Week Eleven: Update

Hello!

Thanks for stopping by. Here is what Elder Myler has to say for this week!

To Mom:

Hi Mom!

it good to hear that torrin is gonna be home soon, try not to think about me too much i will be home very soon, time here is flying by and i am close to completing three months in the mission so it wont be that long. I am so proud the Xmas party went well, i was also excited to see my plaque it is weird seeing that picture of me becasue i look very young. I actually havent received either package yet do. It is possible the package have been lost. I dont know much about mail here so be careful when you send packages. I hope Marcus is doing good, hopefully he enjoys being back in theatre and finds some new friends. I still dont know what the plan is for Xmas, so for now just keep your schedule fairly open from the 24 to the 26 i will be sure to do everything i can to let you guys know when i will be calling so you can be ready. I miss you a lot and look forward to seeing and hearing you

Con Amor Elder Myler

To Dad:

thanks for sending the picture dad, it is funny i look so young in that picture, i dont have more photos to send but i will try and get some new ones to send soon. thanks for sending that message from president Monson, you would be surprised how lost i feel sometimes. Missonary work defidently isnt the easiest thing i have done and it all feels a bit overwhelming at times. but i know this is where i am suppose to be and that tough times in life help make us stronger and make the good times even better, i love you dad and thank you for all the support, i feel like i am home just a little bit when i get to read your emails every week. Its not too long till Xmas so i will be working hard and looking forward to talking to you, mom, and marcus (Jetter too)

Con amor Elder Myler

To Chelsey:

haha dont worry about the short email Chelsey! I am very busy too and probably couldnt write much at the end day here, I dont have any new photos this week ( sorry) but will try get more soon, the seasons here are a little different so we are going into the warm season, it has been pretty hot, it still hasnt rained but that is ok with me, they say the streets can get flooded if it rains too much. being in the Chrismas season means i am thinking about you and everyone else in the family, but i am thinking about Jesus too and his life here on earth. I need his help here in ecuador more than i ever did back at home so it makes me happy to know how much love he has for me and that he has felt what i have felt and that if he can do so much for us all. i can do a little for him here and help others accept his gosple. I am so thankful for this chance to be and i am so thankful for you support.

Con amor Elder Myler

That is all for this week! Thanks! 

With love, 
Chelsey  
 


 

Week Ten: Update with Pictures

Hello Everyone!

Another week has gone by and we pleased to hear from Elder Myler. I know my family is getting pretty anxious to talk to him on Christmas!

To Mom:

Hi mom! i hope thanksgiving was a good one i had a pretty good thanksgiving too, i actually got to eat a thanksgiving dinner with some member in our ward here. it was super great adn i got to tell them how thankful i am for my family, it has been another great moment on my mission and has helped me to better understand why holidays are actually so important.  before the mission i got  caught up in all the traditions of holidays and never thought much about the opportunity i had to be with my family, the mission has taught me so many things about life and what is actually important to me. all of this is going to help me prepare for christmas and the next year. I will be thinking about  you a lot this holiday season and i take comfort in knowing this is only one of two holiday season i will be away from home. i am trying to save up some stories for xmas so be sure to  have some as well. I love you mom and miss you every day but  this desire to be home beome a desire to work hard when i think about all the things God has done for me, so when you think about me this holiday season think about Christ too and what he and God do for you every day. Give jetter another couple of pats on the back for me and tell everyone i say hi

Con amor Elder Myler

To Dad:

Hey dad! its good to hear about thanksgiving i actually had a thanksgiving dinner too! it wasnt quite the same but it was still very good.   i have been working vary hard and actually had another two baptisms which is very exciting. Elder Rojas and i dont have any investigators with baptism dates now but we will keep up our good work. i am very excited to be going into the holiday season, and i cant wait to talk with you, mom, and marcus

Con amor Elder Myler

To G-Ma (Darlene Wallace):

Hi Gma! i am sorry i couldnt send this on your Birth day......but Happy birthday! thanksgiving always reminds me of you and how hard you work on the amazing dinner we eat every year. i miss not being home to eat with you and every one else but i dont mind because it is only one of two thanksgivings i will miss. I am so thankful you have been a major part of my life and helped me during my short 20 years on this earth i know you have been with me the whole time and are with me know. Missing my family is one of the biggest challenges i have on the mission and this includes you! when i feel down i know i can turn to the Lord for help and he has given me many thing to help me with my homesickness. keep up your faith in Christ and keep him in your heart during the Christmas season!  I hope you will be around for my telephone call on Chrismas. 

