Happy Halloween Birthday

Hola Everyone!

Wow! The time is flying by soooooo fast! I can´t believe I have been out for over 2 months! I am loving it here so much! The work is going well and this Saturday Elder Brunis and I will be having our first baptism here! :D I am so excited! It is going to be great!

Halloween here is a little different than normal. They celebrate with parties and stuff on Halloween and then the morning after they go trick or treating. It was really wierd walking out the apartment door Sunday morning with hundreds of niños running around and asking us for candy haha. Oh and also, Colombia is way worse than Utah with Christmas music and decorations. They had Christmas stuff up the morning of Halloween and Christmas (Spanish) music blaring everywhere! Haha. Oh that is actually something I have been wanting to say is that they blare music all the time from houses and in the streets. It is crazy.

Well, I will have to send pics next week. I love you all and hope all is well! Keep on keeping on!


¡Paz fuera!



~Elder Tyler Hales~

Hola!!

How are you doing my very kind mother dear? :) How is school and work and things going? I heard you guys probably won´t be using the basketball hoop much now which is sad. Anyways, I have a quick question. What mission did Unca J serve in? Elder Brunis wants to know. And I can´t remember. Oh also, I found out that it takes 2 months about for mail to get here from Ecuador. So it could take 2 or more months for the package and mail to get here... :P I hope it´s not more than 2 months... Well, speaking of packages, with my next one i was wondering if you could send me my mission call lamenated like my patriarchal blessing. I think that would be something cool to have. oh also I want to say happy Birthday to Emy-Kate Clarke! I forgot to write that last week. Tell her I love her and say hi. And that she´s awesome! Sorry this is kind of jumpy. I am writing from bullet points I wrote throughout the week about things I needed to tell you.

Well, things here are going just swell. I am loving it. I am doing very well health wise and am working very hard. It was wierd on my b-day because I had totally forgotten it was even my birthday haha. Well until the 2 other elders in Sabana Larga brought a cake haha. Well a little before that, but oh well haha. ;) Anyways, actually I think the night of my birthday I was the most exhausted I have been since being out here. We walked so much! Because we had to pass all of the people we teach to remind them about church. It was rough, but good.

Well, I love you so much and thank you for all you do for me!


Love ya and until next week!



¡Paz fuera!



~Elder Tyler Hales~

Happy Birthday Elder Ty

If you know Tyler- You know that he loves geccos!

Hola everyone!!!!


Wow this week has been LEGIT! Last week we had our first Zone Conference with President and all of the zones in the Barranquilla area. It was so awesome! It was pretty sad too though because the first training meeting with President was about obedience. Apparently there has been quite a bit of disobedience in the mission which makes me so sad. Also, that there are missionaries that have been writing home that President Searle is a bad mission president because the missionaries don´t have water in their homes. What the missionaries need to do is talk to the Secretary over the housing in our mission so they can have water. It made me so sad to hear that missionaries said he was a bad president. President Searle is the best mission president ever and I love him so much! I know he does everything he does to help us missionaries to be successful. I know he loves us.
The next training was about faith as we read in Alma chapters 32 to 34. It was so amazing and inspiring. I felt like a brand new missionary again haha I was so pumped! The Zone Conference was so great!

The week has been so great too! We have taught so much and have so many amazing investigators. Almost every moment of the day we are in houses teaching which is so awesome! In between teaching we have also been finding so many new investigators and people to teach! Everything has just been going so well! It´s poderoso! (Here they say poderoso (powerful in English) for awesome).

Ok so real quick I need to write about today. Now nobody freak out... because I did when I first heard we could do this... but apparently with permission from President Searle, on pdays and in Zone training Conference thingies we can watch movies like from Disney. When I first heard this I was like "Apostasy!" Haha. Anyways, today for a the Galapa Zone activity we had today we watched Wreck It Ralph. In spanish though so I didn´t understand like anything other than "¿Que esta haciendo?" (What are you doing?) Haha it was fun though. We had pizza and soda and it was great.

Well, there is still so much to say, but I don´t have time. So until next week!

¡Paz fuera!

Love,
~Elder Tyler Hales~

Mommo!

