Monday, June 30, 2014

We love Monday's and pictures!

What happens when Colombia plays...
It's chaos

We're cool

Rodrigo & Liseth

My epic ice cream

My new companions
Elder Rodas & Elder Rocha

If you ask me I'm looking old...
Elder Rocha & I
This one made me laugh... old?
Rawly you are so funny


Every Day I'm Teachin' Em'

So, what’s up everyone?

Can I just tell you that last week was insane? Catholic priests, Fifa World Cup, jealous boyfriends, a Mormon circus and so much more… 
Yeah I know it’s crazy

It all started Tuesday when a Catholic priest invited us to teach him.... Yeah a Catholic priest, Father Gonzalo. Ha-ha. We had to go to a little town outside of Bugalagrande. We got in the taxi and told him to take us to the chapel in Overo; he looked at us as if we were crazy and said ¨the Catholic chapel? ¨ On the way there he started talking and was like, ¨I always thought you guys were from another religion...¨, ha-ha-ha. The lesson with the priest was super awesome, he had no idea what missionaries were or what we taught. So we taught him the first lesson, the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, with a ton of scriptures. The priest was very confused because he said that what we taught him made sense. We then told him we wanted to baptize him, hahahahaha, he kindly declined the offer. However we left him with a Book of Mormon and he is enthusiastic to read it.

Um, okay may I just say that this country is going crazy with the World Cup. The Colombians are the furthest than they have ever been in the FIFA World cup in history. When they play we aren’t allowed to leave the house because the people go nuts here. Parades, parties, everything goes. Look up ¨Colombia Desfiles Fifa¨ on Youtube and you will see what the streets are like here after they win or loose... it’s intense. 

So it was a major bummer this week our number one investigator Paola had a problem, her boyfriend told her that she had to choose between the missionaries or him. We will not be continuing to teach her...

There is a traveling circus that is passing through Bugalagrande right now, and the owner and almost all the workers are members. So we are going to do a huge family home evening with whomever wants to come in the circus and it’s going to be free. They’ll put on a show and then we are going to teach from the ring. It’s going to be so awesome. I’ve never taught so many people at one time before. It’s going to be so sick! We are studying the talks of King Benjamin when he taught from the tower to the whole country, basically so that well be more prepared about what to say and how to say it. 

I absolutely love what an ancient prophet said about speaking openly and boldly about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said: 

Alma 29:1-2
1. O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
I love that scripture.

Alma wanted so badly to help his brothers understand the gospel of Jesus Christ that he even asked God to speak as if he was speaking with the trump of God.

 I now challenge you all to try at least one time this week and speak with the 
"Trump of God" 
Share your testimony one time this week. Be verbal, written, or a post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at least...
SHARE IT!
Remember the words of Luke 11:33

 33. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick that they which come in may see the light.

Be a light to the world.

Share your testimony and then share it with me.
I want to hear how you shared your testimony.
Thank you to those that shared with me how you shared your gratitude for your parents last week and wrote me about it, honestly it made my day. 

I love you all
Elder Lyle

Friday, June 27, 2014

NEW MISSION PRESIDENT!

President & Hermana 
Pricoli


Sergio Omar Prícoli Caniella, 59, and Raquel Edelma Porley de Prícoli
three children, Montevideo 10th Ward, Montevideo Uruguay West Stake
Colombia Cali Mission, succeeding President Jonathan M. Prince and Sister Joni C. Prince Brother Prícoli serves as a counselor in a mission presidency and is a former stake president, counselor in a stake presidency, bishop and missionary in the Uruguay-Paraguay Mission. Regional director, Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. 
Born in Fray Bentos, Río Negro, Uruguay, to Mario Jesús Prícoli Molinari and Mirtha Adelina Caniella.
Sister Prícoli serves as a director of public affairs and temple ordinance worker and is a former stake Relief Society president, ward Primary, Relief Society, and Young Women president, and missionary in the Uruguay-Paraguay Mission. 
Born in Colonia Suiza, Colonia, Uruguay, to Albérico Porley and Dorotea Delia Lemes.

