"We are in the midst of the biggest month we have ever had in the mission, 177 people have been confirmed."

Good friend Elder Morgan from Utah, we both have a feeling we will be each other's first gringo companion....

and sometimes I get INSANE in the morning... 

Having lunch at Zone Leader Council at mission home in Cali.

Hiya Familia! 

Wow quite a letter this week! Good to see Dad is back on his game! Way to go and keep it coming! That's great the Braves are back where they should be as division champs. 13 more in a row? No big deal.  Good to see the 'boys are back on track, Super bowl bound! haha. Also I can't believe Grandma and Grandpa are leaving this week! That means I will have two sets of grandparents who have served missions. What a blessing! I am sure the whole family will be blessed as a result of their selfless service, way to go! Good to see all of the family serving missions, it is the best thing anyone could ever do.

Well to get ya'll caught up on what's going down here in Ipiales.....

We had a great week despite the two and a half days lost for the trip up to Cali, which by the way was amazing. First off, the accent of the caleños is great and makes me remember the good times back there. The leadership council was by far the most powerful that I have been a part of. Just about everyone left that meeting super excited for what is to come in the mission. We are in the midst of the biggest month we have ever had in the mission, 177 people have been confirmed as of now this month and with 1 more weekend left to go! We spoke a lot about faith. President gave us a great vision of the kind of faith that can change everything. the type of faith that Alma the older had to bring his son to the gospel...

"Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith."

This type of faith made an angel appear to Alma to change his ways. This is the faith or active power that we need in our missions! To gain this faith we must be clean vessels consecrated to this cause with no other distractions. We can change the impact that the people feel when we teach with this type of faith. It was so great to hear such a deep powerful lesson, I sure learned a lot! We also made tons of new plans and goals to help the missionaries build their faith in the Lord. 

We had a great week in our area as well, we now have 3 baptismal dates for early next month! One of them is named Harold, he is really great. He was a referral from a member and has progressed super fast. The problem is that he studies in Pasto and is only here on weekends. So we took advantage and taught him Saturday night and Sunday morning. On Saturday we verified his reading and praying and he said it went super well. He felt the "still voice of perfect mildness" that we had explained when we taught the Restoration and said he felt that was his answer. 

The problem was that he had a crazy nightmare afterward. Whoops. At first we didn't know what to say but then the thought came to us that when Joseph Smith was about to pray, he felt something pretty crazy as well. The adversary knew what was to happen as a result of that prayer and did all he could to stop it, but faith overcame fear and Joseph prayed and looked to heaven even more fervently and then came "the pillar of light, above the brightness of the sun." We just testified of the validity of his answer and asked him which of two experiences stood out to him more, and he obviously said the first one. There was a moment of silence and then we invited him to be baptized. It is something powerful when a missionary summons the power of his God given power and authority inviting the Holy Spirit to testify with all power that what he is invited them to do is right. He agreed and we put the date for the Saturday after conference!

We also have been teaching someone named William, who was also a referral. He is about 51 years old and lives alone, has also had tons of family problems and was very humble when we spoke to him. He was looking for a way out of his loneliness and from the first time we taught him he has said he feels a different presence in his life. He initially thought it was us the missionaries but we were quick to tell him that the peace he feels comes from the Spirit, and from the results of reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church. We also have him set for the 12th.

And the last one is Claudia, the golden of golden investigators. The problem we have run into is marriage. But the good news is that they had already had plans to get married. So the date is for later on in October. We are stoked at her progress and can't wait to get everything solved. She has also presented us to over 10 people from her English class who I have been helping the past week with their English project. It has been fun translating even though it is A LOT harder than it looks... some words just don't translate dangit! But it is fun and a challenge I enjoy. We are also starting up English classes in the church hoping to bring more people!

Well that's my week, finally things are looking way up in this area, it has been a little strange a whole month without baptisms but I know that the Lord tries us to make us stronger and I feel that this adversity has been good for me, as I have worked harder than ever these past weeks. Good things are ahead!

Thanks for the support! Y que Dios les bendiga y les proteja, vamos para arriba!

Elder Eliason

"We had a week of miracles finding new investigators and also helping old investigators progress!"

