Sick in Argentina

Hey Yall!
This was an interesting week. Yesterday I was pretty sick. We had a Sunday lunch at the bishop’s house and after we ate lunch, I started feeling bad as we were walking to a less active members home. (Not like the Spirit was prompting me not to go, but more of a bad feeling in my stomach.) Well, we ended up going back to our apartment. Soon after we got back to the apartment I threw-up everything I had just eaten and then some. 12 times!! It was a bad night. At least today is a P-Day and I’ll get some time to recuperate.

Also this week we were "attacked" in a sense by a drunk man. We were on our way back to the apartment and some man yelled out "MORMONS!!!" A man came stumbling out towards us and said he became a Mormon 20 years ago. I did not feel like we were in any danger so we stayed and talked to him. As we got a closer look, we noticed his shirt and hair were soaked in beer. At this time he started grabbing our wrists, kissing our hands, and asking us to pray for him. We were kind of afraid to leave at that time because we had no idea what he was going to do. I ended up saying a prayer so we could leave. As we were on or knees, people were watching us from their houses. After I finished praying, apparently it was his turn to pray. The man began singing, crying, trying to speak English, and who knows what else he was trying to speak.. Finally, he told me that I needed to put my head on the ground and to push my head in the dirt while I prayed. That is when I decided it was time to leave. We jumped up, pulled our hands away from him, and started walking away as fast as we could. Elder Smith and I could not believe that happened to us!! It was an absolute journal experience. Only in the mission!!!!

On a more spiritual note, this Sunday we were kind of upset because none of our investigators could make it to church (because they were out of town or something.) However, just before the sacrament, three kids that we had met that week on the street showed up. Our older investigators couldn't make it to church, but 3 new ones did!!! Sometimes you don't always get what you want but the Lord always provides.

Mom and Dad, thanks for sharing your weekly experiences with me. And mom, I just about burst out laughing when I heard about your "Emma" experience.(R Myers Journal 3-26-12 … I went to Vidor last weekend. I got to visit with the Harris', Doughty's and Mama and Daddy. Patrice needed some help cleaning her house, so I helped her for a few hours getting the house ready for company. As I was cleaning,3 year old Emma came from another room, holding up a "used" diaper and said, with the diaper dangling high above her head, "Grandma, this is disgusting." I told her to throw it away as quick as she could and she did. When we went to her room, she told me, "Grandma, this room is so messy!" She helped me clean and I must admit, she did a pretty good job picking up toys, shoes, etc. She is sooooo cute and soooooo smart and friendly…)

I´m glad the family is about the same as always. EVERYTHING is still a production, and that's just how it should be. I have been telling a lot of stories about home lately. Everybody wants to meet the mom and dad of Elder Myers I love you two. I sent a post card a while back and I am not sure if you have received it or not. I hope so. I love you all

Your son,
Elder Myers

PS- Have you sent my address to the institute? I think Brother Chidister wanted my address before I left and I don't think I gave it to him. I probably should have given my address to more people. I don´t get too many letters outside the family. Oh well. Love ya’ll and I hope you have a great week! Elder Myers

Teaching and Learning

March 19, 2012 Letter received from Travis
Hey Dad!
***Well I can’t send pictures this week. I think the computer may have given my card a virus... let’s hope not. Anyway, this week has been crazy for Elder Smith and I. I actually think our Spanish ability is exactly the same and we are studying like crazy to improve our language skills. Sometimes we can go into lessons and understand everything and other times... well, we don't. It’s a good learning experience for both of us. We have been seeing just about everything you can think of. We saw a wreck where a guys trailer popped off and hit some mans bike right before he jumped off. Another time we were in a bus when a car ran into us. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the sound of the crash was just really loud…Elder Smith and I are trying to work hard and do the Lords work. That's all we can hope to do. Well, until next time!
Love, Elder

