"before you seek to declare my word, seek to obtain it."

Hola Mi Gran Familia!

 

As for me, I have been soo blessed when it comes to Spanish. I can say now that understanding people is not the problem, and in the lessons I feel like I can communicate pretty much what I'm feeling. The problem now is the street stuff. Just common speaking on the street is now what troubles me. And I still find myself translating in my head but I'm sure that will soon go away! The Gift of Tounges is REAL.

 

I first want to share an experience that happened last Monday. We were having some trouble and it seemed like nobody was keeping commitments. And so Monday night we recruited one of the Assistants to come out with us and see if we could help some of the people who weren't doing to well. Elder Stutz is his name, he is from Arizona and is super cool and a great missionary! We went to visit Jorge Octado, who had been struggling with his Catholic background and accepting that there needs to be priesthood authority on the Earth. We had a powerful lesson on covenants with him, Elder Stutz used his sister's baptism picture to show how happy she looked when she made that covenant and also read Mosiah 18: 7-12 to help him understand covenants a little more. 

 

I didn't say much at the beginning of the lesson but at the end I had such an overwhelming feeling to say something, I just didn't know what. And amazingly as soon as I did that Elder Stutz looked at me and gave me the nod to say something. I just opened my mouth and the Lord put words in there...it was a truly amazing feeling. It was the first time I really felt like I was really a tool in the Lord's hands. I just bore testimony and promised blessings that come from making covenants with the Lord. After I was done there was a silence for about 10 seconds and then he said the words every missionary wants to hear, "I think I know that this is true." It was truly an amazing experience. Problem is he backed out two days later when we went to follow up. He is just too afraid to let go of his Catholic Church that he has believed for so long. He is almost there though I can feel it. We are going to see him this week.

 

Last night we had what is called a "desembarco" for our area, it's when all of the missionaries from our zone come and try to find new investigators and also try to reactivate the less actives. It was a huge success and we now have 22 possible new investigators to teach. I am excited about what is about to happen to this area! Me and Elder Matos are so ready to get to work and start harvesting some of those sheaves! It was so cool to have all the Calima Zone here helping out.

 

I wish I could give you the report on every investigator but that's just impossible with how many we have haha, so what I will do is just keep you up on the ones that are progressing and right now we only have 2, Jorge and Wilmer. Wilmer is doing great.  We tought him the 2nd lesson this week and he came to church again. The only problem is the parents. They aren't sure if they want their son getting baptized in another church, but he is really chevre (Colombian word for cool). He has such a desire to learn more about God and His plan for him. He reads the Book of Mormon like a champ. We left him " 2 Nephi 32 and he read all the way to Mosiah. He has such a desire it is great, we will see if we can soften his parents and get a baptismal date this week!

 

I learned a valueable lesson here in the mission. Whenever I would be teaching Lesson 2 I would always have trouble getting the words to teach it, it really bothered me. When you are trying to teach something as complex as Adam and Eve or the Spirit World in another language things can get tough haha, luckily Elder Matos was there to fix whatever I said wrong. But it bothered me why I wasn't getting the words "in the very hour" that I needed them as it says in D&C. I pondered that promise in personal study and then I found the verse that states "before you seek to declare my word, seek to obtain it." I hadn't really taken the time to learn Lesson 2 yet, and because I didn't know it, the Spirit couldn't give me what I needed. 

 

I then started dilgently studying the Plan of Salvation to make sure that I could teach it, and came out learning a ton. After studying so much I have a new appreciation for God's plan for all of us. He really does love us more than we know. Everything that happens to us in this life is because He knows the big picture and what we need to further progress in our Eternal Journey to become like Him. I am so thankful for a knowledge of this plan and the opportunity that I have to share it with others, I know that He lives!

 

Anyways I hope you all have such a great week, I miss you all!

 

Elder Eliason

"I am grateful for tough times so early here in my mission, because I will be able to appreciate the good times even that much more. "

This is Cifrut, my new addiction here in Colombia

Me and Elder Matos getting ready to spread the word...

Gold's? Express? No, Latino's Gym!

This is Zona Calima after playing futbol!

Hola Familia!

Well it has been a great week here in the Ceibas! I am starting to get used to the daily grind of missionary work, and it feels great. I can say that I have never been more tired at the end of the day than I am here in the mission. Working hard and getting after it day after day! 

Well it has been a great and tough week at the same time, a lot of the people that we contacted last week didn't end up working out this week. Elder Matos says that is a common theme here in Colombia, the people can be a tad bit "flakey." Out of the 12 that we found we only taught 3 of them, so this week we had a ton of time contacting and asking referrals from the members. 

