Versalle- Week 57

HELLO,
This week went so darn fast! Monday, p day... always fast.... Tuesday, I had to go into San Salvador like for all day because something was lodged in my eye... so they took that out and found out that it was a wing of a bug and it had suctioned itself perfectly on my eye... so I got that all fixed up! Wednesday, divisions and a meeting with pres for all the trainers, which always fly by... then the rest of the week that flew! time is so crazy. 
My legs have been itching like crazy from the hike we did last week running throught he corn... jaja...
So we have a high baptismal goal for September; 7.... I hope that we can get that taken care of... we should have three this week. Such a miracle.. we have only taught them like 3 times... trying to get all the lessons in... on Saturday, we did the pre interview and they passed! They are 2 brothers and a sister... we are working on another sister and the mom still.. but the one brother that is 20 wants to serve a mission con todo! So that will be awesome.. its that kid that I told you about last week that said that he had already prayed and already knew that it was all true! way cool... I hope that all goes well this week.. we are going to help the sister tonight... because they dont live together... jajaja
So we had a meeting with president on Wednesday and I saw Elder Winter! that was way fun... the meeting was way good as well...  I learned a lot. I asked him what was the difference between the natural man and temptation?... he kinda explained it OK... but still some mystery with that... study up on that!!!
I had divisions with Elder Lopez also from the DR and is actually my grandkid.. in other words.. Elder Brose trained him... (yep... still in zacamil...jaja) but it went well... learned a lot and he is a good teacher... the thing is that the best teachers teach simply.. Dallin H. Oaks told Pres Glazier in a college thing at BYU when he was training to be a lawyer to "drop the adjectives" its way more powerful with less words... we are trying to focus on that in our district. We´ll see how that goes.
The BOMB has taken off.. we have a mission leader and the ward has ten new ward missionaries... We have a missionary activity this week and we are planning one for every month for like the next ten months.... it should be awesome! I am stoked. The ward is really working... (more than half my baptisms have come from the ward in one way or another) so yeah... its important.
So one time, I knocked this door... the guy said that he was catholic so... salu... but I kept talking with him and by the end of the whole thing he was like, "I am not really catholic, I just said that so you would leave, you can come back another day..."
Anyway, hes a really cool guy and got some different beliefs but we are working with him... this week we visited with him and he was liked "its not that I like talking with the Mormons.. I like talking with you guys... and especially you" and he pointed at me.. "because you are the one that convinced me to let you in... one of these days I`ll be coming to church with you guys..." he is one of the older guys that I love listening to... jaja!
Mum, thanks for your letter! that's way cool that all that news has been happening in the ward:) I love you and have a good week!
Dad, good luck this week with the P2P! I hope everything goes well with that! so I was thinking... if I were to buy a bike when I`m back, I think I would get a road bike? because in Flag, I would only be able to ride a road in fall into mid winter? Because the trails would be all covered... what do you think? If I even have money after my mission.... jajajaja....anyway, I hope it all goes well this week! love ya!
Austin, dude that little poem thing is sick... but there is something huge that you missed... you say that you would show that to people on your mish... that's not just for your mish... that's for now... you can help now... help someone out of the whole now! invite someone to mutual... to even go to church.. its not like you are going to lose any relationship out of it... try it and see! love ya bro... I am proud of the person you have been becoming and the person you are...
Ellie... sounds like you are loving school! sounds like cheer is awesome as well! just remember whats really important OK? read your scriptures every day.. pray morning and night and always keep the spirit with you.. love ya! salu!
Brynn! sounds like this week went better than last! just a suggestion..... just be happy... it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks.. just be happy with who you are and live your life.. love ya!
Love ya all! thanks for everything!
SALU,
TTT
2 Tim 2;10

