I loved Josh's Missionary Videos

. I LOVED watching video clips of Josh when he was on his mission . . . Pres man. I haven´t heard from you in a while. How in the world did you make that much money? That’s what I like to hear. You must have worked really hard. I’m not sure when the camp is, but have lots of fun and learn as much as you can. Pray for the spirit to be with you, even in football. You can learn much more if the spirit is with you. I love you Preston. How have the Gospel Donuts been tasting? Keep praying for missionary experiences. Those are so good to have to help others and to help yourself. I love you favorite little little brother. Keep up the good work, Love Elder Tilley

Jayce . . . Can you keep up?

(Jayce)-I was going to ask you about if you had gotten a new coach yet. He sounds awesome, like Coach Martinson. Remember even if he is intimidating to never lower your standards, they are Heavenly Father´s standards. Be an example. Elder Valverde taught a lesson with us yesterday and talked to the family about not asking "por que yo? por que Yo?" instead "para que Padre, para que?. ( not why me, but what do I need to learn). … Good job with school. I didn´t get an A in physics either, but I still got a scholarship. Keep working hard. Physics will help you tons with Calc next year. I love you Brother. Keep being a great example to everyone. "Remember who you are, you are a true king" and no one can take that Divine Heritage from you. I love you Jayce ,Love Elder Tilley

Mom I didn´t take any pictures this last week, so I thought I would let you join in on my morning exercises. I´ve been working on "the split" for some time now. This morning I got pretty low and lost my balance and fell. Ouch. That´s what you call a ripper. I also included my push up video. I am now on 11. Gladys, …had her date fall. We are working with her to help her stop smoking. Her date is for this next Sunday, the 6th. We need to remind her of that, I don`t know if she remembers. Ximena wanted to change her date too. After talking with her, she wanted to push it back two weeks. She came to church yesterday and told us that she wanted to do it the 13th. She has been investigating for years, but has had trouble with the marriage laws here. It´s really hard to be divorced so people just leave for someone else. Many have been living together for years, but they aren´t married. … we have to move out of our apartment; the owner wants it back … The sector we live in is pretty dangerous. There are only a few locations that we could live in and it is really hard to find a house. There is one gated community that would be really safe, but it´s like where the rich rich people of the sector live. I wouldn´t be against it if it was Heavenly Fathers will. (smile) Its really nice to live comfortably, but we will do what the Lord would have us. Pray for us in this aspect as well, but more, for the investigators….

Happy BIrthday Becca!

Monster Teddy Bears from Bishop

Bishop gave us Elders little monsters teddy bears for our help teaching baseball to the youth this past week. It was fun trying to explain it.
(mom)I have done it a couple of times (wiggle ears). I could probably use it to my advantage better though…. Things with Elder Maxfield are going very well. Its been an internal fight once in a while, but i feel more comfortable talking with him than either of my other companions. The truth is, he reminds me a lot of myself. Until I could see myself, not being myself, i didn´t see what i was missing. I am learning to communicate my feelings and not just bundle them up and think it is my own problem, that i need to get over them. I am learning to be patient. That was a council given in my setting apart blessing that has helped me greatly. I had the thought this last week "I am so thankful that Heavenly Father blessed me with the 3 best companions". Please don’t let that keep you from praying earnestly that we can keep the spirit between us. Your prayers have for sure been a huge boost in how far we have come together.

