Friday, December 18, 2015

Week 58 we made a baptismal dress out of a pillowcase

Wow that is awesome sounds like a super great week! That is way cool that jared made the bidwell team I know he will do awesome ! And that is awesome that Jacob is doing so well in Seminary . Way better than I did my first year, I really dont remember a lot from the first year , but I'm really glad that jacob is learning a lot , and has been setting a great example for everyone as the oldest in the house ! AFY sounds so fun! 
San Franisco did you guys get a chance to go to a 49ers game jaja:) 
Thanks mom for the Birthday wishes!

okay so this week in Chia...
Martes: we had our ward party. It went super well , there were even a few investigators that showed up , the Christmas play was super good , and we even did a christmas song with the sister missionaries , and my comp forgot one of the parts so me tocó solo :P ! But it went well. then we went with the ward to deliver Gifts and sing to an orphange which was spectauclar , it was truly amazing to share something with them , and hear there comments about the true meaning of Christmas and their testimonies of the Savior!

Miercoles we had are Zone conference which went well. We talked a lot about Faith and hope which was cool , then we did some practicing for a song that we are going to sing at the Christmas party that we are having Saturday with the President. 

Jueves: we had a really good leson with J_, and also with a less active , who even made it to church , which was awesome! Also we had a lesson with A_ and Investigator , and her family it was super cool and they all accepted the baptismal invatation! So that was super cool , and the spirit was so strong!

Viernes : Well lunch was canceled on us so what did we eat you know it pizza! jaja
Then we had intercambios, I was with another elder , but we had a super good lesson about the Plan of salvation , and they want to come to church , to learn except they had to go to  Bogota this week to pick up a few things so they weren't able to make it. 

Sabado : well were basically helping the sister missionaries with their baptisms , giving interviews, and all that good stuff, then they asked us at the last minute if we had baptismal clothing , so we ran to the house to check only to find out , we didnt have any for the little girl that is 8 years old. So my comp following spirit and using his talents , turned a pillow case into a dress. It actually wasnt too bad! But the baptism was awesome , J_ and D_ came . Then the dad of the childern came, who isnt a member and even began to cry. The spirit was so strong . I havent felt so much Joy in a long time ! 

So today , well played some soccer , then had to go to the house early because they are fixing the bathroom , but that went well , and then of course more pizza! :) 

I hope all is going well back home , and that you are all enjoying the chirstmas season , and remebering the true meaning of Christmas! :) 
I love you all so much ,
Elder T. Fuerte:) 
Ps we are able to use skype 24 25 or 26 I dont know if you have a a day that works best for you ?

Monday, December 7, 2015

Week 57

thanks mom for the email it is really great to here about everything back home , and Im glad all is going well , even if you did get in accident ( was it with the car or the suburban?) jaja Anyways that is awesome to here how good the PV soccer team is doing , and that you are all enjoying the christmas season! 

Anyways so the start of chirstmas season here in colombia..
Martes ,well nothing to exciting happened , we had a few good lessons this day.

Miercoles: Well we had our district meeting , we talked a lot about the importance to be submissive and humble , so that was good , and than we had a  traditional dish from Ecuador which was good , and then we made  smores jaja super awesome !!We had a really good lesson J_  one of the less actives in our ward , we are really working with her husband and duaghter , because they aren't  members, but we watched the videos ha nacido un Salvador , so that was really cool to kick off the Christmas season!

Jueves: we had concilio with President, which went well we talked a lot about the story of Nephi , and how , at first all of Lehis family had faith to leave to the wilderness  even Laman and lemuel , however when trials came , the differnce was Nephis faith grew while , the others like Laman , diminshed litlle by little , so that was really interesting! I wasnt feeling to well , from being in meetings all day , but the next day I felt beter.

Viernes : was super interesting, so we had a good day conatcting in the street also we met a family that was reference give to us by a joven , they are really great , and want to learn more , they bascially want to learn, more from the example thet this young man from the church , he showed so that was cool .You  never know who is watching your example! Well also this day we were attacked by a dog which was super intense. My Comp fell down on a bunch of bricks , and bruised his tail bone , I managed to hit the dog with my scripture bag, and then my comp , with a brick , and my comp has phobia of dogs, so that even made it worse , but in the end , niether one of us was biten . How ever the lady who was an investigator , doesnt want us to come teach her anymore , because we hit the dog :P oh well , you win some you loose some. 

Sabado: not much happened because my comp can barely walk so most of the time we were in the house , we did have a good mexican lunch from the members! 

Domingo : was good to hear the talks , but after church once again in the house , because my comp cant walk , but is getting better. 

Hoy : well we didnt do much , we went to the church , where i played soccer by myself while my comp wrote letters to his family , then we went back and I slept for about an hour which was great . 


Well I hope all is going well back home , and that you can all find ways to serve others this chirstmas season ,and share , the message of the Savior , with everyone! I love you guys so much , also thanks you so much for the package , I really enjoy it ! 
Have a great week !
Love ,
Elder T. Strong

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Week 56

Wow sounds like a crazy busy and exciting week. Hunting so lucky , and thanksgiving , and football , how so great ! 

Okay so this week in Colombia. 

