(11/24/14) Bienvenido, Dia de pavo! Aquí no podemos ni comer‏

Jaja.  I wish I could share your excitement for thurday, but I'm gonna have to take a raincheck again this year. Ask me in another 53 thursdays and I'm totally game. haha

I was telling bre that too many things have been happening these days to recount. We've been trying to refill out teaching pool as we've had nearly all of our baptismal dates who decide to give us the raincheck on their decision to baptize. So we've been meeting a ton of real neat people. Sometimes you just have to find someone in their home environment to see what level of crazy they actually reach. It's such a fun way to get to know someone: sitting down on their floor as they blatantly tell you their plans on suceding Ozama Ben Ladin as the next master-mind terrorist of the world.  #misionerodominicano

Oh, and some real cool guys from the cincinatti reds d-leauge team showed up at church yesterday and invited us to watch them play today. It was real neat to set foot back in the united states even for just a few hours. It's just this huuuge complex way out in the boonies; these guys have absolute georgeous fields and 5 star living quarters. And play some excellent baseball. Ha, and one of the recruiters even had the new iphone 6, and he let me hold it. Fun day out in the sun. We always have a good time, us 4 sunburned greengoes out on a misison to conquer the world.

But we got a neat text last night from the ap's telling us that we're going to the captial to learn more about this new program called '' Él es la Dádiva '' that we're going to learn a lot more about wednesday. I guess they want us to use this new program thing to help our investigators and members help make Jesus Christ more a part of their christmas holiday. 

I've gotta say, I'm getting real excited for christmas. I'm gonna try and start every day of december off with scripture study focused on Christ's life and hopefully, when comes christmas day, learn and really understand the true meaning of christmas. You all should join with me!

I love you guys and really love your constant support while we're out serving the Lord

Con amor como siempre :: 

Elder Tate

(11/17/14) Listening to The Winds of Change....

Oh wait, the season stays the same all year round here. Oh wait, I lied. Theres two: Hot and what they call here infierno. aka it's not about to snow here.

What an excellent week though. We witnessed some miracles, and definitely had my faith grown. The preisthood is the power of god. No doubt in my mind. Let me just tell you a quick few things that happened to us this week.

We were hoping to make workable progress with our fechas we put last week. 2 of them are in this; reading, praying, and asking for answers. But one of our investigators asked us on a whim if we would be able to help him in something concerning his family. Let me draw this out for you.

He tells us that he has a sister that had recently returned from living in coracau (Islands just off the coast of colombia), he told us she had been sick for a long time out there and even moreso upon coming back AND that she had sought help from a, what he paraprashed, an ''enemy''. We knew that mean a witch, or a witchdoctor I think is what you'd call it in english.

So we came over to her house real fast after eating some quick lunch. After stepping just one foot into her house, justa bout every red flag possible went off in my head. I felt just so.. empty. It smelled awful but we walked in through the mess of trash into her room. And there she was, hunched over next to her crouched-down son who had his head down to his mothers hands. And woah, this woman was not well. She could not, even if she wanted to, raise her head to tell us hello. So we expain to the people present what it was that we were about to do, and proceeded with the blessing. E. Graff did the annointing and I gave her the blessing. It was a power feeling of peace that entered the room and the blessing lasted no more than a minute or two. But I remember saying 3 times that if there were any unwelcomed host in her body that it should leave this instant. And in the name of Jesus Chrish I ended the blessing. 

But what happened after what a-s-t-o-n-i-sh-i-n-g. She looked up, didn't say anything at first, but after we asked how she felt she said, ''mejor'' (better). And she was smiling. Her family thanked us and we went on our way. 

So later on that night, her son (our investigator) calls us. I didn't see the call til that next moring. But he told us that she had passed away that same day later in the night. Wow. We're sure that whatever she had in her was the support keeping her alive. So once we said amen to that spirit, her body couldn't support itself and her spirit went back to where it was supposed to be. 

A real miracle and I've gotta say, a test of faith for that family . Alfredo told us that he hadn't seen his sister every smile since she returned back, and that was over 4 weeks ago. He's doing okay, but is left with the 11,000 peso debt for the casket. This guy is really being given some trials of faith.  He still believe in what we're teaching him but needs to find a way to come up with the money. It's really something we're been focused on lately. I would ask if you could keep him and his family in your prayers and all the people who we're visiting. They all have such neat stories and are in need of big miracles to get to baptism. 

Thats about all theres time for today.. 

Have a great thanksgiving everyone!

Elder Tate

(11/11/14) ba baa bah bah barran

What a superb week. I can't think of anything that would have made the week better. We had investigators at conference, some great progress here in the area. And a great energy has just magically happened with the zone. People keep saying they love the small changes we've bee making and yeah, We're feeling pretty great.