 

I am starting to see the huge role that members play in missionary work! The only progressing investigators we have right now have been referrals from the members. It seems that the people here don't like commitments, we teach them lesson 1 and they love it and the message it contains, but once we try to get them to do something about it they back out. So as of now we are a little short on the investigators due to the division of the area. The ones we had are either at a stand still because they are not married, or haven't showed the desire to keep learning by keeping commitments. But we are still working hard! Siga adelante! (Go ahead!) As they say here in Colombia.

We started teaching a kid named Wilmer this Saturday. We contacted into him and he has a ton of desire to learn about God and doing the will of God. He is about 17 years old and we taught him the first half of the Plan of Salvation. He took it extremely well and asked a lot of good questions that showed his real intent to find the truth. Luckily he is from Medellin and he has an accent that I can understand, so this was one of the few lessons that I understood everyhting that was going on and didn't have to ask Elder Matos questions about it haha. We left him a Book of Mormon and he seems like he has a desire to read it. The roblem is is that he is always busy playing football. So we can only see him on Saturdays.

Another one of our progressers is named Jorge Octado, he is about 74 years old and his wife is a member and both of his daughters are members too, so he comes to church every week. He was raised Catholic and is a pretty stubborn guy. He has a desire to learn more about the church and shows signs that he knows that it's true but his pride gets in the way and he won't accept it just yet. But we have hope that the Spirit will break through to him. We taught him the restoration and he liked what was taught, but he didn't read the Book of Mormon and so we had to have a lesson on the importance and the significance that it has. We will see how he progresses this week...

This upcoming week we have a ton of hopefuls that we think are going to go well. They are all contacts from this past week and we are praying that none of them fall through. Elder Matos and I continue to pray for success. We know we have been working like dogs, and we know that the Lord blesses those who are diligent. I am grateful for tough times so early here in my mission, because I will be able to appreciate the good times even that much more. 

I learned a valuable lesson in the Scriptures this past week, it comes from 1Peter 2:20-21:

20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

21 For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example.

This was an answer to a prayer for me, when we are blessed and we are patient, great. But what about when things aren't going great and we are still doing everything that we are asked? Do we take this patiently, or shout out the heavens and let our faith shake a little? We have to remember that it is after the trial of our faith that we receive a witness or promised blessings. True faith is faith on the Lord that He will bless those who follow Him. Sometimes we have to learn some things in the process. Like patience, which is what I am trying to focus on here in this challenging time here in the mission.

Doing great! Have a great week!!

"So I am not going to lie, this week has been great but hard...missionary work is not easy."

The classic "here's where I'm going" MTC picture.

May the force be with me to help me learn this language...

Overlooking Cali!

My trainer Elder Matos!

Buenas tardes familia! ¿Cómo le ha ido? 

What a week it has been here in Las Ceibas! Let me start off by saying that I feel so lucky to have Elder Matos as my trainer! He is a hard worker, great teacher, and really patient with me and my broken Spanish. We have a great relationship, I feel like we are quite alike. We are always having a good time together, and when I can understand him he is hilarious! He played baseball and like I told you the Detroit Tigers were about to sign him as a 17 year old but he got hurt, and now he is on a mission! Everything happens for a reason. 

Well here in Las Ceibas they have divided the area, there are now 4 missionaries, and one of them is a gringo who came in with me! It's nice because we can joke around together about how crazy fast everyone speaks haha. But I was pleased to find out that we have 10 investigators here! And they all have real intent, the only problem is that 4 of them are families who's parents aren't married. I met one whose name is Oscar and he has a "wife" and 2 kids. One of the kids has been baptized but the wife doesn't really want the church in her life so it is a bit complicated at the moment what were are going to do. We were teaching a lesson the other day and the little boy said the closing prayer, it was so sad to hear this little boy praying to Heavenly Father to please work a miracle so that his parents could get married and his daddy could get baptized. 

Another family called the Familia Bravo Lopes that we are teaching are just awaiting their marriage papers and then they will enter the waters of baptism. They are really solid, we had lunch there today, they have 4 kids and they absolutely love to have the Elders come over. It's hilarious because they are always asking me how to say stuff in English, which has become a popular thing of the young kids here so far haha. Another guy we are teaching is a man named Juan Mota.  At first he had no belief in God but when the Elders before taught him the Plan of Salvation he really loved it and started to have a belief in God. He started coming to church and liking it, but then he went on a trip somewhere for a while and now he is a little discouraged for some reason and he didn't come to church this week. This week we will find out what happened.

The others we are just starting to teach, and have a busy week ahead of us! We had a goal to find 10 new investigators this past week since I got here and we were blessed enough to find 12! All of them from contacting. I am really starting to love just talking to people about the Gospel. Me and Elder Matos really work well together. And the people here are unreal! Just about anyone will let you in to their house and let you share a quick message. There was one street that we got in 5 straight houses. Usually we just go in and share a little message from one of the pamphlets we have usually about how the Gospel blesses families and ask them if we can come back and share the whole lesson with them. 

