Mission Week 42: TERRASSA!!-April 25, 2016

Big big big week folks...

As you may have heard, I have left the comfort of the tiny city of Manacor and have arrived in the beautiful city of TERRASSA. Boom!!!!!!! I a so excited to be here.... I was pretty nervous to go but I am feeling better and better by the minute!!!!! My new companion is Elder MILLER!!!!! He is such a good missionary.

So apparently his dad served in your same mission... Around the same time.... Just wondering... His name is elder Miller as well....

Okay so my last week in Manacor was a wild one!!!!!

So the biggest thing was the baptism of K!!!!!!!!

We were so excited for him!!!! He is such a great kid!!!! The service was great, he was great, the members were great. It was so good. While we had the interview at his house I had to leave the room so I played with his little nephews. We think their whole family will accept the gospel!!!!

Sunday we went out to a beautiful place with C. and her family..... While there, a man told us he would draw us for free.... We gladly accepted, and now I have an alien version of my face!!!!

On Monday, I said goodbye to Manacor, and as we were walking, our recent convert C. came and told me she was working on a picture for me!!!!! I was so happy she found us!!!! Tender mercies!!!!

I was super sad to say goodbye to Elder Cook, but the new adventure has begun!!!! He was a great companion!!!

Elder Miller is from Upland California. He lived in the Upland 2nd Ward. He has been serving almost seven months... He is a great guy... His mom's name is Lorelle...

Elder Cook is now with the British Elder Parker from my group...

There are six of us in the district. Two sisters and four elders... I am in the Barcelona zone....

Apparently there is a baptism this week!!!!!! I am so excited.... A great way to start off the area!!!!!!

On Friday we also taught seminary... It was super fun... We walked about how prophets are a watchtower so we made towers out of gumdrops and toothpicks.... They didn't have little marshmallows.... It was a blast!

Love you so much!!!!

Elder Tyson

Mission Weeks 40 & 41 April 11 & April 18: Manacor

I have fallen a bit behind on updating Elder Tyson's blog. Here are the last two weeks.

April 11, 2016

Just another fantastic week in the life of the Elders of Manacor. We had a week full of amazing opportunities and miracles, allow me to just share a few.

First is our investigator K. His fecha for baptism is on the 23rd of this month. We picked him up and brought him to church and he loved it. We were praying to find a way to help him get to Palma for our District Conference next week, and as we were talking with some members he knew, they said they would gladly drive him, and he accepted. It was a miracle and a great answer to our prayers.

Next was our miracle with F. We got a call from one of our members asking if we could meet her at the church the next day, she had a friend she wanted us to meet. We went and met F. She has been searching for the true church for years and it was amazing to see the Spirit touch her heart. Elder Cook and I taught with great unity and the lesson really seemed to flow. We extended a fecha, but she said she wanted to read a little bit from the Book of Mormon before she decides. It was so amazing. Our members are really starting to catch the fire of missionary work.

Our members have been great with the transition of C. from investigator to new member, they already assigned visiting teachers and want to help her be a part of our culture. It has been wonderful.

Elder Cook is great. He is such a blessing to have as a companion. His testimony brings so much power. he is great at following the promptings of the Spirit and promising blessing when we extend commitments. I el so grateful to the Lord that he allowed me to be with such an amazing companion. He teaches me everyday.

So, Elder Cook really likes to hide in our piso. Whenever I leave the room and come back, he is gone. It even happens in the street. It is very funny but this week was the last straw. Because not only does he hide, But he likes to scare me, and as you all know, I am a pretty jumpy guy. This week when he scared me, I freaked out, and basically had an anxiety attack. I had a shiver down my spine the rest of the night and it took me a while to fall asleep. But all is well, we made a truce that he can only scare me one more time, as long as he is documenting it on camera for future generations.

Today for preparation day we went out with Inca to see this castle in their area. It was pretty cool.

 

I got the priesthood line of authority.... It is great.... Thank you!!!!

 

 

Love you so much....

Elder Tyson

 

April 18, 2016-The Wet One

 

 To begin my epistle may I describe an experience that happened to
Elder Cook and me that has made me realize that although the man was
wise for building his house upon the rock, he was also extremely
foolish because he didn't buy the flood insurance and when the floods
came, his house was fine, but his belongings were not so lucky. The
foolish man's house may have washed away, but the wise man's house
still flooded.

It started just like any other day. Wake up, bathroom, shower,
breakfast, studies, streets. We went to our weekly visit that we have
with a member and we were on our way to grab an ice cream cone at
Burger King when our phone rang. It was the owner of our apartment
saying that there was water running out of our apartment. We hurried
back in a flurry and didn't see much walking up to the building. Then
the fun began.  We stepped into the building and water was flowing
down the stairs and pooling in the entry way, but the worst was yet to
come. As we opened the door of our apartment I thought I had just
stepped into a reflecting pool.