Con Amor your grandson Elder Myler

To Chelsey:

Hey chelsey! you are right people dont celabrate Thanksgiving in ecuador. But one of the members in our ward lived in Utah for several years and had a thanksgiving dinner at his house, he invited the missonaries over so i actually did get to have thanksgiving dinner. it wasnt quite the same but it was very nice for me. Everyone shared what they were thankful for before we ate and i said that i was thankful for my family and the chance to serve a mission. it was a very good day. i also had another two baptisms this week! I actually got to do the baptisms this time so it was ve ry excting. so i have some more pictures to share. i am excited for the christmas season as well. a lot of people allready have their lights up and everyone has their trees ready so i am looking forward to talking to mom and dad ( and maybe you as well, i dont know what my xmas day will be like but i will be sure to  keep you updated to my plans) i liked what you said about thinking about Christ during the holiday season,  i think this will be a christmas season i will never for get because i have been given a great gift, and  that gift is the opportunity to be closer to Christ than i have ever been before. I love  you chelsey and your email always help me feel the spirity and have a desire to work harder

Con mucho amor Elder Myler

the first two photos were from the little party we had with the boy we baptised ( his name was Juan Carranza)

the next two photos are from the party as well ( the photo number are different on my camera and the computer when i upload them so i think i sent the wrong photos

these two photos here are from the baptism service of Mirka and Karina

these two photos here are from the baptism service of Mirka and Karina

the first two photos were from the little party we had with the boy we baptised ( his name was Juan Carranza)

the next two photos are from the party as well ( the photo number are different on my camera and the computer when i upload them so i think i sent the wrong photos

 
 We love receiving pictures from Elder Myler! Looks like he is having a good time. We are so proud of him. He is bringing the knowledge we have of Jesus Christ to those who are willing to listen. This is truly a wonderful thing. I testify that Christ lives and loves each of us. I also know that Heavenly Father lives and is very aware of our individual situations. We are His children and He loves us. Keep up the good work Elder Myler. 

Thanks for reading. 

With love,
Chelsey  
 

Week Nine: Thanksgiving

Hi!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here is what Elder Myler has to say this week. We are always so happy to hear from him!

To Mom:

hey mom, so my money situation is pretty much normal, we get 100 dollars every two weeks and we actually bought food for the week last monday, so everything is just fine in that resepect, so pretty much all the food here is different when it comes to snacks, nothing is the same besides things like oreos and other very popoular products, so anything you send will be awsome, I am always finding differnent things i need to adjust to, it is hard sometimes getting along with the other elders in the house (and it dosent help that i dont know much spanish) but everyone says your first area is one of the hardest so i know i just gotta hang in there for a while, thanks for the update it is always nice to have a little slice of home every week.

Love Elder Myler

To Dad:
hey dad, i do get your emails everyweek so dont worry about that. i had a lot of emails last week and lost track of the time. so sorry about that. thanks for the message dad it relly helps. it isnt easy to feel the spirit right now, i am always a little stressed because i cant understand much during a lesson, but it dose get a little easier everyday. my companion and i had our first baptism this staurday and it was super cool. it wasnt very exstravagent but it was very spiritual we are going to celabrate with teh family tonight so i am excited for that. plus we have two other investigators who could get baptised this weekend if everything goes well so that is good. i am still trying to cope with all the stresses and challenged of the mission its is very hard, deflidently ther hardest thing i have done in my life so far, but that will just make everything else in life that much easier in the future.

To Myler Grandparents (Fred & Brenda):

hey thanks for the email, the whole washing my clothing is just garments becuse we cant let non members wash those so its not all that bad. its still hasent rained here but we will be in the rainy season soon so i am trying to enjoy the weather as it is now. thank you for your prayers, it is still very hard to get by without knowing much of the language but i have lots of time to practice so i will be better at it soon. love hearing from you both and i am still thankful for the support

Love Elder Myler

Elder Myler sent a lot of pictures this week, so if you haven't seen those check out my previous post!

