So as it turns out every 6 weeks (on the week of changes) we write on Tuesdays!

Changes = Im staying with Elder Mendenhall another change to complete my training:)

anyways, MERRY CHRISTMASSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! FELIC NAVIDAD!!!!!!!!!!!! How was it everyone, tell me about whats happening in the states:D

Oh my goodness. Christmas here is crazy. Our mission president granted special permission to the mission to stay up until midnight the night of Christmas eve. Why you may ask? because at midnight, everyone and their dog sets off as many fireworks as possible at the same time. There are more fireworks here in 10 minutes, than in the states on the 4th of July. It was crazy! you turn around and in every direction there are morters, and firecrackers going off.

Anyways, Christmas here was amazing. Let me just say that I have the most incredible family every. It was such a blessing to talk to them Christmas day. especially Brittany! I feel kind of like Alma the younger when he sees the sons of Mosiah as missionaries, and the joy that filled his soul. She is such an incredible person and an inspiring missionary.

Haha, on cabios (changes) this week I was working with Elder Polter (Ive decided he is the archetypal wise old man of my missionary life, but that is beside the point) we walked into this super nice guys house (who we ended up teaching a super spiritual lesson and the guy Im pretty sure is going to progress far) and notices this beautiful window he had. it was about 2 meters by 2 meters and would have been a really nice feature had it not been overlooking a cement wall 2 feet in front of it. We thought that was pretty funny. Welcome to Uruguay.

Anyways, something I learned this week: The Lord doesn't want us to go through pain. However, even greater is His desire for us to learn, grow, and progress. As a result of this, trials will come into our lives that we feel inflict and torment our souls. What I have found though is, for some trials at least, once we learn the lesson we are meant to learn, the trial is removed, the burden lifted, and you realize how much you have progressed through the trial. In this moment, gratitude fills your heart if you let it, and your soul is mended with joy and peace. I had a moment like this this week. It was so amazing. I swear, I have never felt happier than I was in that moment. The gospel is incredible, and Christ really is there to strengthen us. He puts things in our lives to augment our strength and keep pressing forward. He helps us to swim through the dark tunnel that at times feels like it is filled with jello and thick syrup, to the brilliant fresh air at the end. There we can rejoice in looking back and seeing how far we have come.

La Iglesea es verdad,

Elder Eliason

P.S. soooooo Ironically Brittany called me to repentance this past week and told me to send more pictures. Today I MAY have forgotten my connector cable for my camera. One of the other elders has a sd card connecter, but there is a line, so there may be no pics this week.

I'm dreaming of a HOT, STICKY, Christmas!!!!!:D

Haha, sorry if I stole that title from ya Brittany, but its soooooo true. I just thinks its funny because they still go with the snowman/Santa in the huge warm coat getup in all the stores. Haha It might be more accurate if we had a santa that wore swim trunks and a beach towel.

So kind of like I did last week, Im going to just start with listing ideas I had / small things that happened this week

1)IM FINALLY ABLE TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT HALF OF A CONVERSATION! I still have trouble understanding what whole conversations are about and how to pitch in, but its getting there. :)

2)Soooo Im pretty sure the devil owns a wrench shop, and whenever someone makes good plans to progress their eternal glory and happiness (ie. baptism), he starts chucking his product. We have an 3 investigators (siblings) who are all doing everything right and want to progress, but so many hard things just keep coming up.

3)Here's an excerpt from my journal though that I liked:

"Its amazing. I can be having a rough day with little success. I can be tired, worn out, and thirsty. I can want nothing more than to just sit down. However, the moment I realize these things, without fail, the phrase 'I am doing the Lords work. How can I not be happy' passes into my mind, and all is right." That thought is not my own. It literally comes eery time and puts a smile on my face. It comes with feeling and power. The lord watches over his servants and strengthens us. I know this to be true. It is miraculous.

4)I LOVE ASADO AND LAMB. They are suuuuuper good.

5)We were able to go down to montevideo for a mission Christmas conference this past week. It was super cool to see everyone from the CCM again, and have a huge musical program that really invited the spirit

6)Patriarchal blessings are incredible. They speak directly to you in your times of need. I have had 2 main concerns during my time on my mission. the other day I was reading my blessing. when I got to the part about my mission, I realized both of those problems were directly addressed. I had never really realized that before. It is incredible. The lord knows us and is watching out over us. He knows what our struggles will be and provides accordingly to give us strength. when I was in the ccm, we had a cool district meeting about patriarchal blessings. one of the Hermanas sad something really cool that the patriarchs wife had told her when she received hers. She believed that "A patriarchal blessing is the last thing God told us before we came down to earth," I thought that was cool.