The people here are just so friendly! They would give you just about anything even though they have so little. Nobody has AC, carpet, or anything, everybody lives in just a little shack that usually doesn't even have electricity, yet they are happy people. They have nothing that we in the USA take for granted and they still love and care like none other. We really should be thankful for all that we are blessed with in the states. 

Another cool thing I got to do was yesterday I got to be apart of the biggest FHE known to man. We had about 30 people there and 4 of them were non members. Us missionaries got to share the spiritual message and I was privileged to share Jacob 2:18-19 "Seeking first the Kingdom of God" and it went great. We are hoping to somehow get these members excited about missionary work...it is a hard thing to do.

 

So this next week we are hoping to have a few baptismal invites and also quite a few new pogressing investigators! And hopefully we can get these couples married quick! It is a huge problem here because no one wants to commit to be with someone forever so they find it easier just to live together and have kids without the commitment.

So I am not going to lie, this week has been great but hard...missionary work is not easy. There have been times when I get down when someone decides not to accept or when we are walking 12 miles a day in the blazing hot weather, but I am always reminded that this is the Lord´s work and He guides it. There are so many tender mercies everyday that remind me where I am and who I represent! I love this work and I love being a missionary!!!

Gotta go, Que tenga una buena semana! (Have a good week!)

Élder Eliason

Letter from Sister Prince, Wife of Mission President

Singing Called to Serve in Spanish...

With Trainer Elder Matos, from Dominican Republic

Let's play Where's Elder E?

We are excited to be serving the Lord here in the Colombia Cali mission with Elder Eliason. He arrived in a world completely different than his own, tired but ready to work. After 2 long days of training and interviews he has now gone off to his first area, Las Ceibas in Cali, with his companion, Elder Matos.
 
I have attached a couple of pictures so you can see that he actually did make it!
 
If you are interested in following our mission comings and goings (and occasionally finding a picture of your missionary posted!) you may check out our blog at:   http://colombia-cali.blogspot.com/
 
I am including below a few helpul tips for mailing packages to Colombia (it can be complicated and expensive!!)
 
We are grateful for your prayers and support.  
 
Un abrazo,
Hermana Prince
________________________________________________________________________________
 
 The best mailing address for Your Elder is:  
 
Elder ___________________
Colombia Cali Mission
Avenida 2 Oeste #10-130  Oficina 201
Edificio Tempo
Barrio Santa Rita
Cali, Valle, COLOMBIA
 
If you ship a package with a private courier, you will need this phone number 57 2-892-1709
This is the mission office address. You may mail letters and packages to this address.
 
To mail a letter of normal size and weight it costs 98 cents to mail it here.
 
You can use the church pouch mail for letters at the following address:
Elder ___________________________
Colombia Cali Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT  84130-0150
 
Pouch Mail Instructions:  To prevent possible fines, only postcards and letters that are single sheet, folded into three-panels, and taped at the top only (no envelopes) may be sent through the pouch.  Packages cannot be sent through pouch mail.
 
I think using US Mail is less expensive and just fine...I would NOT use their priority shipping as it seems to be more expensive.
 
Here are some hints we have learned about the mail system to/from Colombia:
 

• It is better to send things in padded envelopes rather than boxes.  
• If the packages weigh less than 2 kilos (about 4 lbs) they usually arrive without the missionary having to pay a fee to get it out of customs.
• You should declare ANY package at a value LESS than about $20 to also avoid paying a customs fee.
• Most letters and packages are taking about 14 or 15 days to arrive.
• Our missionaries have to PAY ON TOP of what you have paid to ship...just to receive the package... IF it is too heavy or worth a lot.  It is better to send 2 envelopes than to pay a lot and send a big box.
• Mail leaving Colombia for the USA is VERY VERY expensive.  I tried to mail a regular letter to my brother and they wanted 77 mil pesos or about 40 dollars to mail it.  I did NOT mail it.

Once a package arrives in the office it can take up to a month to get it out to the missionary as our mission is SO big and we have to wait until we can get it to the zone leaders at a conference.  
 
If you want to send something for Christmas, plan accordingly for the time it might take and mark the package FOR CHRISTMAS 


I hope this helps.

Hola From Cali!

Hola from Cali!

Well I am here! 

 

After a long morning that started at 3 in the morning we have arrived in Cali. We got here at about 8 in the morning and got picked up in a massive bus. We had to have it because our group had a total of 18 people in it. 10 of which were North Americans and 8 latins. 

 

The ride into the mission home was gorgeous! Cali is really a special place. I love it already! I just had my first interview with Presidente Prince and have recieved my first assignment! I will serve in my first area called Las Cabas, Cali. Yep, I will be serving  in North Cali! 