 

Zona Ipiales without Elder Bello who went home this week

Captain AMERICA! or Capitan Gringo

In Pasto with the father and old partner from ´Tura! Elder Matos and Elder Aldunate

Saying goodbye to a great friend. Elder Bello from chile finishing the mision strong! Learned a ton from him.

Que más familia?? Bien no más?? chevere! 

Well that is just devastating news about the scorekeeper business. Seems like the Eliason Family business is coming to a tragic end. So many ball games scored, so many freezing nights, friendships with the umps, and so many old men reliving their glory days getting way too into slow pitch softball. It will be missed. That is also too bad about the Horns and Cowboys. Poor Mack Brown has got to be on the hot seat right now. And it looks like Andy Reid will always have our number...  CONGRATS to Gma and Gpa Eliason with the mission call! Sweet home Alabama awaits the greatest couple missionaries of all time! Can't wait to hear all about the adventures! 

Well it has been a great great week here in Ipiales. The Lord has been really merciful with us here after not being able to work too much these past weeks. We had a week of miracles finding new investigators and also helping old investigators progress! We set huge goals this week to find a huge number of people but from the members, and it gave great results. Instead of going in a home, sharing a message and asking for a referral, we looked for the need in every member to become an even better member of the church. For example, members that haven't been given the priesthood, that haven't been to the temple, that only come to church every once in awhile, etc. We let them know we care about them and we are here to serve them. Then they naturally have the desire to help us out introducing us to their friends and family. Way more effective and gratifying.

We had a miracle happen this week when we were walking to our next appointment. A señora stopped us on the street saying she knows who we are. Turns out she has a son that is a member and about 10 years ago was receiving the missionaries. To be honest this happens quite a bit, but never turns into anything. Well this time we felt good about it and passed by the house. We had a great lesson, prayed and then walked in a 16 year old boy whose name is Mario. We found out he had been to church before but the missionaries never went to his house to teach him. Long story short we taught him as well and he loved it. We sang "Grande eres Tú" (How Great Thou Art) at the end and he told us that we had gotten there in the perfect time in his life. So by just walking in the street we found 2 golden new investigators!

Also we received a referral from an ex-missionary in our branch, named Franklin. He presented us to a friend of his English class named Claudia! She lives in a little pueblito outside of Ipiales and receives us when she comes in for English class. Her story is also a miracle. Her big thing was she had a brother pass away and felt unsure about his whereabouts and bienestar (welfare). She had investigated other churches that varied in doctrine and wanted to know for sure what was up. We had one of the greatest lessons of my mission in the church on Wednesday about the Plan of Salvation. We spoke of the doctrine of the Pre earth life, and that the reason we are here is to go back. We spoke of our purpose here on Earth and what needs to be done while we are here. 

 

But what really hit home was the doctrine of the temples and work for the dead. Never once had I taught that doctrine in a 1st lesson, but when the Spirit leads the lesson we as missionaries just let it work as they tell us what they need to hear. We showed her a picture of the Salt Lake Temple and said she had a dream of being there.... woah. And after the lesson we showed her the baptismal font and right when she saw it she said she had also dreamt of being in all white there as well... woah. It was scary how prepared she was! Can't wait to see how she progresses! 

We are also still working with Gladis, who is having trouble still with the Law of Chastity. The father of her son still comes over sometimes and stays. We are trying to get them married but it is a little difficult because they are both already married to other people.

We now have about 5 investigators who are progressing. It is always the case that when the investigators read and pray about the Book of Mormon immediately after the 1st lesson, they without fail progress rapidly. I have come to have such great faith in the trial that presents the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for its power and the truthfulness and purity of doctrine. 

This week we will lose 2 days of road tripping to Cali and back for the ZL Council, but we have another great week planned out to keep building on the success we have had! I should have a few more investigators to tell you about as well as we are going to focus on bringing them all to Church! 

Well that's it! Gotta write President! 

