School's out! TIME TO WORK!!! (34th email)

Hola mi familia!

¿Como le fue su semana? Mine was alright, a little rougher than usual I got to admit but hey thats the mission right! And I got some great goals planned this week that I want to work on to have a better week! Im still here in Varela, next week is changes again!!!! Time is crazy insanely fast here its blowin my mind, today is my 8 month mark and I am so grateful for still a bunch of time left to have some more amazing experiences. With changes coming up in about a week, we shouldnt be seeing to much of a change as me and Elder Ramirez will be probably being staying here for another changes at least! Woot! That also means that pday will be on tuesday next week instead of monday like always!

Alright to our week then, as I said it was a little rougher week for me personally! I like Elder Ramirez, he is nice and funny and he is a pretty good missionary but I still do miss Elder Massey haha! No problem there though just me personally. I noticed this week that I wasnt feeling as spiritual as I usually do, I felt guilty and fearful which are both attributes of Satan. I noticed that my faith was lacking a little to be honest! With that little lack of faith there was that spiritual hole that felt. Thats why it was a tougher week for me but, dont be worried im doing sooo much better right now! I was going over faith in Preach My Gospel and it was awesome and I saw what I needed to do better! I saw I quote that I wrote in Preach My Gospel, it was the Pres. Uchtdorf quote from the Oct. 2013 Conference. It was the ¨doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.¨ quote and after reading this it lead me to read that talk that he gave called ¨You Can do it Now!¨ Ive read it before, but this time I had a different perspective on it, you know how that sometimes happens. So anyways I read it and fully understand what I needed to work on to have the Spirit stronger in my day to day life! I understood that I am not perfect, even as a missionary, but that something is expected of me. And that every time we obey and follow the Savior that is an act of faith. It all starts with faith, there is a reason why its the first principle of the Gospel! So I made some awesome goals to pray with more faith, to take advantage of my studies more, and to follow the Spirit! I am excited this week, I am super excited the Lord has given me another week to be better! I am going to be better this week in my self'less service and by doing that I know I will see miracles both in myself and in the people we are teaching!

Speaking of people, we have been finding a bunch of new people that have been super interested its just hard getting a sit down charla with them because they are either busy or making it seem like they are busy! Im sure every missionary can attest to that, is that right Dad? ( oh yeah by the way thanks on your advice with kindness in your last email, I loved it and will continue to get better at that too!) We don´t have too many golden investigators but we are looking. There is one named M that had everything taught to her and has one of the biggest teaching record ive ever seen in mission! But she is always busy and HAS to go to futbol every week for her son so thats a little difficult. She loves the missionaries and knows the Gospel is true but she just cant make the huge commitments to come to church and get baptized. We stop by her a couple times a week so we will see what we got with her comin up! Not sure about this other one but while I was on a interchange with Elder Pike, our District Leader in 33. Elder Ramirez found 3 girls that said they WANTED to get baptized and serve missions themselves! We have a charla with them tonight so wish us luck, I hope it turns out good I have faith it will!! We also have a less active member M too that has been having a problem with smoking lately! But boy have we seen miracles in her, we made a calender with boxes she has to check when she does it like, ¨I didnt smoke today?¨ or ¨Did I read in the BoM today?¨ Prayer, stuff like that but a couple nights ago she committed to stop smoking completely which was awesome! But what was even better is she texted us the next night saying she checked every box!!!!! Woohoo we were so happy for her, and she´s gone to church these past 2 Sundays even when its been like suuuper cold (well for the Uruguayos at least, they said it got down to like negative 1 in Celsius this week which is like 30 degress farenheit!!) Crazy right? I remember last winter when it was like -15 degrees farenheit! But hey it hasnt really hit winter yet so yeah it might get pretty bad! Im not going to lie its been a bit nippy, I had to pull out my huge 3 in one coat from Mr. Mac a couple days ago! Pa! That thing is awesome momma thanks so much momma! I finally getting the justice I rightfully deserve eh_ Its getting cold here while you guys are warming up nice there, mowing lawns, gardening, all the goods!