7When the spirit is present in a lesson, It can allow broken spanish to melt hearts. I have had some incredible experiences with lessons here. Im not super great at talking in spanish, but the spirit is there. and it is incredible.

​This is how the world sees the first presidency. Just some normal guys who lead a church

 

 

 

 But when you see them in the light of the gospel. Look whos really behind it all.

1st BAPTISM!!!!!:)

This week was amazing. Slowly but surely Im learning Spanish. Thats probably one of the hardest things in the mission for me. Not being able to talk to people in an intimate way that helps me understand them solely because of language barrier. However, thats what the spirit is for. It can overcome any of those barriers and touch the lives of many people.

So, before I tell spiritual stories here are some things I learned this week

 

1) Just roll with the punches. There was a day where all 5 of our planned lessons fell through. Yeah. That was a rough day. However, We were still able to make some good out of it. I discovered that if you just adjust to what life throws at you, you will be so much happier. Have a plan, have a plan b, have as many plans as you think you need, but if something comes up, prepare to be flexible.

 

2) Let people make their own choices. This is one thing I was bad at during high school. Id jokingly (but still seriously) get after people for not doing their homework (sorry Cheriece). In doing so (and things like it). I was rejecting humility. I found a scripture the other day during personal study (I cant remember where) that said Humility is not compelling. Fascinating. This is something I can work on.

 

3) Members are key to missionary work. They help out SOOOOOO much when they want to. Help your missionaries. give them referrals and go to lessons with them. Oh and send home food with them. That makes them happy:)

 

4) The Lord has a plan for everything. Trust him. This kind of goes along with roll with the punches.

 

5) dont overwhelm people. Jesus talks about us being the salt of the earth and what if we lost our flavor. Well what if we try to give people too much at one time. We learn things line upon line precept upon precept. Start at the basics and work up. Dont load on all the salt at once. That just gets rejected.

 

6) Dont try to cut your own hair........... Ill explain more with the pictures

 

7) talking through feelings really helps in forgiving yourself and coming to terms with things. This is something I have never been good at. I keep things inside and help other peole with their problems. However, I have an amazing trainer who asks the questions no one else dares to ask, and It really has helped me.

 

8) Tortugone, tortellini con mushrooms, and tacos = good  Fideos con tuco = dia triste

 

9) Blessings come in weird ways sometimes. When the lord wants his work to progress and someone is trying hard to do what is right he will provide a way. Lets just say one of the barriers to one of our investigators went to prison for 5-6 years this week (her dad..... he wasnt a very nice guy, but hopefully he will learn some good things while there).

Ok. Three quick things. 

 

1)President is amazing! I honestly have complete trust in him, his calling, his callings, and everything he does. I had an interview with him this week, and left feeling amazing. I love that guy.

2) I was able to talk to this guy in the streets this week in english. It was a fascinating conversation about why he doesnt believe in god and why I do. Im not sure If the conversation did him much good, but It definitely gave me more confidence and hope for when I learn spanish fully. 

3)Bruno's baptism. This was amazing. I love that guy so much. Bruno is a 8 year old stud. No one in his family is a member, but he has a great testimony. He loves church, and loves the missionaries. I was able to baptize him and it was great. It was really cool saying the ordinance in spanish. I am so excited for him and to see where his life leads him.

 

Love yall tons,

Elder Eliason

​I tried first. Elder Pope tried to fix it, but um that didnt work, sooooooooooo.......

 

 

​I have no hair. In this picture the top of my head is a little sunburned. Elder Salano Could not stop laughing as they were giving me the cut and now he calls me Elder Pelado (pelado = bald)

Bruno :)

Our zone at los dedos last p-day

Elder Mitchell is in my zone

Nothing Great Lays Itself At Your Feet

Dec. 8, 2014

First off I tried sending this to everyone last week, but I think I only ended up sending this to Kai. Anyways, here it is again:)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

THings I am thankful for

MOM! She is amazing. She has been there for me...... always. She lifs me up when I need it and can make me laugh. Shes one of my best friends.

DAD! Haha we`ve had some great times too. Im mostly grateful for all the things Ive learned from you and that you have taught me. I would not be the person I am today if it had not been for you. Thanks for being there when I needed it

Tyler! Haha, Im grateful for how you inspired me to put certain things in my life (ex running). You also have heavily shaped my life and as Im walking through the streets of Uruguay I think of you and your missionary experiances often. They help to inspire me and keep me going.

Brittany! Oh my goodness I love you so much. You are a huge moral booster in my life. I dont know if you realize it, but you are. You also have inspired me on my mission. I love you so much and cant wait to talk on Christmass

Preston! Haha, you are one of my best friends. I love ya buddy and love to hear from you. 

Brandon Blake! You are so creative. I am grateful for the perspective you have given me. It has really taught me a lot and (kind of weird to say) made me think more about myself and (in doing so) learn about myself.