Elder Eliason

"Sometimes we can focus too much in reaching numbers of baptisms instead of working towards the actual conversion of the people." - Elder Wadell

Wow what a weekend! Looks like football season is well under way! And it looks like the family has started up a pick 'em tournament, how funny is that! Enjoy your time now but in a year you will all be witnesses.... haha. How tragic that the Texas Longhorns lost to BYU, that would have made me really really sad about a year ago! haha. And that is great that Eli Manning no longer has the Boys number in that stadium... bout time! I remember last year being in my first area hearing about the football year starting and it made me miss home just a bit... but I think being in another world for 14 months has made it easier. But How bout them Cowboys!

Well it looks like things are starting to get normal around here in Colombia, finally we will get to have a normal and full week of work! This past week we were told to jump up to Pasto as quick as we could before the roads closed up again in order to get to Cali for Elder Waddell. It ended up being a huge blessing because we got to work in Pasto for 2 days and I had the marvelous opportunity to work with 2 former companions! My son Elder Celaya and el gran Elder Aldunate my first comp in Buenaventura who now is ZL in Pasto. It was such a great experience being with old comps. It was great for remembering good times and seeing how each missionary has changed and progressed over time. It was cool to be in teaching situations remembering the old teaching ways that I had been used to in the past! It wasn't hard to pick up right where we left off as a companionship, such a treat! 

We also spent a while at the bus terminal each day looking for bus routes to Cali but there was nothing safe that opened up, we all prayed and fasted so that we would be able to see Elder Waddell in Cali but nothing resulted. I have come to understand on the mission the attitude of "let thy will be done." It wasn't the Lord's will that we would go to Cali this week, why? No idea, but like Nephi "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." When we develop faith in Jesus Christ we know He loves us and wants the best for us, no matter what. Prayers are always answered but according to the will who knows it all. I was grateful to help out this week in Pasto and also to have the rare experience to reunite with companions!

And we are now here in Ipiales super anxious to get back to work full throttle! It has been a bit frustrating not being able to work a full week in our area for about 3 weeks, but all the smoke has cleared and miracles are on the way. I feel like the opposition we have faced has worked as a refiner's fire and we are now refined and more excited to work than at any part of my mission! 

I also learned so much from the instruction of Elder Waddell from the webcast we had here in Ipiales! He talked about a huge problem there is in the Area right now... last year the South America Northeast Area baptized about 36,000 people. That is great.. but the attendance in the area only improved by about 9,000. That is to say that a lot of converts are being lost, and that is a big problem. 

Elder Waddell spoke about how sometimes in missions where the people have really believing hearts and baptize a lot, we can focus too much in reaching numbers of baptisms instead of working towards the actual conversion of the people. Baptism is the beginning, not the end. What is the good of "gathering the sheaves" if they are not "gathered into the garners." (Alma 26:5) Sometimes we are too focused on our goals to baptize that we forget the real conversion. This often leads to missionaries thinking they can still have success without teaching by the Spirit, using the Book of Mormon and having the investigators pray at the end of lessons, etc. 

So obedience is not a priority thinking that we can still have success baptizing. But the reality is, is that if we are not converted there is no way we will lead these people down the path to conversion. We may lead them to the font, but the conversion is superficial and won't last "the heat of the sun" that will come after baptism. In this mission and this area you can baptize without the Spirit, without the Book of Mormon and without prayer. But without all of these things, conversion is not possible. 

I am grateful for the wonderful counsel of Elder Waddell. It has sparked a fire in my personal study this week too. I tried to understand more the process of conversion, in order to understand what we must feel, do, and be to help these people to real conversion! I read in 1 Nephi 8:11-12: 

11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.
 12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.

I find it interesting that only when Lehi got to the actual tree, and had eaten the fruit that he desired that his family also could partake of it, and signaled the way to help them get there. We as missionaries cannot be in the "forbidden paths" and expect to help people to the strait and narrow one, the tree of life is not the baptismal font, it is Eternal Life and true conversion. We must desire to help these people not just say that we do. I have learned a lot and will change a lot in my mission because of what I have learned!

Well next week's letter should be a lot better, now that we have a full week we are pumped to get at it! 

Well, until next week!

Keep the thumbs up, (and hook em horns) maybe I'll make that my new "trademark" haha

Elder Eliason 

"The spirit of prayer was felt all during the week as I just knew everything would be okay."