I am feeling so well right now! I don´t know if I would say 100% just because my stomach is feeling a little upset because we had a lot of pizza today. :P But other than that I am doing superb! And yes I know what I´m supposed to do if I need health help. My first day in the field they told us what to do. I already had to call Hermana Searle my first week because I got a heat rash. But I´m perfectly fine now. :)

Thank you for that spiritual thought. And thank you for all you do for me. I was hoping to get the package today because we had a zone activity today for pday, but the zone leaders didn´t have anything. It could be at the mission office or could be still on it´s way I don´t know. How long ago did you send it? Anyways, also thank you for the music. If you could send Homeward Bound by Vocal Point soon that would be awesome because that is the song I have been wanting to listen to so bad since I have been on the mission. :)

Anyways, things are going great. Elder Brunis and I are working hard and having a great time. I love it here (besides the heat and humidity... it is soooooo HOT). But I really love serving this people. Actually we have an investigator named Valentina and her baptismal date is set for this Saturday my Birthday! But I don´t think she will be baptized this week because she still needs an interview. :/ But these people are so great. They are very loving and helpful.

Well, I´ll write more in my weekly update thingie about my week and stuff.

Love you so much Mommoo!


Love,
Elder Tyguy


¡Paz fuera!

Life in Sabana Larga

Ok, wow so much has happened I don´t know if I can write it all! I am loving this work though so much! Some days are very hot and tiring but they are all good. Today for pday we went and played soccer in the morning which was so flipping fun!... It was flipping hot too haha. I don´t think I have been more wet from sweat. :P It was so fun though. Around lunch time we went to Barranquilla to go eat at a Mexican restaurant called Benito Juarez which was very good. The burrito I had was not quite as good as Costa Vida or Cafe Rio, but it was still very good. Then we went shopping in a mall in Barranquilla for a Colombian Jersey for me! We were trying to find a red jersey like the ones they wore in the world cup because they look so awesome! But I guess since they are a year old they don´t sell them anymore which made me very sad. :( But I got an awesome Blue jersey instead. It´s pretty legit. I´ll send a pic of me wearing it next week. But I still want to get an original authentic red Colombian jersey (hint hint, Christmas) ;) hahaha just kidding. It would probably be expensive. I would still like to get one sometime though. If I don´t find one in the mission maybe after. Anyways that is pretty much all we have done today, besides sending forms and emails to president, because traveling to Barranquilla takes about an hour.


So this last week was so awesome! It actually hasn´t been as hot this week because it has rained almost every day. And when I say rain, I mean rain. It is crazy how true all the stories of rain in South America are. Seriously you will be walking in the blazing sun one second and then a few seconds later out of nowhere the sky is dark and you are soaked head to toe and you can´t do anything about it. Oh and the streets flood like crazy. Anyways I want to tell you about this one new investigator we got just the other day. His name is Wilson Ohumada (I think that´s his last name). Anyways he is so awesome! I think he has some memory loss thing because he has to take notes of everything that happens to him and about everything we say. So we were teaching him the other day and we committed him to read about the church and stuff and to come to church this last Sunday (yesterday). So he took notes to come to church and read and then yesterday as we were about to walk into the church we saw him walking up to the church! He also has a problem with his leg which makes it super hard to walk so I was so amazed that he even took the effort to walk to church! We greeted him and he was so excited to be able to come to our church! He told us that he got up Sunday morning and read his notes and saw mine and Elder Brunis´names and said "I know them!", then he continued reading his notes and saw that he committed to go to church so he got ready and came! He is so awesome! I know that he will be such a poderoso investigador!


There is also another man in the ward who was just baptized in February whose name is Filiberto. He is so awesome with helping the members and less actives and investigators. He is this little sweet old man who is so caring for everyone. He actually reminds me of Grandpa Leon in how he acts, just in a little latino body haha. He is so awesome. He actually came with us to teach Wilson the other day and he told Wilson all he needed to know about the importance of being a member and how it has influenced him.


I am loving this work so much and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be serving the Lord here in Sábana Larga. I love this people and I want to help them, and I know that through the Gospel they can find the true happiness that every person is looking for. I know without God I am nothing. I am just here to be an instrument in his hands to help His children find the joy he has waiting for them.


Well, I love you all. Thank you for all you do for me. Keep reading the Book of Mormon and praying every day and often. I know our Heavenly Father wants to hear from us and will answer our prayers. He loves us so much. Well, keep on keeping on!


¡Animo! ¡Exito! ¡Trabajo!


Love,


Elder Tyler Hales

New Beginnings in Barranquilla

Momoo!!!!
Oh I can´t believe you guys are going to Disneyland! Without me! ;) Haha just kidding. I was trying to remember when you guys had planned the trip for this month. Man, I can´t believe it´s already October! Time is flying so fast!