I love my family so much and am super grateful for all of them

Now before I get into the more spiritual things, some random things I want to say.

1) Kristianne - If books are what they are, what is the missionary handbook, Jesus the Christ, and the Scriptures;D

2) haha, dont put your clothes out to dry when there is a possibility there will be rain. Lets just say that it took 4 days for them to dry.

3)Lil Warner - I totally had a Jacob Warner conversation with Elder Pope (during changes this week) about judging/loving others. I was able to share some of your ideas, and brought in the Enders game quote of how if we were to truly understand someone, we wouldnt be able to not love them. Fascinating.

4)Im getting really good at making rice and elephant ears (fried dough with cinnamon sugar)

5) Jace from Physical Therapy got called to My mission!!!!!!!

6) PEOPLE NEED TO STOP WORKING ON SUNDAYS!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now to some interesting things that happened this week

First off, we had Changes this week. This means I was with Elder Pope (as I stated above) for the day, and some really cool things happened. One of which I found fascinating. The Lord will really guide his servants to people who need their help. At one point in the day, Elder Pope and I went to talk to an investigator named Daniel. As we were heading to his house, we saw a house that we both swore was his. I dont know why, it didnt even look that much like his. Anyways, we approached it and clapped (we clap outside gates here instead of knock on doors a lot of times here). This Lady came out and bagan talking to us. She opened right up and began to talk with us. She had some problems and difficulties which we actually had answers to. It was a really cool experience. I dont know if we will be able to help and teach her in the future, but we were definitely guided to that house.

During companionship study the other day, Elder Mendenhall played the John Tanner movie/story. That man is so incredible, and is now one of my heroes. It had been a long time since I had seen that video. If any of you havent seen it. go watch it right now. Its a video created by the church about ne of the early converts. Just his ability to trust in the Lord and give God literally his all is so inspiring. It helped remind me that Im here to do the lords will. If I feel prompted to do something or talk to some one, there should be nothing holding me back.

Ok, final thing I want to say today deals with the title of my letter today. It is so true. Nothing that is worthwhile comes easily. That and when you are about to do something great and follow the lord, there will ALWAYS be opposition of some sort. For example, baptism. We have 4 investigators right now that want to be baptized, but each of them have some hindrance (working on sunday is a big one. We also have one investigator (Sharon) who is 16 and just incredible. However, her mom keeps changing her mind for seemingly no reason and saying no.). There will always be opposition, but it is through this opposition that we really come to appreciate the result. In this sense it can be seen as a blessing (haha, though it does not feel like it most of the time).

Anyways, I hope yall are having an incredible week. Write to me:) tell me how youre doing. I would love to receive a hand written letter. Those just take 3 normal stamps to come down here.

Thanks guys. Yall really are the best and I love you all,

Elder Eliason

​My comps planner. I like the scripture

 

​Butter and rice. My old pal. You will never get old

Elder Mendenhall as Derrell during practices. Haha I like the tinfoil grill

​We painted that house:) Thats Anna (one of the big three amazing women of our ward), her husband (Riccardo),  Elder pope (lightning shirt), Elder Salano (the peruvian), and Elder Mendenhall and me in the back

Death by Pasta

Haha, Ya. We have a ton of pasta here. We eat with tmembers for lunch everyday and only twice have I not had pasta. Its good though. I like pasta:)

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!! And welcome to december (its so weird that its getting hotter here and Christmas is coming up)

 

I love this area!!!!!

This week has been amazing and I`ve had some really cool experiences. The interesting this is how much I learn every week.

 

One really cool experience I had came last friday. I was on Changes with Elder Salano in his area when we visited a Menos activo woman. Now this may come as a surprise to some people, but I really dont talk a whole ton when we are around others (partly because Im still not super great at spanish). Anyways, as we started talking to this woman, she just opened up, and started telling us stories. Eventually she got to a point where she, on her own, started talking about why she had stopped attending church. And, with us literally saying less than 10 words, began crying. The spirit was so strong. I was then able to bear my testimony of how the lord can help us overcome and the blessings church attendance brings us, however, the real power came before this. Looking back on it I found it a very interesting experience. The entire time I was looking directly at her and giving her my full attention. Although I didnt understand everything she was saying, I really tried, and she felt that I cared. This was the important part. This work is about having the spirit testify to people. Weather our own words bring it, the words of others bring it, or no words at all, the spirit testifies of truth, and when we are trying hard, and show that we really do care, Its incredible what can happen. Heres a shout out to you dad. Dad has this saying that I have heard many times but really rings true here. "People dont care how much you know until they know how much you care." When you open yourself up to someone and show that you really love them and want the best for them, thats when they listen (to you or the spirit). Kind of cool:)

 

SO I just want to testify again on how amazing the members here are. as I talked about last week, Sonya (sister Gretz convert 1) is amazing. We were walking away from a charla (lesson) last Tuseday, when we got a call from her. She is a tutor for students and had been talking with one of her students about the gosple. The reason she called = student (Sharon) wanted to set up a time for a charla. Oh and Sonya had already set a baptismal date with her. Not only is Sonya super amazing, but Sharon is super prepared and incredible. Im excited to teach her:) 

 

People, help out the missionaries in your area! It really means the world to them when you give referrals and come with them to lessons. Not only are you blessing their lives, but also those of who you are teaching! 