Hey there familia! 

What a strange, strange week it has been here in Ipiales, Colombia! By far the weirdest week of my short time here in Colombia. I should first tell you that everything is okay now, thanks to the prayers of everyone the government was able to solve everything again and it looks like the protesters have gone away satisfied and the roads will open up! 

It all started last Monday when we saw a ton of indigenous people protesting and shutting down all of the stores and Internet shops and just about everything that is in the city. That was strange but we could work around it. Then Tuesday night came and found out that they had gotten even more mad because nothing changed. And then everything went crazy and they even started throwing rocks at taxis and stores. That is when we got the order to stay in our houses until everything cooled down. And it didn't calm down until yesterday! We were in the house the whole week teaching lessons over the phone, having members visit all of the investigators and just feeling helpless that whatever was happening with our investigators was in someone else's hands. 

We had to keep two Elders in our house because where they were living was way too dangerous to be. It was pretty boring all week but we sure got a lot of studying time in! I realize I won't have the time to study this much after the mish so I took advantage of the time, I pretty much read the whole New Testament and Jesus the Christ! Haha but seriously there is not much to report after that.... we did have 7 baptisms in the zone, using a great scheme of leaving our houses surrounded by members who communicated with us by cell phone if there was danger or not. That was a huge tender mercy! We were worried we weren't going to be able to have the baptisms because we couldn't visit anyone! But the Lord was looking out for us and helped the people into the water. 

We did get horrible news that one of our fellow missionaries had died on Saturday. Elder Encarnación was a good friend of mine. We met in the Bogota MTC and was one of the first missionaries I talked to there. I tried so hard to speak Spanish well but I remember not understanding a word of what he was saying. He was from the Dominican so I think I asked him if he played baseball or something like that. It was really surreal hearing the news it was one of those moments you choose not to believe. But all is well, he was serving his Lord here in Colombia and he will continue preaching the Gospel on the other side. 

I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption... in the great world of the spirits of the dead. (D&C 138;57)

I know he is still working hard in this work just like before and still is going great for his goals for the month of September! He sure will be missed. 

Well now that everything will get back to normal we are super hungry to get back to work. There is nothing like staying in the house a week that rekindles your drive to get out and work. It should be a fun week, we have tons of plans that are hopefully going to result in some baptisms here in the near future! Can't wait!

Thanks to everyone who offered a prayer on our and my behalf. The spirit of prayer was felt all during the week as I just knew everything would be okay. When the enemy rises up contention against the Work of God, it motivates me more to keep going strong. 

We also have a trip to Cali planned for this week! Elder Waddell of the First Quorum of the Seventy is making a visit to our mission and we made it just in time out of the strike to go! Wish us luck!

Elder Eliason

 

"Satan can stir up hearts and put up roadblocks but this work will go on!

I ate something that is called cuy for the first time the other day and it was surprisingly good, strange but good. The bad news is that it made me super sick.

Hola Familia!

First day of school! Woohooo! Those first day pics just blew me away. I cannot believe that Haley is already a senior, that is just really hard to believe. I can imagine that Mom and Dad feel the same way when I say that time has flown by... It feels like I was just going into my senior year. And I can also remember vividly the days in the good old freshman center! Great times... I remember telling Connor (then a 7th grader) that I (then a Senior) would be a year into my mission when he made it to the freshman center, as we would drive by everyday to go pick up Haley (then a freshman) WOW! Well enjoy it kids, there is nothing better than being in High School, treasure the in the moments because they will fly by! 

Here in Ipiales it has been by far the strangest week of my mission. I'm not sure if you have heard but Colombia is under attack by the strike once again, and this time they brought back up... just about the whole country is putting a hold on the government blocking roads and striking in the cities. 

Here in Ipiales we felt it hard this past week as the strikers are going around the entire city with rocks and huge sticks threatening the people who are open for business and screaming at them until they close all the stores. They think that by doing this they can force the Government to listen. "If we don't work, no one works!" is what they scream in the streets. It was a miracle that we found an internet place to write home this week! Things look like they are getting worse too as more people are getting into the mix. We are not sure what is going to happen, we have been in contact with President Prince to see how he feels about all of this. We really need your prayers here because this is becoming a huge roadblock in the Work. 