Roof Tops

I took the picture of the roof tops yesterday. It looked so much cooler that the picture turned out though. If you look hard, there should be big buildings right under the huge mountain in the background.
(Jayce) Oh how fun, I remember that part (of Oracle Caves) for sure (Birth Canal). That was so much fun. When I went, Sam came with us. That was awesome. We never made it to the back though. I’m glad you had fun and that Zach came out all right. I can´t believe that was a whole year ago that we kid napped Becs (for her birthday). That must have been incredible to be involved with the Temple dedication. …I will keep you in my prayers this week. Just relax in that physics final. Your mind works better when you are relaxed and you can also listen for the spirit. The work is awesome. Im getting use to my new sector here. Im still lost some times, but for the most part, I know my way around. I saw someone from my last ward two Sundays ago and i got home sick for my old ward. I am getting over that now and love the people here and love the sector. Its a pretty dangerous one. We have been doing well and getting along really well. It has been an internal struggle here and there, but Im learning so much more about communication and sacrificing my will to the Lord. Its so much funner that way and honestly easier that way. We played soccer today and I was loving it. My companion was just standing on the sideline so I told him to take my spot. I had prayed in the morning to be able to keep the spirit with me on the field. I stood on the sideline for a while and just watched. It was hard, but I felt like it was the right thing to do. A few minutes later, my zone leader did the same for me. Thank you for praying for me. I think about you a lot and pray most that you will be applying the gospel in your own life. The Gospel is so powerful and cool when it becomes a want to do thing and not a have to do thing. You can really have the power of God with you (the holy ghost).

Our Bishop's Family

Our Bishop gave a talk this past Sunday that I really liked. He talked about focusing on the why of things and not the what. For example, "Do I need to go to church every Sunday?" WHY? Do I need to take the Sacrament every week? WHY? WHY do we do the things we do? I am really trying to apply this to myself. Sometimes I feel that if i get caught up in the what, then i miss the mark. The what must to be accompanied with the why. Interesting application. In pest control, we were taught to always give the feature and the benefit. "We spray around the base of the home (feature), to keep anything from crawling into the home(benefit). What are the features of the gospel and what are the benefits. Even writing this has helped me to think about that more. I think Im going to study with the benefit in mind. Thanks for being so awesome Jayce. What an awesome example you are. May the spirit guide you in your exams this week. I will be praying for you. Love you, Elder Tilley

Fall in Santiago

(mom) We are going to the temple this week on Friday morning. We have been invited to fast on Thursday in preparation to go on Friday and to think about how we can rise to the "next level". This is kind of a mission theme. We are always trying to get to our "Proximal Nivel". I am so excited. I still have those names from our family that I’m going to do. We found out yesterday that Gladys smokes. She knows it is bad and has been trying to quit. We invited her to dejar de fumar forever. Her baptism is this upcoming week. Please pray for her to have strength to avoid the temptation. …We have FHE with them tonight at another family in the ward. I’m so glad to be here. I’m learning so much. We also had interviews with President Laycock this past week. He said some very nice things to me and told me that I am building a foundation here to do even greater things after my mission. …We all love President so much. He just loves and loves and loves. I have felt so blessed to be able to be a missionary and learn from him. Thank you so much for everything, prayers, packages, letters. etc... I know its probably a hassle sometimes, but it means a lot to me. Thank you everyone. I have been praying for Rach and Joe. Im sure he´s doing awesome and Rach too. Love Elder Tilley

Beautiful Mountains outside apartment

We woke up one morning to find the mountains absolutely beautiful. These are some pictures from a little balcony in our pension.
I sure don´t like to ask for things in packages. It makes me sick knowing how expensive they are. I have actually been thinking about socks. Mine are still good for now but everyone is saying how cold it gets and it would not be good to be sockless in the winter if they started ripping through.

More Pictures of Moutains outside our Pension

We are teaching a few people. Gladys is the wife of Sergio who was confirmed the week that I came. They are really old but still up and running. Elder Maxfield says that they were miserable when they found them. Now they love each other more and are doing so well. She has a date to be baptized on the 30th. Also, we are teaching a mom and daughter of an inactive boy our age. They have a date for the 30th too. We are not sure what to do though. They have a really really hard time understanding what we are teaching…they are just very uneducated or have some degree of mental lack. They came to church this last week, but left during the gospel principles class. Also, Ximena is the mom of a boy in the ward that is great. She set her own date for the 6th of June. We went by her house and could feel instantly by her actions and attitude that something was wrong. She said all was well though. A few minutes into the teaching, Elder Valverde and Garces knocked at the door to see how she was doing. They came in and we all taught them. I am so thankful they were there, because she said, "I don´t think I can get baptized". Elder Garces and Valverde helped her understand and bore powerful testimonies. The date is still on for the 6th. We are teaching some other people too, but don´t have dates yet. The Lord is blessing us here.

