Other white people

This week was pretty good. My area is super cool and there are a lot of rich people here.

I met this Italian guy that moved here to make cheese. He is super cool. He said he was going to make us some Italian pasta but we couldn't do it when we planned. Maybe this week. I'm excited!

We were walking through these big apartment buildings and we saw this white guy. I knew he was going to start talking to us when he was still far away. He is from England and has been living here for 25 years. He drinks a lot and doesn't want to listen to us. He asked me how old I am and I said 19, then he said, I'm 60 then a lot of explicitives then walked away. It was good.

This super cool Haitian dude named Jimmy came to church this Sunday. It's the first time he has come but he is super prepared. There was this old white shirt in our house so I ironed it and we brought it to him and he wore it and looked super good.

Also, I talked in sacrament meeting. I have given the exact same talk in 4 different wards, 6th, Flamboyanes, la Española, and Torre Alta. But I don't care. Nobody knows hahaha.

I didn't take any cool pictures this week so here are some older ones. 

The church is true.

Amo a La Republica Dominicana.

PUERTO PLATA!

This last week has been super interesting. 

First, I got transferred to PUERTO PLATA! It was kind of sad to leave La Española because I opened that area and I made a lot of friends there. Im going to miss that area but it was good to have a change.

Right now I'm in Puerto Plata, Torre Alta with Elder Benitez from Honduras. Our area isn't very big which means less walking and there are a bunch of cool people that I have already met. We are super close to the ocean even though we can't go. I can see the ocean from my roof and it is so awesome! Also there is this giant mountain here so sometimes I feel like I'm in Utah, but I'm not. Elder Benitez is 22 and he is pretty cool. He doesn't talk too much and he is pretty humble so we have been getting along pretty good so far.

Also we had a baptism! We baptized this guy named Luis who has been with the missionaries for a long time. He is pretty big so my companion asked me if I could baptize him. It was kind of awkward but I did it and it was super good.

Something spiritual. We went to another baptism from the Elders from the other ward and we were singing hymns and I just felt really good. It makes me really happy to see people getting baptized and the songs we sing just helped me to remember that God and Jesus live and are real. In the night, I went up to our roof to wash some clothes and I was just laying there looking at the stars and the universe is just so big. I don't know how anybody could not believe in God. 

I love you all. Choose the right.

Elder Eliason

Pictures,

Me and Azulo. The most coolest Hatian kid in the world. If you don't believe me look at him.

Me and all the young men in the La Espanola ward. They are so cool.

Me and Papo and Ajecka. I baptized Papo. Ajecka is the super interesting guy that is from Indiana and doesn't speak Spanish and married a deaf woman.

Me and Elder Benitez and Luis.

Me on my roof with a big mountain behind me.

We played basketball in this mini stadium place like 2 blocks away from the beach. It was super fun.

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

8 months...

If my mission was a pie with three pieces I only have 2 left. That went by really fast but I still have a lot left.

Not a lot of cool stuff happened this week but it was still good.

First off, we always play basketball on this minihoop and I never lose. So that is good.

We have been working with this part member family for so long. We found them one of my first weeks here and we go to their house a lot. But there are a lot of them and they have friends too. But I was sitting in sacrament meeting and they walked in! Four of them came and they are all learning a lot and I am happy for them. Its kind of sad and also funny, but the 4 that aren't members came and the 3 that are members didn't but I'm still happy.

I didn't take any cool pictures this week so these are old. The first is what our view looks like. The second is of a crazy dude that went out in the street with a speaker and microphone to tell us we need to repent. I took the picture from our window so we didn't even have to leave to listen to him!

I love you all. The church is true!

We went to Santiago

This week was pretty interesting. I feel like I learned a lot. It was hard, but it was good.

On Thursday, we had a zone conference and it was really good. Something that they talked about that I really liked is that if we really love the Savior, we are going to show it by working hard. I've been trying really hard lately to be better and really have desires to do the Lord's work. I saw a bunch of people there that I know.

We finally had a lesson with this lady named Arysleida again. It was the same day as the zone conference so I felt super spiritual and it was really good. She basically already knows that the church is true, but still has some trials. We put a date with her for baptism. She has to get married but I know she can do it!

We went to Santiago on P-day and we went to this restaurant called Square One. Everybody in this country wants to speak English even if they don't know how. They had sports center playing and a bunch of English music so I enjoyed it.

Sometimes being a missionary is pretty hard, but I know that I'm learning a lot and I'm becoming the person that God wants me to be.

Pictures:

We finally made it to the top of the trash hill. It was super cool.

Me on the cliff overlooking the neighborhoods Viejo Puerto Rico and Villa Bartola.

Papo se bautizo

This week was pretty good.

Papo got baptized! and I did it! Papo is 13 and has been going to church for a long time. We had to move his date back a few times and he got pretty upset haha. We have been working with him for a long time and he finally got baptized. I have been in this area for a while and this is the first baptism that we have had. He is probably going to move to Indiana with his family so I can go visit him there.

Good news!! Today we played basketball and went to McDonald's. I really haven't been playing basketball very well for a long time but today was different. I realized that I still have it and I just need to play more. I feel good.

The mission is going good. Sometimes it is still hard but our trials make us stronger. I feel like I talk about this a lot in my emails but I know that God has a plan for us. Sometimes things are hard and our faith is tried, but they will always get better if we are righteous! I know that God is real.

Pictures:

I went on exchanges for a few hours in Santiago during this meeting and this is the house that some elders live in. It is super nice and pretty.

Me and my comp and Papo. 

100 percent free from sin Papo.

Ups and Downs

This week had some good ups and downs.

First, I went on exchanges with Elder Garcia, the new missionary. He has less then 2 weeks in the field and he is still learning Spanish. We had a super good day and it gave me a lot of confidence in my abilities as a missionary and also in Spanish! We taught 4 lessons that day which is actually pretty dang good.