Hey Mom!
I´ll try to write two letters again. Dad told me that if I don't have a lot of time, to combine my letters to ya’ll, so I did. The mission has changed things up here lately about reporting numbers and such and so I have had to take more time finishing my reports. One of our investigators is SOOO close to making the commitment to be baptized. He is just waiting for a confirmation. He has even fasted and has read 1st Nephi twice and is starting 2nd Nephi. Because of his diligence, he is gaining more underlining of the gospel and he likes what he is learning.. He is basically a member already. I have had to kind of take over all the responsibilities of Elder Vega. I have been busy with a lot of things and I forgot to call Elder Vega to find out what time we were suppose to give a scheduled lesson on Friday. We are not allowed to carry the phone with us and so it looked as though we would not be able to make connections with a guy we had made arrangements to teach. Any way, we continued to work and while we were searching for some investigators that were referred to us, we heard "MYERS!" At first I was surprised because no one usually can say my name correctly. My name is always “Me-ers” --“Me-shers”--“My-shers”,--“Myers”--and my personal favorite, “Me-go.” Well, the investigator we were scheduled to teach (the one we didn’t know what time our appointment was)was the one who was calling my name. He just so happened to see us. and when he saw us, he rode out of his way on his bike to ask us if we were going to meet with him that day. From him we found out what time we were suppose to teach him that day. God continues to show us that His hand is really in every part of this work, even letting us know the time we are suppose to teach That was a pretty cool experience for me. Thanks for the stories Mom When I get home I want my own autographed paper plate!
Love you mama!
Elder Travis Myers

PS I think I am getting kind of sick. My voice has dropped about three octaves but all is well. I probably sound like Brother Roberts right now.

Samuel the Lamanite Experience

March 12, 2012 Letter received from Travis
Hey Mom and Dad!
**Well I have a surprise for you two. We had a baptism this week! We baptized a 9 year old boy named Lionel. It was kind of a surprise for me too. His dad is a member and his mom is Catholic. At first the mom did not want her son to get baptized but we continued to visit this family in their home quite a bit I believe the reason she finally allowed Lionel to be baptized is because she started feeling more comfortable around us. In fact, she is now even going to church.. I will try and send pictures of the baptism. That's basically the main thing that happened this week.

**Oh, one day while we were on the bus, someone on the outside of the bus, tried to spit on us. Thank goodness they missed! I think I know how Samuel the Lamanite felt.(while the stones and arrows missed him, the spit missed me!)

**The news for this week is.... I'm getting a new companion! His name is Elder Smith and he is from St. George UT. I don't really know that much about him but I do know we are about the same height and he has had one transfer ahead of me. I think we have about the same speaking and understanding ability of the language. We have no choice but to get better at the language now. That should be fun!

**Well, really that's about all the news for this week. Everyone is going crazy, getting ready for the new transfers plus, we are praying to see some miracles happen with some of our investigators. It is possible we could have about 3 baptisms next month and I am going to try hard to help that happen. Thanks for the news from home! Write ya’ll in a week with more news!
Con amor,
Elder Myers
**PS- Hey dad. to answer your question about the lady that said she needed to be baptized, well, she has some things to work out before she can be baptized.. But that is one reason why we are here—to help people prepare for baptism. I´ll tell you if anything good happens! Love yall! Elder Travis Dillon Myers

Loving the Work of the Lord

(Pictures taken by Elder Myers...he calls these "The Second Coming". They are SO beautiful!)
March 5, 2012

Hey Mom and Dad!
…This week a couple of interesting things happened. First off, Monday, one of our investigators apparently had a dream about me. He dreamed I was in the mountains of Bolivia, all dressed in white. I am not really sure what that was suppose to mean but we are going to continue working with that man. Also I went on exchanges with Elder Sanchez from Santiago, Chili, who was kind of having a bad week. Well, to put it simply, we went into this one house and taught four people about the restoration of the gospel. We asked them that IF they received an answer from the Lord that the things they were learning from us were true, would they be baptized by someone who has that restored authority. All of them said yes! . I think that boosted the confidence of both of us. It was one of the most spirit filled lessons I have ever experienced. One man that was in the corner of the room moved his seat right next to us just so he could hear better and was saying things like "Why haven’t I heard this before?” Everybody was on the edge of their seats, including Elder Sanchez and myself. It is experiences like this that testify to me that I am doing the Obra del Señor (work of the Lord). Every day I love the mission more and more. We have transfers next week so this might be my last full week with Elder Vega. I hope not, because we have been seeing some true miracles here. We´ll see. I Love YALL!
Love,
Elder Travis Myers

Head the promptings of the Spirit...

(Pictures sent by Travis from Argentina!)
February 27, 2012 Letter received from Travis

Hey Mom and Dad!

