January 24, 2011

Querida familia mia,Well we have had an eventful week this week. As far as proselytinggoes, we didn`t do a whole bunch of it. Elder Kasat, as DistrictLeader, had to do a bunch of interviews for our district who had 4baptisms planned for Saturday. We had to go to the mission office sothat one of our investigators could be interviewed by President Tyler,and we helped the Tenorio Family move on Tuesday to an area outside ofour mission. (Don`t worry, we had permission to leave) They moved toanother part of Lima called San Juan de Lurigancho. About how the baptisms went... Lourdes decided not to have her baptismthis week. She decided that she wanted to be sure that this was theright thing to do, and she just wasn`t sure yet, but yesterday atchurch she told everyone in the investigators class that she was goingto get baptized, so its gonna happen. When is the only question. Wehope to move her further along by the end of this week.Angelica`s baptism was awesome!!! She got baptized on Friday and thespirit was really strong. She also brought a bunch of her family whoaren`t members. She bore her testimony and it was really short, butreally powerful. She also promised to start coming to more of church.She has a few problems with a few of the members in the ward, and itheld her up for a long time, and then about a month ago she startedcoming, but only to Sacrament Meeting. Sunday she came to TheInvestigators class as well which was awesome. Hermana Gibson taughtanother awesome lesson. Angelica is an example of how having amissionary in the family blesses all of the family. Her son Diego isserving a mission in the Perù Trujillo mission right now, and becauseof this is why she got baptized. It was great for them as well. Shehad her interview with President Tyler on Thursday, and withouttelling her, President Tyler called the Mission President for theTrujillo mission to ask for permission for Diego to call his mom forher baptism, so she got the happy surprise of a 5 to 10 minuteconversation with her son. She also brought a few of her non-memberrelatives to church with her Sunday. It was awesome.Enrique came to church Sunday without his mom, which was awesome. Hismom (Julia) had come to church the week before and brought him withher, and when she couldn`t come Sunday I thought he wouldn`t comeeither, but he was there, and he seemed to like it.O ya, I almost forgot... Transfers... Well Elder Kasat is beingtransferred on Tuesday, so I am going to have a new companion. Idon`t know who it is yet... I´ll find out tomorrow, but it willdefinitely be a great transfer. Our goal (well, for now, my goal) isto have 4 baptisms in the month of February, and it is something thatis very possible. I´m glad that everything is going well, and that the sports are goingwell for everyone. :) I hope that moms ankle keeps healing and thatbasketball continues to go well, and that you have lots of fun withall of the snow and the cold while I am here roasting in my tie andlong pants. Please keep me posted and keep up the good work in the ward and at home. I love you all,Tyler

January, 17,2011
Hey family!Its crazy, I am finishing my third change in the mission, and itsinteresting. We were certain that Elder Kasat was going to be leavingat the end of this change, but we have been hearing rumors that he isstaying one more and Ill be leaving. So now we don`t really knowanything.Glad to hear that you are still staying involved with the baptisms inthe ward and that Trevor is using his awesome piano playing ability.Im also glad to hear that Trent learned a little more about playingbasketball from Mom, and that Dad got to play ref in one of the manybasketball games of the weekend. Im also glad to hear that Utah Stateis 16 - 2. Hopefully they will get past the first round of the NCAAtournament this year. Hopefully BYU does well as well in thetournament. I always like to see the teams from Utah beating up onthe other teams in the country. Curious? Did Utah State and BYU playthis year? Please keep me updated.I hope mom`s ankle gets to healing fast so that she can go about herlife normally again. Injurys and sickness are terrible. Im alsoglad to see that Alex has taken care of his Mario egg. This week was a little different. We didn`t have a whole lot ofsuccess finding new people to teach, but we had quite a bit of successgiving out Books of Mormon and teaching our investigators that we havenow. Monday we finally got a baptismal date with Angelica. She isgetting baptized this Friday and we have another baptismal date thisSaturday for Lourdes.On Friday I finished the Doctrine and Covenants in English and Ilearned a ton. It was really great. I also loved Wilford Woodruffsaddresses with Declaration 1. It was a good experience to readDoctrine and Covenants because so much of it is about missionary work.Sunday we had a little trouble because Elder Kasat was sick the wholeday. But we did have 5 investigators come to church which is morethan double what we have been having lately. I learned a couplethings from church as well. The first was that candy works for adultsand children. IN church Sunday we had Hermana Gibson, one of themembers of the ward, teaching the investigators class. She broughtcandy and the lesson went really well. I know that the candy isn`tthe reason, but I do like to imagine. I also learned more about being100 percent obedient all of the time for my protection and for mysuccess.We had a really spiritual experience today. I was really sick allnight. I spent the whole night vomiting, and had only about an hourof sleep. In the morning Elder Kasat and a member gave me a blessing.I spent a couple hours sleeping and now I am feeling a whole lotbetter. Im still not a hundred percent, but thats to be expected whenyou are a sick as I was. It was another great testimony for me of thepower of the priesthood and of priesthood blessings.My scriptures of the week are at the end of Doctrine and Covenantswhen Wilford Woodruff says that the Lord will never let a prophet leadthe church astray, and Oliver Cowdery`s testimony at the end of JosephSmith - History. I loved reading these and I learned a lot throughreading them.I know that the church is true, and what a blessing it is to have awhole bunch of priesthood holders in the family. I know that the Bookof Mormon is true and it can bless all of our lives. I hopeeverything goes well this week, and you can find a spiritualexperience every day. I love you all. Tyler

