Call From Kyler!

It was so awesome to get to talk to Kyler on Mother's Day! He sounds like he's doing really well and sounded so happy! He spent time talking to everyone, so I've combined some of the things he told all of us.
He said he has $160 a month to live on and most of their money goes towards paying for taxis or bus rides because it's about  45 minutes to their sector so they have to take buses or taxis. He said it costs about .25 a bus ride and they spend several dollars a day on rides. He said his favorite thing is taking the 8 hour bus ride in a nice air conditioned bus to meetings! I asked what his living conditions were like and he said they live in a one bedroom apartment with an open living space and kitchen. He said there is a guy that drives around in the streets that fills up gas and if you need gas for your house you have to go out and flag him down, he said he hasn't had to do this yet because their gas was full when he got there. He said they can't flush anything down the toilets because the septic system is bad there, so it's been hard getting used to that. He also said there are lots of stray dogs everywhere too! He said it is winter there and pretty cold sometimes. Of course the one package he hasn't got yet are the sweaters he asked me to send:( Hopefully they will be there soon! He has received 8 packages so far though and was thrilled! His companion told him that in the 2 years he's been there, he has received all of the packages his family has sent. It was nice to hear that we don't have to worry too much about stuff not getting to him. I have a new list of requested items to send already! :) I also wanted to mention that the brother of the girl Kyler baptized, is now friends with Kolten on Facebook and they get to chat back and forth. Kolten thought that was pretty awesome and always shares things he tells him! It sounds like he and his family really like Kyler and enjoy getting to spend time with him! It's hard to believe that he has been gone 4 months already! Time is flying by!

Shauna sent me an email of things they talked about and I've pasted that below.
Hello,
Kyler stated that he has taught his first full lesson in Spanish and it is because he has been reading a Book of Mormon Spanish Version that his mission president signed and gave to him the day he arrived. He said it is really cool! His goal is to read it in Spanish and study each section as he goes until he understands it completely in. He says he is only in 2nd Nephi, but is committed to finish and learn it in Spanish within 6-8 months. He says it is helping him learn Spanish and to use examples from the book in his teachings. He told me all about his first full lesson and the reference he got the example, but I had to email me and ask him to remind me of the reference because I cannot remember which one he used. He was passionate about the one he had learned and taught. I was so proud of him. He says his companion showed him how he could mark his scriptures in 4 colors separating teachings of Jesus Christ, Teachings of Joseph Smith etc. He is committed to mark his whole book and learn it hopefully by Christmas. He also said he would be speaking in all Spanish by the next time we talk at Christmas which I looked up and it's 230 days from now. I asked him if he had a computer, he said he was going to these little stores that have computers that they just pay to use, but it was cheap. They usually use them for an hour or so on p-day. He said they had a phone, but it was crappy so they often used wealthier member’s phones and sometimes their computers. He admitted he had also been sick, but was doing better and feeling healthier. The mother of the girl he baptized had helped them and nursed them somewhat with medicine while they were sick. He was grateful to her for the help. He said there is no way to get diagnosed and then prescribed anything; they just had to go tell the pharmacist what medicine they wanted and then buy it. He said they don't know if they are getting the right medicine or not. He had a cold but said the weather had turned cold and it was not as warm as he had been used to and it had caught up to him with a cold. He said they did a lot of great work in their sector since he and his companion had been in that sector. The branch they go to generally has 20 or so investigators going to church every week. He said he and his companion had it up to 60 or so members and investigators going every week just since they had been working together. The work was really progressing for them there. He was proud of how hard they work and the success they had seen. He said his companion had gotten all of the packages his parents had sent in the two years he was there and that they had not seen any packages disappear or opened, so that sounds good. He expects to get all of them that we have sent so we'll see. One of mine has not gotten there yet. He said the branch is different from the ward structure here, but they did have a branch presidency, Elder’s Chorum president and Sunday meetings. The numbers are sometimes small so they work with the members who come and their families or friends they bring. They hang out with member families mostly on Sunday after church and Mondays if they don't have other appointments. They do family home evening with members in their homes and help strengthen them. The missionaries teach them lessons. They are usually invited to branch president home or Elder Chorum president home on Sunday’s and they usually get fed there. He said he eats a lot of different kinds of breads including sweet breads. He said he usually buys jelly and loves the peanut butter packets I sent and he saves those and puts it on the bread usually at night. He said he buys eggs and fixes himself 2 egg omelets with ham sometimes. The biggest meal of the day there is lunch and they fix a soup like dish and a HUGE platter of rice for that meal. He says it is sometimes made with cow stomach, but that if they eat meat it is usually chicken. He stated that he has chickens all around the apartment he stayed at and they start cocka-doodle-dooing at like 2 in the morning and go from there. He said it drives him nuts and he canhardly sleep, so he got some ear plugs and now sleeps with ear plugs LOL. He says they have no bikes and walk most everywhere. He likes it though because he likes the exercise. They sometimes take a taxi because from one side of the sector to the other is a 45 min ride. Taxis are pretty cheap. Most essentials are within 10 min from their apartment though. He said he sometimes goes into these little convenient stores and buys himself a candy bar and soda, but he tries to watch his money because he usually runs out before the end of the month. He said they have these little mini convenient stores on corners everywhere. Kyler stated that President Richard G. Scott from the Chorum of the 12 apostles is coming to their region before the end of the month. He is really excited because his companion has been there 2 years and this is the first apostle that he has seen there in 2 years. He thinks they might be separating the mission because a zone usually has 160 missionaries and theirs has more than 200. He said they don't know, but are really looking forward to the apostle coming. He said he got to go to a training last Monday in Guayaquil and they stayed in a motel or something connected to the temple or right next to temple or something like that. He said they got up the next day and did a temple session before going back and it was cool and he got lots of great pictures. He loved the candy and stuff we all sent and he shared it with some of the children and he rations it and eats a little each day. He was so excited to get mail and hopes the rest gets there soon. He loves the music and misses us all tremendously. He loves getting our emails and says he prints them. I talked to his companion and he is soooo nice! He is a very spiritual guy. He said he has loved working with Kyler and said it was a great blessing to have such an amazing companion to finish his mission with. He looks forward to getting to see his family in 3 weeks and maybe someday meeting all of us. He has plans to hook up with Kyler in 2013 as soon as Kyler gets back to the states. His companion is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and their temple is the Nauvoo temple just 2 hours south of them. He loves Nauvoo and visits often when he is home. He was talking to Kolten about jerseys and the price of things that he might like. He talked to Greg as well.