…As we were walking to the bus stop last Sunday, we got the impression to start walking a little faster. After a few seconds of walking faster, I felt like I should probably start running to the bus stop. Well, I started running kinda half-speed and as soon as we got to the end of the street, the bus passed in front of us at full speed. If I would have run a little faster, for sure, we would have caught the bus. As a consequence, we had to wait an extra 10 minutes for the next “collectivo” Although we made it to church right on time, it was a little learning experience for Elder Vega and myself.. Sometimes we (the missionaries) get feelings from the Spirit to do things and if we don’t act with all our hearts, we “miss the bus”, if you know what I mean. Thankfully this experience had no real consequences, but others might, so I learned it is always important to be in tune and act. Anyway, I believe I might be running to the bus stop more often. I love ya’ll!

Love,Your Son,

Elder Myers

BAPTISM in San Jose!

Hey Mom and Dad!

*I have to combine my letter to ya’ll today because I had some trouble sending the pictures. I´m still not exactly sure what pictures got sent because the computer was giving me some problems.

*We had a great week! There were 5 investigators that came to church yesterday, and we also had an awesome baptism. Because of the baptism for this one girl, about 5 or 6 more less active people came back to church and one of them gave a testimony that brought everyone to tears.

*We have been trying really hard to keep up with the mission expectations and well, we have been seeing miracles. One day a lady basically came up to us and ask, ¨Do you two baptize? My two kids and I need to get baptized. What do I have to do?” My jaw dropped! I have always heard stories about some people who are prepared and ready to receive the gospel, but wow! That was more than I could have asked for!!!. Also we went with one of the young men in the ward (named Diego) to visit one of his friends. We were only able to talk to him for about 5 minutes but to our surprise, Diego’s friend came to church on Sunday. He made new friends with all the members in the ward and is excited to come back next Sunday. I am loving it in San José!!!!

*I don”t have a lot more time to write but I want you all to know that I love you and that all is well. Talk to ya later!
Elder Myers

The City mall...

Christmas Post-Card from Travis, Received February 13, 2012

Padres! (Parents)

…I was just telling my companion the other day (in Spanish) how weird it was to finally be on a mission. It seems like my whole life revolved around the fact that I would some day be a missionary ---Well, here I am, trying to teach the gospel to a people I can hardly understand. All my life I can say that I was raised by “goodly parents” who showed me the way I should go. Anything of me that is good I owe to you two. “Yall” are the best parents and best friends I could ever ask for. I thank you and I love you with all of my heart forever.

Love, your son,

Elder Travis Dillon Myers

P.S. Merry Christmas

February 13, 2012 E-Mail Received from Travis

Dad,

*San Jose is going to be great. We are baptizing a girl this Sunday after church, and we are working with this one guy who wants to know if the church is true but is scared of what his friends and family will think if he joins. We FINALLY committed him to church for next Sunday (which is perfect because we have a baptism that week). There are also a couple of other people we have met (through inactive members) that we hope to teach...

*I have been on exchanges twice with Elder Vasquez (the one from Mexico who doesn't speak any English) and we actually had some productive days. Good news is that since I have been here in San Jose, I think I have learned a lot more Spanish.

*My companion Elder Vega (from Peru) is a super hard worker and I think we are going to see great success in this area. He is about 5´4"or 5´5"-- so sometimes I kinda look like his body guard.

*That's about all from me this week. I will be sending ya’ll some recent photos. Love ya’ and thanks for the News!
Love,
Your Son, Elder Myers

*P.S. In Malargue I lost a lot of weight but I think I have gained some of my weight back. I started an exercise plan here and have been exercising in the mornings.

February 13, 2012 E-Mail received from Travis

Hey Mom!

*Guess what? Out of the 20 lessons we were challenged to teach, we taught 24 lessons to less-active and recent convert families! And then, about 8 people from those families, went to church yesterday! We still have more work to do but the Lord commanded and He provided a way for us to accomplish the things He ask us to do. How cool is that?

*Today we (along with some other missionaries) went to the city mall (It’s called "shopping" here) for P-Day. We were looking for some cheap soccer jerseys.. I have to say, that the mall was REALLY nice. I would have to compare it with some of the nicest malls in the states. We even ate in a two story SUBWAY. Oh it was wonderful! Good times!. Some places here are actually very modern.

*Sorry I can’t write that much this week. I want to spend most of my letter time sending ya’ll some photos. I love you!
Your son Elder Myers.

*PS I will not be able to send photos this week. Computer problems---I’ll try next week