I love you guys so much. Your prayers are felt and help me a ton. 

 

The church is true. I know it and I love it.

 

Love,

Elder Eliason

Welcome to the Ward of Sister Gretz Converts

First week in URUGUAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness! soooooo much has happened, I dont even know where to begin.

 

ELDER MENDENHALL!!!!!!! This is my trainer from Georgetown in Washington DC. The guy`s a stud and we get along great. Haha, He reminds of Tyler at times. 

 

What do I think about Urugay? Its amazing. The town im in is called Montegrando (or something like that). Its one of the more wealthy areas in the mission and is pretty clean/ nonsketchy. Our apartment is falling apart, but we`re moving today to a nicer one! Guess What!!!!! WE HAVE WATER HEATERS HERE! Haha, but It only works about half the time.

 

Ok. Those are the basics of the area here, now time to talk about the title of my letter this week.

 

Sister Gretz convert 1 = Hermana Sonya. I LOVE THIS LADY. She is a convert of about a year and is sooooooooo helpful. When we need a reference. Go to Sonya. When we need a glass of water or to use the bathroom. Go to Sonya. When we need a member in a lesson. Go to Sonya. She is amazing, and loves the missionaries. She has given us some incredible references that have turned into steady investigators.

 

Sister Gretz Convert 2 = Anna. Anna and her husband Ricardo are a retired elderly couple. She was baptized about a year ago. Ricardo attended church for 16 months, read pretty much every book written by prophets (including all the deep doctrine ones written by Joseph smith and others), and Pretty much knows more of the gospel than I do. That man is a genius. He got baptized last month by Elder Mendenhall and was able to receive the Aaronic Priesthood this past sunday. Now for Anna. Anna Also loves the missionaries and has given us some pretty great references (including her niece lucia who we are teaching this week:D). On top of this, she is helping us solve a problem one of our investigators (Marcelo) has of not being able to come to church on sunday because of his work. She knows everyone. Sooooo many connections, and is helping us find him a new job. Side tangent on Marcelo = The guy is a genious. He has a super strong testimony and wants to get baptized, but can never come to church. He works as a parking attendant, but is capable of so much more. I did some mind games with him (Black magic, some card tricks, a puzzle where you have to find out how to balance 10 nails on one, ect) he solves every one almost immediately. Hes a stud to. I love that guy and hope we can help him out. 

 

Third Sister Gretz convert = Hermana Amanda. I dont know a ton about her yet (weve only visited her once), but She apparently gives a ton of references too. She is amazing. We stopped by one rainy day and she gave us references and hot chocolate. I love this ward.

OK. Last story. Really spiritual experience. WE contacted one of the references Sonya gave us the other day and set up a Charla (lesson) for Saturday night. The lesson was incredible. We taught the 3rd lesson (the gospel of Jesus christ (Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end)). I was actually able to teach some parts in spanish!!!!! I bore my testimony at the end and it was great. Then came the real lesson. He opened up to us. Every investigator has a need/doubt/fear. His was tithing. He loves his family, and had struggles believing that god would want him to pay tithing if it meant not being able to support his family. Elder Mendenhall started answering his questions. In the middle of the lesson I felt like I really needed to bear my testimony. The next time Elder Mendenhall paused, I did just that. It was so incredible. The spirit filled the room. By the end of our lesson, Danial (the investigator) was crying. It was such a great experience. Every day I am learning more and more about how the spirit works, and how It can guide me in my life. I love the mission. Spanish is hard., but It will come.

 

I love you all, The church is true,

Elder Eliason

I dont have a debit card, I found my camera so Im good for now. Someone had pulled a prank on us a while back and it was in the back of Elder Mitchells locker. We found it when we were packing to leave. It still might be a good idea though to mail the debit car in normal mail. Your package was here waiting for me in Uruguay. Mail system here is faster than in Brazil:D

Love ya mom. Youre the best

Elder Eliason in Uruguay Montevideo Mission

Dear Eliason Family,

            Tuesday we went to the airport in Montevideo, Uruguay, to pick up Elder Eliason and welcome him into our mission.  He arrived full of excitement and enthusiasm to get to work.