Lastly I thought I should tell you guys this, the best thing that happened this week is that you know me and Elder Massey´s investigator from Lascano, L? Well.......he got BAPTIZED yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is such a stud I was soooooo excited for him, unfortunately I couldnt make it to the baptism but its alright I am just soooo stinkin happy for him it doesnt even matter! I will send you a photo of Elder Massey, him, and I soon here!! What an amazing change he has made, remember how I told you he had quite a sketchy past, and he was smoking like 25 a day! Well he stopped, and now he is baptized, getting confirmed next week and hopefully receiving the priesthood here soon! :):) PA! The worth of souls is great, the Lord lives and works miracles in every aspect of our lives! L's change is just another testimony of that, and I am so entirely grateful to take part in helping him come to Christ! :) thanks for all your prayers too, I know he couldnt have done it with all the support even though he doesnt even know you guys! Thanks again! And the dulce de leche on the cake was we had a Priesthood Meeting for the stake in 33 yesterday and he came so I got to see him all dressed up, looking all spiffied up in his new suit coat the church gave him! :) Haha so awesome!

Well that was basically was my week, quite a rollercoaster eh? This thurs. We got a mission conference and Elder Walter F. Gonzalez of the Seventy is coming to speak which should be so exciting! Thanks for all he prayers and sweet lovin like always! I cant believe Missy is getting married and Scott is already home! Alexis woohoooo tennis is my jam!!!! We are playing when we get back! And Linds San Fran.......what?!!? Anyways chao love you guys have an awesome week! I sure will! :)

Love your son and only brother, Elder Tyler Scott Ivie

Supresa!! (33rd email)

Oh Dearest Familia!

PA! What an interesting week it has, I got a couple surprises for you guys! First I GOT ONE OF THE PACKAGES!!!!!!!!!!! The one with my camera cable, it was sent all the way back in March! Crazy but hey I got it now and it sooo awesome it made me so happy you dont even know! But I wondered where my other package was? Maybe they didnt get it sorted in time or Anna´s friend didnt get it in! Im not sure but its alright I will get it soon! :) Now dont feel bad.  I am hoping Anna{s friend found that camera cable and put it in the other package! Other than that the package was amazing!! Alexis those bracelets are so sick, ive already gave it to some of my friend kids here and they loved them, they wanted like 5 a piece! :) Did you make them yourself? And Amanda thanks so much for your bracelet too its soo professional I carry it every with me! I am a missionary with steeze now! Grandmas thanks so much for that bag, the quote book, and the magnet I super excited to check that out! Love ya Grammy Grums! ;) Oh and Momma of course thanks for those open whens....I already opened one today super excited to check it out I just want to open them all right now! :) Anyways thanks everybody love you so so much! Now for the huge surprise for the week. Me and Elder Massey got a call from the Zone Leaders on Friday, they said that the Elders in a place called Varela were having serious relationship problems and they need to do an emergency change! Soooooo......they transferred me out of Lascano 3 weeks into the change!!! LOCASO eh?!?! So yeah right now I am in another little town called Jose Pedro Varela with Elder Ramirez, and Elder Massey is with the comp. of Elder Ramirez! So yeah I packed my bags and left Saturday morning to Varela like 40min. away from Lascano so not far at all! I am with Elder Ramirez, he isnt a latino kinda weird right! He is a gringo from Shelly, Idaho and he has like 15 months in the mission! So far I like him a lot, he is pretty easy to get along with, he is super funny and nice! Im excited to work with a new comp. And a new area these next couple weeks! But that doesnt mean im not going to miss Elder Massey. He is golden, I love that Elder-man and I will miss the good times we had but the Lord needs me here at this time, his will is greater than mine!

Saturday was pretty crazy but we did have a Zone Conference in a place called Melo on Thursday which was awesome! Yes I got pictures with President and Hermana Cook! :) (hopefully I will be sending those in a few weeks) Hermana Cook also took some pictures so she might have already got them to you already! It was really good to see them and I learned a lot from the conference. I learned a lot about being a consecrated missionary and what I need to do better, to become more consecrated to the Lord and His work. Also about the importance of Repentance for our investigators and how we need to focus on the steps of repentance more than just telling what it is haha go figure eh?! Also President Cook wants us to focus a lot more on retention these days! Like having more Family Home Evenings, and Retention Lessons. I love this because I feel like that is something I learned really quick the mission. Is that we need to be focusing on keeping the people we have as equal as finding a baptizing more people! As I told you guys in the Skype call its hard to keep retention here so I am really excited for this new focus!!!! I would tell you more about Varela but there isnt that much to be honest its pretty and small like Lascano. We are in a branch again with about 15-20 members that come every week.

