Monday, March 10, 2014

Week 24: Update with PHOTOS!

Yay! Another week and another set of emails from Elder Myler! So happy to hear from him. 03/10/14

To Mom and Dad:
So i am writing to you both at the sametime today to save on time. And first off thank you for your letters this week it is so great to know all that is happening at home. And second OH MY GOSH I AM SO HAPPY FOR MITCHEL!!!!!!!!! Haha I cant wait to hear where he will be called he is basically my litttle b ! Third i have some exciting news, Elder Bustamante my companion will finish his mission tomorrow and wendsday i will be getting my new companion. Now normally this wouldnt be all that exciting of news but my next companion will be brand new and i will be traininig him! the training wheels are oficially off now and this will be my first exsperience with a new missionary. I am excitied and scared at the same time but i think i will do just fine. its good to hear that you fasted for me i will need all the help i can get these next couple of months. Love you both from the bottom of my heart!
Con Amor Elder Myler 

To Myler Grandparents (Fred and Brenda):
Hey, thanks for the email its good to hear from you. Thank you so much for the package! I have been savoring the MnM and they remind me of your house! I am so jealous that i am going to miss both temple dedications in Arizona (Gilbert and Phoenix) But thats all right i will have plenty of time in the future to visit both temples! I have some exciting news, my last companion finishes his mission this tuesday and my next companion will be brand new! i will be a trainer for this new missionary. It is exciting and a little intimidating at the same time, but i think i will do just fine. Thanks for the email and for your support and prayers! i will need all the help i can get these next twelve weeks
Con Amor Elder Myler
 
To Travis (brother-in-law):
Hey Travis Thank you for another great letter! its is always nice to get a letter that is completly focoused on missonary work. Because i dont have many people in my imidiate family who have served missions you have been an excellent exsample for me. Repentance has truly become somthing specal for me during the mission. I am defidently not perfect and need to improve every day. Knowing that everyone needs to improve every day helps me to know that i am not alone in this struggle to be a better missonary. Thanks for your wisdome and exsperience. 
Con Amor Elder Myler

To Chelsey:
Hey Chelsey, thanks for the email and for the talk on missionary work. I actually can print out the talk so dont worry about sending the talk. Oh and i am also sending pictures! not much to send right now for pictures. Just a couple of pictures from when it rained relly hard and my comanion and i had to clean our flooded apartment! I also have some exciting news! my last companion leaves tomorrow for his house and i will be getting a brand new missonary as my next companion! It  is exciting and scarry at the same time because it is a huge responsabilidad to train a new missonary. so i will need all the help i can get. Keep me in your prayers and i will keep you in mine
Con Amor Elder Myler 

Just a couple of pictures from when it rained relly hard and my comanion and i had to clean our flooded apartment!

Just a couple of pictures from when it rained relly hard and my comanion and i had to clean our flooded apartment!    

 Thanks for stopping by!

With love, 
Chelsey
 

Sunday, March 9, 2014

I spy... Elder Myler! Photos!

I was browsing Elder Myler's mission blog ( http://www.guayaquilwestmission.blogspot.com/ ) and found pictures of Davin! Happy day! :)

Zone Conference, first week of February 2014

Christmas 2013 with his area "Garcia Moreno"

Traveling to Ecuador, November 2013

Traveling to Ecuador, November 2013

First day in Ecuador, at the Mission Home. November 2013

First day in Ecuador, at the Mission Home. November 2013 (Elder Myler is on the far left)

First day in Ecuador, at the Mission Home listening to Pres. Dennis. November 2013. (Davin looks JUST like Dad with the way that he is sitting. That is exactly how my dad sits!)

I assume with was with his "first" companion before there was a switch around. November 2013.

Important information about sending Elder Myler mail and packages! (FOR YOU, MOM!)
 

What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission --James E. Faust


What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission

James E. Faust


My beloved brethren, the responsibility of speaking to the priesthood of the Church is overwhelming. I feel honored to be numbered one of you. It is a great blessing to hold the priesthood of God. I earnestly seek your faith and prayers.