We put our baptismal goal for the zone as 18. It's the highest I've ever seen Las Americas go. But we're got so many news who are finishing and also starting their training, they're bringing a lot more obedience and spirit to those who sometimes just idle by and coast through the transfer. 

Can I just say, WOW. I loved what our leader had to say to us this time. It was exactly what our investigating friends needed. And really, what I needed as a missionary. And what was just awesome was we had 2 talks that weren't just some stuffy old latin voice translating. The two talks in spanish were very powerful and very spiritual. I looked around our bishops house as everyone just stared in awe to see spanish speakers in conference. Kinda neat, the second speaker on the sunday afternoon session is Elder Hugo Martinez, I've met him and sat in a Leader meeting with him. He is such a spiritually tuned-in guy. He said some things directly to missionaries after the meeting that were with out doubt inspired by the holy ghost. So cool to see our area seventies standing behind the pulpit in conference. 

Really, I've gotta say - Thanks. Thanks for always being there for me, each of you have played a key role in my life and have been there through the thick and thin. I'm so blessed to have such supportive family and all my crazy friends. Thank you for all the prayers you offer up for the missionaries. It really does give me energy when I need it most. 

Que tengan una semana de los cielos!!

elder tate

Sorry no photos today.. I left my camera at the soccer field and now it's sitting in an elders' apartment. . 

(11/3/14) We're Expecting

You know how they say theres no better way to start the week than burning all you trash . . 

Oh wait, that's just here. Today, we burned our trash and almost the whole house with it. It was a fun day. We treated it as our '' spring cleaning '' Now we is ready for the new transfer and our new companions cuase - -

We are gonna have new kids!!

In the mission when you train, they automatically become your kid. So, turns out our very creative, inspired mission pres is having basically all the zone leaders who live in houses of fours 1) stay as zl and 2) train. Happy day. It's wierd to think that the last time I trained was one year ago. I'm super ready this time. Last time I trained, I myself didn't know what was going on. 

Stake conference fell on the first sunday of the month (Yesterday). We heard speakers from the 70, our stake presidency, And mission president. It was like conference talks one right after another.  President Corbitt has, without fail, given me the chills every time he has spoken behing a pulit. If he makes it to be a general athourity just know that I was the first to tell you. 

I'm loving where I'm at right now. Timewise, position, in the goals I've set, and even in the house. We finally fixed the light, we had to run a whole new line, because some punks stole our wire to the street line. That ONLY would happen here. 

Cause it's a great DAY to be alive!

Hasta vernos con el rey

Elder Tate

foto 1 - Presidente y la Presidenta 

foto 2 - oo7 starring E. Buehner x Tate

foto 3 - The biggest guanabana. I have ever seen

(10/27/14) que lo que lo que lo que‏

Happy times and happy hot days is what this week has been. Our living space is the worst I have had thus far in the mission. It's as if we're camping indoors. Here in boca chica we've been without light now for 4 days. I want you to just imagine sleeping in a humid, sweaty box without a fan, no cold water to drink, and to put the cherry in the sundae, mosquitos who ignore bug spray like it's their job buzzing around your ears peppering you like a baked potatoe. That little story is my real life. I'm slowly having my energy drianed due to the lack of sleep. 

Pa adelante!!

Diomedes has officially (as he's been saying lately) married himself with God. He is a baptized and confirmed member de la iglesia de jesucristo de los santos de los últimos días. Y no hay nada que vaya a impedirle a él a progresar y invitar todo su familia a hacer lo mismo. Con Diomedes sentimos que él fuera un niño andando en los nubes. He had no preference on who baptized him, so I told E. Buehner that he'd do it. He's a humble guy and always lets his comp do it. I said, no way man - so he did it.

We had 4 new investigators come to church which is awesome. 3 of them were contacts so thats even better. We're gonna be visiting them and helping the get to know members this week.

Today we played some baseball. Sandlot style. We had a team of pure greengoes, squared up with a solid dominican team. We were playing with little 14 and 15 years olds and gonna be honest they just whooped us. We'd get runs and thought we were playing pretty good, but, they just steat bases and know how to catch a lot better than most that were there. But it was fun to get my glove out and pretend like I play baseball. 

Transfers are coming sunday, and I know what's gonna happen. . 

But, I'm not gonna tell you anything until next week. So ha ha.

Hope we all have a great happy week.

Elder Tate

ps: join the 85 million, be a missionary this halloween ;)

foto 1 - diomedes

foto 2 - la diamante

foto 3 - excellent guacamole

(10/20/14) Found a Great Real Wool Tie Cleaning the House Today

Dearest Readers,

This letter is being written in the most difficult of times. I have (in this very minute writing) a little kid crawling under my feet weaving like a little catiplier bug, some awesome very catchy dubstep music that I have not heard for a year playing 'boom boom boom' right behind me, and this lady who has asked me now 4 times with help operating facebook. Please forgive me for the way this letter may turn out.