Versalles- Week 56

HELLO.
So this week went by fast! I`m glad Noah was able to get a hold of you guys... he is a way cool guy. Yeah, we had only had like 3 changes where were not in the same zone.. just for my first zone I never saw him...jaja.. way funny guy:)
I had vertigo this week.......whoa
This week I had divisions where I did 4 interviews. Way awesome!
So I have a new motto for goal setting... under committ, over deliver. Our baptism goal for Sept is 1.... but we have 8 that could very possibly get baptized... I am stoked:)
This morning we tried to find a church on top of a mountain. Yeah, we go lost going up the hill... so we didn't make it... hahahahah.
Congrats for Scott! He is going to be such a good missionary!
We started looking for people in a different area.. they seem to be very receptive... the people.
Had some cool experiences this week.... here it goes!
Last Monday night, we were searching for a house.. of a family that had come to church out of the blue... they had given us the wrong directions... so basically I was praying my heart out to somehow miraculously find the house. then-........ the daughter walked by... yes..... so we talked to her and she led us to the house:;) legit
After finding that house, we found this one lady that had some of the best questions anyone has ever asked me in my mission. Like when we were describing prophets....she asked " are there prophets today?" When we talked about prayer towards the end, she was like "how do I know if it is the holy ghost or just in my head?" I was like.... I have had that question for almost my whole life....then read some scriptures to help her to know...  way sick... I am stoked for her...
We got a member reference that wants us to come by this Saturday and he already wants to be baptized. He already wants a fecha to prepare for.it:) blessings and miracles:)
Teaching one of that guys family members(at church yesterday): we told him to pray about it all... and he was like.. I already did! I know its true! that's why I´m at Church today! ...... first lesson was yesterday...
We found this kid that's going to college. He is studying science. ("!i don't believe in God, I believe in science)(Nacho Libre)  and he said that he was starting to lean towards atheism. That's a first down here south of the border... at the end of the lesson, I was asking him like what he studied and stuff.. he talked about a bunch of stuff about biology. My major.. he started explaining Charles Darwin and stuff like that... then I just explained to him..."look.. I love science. I was studying the same thing when I was in college.. science and God go together. You cant have one without the other. Evolution is real... but on a micro level.. not macro. They go together! God is real! and Science is real! and that's how Darwin thought as well"  Darwin gets thrown under the bus sometimes.. he was a monk before he was a scientist.... fun fact for the day:) I dunno... it was just really cool to be able to use something I studied from college in my teaching in El Salvador..... weird---- never would have thought!
This week a family that we are teaching invited us to dinner. It is a very nice family and interested in the message. They are reading and praying, but haven´t come to church yet. When we were at dinner, he told me a story that brought tears to my eyes. He said that years ago, he worked next to one of the offices of the two missions in El Salvador, and whenever missionaries would meet there, he would stand in the doorway and wait for someone to talk to him. But no one ever would. He said that he was so curious to know what we taught. But no one would ever talk to him. So he thought that the Mormon missionaries just don't talk to anyone. Later, he had always seen them around, but they never had come to his door. So he thought that we must have our houses that we visit but we don't visit any others. Then he looked at me and at my companion and said, "It really has been a pleasure talking and sharing with you. When you came to my door, I was so excited. Thank you." I Hope that I can always talk to and discern who is ready and who needs to be talked to. :)
Mum, thanks for everything! I love you! I think I will only be with my comp until October... by the way... I hope you are not already thinking about Christmas... just send me like a tie and save the rest for when I´m back:) I love you! salu
Dad, sounds like everything is going good for point to point in a couple weeks! I cant wait to be on the bike man.. i get antsy... I just want to pedal!!!!!-  anyway. love ya pops! salu
Austin, I got a scripture for your hernia.(deut23:1) look it up and you´ll laugh! dude I´m bummed for you about surgery and all that... just listen to some good music for me:) I´m glad those bands are sick and weird.. I´m sure I´ll like them... I have always like bands that break the music rules:) hahaha love ya bro.. keep your head up
Ellie, sounds like things are going good with school and all that stuff! stay safe and be nice to everyone! love ya!
Brynn, sounds like this week went a little rough, but just keep your head up and be happy.. and make being happy  a habit... love ya!
I love you all! thanks for everything!
How sweet the joy this sentence gives: I know that my Redeemer lives!"
ELDER T