Miercoles : we went to tabio which is kind of in the mountians because we had  lunch with a member it was super cool and way peaceful , and reminded me a lot of  home , and plus they live in the country so that ws a little  piece of home :) 

Thanksgiving. Well lets just say it wasn't the best thanksgiving , but Im truly thankful for my comp and for all that God has given me, because in the moring while we were planning , I was looking back on the people we have been teaching and realized many of them arent progressing , and so then I began to cry , thinking all my work for the past 3 months here has been for nothing, and then dark thoughts entered my mind , and I was questioning myself why am i here if Im not doing anything , if they arent progressing , so my comp helped a lot  by telling me to relax then he told me something that I cant forget, Elder Strong ... go pray to God ... only he can truly help you. At first I didnt want to because of my pride, but after crying for about another 20 mins I went to the back room and prayed. I didnt have a super big experience or anything , but it did bring a sense of peace to my sorrowed soul, which is what I needed. 

Friday: Well my comp and I were both struggling spiritually these past few days and Satan has beeb getting at us putting doubts in our minds, so went to the MPs house where we were able to talk with him for  a little bit , and he  shared a great scripture with me in Alma 8 :14 ,15 ,16 which went really well , also my comp gave  me a great section to read in D&C 31 
later in the night we had an activiity and we watched Meet the Mormons which was great even if we didn't  have a great turnout it still went well which is wierd , because in the CCM we watched  it for thanksgiving also, so that was cool.

Saturday : T_ had his Bday which went super awesome we passed by to eat cake , and we shared a message with them , then I gave him a car with Hulk on it , because he calls me Elder Hulk jaja , so that was awesome, then we had to go to Bogota to interview!

Sunday: Well lets just say God answers prayers, because we have been praying so hard that this family of 7 could come to church , and they all came plus some of our less actives to it was way awesome , and to top it off Elder Godoy was there too! He talked a lot about the Sabbath day, it is a really big deal right now here in Colombia!!!

Today : we went and climbed a mountian with the district which went well .

Anyways thanks so much for the email , ; IM so thankful for the family I have to support me, and Im very thankful to be serving the Lord to bring other families togther! I love you all so much have a great week!!!
Elder T. Strong

Week 55


From: Tyler Strong <tyler.strong@myldsmail.net>
Date: November 24, 2015 at 3:03:59 PM PST
To: Sandi Strong <walnutbears@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Weekly update
Wow sounds like things are going just great back home, sorry I didnt  write yesterday , it is because we switched our pday for today to go to the temple as a zone. Which went rather well the Temple was amazing and to be there with all the zone it was  even better, I was definately able to feel the spirit so strong, and well it was just a great refresher in general.

Okay well, Miercoles we had  our  district meeting which went alright, we talked about contacting and finding new people to teach which is not one  of my strong points, but you guys no that , being not the talkative type, but all vamos poco a poco. 

Jueves went alright kind of a slow day in reality, we did our weekly planning which went good , and then the people came to install curtians for the apartment , well lets just say it took quite a while like 4 hours to do all that , but the lady who does it all is miembro , and she was nice enough to invite us out to lunch , since we didnt have lunch that day so that was great. Also there was a lot of rain it was pouring cats and dogs here which was crazy, but cool , luckily the curtians saved us from getting to wet this day jaja. 

Viernes , we had a lesson with J_and D_ , which went really well , and the Spirit way strong ,the only problem is people have the agency to choose and well J_know it is all true and everything , on the other hand D_ doesnt want to believe and doesnt want to get married, so that was kind of bummer , so we will see how that goes , but right now not to great. 

Sabado went pretty well, we had a lot of good conatcts in the street one who had a dog the other , as we were making an agenda for our activity this Friday to watch  meet the mormons, and others contacts when we ate an arepa filled with queso , but they were all super great conatcs in the street so that was cool. Then during lunch it was super good, and the brother , was giving us advise about our lives after the mission jaja , that was interesting .

Domingo. we had stake confernce which went really  well it was great they talked about everything , from the importance of the roles of mothers , and how great of a Role the women in the church  play, also about the Sabath Day, and also about the importance on every member a missionary. and they share a really great phrase from Elder Bednar about how the missionaries are full time techers and member are full time finders so that was really cool , so I hope you all back home are trying to find others who need the gospel.

I love you all so much have a great week ; share the Gospel,
Also an  obedient mormon is happy:)
Elder T. Strong

Week 54

That is great to hear all is going well back home in Chico, and that everyone is enjoying playing basketball and other activities in school! Also it is great to hear that Seth has arrived in Spain , and sounds like he is already having the best time ever so that is great! 

Okay so this week in Colombia...

Miercoles- We had our district meeting which went well , we talked a lot about the atonement of Christ, so that was super good, then we were able to try different foods from different countries so that was also good!

Jueves- we had our studies and our planning, it was a great morning because during the studies we read a bunch of scriptures of how God send angels to helps us with this work and that they are preapring people to recieve the gospel.Then we had a lesson with Family R_ about the atonement because recently the dad had a brother who passed away , so that was kind of tough, but the spirit was so strong. Also we had another great lesson with C_  and his family they are recent converts so that was cool to have a lesson with them, then the rest of the day we didnt have much luck because of the soccer game , because everyone watches the soccer game here, even if Colombia isnt doing so good right now jaja.

Viernes: we had a lesson with J_ and D_  they are doing alright, but she doesnt want to get married yet so we are working on that little by little. Later we had a lesson with D_ he is super awesome young man well young adult he is less active the only member of his family but he wants to come back to church so we are helping him take steps back to the path to God. Then later that night it was super awesome , because  we didn't have much luck than we had the idea to visit a less active member ,as we got there the husband who isnt a member showed up with their duaghter too, and we were able to have a super great lesson about the restoration so that was way awesome so we will see what will happen with them. 