Okay. 

Oh, yeah. So we call our mission president to ask permission to baptize in the ocean. HE GIVES IT TO US. And it turns out that our dear friend Diomedes doesn't swim. It seems like it was more of one of our dreams than his. . :(

But he is just so ready for baptism - I might have mentioned in older emails that he lives alone with basically nothing. And that's the 100 percent truth. We had no idea really how poor of a situation he was in. We were going over a practice interview yesterday after church and it started to rain while we were sitting out back in his patio. So, we moved into the house to finish our discussion. he invited us to sit in his bedroom (for the lack of chairs), and I was shocked to see such a big, spacious house completely empty. This guys doesn't have a fridge nor furniture. Yet, he admits that he's the happiest he's been his whole life. It was such a spiritual day for him and for us. We left sharing our testimonies and tears, he will interview tuesday and be seeing his fresh-water font saturday for his baptism.

Con a los demás investigadores, hasta ahora no tenemos demasiado que están progresando como deseamos.. 

But we have been having some, I wanna say, ''Come unto Jesus'' meetings on a ward and stake level that should help the missionaries out with more inspired references - that in all truth progress a hundred times better than door to door contacting does. 

And speaking of contacting! Okay, just one more little story - While on an exchange with a newer elder, fter I found myself lost into the depths of our area, we contacted an older woman late in the night, the only house with a light on in the whole street (it was like a sign from heaven). We hit it off great! She had mentioned that she had accepted missionaries into her home 2 times before: Once when she was 18 year of age and another when her kids will little and squirmy. Both times just didn't seem right to her and the missionaries needed to focus on different people who were prepared to hear the message. So then that dark night at 8:45 about to turn back home, we contacted her. And man lemme tell ya, she is eating this up like it's something she has known all her life. We've been teaching the whole family and inclusivo she has admitted that she feels the message is true. My testimony of late night contacts has been stengthened. She's pure gold.

Mis ojos ya perciben la gran gloria del senor, 

Avanzad Su verdad!!!!!

ELDER TATE

foto 1 - greetings

foto 2 - mamón (the cousin of guanabana)

foto 3 - super hero poses

(10/13/14) Y así comemos lo cacahuate!!!!!‏

We're doing pretty great out here. The heat has been the news worth mentioning. Good grief, it has gotta be the strongest sun we've had all year.I And it's the kind of sun that leaves your skin real stingy. Then it'll rain and crank up the humidity. I'm convinced we just live in a sauna.

bien.

We went on a few tranfers or comp switches this week. It's real neat taking out our new, greener than an avacado, elders out and help them feel a little more at ease and help them understand that they won't be with their trainers forever. It's the best to go visit their areas because I can show up and tell THEIR investigators that I don't know spanish which make the new elders have to teach mostly by themselves. Aren't I just the worst..

We put a real solid fecha with an older fellow in my first week here, he's been progressing and assisting church. He's called Diomedes and he has great faith. A man whose lost it all and is starting over from nothing. Which has also lead him to the elders and the church. We have discussed it well, and we're gonna see if we can't preform his baptism in el mar (the sea) with a few others. those would be a very inspired and memorable baptisms. I can just see it all right now. 

And as a ward we're headed to to temple! yippah! We are excited to bring some of our investigators to come and see what our big shiny palace is all about. I love teaching out there on temple grounds. It really helps people understand the why when it comes to preparing ourselves for these ordinances. 

I'll see if I can't throw on some pictures of these last two weeks. We've been moving around all over the place, between meetings, exchanges, and all kind of little things that require out attention. Busy busy busy busy.

I'll leave you with a cool scripture my companion pointed out to me in our companion study -- 

Alma 37:41

Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by smallmeans it did show unto them marvelous works. They wereslothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

Elder Buehner explained it to me this way, he said: '' Every testimony is a miracle, and when we feel like the miracle has happened and we are safe because we have a testimony, we're wrong. We need to have that ''miracle'' happen every day.''  It's something to think about. Then this scripture came to mind 2 Nephi 29 from about v 3 - 14. Replace the word bible for testimony. Pretty neat.

Loving the mission. Loving all this support but I really hope it's not just the missionaries taking all the chances to share the gospel. Go do it!

Love ya lots

Elder Tate

 foto 1 - big blue

 foto 2 - biggest avacado i've ever held

 foto 3 - blub blub . . lion fish!

foto 4 - conference time / boca chica style

foto 5 - sun goes up

foto 6- sun goes down