ANOTHA ONE

Another crazy week everyone.  Full of ups and downs as is life, but hey, let's enjoy the good times right?!?!

I decided this week that I am sick and tired of letting everything get to me so much.  I know that eventually I am going to look back and be sad that I wasted so many good times worrying.  I realized this when I looked back on my MTC experience.  In the MTC, all I could think was man I cannot wait to get into the field, I hate it here.  And now that I am in the field, all I want to do is go back to the days with everyone talking English, messing around all of the time, and having a buffet for every meal hahaha, good times.  Oh and balling everyday because nobody here plays ball and the hoops are absolute trash.

What is the message that I am getting at?  How many times do we hate something when we are in it but then look back at what a good time we had and how many things there were to be grateful for?  WHAT A TERRIBLE ATTITUDE!!!  Let's enjoy those things now while we are in them not constantly looking back or forward but enjoying NOWWWWW!!!  My cousin, Riley, shared a quote with me today that I really like...

Not everyday is good but we can always find a little good in everyday.

Keep this mindset and enjoy the moment now while you are in it, do your best and the Savior will take the rest.  Stop wasting these precious small moments worrying and go and enjoy today.  Everything is going to be GREAT in the end.

With much Love,

Elder Traveller

PS Sorry if I did not get to email you back today!  I will get ya next week. hahaha

Just a happy guy with the Golden Arches

Stockings hung boiii (HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS)

Stay Humble or be Humbled!!

This week was a crazy, humbling week to say the least hahaha.

I was feeling sky high last week and because I was feeling so good I stopped turning to the Lord and stopped working on my habits that help me fight things like anxiety!!  Needless to say because of this it was a little bit of a harder week, but I know it is all in my control!!  I stopped turning to the Lord so things got hard.  I stopped doing the things that I have learned do help me. But I can change...through the Savior!!

I encourage all of you this week to stay HUMBLE and continue turning to the Lord.  Avoid the Pride Cycle that is so clearly in the Book of Mormon.  As you are learning this, I will be too!!  Love you all and have an amazing week!! (Sorry, kind of short this week.  not a ton of time haha)

Elder Traveller

In a letter sent home:

"As far as our investigators go it has been a very hard and humbling week as well.  We had 4 baptism dates fall through because they did not attend church.  We didn't get one person to attend this week, it was pretty bad, now we cannot reach some of them because they won't answer their phones.  We basically got wrecked this week.  It was probably because we thought we were doing so good, but this is the Lord's work and He wants us to remember that.  So hopefully He will show his hand in the end of this month."

"Even though this has been a humbling week I hope you can see how much I am changing and my attitude has changed. I know I've got to turn to the Lord and continually turn to Him."

Grandma coming in clutch!

Carls Jr....AGAIN!!

THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Alrighty, so for all of you who read my email last week, you know that I was not doing so hot haha.

So this week I decided to take action, I created a plan (with help from my Dad) and I presented it to the Lord.  I know the plan was not perfect but I know that with His help, it could be.

THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE was a huge part of this plan.  Since arriving here, the first thing that I think about in the morning is what I was worrying about the day before.  And then throughout the day all I can think about is what else there is to be worried about.  This has been my thought pattern since arriving in Mexico, so I decided to change that!

Whenever I start worrying about ANYTHING, I snap a rubber band on my wrist. Then I immediately begin looking for everything and anything that I can be grateful for in that very moment...whether it is a nice looking car, or a cool sign, or just the fact that I have shoes and I am not walking in my bare feet.  Thoughts of gratitude consume my mind and worries start to go away and I no longer focus on them.  Do I still worry, yes.  Am I ever going to be perfect, no.  But I am SOOOOO much better.

So what do I want you to learn from all of this?  If you have a problem in your life, create a plan, present it to the Lord, and take action.  Think of the Brother of Jared and the stones.  Create a plan and the Lord will make it shine, when you present it to HIM.

On the topic of our investigators.  I feel awful for Sara and Jose.  They have some things they are going to have to work really hard to get over.  We have also been teaching this couple and their names are Ariel and Suyri.  I want to help them so so so bad and help them to overcome their challenges and addictions but they are not progressing.  My companion wanted to drop them, so we did.  I never ever want to drop anyone but he is the Senior comp, so I listened.  Everyone here lives in the tiniest apartments with a bunch of stuff crammed into it.  I feel awful for them.  People here like to teach in a way they call "Planchar", which basically means wrecking the investigator when they do something wrong.  I do not like it one bit.  I want to be so loving and helpful to everyone.  That is my style of teaching.  Sure it is good to stick it to them sometimes, but that is just not me.  I will leave that to the other missionaries.  We have 7 baptismal dates right now and we are working hard to baptize them.  I hate talking numbers, but that is pretty exciting!  We committed somebody to baptism that we just met in the streets yesterday!  Kind of crazy.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and fasting, it TRULY BLESSED me this week.  I love you all and have a wonderful week!!

Elder Traveller

In a letter sent home:

"Last week on Wednesday, I dropped to my knees and said a make or break prayer, I was dying.  I felt really nothing during or after the prayer besides an impression to read D&C 6.  D&C is tough love and it can be hard to read sometimes.  So I started in D&C 6....I want you to read this chapter and think of me...replace Oliver with Tyler and I want you to know that it hit me like a runaway train.

I have never learned how to truly pray until my mission.  Now I pray to the Lord every single night, like I am talking to my mission president, and it has brought miracles.  I am no longer praying to just someone in heaven, I am praying to my friend, I am talking things out with my Father in Heaven.  I don't worry as much, because He knows my desires.  I take everything to him and every single night I feel 10x better.

Mom and Dad, things are still hard but I am looking up, and I am learning and growing!!  This week was definitely better than last!!!! THE PRAYERS AND FASTS HAVE HELPED SO MUCH, THANK EVERYONE FOR ME!"

"Just some meals with the dawgs"

(All of Tyler's pictures seem to be about food!)

"Temple Square (Mexico City Style)"

Mexico City Temple during the Christmas Season

This tree sits in the mission home.  All of the 

missionaries have an ornament with their picture on it.

An angel named Stephanie Kemp went to Tyler's mission last week to travel through the mission with her son, who had served in the Mexico City East Mission.  She took Tyler's Christmas gifts for me and gifts for several other missionaries!! (She packed an extra suitcase, and she wouldn't let us pay her!) She posted this picture of the suitcase sitting in the mission home.  This was a tender mercy for Jon and I. The Lord is very aware of all of us!