And in other news I ate something that is called cuy for the first time the other day (see pics) and it was surprisingly good, strange but good. The bad news is that it made me super sick haha. We had baptisms this week, 8 in total for the zone and sadly I wasn't able to attend but everyone told me it went great! Luckily it didn't last long and I didn't have to miss too much time working. 

There were also some great things that happened this past week as well! We committed Gladis to obey the law chastity as to not having the boyfriend come over everyonce and a while and she has been doing great! She did have a little trouble praying to really find an answer because she felt unworthy to pray. We were able to help her feel better when we shared the story of Alma in Alma 36, when he prayed while in a dream of torment pleading for the mercy of Christ and when he did he could feel no more the pains of his sins. We helped her understand that our Heavenly Father is not a God of punishment but of love and forgiveness and the feelings of unworthiness come from the adversary who is trying to keep us from true repentance. She understood well and we put a new date for the 14th of this next month! 

We have also been working with Diana who has a bit of a problem with a boyfriend from another church discouraging her a lot from baptism. It is quite amazing how hard the adversary works with the people who are so close to making this covenant with God, it just calls for more work on our part! 

We also had a miracle happen this past week, we had been having luck finding new investigators, a lot of things fell and things were just going wrong and so we decided to go contact and knock doors to try to find a family. For about the first hour we were getting rejected just about everywhere but for some reason we never felt down we just kept going and looking with the hope of finding someone, we ended knocking the door of one Familia Orteaga, and they let us in! We found out that about 3 years ago they were about to be baptized but felt too much pressure from the missionaries and backed out. 

They acknowledged that they knew the church was true but couldn't get over feeling rushed and pressured. We also found out that they had passed through some hard times as a family and had been praying that someone could help them, they told us we were the answer to a prayer. I quote the Prophet Thomas S. Monson when I say that "the best feeling in the world is acting on an impression and later finding out that you were an answer to someone's prayer or need." I know we were sent there to knock doors for a reason and that the feelings of discouragement never came because God was with us guiding the way. 

Well that's about it! Keep praying for these dang protestors to get out of here so we can help these people come unto Christ. We did it once before! The Lord did say: "And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them." (DyC 1:5) Satan can stir up hearts and put up roadblocks but this work will go on!

Keep praying and THUMBS UP!

Elder Eliason

"I am loving my time in Ipiales."

 

All the gringos that got shipped out of Ipiales this week, Elder Rowley, Stevenson and Cain.

My new companion Elder Valdiviezo from Argentina!

Wow, what a great week of letters!

I had fun reading the update on the fam. Seems to me the highlight of the week was Cecily's wedding! Well there goes 3 of the 7 cousins from the original 7! I guess that's a good thing right? haha! But CONGRATS Cecily! I am so happy for you! I wish I could have been there but I was sure there in Spirit! So great that Dad and Code could be there to celebrate with everyone...love the pics! Also, I am happy to see that school starts next week. It feels like it got out a few weeks ago but I guess it's time to get back into "the routine." I think that's a good thing because there is so much time in the day and there is so much that can get done if we are just diligent how we do things. One of the good things that teaches the mission! 

Well on my end it has been great fun! We had the monthly ZL Council so that meant traveling 13 hours up to Cali! We had a great time on the bus. We always travel up the night before to Pasto and leave with the Elders from there. I have become great friends with Elder Edwards who was there when we left but now has been transferred. It is always good to speak English the whole bus ride and share what we have both learned on the mission. But it looks like we got back just in time because another coffee strike just hit back up... haha 

Also, I said goodbye to Elder Rivadeneira who left to good ole Buenaventura! I sent a whole bunch of letters for the people over there that I miss so much. However, my new companion is terrific. He is named Elder Valdiviezo and he is from Argentina! I haven't had a companion so set on doing things the right way in everything. I am excited for what this transfer will bring. I also am reunited with my father Elder Matos here in Ipiales! He will finish here in 2 transfers so I will most likely see him finish, he put in my notebook that we would see each other again before his mission ends and we have served together twice now! We have been talking about all of the people in Valle Grande and I was glad to know that Ruben, Manuel, Luis, Merlin, Familia Bonilla Banguera, and Naomi are all doing great! It's always nerve recking leaving an area and your recent converts, but so great to hear that everything is okay!