View from my study desk

The of the mountains looking through the window is the view I have sitting at my study desk , pretty lucky huh!
(Jayce) I totally know how you felt in the class with your desk companion. Lots of people here just like to ask us weird things because we are gringos and are religious. The only thing that I can think of doing is what you did. Just bare pure testimony, not to prove them wrong, but to make them feel "Wow, maybe I want that". I try to tell them how I really feel. I´ve never been happier in my life than when I live the gospel. It´s to help us be happy in this life and in the life to come. (We have a) document called "Permaneced" …and when we explain the blessing that can come as we apply it. Those blessings are . . . what I want, happiness, love, joy, peace, the ability to change. . . . I will pray for you. Remember to pray for yourself and let the spirit guide you in what to ask for in your prayers. I learned that Heavenly Father has blessings He wants to give us, but are only given as we ask for them. That is why it is important to listen to the spirit to tell us what to ask for, what Heavenly Father has for us in store. I love you Jayce. . . . I love you and am praying for you, especially in spiritual matters. Love Elder Tilley

These are the Elders in our pension

These are the Elders in our pension and my study area and room. This pension is like a paradise. I really enjoy living here.
The ward is great and there is a lot of love. It is very small and there are a bunch of people here. There is a lot of work to do here and it is going to start in little baby steps. After hanging up, (Mother's Day) I felt so grateful and really not sad at all. We have been so blessed and I felt very close to our family and to Heavenly Father as we did so. I know He is taking care of us and He is happy with what we are striving to do. Sorry I cry so much, I’m not sad, I’m just happy and can´t wait to be together in the Celestial Kingdom where we will rest from our pains and afflictions and live with Heavenly Father. Each one of our family is just a special, special person and I don´t know what I did to deserve my family, I’m just grateful that I did and am glad that Heavenly Father is in charge.

Olympic Athletes Train Here

This olympic place is next to our apartments. It is where the olympic athlests train. We tried to get a tourthis morning , but we have to make a reservation. Hopefully we will be able to go in the next couple weeks. That would be really cool.
We are teaching a few different people right now. The people that have baptismal dates are Ximena, Jessica, Katy and Constanza. Ximena has been investigating the church for years and has her life in order now to be able to be baptized. She told us that she set her own date, the 6th of June. … Please pray for her. She is single and has a family on her plate that need a lot of help too. One of her sons is a member and I think he has been active for quite awhile, he is only 14 though I believe. We are trying to go with her and one of her neighbors to do a temple tour tomorrow. I hope all works out well. They both just have a lot to do. You read about Kevin and his mom, we have only taught them a couple of times, but they have felt the spirit. We checked on them yesterday … she hasn´t read the scripture we left with her but said she would do it before we come again this week. Claudia, Felipe and Tamara are a great family that I have only been there once. We invited them to be baptized and they were not opposed. They were hesitant, like many, but they will be as they keep feeling the spirit by using their agency to act. Jessica, Katy and Constanza we taught this last week for the first time and invited them to be baptized. After their initial response...they accepted. They didn´t come to church yesterday, but we are going to keep working with them. We have taught some others the first lesson, and we´ll see how that goes.

Santiago Central-to get my Visa updated

We are trying to think of ways to be most effective here in this sector. We have been thinking that activities are a good way to go. Everyone likes soccer and the majority like English (teach English classes) We did both those in my last sector and saw a lot of good come from it. The sector opened up and people were more receptive. The Bishop needs help with the priesthood in the ward. There are not many and the majority of those are really old. This is going to be a new experience, but the greatest and most beautiful thing is that everyone will be helped best as they learn and apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so wonderful how we are all linked together and that no matter what of the innumerable problems we all have, the Gospel is the answer. I am so thankful for my testimony and how much stronger it has become. I am really excited to continue …total surrender to the will of the Lord. There is no more fight in me. Everything I have is His. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ...faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost (Sacrament) and Enduring to the End really helps us. There is more to the Fullness of the Gospel than this, but these are the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel. I love serving and what Heavenly Father is making me. Thank you so much for your love and support. It is such a blessing to have a family like I do, especially being on a mission. Thank you so much for your prayers and love. I love you so much family, Elder Tilley