Thanks so much!

With love,
Chelsey  
 

Week 9: Lots of Pictures!

I assume this is at their apartment. I think his companion's name is Elder Rojas

District at CCM

me with my district and our teacher at the ccm (pretty old but this is the firt opportunity i have to send them)

Elder Myler and Elder Walker (companion) with their teacher at the CCM

hey so this piture has a story to go along with it, so the dogs here in ecuador can be pretty mean sometimes ( lots of people have guard dogs) and one of the familes we teach has two big dogs, when we were leaving i made it outside but my companion didnt so we had to wait for the owners to distract the dogs. also there are a ton of stray dogs in the streets they usually leave us alone though so it isnt so bad. there are actually a lot of dogs that remind me of Jetter dog which is tough but i manage.

Week Eight: 2 Months Down!

Hello!

Elder Myler didn't give us a ton of info this week. He only sent 2 emails home, which we thought was a little odd. He also isn't giving us a ton of detail. But then again, he is a 20-year-old guy that just doesn't have time for detail. :)

To Mom:
haha there are lots of small details that i dont have time to cover but i will try  my best. Yes we do eat with the memebers almost everyday, and that is usually the one meal we actually eat. the past couple of pdays we havent gotten food for ourselvs so yeah its usually just lunch, but in ecuador lunch is like dinner so we eat a ton and it is usually a late lunch, it isnt as bad as it sounds and we usually buy snacks to keep us happy. the reason i wash  my clothing is because it is exspenive to have some one else do it and we cant let non memebers whash garments, but my companion tells me it is different in other areas. the mission d osent like us getting packages over 10 pounds and it is very exspensive to send packages so i dont know what to say about that, i will keep you posted.

love you always Elder Myler

 

Mom and I were concerned with the "lunch is the one meal we actually eat"... Um, Elder Myler you need to eat! Silly boy. 

 

To Chelsey:

hi chelsey, yes my week was better lots of ups and downs but so long as i have a desire to serve and work hard it dosent matter what happens during the week. i always remind my self that difficulties help me to grow. regarding work on sundays, we go out and track and teach lessons after sunday so we work on sundays, i know it is something you are not use to and i know it must be hard not takeing the sacrament but dont forget that helping people make us more like Jesus and that when we are in the service of man we are in the service of god, so try and make the best of your situation and stay faithful, 

love elder myler

That is it for this week. Sorry it is short. I guess there isn't a whole lot to say? Or Elder Myler was too busy to send long emails this week. Who knows. 

 

Until next week, thanks for reading!

 

With love, 

Chelsey 

 

Week Seven: Big Adjustment

Hello People!

Thanks for stopping by Elder Myler's blog. He has been in Ecuador for almost two weeks and the adjustments have begun. Big changes and challenges are at the forefront but we believe Elder Myler is coping well. He just needs time to get more comfortable with his new surroundings and the language of Spanish. Here is what he says for this week...

To Mom:
Hi mom! its good to hear about you and brody (Baby born on the Brown side of the family. Brody is Barbara's cousin DJ and wife Kristi's first born. So very exciting!). You might be thinking about thanksgiving but the only holiday i can think about is Christmas, i am very excited to hear form you dad, marcus and jetter. the weather isnt as bad as everyone says it is, we generally work in the afternoon and evening so everything is pretty cool. there isnt much humitiy where i am (people say we are two hours from the beach) so its hot but not all that bad. I miss everyone and everyting a lot more now that i am in the feild, life at the MTC was cake compared to here so it has been a tough adjustment. Elder Rojas has been a great companion so i am very busy. I had a very interesting exspericne today. I had to wash my cloting by hand and it was very humbling. It also reminded me how much of a blessing you have always been in my life. I always took the little things in life for grante ( including laundry) so i have developed a ton of love for my family. I love you more than i have ever in my life and i miss you a lot. I know God put me here for a reason and wants me to grow while i am here. I love you so much and wish i could have done more for you while i was home. give jetter a pat on the back for me. Xmas is just around the corner so it wont be too long before we can talk Your Son Elder Myler 