Sabado - we were basically in Bogota all day dealing with problems that two missionaries had , they had a fight so we had a long talk with them about obedince forgiveness , love , charity, the atonement it went well , but they had to have interviews with the president. 

Domingo - well i gave a talk so nervous , and it didnt go at all well ,I couldnt even find the words to speak it was bad, but very humbling for me , basically God telling me that I need a lot more practice with spanish, I dont know but it has definately been a struggle for me through out the whole mission , but we will see how it comes-

Lunes we had cambios, so we had to coordinate  all that yesterday and so we didn get any sleep at all and that is not a lie , my comp and I slept 2 hours on the hard floor , so we are both pretty tired today, but im just glad it is done with and we dont have to worry about for another 6 weeks jaja. 

So that was basically a summary of the week , I love you all so much and it is great to hear bout evrything .
Love Elder Strong

Also could  you send me a calnder but home made with photos of the fmaily , and also the xxl white TSHIRT for a member. 
thanks have a great week 
scripture DyC 60: 2-3

Week 53

wow sounds like a crazy week that you guys had , Im glad that jacob is doing a lot better , and that there wasn't a tornado or anything,that is cool that they had a baptism, and also about the light of the Son that is super great! 

So this week we did a lot of traveling back in forth to different areas helping the Elders that are leaving the mission and their companions to be with other missionaries as they wait a week for cambios to get their new companions. Also with the little time we've had in our area we have been working a lot with less active members , it way great to see some of them with deisres to come back and change. We even had 4 that came to church on Sunday. So lately we have had quite a few baptisms these last 2 weeks 7 in our zone, so that was awesome , 4 of them from the sister misionaries in our ward, and they are going to have 4 more this month! Anyways Monday we went to a salt mine which was pretty cool and excitng, then we ate buffalo burgers which were good.
sorry it is kind of short , but I love you all so much, keep up the good work , share the gospel with everyone , and be an example of the believers ,Love,
Elder Strong

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Week 52 one year!!!! I love my mission, and serving the wonderful people of Colombia

Wow sounds like a fun Halloween well , I guess not for jacob, poor guy , but I hope he is feeling better now.Kayden definitely got his soccer skills from me just saying I taught him everything he knows jaja. And how that is awesome that they are going to play basketball and Jacob, will he try out for the Freshmen team? Yeah it is a weird feeling I dont feel like I have been here for a year , I feel like I'm still fairly new to the mission to be honest, it is a wierd feeling, but I will definitely make the best of it!That is awesome that Jacob is excited for the Musical it was definitely a great experience!! Yeah I did get my package thanks you so much for the sweaters, the tie , and the christmas tree is super awesome too! 

Okay so  this week in COLOMBIA...

Okay so Tuesday: Well we had our weekly meeting with all the leaders in the zone which went well. Then we did a lot of planning for the Zone conference that we had the following day. Then we went to visit some people that we contacted the other day , but we were never able to make conatct with them, until this day, we went to the house , and knocked on the door, but earlier in the moring we were talking about how we need to believe more that God will help us in everything, so as we knocked on the door there was no response, so I told my comp to call her , and then I was like "I believe, I believe" the phrase from polar express, and then out of no where we walked up the street to her house , and we were able to have a lesson with her and her family, and now we have 5 new invetigators! 

Miercoles: so we had our zone meeting , before the meeting we cooked the whole zone breakfeast which went super well! Then the meeting was a lot about obedience, because with the new mission president some missionaries are taking advantage of the rules, but we had a super great conference, and the spirit was super strong, now I just hope the missionaries can continue to stay this way! 

Jueves: So we had intercambios with the Asistants, which went well, I was with Elder Calaway, I dont know if you remember him but he was my Zone leader in Bucaramanga,. So that was really cool to be able to work with him again after like 4 months. Also one of his areas was Chia , so we were able to contact some of the people he use to teach so that was awesome , definitely a blessing from the Lord!!

Viernes: My comp had to go to Bogota for a meeting, so I went with another Elder back to Chia to work, we had an alright day but most of it we were busy planning the activity for that night , and I feel like every one who was in charge of something canceled on us last minute, but it all worked out in the end, and it was a huge sucess!!


Halloween: So Halloween is basically the same here , the kids go door to door asking for candy everyone dresses up in costumes and everything it is super cool , it is almost identical to the US , but in spanish. So the phrase is " Quiero paz , quiero amor, quiero dulces por favor" it is kind of catchy, I think I will use it when I come back to the states jaja:) 

Domingo: we went with a priest who is preparing to serve a mission, his call should be coming in March but it was really great, to go on visits with him, plus it was the last day my Comp E Herbas, was here, so we made the  most of it, even knocking on doors jaja, but it went really well. Oh and now I have to give a talk Sunday on Joy , so we will see how that goes! 

Lunes we packed my comps stuff up , then we went to Bogota to wait for my comp to arrive , my new comp is e Chavez , he is from Colombia, so he can help me with my colombian spanish! He is great, really obedient so that is good!

Anyways I hope all is going well back home in the States, and that you guys can enjoy the holiday season that is coming up, and everything else!
Love you all ,
Elder Fuerte

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Week 51

Thanks Mom for the email . Im so sorry for not writing the other Pday, but well here is your email.....

M- We had a district meeting, but I was super sick , becuase , after the last Pday, I threw up like the whole night it was awful!!!, anyways then we had intercambios, which I stayed in the area , but luckily E Reyes was a big help to me. He is pretty young in the mission but he knows his purpose , and has lots of desires to serve I just felt bad because I was really sick the whole day.