Our investigators are really progressing as well! Gladis is progressing very well and continues to show great interest in the Gospel. She can't get baptized this week because she couldn't come to church but we are preparing another date for her. Diana Rosero is the child of the recent convert who is17 years is also progressing incredibly fast, it is always so much better when there is a supporting group of friends helping and animating them to make the decision. We are also making a ton of progress with a couple that are trying to get married. They are named Diana and Fernando. They are a couple who has been through a lot in the process of conversion, Fernando has changed incredibly as he has had to stop smoking and drinking and also changing his work schedule to be able to attend Sundays. It is inspiring the changes that have been made, all that there is to do is get the papers and get them married! We are really excited for what is to come this month and the next.

Well thats all, I am loving my time in Ipiales and even though the time is just flying by, I am making the most of every moment I have here!

Love you all,

Elder Eliason 

"It is always so important to find what will make the investigator want to believe in our message."

August 2013 Mission Leadership Council

Que hubo familia como va todo?

Well this is gonna be pretty short because we have new missionaries coming in in about an hour but I'll hit you guys up with the highlights of the week!

Well we are now really hitting our stride in our area because we have about 5 investigators progressing now. We decided to hit up the good ole area book to find some old investigators from a while ago. With the spirit of prayer we were able to pick out a few names that looked like they had progressed but for some reason or other fell away. 

One of those is named Gladys, we went there on Wednesday hoping to find her and when she opened the door she looked stunned and said, "They're back!" haha it was cool to receive a good reaction after knocking the door. We were able to find out that she had moved to another part of the city really far and then lost contact with the missionaries, then moved back to the same house she lived in! It was a pretty cool story. We retaught the Restoration and like we always do in this mission, invited her to be baptized. She accepted and is preparing to get baptized at the end of the month. What a powerful tool the area book is when it is used right!

Another person we are preparing for baptism is named Diana Rosero. She is the daughter of a recent convert and is just golden. We were able to establish trust right away asking the right questions and using the How to Begin Teaching section in Chapter 10 of Preach My Gospel. It is always so important to find what will make the investigator want to believe in our message. Everyone of them is different and needs something else from the last person. 

It's like when you go to the physical therapist, he diagnoses what you need for a specific rehabilitation, makes up a game plan, helps them understand how he can help them, and gives a commitment to help them recover on their own. Imagine if the doctor gave the same treatment to every patient. It would sound pretty but wouldn't help them at all. That's how we try to help the investigators, making our message apply to their specific needs. And it was a great lesson with Diana, she understood perfectly how the restoration can help her in her life, it was also great to have the recent convert, Milena there to help with her testimony. She also will be preparing for the end of the month. 

We are also looking to prepare 2 more for either this month or the next. It has been so different in this area than in all of the other areas I have been in. The missionaries have been in Ipiales for more than 30 years, so everyone pretty much knows who we are. The opposite was in Buenaventura where no one knew who we were. There was a lot of challenges with the branch back there and here it is well established for Colombia. 

I have been running into a lot of people lately who wonder why it is necessary to belong to a church, and why not all paths lead to Eternal Life. Well I studied it out and came up with the following....

-Jesus said "follow thou me" and "be ye therefore perfect" (Matt 4:19, Matt 5:48) 
- There must be a clear cut way to accomplish or become what He wants us to be, for these things are very difficult with the natural man alive in every one of us.
-Through the prophets, He has revealed principles and ordinances to keep us in the path and constantly improving and changing.. (Faith, Rep., Bap...etc.) This is His Plan to help us become like Him, or perfect.
-Confusion, or many paths, would frustrate this plan, because we could not have faith in an unchangeable God who has one concrete way to get back to Him.
-Contention is not of God, and the many different doctrines in the world create contention between everyone.
-Jesus Christ established a church "for the perfecting of the saints..." so "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men.." ( Eph 4:12,14)-We can know His doctrine if we "ask, seek and knock" (Matt 7:7-11) and it will be revealed unto us by the Holy Ghost who "shall teach us all things.." (John 14:26) and that is the only way we can understand the things of God.-Many doctrines are not of God, but of men. Revelation is the only way God´s church can be run and established. 