Monday, June 23, 2014

This weeks pictures from Bugalagrande

Hey Everyone...What's up
I'm sunburned as always

Rodrigo, Elder Chamorro & I


Our last meal with Elder Chamorro

Celebrating Elder Chamorro's last moments
in the mission...PIZZA

Elder Peart started a food fight
because the members weren't home...
ha-ha-ha

On our way to Paola's house

The money I use everyday


Donde estan the sister missionaries?

What a week, so much happened I don’t even know where to begin.

All right I’ll start with Tuesday. Tuesday we taught a new investigator Paola. She’s super awesome, she’s read all the way through 1 Nephi 10. It’s so awesome she understands everything and loves the book of Mormon. She went to church the first time yesterday and she loved it! SCORE! 

Wednesday was flippin’ BA-NANAS YA’LL! I can’t even begin to describe it. It started off with us doing errands for President and Sister Prince with some glasses that a missionary ordered from here in Bugalagrande. Then we had interviews with investigators in Andalucia for baptism. The sister missionaries came down from Zarzal to help teach. They went and taught Paola with us and they taught forever! After 2 1/2 hours Elder Chamorro and I started slapping each other hard and then saying, GOT IT! Little mosquito don’t worry, hahahah (I am assuming this is a Colombian thing?) When the sister missionaries were done we realized that it was 8. We were all like crap there’s no buses that go to Zarzal at that time. So we made our way to Tuluá which is the zone south of us. We asked them if they wouldn’t mind staying with the sister trainers in Tuluá when we were in the taxi going there, in response Sister Deleón started to giggle and said she had splits with the sister trainers that night. Elder Chamorro and I were like OH NO, CALL THEM NOW. We called them to find out that they were already in Zarzal waiting for our sister missionaries. There are no buses at that hour to go from Zarzal to Tuluá. And they didn’t have keys to the apartment in Zarzal either. Elder Chamorro and I are now freaking out. We sent the sisters to the other sister missionaries in the Tuluá Zone and told the sister trainers to pay the taxi to get here fast, 70 thousand pesos and an hour and half later they arrived safe and sound at like 10:30...yikes. However everyone was freaking out saying where are the sisters?! Everyone is all right now, just a typical Elder Lyle moment WOO! 

Saturday was crazy as well it was the last day of the mission for Elder Chamorro. In the morning he packed lunch for Andalucia then we had to go south to Tuluá to pick up a pack followed by a quick trip to Zarzal so that I could baptize an investigator for the sister missionaries. We arrived at the chapel as the people started moving from the sacrament room to the room with the baptismal fount. I arrived in time to change my clothes faster than I have ever changed them while someone else is getting baptized, run out the door and baptize the girl. It was all so smoothly done, however as we all know I am not capable of being smooth and well I had to slip down the stairs after the baptism almost knocking over all the newly baptized people opening up my knee and lay sprawled out on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, ha-ha-ha-ha. Just another perfect Rawly moment. Elder Chamorro quickly picked me up and we ran so that I could change back into my normal clothes.... tie and suit pants, then we were off back to Bugalagrande to catch the last bus. We had arrived and entered and left the chapel in less than 7 minutes. It was an epic record.

So honestly, even though it’s crazy, I love my life its SUPER BUSY. 

I’m currently training a new zone leader Elder Rodas. He’s awesome and from Guatemala. He’s super cool, kind of miss Elder Chamorro but Elder Rodas and I will be great companions. 
Today was our first day together. 
We had to wash the clothes so we put together the washing machine and well the tube went all snake on us when we left the house so when we got back we found our neighbors quickly sweeping the porch (we both live on the second floor) there was incredible amount of water that was pouring out from underneath our door and would continue to flood them in their house. Yeah our house is DRENCHED. Never a dull moment here folks. 

I love my mission if you couldn’t tell, really…

So this week I receive a new mission president. It made me think a lot about the beauty of change. Sometimes we confront change with anxiousness. We don’t know how it will be; we don’t know how the future will treat us. How will this change my current circumstances and so forth. The truth is we are very accustomed to change in this life, just that change is so constant, that well, were used to it. 
Think about the huge difference in between summer and winter. It’s enormous in some parts of the country such as Medford, Oregon, where I’m from. Some people prefer winter to summer however the truth is both are very important and vital to the world we live in. If we didn’t have winter after summer how would we have frozen water reserves in the mountains to sustain life in the dry summer? The truth is the change that we have in our life is very necessary. Here after they harvest the sugar cane they burn the field, something that was so green before and now burning, smoldering, blackened and ugly. However it is necessary. The burnings is what gives the nutrients to the new crop. Without the burning the new crop would not be as fruitful or delicious.