To Dad:

haha its good to hear nothing changed in the ward (My parents' stake needed to split several wards to make a couple new wards but they were not affected), I have a funny story about the bday package. i got it the last day at the MTC so all my bags were packed. me and my companion weighed our bags to make sure they were not overweight and both of my bags were very close to the max weight. so when i got all that food i was worried i would put my bags overweight, so me and my district ate a lot of it that day. my bags were within the weight limit and i still have some of the food from home witch is a great comfort. This week was pretty tough, lots of hard work, listening to spanish and trying to know what everyone is saying is draning and my biggest struggle right now. but everyone tells me this part of the mission is the hardest so i am optimistic. I too take comfort from the spirit. i didnt miss home all that much at the mtc because there life was super easy, but here life is not easy and it is easy to miss home, i try to keep my thought on my work and but everyting else behind me but because i dont understand the spaish it is very hard. But when i have the spirity all my worries are gone and i do better. Thanks for writing and keeping me updated.

Your Son Elder Myler

To Chelsey:

Hi chelsey! everything here is different but good. My companion is from chilie and dosent speek any english. He has like 12 weeks left on the mission so he is very good and exsperienced, but he is defidently thinking of home ( he waves to the planes that pass overhead :) ) he is a great companion and we work very hard. We live in an apartment with two other elders, one is from Salt Lake so i he helps me a lot with spanish and gives me a break from all the spanish. It is a nice place to stay and everything here is pretty good.....different ( it would take days to exsplain it all) my spanish is improving, i have taught small parts of lession but thats about it. It is very hard to focous on a conversation when there are lots of distrations. I get time to study the language so i know i will be better soon. Knowing i am a child of God helps me everyday as a missionary. It feels like every day i find tons of things i need help with and i have prayed for help a coulple of times while tracting  and after i pray i always feel better even if we dont have much sucess. Thanks for writing and hope to hear from you soon

Love Elder Myler

To Myler Grandparents (Fred & Brenda):
Thanks, i got the package and the elders in my house helped me celebrate my b day, it was my first real day in the feild and i had a great time talking with everyone in the neiborhood. I only had my first companion for two days but my new companion is great too. i am working hard and i am enjoying what little time i have here in Ecuador.  

Thank you so much for the card! I difidently had a very happy birthday and you helped out with that. I am still adjusting to Missonary life. Spanish is very difficuly and life is very different. But everyone says the beginning of the mission is the hardest so I take comfort in knowing things will get better soon. Thanks for everything you do and keep checking the blog for details.

Love Elder Myler

So Elder Myler is struggling just a bit but that is expected with the new language and new country. We appreciate all prayers sent his way. We know Elder Myler is capable of overcoming difficult times and look forward to hearing from him next week.

Thanks for reading and supporting!

With love, 
Chelsey  
 
 


  

Week Six: Arrival in Ecuador!

Hello All!

Elder Myler has arrived in Ecuador. We are thrilled that he is safe and happy. This is the email we received from his mission president:

Dear Family of Elder Myler,               

We are so happy to have your son, Elder Myler, in the Ecuador Guayaquil West Mission.  Please know that he arrived safely and is now with his trainer in his assigned area. We are sending three pictures that were taken of him: one with us,  one with his companion, and one with the group (Davin ended up with a new companion so they did not include that picture).  We are so grateful that your son was chosen to serve with us in this mission at this time.  We know he will be a great asset to the work of the Lord in this part of His vineyard.  

Thank you for the sacrifice, hard work, teaching and training that you have provided to your son throughout his life that makes it possible for him to serve as a full-time missionary for the Church with the marvelous people of Ecuador.  Please continue to encourage him, and remember that positive and uplifting messages from home reassure all missionaries that the Lord is blessing those they left behind.  Missionaries always look forward to news from home, including messages of faith, uplifting experiences, and positive thoughts, which strengthen and encourage them.  Such messages help them successfully confront the challenges of each day and enable them to keep focused on their missionary work and not worry about their families.  Your son will be able to e-mail you each Monday and we know he will look forward to weekly e-mails from home.