M- We had interviews with our mission presient which went well , then we had to mange the whole thing which wasn't to bad , because the missionaries did a good job on being on time and everything so that was good!Oh Also president  invited us to Subway so that was good. And then we were helping the other missionaries practice english while they were  waiting. I feel bad for the wife of our president because she doesn't know any spanish at all,. But with 3 years In Colombia I am sure she will learn a ton!

J- We had concilio , which is bacicalñly a big meeting with all the zone leaders, and president, which went well, we talked a lot about obedience, and working with the members. . Then we went back home and had a meeting to plan the activity that we will have in the church this coming firday for Halloween. My first one in the mission. 

V- We had intercambios once again , I stayed in the area again they went well , I am getting better with talking to people , but it stll is one of my weaknesses for sure! 

S- we had correlacion misional with our mission leader in the ward which went well,  then we went to Cajica a smalll town in our area but no one was home :( 

D- In church they had the primary program which was super great it was way awesome! , then we went with N_ who came with us on a bunch       lessons, we didnt have to many people come to church because yeasterday they were voting all day which was crazy , stinking politics, but we did find 2 new people to teach so that was good!

L- So today we had a zone activity we played a bunch of games ate pizza and played micro, couldn't ask for anything better, I wish they had micro in the US!!! 

Have a great week, love you guys! 
Love, Elder Fuerte

Monday, October 12, 2015

Week 49 I love to go to the temple!!!!

Thanks Mom for eberything you are truly the best ! It is great to hear about Kayden and Josh doing so well in soccer ! Someone needs to continue the Tradition!!!! Next PV soccer palyers!!! 

Anyways so another week in the land of the Lamanites...

Miercoles: we had a district meeting then we went with a young man from the ward to go visit members! It went really well we even found a new reference from a member but her husband is super carholic like most of colombia, but I think in Spain it might be worse , so I have heard haha, No but Seth will do good! 

Jueves: We did a lot of palnning hopefully it will help us become better and have more people to teach. Then Colombia had a game to qualify for the world cup so everyone was busy for three hours and we didnt have a lot to do . so lots of walking trying to find people to teach!!!

Viernes: We had our leadership meeting . which went well then we inertcambio so I satyed in Chia with elder Sanchez who is knew to the zone , but he is a great guy ! We had a few lessons in the afternoon but for some reason, at night know one was home which is weird because usually it is the other way around. Anyways lots of walking again. Oh then one of the Sister missioanries got super sick so we went to go give her a blessing and now she is a lot better. 

Sabado: We had lunch with this old couple who arent members but their daughter is , so we ended up talking with them and they love to cook , then they asked if I know how to cook , so I told them , I really only know how to cook no bake cookies , but they got really excited and  now they want us to come back and make cookies with them jaja! 
then we did lots of contacting and knocking doors , because almost all our lessons fell through! But it was cool because we found someone that is super interested, and her freind is a member and everything! So hopefully it will go well with her! 

Domingo: My comp gave a really good talk basically on how missioanry work is the work of the members and how the missionaries are just here to help, so that was really cool , and way true! Then in Principios del evangelio they talked all about eternal marriage , I don't know why but it seems like therer are so many talks about marriage and the family and everything , but it is cool , because a lot of our converts have the goal to go to the temple and get sealed by the end of the year. 

Hoy: So we had the opportunity to go to the Temple today !!!!!!!!! It was way sepecial , and it was great to go back after almost a year! I love the temple so much, it is such a good way to feel spiritually strenghted and filled with the spirit! It is amazing. Then we went out to eat Hamburgers with the District!

so the family of five , well they have a few problems well the father with his ex wife , so I dont know we have been out of touch with them , because he is working alot but hopefully we can start teaching them again , because they are great! Oh Tell Jared I said hi !!Really he is applying to byui right now ? I dont know if we can do that here, but Im not sure where I want to go either.

Anyways thanks for the package , oh about my package , I couldnt send it today becuase it is a holiday here , so it wasnt open, but I will send it as soon as possiblñe!
Love you guys so much , so thankful to have the chance to be with you all forever! :)
Love, Elder Fuerte!


Thursday, October 8, 2015

Week 48

Wow it is great to hear about Seth, He is going to be an awesome missioanry! I cant wait to hear all about his experinces. And that is awesome that you have opportunities to share the gosel too, it is super important as members of the church that we share and do our part in missionary work. Every Memeber a missionary! :) 

Anyways so this week went alright ....

Martes: we did a big service project for one the memebers so that was fun, I love doing service , I really which I could just do service all day rather than teach but I guess both are equally important, but serving is awesome!

Miercoles : was probably are best day with lessons, we had a few great ones , and even one of them , said he is ready to be baptized, but he has a problem smoking , so we are working with him on that, but he is really excited! Then as we were walking to our next appointment we passed a lady in the street and then she called us back and asked if we were missionaries. We found out that she is less active but wants to come back to church, only she works saturdays so it is a little hard for her, and she has been   struggling with some challenges with money, but now we have an appointment with her later this week. But it was a huge blessing from God! Then we had a lesson with J_ and his family , we talked about the Sabath day , but unfortunately they weren't able to make it. I dont know but it is so hard to get people to come to church! 

Jueves: we had to go to Bogota to have interview, which went well he passed, and then their family of 5 was able to be baptized on Viernes!!!, Then we stayed the night with the other Elders because it was late, so we ate chicken again! Im getting really tired of chicken and rice everyday! Anyways in the morning we helped clean their house which was a huge mess , but now it is way clean!!! Then we came back and claned our own house. Then we had a lesson with J_, and a few other less actives.