Versallas- Week 55

HELLO!!!!
Sounds like this week went well for you guys! This week was exceptionally ordinary. My comp is doing good.. he is a lot like Escalante.. likes to talk a lot and can't sit down for too long.. jaja I think for almost all Latins, they can leave at 18 years old... but apparently he's turning 19 in Oct. but you know... whatever... Mum, about the moleskin notebooks, ask Elder Cook about them... I decided that I don't want those notebooks I bought at NAU. :) jaja... they are not very practical.
Yesterday, the BOMB took off with the rip tear (Lesson I had planned). I made some modifications to it and everyone was all set to start helping us all out. It was a little bit of a machete but whatever... .
On Tuesday, we had a leadership training thing.. it went well I really like those things.. plus I got to see Elder Mehr and Elder Winter:) The subject was about being an example to the other missionaries in our districts and zones. It was way sick... Elder Winter had a good quote... Attitude is a habit. its way true. Anyway it was way legit. 2 Nephi 2:6-8
So Umbrella by Rhianna came on in the cafe.. remember when I use to sing that at the piano? jajaja:)
So I have been getting to know and Elder Long in my zone.. he is from Florida and was in a band.. he is a way good guy and a hard worker... he is the other district leader.
So we had a sick FHE with a way powerful family in our ward.. The person they presented us to has cancer and has to do a lot of procedures things.. I hope she will be able to come to church. We had another FHE with the language(teenagers) and it was just as powerful as the first.. the person totally got the message and was like "so I need to read the scriptures and pray, go to church, and get baptized, right??" I was like.... I was like... affirmative. jaja
So we started teaching this hermano, and I think that he might be a pastor. He really likes to contend with and argue. We tell him that all he has to do is pray and read the Book of Mormon. He has been reading it a lot, but he has been reading it to find all the contradictions that it has with the bible... it doesn't have any... but according to him it does. What would you suggest that we do?  He is reading. He says he is praying about it. But he is reading to prove it is wrong, not to prove its right.
I find it so hard to find a positive family.. I make it a goal everyday to find a family, but it seems we only find positive widows and widowers. We started teaching 3 widows and 1 widower. What can I do to find a positive family? I don't usually talk with women unless I am knocking doors. I don't look to talk with women on the street, only men. What can be done?
The stake I am serving in right now sends the most missionaries out than any other stake in Central America, and we had two farewells from 2 language(teens) yesterday.. we had a lot of people at church and a lot of non-members, that means we wrote down a lot of references:)
It's been wet wet wet wet wet wet wet wetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwewetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwwetwetwetwet..............wet lately... whatever right?
So I don't know if you guys ever met Shannen Olsen, one of my friends from NAU that helped me a lot... anyway.. way cool girl... but we have an investigator that looks exactly like her! It is so weird... I think when people think about Central America, they think of dark skinned people... but they are many many many light skinned people... chellies they call them...jajaja... but anyway...
Anyway... I love you all! Thanks for all you letters and whatnot...have a good week!
Elder TTT

Versallas- Week 54

Hellos!
Sounds like Utah was sick as ever, but now ending right? That sucks... jajajaja!
This week went well.. we had changes.. I am still in my area but......wait for it.......................I am training again.... I am very grateful for the chance to train again. Honestly, I didn´t want to do it. I just wanted a good trained missionary that was a good teacher, because I have never really had that since my trainer. Then I realized that I was being very selfish and prideful. I realized that I was only thinking about myself and I needed to be thinking about others.