You may see pictures and read bits of information about what is happening in our mission at www.guayaquilwestmission.blogspot.com.  Please be patient with us.  Beginning a new mission is very time-consuming and so for a time it might take awhile to get the blog up to date.  To send letters and packages the address is: Ecuador Guayaquil West Mission; Casilla de Correo 09-04-206; Guayaquil, Guayas; Ecuador.  You may also use the pouch instructions in the call packet.   Please disregard the mission address in the call packet as that was our home address in Bountiful, Utah. They are in the process of correcting that.  Be sure any packages you send weigh less than four pounds and use the green mailing sticker (instead of the white one) to avoid customs charges here. 

We also are putting in place a Facebook group where you will be able to see pictures of the mission, although only our returned missionaries can join the group. The purpose of the blog is for our returned missionaries to be able to stay in contact with and strengthen each other after their missions. The link is on the right-hand side of our blog.  

We pray the richest blessings of the Lord will be with you, your family, and your son as he serves diligently here with us.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail.  The mission office phone number is 011-593-4-213-6711 and the e-mail address is 1921037@ldschurch.org.

Thank you for all the love and support you will give your son as he serves this mission. We know the Lord will bless you greatly for that and for the service your son will render to His children here in Ecuador. We are very grateful for the privilege of serving the Lord with him.

Sincerely,

Pres. Jorge Dennis

Sis. Anette Dennis

Ecuador Guayaquil West Mission

(The Best Mission on Earth!)

As you can see, his mission president & wife are awesome!! Here are the pictures they sent us:

Elder Myler is in the very back and to the right. All you can see is his cute little head!

As always, here is what Elder Myler sent us this week:

Well its offical i am in ecuador, It has been quite and exsperience getting here and i can hardly comprehend what has happened because so much has happened so quickly. But i will start from the beginning. Me and seven other missonaries left the MTC at eight thirity at night on wendsday. Our plane left mexico city at one in the morning and touched down in Bogata Columbia at around ten. we had an hour lay over there and were in the air for ecuador at eleven. we met a bunch of missonaries from columbia at the airport there and flew with them. We touched down in Ecuador at about One in the after noon on thursday November 1st. the prisedent of the mission his two assistance and the mission secratary picked us up and took us by bus to the president´s house. we spent several hours there getting some orantaion and had lunch. we took some pictures and then took a bus to the temple in Guy. there we stayed at the housing near the temple and met our companions. My companion was Elder Saaverla, he was from Chilie and spoke a lot of english. after a few hours at the temple housing i took a taxi to my new home. i unpacked and prepared for my first day in the mission. The next day i went to a district meeting and started tracting. it was wery hard because we started our fast at lunch and could not drink water. i was very tired by the end of the day but me and my companion got two dates for baptisms. the next day was sunday. Church was very different but i did manage to get up and bear my testimony in spanish. we ate finish our fast and ate lunch at a members home (lunch is the biggest and most importat meal in Ecuador) we then continued to track. We found a little boy and her grand mother and taught them for about thirity minuits and invited them to get bapitsed and they said yes. After that we helped some members of the ward give blessing to an investigating family and went to a ward activity. the activity was a movie. we finally got home and got a call that my companion was going to transfer the next day. We were both super angry and sad. we got up early the next day (today) and took him to the bus terminals and i said good bye to my companion, i met my new companion Elder Rojas and we went home so he could put his stuff in the house. we then started our p day (preparation day) and went down town. we visited a park full of iguanas and did some shopping. now we are in a internet cafe writing emails, and thats my mission so far.

To Chelsey (I was complaining about fasting. I'm a bad sister!):

Haha i also dont enjoy fasting but for other reasons, but the best part is after you have completed the fast in faith you can have a small prize for the effort. I dont know how correct that is docterinally but i think it will help you. I will send a huge email to mom with all the details of the trip so hopefully she can send it to you and to the blog. I dont know if i have the ability to send pictures but i will try next week. Hope you and travis are going well and are staying faithful 

Love Elder Myler

To Travis (brother-in-law):

Thank you for the advice, the mission here is a walking one so it dosent take long for me to be very tired. I will always try to think about just one more thing i can do everyday to be a better missonary. The language is a huge barrier for me right now and i can hardly understand a word people are saying, so i need to work my very hard right now, Thanks again for the message and i hope you and Chelsey are working hard too. With work and with the gosple Love you both and miss you guys too

Love Elder Myler

I didn't get any other responses from family/friends. So, that's it for this week!

Thanks for reading and supporting.

With love, 
Chelsey