 

I couldn't be more excited! My first companion will be an Elder Matos from the Republica Dominicana! I heard that he plays beisból and has been recruited by the Detroit Tigers and was offered a spot on their Triple A team before his mission until he got hurt, now he is serving his mission! I can't wait to get to know him! 

 

I will go to my first area tomorrow. Presidente had a such great words about my first companion and the area, he says the people are so ready to hear the gospel and will accept it. 

 

I was privileged to hear Presidente's vision of the Colombia Cali Mission and it was something that got me fired up. He feels like this mission is different in many ways and really feels like the posterity of the Book of Mormon profetas (prophets) are here today and ready to hear the good news! 

 

Las Cabas doesn't know what is about to hit it! Can't wait to get started! today we get to go visit Cristo Rey, a landmark in Cali that you should Google right now, apparently I am in for a treat! Anyways I'll have more Monday with pics and some great news I'm sure! 

Elder Eliason

"I love becoming the vessel for the Holy Ghost to testify of the truth to these children of God!"

Hola Que tal!? 

 

Well this is exciting, my last MTC email, I have to say that I thought that this day would never come. I have learned so much in my MTC experience and if I went home today I know that I would be a changed person but I am sooo ready to finally get out and start working! I leave Tuesday at like 6 in the morning and arrive in Cali at like 8ish. I have heard a lot of good things about Cali from the natives here and they all say the people are so kind-hearted, and ready to hear the gospel. I am so excited to finally be there and start my work where the Lord has called me to be!

 

Well this past Saturday I had the oppurtunity of a lifetime to hear from a member of the Quorum of the 12! Elder Christofferson came to Bogota to give a talk in front of about 400 missionaries from Bogota North Bogota South, and the Bogota MTC. At the beginning of the meeting he decided he wanted to shake everyone´s hand and greet us so we all got an opportunity to meet an Apostle of the Lord. It was a surreal experience being face to face with an apostle. 

 

As I shook his hand he asked where I was from and proudly I told him. He then said he loves the Dallas area because he has a lot of family there. It is a moment I won´t forget. He then gave a talk completely in Spanish that was just incredible. I prayed in the days leading up that I would be able to understand the message that Elder Christofferson was going to deliver.  And I can say I didn´t have too much trouble. The Gift of Tounges is REAL. I wish every missionary could have felt the Spirit in that chapel. 

 

At the end of his talk he gave an apostolic witness of Christ that struck me to the core, and then blessed us all with Faith in Jesus Christ, the gift of Revelation as a missionary, and that we would have the convincing power of the Holy Ghost in our testimonies. I never felt so loved by Heavenly Father as I heard an Apostle of the Lord speak for Him in blessing us. I loved that experience and I will cherish it forever!

 

A few things that will be going on this last week: 

 

On Friday I will have a special in field training with one of the Area authorities.  Saturday we get shipped to the Bogota North mission home and get matched with a Latin companion to tract all day from 8-8:30! I am excited for this oppurtunity to have some in field experience in this city! It is so big I can't even describe it to you. Just what I've seen from going to the temple it is just so busy. The only thing that compares from what I've seen is NYC! That should be a nice wake up call before I finally get to the field! I will get to have a normal day in the mission with one of the Elders there, and maybe get to teach a few lessons. I'm not sure but it will be awesome!

 

My Spanish is still improving! I find myself understanding SO much more than when I first got into Bogota. With so many missionaries from different countries here it's hard to get a lock on it because they all have different accents. But I can feel all of your prayers helping me with this challenge! I know I can do it! From what I hear Caleños have a way different accent so I might be in for quite a surprise haha.

 

I know my testimony has been strengthened during my time here at the MTC. My 3 or so hours to study every day has been so helpful for me in feeling prepared for the mission! I know that God lives and loves His children! I love becoming the vessel for the Holy Ghost to testify of the truth to these children of God! I can't wait to feel that love during my first lesson! I know that Jesus Christ died so that all of His children can come unto Him! What a great and blessed message I have to share!

 

Elder Eliason

13 days until the field!

Hola once again! 

 

Time is short so I´m going to get right to it! Here in Bogotá they have us divided into districts with about 8 elders each. There are now three North American districts. The food is absolutely amazing. It was good in Provo but here they only have to cook for the 70 missionaries that are here. 

 

The Spanish has gotten a lot better since I have been here as I hoped it would. In fact, the accent of the natives is becoming clearer and clearer. I just have to get completely immersed in it to become completey fluent, and with our American only district sometimes speaking only Spanish is difficult! 

 

Today we went to the Temple in Bogotá and it was an experience I will never forget. The templo is actually 45 minutes away and we were excited to actually get out and see Bogota for the first time. It is SO big and crowded like I never imagined! There are people everywhere, but it is so beautiful with all of the lush mountains surrounding the city and everything around it. I absolutely loved my international temple experience. I am so amazed at how universal the language of the Spirit is!