These photos are of our baptisms. I can`t find mine of Anibal`s baptism, but the others are. David Robles October 23rd, Carmen Lopez November 6th, Llery Ushiñahua December 19th


January 10, 2011
Hey family,Im glad to hear that everything is going well and that Adam is awesomein basketball! Sounds like he will be one of the better players on histeam again, although he won`t have the luxury of the teams he had inUtah that were ridiculously good. Im glad that basketball isn`tleaving the family, and that everyone is getting involved with churchball and recreational ball.Im really glad that you are getting really involved in the church. Ihaven`t realized how much having a calling can be a blessing. And Iwish I had the luxury here of having really strong wards. We have apretty strong ward, but there is a major problem here with inactivity.For example, our ward directory is 7 pages long (and its one of thesmaller lists in the stake) and probably only 25 percent of thesepeople come to church. Keep striving to be a strong family in theward, and remember that we do have trials of our faith and we onlyreceive the witness, after the trial. (Ether 12:6) We have an interesting change in our mission that we didn`t havebefore. President Tyler has decided to put more emphasis on givingout Books of Mormon. We have a new key indicator (what we use for ourgoals) that is how many Books of Mormon we gave out during the week.The church always gives the mission Presidents direction that they canadd one key indicator. We have a spot in our daily planners for theindicator as well. We were given three reasons about why we need tobe giving out the Book of Mormon at every opportunity. They explainedthat the book needs to be to all the world, this is the time to bedoing the work, and that the Book of Mormon should be in everyhousehold. You could kind of say we want to flood Perú with the Bookof Mormon. This is something that I personally have wanted all of mylife. For me if every household has a Book of Mormon than there is agreater chance they will read it. Even if they don`t when it is givento them, I personally don`t know anyone who would throw away a freebook. And when it is in their home, the Holy Ghost can work on themso that in a free moment they will decide to start reading and theycan gain their own testimony. We also talked about how the Book ofMormon convinces people that Jesus is the Christ the very son of God.And we discussed why it says convinces and doesn`t say converts. Wedecided because it is the Holy Ghost that converts. And I saidsomething that is definitely quote worthy, (which was weird), and Iknow it wasn`t me, because it shocked me when I said it. I said "ElLibro de Mormòn va a convencer, y el Espìritu Santo va a testificar."This translates to The Book of Mormon will convince and the Holy Ghostwill testify. We have to work through the Holy Ghost as missionaries. This week we worked a ton. We taught 20 lessons to investigators and4 to inactives and recent converts during the week. It was a littlehard because after all this work only 2 investigators came to church,and one of them wasn`t even someone we invited. For me this is one ofmy trials of faith. We commited 15 people to come to church this weekand 1 of the 15 came. This was a little hard for me, but I know thatwith more faith and work, more of them will come in the future. This week we had another one-day transfer so that Elder Kasat couldsee the work of Elder Echeverria and Elder Mitchell, so I was withElder Mitchell again in our sector. Elder Mitchell is becoming one ofmy best friends, and I am so happy to have the opportunity to workwith him for the rest of my misison, (We will finish at the sametime). He actually said that I need to convince you to come pick meup and we can go to lunch or something with his family. (Food for thethought no?) We also had some AWESOME news on Sunday. Remember David Robles? Hegot baptized on October 23rd. Well now he`s the 2nd counselor in theBishopric. Needless to say, he is one of the coolest people in theworld. His faith is incredible and he is always trying to betterhimself and better his family. He has a testimony that is incredible,and he is always telling us how bad he feels when he doesn`t take thetime during the day to read the scriptures. Isn`t that an attitude weshould all have? We should be reading out of the Book of Mormon everyday and learning from the other books in the standard works as well.We can learn something every time we read if we learn with the spirit.Sunday we also learned how fasting helps us control our passions andour apetites. One member pointed out that fasting helps us learn howto say "no". This week few of our investigators progressed. Lourdes still has herbaptism date on the 22nd, but we need to get her to church again. Shehas been sick and has had problems with her legs, but she is alwaystrying to come and help. My scripture of the week is Doctrine and Covenants 107. In thissection there are 8 verses that say specifically that people will beblessed if they are faithful. We need to strive to be faithful.107:79 also talks about the importance of Diligence and Humility. I know that the church is true and that fasting works, and that if westrive to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can have the blessingsof heaven. Through the scriptures and prayer we can find Christ, andhe will guide us in our lives. I love you all and hope that your goals for the year 2011 will be a success. Tyler

Some Mission Pics #2

Some Mission Pics.

