Milagros

This week Elder Garcia left. It was really sad. We were together for 3 months and we got along good and worked good together. He was one of my favorite companions. My new companion is Elder Corpus from Dallas, Texas. He has been out for a little more than a year.

Transfers were Wednesday morning so me and Elder Durham were together. We went to my area to teach this lady but she couldn't share with us so we went to contact. We found this really good lady named Yanelis (Jahn-el-ees). She already is really good friends with some members and she has wanted to go to church but just hasn't decided yet. She is like 25 or something and has a kid. And she is MARRIED BY THE LAW! It's a miracle. I have a lot of hope for her!

We have been teaching these people named Randal and Clarinez for a while. They are siblings. Randal is 19 and Clarinez is 18. They have progressed really good for a while and have a desire to change their lives and be baptized. They are super good and ESCOGIDOS, but they haven't been to church yet. We weren't planning on going by but Clarinez called and said she wanted us to go over. She said she wish she would've gone to church last Sunday and promised us that she would go this Sunday. So Sunday morning comes around and she wont answer her phone which always happen. I got kind of frustrated. I'm pretty sure it was the spirit that gave me the idea but we decided to walk to their house super far away right before church started. We woke them up and they came to the second hour of church and they liked it a lot. Its a miracle because if they didn't go to church we would have left them but now they are going to get baptized in a few weeks if everything goes good.

I'm getting closer to the end of my mission but I am full of energy to work and offer the Gospel to everybody! I feel really good and I love being a missionary. We talk to so many people everyday and there are so many people that don't want to hear us, but every once in a while God sends us to somebody that needs us. I know that the church is true and Jesus is our Savior and if we live the Gospel, even when its hard, we will be happier.

Salcedo

Hello world!

I'm here is Salcedo and I'm loving it. Salcedo is a small town and there really isn't anything here. There are four missionaries here and we live in the same house! It is so fun!!!

My companion is Elder Garcia from Honduras. In our house there's ELDER DURHAM my mtc companion, its so fun, I don't sleep, and Elder Vallejos from Niceragua. 

The members here are super good and want to help us and leave with us which is way different from Bonao. We have a few good people. I've been getting used to things here and now me and my companion are getting used to each other and how we teach. He is super outgoing, but this is his second transfer in the mission so he is still learning a lot of stuff.

On Sunday, we had this kid come to church. His name is Brendy. He likes the church and has a testimony, but we are working with him to leave some stuff so that he can get baptized. Also we are teaching this girl who has a few members in her family. She went to church. She is so sweet. 

I love Salcedo and I'm happy to be here. 

I'll try to send some pictures next week.

If anybody still reads these send me an email so I know haha.

goodbye Bonao

I'm leaving!

Four transfers, six months in Bonao and I'm finally leaving. I have learned so much here in Bonao and my testimony has grown so much. I have learned so much more about Jesus. I know that He lives.

My companion had to go to Santo Domingo for his visa or something so Elder Garcia came here with me for a little. It was super fun. We lived in the same house in Moca and I love him.

The Sister missionaries that came to the mission with me go home this week. haha.

I'm going to Salcedo! I don't know that much about it except that apparently the house is haunted. Sweet!

Things here in Bonao are pretty tough. Still a lot of people that don't want to listen to us or go to church. But, this super good guy that we are teaching named Cheo came to church! He lives super far away. He came and hour and 20 minutes late but at least he is a man of his word. God bless him. He is so good and humble. Hopefully I can come back for his baptism.

Pictures,

Me and some dominicanos

The church has a super cool camp in Bonao. We went today for Pday and it

Johan Se Bautizo!

This week was a week of fruits. Not fruits that you eat, but the fruits of our labors! I have been here in Bonao for a long time and it's been one of my toughest areas. I've worked harder than any other area and I've seen less success than any other area. But! ... that all changed.

Johan got baptized! We have been working with him for a while and he has progressed a lot. Johan is 16 and he lives with his mom and two little siblings. He is such a good kid even though he is surrounded by a lot of hard stuff. Elder Tupou baptized him! His first baptism! The baptism was super good and everything went really well. Halfway through the baptism Johan's mom showed up who has never really shared with us, so that was a miracle! After the baptism his mom said that his two little siblings want to be baptized too! WOO! It will take a little longer but we will baptize her too. 

Transfers are in two days and I have been here for a long time so I might of had my first and last baptism in Bonao, but I'll be leaving a few more people for the missionary that replaces me to baptize.

Here are pictures from the baptism! It was a good day.

Worst Hurricane Ever

The worst hurricane ever passed through here this week. Not worst as in bad, but everybody just made a big deal of it and it only rained for a few minutes. oh well.

We went on exchanges (it took me a whole minute to remember that word in English), but Elder Kyle took me to the coolest wall of all time. I was so happy. Look at the picture. I have no idea how that got there haha.

Deurin and Marlen, my converts, had their baby! She came like 3 months early and is super tiny but she is doing good. They are the best family of all time. I feel so blessed to have met them.

Transfers are on Wednesday and I am out of here! I love Puerto Plata so much and I have enjoyed my mission and had a lot of success here. But also I'm happy to be leaving because I've knocked on every single door in this area. Not really, but this area is small and I'm ready for a change. I wouldn't change the experiences I've had and the people I've met here in Puerto Plata for anything else in the world. I love being a missionary!

Pictures,

VIVA LOS UTAH JAZZ YESSSSSS!!!!!