Vierens: it rained a ton , so contacting didnt go so well , so we went to visit some families in the ward and were able to get a few references to visit so that was good. 

Sabado: was super good because ofGENERAL CONFERENCE !! I wasnt really able to watch the 1st session that well because we tried to watch it in english but it wasnt downloading fast enough , so we eventually had to watch it in spanish, which isn't as great , but hey I  Guess I get more practice with my Spanish :) My favortie talk from Satuarday was by Lawerence something like it. But he talked about how we can progress , or what is keeping us from progressing. Also for lunch we had ribs !!!

Domingo: It was also great , the talk form Holland was really great! then for lunch we had tacos and ice cream the best!!!Oh also it was cool to see the new Apostles  and hear them share their testimony super cool! 

Ayer: we were super busy because it was cambios so we had to make sure everybody knew where they were going and where they had to be at certain times , it was a little stressfull but we got through it, but next cambio is going to be worse because , I will be doing eveything by myself , since my comp leaves to his house before then. 

Anyways i hope all is going well , back at home and everything,and yes I got the package and letter from the Guymons , tell them thanks for me , and I have a letter for them that im sending in a package.love you all so much!! 
Elder Strong El Mayor ;) 

Week 47

Thanks mom for everything , sounds like things are going super well in Chico , that is crazy that you ran into Daniel you totally need to invite him to general confrence!!! Also it is great to hear about Seth or should say Elder Strong getting ready to go serve for 2 years he is going to be the best missionary ever!!! Also that is way cool that everyone is doing well in school and in church! Oh i finally bought your birthday gift mom , even though it is a little late , I should be sending it next pday , with some letters!

Anyways so this week in Colombia.....

Martes: We had the leadership meeting with the district leaders which went well we talked a lot on humility because right now there has been a lot of pride in the zone. Then Later I went with Elder Maldonado who was born in Chile but moved to the US when he was three, it was awesome to be with him, we had a great time , plus he likes to work hard and loves the people , which is awesome , he helped me learn a lot. Oh and we also were able to speak english so that was cool! 

Miercoles, we had our district meeting , one of the sisters is leaving tomorrow to go home , but she was able to have two baptisms right before she left so that was great! Also My comp became super sick with a super bad cold , he had shivers and everything, but we still went teaching even though it wasn't to effective.

Jueves: Well with a lot of baptismal dates , I had the opportunity to have my first baptism interview it went alright, and took a long time but after everything was taken care of , we both left with a smile on our faces, and we even took a picture together. He is young man , but super great, and was able to be baptized friday! Then after the interview we had to catch a  bus to Bogota to have more interviews , with a family , which went well , except the dad had a small problem so we told him that we should wait , so the baptism will be for the next week hopefully , because it is a family of 5 and they are really great! . Then we stayed the night with other Elders and ate pollo, because it was late when we finshed.

Viernes : In the mornig we had donuts, then came back to Chia were we had a lesson with J_  and now he is offically rescued ! Then we had to go to Tocancipa to have two more interviews which both went well!!!Then came back to the noche de barrio (ward activity) which pretty failed because only like 10  people showed up!!!! Que Vaina con el barrio! 

Sabado : went well at the beginning we had a few lessons , one with J_ and his family they accpted a baptsim date for 24 de oct. then after the lesson i wasn't feeling to great , please skip the next part if you don't want to hear details...... .................. anyways I started to throw up in the street , it wasn't at all pleasant but then I felt a little better , so we had one more lesson then after that lesson once again in the street !!!! Que asco! but now I feel better, I think it was from driking water out of the tap the night before because we didnt have water , and I was thristy, but I learned my lesson! 

Domingo went well , not to much happened , one  of the members of ward  is leaving to Mexico today for his missiona so that reminded me of Seth so that was cool. 

Hoy: we went to the waterfall and just messed around taking pictures , then went to eat lunch wiht the Family R_ which was good ! 

Anyways I hope you guys have an amazing last few hours with Seth , and that all goes well , and hopefully there wont be too many tears. Jacob looks like the responsbility is yours to be a good example for all the younger brothers , but I know you will do great. Anyways scripture for  this week, Alma 58:40. 
love you all so much have a safe flight seth , and send me your email so we can keep in touch,
Elder Strong :)

ps advise for Seth just lose yourself in the work! 

Week 46

Wow what a great week probably because it was your CUMPLEAÑOS !!!!! Happy Birthday Mom !!!! 
that is awesome to hear how everyone is doing well with everything , Yeah so i wrote a couple of letters , but I wont have time to send them this week , so you will have to send Seths to the MTC or Spain. But that is awesome to hear that she was able to be baptized I hope she is okay and everything. And thats good that Jacob is enjoying the dances, at least he is taking advantage and having fun during high school! jaja.

Anyways so this week not a whole lot happened.

Tuesday we had intercambios with other Elders and I went out of my area with another Gringo, so that was fun we could talk a little in english, sometimes it is hard too  talk in english , but I've be practicing both, but it is hard as leader de Zona to find time to study Spanish , but I need to try to make time!

Miercoles: We had our district meeting , which went well , then we came back to Chia and had some lessons , we went and visited the family with 5 boys they are doing super well the only problem is that she is pregnant, so she feels super sick all time she can barely get out of bed with out having the sensation to throw up. So they weren't able to make it this Sunday to church but they are doing good, and luckily the Dad was a memeber so he has been helping his family a lot!

