3.17.14 - "I fell over ..."

Keep reading to find an explanation for this photo ...

Good morning! How is everyone doing today? It was great to hear from everyone this week; I feel I know a lot about what every is up to, so thank you for that.

This week was far from average. The El Centro Elders Elder Humble and Elder Mora put beds in our living room because they got moved out of a nasty downtown apartment. Thus, our apartment looks really dirty in the pie day picture because it was, all week. Our kitchen became their closets. We had a good time though, all week.

It's also St. Patrick's day. We don't really have any plans for that... but we put green ties on.

We did two exchanges this week. I went once with Elder Humble on Tuesday and again with Elder Rogers on Friday. I love it, it changes things up and allows you to learn from the skills other missionaries have developed. Little miracles always happen during exchanges because one Elder has no idea what's going on all day and therefore must exercise a lot a faith so that he'll be inspired in what to do and say in order to best help his temporary companion's area progress. That was me twice this week. I think I coined myself a new missionary move along the way. Sometimes when we drive by someone in the street or on our bikes I'll think about going to talk to them. That's not a weird thing, I think everyone has thoughts like that. What changes on the mission is now I make my companion stop in the middle of the road and we do go talk to them. It puts us in these awkward situations that I don't care for. We biked by one lady's house and waved to her as we passed by. After passing I felt like we should've stopped and had a conversation with her. I fought the thought for a hundred yards or so because we would look dumb passing by again 20 seconds later going the other direction and saying, "Heyyy, it's us again..." But i did make my companion turn around and we did teach her the first lesson and we did set up a return appointment. The next exchange we drove by a man on a busy street. The same thought but I responded a little faster. My companion pulled us off to the side of the road and we got out and met him and set up a time to go by his house to teach him. It looks weird from the outside, i'm sure he thought it was weird, and it definitely felt weird doing it, but so it is with impressions from the spirit and I Will Obey!

President Slaughter came to the area this last Saturday and talked with our District for 4 hours about what he wanted us to accomplish while we're here together. He has us all here because he wants us to try something that's never been done before. He wants us to be creative and experiment freely within the branches and then report back to him. I wish Morgan didn't steal all of the family's creative jeans! I felt like I did get some direction this morning. We'd been praying about it all weekend and this morning I pulled out a pad of paper and for the 1 hour of personal study I wrote down all of the thoughts that came to my mind. I did feel directed in what to write and upon reviewing it with Elder Warren I think it provides a good outline for some procedures we can implement as a District. I know sister Christensen came up with quite a few creative activities we can do with members and investigators and so when we all get together for district meeting on Wednesday we'll hash it out and prepare a series of points which Elder Warren can present to President Krezdorn Wednesday night at Priesthood executive committee. That wasn't a very descriptive outline of what we're thinking about... but i'll tell you a little more about what we're going to after some things have been finalized next week. At this point I know that we won't be getting up and preaching on soap boxes in the streets, and I know that we won't be making any big MORMON banners. Haha, and those ideas actually did came up because the branch president said he felt like the church needed a lot more community exposure.
Anyways, I'm really excited to be here in Eagle Pass. I hope we find success.

The church is beautiful. It invites the presence of the Holy Ghost and fosters environments where families can congregate with that spirit. It ministers and administers the Gospel of Salvation. I hope everyone can be excited about what we have, and have enough love for everyone so as to share it. The only way to bring families and friends together in this church is for families to bring family and friends into the church.

I love you and I miss you,

Elder Tyler Meidell

So here I am cruising on my bicycle and Elder Humble calls me. I turn into a driveway and pull out the phone. While answering, Elder Warren slams on his brakes in front of me and I have only the front tire break in my left hand. I proceed to slam on mine and launch myself over my own handle bars. This is an artist's interpretation of the aftermath.

3.3.14 - Emotional Roller Coaster

This is an emotional roller coaster! This is ridiculous. I either come home bouncing and elated on a spiritual high or mope into my apartment rejected and dejected. My days are never what I anticipate them to be. We plan out our days the night before for a half hour and then re-hash them for another half hour in the morning before Spanish study. These study preps start with a prayer pleading for inspiration and include where we'll go, who we'll contact, what we'll do if they're not available, and what we'll do if they and the next person after them are also not available and so on for every expected hour. We talk about each individual person, what their personal spiritual needs are, what we'll cover with them and for what period of time. We'll then roll-play the conversation to get a good idea for how they'll respond and revise accordingly. We'll also try and schedule the correct member of the ward to be available at the same to as the lesson so we can have a member with us for every encounter. This effort and then some is exerted for each person we meet so we can know we did our part in progressing the work of salvation. Then the moment we walk out the front door anything goes. We do all we can to let the spirit dictate our thoughts and actions because we know God's thoughts are higher than mans and his ways are higher than ours.

I, at times, feel at literal war with an adverse force to the extent that I can count on a phone going off the moment we've come to a spiritual crescendo and commitment. A baby will wake up and scream. A dog will come by and bark at us from the street. A car will whiz by and someone will yell something profane. (which bring up the point that people have been driving next to our bikes so close I could have reached out my hand to touch them) and this will stopper our spiritual ears to the sweet impressions we'd been feeling from having the companionship of the holy ghost during our conversation. It really stresses the point that the spirit cannot be forced, but must be given a conducive atmosphere and invited.

There is so much good too. Sorry I didn't share all my happy stories this week. This morning we found our car with a flat tire, hahaha, classic. There's never a dull day in the Lord's Service.