            We have spent the day getting to know him, and we recognized that he will be a great asset to us here in the mission.  We know that he will bless the lives of many wonderful people.

            Wednesday was transfer day and after meeting with his trainer, he headed off to his first area so that he could start “[bringing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

            We are now sending you a photo that we took with him.  As you can see, he is extremely excited and ready to start.  We are so excited to have your son with us and hope that you receive this photo with excitement and pride in all that your son has done to prepare himself for the opportunity that he now has to serve the Lord for the next two years.

                                                                                                          Love,

                                                                                                          The Cooks

IM ALIVE!!!!!!!:D

Dont have much time, but Im leaving for Uruguay at 4 in the morning tomorrow. Super excited right now!!!!!!!!!!! I will now have P/day and emails on Mondays. My flight leaves at 6:50 and is on flight AR2380. Love yall. Dont know when Ill be able to email next. Probably monday.

Hey momma y papa bear!

Just emailing ya to tell ya that I made it to Uruguay safely. My trainer here is named Elder Medenhall! Ill tell ya more on Monday.

Oh and I found my camera. Long story, but it was gone for 4 weeks. We're good now.

Love yall

Elder Eliason

obedience brings blessings, ice cream brings miracles

So I just want yall to know that I love yall more than all the alfahors in south america (if you know what an alfahor is, you know that means a lot!!!!!!) haha, Oh my goodnesssss!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOO much has happened this week. It´s like I said a few weeks ago, the days pass fast but the weeks pass slow. This is because sooooo much happens each day.

First story = Prosalatismo last saturday. It was the best one yet! WE were able to contact 28 people, give away 2 Copies of the Book of Mormon, give away 3 restauraction folletos, and have some incredible discussions. At one point, some people even invited us into their house and gave us some coke (that got us pretty excited. its been forever).

Anyways here is the story of our best contact. I call it "Obedience brings blessings, but ice cream brings miracles." At one point during the long day of proselyting, Elder Mitchell and I decided to stop for some ice cream. Best decision ever. Side note = Dulce De Leche Ice cream is amazing. After purchasing the heavenly food, we left the parlor to eat. There was a man sitting alone on the only bench, and, seeing us looking for somewhere to sit, gestured to us. We sat for a few moments in silence  while enjoying our helado (the other man was eating some too). After a minute I struck up conversation with a simple "hola, como esta" (we always us Usted as missionaries). this got things rolling. I am super grateful for my companion at this point, who can understand spanish much better than I can (we make a good team, I can talk well, he can understand). Anyways, after talking about America (everyone asks us where we are from), the NBA (a surprising number of people here love it), and other trivial things, the was a moment of silence to which I broke with a "so, we´re here in Argentina for our church" to which he petitioned "what is your church?" this is a golden question which led to an incredible discussion. As it turns out, he had heard of the LDS church, but knew near to nothing about it. He was receptive to everything we told him. It was amazing. The best part? We gave him a Libro de Mormon, to which he promised to read every night. The spirit was so strong in the lesson. There were a few other amazing parts to the lesson, but I dont have a ton of time to tell them all. Anyways, Proselyting is hard. You get rejected a ton! but when you meet those one or two people, it is all worth it. There are people kept from the gospel simply because they know not where to find it.

Second Story = WE WERE ABLE TO MEET ELDER RUSSEL M NELSON TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! He came to give a devotional to the missionaries in the Buenos Aries South mission, to which we were invited to attend.  At one point we were able to go up and shake his hand. The look in his eye was one of pure love. It was such a cool experience. The talks were incredible. I loved the one his wife gave. At one point she gave a promise that I decided I need to rely more on. Here it is. Every day, take your scriptures and begin to pray. Thank God for the Scriptures. Pray to God in the name of Jesus for the spirit to be with you. Then ask him a big question you have. It can literally be anything. Then open to a random spot in the scriptures and begin reading. Your question will be answered. Wow. That takes faith. Im excited to try.

Anyways, those are my stories for the Week. This is my last week in the CCM. Its been good here, but I am SO READY for the field. I can wait for next Tuesday :D

Tons of Love,

Elder Eliason

Oh and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY FAVORITE 15 YEAR OLD BROTHER AND MY FAVORITE FATHER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. You guys are both so amazing, and have truly influenced my life. Preston, you are one of my best friends, and dad youve helped me get through some hard times. My life has truly been blessed by both of you, and I wouldnt be the same person today without you guys.

Write to me and tell me how your birthday was.  :D

Quick spiritual thought. Have a problem in your life. Are you stressed about anything. Are you upset about something. (yes little warner I realize none of that was grammatically correct;) ) Go to the Temple! There the dust of the world settles and everything is so much clearer. also, Immerse yourself in the scriptures and prayer.