 

13 days until the field! It seems like I have been in the MTC forever, but also like I just barely started. Time is so weird as an MTC missionary. Another big note is that I will get to meet an apostle of the Lord this Saturday, Elder Christofferson. He  is coming to speak to all of the missionaries in the Bogota MTC and the Bogata North and South missionaries. It is a bit ironic to me that I will be seeing an apostle here instead of in Provo. It is a moment I am truly thankful that I am here for! 

 

With the mission field coming so close I am getting so anxious to get started but a little nervous too, I keep asking myself if I know enough Spanish to be for real, or if I am ready for the challenge of an everyday schedule. But I do know the Lord helps His missionaries and that He will help me develop into the missionary that he wants me to be! 

 

Sorry my letter is a little jumbled and I still haven´t sent pictures--they took our cameras because they have been a distraction for some missionaries in the past. But just know that I am fine and loving being a servant of the Lord! Colombia feels like home now and I am so ready to get to my field of labor and be in Cali. A lot of the natives here have told me all about Cali and how much I am going to love it there! I have made some real good friendships with the natives here--they are a joy to be around. They are all so tender and humble, I have learned so much from their examples. Sorry for no spiritual thought, I´ll make up for it next email with a special thought from Elder Christofferson!  Adios!

 

Your loco Colombiano, Elder Eliason

"As for my Español..... I have been humbled"

Hola again from Bogotá! 

This time I get to write a little bit more haha, they just randomly came in today with the computers and told us to write our families so here we go haha...

Well it as been a fun week that´s for sure, I´ll start from the airport... We got off the plane and immediately got a taste of South American culture, we had to go through immigration and the workers of course only spoke Spanish, we had to present our visas and kind of explain why we were coming there. I managed to pass but some of the elders had a pretty tough time communicating haha. We then got our bags and went outside looking for someone who was going to pick us up. 

We found as soon as we got out of the airport there was about 3 million people there waiting for people. It was like being a celebrity walking out of the Oscars, and we definitely stook out. Bogotá is literally the most busy place I have ever seen, and the drivers are absolutely crazy, people honk there horns constantly and there is no "yield to people" rule here either haha. I found that out pretty quick. 

While we were walking through the traffic of all the people there were tons of girls yelling at us. We all thought it was pretty funny. Immediately the culture was different. We then found this guy who had an MTC tag on and found out he knew no English either! So we tried to communicate what he wanted us to do, he told us to wait by a huge building across from the airport. He obviously didn´t say something right because we waited there for nearly 30 minutes and no one came. Finally he came and said something about we were supposed to be somewhere else haha. Oh well, everything turned out okay.

We then got to the MTC about 15 minutes away from the airport and met the MTC President! He is a North American from Bountiful and he is kinda like our father down here. He really cares for his missionaries. We got our new companions and like I told you last week it is Elder Musselman who is from Alpine, but grew up in San Antonio. He is really cool and we get along sooo great. We would have been good friends before the mission. After we found out all our room information we headed to bed and crashed till morning. We got up the next morning and had an orientation about what to expect from our experience here at the MTC, we then jumped right into classes and picked up where we left off in Provo. The teachers here are so great, only a few of them know English but it is so good to finally hear a native speak. And we help them with their English so they absolutely love teaching us.

As for my Español..... I have been humbled... As soon as the natives arrived I knew I was in trouble, they talk SO fast and do not pronunciate at all, The good news is the ones that I can understand are all Colombian. In fact,  they say that the best speakers are from Colombia. The bad news is that they all say that the Cali accent is SO much different haha. So we´ll see how that goes.

Other than that I have actually started to build some friendships with the Latin elders. I met one from Medellín who is really cool. Me and Elder Musselman have befriended him and his companero from Honduras. That is another thing about the language. Every country represented here has a different way of speaking, with weird words and slang that I just have no chance understanding haha. But yeah I really love speaking with the natives because they really help me learn the language.

Another cool thing that I got to experience was a district leader meeting that was held all in Spanish. I understood most of it because they tend to speak slower when they are talking to the president. It was such a neat experience getting fully immersed in the language. And I will also be the district leader for the North Americans here at the MTC. It is an oppurtunity I am looking forward to in these last 2 weeks before were off to the field!

We also are teaching 2 investigators like we did in Provo but it is a little different than in Provo, because they are natives and they take a little bit more effort to understand. But we are already through three lessons and they have accepted baptismal dates! I am able to speak and understand so much more than I thought I would be able to at this point. 