This evening I would like to speak to you wonderful young men about 10 things that I would like my son or my grandson to know before he leaves on his mission.
 
First, you will be under call from the Lord Jesus Christ. What a marvelous thing it is to have the confidence of the Lord, your bishop, stake president, all of the General Authorities, and President Hinckley to honor you with a call. You will be a servant of the living God and an ambassador of the Church.

Most of our missionaries are young and inexperienced in the ways of the world. Nevertheless, the Lord said: “He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all.” 1

Despite our shortcomings and our inadequacies, we need to be reminded that the God who called you to serve is the “possessor of all things; for all things are subject unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light, the Spirit and the power, sent forth by the will of the Father through Jesus Christ, his Son.

“But no man is possessor of all things except he be purified and cleansed from all sin.” 2
 
Second, your mission president is the Lord’s representative. Do not criticize or demean him, privately or publicly. If you will respect his authority, be obedient, humble, teachable, and follow the mission rules, you will be a successful missionary. For instance, one of the hardest rules to follow is to get up in the morning when your mission president directs. Many young men think the best time to sleep is in the morning. I’m grateful to my obedient senior companion, Elder William Grant Bangerter, who would set the alarm clock to get up early. When the alarm went off, it would jangle my nerves. In the winter it was dark, damp, and cold, and we never had any hot water for bathing or showering. He would cheerfully shower in that cold water; I would start to shiver as soon as he got out of the shower. I could not do anything but follow his example, but I have to confess that I was not quite as cheerful because my teeth were chattering.
 
Third, hard work is more important than intellect. Remember the Lord’s words in the Doctrine and Covenants:
“Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit;
“And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me.” 3

President Ezra Taft Benson once said: “One of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work. If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people; and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. That’s the secret—work, work, work. There is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work.” 4

One of the Brethren reported being in a missionary testimony meeting when a young elder, who was not given much to speaking, said: “I am enjoying my work. I guess that is all I can expect. I can’t enjoy what I don’t do!”

When President N. Eldon Tanner presided over the West European Mission some years ago, his slogan was “Have a good time.” One day he said to a group of missionaries in Germany, “I would like you all to have a good time.” After the meeting, one of the missionaries came up to him and said: “President Tanner, I don’t think that it is quite fair for you to tell the missionaries to have a good time. You know, the only way they can have a good time is to do their work.” President Tanner said, “Well, go have a good time.” 5
 
Fourth, forget yourself in His service. The Lord said, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” 6 If you will lose yourself in missionary service, you will find indescribable joy.

Nothing you do as a missionary should get in the way of your important message: not your dress, not your hair length, your attitude; not your deportment; and not your girlfriend at home. I do not wish to be insensitive to the natural affections between a fine young man and a lovely young woman. However, if a missionary receives a letter from his girlfriend stating that her affections for him have changed—we used to call that a “Dear John letter”; some of us have gotten those—I commend the good counsel given some years ago by Elder LeGrand Richards, who said, “There’s a new group of girls every year! And the new group is just as good as the old group.”

You young men are properly concerned about finding your place in this unsettled world. However, when you are called as a full-time representative of the Lord, you should “serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.” 7
 
Fifth, never permit contention in your companionships. Some of your missionary companions will be your life’s dearest friends. Be the kind of companion you would like to be with. Be unselfish in your relationship with your companions. When there is contention, the Spirit of the Lord will depart, regardless of who is at fault.

Each of us is an individual with unique strengths and talents, different from any other person in the world. Each of us has weaknesses. In a harmonious companionship, there is teamwork—where one is weak, the other is strong. As a boy, I learned to drive a team of horses. If one horse was balky, the other could not pull the load alone. So it is in a missionary companionship. Each must pull his share of the load.
 
