Things Were Clicking for Me

Just a couple more days and Tyler will have completed the first month of his mission. We are getting on a "communication" schedule it seems and know when to expect to hear from him. We get short e-mails on Wednesdays and then long letters via snail mail on Mondays. Today was P-Day and we got 2 e-mails. One short one just to let us know everything is good and to expect a letter next week in the mail. He sent a second later in the afternoon to let us know that he already ran into Garrick who entered the MTC today. I'm sure they were both happy to see each other.

Here are some excerpts from last week's letter which we received this past Monday and were written September 23rd.


Last week during the BYU football game we could here the crowd here and the national the national anthem. I heard they lost though. Oh well, the elders as a whole are more focused now and not always talking BYU football. I heard there were a bunch of upsets: USC and U of U but I heard BSU won so maybe they will get a BCS bowl again. I guess it really doesn't matter that much.


Yesterday I was in the RC (Referral Center). After 2 failed chats I got a guy who asked "What makes your church different?" I explained about prophets and we discussed eternal families. We wanted to talk about the creation so we did. He then asked me what we are asked about most and I said, "Who is the prophet, Joseph Smith?" I talked to him some more but I had to leave so I transferred him.

Also yesterday and the day before I was able to get referrals from the RC. The RC is my favorite place here because it is real missionary work.

Today we went to the temple for breakfast and the food is much better than the food at the MTC. Lunch and Dinner are great here but breakfast here just isn't that great.

The Hermana that is going to Arizona has been in quarantine for the last 3 days. They think she might have the swine flu. They are trying to prevent an epidemic. The bad think is we think my comp and another hermana might be getting it too.

The other day we were teaching a district in Spanish and our teacher said to do it in Spanish if we wanted a challenge. Me and my comp decided to take the challenge and we resolved our investigators concerns. We were teaching the Zone Leaders who have been here 3 weeks longer tan us. They were super impressed and they thought we were fantastic. I had to have had the gift of tongues because things were clicking for me in a way I have never had it for me before.

Tyler also included a copy of his weekly schedule with details written about different activities on the back. I will include some of these details in the next post.



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Here is a Story for the Blog (and pictures too)

We all received letters from Tyler yesterday and a disc with some pictures.

Sounds like it's going well and he's getting into the routine of MTC life:

Thanks to everyone for the letters and packages. I accept them with open arm and feel free to write as much as you want.

There are 12 people in my district - 8 elders and 4 hermanas.

Since Ive been here I have seen the new Joseph Smith movie again. Last Sunday we chose to watch The Testaments. They are both very good.

Guess who was here yesterday? Elder Holland! He is very funny and very spiritual.
He said to serve your heart out so you have no regrets.

I have been in bad health the past two days and wonder if I got sick from the flu shot they gave me the first day. I am going to see a doctor here today.

I hope everything is going well at home especially with yourhttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5329667834533862203&postID=6489040126686835134# new calling as primary president. I hope everything else is going well for everyone.

Here's a story for the blog: I was in the referral center on Tuesday and I got a call from a lady who found a pass along card. By the end of our conversation I had sent the missionaries there by way of referral and found her local ward and time.

Half an hour later I got another call. The guy said guys in white shirts game him a pass along card and he wanted a bible. Well turns out it was a missionary in Indiana who wanted to mess around with me. So not cool.

Tell everyone I love and miss them.

9/16/09 E-mail

Everyone in the family received letters from Tyler on Monday. He had written them on his first p-day and basically contained the same information as his e-mail last week. I think he was concerned that for whatever reason we may not have received his first e-mail.

Today is P-Day and we received another e-mail. This one is short and sweet:
"I am fine my comp is great. I am sending pics home today. I took a bunch of the temple. Tell Jennifer thanks for the package she sent me I would do it myself but I don't have her address. I have a bunch to say and limited time so I will send a big letter tomorrow. Elder Holland was here yesterday. Did my ring come yet???? I love you all! Take care I miss you all so much"

Hopefully we'll get some more details in the promised letter and pictures too!