Well, I´ll just start with this about the mission field so far... it´s hot. SO HOT! It´s so hot that literally I´m sweating all day. Unless I have a fan blowing directly on my face like I do right now at this store we are using the internet at. So pdays are on Mondays and I will write at 5:00 every week Colombian time. 4:00 Utah time i believe. Anyways, things here are going so well! Elder Brunis is my trainer and he is so awesome! I prayed and fasted in the CCM to get a good trainer and God answered my prayers. He is seriously so awesome! He is from Guayaquil Ecuador and luckily he has been learning english while on the mission so he can help me with my spanish better. He has 13 months in the mission. He is hard working and wants to be obedient which is awesome because that was one thing I was worried about coming into the field because some Latinos are kind of lazy to be honest, but he is awesome! We are still trying to get to know this area in the city Sabana Larga so things are still a bit confusing. We have already taught so many people though which is awesome! I think it was saturday that we had 12 lessons in one day! That is quite a lot. The people here are so humble and so nice, but they have a problem keeping commitments, especially coming to church and being baptized which is like some really big things. So that is a major problem, actually in the entire mission Barranquilla. I really love it here though. It is really a major culture shock compared to where we live haha. Some people literally live in shacks of a sort. Where they have only a concrete floor and then like wood, grass, or tin roofs. It is crazy to see the difference between the houses in just passing one street to the next. The food is quite good. We have a lot of soup, rice, some meat like chicken, pork, fish, or something, and then like a salad of some sort. I´ll send a pic of what we ate today. The other elders working with us in this area are Elders Macias and Cruz. Elder Macias is also from Guayaquil Ecuador and Elder Cruz is from Mexico. Elder Brunis and I are working hard together and it is so great. I´m loving this work and helping these people come closer unto Christ.


I am feeling a lot better. My throat is still a little sore and I still have a cough but my nose head and ears and bodyaches are practically gone. Thank you for sending Mucinex because I just ran out yesterday (i think) and it was helping a lot. I think it was a sinus infection because I remember all of that happening this last winter. I am doing so much better though. I have been sleeping so well since being in the field so that´s a good sign that I´m getting better I think.


I hope you guys have so much fun a Disneyland! Not too much fun without me though k? ;) Haha you guys will have to send me pictures of your adventures there. I love you guys so much and thank you for all you have done. I wrote a letter to the family so I will try to send it. It explains more about my week since I had an hour and a half to write it. Anyways, love you guys. Be safe. Have fun. And Adios!


Love,


Elder Tyguy

Barranquilla, Colombia

Hola family! I'm finally here in Barranquilla and oh is it hot! We left the CCM at 3:30 this morning and our flight out of Bogota was at like 5:40 or something. On the flight I was doubting how hot and humid it could be in Barranquilla since Bogota was so cold, but then when we got off the plane I was proved wrong once again. I was sweating literally like the second I got off the plane. Right now we are at a stake center getting ready to get some training and then we are off to our areas! I am so excited to finally be out here in Barranquilla! President and Sister Searle met us at the airport with a few missionaries to pick us up, and when we were driving through part of the city I saw how beautiful it is here. 

So my pdays will be on Mondays from now on just so you know. I just want to let you know that all is well here so far and that I am excited to get to work! 

Oh and I guess I should tell you, so you know how I wasn't feeling too well the other day? Yeah, it got worse and so the past few days I have been pretty sick. I had a fever and body aches and such at first, and then it went to my throat and sinuses. So on the plane ride that was fun... and then right at the end of the plane ride my ears plugged up so bad, I have never had this much pressure in my head. They are still plugged and won't pop so hopefully it will go away within the day. Also I hope my throat and other sinus stuff goes away quick too because it is not fun. Anyways, I'm here! I've made it and am ready to serve with all my heart might mind and strength!

Looking Forward to General Conference

Mommoo!!


Sorry I didn´t write Pops and Gracie last week. This hour is like the most stressful hour of my life haha. I think I wrote Emma already though. Anyways, thank you so much for everything! Today I actually got to buy a gospel art book at the distribution center. they finally restocked! If you already sent mine that´s fine, it won´t hurt to have two. ;) The concrete looks amazing! I told dad I am sad because I couldn´t play on it before I left. ;)

Things here are going superb! Only 5 days until the field and a bonus is General Conference this weekend! :D I am so excited for conference! It will be soooooo amazing! I have missed listening to the prophets in English! 