Good-bye to Elder Stagg

(Family) The Lord has changed my serving residence. …Me and Elder Maxfield from a small town in northern Utah will be here in a zone called La Reina in the sector El Valle. … I’m really excited to be here. It sounds like our ward is small. Elder Maxfield has a good spirit about him. I can tell he likes to be obedient and wants to work. … We are both new and I’m really excited. I won’t see Jessica for a while if ever, but if you can please send that as soon as possible. They have had a hard time knowing that we were leaving. Three of us that were in that ward were transferred. Elder Stagg stayed, so I’m happy about that.
I have been warm. I’m so glad I bought that coat though. We sleep with 4 or 5 blankets a piece. It gets Chile, but I have been warm. I have heard that we haven’t experienced anything yet though. … I have been feeling really well this last week. We worked a lot harder and I’m a lot happier. Cool how that works… We have 1 hour to talk (Mother’s Day). I sure love you. I have been praying and fasting for everyone. I’m excited to learn about Josh and Jailey. There is a little girl in my last ward that was born about the same time as Jailey. I took a picture of her. This is Juan Chacanas daughter, Camila. … We went to the pension and it is awesome. It is on the 4th floor of an apartment building. It is similar in design to my first pension, but is 2 times as nice. There is carpet, real carpet in our study room. I haven’t stepped on that since I left or being in the church buildings. I’m excited to talk to you. I love you so much and am praying for you.

…(about the changes) President said that sometimes we feel that staying with our companion for the rest of our missions would be the best thing for us, but I know that Heavenly Father has put you with the companion that you need to be with and in the sector you need to be in where prepared individuals are waiting for YOU. I thought that was really cool. I’m really excited to be here. We had an investigator, Jimena come to church tomorrow (I think he meant yesterday). This is the one that I have told you treats us like kings and she is like our mom. It has taken her a long time, but she finally did and it was awesome. She was embarrassed to come to church because she didn’t have a skirt and doesn’t like wearing skirts. We told her everything would be ok. It’s more about the person and not the clothes. Well, someone in church approached her about it and she felt really bad. I didn’t think she would ever come back. Thankfully, she came this last week and asked many questions, about baptisms for the dead, with her mom being on the point of death. She told everyone that she needed to get her life in order and it may take 1 or two years, but she wants to be baptized. It’s really hard and long to get divorced here. I was so happy and pray for her. She and her daughter cried as we left their house last Friday. I really enjoyed my last few changes. Well, it’s about time to wrap up. I love you so much and am praying for you. Have a great week and keep praying for the people here. I don’t know them yet, but only time will tell. Love you family. Elder Tilley

My New Companion Elder Maxfield from Utah

(To Jayce) Well Brother,
I hope the choir trip was fun. Take what you can from the good and especially the bad and through the rest in the trash. That is awesome that you have been doing so well. … With trials, we have the opportunity to really experiment with the gospel to see if it is really true. Don’t be scarred to ask questions. Write them down and then go search for the answer through study and prayer… I read a scripture yesterday that I really liked and was able to share with the family that we ate lunch with. 1 Pedro 2:20 = 25. I really like the end of verse twenty and verse 21. See what you can dig up and teach me. … I love reading your letters. The gospel will really help anyone with any problem, including.....you. Take every opportunity to develop your testimony in the gospel. I know it really is true. Sometimes I feel more confident than others, but when I am less confident in some aspect of the gospel, I am confident that I just don’t understand it yet. I love you Jayce. Thanks for being awesome. You’re going to be a great missionary. I love you brother and look forward to talking to you this next week. Love Elder Tilley, I will be praying for you.