I am grateful for the Priesthood and the Gospel because they give me an assurance that I am leading people into the only path that leads to Eternal Life. It has been a great week of study!

It will be super sad saying bye to Elder Rivadeneira tomorrow, he got transferred. The good thing is he is going to replace Elder Inga in Buenaventura! So I get to send a whole bunch of letters to my great converts and members who I love so much. And it is counsel time so that means a crazy long trip up to Cali this week. Wish me luck!

Que estén muy bien, hasta la proxima!

Elder Eliason

I will buy the new camara this week, so stay tuned for pictures! Seriously I am really sorry there hasn't been time for shopping!

"This mission is the greatest thing to ever happen to me"

Hey Familia!!!

Wow thanks Mom and Dad for the letters! Its always a nice boost to hear from both the padres! I get a nice look at both sides of what's going on back home. That's such great news about the Rangers, Yu Darvish and Matt Garza make a sweet 1,2 punch, and the Braves are running away with the whole thing! Gotta love late season baseball! That's amazing that Haley saw Ashley and Thomas on HT, and  thats good to know that she got home good, too bad she got sick though. Feel better Hales! And a congrats is in order for the blessing of Tenley Michelle Eliason! Still can't believe it, but Jordy and Trista look like very proud parents! Can't wait to finally meet her! Looks like Bear Lake 2014 will be the occasion!

Well as for me in Ipiales, it has been another great week! It seems I have been all over the place doing splits with other missionaries. 3 of the past 4 days have been with different missionaries, and it has been amazing. Divisions are so great because you get to know a lot of different people who are getting to know the Gospel, and also pick up different tips from other missionaries to improve. 

I worked with one Elder Canevaro this week who gave up a 3 year professional soccer contract in Argentina to come on his mission. It was cool to see such dedication from someone who gave up so much to be here, there was much to learn from him! He said there is no sacrifice too big to be apart of this Work. It is as Jesus said,  "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." I think we all think missions are sacrifices at first, but then it quickly converts into an honor and a blessing. We had a great lesson with an investigator who had been wrestling with a baptismal date, and we were able to help her realize the need to act in faith instead of waiting for a concrete answer, it was a powerful lesson.

In my area we have been working a ton with less actives and with the people in their homes who aren't members. We ran into a case where there was an entire less active family and a mom who hadn't been baptized, her name is Sandra. She has been an avid member of an another church her whole life and never wanted anything to do with the Church. Well, she hadn't spoken with us yet so we gave it a try and surprisingly, received us well. 

So many missionaries had passed by her home over the years and have always tried to convince her of the truth. We decided to just ask questions and find a way to get her to want to accept the Gospel. Too many times as missionaries we are too quick into the lessons that we forget to ask what matters to them, what they want in life, and what kinds of fears or what they lack in life. Before we can reach their interest, we must connect with them and let the Spirit guide. Well we found out that she had never asked God if the Book of Mormon was true because she feared that God would not answer her. We read Matthew 7:7 along with Moroni 10:4-5 to help her build the faith that it can happen. It was a great lesson and we are following up daily to help her gain a testimony.

Another experience I will share is really special to me. On Saturday we got a phone call from Elder Inga in Buenaventura asking me a favor. he said that one of our old investigators named Jonas was about to be baptized but was having last minute doubts and that he wanted me to talk to him to help him through. So I called him up with permission of President to do what I could. This investigator was really close to my heart before I left there and to hear his voice again was just incredible. I basically just told him that we both knew what he had to do and told him to look up Ether 12:6 and say a prayer to feel sure in what he would do. He said it was just what he needed to hear and was baptized on Saturday. I was grateful for Elder Inga and his comp acting on a prompting.