Jueves: We did a lot of Planning , then later we weren't having a lot of success finding people to teach, so we went to an appointment that fell through, then we went and we had the idea to see if one family was home that we contacted the other week and they were!!! That was a great answer to our prayer, and now we have 2 new investigators! 

Viernes: we had intercambios again, this time I was with Elder Quesada, which went well we had a few lessons, but it was funny as we were walking we passed a Bar these drunk men were singing a song and then a dog went into the bar and started to join them jajaj. Anyways also there is a dog in there area , that goes with them to all there appointments super cool!

Sabado, we went to Bogota to help the sisters in our zone find more people to teach so the whole zone went conatcting in their area , it was kind of successful, I was able to talk in english with someone but they weren't interested! Later we came back had lunch and then we had to prepare everything for thr baptism of the sisters, so we didnt have a lot of lessons.

Domingo. we had church which went well , also a missionary came back to visit Chia where he served so that was kind of wierd! 

Hoy: we got our hair cut , then we had a zone activity, were we played some games, and then after lunch we played Micro!! also we ate Dominos of course!!! 

Anyways I hope you guys have a great week! Remember to share the gospel with everyone!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you guys so so so much !
Love ,
Elder Strong

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Week 45 Lots of work to do, Please help the missionaries!!

Thanks mom sounds like you had an amazing time ! 
Anyways so this week went by with lots to do of course! 

Martes: We Had a Mutli Zone meeting it went well for the most part I wasn't feeling to well but after lunch I was feeling better. We talked a lot about how we need to change our mind set , and have more faith ,which has definitely been helping me a lot. 

Miercoles: We had a zone meeting YAYYYY we had to give the capacitacion it went alright. Oh and before we had to wake up early to make the whole zone breakfeast 22 missionaries it turned out really well, and most of them enjoyed it! The meeting went well we talked a lot about finding ,more people to teach and now the Zone is becoming better which is awesome! Then we went to Visit the family with 5 boys and we taught the restauration which went well and then we invited the mom and the 2 oldest boys to be baptized and they accpeted , so that is awesome the only problem is we have to work with them to get married! ( Brett any advise lol ;) ) 

Jueves We went and visited the Fam Reyes which went well, also a Young Single Adult member. 

Vierenes : I had intercambios so I was in a different are but it went well , we were able to do some service in the morning by helping a man bulid part of his house which was cool ,and very humbling. Also we had some really good lessons , then we went to the church where they had a English class  and the teacher asked if I could help so I helped a little it was really cool because later he told me he was questioning on whether or not to have the class, then he got the impression that there would be a gringo missionary come this night even though there are two latinos in the ward, so that was way cool !!! 

Sabado: Well lets just say lots of walking and contacting , because we are still looking for investigators to teach it is so much easier when the members give us references so PLEASE HELP THE MISSIONARIES !!! 

Domingo: We had ward conference it went well there were great talks given , then we had good noche de hogar with the family Rojas, the FHEs here are really great ! 

Hoy : We went and visited this tourist attraction it is a church , super high in a mountian in Bogota it was way cool and I
was able to take some cool pics! 

Anyways I hope you guys have a great week , share the gospel with everyone!!!! ; and invite your friends to listen to the missionaries , and to all church activites!! maybe even a FHE!!!!! Thanks ,
I love you alll sooooooooooooo much ,
Elder Strong

Monday, September 7, 2015

Week 44, I met a family with 5 boys


Okay so this week in Chia ...
Martes: I had intercambios with E Lopez he is really awesome he is from Chile , and he is one of the distirct leaders . He is really a great missionary and him and his comapnion are great examples for the whole zone!!!They were even  able to have a baptism this Saturday! It is such a blessing to have missionaries like them in our zone. 

Miercoles: we had our district meeting which went well , we talked about having a positive attitude always, then later in the day we had a person call us saying how he wanted to recieve a lesson . He is a convert , so we were able to have a lesson with him and then he even made it to church on Sunday.

Jueves: We had Concilio ( council) in Bogota it is were all the Zone leaders meet to discuss what the mission needs,then we also recieve counsel  from the president on how we can help our zones become better, It was really great , a little long but  I learned a lot! I also was able to talk with E Lindley for a while because he is Zone Leader too!!Then I guess they go to the temple afterwards but I didnt know that and niehter did my Comp so we didn't end up going , but next time for sure!!

Vierenes: We had intercambios with Asistentes del President , it went well, I was able to visit the mission office for the first time so that was cool. We didn have very much success in the afternoon but later in the night we were able to have 3 awesome  lessons where we felt the spirit super strong so that was cool. I also have to carry a rock in my pocket all day because there were a lot of dogs, that would try to attack us , then at night we had Dominos!!

Sabado: We recieved a call the other day from a menos activo,. I guess he has been trying to contact the missionaries because he wants to come back , and he wants his kids to be baptized. His wife isnt a member, and she is really skeptical about  the church , but after having a lesson with them we were able to help her understand more about the church, then they were able to make it to church on sunday so that was awesome, and their kids loved it!They have 5 boys all younger than 11 years, it is like our family jaja super cool they are really awesome !!

Hoy: we didn't do much we cooked lunch in the house, then I wrote a few letters, but that was about it.

I recieved the package it is really great, thank you so much!!:) 

I hope you guys have a wonderful
week with work soccer school, church and everything else!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Strong

Friday, September 4, 2015

Week 43 Zone leaders work hard!

Thank you so much mom ; sounds like you had a pretty good week. Did Seth get a chance to check out USU? Yeah the Sabbath Day is a super big deal here!! But still there are alot of people who don't really follow it which is kind of sad. 