 I can testify that the Gift of Tounges is real and I see its power every day! I am also enjoying the surroundings of Bogotá. We will get to go to the temple on Wednesday and I absolutely cannot wait. It is a 45 minute trip so I will hopefully get to see a lot of the city. Anyways, looks like I am out of time but if you have any questions about the MTC email me Tuesday because I will be able to email on Wednesday which is my P-day.

Anyways I am doing great and had so much fun talking to you Tuesday! I get more and more closer to the field every day! I can´t wait but I am also loving learning so much here! Cali is awaiting but Bogotá is where the Lord wants me right now! Love you alll! 

Dios les bendiga para siempre! Hasta Miércoles! Adios!

Élder Eliason

Hola from Bogota!

¡Hola from Bogotá!

 I have time to write you a short little message today. I have arrived in Bogotá! and I am loving every minute of it.

We got here about 9:00 last night and it was obvious we were in another country by the look of the airport. Everything is written in Spanish and it was a lot different than most airports! We got our luggage and walked out to find about 100 Colombians outside holding signs for the people they were supposed to pick up. We felt like celebrities and definitely got some stares. They even started started  "Gringo Chiquito!!" haha it was hilarious.

And people drive like absolutely crazy, more than once I was scared for my life.... jk mom. But today about 65 latinos came into the MTC. It is so fun to speak with them.

Anyways my companion is now elder Musselman and we are here in Bogotá! I´m just supposed to tell you I´m fine and doing well here in Colombia. I´ll have more to write Wednesday which is now my P-day!

Adios!

"As for my time here in Provo, it is almost up..."

Wow!!! This is the best email I have gotten thus far! To hear from so much family all at once is precisely what I needed right about now. I am so glad to hear about all the wonderful things that happen at an Eliason Family Reunion, I am sad to not be there but at the same time I know that there is no place I would rather be and no place else my Heavenly Father would have me be. Thank you to all those who wrote a quick little message, I feel the strength of your prayers each day and I honestly am in awe at how wonderful of a family I have been blessed with. It is honestly SO amazing!

As for my time here in Provo, it is almost up. Bittersweet feelings are always coming to me, It is sad to leave this district of elders that have been so amazing and that I have formed such great relationships with. However, I am ready for this new challenge of going to another MTC in Colombia! I'm especially ready for the opportunity to be fully immersed in the language. I feel like my Spanish has gone as far as it can being in America and always having time to speak English. I am so ready to forge some new friendships with some latin elders! As you know I leave Tuesday at 3 in the morning, leave SLC at 6, get to DFW at 9, then get to Miami at about 2, and then get to Bogota around 7:45. So expect a call sometime while I am in Miami!

As for my last week here in Provo it has been another great fulfilling week! This week in the TRC I got to chat it up with a native name Maria from Guatamala! (shout out to uncle Jeff) It was so cool to speak with a native, she doesn't know any English and we were able to teach her about receiving revelation through the Book of Mormon. It was powerful, never is my Spanish better than when I am testifying or teaching of truth. She shared some experiences and I was able to share some as well. We have heard countless talks and lessons here on the Book of Mormon that have been so powerful and enlightening. I have such a great time reading it in Spanish, it really helps me with the language. Also we have been continuing to teach our investigators and they have now accepted baptismal dates!

 I am so grateful for such wonderful teachers who make those situations feel so real. I am so glad I have so much teaching experience before I even get to Colombia! It is so amazing! I have also met a new elder from England! his name is Elder Adams and he is from Bolton. He is tall, black, and super athletic! He is ranked #3 in basketball in all of England. We tried to recruit him to our now 6 time defending champion basketball team but we all agreed that wouldn't be fair.  I told him I had a brother serve in England and he lit up and asked me all about it haha, his accent is just awesome to hear and he is going to Spain. I'll be sure to get a picture with him and send it!

I'd like to share a little thought with all of you, while I was studying this week I found some gold in 1 Nephi 17, when Nephi is commanded to build a ship, and with such a challenging task liek that it would have been easy for Nephi to expect the Lord to do all the work and provide him with a ship. But nephi responds not like that, but asks where he can find ore to make tools to build the ship. I found it awesome that Nephi understood that he need the Lord's help, but that sometimes it takes pain to grow, and that the Lord wanted him to act in faith and trust that He would provide a way for it to happen. And then in verse 13 the Lord states that He will be our LIGHT, and that he will provide a way for us to accomplish what he has commanded. And that if we are obedient we will be shown the way. This brought me great comfort knowing that I have to struggle in order to grow, I can't just be given all of the things needed to be a sacred missionary all at once I have to struggle and work at them and then trust in the Lord. The Lord will be our LIGHT, but what good is light if we don't first have enough FAITH to walk in the dark. Such powerful principles can be laerned from the book of mormon!

I love you all and miss all of the family! I know that serving missions is what EVERY worthy young man should do!

