February 28, 2011

Hey family,


Well, this week most likely going to be my last week in Porvenir, which is really sad, but we are going to work hard this week and we will see what happens.


Glad to hear that everything is going well at home, although I think you may have made a bad decision by letting Trevor get behind the wheel of a car. :) Just kidding Trevor. It sounds like basketball is going pretty well on the college level and on the home level. Im gonna have to say, that Trent`s game was probably the lowest scoring game I have seen in my life, and Ive seen some low scoring games... But Im glad to hear that Trent is a really good defender. That was a skill that I never really had a whole lot of. He should definitely keep practicing that. Its weird, but as far as the family goes, I am more excited to hear about the soccer that will be happening in the spring. Basically because life in Perù revolves around soccer. (Although there is a member in my ward who likes basketball more... HA HA.) Eventually basketball will take over the world... I just know it...


Sounds like life is more calm now that you don`t have the Blue and Gold banquet to work on. I am also becoming more and more shocked every time you tell me that someone else my age is getting married. Im glad I don`t have to think about anything remotely related with dating, getting married, or basically... life, for the next 18 months. HA HA.


Well this week was a little bit slow for us. Not a lot happened during the week and Laura`s baptism fell through. We are setting goals with her so she can get baptized un poco màs adelante. Sorry about the Spanish. I can`t remember how to say that in english. Something like , so she can get baptized a little further on. A little later. Basically in a month or two. No sè. (I don`t know).


We did have something awesome happen on Sunday. Julia, Enrique, and Tracy all came to church which is great. We hope to set a baptism date for March 19th today with them. They didn`t want to get baptized before, but we have to be persistent. We are also working with Jonathan Robles, who we hope to set a baptismal date for for the end of March or the beginning of April. He is 16 and he wants to be sure about the church before he sets a baptismal date, which is okay with me, because is dad, David Robles (remember him? Baptized October, 2nd counselor in the bishopric, awesome!) was an investigator for like 7 years before he got baptized, and Jonathan wants to be prepared before he gets baptized.


We also have been teaching Betty, and hope to set a baptismal date for her as well in March. Basically, we want to set lots of baptisms for after I leave. Although Im hoping that I can stay here a month and a half longer. It`s not likely, but it could happen. :)


I love you all and hope the next week is great. For my spiritual thought of the week, I would like to talk about missionary work. I have noticed that in Conference the opening message by President Monson was about the fact that we need more missionaries. The first presidency message in the last two Liahonas were also about missionary work. For some reason, God is telling us that missionary work is really important, and it is essential before the second coming of Jesus Christ. I invite you all to look for someone to invite to church, to give a book of mormon to, or to share your testimony with. The Church is true and the message is important. Books of Mormon aren`t expensive, you can buy a few to have to give to people, and if you have someone in mind, Id imagine that the missionaries would love to give you one to give to someone.


I would also like to address each of the groups, the parents, the boys, and the girl (Megan get`s her own group, but any sister in the church can have this message too.) You can share it with people in the ward, the family, and in general people. First the boys, because its the easiest. Prepare for your missions. Now. Read the scriptures, preach my gospel. You can practice with each other to invite your friends. Just be prepared. It will be the hardest thing you have done in your life up to the point. It will also be the best experience you have had. It`s not only a commandment of God, but a great experience.

To the parents, Mom and Dad, you should prepare as well. I have been told by both of you that you would like to serve a mission together once you finally get rid of all the kids. (1 down, 5 to go, ha ha). President Monson says that the church needs more Senior missionaries. Start preparing now. Start practicing now. Mom can learn spanish a little from Dad so you can serve in South America or Central America. Ha ha. The best misisons are in South America, and the best mission is in Lima, Peru to be exact.


Now to Megan. You have said that you don`t really want to serve a mission, but President Monson invited you as well. I don`t ask that you serve a mission. I ask that you honestly think and pray about serving a mission to know if its the right thing for you. You can receive many blessings for giving 18 months of your life to the world, and it will be a great experience. I invite you to serve a mission. But if you don`t. Prepare now so that you can share the message with your friends, and when you have a family, you can teach them the power of the restored gospel of Christ and the healing power of his atonement. Seriously pray about it. If you pray and come to the decision to not serve a mission you will never have regrets. But if you don`t even think about it. In 20 years you might look back and regret not thinking about it at least. God will give you the answer for if you should serve a mission or not.


This is what I have been thinking about a lot lately. The blessings of missionary work, and I want all of my family to have these blessings.


I love you all. Good luck this next week.


Tyler