Sixth, keep your bodies clean and healthy and your living quarters clean. It is very important that you eat properly and get adequate sleep so that you can maintain good health. If you become ill, not only can you not do the work, but you will also become a burden on your companion. Remember, also, that keeping your person and your living quarters neat and clean is conducive to enjoying the Spirit.
As a representative of the Lord, your personal appearance is very important. You, the Church, and your message will be judged in part by your cleanliness and neatness. People will be reluctant to invite you into their homes if you are unkempt.
 
Seventh, learn to love and serve the people among whom you work. You should pray daily for them that the Lord will fill you with love as you serve them. If you do not love them, you will have difficulty teaching them.

A lonely young Persian student was in Munich, struggling to find meaning to life in postwar Europe. He heard a knock at the door one day, and two Mormon missionaries stood before him. He was not the least interested in religion. The only thing that interested him about these two young men was their accent. He had mastered four languages, but English was not one of them.

He invited them in, but as soon as they began their discussion, he cautioned, “I don’t want to hear about God, nor how your religion got started. I only want to know one thing: what do you people do for one another?”

He waited as the elders exchanged glances. Finally, one of them said softly, “We love one another.”
Nothing the missionary could have said would have been more electrifying than this simple utterance, for the Holy Ghost immediately bore witness that these missionaries were true servants of the Lord. 

Shortly thereafter, he was baptized into the Church. 8
 
Eighth, study, ponder, and teach from the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon and the New Testament. Know the truth so well that you can state it clearly. B. H. Roberts wrote, “To be known, the truth must be stated and the clearer and more complete the statement is, the better the opportunity will the Holy Spirit have for testifying to the souls of men that the work is true.” 9 You cannot convert people beyond your own conversion. The Book of Mormon, together with your testimony of it, are powerful instruments of conversion.

Elder F. Burton Howard of the Seventy acquaints us with a strong testimony of the converting power of the Book of Mormon: Sister Celia Cruz Ayala of the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission decided to give the Book of Mormon to a friend. She wrapped it in attractive paper and set out to deliver her present.

On the way she was attacked by a bandit who stole her purse and with it the wrapped copy of the Book of Mormon. A few days later she received this letter:

Mrs. Cruz:

Forgive me, forgive me. You will never know how sorry I am for attacking you. But because of it, my life has changed and will continue to change. That book [the Book of Mormon] has helped me in my life. The dream of that man of God has shaken me. … I am returning your five pesos for I can’t spend them. I want you to know that you seemed to have a radiance about you. That light seemed to stop me [from harming you, so] I ran away instead.

I want you to know that you will see me again, but when you do, you won’t recognize me, for I will be your brother. … Here, where I live, I have to find the Lord and go to the church you belong to.
The message you wrote in that book brought tears to my eyes. Since Wednesday night I have not been able to stop reading it. I have prayed and asked God to forgive me, [and] I ask you to forgive me. … I thought your wrapped gift was something I could sell. [Instead,] it has made me want to make my life over. Forgive me, forgive me, I beg you.

Your absent friend. 10

Such is the conversion power of the Book of Mormon.

Now I would counsel you young men as you enter your missionary service to forget the mysteries. Speaking of the mysteries reminds me of the man who got up to talk and said, “I will now proceed to expound upon that which the Lord has not yet seen fit to reveal!” Mysteries include those matters that are speculative. They are things which have not been revealed or are beyond our understanding. It is the plain, simple truth confirmed by the Spirit that converts when accompanied by the testimony of a humble servant of the Lord.
 