Talk to you Tuesday!

-Elder Eliason

Colombia Bound in 11 Days!

Hola!

Can't believe it has already been a month out here! Every Wednesday it is so cool to see the new missionaries come in and look so wide eyed, it's really hard to believe that that was me just 5 weeks ago! 

By now many of you may have heard that I got my visa! It was such a heart-stopping moment when during language study we heard over the loud speaker that they wanted to see all of the Colombian missionaries in the travel office. I don't think I have run faster in my life. It was there that I received double good news, not only did I obtain my visa and get new travel plans, but I get to spend these next 11 days with my district and have a little time to say goodbye. With travel stuff like that you never know when you are going to leave, 

One elder in our zone got woken up at 5 in the morning to be told he was leaving at 6. So I feel very fortunate, this gives me time to pack and do all of the things I need to before the 14th. I can't wait to be able to call home for more than 5 minutes haha. I'm not sure how much time I am allowed though. I'll be in touch.

Anyways this week had been another awesome week, this week we focused on how to apply the doctrine of the lessons to meet the needs of our investigators, and teach people not lessons. This is very difficult when teaching in Spanish because you can only say so much and so you really have to rely on the Spirit and listen very closely to them in order to know what to say. Some of the most powerful moments here in the MTC have been in moments where I realize I am testifying of truth comletely in Spanish, and just being taken away and led by Spirit where to go with the lessons. There have been times where an investigator had brought up something that we haven't planned for and for some reason I knew a scripture or a doctrine that helped them. We had a lesson with Santiago who is Hermano McCallister, and i got the feeling that we should just pray right then and there to get his answer because he had been really flakey with his commitments, it was powerful, he then said he knew it to be true and accepted a fecha! it was incredible. The lessons feel SO real. I can't wait until they are.

Another awesome moment I had this week was at the Tuesday devotional when the speaker spoke about Grace and how we need it in our work. The Holy Ghost was felt so powerfully it's hard to describe the feeling that was in the devotional auditorium. The concluding hymn was "How Firm A Foundation" and we sang all seven verses.  I can't describe how cool it is to join in over 3,200 missionaries singing praises to our Lord like we were on Tuesday, I get chills even now typing about it. Really incredible.

I am also falling in love with MTC basketball. We play 3 on 3 tournaments every day at gym time and our team has won 3 times in a row. My team consists of me (a.k.a the three point specialist), Elder Hunsaker (the 6'8 giant) and Elder Musselman who is also going to my mission and will be in my group going to Bogota. It is so much fun. Everyone keeps trying to dethrone us but I don't see it happening anytime soon. Mostly because Elder Hunsaker has a scholarship at Utah State and he swats anything and everything. So I will miss that tremendously.

Anyways looks like my time is up again! Know that I am doing ever so well! Me siento muy afortunado de estar aqui en el CCM! I love it here so much, but I also can't wait to get to work in Colombia! I know the Lord has prepared a way for me down there! I love you all and can't wait to hear about the reunion!

Adios!

Elder Eliason

New Pics from Uncle Jeff...

.. 

Here are a few pics that Uncle Jeff sent of Elder E hijacking the Eliason Family Photo Shoot before he entered the MTC.

"Keep praying for Visas to come!"

Que tal mi familia!

What a week it has been here! It has been an unexpected week here no doubt! I had thought I was going to be in Colombia right now but the Visa people had other things planned. Oh well, I know there is a reason why I am still here and there is nothing I can do about it so I am just going to make the most out of whatever I get! And it means I get to spend more time with my district who I have grown to love so much! It is crazy how I feel like they have been my bestfriends my whole life and yet we have only known each other for 3 weeks. I am glad you have seen some of them through Chelsea's pics. It's so fun to see her everytime I have gym time! It was also fun to talk to Codes and Mom for about 4 minutes last friday too. But also weird haha...

So this week we have been focusing on how to help our investigators receive revelation through prayer and in our lessons Elder Whitney and I are having trouble getting them to feel comfortable to pray. So we prayed about it and focused personal and comp study to figure out what we can say/use to get them to pray for us. It is SO important that they pray with us there and not just by themselves so that they can have a spiritual experience right then and there, and also to feel of the spirit while we are there teaching of truth. 

For we know that we can not come to know truth without prayer. What we found was a story in the B.O.M. that fit our investigator perfectly, the story of Aaron teaching the father of King Lamoni in Alma 22. Verse 18 really caught my attention and I knew that I should share it, so I did and it couldn't have gone better. He acknowledged that he 'felt' that it was true! And we also got a soft baptismal commitment. 