Apparently step 2 of my morning routine didn't go down as planned (Pun
intended). I had clogged the toilet and the apartment was paying the
price. Luckily, We didn't  have too many things on the floor, so
nothing was ruined. Just the copy of Jesus the Christ that I use for
my bathroom studies. It filled up my bathroom, our study room, the
kitchen, Elder Cook's bathroom, the hallway, and out the door and down
the stairs.

We quickly got our three towels together and began the long process of
drying the floor. Thankfully some members saved the day by sacrificing
some of their towels to help the cause. After a couple hours we had it
all dried up and we were on our way. We definitely weren't "WET"ty for
that one. It's just one of those stories you will be telling you
grandchildren about.

For Preparation day, We are staying around here and getting ready for
the week. Elder Cook cut his hair,  other than that, pretty calm week. 

We had interviews with President which were good, and we are just loving the life!!!

Love you all,

Elder (always causing some sort of crazy unnecessary problem) Tyson

 

Mission Week 39: BAPTISM!!!

ARE YOU READY FOLKS???? THIS WEEK WAS A WILD ONE!!!!!!

First, lets start with the tennis ball that is now my head. I don't know if you saw the photos but my hair got pretty short, pretty fast. Here is the scoop... So last time I got my haircut I felt like I had left it a little too long. It felt super European and not so missionary. It started to wolf so I decided that it needed a cut. So, as Elder Cook and I went, I knew that I wanted a 2 on the sides but didn't know for the top. I thought about a 4 and said that was like an inch long. So, Go for Gold! The guy was about to cut and said that it would be short, as short as his sides, but this guy had curly hair, so I was like... Let's go. Now, if you ever go shoot pool, make sure you hit my head before any of the other balls. #CueBall

Today for Preparation day we went out with our district and basically did the Tour de France. We went to a little town and rode bikes up this ginormous hill, down the other side, took some pictures, and rode all the way back. No worries, only one delay... a flat for Elder Cook that delayed us an hour. But we all made it alive. We actually did well for six out of shape guys. We passed a lot of the roadsters, and now I can't walk. Those goofy glasses you see... ya an elder gave those to me... come on... I couldn't turn those down!!!!!

General Conference was so powerful! It made me feel close to the fam, minus the bran muffins of course! It was so enriching! I loved how most of the talks spoke of our eternal identity, and how important it is to remember who we are, and live up to it. I was hoping for the Eagle Mountain temple, but hey, life cant always be perfect! hahaha

And now, the main event, the best part of the week,  and if I may be so bold, my whole mission thus far...

BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One April fool's day (very fitting we thought for us) Our best friend C. was baptized!! It was so special! Satan had been fighting her the whole week. From the interview, to almost crashing her car, the adversary knew she was making an amazing choice. Luckily, so did we! Thor'sday night we went over to her home and she was not feeling great, but as we spoke to her and testified to her, the Spirit filled the room, and when we left, she had no doubts. I told her that she had to fight Satan one more day, and she promised she would!

On Friday, it poured rain. Of course it didn't ruin my hair, because I didn't have any, but I was a little worried. What a blessing it was when  C. arrived later so content. She said, "Manacor is getting baptized with me." Miracles folks, Miracles.

When we arrived at the church, I think mom, Kalee, Grandma, and all other important women came out of my personality. I wanted everything to be perfect. Even if no one noticed, we would, and God would. From table cloths, to center pieces on the tables, to baptism prelude music, to sweeping every ten seconds, to wiping off our big blow up font so that it looked blue, not brown, to almost losing my mind when Elder Cook drew on the foggy window, to making the brownies, and putting them on a platter. I had to search for the table clothes, but I ended up finding them hidden in a closet!!!!! The brownies were so good!!!!! We almost didn't want to share them!!! The extra batter was licked clean for sure!!!! Everything had to be just right! You only get baptized once, right??

The service was amazing! All of our members showed up to offer support. C. was great! She brought her own dress and desserts and many, many changes of clothes... haha. She also brought some stones she brought from the Jordan River that she picked up out of the river 40 years ago. She said she wanted Jesus to be with her. She is giving them to us on Tuesday!!!!! The Spirit was so strong.  You know my sensitive heart could barely hold back the tears.

She bore her testimony at the end of the service, and I have never felt more proud or happy for someone in my life! She thanked us for our patience, and for helping her to that point. I couldn't stop smiling! All of the stress, prayers, fasting, miracles, frustrations, visits, old folks runs, and lots of love led up to this wonderful day! As she spoke I thought back to her incredible journey to baptism. It was hard, but worth it. Heavenly Father let me feel his love for her. I saw her as he did. I can't explain it in words. Imagine it's what parenthood is like...

I am so grateful for the chance I had to watch her progression in the Gospel. The Spirit has truly changed her heart. I feel as though the promise in Doctrine and Covenants just became real. "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

The Brem's are good folks!!! We bought them a welcome gift last week. Salt shakers in the form of people hugging. They came out to the baptism. They helped with the programs!!!! It was so great!!!!

So that's a mouthful,  but that's the life!!!!!

Elder Tyson