If we want the best of our lives we have to accept all the changes in our lives. 
The ups and the downs. 
The good and the bad.
Because it is in the best of the best we are going to feel the best
And it is the worst of the worst that will prepare us even better for the good to come.
I love you all 

I challenge you all to do the following

PLEASE WRITE ME ONE EXPERIENCE ABOUT THE PAST CHALLENGES I’VE GIVEN YOU.

If I don’t know you that’s fine. I would honestly just like to hear about it to know that I’m not talking into thin air.


LOVE YOU ALL
ELDER LYLE


Thursday, June 19, 2014

It's Time To...

CELEBRATE!!!

Because it has been
We are on the backside of the mission

Since it's TBT here are a few pictures from 
June 19th, 2013
Rawly surrounded by his loved ones
the night before he left

Still dark and heading to the airport

His last drive in his car

The brave ones that got up before light to say good-bye at the airport

We can't wait for Elder Lyle's return!!

1 year down
1 year to go
We are so proud of you

Monday, June 16, 2014

It rains coffee and ash

Well, my life has actually been incredibly, incredibly, incredibly.... DIFFICULT!

This last week we have been majorly stressed out because my companion and I along with the rest of the zone have goals to meet!!!!!

I love the stress it actually does me some good to feel like I’m going to yank out every last hair I have left, ha-ha-ha.

My companion and I haven’t spent practically anytime together because we are constantly traveling to visit the other areas in splits. We are always with other elders trying to make sure that all those baptismal dates are going good and that everyone is on track.
That is our job to make sure that all the companionships are going well and that all the investigators are doing well too.

This week was incredible with the amount of time we just spent out of the house. Including one night when our landlord painted the door shut by accident and we had to open the back door with a broomstick through the window...long story. Ha-ha-ha 

My diet is lulo a fruit here and ice. I make snow cones every day for breakfast and dinner, lots of nutrition there. Its fast and ice and lulo is cheep sooooo… ha-ha, ya know. I guess it’s a good thing I really like fruit.

One of the awesome experiences that happened to me this week was yesterday. 
Yesterday we were in the chapel and I had the opportunity to help Rodger, my blind friend, pass the sacrament. He is 18 years old and AWESOME. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I’ve had in my life as Rodrigo passed the sacrament to all the members. I was leading him to all the benches and telling him when to extend the hand and everything. It was so amazing and made me think about; 
The incredible beauty of what is the sacrament. 
Every week we go to the chapel to renew our baptismal covenants. When we partake of the sacrament we are practical having another baptism. Every week we are made whole again. Maybe not physically but spiritually we are renewed and ready for the next week.

Since some of you want to know what it’s like here in Bugalagrande, I’ll tell you. 
It’s rolling hills and beautiful, super green. It’s not quite as hot as Cali and only has 250,000 people, which compared to the 3.5 million of Cali is a little town. The weather is weird here because ash is constantly falling. Always these little ash flakes are in the air because they burn sugar cane fields constantly. So it’s not abnormal to run your hands through your hair and find them stained with black afterwards. It constantly smells like coffee and chocolate because the Nestlé factory is here. All the chocolate and coffee products in Valle are produced here which makes it always smell delicious. I actually really like it here. It’s super calm. The calmest part of my mission I think, it’s even calmer than Ipiales. 

My companion is leaving in a week to go home. So I’ll be getting a new companion in a week. Rumor has it that after just 2 weeks of training of how to be a zone leader I will be the trainer for another.... crazy. 

Things are going good 

I don’t have a scripture for you all today because I didn’t have time to prepare anything. We had some crazy stuff to do today in terms of the house and gas pipes... another LONG story, ha-ha. 

Well I love you all and I leave you with this challenge for the week. 

Challenge
How often do we talk with our parents? 
How often do we tell the people who raised us that we love them? 
How often do we think to do service for another and not for our families? 

This week pick a night to honor your parents. Pick a night to take them out to dinner just to say thanks for being your ma and pa. It’s the smallest things that count the most, that is what I’ve found here on my mission. 