After the lesson Hermano McCallister told us that he was amazed at our Español! During the lessons I just think in Spanish better. Even though the lessons are somewhat "pretend" the Lord really sends His real Spirit there when we are testifying and it is so wonderful that I get to experience that here in the MTC. I just love teaching the lessons. I need to keep studying the PMG lessons to make sure I teach the doctrine that it tells me to. I find myself going off on tangents too much and that is something Hermano McCallister has told me. If you would have told me that I would be teaching full lessons totally in Spanish in only the 3rd week I would have been really scared, but it is amaxing how far I've come already! 

 I actually ran into a native Colombian today in the laundry room who is going to Vegas, he saw the Colombia shirt I got at the bookstore and told me he was from there! He knows very limited English so we just spoke Spanish. It was SO cool. Natives sound SO sweet. I can't wait to be surrounded by them! He spoke really fast but I was able carry on the conversation even though I'm sure I said some things wrong haha. He is from Bogota and I asked him what came to his mind when he thinks of Cali and he said, "Las drogas y las mujeres"  which means drugs and women, haha. I got a good laugh out of that.

Well looks like my time is up, I have so much to say but such little time to say it!!! I just want to let you ALL know that I am so excited each and every day to represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes I think I am unqualified for such a sacred calling, but then I remember that it is not us who is at the head of this work. In Him I can do anything. And that includes invite His children to come unto Christ and partake of the blessings that this gospel brings. I love my Heavenly Father and am so grateful for my time as one of His servants. Anyways got to go. We get to go to the Temple for the first time today because it has been closed!

Have a great week!

I love you all!

ps. please keep praying for Visas to come!

Visa Delayed

Team Dallin, 

After Elder Eliason had sent us his last letter on Friday telling us he would be leaving for Colombia on Tuesday, July 24th, he called us on later in the day to say their visas have been delayed. He went on to say that he and his district will most likely remain at the Provo MTC for two more weeks... Stay tuned!

...My next letter will be from Colombia!

Hola Familia!

 

Well I have received my travel itinerary for my flight to Bogota! I wake up at 3 am on Tuesday, and head to the airport in SLC for my flight at 6:00  to none other than DFW! I am glad I get to say bye to my beloved Texas one last time. From there we fly to Miami where I will have a 3 hour layover, that is when I will be able to call you guys! Expect a call around 1-3 pm Texas time. From there we head to Bogota where we will get in around 7:45 local time! We will then be picked up by the MTC president and he will take us to the MTC!

 

I am so excited for a change in venue but it's also really sad because I had just started to feel the real brotherhood that you form in your district. I have real close friendships with a lot of them and we will miss them for sure! There are 11 total people in our group going to Colombia--2 from my district, Elders Whitney and Curtis, and we have met 2 others going to Cali as well. They are all super cool and I hope I get to serve with them in the future! I cannot wait to get to Bogota and hopefully take my Espanol to the next level with all the natives that we will be surrounded with. We are thinking of having all the Americans challenge them all in futbol, we know we'll get wrecked but it's all good...haha.

 

As for this past week in Provo it has been grand. We have been teaching 2 new investigators (who are our teachers acting as someone they taught on their missions) named Jose and Santiago. It is truly amazing how far I have come in teaching in such little amount of time. I am getting to the point where I can lead a lesson entirely in Spanish, especially lesson 1. 

 

Memorizing the First Vision in Spanish for my farewell talk has really paid off! I absolutely LOVE learning more Spanish. I truly have developed a love for the language. I am always trying to speak it even when I have no idea what to say! I am so grateful for the oppurtunity to learn a language! 

 

Other than that the MTC gets really repetitive after a while. You do the same things over and over again. I am learning SO much about the gospel it is just ridiculous! I am getting so pumped each and every day to go out and shout this wonderful Plan of Happiness to the WORLD. During study time I am still trying to focus on my purpose but I have also added reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish. I read the pages until I find a word I don't know and then write it down in my planner and learn what it means, it is really helping me develop my vocabulary!

 

I'd love to share with you something I learned from the scriptures this week...

 

I was studying the topic of Service and I found something really cool. We read in Mosiah 26 that we need to come to know God in order to be at His right hand and return to Him. (see Matt. 7:21-23) And we read in Mosiah 5:13 that one needs to serve his master in order to know Him. So how can we serve our Heavenly Father in order to know Him? The answer is found in Mosiah 2:17 which says that he who serves his fellow beings is in the service of their God. So we need to know God by serving Him and we do that by serving our fellow beings! That is why service is so key in missionary work and that is why so many RMs say that they were closest to God on their missions. Because of their non-stop service of their fellow beings! 

 

Well I love you all and appreciate your prayers, they are felt everyday! I love showing the card that you sent of pics of the family to my district because I am so proud of my wonderful family! You all are my motivation and inspiration and because I was so blessed with such a great family I want to help others feel of that same thing!

 

Talk to you Tuesday!!! And my next letter will be from Colombia!!!!