January 3, 2011

Happy New Year!!!I hope that this year is great for you all. Im glad to hear thateverything is going well at home, minus a few sick people. Im glad tohear that Dad tried a fried twinkie. I still haven´t tried one. Theyactually sound pretty nasty to me. I also like Dad`s opinion ofthem... A waste of calories... Talking about calories... They eat aton here. I thought I ate a lot at home when I was growing up, but Iwasn´t... The people here in Perú eat so much food! Its actuallypretty crazy. Im also glad to hear that you bought Settlers of Catan. I plan on beating you all at it when I get home!I am also glad to hear that Dad is going to be coaching the youngmen`s basketball team. I am confident that it will be fun and thatthe Seneca Ward (Thats the name of our ward, right?) will be a greatexample of Sportsmanship. Here in Perù not much has happened in the last few weeks. Christmasand New Year`s are really hard because they are celebrated at midnighton the 24-25 and New Year`s is a much bigger deal here. On the 24thwe actually had permission to be with members until 12:30 the 25thbecause of the differences in the holidays here. We also had aninteresting experience for New Years. Once it hits 12:00 its crazy.This is because everyone all types of fireworks are legal... In allareas... Which means that there were large fireworks going off in themiddle of our crowded living sector. It was loud, crazy, and Im gonnahave to say awesome! And I was also slightly scared. The fire crewsare kept really busy that night. I am actually really glad that wehave laws about fireworks where we live. It makes the holidays awhole lot safer. Not much has happened this week in the work. We haven`t had a lot oflessons or anything. I´ll talk more about that next week. This weekI would like to focus on the New Years. I am certain that you arethinking about goals this week, and these are really important! Iwould like to also talk about what I was thinking a lot about on the31st. I was thinking a lot about what I am grateful for this pastyear. So I have a list. First off, I am extremely grateful for my Lord and Savior, JesusChrist, who suffered for me personally and loves me more than I canpossibly know. He is my example, He is my redeemer and through Hisgrace I can return and live with my Father in Heaven again. I am also incredibly grateful for my Heavenly Father and the talentsand blessings He has given me. For His sacrifice in giving up HisOnly Begotten Son for the sins of the world. (John 3:16-17) I havelearned a whole lot more about His sacrifice in my time here in themission. I have tried to imagine what he went through, and it isimpossible. I would have a hard time giving up any one of my siblingsfor the people in the world I don`t know. I think it would be easierto give up myself. And I think that is the grand difference that madeit possible. God does know every single person in the world. Heloves each and every one of us, regardless of our sins and problems.And His perfect view of eternity is greater than our small view ofthis life. I am incredibly grateful for my immediate family. To begin with myloving parents who have set the grand example for me and havesupported me in my life, regardless of the mistakes I have made, andthe problems I have had. You have supported me in my mission, in myschool, and helped me every step of the way. I am grateful for eachof my siblings. Megan, Trevor, Alex, Adam, and Trent. Each of youhas taught me something in my life. I have learned from Megan`s loveof people and desire to help others. Trevor´s incredible love ofmusic and the scriptures. Alex`s trust in people and his inability tostay angry at people and his forgiveness. Adam`s desire to learn inmusic, church, school, sports. And Trent`s extremely contagioushappiness and his smile. Each of you has had an incredible effect onme. My extended family who have been examples and supports for me.Examples in the church and friends when I have needed them.Especially my family who sacrificed for me when my immediate familylived to far away. Which is everyone who lived close enough to do it.Examples are my uncles and aunts who invited me to eat with them andstay with them a night if I needed to. The multiple invitations fromfamily members I received for help in getting to the MTC from theAirport and my family that was helping me at Utah State this pastyear. My friends who have been a support for me, and from whom I havelearned tons of things in my life. My friends from High School whodealt with me when I was really weird, and my friends in college whodid the same when I was a little less weird, but still weird. Myfriends in my wards in Syracuse and in Logan, and each little effectthey had on me. And finally my leaders in the church, who I would consider my friends.My Bishops and Young Mens leaders in Syracuse who lead me in theright direction so I could serve a mission and always taught me inevery opportunity and my leaders in Logan who helped me finalize thepreparation, and in Maryland my leaders who befriended me rapidly eventhough I was only there for a few months. All of these people have had an incredible effect in my life, and areincredible examples for me. There are probably more that I didn`tmention and I would like to thank them too. The way I look at it is Iwould like to thank any person who has had a positive effect in mylife. Thank You All. I have learned to love the song "Each Life that Touches Ours For Good"in the hymnbook.We are all touched everyday in a good way by someone we know orsomeone we have just met. I love you all, and hope that the year 2011 will go well. Elder Tyler Wyatt Rasmussen