Ninth, you must know that Lucifer will oppose you, and be prepared for his opposition. Do not be surprised. He wants you to fail. Discouragement is one of the devil’s tools. Have courage and go forward. Recognize that the gospel has been preached with some pain and sorrow from the very beginning of time. Do not expect that your experience will be otherwise. President Wilford Woodruff recounted the difficulties of early missionary work:

“In my early missions, when preaching in the Southern States—Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky—I have waded swamps and rivers and have walked seventy miles or more without eating. In those days we counted it a blessing to go into a place where there was a Latter-day Saint. I went once 150 miles to see one; and when I got there he had apostatized, and tried to kill me. Then, after travelling seventy-two miles without food, I sat down to eat my meal with a Missouri mobocrat, and he damning and cursing me all the time. … In those days we might travel hundreds and hundreds of miles and you could not find a Latter-day Saint.” 11
 
Tenth, your own personal testimony is the strongest arrow in your quiver. I have often related that in the early days of the missionary work in Brazil, where we now have over half a million members of the Church, we did not have the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, or the Doctrine and Covenants translated into the Portuguese language. All we had were the Bible, a few tracts, our personal testimonies concerning the Restoration of the gospel and the Joseph Smith story, and our testimony of the living prophet. The harvest was not great. However, some of those who were baptized have for three generations remained faithful because they were touched by the powerful testimonies of humble missionaries almost 60 years ago. Now, you cannot be responsible for whether or not those you teach will accept your testimony and join the Church. Do not feel that you must obtain a quota of baptisms to be successful. An old saying teaches that you can count the number of seeds in a single apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a single seed. The harvest is the Lord’s. Your responsibility is to thrust in the sickle. The Doctrine and Covenants clearly records what is required of those who enter into the waters of baptism:

“All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church.” 12

If you have the Holy Spirit resting upon you, and you speak by that Spirit the words of the Lord as contained in the holy scriptures and as outlined by his living prophets, God will ratify your message in the hearts of those who are hearing you.

Now, my dear young friends, missionary work is not easy. In fact, it is often quite difficult, but the Lord is the greatest paymaster in the world. Dedicated missionary service is one of life’s most fulfilling experiences. This is in large measure because of the divine agency which flows so richly from the Lord to His humble and obedient servants to bless the lives of others. I know this because I have seen it manifested in the lives of thousands and have felt it in my own life.

May the priesthood of God be prepared and worthy for any calls that may come, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Week 23: Update

Elder Myler's update from 03/01/2014:

To Mom:
HI Mom thanks you for the emails and all of the pictures! I am writing a little early this week because Ecuador has a big holiday this upcomeing week. Its simply called carnaval and i dont exsacly know why they have this holiday. But for the next couple of days everyone is gong to be out in the streets partying and haveing a good time haveing water fights and such in the streets so it is not a great time to go out and work. SO we will be staying inside for a couple of days.  It is great to see and hear about marcus! I know i have been slacking on the pictures lately so i will be sure to find things to send for you guys! Wow it sad to hear that the theatre department has been struggeling but these things happen. this isnt the first time the department has struggled. I remember hearing stories as a freshmen about the theare department and how hard things were for everyone. But i guess it is good that marcus is staying busy! So i finally (FINALLY) got the packages sent for Christmas, thank you so much for the shirt pant and tie (HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!) i dont quite know if it is an appropreate tie for a missonary but thats allright, im sure its fine and the shirt and pant are awsome its great to have a shirt that represents my state. Also thanks for all the food! my companion has never had beef jerkey so it was interesting trying to describe it to him, I also got chelsy´s package and the package from papa and grandma. So i am set on food for a bit.  i guess when it comes to packages we will just need to be paitent, The mission office is a very busy place so pouch for bigger things like packages can be slow. I also have the family christmas card on my desk so i can see it everyday. Before we know it i will be getting the next Xmas card! I am makeing a lot of progress in the language and progressing spititually as well. I am almost done with a quarter of the mission and it is going by so so so fast. I am not quite the missionary i thoght i would be at six months so there is lots of room to progress. Keep up the excelent emails mom it is a great boost to my soul and excitment to work every week!    
Con Amor Elder Myler

Week 22: Update

Here is Elder Myler's update from 02/24/2014:

To Mom: 