Last night we went by to see "O", who we'd talked to a few days ago and shared the story of the Book of Mormon with. A ginormous dirty horse dog we've named Big Blue lives on her same street and follows us for miles whenever he sees us. Big Blue is a whiner and screams (it sounds like a woman's scream) when we don't pay attention to him. He jumps on us and rubs his dirty paws all over our clothes when we try and walk away. He followed us to O's door whereupon she tried to give the Book of Mormon back without having read any of it because her sister told her a few falsities about its origin. We couldn't entreat her to reconsider because she was afraid of Big Blue who was trying to get into her house.

An hour later I really felt like we should talk to her again so I asked Elder Warren if we could go back and he consented.

A blurb about Elder Warren! He is the man! In April we'll celebrate the completion of his 3rd year in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized with his family in California and has just hit his year mark on the mission. He is the x-factor. He is the secret weapon to our teaching. He can so clearly address the concerns of investigators with stories like, "I recall feeling as you do when I was investigating this church with my family..." As I've gotten to know Elder Warren he's told me about the kind of guy he used to be, and I can see the kind of missionary he is now and the positive change confirms each time the power and truthfulness of what we share. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. The gospel blesses families. Individuals are strengthened by the power and merit of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The true church of Jesus Christ is on the Earth today with all of the authority, teachings, ordinances, offices, fruits, and blessings as when established by Christ himself.

I fully recommend the CES devotional given by Tad R Collister January 2014, we just watched it on Saturday with the Elder's Quorum President and him family for a little spiritual pump up.
Back in action, I told Elder Warren I'd take care of Big Blue while he talked to Olga. I pet that dusty drooling dog for 5 minutes while Elder Warren bore simple testimony of the power and truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He talked about how the reading of said book would bring a life, hope, and love into her family never before felt. He said the truthfulness would be made manifest by the power of the holy ghost. Upon inquisition he learned that she'd never felt the holy ghost in all her years in the catholic church. He went on to say the Book of Mormon is of the most sure ways to invite the Holy Ghost into your life. This went on, and as the invitation was offered again to read from the book of Mormon "O" said, "No, thank you, I am happy with my faith." And thus it is. Despite spiritual promptings, decent teaching and sincere testimony, I cannot make anyone understand this message. If there heart is not softened and receptive to the whisperings of the holy ghost my efforts profit me nothing aside from laying seeds and a foundation for future encounters and later missionary work.

Another family that was set for a baptismal date told us when we went by to remind them about church  that upon some research on the internet about Mormons they didn't think they were going to be able to make the change. They slowly divulged what they'd come across and the anti-material they read was so false it was exasperating. We'll go by tonight in attempts to set the record straight.
In my own personal decision to serve a mission I had to look at a lot of faiths and a lot of histories and ultimately the adversary has backed every many up to the wall of faith. Either we read the Book of Mormon and believe it to the word of God or we do not. The Adversary has left us zero wiggle room and 0 gray area to stand on. I do not believe that by archeological evidence the Lord will permit us to believe the ancient record because it would negate the opportunity to exercise faith. Our time on this earth is in short, a chance to uphold our second-estate, it is a time to choose God.

Stay Salty,

Elder Meidell

2.24.14 - Butt Callus

Hello great family!

I'm not sure if I every showed you guys Elder Reasch. So here we are!

What an awesome week this was. One thing Elder Bednar said when he visited our mission was that if we continue to do the same things, we are going to get the same results. I like this, and I've applied this to the way I modify my planning, finding and teaching. President Slaughter applied it likewise and mixed up the natural order of the mission. He took the Sister Training Leader, Sister Christensen, the traveling Assistant, Elder Humble, and made them trainers of new missionaries out on the border. I am serving in the area called, "El Dragon" in the center of Eagle Pass. My district consists of the zone leaders who live in my apartment, my district leader companion Elder Warren, and the very same Sister Christensen and Elder Humble. We 4 companionships cover the English and Spanish branch in Eagle Pass. The Mexican Culture here, as you can imagine, is very strong. People go to and from Mexico on a weekly basis because Piedras Negras on the other side of the Mexican Border is 5 minutes away. I really like it here so far! We rode bicycles all week and I think I got a butt callus. It really hurts. Although the callus has now formed and we'll be good to go from here - I hope. We also just got a car to share with another companionship so we'll really only be on the bikes a few days to week. The bikes are a huge improvement to sitting in a car all day because we interact with far more people. We teach more first lessons but have less progressing investigators.

I taught once to twice a week and a man named "Al" when I served in 5th ward. He was an older very successful businessman from Eagle Pass who got a really bad leg infection that got him put on bed rest for 3 months. I visited him the entire time I served in the 5th Ward. When he was about to be discharged I asked if he was going to get to church when he started working again, and he started joking around saying I was never going to be able to catch him if he didn't because I'd never see him again. Ha! Ha Ha! Jokes on you "Al" I'm in Eagle Pass now - and your nephew is the branch president! Boom. I hope to get a chance to find him in the next few weeks.

The apartment we are living in is super nice. Especially compared to what we were in before - and compared to Catherine's house. No offense to Catherine's house, it's precious. But this apartment is really nice! I was nervous we wouldn't have a gym here, but the apartment complex has a little one so we're all good. When I got here the organization in the area was embarrassing. So we took a few hours each day to take stock of all the information at our disposal and formulated some solid plans for how we would start going about the work. In the process I needed to buy some organizational supplies. We went to Walmart. I asked a nice Walmart lady if she could direct me to the yard sticks. She replied, "en enpanol, por' favor?" Whoa! What?! We are not in Kansas anymore good people! The people in Walmart do not speak English.

Love y'all very much,

Elder Tyler Meidell