We call her Drizzel River

So I thought that subject was pretty intense. Haha, one of our spanish teacher´s name (Hermana Rios) directly translates to drizzel rivers. We decided that is her rapper name (dont worry McCayla, she still doesnt have anything on McBigC). 

 

Anyways, the biggest things this past week happened on Friday and Saturday. Fridays was more comical and Saturdays more spiritual. Ill start with Friday.

 

HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!:)

 

So in Argentina, they dont celebrate Halloween, but that didnt stop us in the CCM. Instead of dressing up in costumes, we all switched our name tags and tried to take on the personality of the owners. That was hilarious. The person who received mine (Elder Johnson) is an actor who does impressive voice impersonations. He nailed me (though a bit was exaggerated). Voice and everything. Haha, It started when we were eating breakfast and he walked up and said "hey guys! Thats AWESOME." we all died laughing. Apparently I use that word a lot. Haha he would also say Hola Hermana Rios (or whoever was entering the room¡). When Hermana Rios Entered, heard him, and saw our name tags, she lost it. It was a good day.

 

Saturday, aka the day of the dead (November 1st holiday in argentina).

 

We went proselyting again!!!!! This time was soooooooooo much better than the last. We ended up with 51 contacts, a miracle discussion/reference, and Argentina Fútbol jerseys (we saw a stand and got some. now all the guys in our district have a jersey. Not quite sure who Ravezzie is, but thats me). Anyways, I want to talk about the miracle discussion/reference. So we started off the day with a plan to talk to every person that we passed. And it worked. We didnt have very many discussions, but to every person we passed, we would hand a pass-along-card (a card that has a picture on the front and talks about Christs church on the back), and tell them a little bit about it. Most people would just take the card and keep walking, but we had a few really cool discussions. This was one of those. As we were walking down one street, a woman exited her house on the opposite side. She looked busy and focused on something. We didnt expect much, but we crossed the street anyways. As we approached, I stated "somos misionaros. Tenemos una tarjeta para usted" as I had done many times before. This time though, when she saw the picture of Jesus on the front, her entire countenance changed. She began talking in rapid spanish, so we didnt catch everything, but after wards Elder Mitchell and I talked about it, and this is what we think she said. She has a daughter who has many problems, and she needs guidance. She said that the picture of Christ brought great joy to her and that she knew it could help her. Then she started bearing her testimony. It was incredible. First she talked about Gods love for us, then faith, then blessings, and so on. Through out it all, the spirit was blazing. At one point, Elder Mitchell bore his testimony of faith, and how Christ can help us in our lives. As he did this he handed her a restoration pamphlet (I think thats what it is in English, in spanish its folleto)(these folletos are amazing and really help to teach gospel principles. I recommend reading over all 6 of them). She took it in stride and continued bearing her testimony. Near the end of the discussion, I bore my testimony of how God loves us and wants to help us. We got her name and number, and told her that we would send other missionaries to help her learn more. The coolest part of this happened and we were about to part ways. Just as we finished, she looked at us and said "I will read this" (speaking about the folleto. It was simple and powerful.

That was the greatest thing that happened that day. Elder Mitchell and I both walked away in silence and joy. Its amazing how that works. The Spirit is simple, powerful, and calm. That is its nature and thats what it brings. I love this gospel and know its true. 

 

Te amo,

Elder Eliason

 

P.S. This ones for you mom. Be care full of your punctuations and conjugations. I almost named this email punctuation saves investigators. In a lesson this week one of the Hermanas in my district said "Dios te amo" instead of "Dios te ama." Whats the difference? haha well instead of saying God loves you, she stated "God I love you." The investigator lost it. Conjugations are important;D

 

P.P.S. You can send mail to me and I can get it in less than a week! Its called pouch mail and I can use it both here and in Uruguay. what you do is take your letter, fold it three times, tape it closed, put a stamp on the nontaped side, and address it to the missionary P.O. box in Salt lake with my name and mission on it. ummmmmm. I cant remember the P.O. box number right now, sorry. Ill send It to y'all next week.

Our last group of latinos that roomed with us (they switch out every 2 weeks) 

I love these guys and know all of them very well

​Elder Mitchell, Elder Castro, and Me. Elder Castro is this creazy but awesome Latino. He left last Tuseday for his mission in Argentina, but before hand gave me a beanie embroidered with the word Peru. Hes the one who taught me to say "Soy un Ltino de Chinca Peru":)

I love fútbol

​THE ELDERS OF DISTRICT JOSË!!!!!!!!!!!

Left to right: Johnson, Gomez, Johnson, Eliason, Evens, Mitchell

We rocked Fútbol that day! it was great

Prosolatismo!