So my comps name is Elder Ventura and he is from the DR.. He is 18 yrs old... he talks like a Spanish black guy.. jaja.. he is a cool guy and I am looking forward to working with him.. Elder Mehr got changed to be Zone leader... that stud... Elder Cook knows that you would be out of town until this week... He is from Gilbert and took home some stuff for me.. when you see him for the first time, just say "whip grips" he`ll know what it is:) So when we found out we were training, we had to go to the presidents house were I found out that Elder Winter is training also... so that was cool!... way fun to meet up with that guy again:)
This week went really well. My first day with Elder Ventura, we found an hermana that let us in and has been having some personal problems. We invited her to come to church and she accepted. So on Saturday, my companion was thinking about her and said that we should go by. We confirmed that we would come by to pick her up the next day and she came! I have found very few people that have come to church the first time you invite them. It was a small tender mercy.
Last night, I don't know why, but I felt dis animated. I didn´t want to do the contacts that we had left. But once we started, we had another little tender mercy. We received nine references in about 45 min. I was amazed at the people that were so willing to let us come back. We weren´t changing much. We always bear testimony, I think the Lord was helping us out last night to give us some animation for this week.
So I got to talk with Elder Rivas for a bit and Stanly and Ruth are preparing to go to the temple next year! super active:) and those two kids Noe and Gladis are giving references with their mum like crazy! I got an email from Tito this morning and says that everything is going great in Valle Nuevo!
Elder Brose is STILL in Zacamil! he hasn´t left since I was their with him... he will have been there for 11 months! so crazy! I guess he mas o menos started teaching hermana Elizabeth's brother who is just as awesome.... after they challenged him for baptism, I guess he was like "of course I will get baptized if I find out its true... that's why I am investigating the church! duh!" bien pilas:) Also talked to Elder Escalante... I grew to love that guy..... I have been blessed with comps.. I have come to love them all... this past change was hard... but whatever... :)
Last week we had a family night with a few of our most positive investigators... they are youth that are really good friends with a group of friends in our ward. And like half of them are returned missionaries and the other half is preparing to leave... so that family night was super powerful... So they call each other "language!" (but in a Spanish accent) and the girls "languagecitas" its kinda funny... they didn't really know what language was until I told them... but they thought it was cool! Now whenever they see me they yell LANGUAGE! ... and they call me elder language... jajajaja...
Yesterday I made preparations for the rip tear... that's what I named the whole tearing papers up in front of people lesson... getting ready to excited the ward with the BOMB... I will tell you all about it next week after it happens:)
People have just been coming to Church which puts some pressure on us! blessings.
DyC 138... crazy deep... how important temple work and more importantly family history work is... did you know that we will not be exalted unless we work with family history? that means we better get going on that!
so like all my pants have been coming apart at once.. so I am buying another pair today... otro $30... but this will be the last pair for a while:) so the pants here are a little bit different in style.. and I like them a lot more.. they are more skinny which I love... and they are a little more form fitting... which really makes my butt look bigger...not sure if thats a good thing?......
So at my cooks house, they have a computer so lots of members come over to use it.. some chicas we nonchalantly asking if I had facebook... weird because they never even tried to talk to me when I was first there.. which is more preferable.. but.. anyway.. its probably the pants and the butt issue... jajajaj! just kidding... but its cool though.. my ward is really cool! but whatever! jajaja
I love you all! thanks for everything! hope all goes well this week! say hi to grandma!
SALU!
TTT
bands from elder winter to austin.. they are all indy bands.. which are normally the best ones!
Broken Bells
Local Natives
Miike Snow
Beirut
Fanfarlo
Cloud Control
Fleet Foxes
Department of Eagles
toro 4 mo 1
Arcade Fire

coconut records (i have had a song by them stuck in my head this week... "West Coast":))
CHECK EM OUT! HE SAYS THEY ARE ALL WEIRD AND INDY! BEST GENRE OF MUSIC:) says that if you like the shins, vampire weekend and band of horses, and phoenix.. you`ll love these:) love ya bro!