1st E-mail

Today is Tyler's 1st P-Day and we received this e-mail from him.

"... Today is our first P day which is on Wednesdays in my district. We go to the 8:00 clock temple session, kinda early but more than worth it. The Provo temple is huge it is like 4 stories at least and much larger than the Columbia River Temple. I hope everything is going good there. The last week, until Sunday, seemed to never end but since then the days seem shorter. I am trying very hard to learn Spanish but I am having many problems with it. We have talked tons about the gift of the language. On a brighter note me and my companion Elder Merrell are aiming at teaching the first lesson in Spanish. I feel as I have learned so much already. Also, thank you for the package it was great to receive. Keep doing the letters through DearElder.com as much as you want cause it is great just to feel remembered."

1st Letter

We finally got a letter from Tyler today, still no e-mail from him on P-Day though. Perhaps tomorrow will be his first P-Day and we'll get some more details about his first week. It sounds like this letter was written is first full day in the MTC.

Hope you are all doing well. The branch president's wife gave us permission to write you a letter. My companion is Elder Merrell from Idaho Falls. I hear time speeds up here after Sunday so we will see.

It was wonderful to get a letter from you so use that website as much as you want because here we get them the same day. (he is referring to Dearelder.com) Also, tell everyone to write me. I got a flu shot today and it was a painful $21. Tyler hates getting shots and when he was 13 we had to promise him a puppy to get him to have blood drawn for some tests that needed be done.

Thanks for putting those surprise gifts in my bag. They were a wonderful and a welcome sight.

Love your missionary,
Elder Holden

Still waiting and Tyler opening his call

We would have been expecting Tyler's first letter today but it's Labor Day so there was no mail. Hopefully, we'll hear from him tomorrow.

In case anyone missed it, here is the video of Tyler opening his call:

The Best Two Years: Day 1

Tyler is now a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We dropped him off yesterday, September 2, 2009. They have recently changed the way new missionaries are dropped off. They used to have family bring the new Elder (or Sister) inside the Missionary Training Center (MTC) and everyone would attend a meeting together with speakers and singing. At the end of the meeting the missionaries and parents would part through different doors. They have now done away with the meeting with parents and you drop off the new missionary outside.

We parked across the street where we were instructed to leave his luggage in the car and we could then cross the street and get pictures in front of the sign. It was pretty crowded as every Wednesday appox. 400 - 600 new missionaries enter the MTC. We got our pictures at the sign and started talking to two Elders who were standing there directing new Elders on where to go. We got to talking to them and found out they both of them are also going to the Phoenix Spanish speaking Miission. They had both been in the MTC for 6 weeks and practiced their Spanish on us. I didn't get their names but one was from Wisconsin and the other from Missouri. I thought it was neat that the first 2 Elders we met there were also going to the same mission as Tyler.



After the pictures at the sign we could either go back and get the luggage and walk back across the street and say good bye or get in the car, drive across the street and go through the long parking lot of the MTC to drop Tyler off. We ended up deciding to do the latter. As you drive through the parking lot at the MTC they have Elders working the parking lot directing traffic. They flag you into the next available spot along the sidewalk where you pull over and there are Elders waiting. The waiting Elder greets the new Elder and helps them with their luggage. There is just a minute for goodbye and then it's time for them to go. As Tyler walked off I got this shot:

We are looking forward to hearing from Tyler and learning about his first week, companion and other experiences. I think his P-Day will be Tuesday but won't know for sure until he lets us know.

Elder Holden's address is:
Elder Tyler James Holden
MTC Mailbox # 109
AZ-PHX 1103
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

I also found out about a cool service offered through DearElder.com This is a free service and they take the letter you write to missionaries via their web site over to the MTC the same day. If you would like to drop him a line using this service you'll need the address provided above as well as the date he is leaving the MTC which is 11/4/2009