Hey

Hey everybody!

This week was really good. I love my new companion! We get along really good and we work so much harder. Three cool things happened this week...

We were walking along this giant road and there were these puppies that somebody dumped on the side of the road. We couldn't just leave them there so we walked to a colmado and bought milk and bread for them. They were so hungry! We took this box and put them in and carried them to this field where we know puppies live. So we were really happy to help.

We were walking down this street that we have walked down so many times and we felt like we should go contact this house. The lesson was pretty good and after Anderson told us that he prayed 4 days ago that he could find a church to go to. So that was super awesome!

The other day we were trying to find this girl the missionaries here used to teach in this neighborhood that I had never been in the last 3 months. We couldn't find the house and so we were going to leave the street but then there was this lady that asked us if we were with a church. We went to her house on Sunday and it was so good. She told us she talked to the missionaries one time and they gave her a Book of Mormon and she read a lot but couldn't find them again. She told us she has prayed so much because she wants to do what is right. She told us that every time she read the Book of Mormon there started to pop up on her phone stuff from the church and she got freaked out haha. But she basically has a testimony of the church even before we found her so we are really happy!

My life is getting a lot better. Me and Elder Cortez are working harder and we are starting to have more success. My testimony has grown so much and I know that God answers our prayers!

Love you all.

Elder Eliason

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.

See you next year

Feliz año Nuevo!

I had a pretty good week. Almost everything was closed yesterday because it was the first so that is why Im writing on a tuesday. Everybody just blasted music and drank a lot of beer new year eve but I went to bed which was a lot nicer. New years day was pday and we went to get our hair cut and I think the guy is done then he flips the chair back and starts shaving my face for me and he spoke english and was really cool. We ate at one of the only places that was open and went to the roof of the hermanas apartment building which was super cool.

We have been struggling lately to find people but also we are really lucky. We have to walk to this place at least 5 or 6 miles away to get to this neighborhood but there are good people there. We saw this old investigator in the street yesterday and asked her when she was going to let us baptize her and she said next week or something so we are lucky haha.

Everything is going pretty good and I get a new companion in a week which is nice because we really struggle to get along sometimes.

Elder Eliason

Good Week

This week I went to a surprise birthday party, watched a pig get murdered, BAPTIZED MANUALA, talked to my family, and found out I'm friends with the bishop's daughter that lives in Utah!​

 With Elder Larson, my MTC companion.

It's almost Christmas!

This week was pretty good. I went on splits with Elder Jarvis from Cedar City and we stayed in my area and my companion left.  I had to find a bunch of people and talk a lot because he didn't know our area and almost every appointment fell through but we ended up finding something to do. We have kind of been struggling lately to find people to teach so its hard when people aren't in their houses when they say they will be. It was pretty nice to be with an American for a while and pretty weird to speak so much English.

So we were driving to pick up the Hermanas with a member because Hermana Lynch sprained her ankle. We are stopped at this light and the second counselor comes the other way and basically just stops in the intersection and tells us we are giving talks in 20 minutes. I was super freaked our but I talked for more that 10 minutes in Spanish and it was actually pretty good I think.

Flamboyanes Ward Christmas Party

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Buenas Dias

Hey Everybody!

Sorry I didnt write last week. We got to the place late then the power went out so I barely had any time to write.

This week had some good parts and some bad parts. My companion is still hard to get along with sometimes but Im learning a lot about patience. I dont really know what to write about so Ill just talk about some stuff that happened.

This lady that we always cook for us, her mom died and that was really sad so we went to this viewing in there house on the same day because they dont have morticioners here. It was so hot because there were so many people and also Im kindof afraid of dead people so it was nice when we left.

This guy named Joan had a baptismal date for Sunday and he bailed. This is like the third time hes done it. He has a testimony but his mom doesnt want him to get baptized. Also he lives on like an acre and a half and has a really big house and he is only 19.

This other guy named Joel is 7th day adventist and I didnt know those actually existed. He is super into the bible and acts like he wants to learn but he is obsessed with the sabbath day and why itssunday and not saturday but i dont know why its such a big deal to him.

Hermana Crane went home. And Hermana Niceler from Missouri is here now. She is pretty cool and she speaks English so thats REALLY cool too.

There was a lizard in my bathroom so I did the only reasonable thing and made him my pet. But he bit me and pooped so I threw him out the window.

Elder Mieses was teasing this kid with a baloon and the kid ran away to tell his mom so Elder Mieses ran to hide it and he ran back and when he sat down on the couch there was this giant crack! HAHAHAHA! He broke the couch and he didnt say anything about it untill the next day when the lady that lives there said look what happend and the couch is totally lopsided now! HAHAHAHAHA! I laughed so hard when he broke it. But here is a picture of him on the couch. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!

Next week I will try to send some pictures of this place. Im used to this place and I just live here and everything is normal to me.

Elder Eliason and Elder Mieses

Losing Power

Eric wasn't able to send a group email this week. The power went out and when it came back on, it took a while for his computer to reboot. He ended up with just 30 minutes to read all his emails and respond. The guy at the internet place reset his time, but p-day ends at 6 p.m. :(

He did send an email to his little brother, Carl. Last week he told Carl to play in the snow for him. Carl sent him a picture of himself laying in the snow from a few weeks ago in the canyon. Eric responded, "You look like you're having fun in the snow and that's good because it's still hot here. The only thing that is cold is the showers and they are really cold."

Eric asked me to "say on the blog that everything is the same and the power went out so I only had 30 minutes to write."

Here is a picture I got of my favorite Dominican and Eric at church on Sunday morning.

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.