There is an abandoned basketball court in our area. super cool

I burned an old shirt in the house for my year. My shirt has a samuri on it. 

I'm out of here

Woah! Hey everybody. This week was pretty good.

We went with this couple named Luis and Jana this week. They are pretty cool and Jana is definitely prepared. They go to some Evangelico church, idk how to say that in English, but their pastor told them not to get tricked by us and he got mad and ripped up their Book of Mormon... but we went back and told them they need to pray because it doesn't matter what humans tell them, it only matters what God tells them. So hopefully we go back before I leave this area and you guys can hear the rest of the story.

On Sunday, we had Paulino and Juan de Jesus and one of the members from that family come to church again and that made me really happy. They are doing really good and I can see them progressing and the gospel is really going to bless their lives.

Today we played basketball again and I love it so much. I hate the way that the Dominicans play but it doesn't really matter. The mission president called us today and he said that my companion is going to train so that means that I am leaving the area. I don't know where I'm going though yet. I'm sad to leave all the people here but my companion and his new companion will have a lot of baptisms.

Pictures

The giant catholic church here

Some super cool member kids

The zone of Santiago Este

New Area!

Sorry I didn't write last week. I didn't have a lot of time, but...the last two weeks have been crazy.

Transfers were this week and so I left my first area Flamboyanes. There are so many cool people there and it was really sad saying goodbye to all of them.

I got transferred to La Espanola which is to the north east of

Santiago. Me and Elder Alba from Utah both got moved here and so we are both new here. There haven't been missionaries here since December so there is a lot of work to do. The area is super big because there should be 4 Elders here but it is just us two. We live with other Elders super far away from where we always are because some not so good stuff happened in the old house and it was expensive. I live with Elder Guajardo who was my companion in the MTC and Elder Hooker from Trinidad and Tobago. We all speak English so I'm not getting a lot of practice in Spanish haha. 

This area is super cool and there are a lot of hills and a giant river and some big cliffs. The members are super cool and we have already found a lot of people that are ready for the Gospel. Everything is going pretty good right now and I'm excited to be here in a new area with so much work to do! It is pretty fun.

The first picture is of me and Elder Cortez, Hermana Estofanero and Hermana Niceler.

The second is a picture of Alejandro. He is super cool. He got baptized right before I got to my first area and he is super funny and old. He is really good at dominos and he got kind of emotional when I went to say goodbye. I love him.

The third is me on a cliff in this neighborhood. It is super cool. I love this place!

NEW COMPANION

HEY!

This week was pretty good. Transfers were on Wednesday and I got a new companion! His name is Elder Cortez from Nicaragua. He is pretty cool and even better we never fight! We have been working a lot harder in this area than with my old companion so hopefully we can start seeing some more success. 

This week it rained so much which is weird because it hardly ever rains here. The whole entire street on the side of you house got flooded and it was so cool. Whenever it rains there is always mud for like 3 days after too.

Our area is kind of struggling right now. We are going to start dropping people this week because they aren't progressing very well. Its kind of hard but also its really good because we will be able to focus more on finding people that are ready and we wont have to waste so much time.

My Spanish is getting really good and I can basically communicate whatever I want now. With my new companion, I realized that I can actually do a lot. I realized that Elder Mieses kind of dominated the conversation a lot and my new comp sometimes doesn't talk so I'm like oh, ok I can talk to these people. I've realized that I learned a lot with my old companion and even though it was really hard I feel like God has a plan for Elder Eliason and he knows that I would grow the most with Elder Mieses. 

The mission has started to get better and I'm starting to be more happy! The church is true and the Book of Mormon changes lives. I've realized that nothing is easy, but if we work through the hard stuff and do what we should be doing we will be blessed. 

Elder Eliason and Elder Cortez

Elder Mieses, Elder Eliason, Sister Niceler, Sister Lynch

4 Months

Hey everyone!

As of saturday I have 4 months in the mission wow! that means I have less than 20 now! Today is my last day with my companion and I really struggled with him but I also learned a lot. I feel like I was put in this position to struggle and to grow. Looking back I feel like I didnt know anything and I there was so many things that I could do better. Ive learned so much and I still have so long to learn more.

President Monson died this week and it was pretty sad. The last two things that he talked about it conference were charity and the book of mormon. I read both of his talks. Both were really short but I learned so much and he really was a prophet called of God. He said that we should read the book of mormon every single day and I know that if we do our lives will change.

The mission is getting better and better everyday and my spanish too. I can almost understand everybody now and Ive started to not be so young in the mission.

Also this is me in front of a giant catholic church.

Thanksgiving

So not a lot happened this week. We had Thanksgiving and that was really fun because our mission president said we could get together and do something as a district. We had mashed potatoes and rice and chicken so it wasnt the most Thanksgivingest Thanksgiving that I have ever had but it was still good and I always love getting to see other people that speak English. 

We didnt have any investigators show up to church on sunday which really sucked and made me kind of mad because people arent going to gain a testimony if they are lazy and they are just wasting their time and we are wasting our time if the people arent going to care.

Wednesday is the end of the transfer so that means I have been in the field the same amount of time I was in the MTC. I will be with Elder Mieses for 6 more weeks then he will leave and I will stay in Flamboyanes for another 6 weeks with somebody else. Hermana Crane is going home so that means our ward will get another Hermana on wednesday too!

Here are some pictures! 

1. Thanksgiving dinner with Hermana Lynch in the background. 

2. Me and Elder Mieses and Hermana Crane. 

3. My friends.