I love you all 
Do your homework and 
PLEASE 
Tell me how it went. 
I have only received 3 emails in my whole mission on how it went with a challenge, 1 was from my mother and 2 from my grandma sooo… let me know!

Love you all 

Elder Lyle

Monday, June 9, 2014

Pictures from my old area and my new...

Pictures from Jumandi
Baptism of Laura & Maria

Pictures of baking cakes at 
Juan Forero Serrato's House
with Elder Rebolledo
I love this because he remembered to use the cloth 
so it wouldn't spray everywhere
Rawly & Juan
Thank you Serrato's 

The great good-bye in
Jamundi

Having to say good-bye to 
The Ramirez Family 
was the hardest of all

The New Zone
Bugalagrande
The Great Zone

 My companion, Elder Chamorro
and the sister missionaries

I'm super super dirty...
ha-ha-ha
as usual

The typical heaping plate of food here
in the north. There is rice underneath all of it
The food and my new companion
Elder Chamorro

Elder Lyle's 1st Zone Conference
The New Zone Leaders
Elder Lyle, Manella, Musselman, 
Sister Jachacollo
Elder Bautista, Montes

Rawly sharing his testimony

What a week it has been for Elder Lyle!

The Big Booga

Family and Friends 
What’s up?

My life in the last two weeks has been so incredibly hectic/weird and I haven’t been able to write any of you. So let me start off telling you all why its been so flippin' hectic.

1st of all we did a ward activity in Santander de Quilichao last Monday. Santander de Quilichao is about one hour south of Jamundi.

2nd I was making chocolate pies and cheesecakes all day for baptisms on Tuesday night.

And 3rdly I got transferred.

I gave my weekly dats last Sunday when my zone leader told me that I had been transferred. I was kind of bummed not going to lie. My transfer is to the Zarzal Zone as a zone leader, proselyting area Bugalagrande, in English it is the Big Boo-ga. When I got here I immediately fell in love with the landscape. The Zarzal Zone is at the top of the mission so it has terrain that is very different. It’s still hot but there’s a breeze here. One thing I love about the Big Booga is that there’s tons of hills and trees, it’s beautiful. There isn’t a chapel here so we have to travel to Andalucia where we attend at the house chapel. It is only about 15 minutes away and costs about 2 thousands pesos to go there and come back which is the equivalent of about 1 dollar which is a lot of money here.

It’s mega Catholic here. My companion is awesome, his name is Elder Chamorro, and he is from Quito Ecuador. The only problem is that, oh I know, he finishes the mission in 2 weeks, hahahaha oh well.
SO I’m trying as fast as I can to learn how to be a zone leader so far it’s proven to be EXHAUSTING. I got to my area Wednesday I unpacked my suitcases and then I repacked my little suitcase and in less than 2 hours I was on my way again to Cali but this time for my first leadership council on Thursday. 

Friday we got back and we went to the top of the zone and hour and half away in bus to do a zone meeting and then when we got back we had to do an interview between two companions that can’t stand each, other one that refuses to work. Yeah it’s crazy.

Yesterday for example: 
We had a surprise baptism in a river in the Big Booga at 8:30 in the morning. 

Church and the conformation at 9:00 a meeting with the district president at 10 and interviews back up at the top of the zone in Zarzal at 12:30. When all of that was finished a normal proselyting day followed by doing all the zone dats for the week. WOOOO. Holy Cow if I thought I was working hard before this is a whole new league of work ha-ha.
 I LOVE IT!

So here in the Bigbuga my best friend so far is a recent convert named Rodrigo or Rodger. He’s 17 years old. He got baptized 1 year ago and loves the church, loves missionary work and oh did I
mention that he's blind? HE'S SO AWESOME! And such an inspiration to everyone. His number one desire is to serve a mission, we share our favorite scripture and he always shares it with investigators in lessons because he knows it by heart.

Philippians 4: 13
13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

What a scripture huh and what a kid. He’s so awesome.
He is an incredible example in my life and that is what brings me to…

 The challenge of the week:

Think of someone that is an example to you or someone that has or inspires you and simply tell them thank you. 

Ever onwards, always choose the right, be the light of the world. 
We are the example 

Love you all 
Elder Lyle