We taught in English! We went to Papo's house and taught Ajecka in English. We talked about the Book of Mormon and it was actually pretty good. He says he believes in the bible and that the BOM has some weird names in it but he read what we left him. He has a lot of questions and I know that he can get his own testimony. It felt super good to bear my testimony in English and Elder Garcia said he really liked talking in English. Also, if everything goes good Papo is getting baptized this week!

Some things were pretty hard this week. I thought I was so cool after I finished my training, but I still have so much to learn as a missionary and also as a person. Im really grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow but sometimes it is hard. But I have a lot of faith and hope in God because I know he has a plan for everybody and he is shaping every one of us.

Also I gave a talk in church and it was medium.

This is a drawing that my companion did of me. Idk what to say. Tell me what you guys think.

Elder Hooker had his birthday and also I'm still pretty bald, but its coming back!

I love you all! I love la Republica Dominicana!

Snakes

This week has been good. Elder Alba left and same with Elder Guajardo so that was sad. A new Elder from Colorado is in our house now and my new companion is Elder Feliz. He is Dominican and he is a really good missionary. He knows a lot but we are pretty different. We don't talk a lot, but I live in a house with cool people.

I gave away an English Book of Mormon! I'm really happy about that. I gave it to Ajecka (the most interesting man) and so I hope he reads it. Papo is hopefully going to get baptized in two weeks and he is doing pretty good. He is going to move to Indiana eventually so we want him to have a really strong testimony so he will stay in the church forever!

We have a lot of good people here, but not a lot of them want to go to church. It takes time for somebody to become really converted so I'm trying to be patient. I've gained a very strong testimony that hard things and sacrifice make us stronger. So far I've seen myself go through a lot of trials and now I've seen my faith grow. The church is true and the Book of Mormon will help everybody with literally any trial we have. 

This is a picture of me and Elder Feliz and a guy without a shirt on skinning a snake on a tree. Love you all. Have a nice week!

Semana Santa

This week was basically spring break for the Dominican Republic. I thought I was going to see a lot more crazy stuff but there were only a few fights and it wasn't super interesting.

A long time ago we contacted this house and we went back a little while ago and taught her. We went to her house again and had a really good lesson. She started asked us if you had to be married to join the church and some other questions like that and we didn't even bring up baptism. She is super good and super prepared but she will have to get married or leave her husband if she wants to get baptized. But I have faith and Im super happy that we found her.

Ajecka (the most interesting man) is doing good. We taught him in English, it was so weird, and he translated in sign language to his wife. I don't really know what we can do for them but hopefully when they move to Indiana the missionaries will find them so he can go to an English church. Papo is doing pretty good too. Hopefully he can get baptized in the next few weeks. 

Conference was pretty good. I learned some good stuff and we are really blessed to have a living prophet and apostles on the earth.

My companion is leaving and I dont know who is coming here so Ill let you all know next week! Also Elder Hooker is going to train so there will be a new missionary in my house!

I love you all. The church is true. The Book of Mormon is also true.

P.S. Eric has always wanted a buzz hair cut, but his dad would never let him. He not only got one, he did it himself!

Chicken Fight

This week was pretty good. This week is Semana Santa and nobody works and nobody goes to school so I'm super excited for all the wild stuff we are going to see.

This week went by really fast so I don't really know what happened.

We went paint balling in Santiago and it was super fun. I'm not very good at it and got hit a bunch of times but whatever. I got to see my old district and I miss them so much.

This week we have been trying a lot harder on how we invite people to do things. We try to talk about the benefit that they will get out of it instead of just saying we want you to do this. It's been working and I'm learning a lot about people. We did it on this lady named Fatima and she always reads and prays, but we just know that she doesn't want to go to church. So we talked about the blessings and changes she has seen from reading and praying and told her we only want more blessings for her and they are waiting in the church. I felt good about it.

This is a picture of me by this river. We call it the trash river because it is full of trash and diapers and dead cats and plastic. The water is green and brown, it depends. But on the big hill is a big hill. We call it the trash hill because they put so much trash there. This area is super cool.

The other picture looks weird, but we saw two chickens fighting then another two started fighting and I had to take a picture. If you zoom in you can see two blurs and that is them.

Anyways, the church is true. I love the Dominican Republic. Have a good week everybody!

Most Interesting Man/Burger King x3

Hello world,

I am doing pretty good and this week was a good one. We went to Santiago Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and we went to Burger King every time we went. It was awesome!

We had interviews with President Castillo this week and he is a really good guy. He was really nice to me and he told me that I have definitely been blessed with the gift of tongues which made me really happy. Also he told me to tell everybody at home that he says HI!

We found maybe the most interesting man in the world this week. We went to Papo's house who has been going to church for 2 months and his step dad was there. I don't know how to start so Ill just say everything. First, Papo's mom is deaf and only speaks sign language. The step dad's name is Ajecka. He is from Indiana. He is half Cherokee and half something else. He played college basketball for Syracuse. He is a big black man. He speaks English, French, and Sign Language, but not Spanish. He married a Dominican and is going to take his new family to live in Indiana. He is hard of hearing, but still speaks good English and sounds almost exactly like Forest Gump. He talks a lot when we are there because not a lot of people understand him. He is super cool and I'm so excited to teach their family. He loves Jesus a lot. He prayed in sign language and I felt REALLY good. It doesn't matter who you are, God loves everyone of his children and wants to hear from them no matter what way. He listens to every prayer!

I called Elder Cortez a little while ago in my old area and he told me Joan is finally going to get baptized. I called him again today and Joan is lost again. Maybe one day he will get baptized.

I love you all. Here are pictures of Burger King, Enjoy!