So this week was great! Last saturday was definitely the biggest thing that happened. So here at the CCM, every Saturday (starting on your third week) is set aside for prosolatismo (prosoleiting (haha not sure if my english translations helped there)). Pretty much, We all climb on a bus, are driven to a neighborhood in Argentina, then begin walking up to people on the streets and talking about the gosple. It was hard! but wonderful. Haha, until that moment I hadnt realized how little spanish I know. One of the first guys we walked up and talked to, was trying to shovel some grass with two others (probably to make room for something else. Well, after doing landscaping for a couple of months this summer, I convinced myself "Hey, Im not too bad with a shouvel (yah, my spanish is skyrocketing right now, but its not helping my english at all), lets go ask if we can help them. Yah......... Haha we walked up and said (let us help you). Man, it was impressive how fast that guy talked. I have no clue what he was saying, but he kept smiling and shaking our hands while calling us "amigos!" We took it as a good sign, but still had no clue what he was trying to tell us. In the end we got the message that he wasnt interested, and we gave our farewells. thats pretty much how it went the whole day. A bunch of people there were super nice, and loved the pass-along cards that had the picture of Jesus on the front. It was a good saturday.

Some of the other missionaries came away with some pretty incredible stories of miracles when they had reached their low of discouragement (we got rejected a lot). Two of my friends in my district had a pretty great one. They had been out for hours and had only had about 7 contacts. as a result hey sat on a curb to rest for a couple minutes. Discouraged, hot, and unhappy, they felt beet. almost immediately a car pulled up and this elderly couple hopped out and started talking to them. Elder Gomez and Johnson quickly found out that the couple were temple workers. As they talked, the husband pulled out a bunch of bread, agentinian sausage, and a liter of coke. They said it was exactly what they needed. God was watching over them as he is all of us. After they received their gift of conversation and food. Within half an hour, they had 8 more contacts. Both of them attest it to have been a true miracle.

So last week on Tuesday, all the americans and latinos from the last group left for el campo (the mission field). For two days, there were litterally less than 30 missionaries in the CCM. Pretty crazy right. We had an all out district on district (there were only two districts left) fútbol game. It was pretty intense:) Last Thursday all the new Latinos and Americans arrived. Elder Mitchell and I now share a room with 6 new amazing latinos. They are wonderful and hilarious. Oh and Elder Castro (one of the Latinos) taught me to say "Soy un Latino de Chincha Perú" (Im a Latino from Chincha (a place in Peru known for their dark skin (im pretty white)) Peru). We in turn taught him to say (Im from Idaho, and swag, and whats up player (that one is pretty hilarious to hear him say). One of the greatest things about all of them is how much they help me in spanish. Some nights, Ill sit down with Elder Castro and he'll pretend to be an investigator, and just help me out with spanish. Haha, the only problem is that he speaks very little english, so I have no clue what he is saying at times. The gift of tongues is real though. My spanish is getting so much better. I can truly feel the lord magnifying my efforts. For example, I just finished memorizing D&C 4.... In Spanish..... and i did it in just a couple hours. The spirit is here, and its wonderful. Sometimes people in our district get down, and feel like rubbish. However, every time this happens, a different person stands up and brings them back. It is truly amazing to witness this again and again. I know this gospel is true.

Hope you all have an incredible week.

Love,

Elder Eliason

P.S. We had a investigator lesson in english this week. It was a one time thing to help us see where we can be once we gain the language. That was the best lesson Elder Mitchell and I have ever taught. It was so spiritual, and went better than we could ever have planned. How? We stopped worrying about the language and focused on the spirit. The spirit works miracles. Keep it with you, and your life will be infinitely blessed.

2nd week at the CCM

WOW, This week has been both intense and amazing.

First off, thank all those people who wrote to me sooooooooooo much. They really gave me strength and brought me joy. Y´all are amazing (how can I translate yall into spanish..... Vosotros?) 

 

Anyways, first story. This was one of the most powerful and spiritual experiences I have ever taken part of. It took place last Thursday evening. I couldnt say it better than how its recorded in my journal. "wow, thats all I can say. Wow. Over 30 Elders, all servants of the lord Jesus Christ, kneeling together in a room that, without the 8 bunkbeds, is a little smaller than my Utah bedroom, in fervent prayer. One of the Latino´s mother´s was hospitalized today. As his companion discovered this, he called us all together, and said the prayer himself. That was incredible." So yah. The spirit and faith of all the people here are incredible, and there are moments where the spirit is so strong that you feel like you can do anything. I was once told that the MTC is the closest place to heaven and the closest place to hell. Closest place to heaven for those who are ready and worthy, and the closest place to hell for those who aren't. Im not sure about the latter, but I am positive about the first. This place is both trying and rewarding. I have never learned so much spanish in my life.

