Elder Boyer...Chile Concepcion South Mission: 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!