Okay so this week in Chia, not China jaja,
Martes, I was super tired from everything, traveling in all, but right way we went to work with a meeting with all the Zone leaders, I guess we have a meeting with them every Tuesday wich is crazy! Then from there we had a few lessons , one with family Rojas they are super awesome recent converts, but we are helping with thier goal to go to the temple. Also there little boy , calls me Elder HULK, because Apparently I look like the actor who plays the part in the hulk movies, so that is kind of cool.

Miercoles, we had reunion de distirto luckily we aren't in charge of that which is good a little time to relax. But then I had intercambios with Elder Reyes, he is really awesome he is prretty new in the mission , but he is very obiedent and has desires to work . So that was awesome to see he is going to be an awesome missionary. 

Juves, Suprise... we actually did our weekly planning together , POR FIN !!! , so that went well, then the Bishop`s wife bought us Hambergurs, and chocolate hershy bars which were good. then we went to visit a menos activo ,  he wants to come back but , has trouble because he works Sundays, so we are helping him with that. 

Viernes, We had another intercambio( I think i have more time out of my area then in my area jaja) Anyways I was able to go with E Guananga , he is really cool he has like one cambio mas que yo. But it went well we had a lot of good lessons, and in the night he made really good food , because he was a chef for a little bit before the mission.

Sabado. We went to visit the mom of Hna Coni to give a preisthood blessing which went well then we were able to go give service to them by helping them clean out a shed it was fun. Also I was able to talk english because , Hna, Coni lives in Utah. So that was cool. There are actually quite a few people in this area who know some english. 

Domingo : we had church, this ward is super big, I don't think I will ever know everyones names. But they are really nice here and friendly so that is awesome , but I had to say like 4 prayers because I'm  knew jaja.  Also there is a young man that is getting ready to leave for his mission , and he came with us all day yesterday to visit people, so that is awesome , he is super cool! 

Anyways so we have another busy week , full of meeting , and inetercambios, and everything else , it is so crazy to be Zone Leader, lots of work, but Im learning a lot of new things. 

My companero is really cool , very helpful , and is willing to anwser all my questions so that is good. Anyways I hoep you guys have a great week , I love you all so much!! Good luck to Josh and Kayden! Also is jacob doing swmming ? And Seth less than a Month how cool!!!
 con mucho amor,
Elder Strong 

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Week 42, I had an awesome last week in Piedecuesta!

On Aug 25, 2015, at 1:45 PM, Tyler Strong <tyler.strong@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Okay so this week in Colombia 

Martes: Well we had lunch and Elder Picay gave me a United States handkerchief so that was cool, also later we went to visit D_  and had a good lesson with him about the book of mormon, which was awesome, then we went and visited the family G_ who are references from the family V_. They are super awesome , too bad I wont be there to see them progress. 

Miercoles: We had a lesson with E_ and J_, which went well, still working on getting the papers to get married. Then we had the interviews for the baptism of the family S_ they both passed so that was awesome! Then we had a special consjeo de barrio ( ward council) to talk about the up coming ward conference   which is going to be way cool with high expectations. 

Jueves: No planning again:( Then we had almuerzo con the familia P_, then there was a big storm it was like a mini tropical storm for 3 hours , then we went to visit the familiy S_ to thank them for thier work with the family S_  because they gave us the reference, so while we were there her sister who lives across from them, had her baby, so once again we had the privilege to carry her sister up (who was my teacher in the CCM cool side note) up 5 flights of stairs! Round number 2 if you remember from a previous email I sent.

Sabado we had the baptisms so most of the day we were busy with that , it was super awesome the first time I was able to preform the baptism in the mission so that was kind of cool , that I could do that right before I left. 

Anyways so I arrived here safe in Chia, it is pretty cool , but being Zone Leader is a bit overwhelming,  it still really hasn't hit me yet, but I did have to give a counsel to the leaders of the distirct so that was interesting because , I haven't even been a district leader, this is all so new, but with faith in God, I shall go forth, plus I have a super great campion Elder Herbas from Bolivia he is super great.

So far things are good, it is a lot colder here, but that means hot water to shower with jaja :) 

I love you guys and hope you have a great week,
con mucho amor,
Elder Strong 

Monday, August 17, 2015

Week 41 I love my area, and the people!!

Wow that is crazy that school is already starting back up , I feel like summer just started, but WOW! And Jacob is a freshmen . I remeber super clearly when I was  a freshmen, that is crazy it has been like 5 years !!! And Jared is in Jr High insane! Everyone is growing up so fast! Dont worry you will recieve a lot of emails from Seth about how he wish he would have prepared more jaja, hows his spanish ? Nope, I don't know if I will get transferred next week. We find out  the night before , or early the day of if we are being transfered so stay tuned, if I don't  write until Tuesday you know why. 

Okay so this week in Colombia, 
Martes we did service for the Family P_, because they moved houses, which is kind of wierd , because they just moved from Bogata, but they are still in our ward , so that is good. It was a lot of work moving everything down 5 flights of stairs, with only my Compaion and I there to help. Lots of sweating , and then the next day I was super sore! Anyways later after lunch there is a man who lives close to us , and he fixes clothes if they need to be repaired, so he was fixing some of my companions clothes , so we started a conversation about the church , and found out that he is testigo de Jehova , but we were able to have a super cool conversation , about the Gospel , he is really respectful about our Religon, so that is way cool! Later we had a lesson with the Family B_ they are less actives , and the oldest daughter brought a friend , and she wants to serve a mission ! Then we has a lesson with the Family D_ it has been a while , but it went really well.