Heyyyyy mom, hope you are doing well Its is great to hear that you and chelsey got to spent a couple of days together. My exsperince with the rain was one of the non spiritual higlights of the mission. I had to walk around in soggy shoes for a day but everything is a ok now. And yes we normally keep the windows open because of the weather ( and it was nice and sunny when we left the apartment) :) oh hey i have the pouch adress
Elder Davin Melton Myler
Mission Ecuador Guayaquil West
Casilla dE Correo 09-04-206
Guayaquil Guayas
Ecuador
Hope that helps and good luck with the packages! if there is any other way i can help just let me know.
Con Amor Elder Myler

Week 21: Update

Here is Elder Myler's update from 02/17/2014:

To Everyone:
Hello and happy belated valentines day! wow my valentine was a bit crazy. everything was normal unill about five o clock in the afternoon when i began to rain. the rain didnt start out very strong but quickly became a major storm. My companion and I ran for the shelter of a member´s house. The rain became stronger and stronger and the drainage near the house of this particular member soon became clogged and the street flooded. it was up to people´s anckles in some places and people´s knees in other places. it was quite a site, kids started to play in the streets amidst all the rain. Our zone leaders called and told us to cancle all of our apointments and head home for the day. My companion and i had to walk through a couple of flooded streets and a torrent of rain to make it back to our apartment. when we got there our apartment to was partally flooded. ( we left a window open) :) and spent the next hour cleaning and getting rid of all of the water in our apartment. Well nothing much else to talk about right now so i will simply wish you a happy valentine.
Elder Myler

To Mom:
Hey mom sounds like you had a good valentines day with dad, its good you got to go camping with dad and jetter!
thanks for sending the pictures too, it is always nice to see a little slice of home. sorry to hear about the window! sounds like quite and exsperience. This week was pretty tough, none of our investigators came to church so Elder Bustamante and me will have no baptisms this month. i am trying not to get down about it and know that all i can do is work harder this next month. its good to hear marcus is busy and still has time to chill with friends, hope everything with work is going well and i wish you luck in searching for a new job! i know you will find work will be rewarding and will not be a huge burden. I did not confirm the adress as our last district meeting was very long. I will be sure to confirm the adress for you tomorrow.
Tell everyone that i say i and that i miss them
Con amor Elder Myler  

Week 20: Update

Oh my goodness! I have been slacking! So sorry. Here is Elder Myler's update from 02/10/2014:

To Mom:
Hello Mother it is good to hear from you. I am so happy to hear that you are finishing your job at edward don. I agree that hapiness is much more important than money and i think this descision is the right one. I am sorry the whole package situation isnt going well no packages scence before Xmas. i will be sure to compare the adress you have tomorrow at our district meeting and give you an update, my new apartment is not so good either. the water has become a problem for us and our water has been off for about a day now ( which isnt a lot of fun) but i am managing, elder bustamante and i are trying to figure out what is wrong. I think the Lord is trying to humble me here in ecuador and its certanly working haha. It is amazing to me how blessed i am to have so many good things in my life that problems like this dont make me very mad (emphasis on very) but besides this things are going well. Still havent had many investigators progress twards baptism but we are trying our best and that is what counts. This mission has been such a blessing to me and i know in these past 4 months my life has changed, thank you so much for your support and help for me as a missonary every day. I love you so much and miss you 
Con todo del Amor de mi corazon
Elder Myler  
 To Chelsey:

hey como esta mi hermana, soy muy bien. mucho trabajo pero la obra es muy bien y yo me gusta mi mision! haha dont try and translate that, its probably all incorrect! Eventually i will try and send an entire email in spanish! Thank you for the update on life back at home, espeshally about your work. sounds like work very rewarding for you. Thank you for the advice on paitence and for your testimony. I defidently need to work on my paitence, it is tough not to get mad when me and my companion dont agree on something or when he dose something that i makes me angry. But i know God has allowed our paths to cross here in Ecuador for a reason and that i can learn a lot for him. Man i wish i could give a testimony like that in spanish! I still have a long way to go but i know i progress little by little every day. Thanks for your love and support Chelsey, your words of wisdome help he feel the spirity every monday and it helps me feel the spirity through out the week. Love you and miss you
Con amor ELder Myler