 

Speaking of spanish, no one was joking when they said days 1,2, and 3 of the MTC are spanish 1,2, and 3. The second day we learned all the conjugations for present, preterite, imperfect preterate, and future. Haha, yep. Spanish is flying and I can actually make some conversation with the Latinos now!!!!!!:D

 

Ok, one more less spiritual story. Sorry Brittany, but you may be engaged right now;) Every night before I go to bed, I pull out the pictures of my family and look at all of them. It brings comphort and is always a really good experiance. anyways, a few days ago, one of the latinos (elder Mendoza) saw ther picture of you and ask "¿es su novia?" I responded, "no, ella es nis hermana. Ella es en su misión en Brazil ahora." Anyhow, he ended up looking me in the eye and saying "despues mi mision, somos Cunaydos" translation= after my mission, we will be brother in laws. It was pretty funny. I agreed. Hes one of my favorite latinos;D And yah, your like a supermodel here Brittany:) 

 

Anyways, hope everything is going well back in the states! you guys are amazing. Your prayers are felt. And you all bring me great strength. Please write to me! It really means a lot. It doesnt have to be long. "By small means, great things are brought to pass."

 

Love you all,

Elder Eliason

 

This is Brittany's future husband, Elder Mendoza

​The first day in the CCM was a P-Day. We after we had unpacked, got our name tags, and got setteled in, some of the people who had been here invited us to come play fútbol with them. It was raining, muddy, and wonderfull. I got some pretty great slides. My companion is the one on the far right in the black with his hand on his hip

​The group from the airport that flew dow to the CCM with me. We have gotten to know eachother really well and are all friends. They are amazing and I love them all. THis pic was taken in the Atlanta airport

 

FIRST WEEK AT THE CCM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

!!!!!!This past week has been muy bien, pero my deficíl (check that spelling lil warner). Mi primero compañero is Elder Mitchell: He is this hilarious guy who everyone loves, but he as the weirdest slang terms. Haha, imagine a laid back surfer guy from California, who says things like jankie and dude a ton. Its great.

So about the CCM. Every day, we wake up at 6:30 am, prep for the day, eat breakfast (we have a choice between 4 different kinds of cereal..... haha I´ve never had so much frosted flakes in my life), and normally we have some kind of treat filled with DULCE DE LECHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THIS STUFF SOOOOO MUCH: Es muy muy muy muy delicioso!!!!! Imagine a caremel filling that isnt as sticky and is 10 times better!!!! It is simply amazing!!!!!! For example, this morning we got doughnuts. No mom, It wasnt "a jelly," but a DULCE DE LECHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SOOOOO GOOD! haha:)

We have classes all day to help learn how to teach, and gain knowledge about the language. It is incredible to see how fast everyone is progressing. Talk about the gift of tongues. I have never spoken so much spanish in my life. There are a ton of latinos here who speak no english, and Im starting to understand them!!!!!!!! Haha, I love those guys! they are amazing (and really good at fútbol).

We also have an hour a day to play sports or work out. I am getting so much better at fútbol! Its a blast:) 

anyways, the best thing here is the spirit. Last sunday, we had a district meeting (oh ya, Im district leader). It was just the members of my amazing district (hermana hall, hermana jarman, hermana mortenson, elder johnsen, elder johnsen (I hope theyre companions later on:)), Elder Gomez, elder, evans, elder mitchell, and me). We talked about the investigators we were working with, and what we could do to help them. We talked about spanish, and made plans and gave suggestions on how to improve, then we had this huge discussion on the plan of salvation (pretty much, gods plan for us here on earth and after). It was incredible. Each companionship had preped questions and stories, and we just sat and had this amazing discussion. The spirit was so strong. It was Amazing.

Another Super spiritual moment was with Elder Gomez. We have a small cold going around here that all the new americans caught (theres about 20 of us). For most of us, we just have sore throats, but It hit elder gomez hard. Yesterday, his throat was so sore he couldnt speak. Because of this, two nights ago, all the elders in our disrict gathered in Elder Gomezs room and gave him a priesthood blessing, asking god to help him get better. That moment was probably my favorite Ive have had yet here at the ccm. All of us afterward commented on how strong the spirit was. We knew god had been present in the blessing and elder gomez is quickly improving.

So yep. Oh being sent off! After arriving at the airport, I quickly found my terminal. As I was walking up to it, I spotted a giant group of about 20 guys in girls in suits and dresses. I walked up, asked if they were missionaries, and, after receiving the affirmative, Introduced my self. We have a ton going to the montevideo mission, and we are all super close now. Haha we have a saying here "the days pass fast, but the weeks pass slow. We all feel like weve been here for months and feel like weve been friends for years. 

Anyways, thanks guys for writing! yall are amazing!

Love, 

Elder Eliason

At the Salt Lake Airport

Mission Call Opening