And that same day we were in a lesson and I get a call from President saying he had some friends he wanted me to talk to. He passes the phone and I about dropped from hearing such a familiar voice pronounce my name wrong, "Hola Ailison" haha. It was Marcely Banguera from Valle Grande! She was getting married and told Pres. Prince she wanted me to be there, which was obviously impossible being so far away. But Marcely and Edilton finally got married, and baptized this weekend, to complete the family of members. I had a permanent smile the rest of the day. Another part is that the missionary who baptized them was my dad, Elder Matos who is serving there right now. I just about died for that experience and I was so grateful for President's kindness.

This mission is the greatest thing to ever happen to me, I can't believe the person I have become here. Colombia will always be close to my heart for what the Lord has done to me while being here. It still is the hardest thing I've ever done, but the most gratifying as well. Thanks go out to Mom and Dad for always pushing me to go on the mission even when I had no idea why! I cant wait to get back to work tonight!

Have a great week! And thumbs up!

Elder Eliason

"Keep smiling and thumbs up!"

Hello familia!

¡Felicidades Kenny! ¡Que gusto ver de que se ha casado! Espero que siga feliz con su nueva esposa para siempre! Me hubiera gustado estar para el matrimonio pero sepa que me dio una sonrisa verle a usted y a Derek y Cody en la foto!

Wow can't believe all my cousins are getting engaged and married while I'm gone! Its gonna be way different jaja. Good to see also that Haley enjoyed Heritage Tours and made some good friends along the way. I was fortunate as well to make great friends on that trip, and now it seems like they are all on missions! Grandpa knew what he was talking about when he said that all of our group would baptize enough people to cross along the Susquehanna! And great news about the Braves and the Matt Garza trade, I remember we wanted him back when he was with the Rays, vamos para arriba!!! Keep me updated dad!

I just got done with a crazy game of basketball with another version of gringos vs latinos. We were pretty cocky heading into it obviously but it was actually a great game. The latinos recruited a 6´4 black superstar who is a member who can really ball. They gave it to us at the beginning but after while the law of percentages prevailed and we came out victorious. It was nice to not have to play soccer for once haha...

Well this was a super hectic week here in Ipiales! The last week of the month is always great, we have a goal as a mission to have 2 baptisms for every companionship in the mission in July, August, and 4 in Septiembre. And we were able to pull out 14 baptisms in the zone to just get 2.0 per companionship. It was pretty crazy that my companion and I had blessing to baptize 2 this week because we really had nothing to start out with. 

The miracles started by finding the Malez Family who had been inactive for a long while, and had a child at age 10 who hadn't been baptized. We thought of the opportunity we had to reactivate the family (the father of which has the Melchezedek Priesthood) and to baptize Dylan the little boy to complete the family. We had a miraculous lesson on Thursday with Dylan and his dad. The dad at first wanted nothing to do with us, and even avoided us on numerous occasions . But we just decided to start testifying, saying this is what needed to happen. The Spirit must have touched him because he immediately sat down to here what we were going to teach him and his child. We read Mosiah 4:14-15...

14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.  15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.

We also shared Alma 36:3 and had him read it to his son Dylan changing the name Helaman for the name of his son.

3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.

It was really powerful as he realized his duty as a father to lead his son in the right path. It was like a light filled him and he realized what he had to do. We then prepared Dylan for the interview, baptized him on Saturday and confirmed him on Sunday! And Juan Carlos (the father) came to every one. It was a miracle.

I love being a missionary because the Spirit is literally always with you. I never have to take my attention off what I am doing as a missionary and I feel His guidance more than ever.

The other baptism we had was a child of whose parents would have been baptized had they had been married. We were going to wait for them to get married to baptize them all together, but little 12 year old Michael couldnt wait and we all thought it be best that he start preparing for the priesthood while his parents figure everything out.

We haven't been able to see Daira Mejia this week as somehow she has managed to fall off the face of the earth. We have been trying to call but nothing happens and she is never home, we are praying that everything is okay and that nothing has hurt her progress. We also haven't been in touch with Juan Josè who was the miracle of last week, he also is hard to find these days.. but the work goes on and we are still finding like crazy building up that teaching pool!

Well thats it folks! Keep smiling and thumbs up! haha

Que pena de nuevo por la falta de fotos, la camara se rompió. (Sorry for the lack of photos, the camera broke)

Elder Eliason