I will tell you more about the work here in Varela next week I still trying to get to know everybody. But in Lascano, L is looking awesome!!! He is either smoking 1 or none a day so we were just helping finish that little bit! Me and Elder Massey bought him some candies to suck on, and we we also put up little photos of Jesus and baptism all over his house! Haha it was so funny I love that man so much, I hope Elder Massey can get him in those waters!! If he does I might be able to go to his baptism in Lascano we´ll see! :) I would love that so so much!

I think that is basically my week though, thanks for the all prayers and support! Me and Elder Ramirez are here to get Varela moving!! We are going to baptize the world!! Its sooo good to hear that you guys got the letter finally! Sort of cheesy but I thought it would be good to maybe write a letter to my one and only family haha hoped you guys liked it! :) Sounds like everything is doing good there as usual, I want something from that amazing garden. Mitch Call´s story was crazy 17 to 72 members!!! That is huuuge especially for a branch! What a difference one person can make thats why every lesson and contact means so much! Its hard to think that way sometime when you go out throughout the day but I know it so true and I will try to better at that. RSL is WINNING still!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And those 3 are training for the world up???? OPA! Go pacers also. Anyways it was soooo good to hear from all you guys I will let you know if I need anything momma but I good for now! LES QUIERO SIEMPRE Y PARA SIEMPRE! Have an awesome Spring/Summer week!

Love, Elder Tyler Scott Ivie

Elder Ivie & Sister Cook (Mission President's wife--sure do love the Cook's--my friend Chris Johnson's grandparents!)

Long time no see....(32nd email)

Hola Familia!!! I feel like I just talked to you guys recently oh wait oh yeah I talked to you guys YESTERDAY!! :) Oh my goodness it went sooo fast and I freaked out the whole time! It was perfect the connection was awesome and all I wanted was to see your faces and hear your wonderful voices! How is my Spanish?! A little better I hope? The only thing I wish I could have done better is find out what is going on in your lives!!! Goodness we didnt talk about that at all! Oh well but it was just simply amazing and its definitely giving me a gigante boost for this upcoming months!!

Anyways work wise it was an ok week here in Lascanito! We were just getting blown out of the water because L was making so much progress! He told us he only smokes one a day now but unfortunately we found out he bought another pack and has been sort of lying to us! There is always opposition and agency with the people of course. We dont really know how much he smokes a day because he wont tell us the truth. But we feel and think it is a little bit less because he does look better, more happy, and healthy. Its been difficult to get him to understand to just trust in God. But by doing so you cant just sit back and let God do everything right?! We will see how this week goes, if everything goes alright we will have the baptism for him on the 25th of May because he didnt go to church yesterday! It is a long story, and super complicated but I will try to keep you guys updated as simple as I can! Keep praying for him!! :) Other than that, we have been sort of losing contact with a few of our investigators, they are just not home or cant have a lesson in that moment which has been a bummer! But one important lesson that I applied really well is having an attitude of gratitude in YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES just as Pres. Dieter F. Uctdorf said. We have been having a lot of success lately and even thought this week was a little tougher I still kept high spirits. I am super happy right now and looking forward to this next week for what I can learn and apply for myself and our invesitgators! I know super cheesy but I am on cloud 9 here on the misson. I definitely miss you guys so much but I know that this is what I want to do right now and I am going to take advantage of the mission and not let it take advantage of me!