Miércoles: We had a reunion de Zona which went well they talked about the importance of planning and how it is something sacred.Then they gave us the Lihanonas of these past couple meses which are tan trunky because they talk all about marriage and the family jaja. Anyways later in the night we had our english class which more people came to so that was good. Then we had a noche de Hogar with Familia S_ less actives , and we brought E_ too , it went well! 

Jueves Not much happened , I had a long planning session  by myself of course:p , Then we had a lesson with E_ y J_  which went well, they are still waiting on papers so they can get married.

Viernes: We had a lesson with H_, then in the night with los D_ with the comapny of the bishop so that was cool , then we had a lesson with E_ , an old investigator, and he has been struggling with depressino or well mas with feeling content , and feeling happiness, because he is divorced and lives alone. So we were sharing things to lift his spirit, then all at once, I remembered , in our Sunday school like 2 years ago with Sister Barton how we were talking about the Grace of Jesus Christ so I shared how we can find esperanza en Cristo, it was way cool , then we gave him a blessing of strength to help him. 

Sabado we set up a bapitsimal date with family S_  for this Saturday!

Domingo : I had to give an impromptu talk on the spot and in spanish , so that was interesting , luckily I had a lot of help from the spirit! 

Hoy : we played Futbol !!! Then we had lunch with the family P_ they made super good pasta. Also while we were waiting for people to show up to play futbol two cops came up to us in there motorcylce , and then searched us for weapons, and drugs so that was kind of random and wierd, but okay, anyways that was my week. 

I hoep you guys have a great first week at school , and that you do well with all of it. Thanks for the updates it is great to hear from you guys. 
Love you all so much ,
Elder Strong :)  

Monday, August 10, 2015

Week 40 I love Sunday's

Thanks Mom you are the BEST !!!! Lava
 beds were so much fun , that was a great activity, and I was just thinking about how Bishop Meyer shared the scripture in Genesis where God created the light. He had all of us shut our lights off, so it was super dark, that was way cool and spiritual! I understand how Jeremy feels jaja sometimes I wonder the same thing , but they really need it. I also Heard Jeremy had a baptism so cool!!! Way to go kayden I knew you could go to your primary class. Bien Hecho !!! :) It I hope she can work things out and be baptized !Colton is getting married ? to who? that is way awesome !!

Anyways so this week was interesting I guess really slow....

Martes: Well we basically didn't have any lessons until the night , where we visited a family who are members, the mom just got back from the hospital, where she had a big surgey, and is lucky to be alive because she lost 5 liters of blood! But before she got sick the other Elders were able to give her a blessing , and she has really great faith in the priesthood power so that was cool to see that miracle. Anyways later we had a lesson with Erika y Julio, which went well. Oh the day before we had a Noche de Hogar with like all of Erika's Family , there was a total of 15 of us!!!! And the bishop and his wife were able to come with us, it was so great! 

Miércoles: We had our district meeting, then after lunch we had an actividad where  we basically went to the área of the Sister missionaries to contact people because they are having trouble finding people to teach, so we went and did that until 5pm which wasnt the best use of time , but we did find some poeple that they can teach. Anyways so then we had our english class, which no one showed up to , so we are probably going to stop teaching it if no one shows up again. Then we had a Noche de barrio which was good.

Jueves: well no planning again because my comp slept in , I Guess he hasn't been feeling good, but he is not sick , he said he recieved some bad news, I asked if it was about his family he said no ,but didn't   tell me what it was. So I dont know what to do. Because he sleeps really late , and goes to bed really late. So anyways my morings are basically the story of tangled , where she cooks , reads , cleans , and does everything she can possibly think of, lets just say my bathroom is pretty clean :p 

Viernes: Erika is sick with the mosquito disease, which has been going around , I think I had it a week ago. Then in the night we had the show de talentos which was cool , so we were in charage of somehting but we didn't plan on anything , but luckily some had a guitar and my comp knows  how to play it so he played and I attempted to sing, but he only knows a few songs so we sang Photograph , well attempted to sing it . It didnt go so well , to let you know how bad it was , after we finshed a big storm came and then lighting struck and the lights went out, yeah it was pretty bad jaja :P 

Sabado we had a lesson with Soraida , she is really awesome and has a lot of faith , she knows the church is true, so hopefully she will be baptized in these upcoming weeks! Then we had a lesson with Family Peña which went well , they gave us really good pasta!

Domingo: So church started and we had like no investigators there, anyways during the sarament hymn Erika y Julio showed up with basically everyone who was present at the Noche de Hogar the previous monday! So that was way cool to have all her family there , and they alll enjoyed it !They even stayed for all three hours! Also we had quite a few other ivestigators attend! Also Anderson Nuñez gave a talk and he brought a friend to church so that was awesome ! Also in Gospel principels we talked about the gifts of the spirit so of course being the only Gringo I had to talk about the gift of Tongues go figure jaja, but it was good. Then in Preisthood we had a really good lesson about the role of the Father and Mother .


Hoy: we did absoultely nothing we stayed in the house all day because my comp didnt want to do anything , so I watched all the seminary videos about the Old testament and D&C so that was interesting I actually learned quite a bit , or remembered a lot of things that my seminary teachers taught me , so that was cool , but I was really bored being in the house all day !!! 

Anyways I hope you guys had a better more intertaining day than I did . Also I hope you guys can find time to enjoy your last week of summer vacation !! Make it count! I love you guys so much thanks for all the support! :) 

Con mucho amor,
Elder Strong:)