keeping the tie alive!

Tyler's favorite cake!

  He got to eat (and share) it the night before he left for the CCM.

The Salt Lake City airport.  Mexico City bound.

Mexico CCM!!

Tyler's family loves the buildings in the background and the colors of the CCM.

Disney's Coco had it right!

The gym at the CCM

"This is a ripped kid in my district.  We call him Mary because

he looks exactly like Mary from the TV show Psych. haha"

Elder Tautu

This week has flown by!  It is crazy!  This was my final week here in Provo and I will be flying out to the Mexico CCM this coming Tuesday!  I have loved (and hated) this MTC! I hear the CCM in Mexico is way pretty though so I cannot wait to get out there.  It is also right next to my mission so it is pretty much where I will be for the next 2 years!

This week was pretty normal.  Class everyday and lots of studying.  We started TRC's though which is teaching someone completely in your mission language (this person is either a member or a non-member. You really don't know).  That was an awesome experience and it helped to remind me why I'm out here!  Teaching people the gospel and bringing them so much peace and joy is truly rewarding.  You don't do it for the reward though...YOU DO IT FOR THEM!  Even though I am still terrible at Spanish, I could kind of piece something together to talk to her about and I know the spirit will take the rest!

This week I decided to look at my trials in a different way, instead of a burden and something I continually ask God why he would allow me to take on, I have now decided to look at my trials as a way to grow and learn and thank God for helping me endure along the way.  I can honestly say this has lightened the load from my trials A TON.  This isn't to say that they have been taken away from me, but I now feel as though I am progressing through my trials instead of painfully trying to make it through them!  I would invite you to do the same!

I love you all and I hope your week is amazing!! I'd like to drop a quote on you guys that has helped me and I hope it would do the same for you!  Also, enjoy General Conference!!

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.  The fact is most putts don't drop.  Most beef is tough.  Most children grow up to be just people.  Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration.  Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise...Life is like an old-time rail journey-delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.  The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." - President Gordon B. Hinckley

Elder Traveller

Special Thanks from Tyler...(sent in a private letter to his parents)

And Ruthie has been soooo good to me!  She has sent me like 4 packages and they have all been awesome!  She even sent me peanut butter and honey with a loaf of bread so I tried it and I loved it.  It is so good.  And she just sent me cinnamon rolls today!!  And Bishop Giles sent me an awesome package.  Also Gram and Papa sent me a package!  I love them.  And Kennedy and Madi sent me cookies and they were dang good. Also Shannon has sent me some awesome packages too!  She's awesome!!  And the Finch's!! I miss them.  Please make sure to tell all of those people thanks a ton!!!

 Elder Call and Elder Stostich

The gang

City Creek

(Tyler had to travel into the city to get his Visa.

  Apparently he got to stop and pick up his favorite dessert!!  Lucky kid!)

City Creek

(Tyler is OBSESSED with nice/fast cars)

Salt Lake City Temple