Today I have been feeling very very cruddy. It´s really the first day I've felt sick. Well, last night I had a really bad stomach ache and then I couldn´t sleep at all last night. We had to wake up at 5:30 to go to the temple but I was already awake like just after 5 and couldn´t fall back asleep. My body aches so bad and my head aches a little. It feels like the symptoms of like a fever but I don´t have a fever. I´ve been taking Ibuprofen and I think it has helped a little so thats good. I hope I will be feeling better by tomorrow. 

Well, I love you so much and thank you for everything you are doing and have done!


Love you!


Elder Tyguy

Gracie Goo Goo!!!


Oh I miss you so much little sister! You are the best little sister named Gracie ever! ;) You can totally use my pillow! And i´m sorry I haven´t been there to eat the food... In two years I´ll be back to eat it all again ok? ;) My companion´s name is Elder Glauser, he is so tall! He is 6´6!! Crazy huh? Well I love you so much Gracie! Be a good helper to mom and pops k? ;)


Love,


Elder Tyguy

Hola Pops!


Sorry I didn´t get to write to you last time. Things here are going so well though! The Spanish and everything is coming so quickly now! I am practically fluent in Gospel related Spanish haha. And I haven´t really had time to dwell on things at home, besides missing mowing the lawn and doing yard work and stuff ;), they keep us pretty busy. The concrete looks great though! I wish we could have finished it before I left so I could play around on the basketball court ;). It´s so crazy though, only five more days until I´m out in the field! I´m so excited to get out there!


Pops, I just want to say thank you for helping me become a harder worker. It definitely helps in this work because this is the hardest thing I have ever done. But I know that with God´s help I can do this. Thank you so much for being such a great dad. I love you so much and hope to make you proud out here on my mission. I know this has been the greatest decision for my life. You are the best pops ever! Make sure to keep Matt and Bryce busy working on things. ;)


Well, I love you so much and thank you again for all you have helped me become. You are the most awesomest Pops ever!!


Love,


Elder T.J. Tyler T-Rex Tommy-Ty Ooby-Doob Scooby-Dooby-Benooby Jesse Hales :)

Bogota, Colombia Tour ~ September 22, 2015

¡Hola!

¿Como estan? Everything here is going so great! Only 2 more weeks in the CCM!! I´m so excited to get out in the field! This last friday we went proseliting for the second time, except for this time we went out into the city rather than just walking around the CCM. It was so awesome! In just 3 hours Elder Glauser and I got 17 referrals! It was so cool! The people here are so nice and sincere. They are very interested in the gospel and even when they don´t want to hear the message right now they still respect us and are kind to us. I am so excited to get out to Barranquilla!

Today we went to the temple and did a spanish session and we went on Tour of Bogotá! It was so flipping legit! The best part of the tour was at the very beginning... wait for it... we rode a LLAMA!! It was so awesome hahaha! I will send a couple of pics of it. Then we went up a mountain to a Catholic church and a historical site of Bogotá. It was pretty cool. Then we went down the mountain to some shops and stuff. I didn´t buy anything. I wanted to get a Colombia Soccer jersey but the ones that were being sold were really cheap fabric. It was funny though because they cost about 15 mil pesos which is about 5 dollars. So I just decided to wait to get one in Barranquilla. 

It was crazy though today! Today they had a thing in Colombia where only like taxis and business cars can drive. Meaning everyone was walking or riding bikes so the streets were filled with people! It was crazy! Oh also today was another transfer day so there are only about 20 of us North Americans here right now haha. It was so sad though because I had to say bye to one of my favorite Latinos and friends ever. I only knew him for 2 weeks, but we became such great friends. His name is Elder González. He was so awesome because he helped me with Spanish so much. He spoke quite a bit of English so he was able to help me quite a bit. 

I am amazed at how much spanish I have learned in these few weeks. The hardest thing is remembering all the conjugations haha. They are hard. Just ask Matt and Bryce. Well I think they might think they were hard. ;) It is becoming harder to write in english. I can never remember when words have more than one letter right next to each other. For example, I couldn´t remember if anoint had 2 n´s or 1 like annoint or anoint haha. Pretty dumb right? ;)

I am loving this work. I am so excited to serve my brothers and sisters in Barranquilla. Keep reading the Book of Mormon. It has so much power! Also studying more about Joseph Smith is so awesome! He was so amazing! I want to become like he is because he was so loving and patient and just about everything that is great!


Well, I love you all! Until next time!


¡Ciau!


Love,
Elder Tyguy

Oh and ps. I just remembered. The other day I weighed myself and I have gained 10 lbs in these 4 weeks! Pretty crazy haha. You can add this to my weekly update thing if youd like. ;)