Week 2....The Rollercoaster Ride!

"Wow i cant even explain to you the feelings i have had this week!!! This week has seriously been a roller coaster. The spirit is so strong here all the time i love that, but the work is getting super hard. Some days seem to go by so fast and then some of them drag out. The CCM is really fun and i am learning a lot. We are doing the same thing every day so it gets kind of boring, but i just keep doing things to make the most of it. It really is amazing how fast i am learning Spanish. They literally just throw you into to language. We are expected to teach 2 lesson a day in complete Spanish. It is rough because my Spanish is still very limited. The first few times i went into the lesson writing down every word i was going to say. The last couple times i went in there with an outline of what i was going to say and just relied on the spirit to tell me what to say. Honestly when I relied on the spirit the lessons were a lot better. It wasn't as smooth but the investigators felt the spirit. People keep telling me that Spanish gets a lot easier the more you practice it. I cant wait for the day when i can just think in Spanish and not have to translate it in my head before i speak. Anyways i love it here at the CCM everyone in my district is way cool. There are 10 Elders and 2 Hermanas in our district. I think we have the funnest district. We do a lot of crazy things to make the time go by faster. Like the other day in rained all day. My district dared me to run and slide through this puddle of water. OF COURSE i did it!!! It was so much fun. My companion is a really cool kid. He is completely opposite of me. We balance each other out. i am that super social kid that has a hard time focusing and he is the type of kid who is all focus. So we really balance each other out and help each others weaknesses. i cant believe i have already been here 2 weeks. Time really does fly by when you are working hard and having fun:) It is kind of hard being in the CCM though because it almost feels like prison. They have 10 foot walls with razor blade wire at the top. We never get to leave the CCM boundaries. I just want to be out there talking to people and seeing things. At night is when Mexico really starts to wake up. As soon as we lay in bed we start hearing music. They always have fiestas right by the wall so we enjoy all the music they play:) It is so cool to see how they live down here. Their houses are literally stacked on top of each other. We are surrounded by hills and the houses line the hills. i had no clue how many people actually lived in this City. The other day we went to the temple and we got to experience a little bit of Mexico. Their driving is probably the scariest thing i have ever seen. They fit 4 lanes of traffic on a 2 lane road. People on motorcycles go in between the cars. When they do they literally touch both cars as they pass. It was the craziest thing to see. Also at each stop light you have people jumping on your cars washing your windows. It was so crazy to see the way people live here. It blew my mind. Anyways i am doing really good. I am learning a lot. I just cant wait until i am in Chile and actually out talking to people. i love you all. Hope you are all doing great back at home. Email me i love hearing from all of you. Wednesdays are seriously the best when i get to read and reply to all of your emails. Anyways have a good week i will email again next week!!

Mucho Amor,

 Elder Boyer  "

Week 1...... "Craziest week of my life"

Well, Tyler has been gone for 1 week now....but it feels like it's been a whole month! It's been a hard, emotional week. We heard from him the night that he arrived to the CCM, an email that said that he arrived and his P Days will be on Wednesdays. 

Here is part of his email that we received today:

Wow, this has been the craziest week of my life. So much has happened in only 7 short days. I don't even know where to begin. Sorry for my mistakes typing, the keyboards down here are really weird. Ill just take you on a play by play of what happened this week.

Saying goodbye to everyone was so hard. I had no clue how hard it was going to be. As i walked away from my family the tears began to role down my cheeks. It became so real to me at what i was about to do. It was so hard to walk away from my family that i loved so much. As i went up the escalator and out of their sight i began to cry, realizing i wasn't going to be able to see them for 2 years. Instantly after that i met this kid named Elder Langeveld, he is from Ogden. We began to talk to each other and really related fast. We actually sat by each other on both plane rides to mexico. On the first plane ride down to mexico this Asian guy sat in between us. Elder Langeveld and I looked at each other and said we are missionaries why not teach him. So we began to talk to him. We asked him a lot of questions about where he was from, and really got to know him. We then asked him what he believed in. in his very broken English he said he believed in Buddha. We then told him about what we believed in. it was really cool to actually start teaching someone. He couldn't really understand or speak English, so it was hard to talk to him, but the spirit was there. It made me so excited to get out here and start teaching people. After about an hour and a half we made it to Arizona. Then we had an hour layover. Then we got on our second plane. This one was going to Mexico. This flight was about a 3 hour flight. this flight was really tough for me. I began to think of home and what i was going to miss. It was a really sad flight. We got to Mexico and had to find our bags. There were so many missionaries. We finally got our bags and made our way to the bus. They shuttled all of us to the CCM or MTC. This is when it all started. We got to the CCM and had to go get all of our stuff and check in. The first night we just unpacked and went to bed. I got to meet my companion. His name is Elder Woodfield, he is from Provo. He is a really cool kid. The first night was really rough because all of us were homesick and didnt really talk.