Versallas- Week 53

HELLO!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!!!!!
So, as for studies this week... so crazy.. Romans turned into my favorite book of the bible... Romans 8 is so sick... and deep... the best is like the last 5 verses...I also started studying the pre-mortal life this week... it is soooooo DEEP.. actually... there's no such thing as deep doctrine... just understanding the scriptures.. but I have really been learning a lot.. I have probably pondered about this subject more than any other subject I have studied.. its sick.
SO Elder Cook from AZ is going home on Thursday.. he is taking a few things home for me, including a sweatshirt, a few jerseys that I don't want to get ruined, and that Messi jersey for Austin.. I gave him our address and your phone numbers.. TAKE HIM OUT TO DINNER OR SOMETHING! he´s a way cool guy... I think Spinatos would be cool! he´s way funny as well... like Cole... haha...
Had divisions two days in a row this week... that was interesting.. but learned a lot.
The song "feel good inc." by the Gorillaz has been in my head this week... the first time I heard that song was in the hard rock cafe in New York... like when I was fourteen... jajajajajaajaja...........good song.
I read a little bit of the book "Our search for happiness" this week... that is a sick book.. you could give that to grandma joy or something for Christmas... its a book made for non members... the purpose of the book is understanding. Just read like the first 6 pages! Probably one of my favorite books of the mission..:)
I was bike baggy this week... picture tells you why... I met this cyclist this week and he was a really cool guy(cyclists are usually always cool guys) and said that he would bring me some cool stuff and I would just pay him... he works in a bike store and gave me his discount on the stuff.. so I said... what the heck...haha! Speaking of cycling, Evelyn Garcia is a female cyclist from here(El Salvador, in case you forgot) and apparently is soooooo good! jajaja... look her up! cant wait to be back on the bike...
Got a letter from the Allen family this week! sick whips! (Dave and Tami)
So a lady in our ward gave us dinner this week with her family.. and had on her feet: wait for it......................Vans. Haven't seen those in 14 months... haha.. she was wearing skinny jeans and vans... it was legit... she's got flo...usually people wear skinnies and crocs or something... jajaja!
We found this week an hermana that has some of the mannerisms and personality as mum! It was really weird! but she was a buena onda and said that the next time we come she would have lots of questions... :)
This week we had an experience with a new investigator. His wife died a few years ago. Our first lesson, we taught the first lesson. Our second lesson, he didn't have very much time, so we did a quick overview of the plan of salvation and promised to talk about it more when we come back. He said,"Now i am really interested to hear what you have to say. Because that is something that I have wondered about for a long time. I will read the pamphlet and I will have questions for when you come. That is what I wanted to hear." It was a very cool experience and I am excited to see his progression.
Also, another family  we found is so interested in what we have to say and looks forward to our visits. They have really got a firm grasp on the first lesson(only have taught them twice). They really understand, which many times doesn't happen here... But the only problem is that the husband is at his house every other weekend. I know that they will get baptized, it will just probably have to be September or October. But it doesn't hurt to plan for months ahead, right?
I do need a few things: 2 books. lectures on faith and article of faith. also, can you send me the requirements of my major that are in my blue college folder. Also the Spanish major and minor requirements for NAU and like what I can test out of:) Also, two moleskin notebooks with lines and it flips up... please and thank you! I have gone through like two pairs of pants but a bought a pair here like two weeks ago and I am going to buy another pair today.. I just used my personal card... :) other than that, I am good!
Dad, sounds like the week went well! I cant wait to be able to ride with you again! love you dad!
Mum, happy birthday this week! sounds like camp was successful and I hope all goes well this week! I love you! thanks for everything!
Austin, sorry about all that shiz(name from the Book of Mormon) that's been going on.. we actually walked into my cooks house and they were watching the blindside. I saw the part where he sees his brother for the first time and gives him a hug,(got a little teary-eyed) then I thought, dang, my bro is going to be playing football this year.. my bro is a stud!... that stinks about all that surgery stuff and that's way cool that you have had good spiritual experiences this week with receiving your answer. very cool. got a scripture for ya... Romans 5:3-4.. tribulation produces patience:) love ya brotha! just keep your head up "cuz I learn fast how to keep my head up but I know I got this side of my that wants to grab the yoke from the pilot and just fly the whole mess into the sea" the shins... love ya brotha!
Hey thanks for everything family! love ya!
Romans1:9,11,12
SALU
TTT