Mom, Dad, Lumps, and Alexis LES AMO MUCHO!! You guys are the best thanks for all the packages, letters, support and a billion things more! Hopefully I will see those packages in my hands this week Im super excited for that! We have a Multi-Zone Conference in a place called Melo this Wednesday! Super excited for that! It also sounds like a huge week for you guys! Way to go Isaiah he must be soo pumped it soo awesome to see him get out there and join the amazing force of Gods Army, I cant believe Scott is already done!! It did seem a little longer than normal but maybe its that way because I love that man soo much! :) TANNER got married Holy Smoly Holy that is AWESOME! CONGRATS BRO! Good for him but im going to stop because thinking about marriage makes me barf right now. Annnnnnd sounds like a sick week of sports!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JARED ABBREDERIS A GREEN BAY PACKER!!! MY BOYS i dont care if he basically got picked last he is tooo sick, im sure you were screaming Momma! Haha RSL never ceases to amaze me too. Alright I think thats it thanks for again FAM! LOVE HIM A FULL!! Have an awesome cold week! Haha jk ;)

Les Amo, Elder Tyler Scott Ivie

¡¡¡¡Opa Dia de la Madre Coming UP!!!! (31st email)

Oh. my. goodness. time is goin by so fast but what an awesome week it was!! We have been working super hard this past week and we got to see some the fruits of our labors! This week I really learned a bittersweet lesson on faith and hope. I noticed something different this week that me and Elder Massey did this week. Our attitudes were totally different. We worked with more of the mind set of hope, hope that everything was going to turn out good this week for our investigators and for ourselves. This Thursday we had a zone conference in 33, and they focused a lot on this topic. To have faith and hope for every person that you talk to. When we talk to the people on their doorsteps or on the street we should picture them as having white clothes on and coming closer to Christ. The people do have their agency so they obviously dont always accept us at this time. But everybody should get the same equal oppurtunity to hear the gospel! And thats where we come in, we cant take away the persons agency but we sure can change ours! Sharing His word needs to have the work of faith and hope in it. With that goal in mind I know that we can achieve anything with the Lord on our side. He is on me and Elder Massey´s side, and He has blessed us with success!

I don´t know if I talked about L in the last email. But he is a recent investigator that we just found and wow what a past he´s had. He´s been involved with so many drugs and bad things but luckily he has stopped and been away from it for 5 years. He still smokes but I know that he has been looking for this path for awhile. The gospel is a way out for him, it is amazing to see such a change in a person. It isnt quick or easy but he is making some serious progress. He came to church yesterday, and we gave him a nice lookin white shirt and tie. He looked so awesome I cant wait for his planned baptism on the 18 of May! He has gone from smoking 25/30 cigarretes a day to 5/8 a day in about a 3 days time! Wow  this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the priesthood is his power, we gave him a blessing I know the Lord is with him and helping him along the path! :) Oh yeah and we found this awesome family that are always so excited to see us!! The whole family is pretty interested but one of their little Daughters, named S is incredibly excited! She reads the pamphlets and prays every night!! She is like Alexis´s age and just wants to learn more and more everyday! She´s looking to get baptized on the 25 of May we just need to get her and the whole fam. to church. Here this Sacrament Meeting starts at 11 and they have futbol at 11!! That was a bummer when we heard that. But the little girl S doesnt play so maybe she can come alone or something else will work out!! We are praying for miracles for this amazing family, we are hoping the Mom will come to see how this Gospel changes families for brings them even closer forever! :) So basically we got an awesome week planned ahead of us! AHHH im so excited! (especially for this next Sunday too!)

MOTHERS DAY

Alright heres the news Sunday May 11 I will be Skyping the best fam in the world for 40min this time. You guys got church at 11-2 soo we were thinking about calling you guys around 1-2pm OUR TIME!! So if this all works out we will be calling you around that time just right before church! Hopefully thats alright! LOVE YOU! SO STINKIN EXCITED! But hey im still focused on this huge week for us! :)

And Momma what an email!! The package is going to get here crazy quick!!!!!!!!! Thank you Anna´s friend I dont even know her but I know she is an awesome lady!! Thank you so so so much whoever you are! The mission office is perfect, thanks so much for everything Momma thats gonna be perfect for Winter time! Oh yeah and one last thing thanks so much for the letter Momma! Ive read a little bit, oh how I love cheesy letters! :) I got it sittin here right now and I cant wait to finish it! LOVE you always and forever Momisis! Haha

Alrighty fam see YOU GUYS IN ABOUT A WEEK!! WOOT WOOT! Hehe cant wait and I know a little bit more Spanish this time! Love you guys so much enjoy the nice spring weather in good ol´ Utah! Oh good times mowing that lawn, I can smell it right now! 

Les amo, Elder Tyler Scott Ivie 

URUGUAY!