Thursday, was our first real day. We went to a lot of meetings, telling us the rules and what things they had here at the CCM. Ill be honest the first day was terrible. The first day felt like a month. I was not excited after the first day. It got better each day. On Thursday night all of us started to open up. Everyone in my room began to talk and really become great friends. In my room i have Elder Hatch, he is from Gunnison, Elder Pulsipher who is from South Jordan, and my companion. The first night they were so quiet so i thought i was going to be in for a long 6 weeks with quiet companions. i didn't think i was going to get to be myself. Then Thursday came and i really got them yo open up. We talked all night that night. Now all of us are way chill with each other. 

Learning the language is super tough. The first few days i felt very lost. All the teachers talk in Spanish so it was so hard understanding them. I really have some a far way on my language already and it has only been a week. It is crazy the gift of tongues is real. I just have to rely on faith and ask God to help me with my language. On the 3rd day we had to give the first lesson to an investigator in complete Spanish. i had no idea what i was going to say, because i didn't know anything. I thought it was going to be impossible. i began to stress out. I finally realized nothing good comes from worrying, so  I sat down with my companion and we said a prayer. instantly we felt comfort. We went in and taught our lesson. I began saying things that i didn't think i knew. It was super hard to understand the investigator, but the spirit was definitely in the room. That is the most important thing right now, making sure the spirit is there, and not focusing so much on the language that you lose the spirit. i have taught 4 lesson so far and each one has gotten a lot better. I am really beginning to love the CCM. The days are going by a lot faster now. its crazy i have already been out here a week. I have learned so much in 7 days. I thought the CCM would focus a lot on you learning Spanish, but it really doesn't. We actually have a lot more spiritual lessons. We talk a lot more about what we are teaching and how to teach. The food here at the CCM isn't very good. I mean its not terrible but everything is bland. I have been craving a burger ever since i left. I hope the food in Chile is a lot better than here. The people here are so nice. I am loving it here. I hope everyone is doing great back home i love you all. Ill be able to email you each Wednesday.  please keep in touch. 

Mucho amor,  Elder Boyer 

It is SO Tyler to get to "work" right off the bat! He is such a hard worker and will make a GREAT missionary! I also loved how Tyler helped his companion and roommates to come out of their shells and to get to know each other better! Tyler has a true gift of making friends....people really respond to him and his fun personality! I'm so thankful that he and his companions could lean on each other, and help each other through this rough and emotional first week!

 Tyler with his companion....Elder Woodfield 

 Elder Boyer, Elder Woodfield, Elder Pulsipher, and Elder Hatch

 Mexico City!

CCM  living quarters, sitting room, and bathroom!

(Photo cred....Elder Woodfield, and his mom! ;))

Today is the day.....

Well, the day that we have waited, hoped, and prayed for has finally arrived! Tyler is leaving to serve a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He will enter the MTC in Mexico, where he will learn and train for 6 weeks, and then will go to the Chile Concepcion South Mission! We couldn't be more proud of Tyler, and how hard he has worked and prepared to be a missionary! We have no doubt in our minds that he will be a great missionary! We know that our family, as well as the people of Chile, will be extremely blessed as Tyler embarks on this journey!

 Tyler at the SLC airport, bright and early... after a long, tearful, and restless night! 

His flight is at 7:00 a.m., so we had to be at the airport at 5:00 a.m.

 

 It was really hard saying goodbye to Tyler! There were many  tears shed..... sad AND happy tears! Even though our hearts are breaking, we are rejoicing for Tyler and all of the experiences that he will have on his mission! Bittersweet day for sure! 

We will miss him so much!

 Adios, Elder Boyer! See you in 2 years!