In His Presence We Will Fall Down. Thank You Puerto Rico For Everything. You Changed My Course And My Life.

Wow, two years of life given to others.

Two years of life given to me.

I'm going to be sharing just a few stories from the timeline of my mission. This will probably be a long email. But enjoy it, it's my last.

9 companions, one 2 times.

5 areas.

24 months.

17,500 hours dedicated to the Lord's vineyard.

730 days.

104 weeks.

24 fasts.

Miles walked, people found. Lessons taught. Invitations made. People accepted. Mostly rejected. Los mormones, what a beautiful sound. A testimony that crystallized in my heart. The best 2 years of my life. The hardest 2 years of my life. The funnest 2 years of my life.

Words cannot describe how I feel to finish my mission. For me, it's really hard to end. The thing is, I went through a lot to get out here. And then I achieved the goal and made it here. And it has been everything I have dreamed of and more.

I want to start with a wish I had about 8 years ago. I was on a vacation to the Cayman Islands. Which was super fun. My family and I have always been active in church and church things. But I will say we were never the best at going to church when we were on vacation. I don't know why, but we never went. For some reason, my parents were inspired to go to church in the Cayman Islands. When I was there in the Caribbean, I felt a deep love and connection to the people of the Caribbean. It wasn't a marvelous vision or anything, but it was something. And it was a great time and spiritual experience for me. I remember talking to the missionaries and thinking, "Wow, I want to serve on a Caribbean island like this one."

It was not easy for me to go on a mission. I didn't even want to serve a mission. I was always told by my parents I was going to serve or to start thinking about a mission. And I would just blow it off and say, "I'll worry about that later." One time, I was driving from Sundance with my mom after Team Utah, and the age change of missionaries was just announced. I remember my mom saying, "I think you should still go when you're nineteen." I remember feeling so weird about a mission. I would go to church, and it was so boring. Nothing would retain in my mind. I just hated the idea.

When Coronavirus came in, and it was the pandemic, I went through some tough times and trials, like almost all my generation. I was falling into apostasy. I was in need of hope and help, and the Lord reached out at the perfect time in the perfect way to touch my heart. I worked super hard to get rid of bad things in my life, and I dedicated my time to reading the Book of Mormon, and the Lord gave me a testimony. I was able to overcome the world and finally have an interview after a probation period. I was finally able to submit my mission papers.

I was so excited, and I was anticipating my mission call. Praying every night to go to an island. An island, an island, or South Africa. I don't know why, but I said, "If you send me somewhere cold like Canada, I can't do it." I had the deepest desire and feeling I was going to an island, and I was praying for it to be true. The Lord was inspiring my prayers or listening to me. Or he just knew me better than I knew myself.

I opened my mission call 3 times, and every time it felt even more powerful and true. "You are assigned to labor in the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission. It is anticipated that you serve 24 months."

I was so excited, and even more, I hadn't ever had such a strong spiritual witness in my life that something could be so true.

As the days went on and time got closer, I made it to the temple. I was able to go through with my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my grandparents. This was one of the most special times for me as a person and as a pre-missionary. To be able to go to the house of the Lord and feel what I felt, and finally have covenants and sacred temple clothing. I felt so protected from the adversary that was attacking me so hard. I was free. I had made the covenant of the endowment. And now it was truly like Russell M. Nelson said, a rest from the world because covenants make life easier. I know the temple is the house of the Lord and a refuge from this crazy world.

Home MTC, what a weird time. I felt like I was just messing around and not learning anything. Made amazing friends and had a good time. Everything is virtual. Countless hours on Zoom.

The real deal. The field. The mission. After all this hard work, and here I am about to find out who my trainer is. It's a weird day, and Puerto Rico is always warm. Guaynabo chapel. We get out of the mission van and walk in. The missionaries are screaming like psycho because there were new missionaries. There are 12 chairs. They have us new missionaries all sit on one side. Then they have the people that are training sit on the other side. I remember seeing a kid with glasses and saying, "He looks like a nerd, please don't give me him." Fortunately for me, God knew my needs, and it was the first lesson I learned: not to judge anyone by their cover in the mission. I got Elder Christensen, the nerd with glasses. And he was awesome. I loved him and still love him to death. What an amazing trainer.

We arrived at Arecibo, and I remember him telling me, "Hey, here's your new home, Arecibo." Are what? What did you say? Oh dear, Spanish is a real language?

My first trial. The humbling of boujee Coleman. I walk into the house, and it's sad and depressing. I remember seeing we didn't even have real chairs. Just dirty lifetime tables and those fold chairs that still, to this day, give my butt so much pain. It looked like Christmas dinner at my grandma's house. I remember saying, "This place is a little bit weird. It's so depressing." I was complaining. Cockroaches, ants, and sweat dripping down my face. Dark house, grey walls. That night we had a call with the zone leaders. One of the many lessons I learned about gratefulness, but probably the first time I used it, and it helped me really learn that you feel what you focus on and there's good in everything. I was complaining about the house to my first zone leader, Elder Hurtado. I remember him saying, "Hey, you just said it's like Christmas at your grandma's house. That's super awesome and exciting." The spirit taught me a valuable lesson in that moment. I stopped complaining, and now I'd do anything for the Arecibo house. I love that place.

The food trial in training. I was the pickiest eater, and I hated food. That was my biggest fear about the mission: eating at members' homes. So what did God do? He put me in the refiner's fire three times in a row with the exact same meal. Pollo guisado. Wow. I remember looking at the plate and just wanting to die. It was so gross to me. And the cooked green bananas made me want to gag. I said countless prayers. Two years of this? I can't. No way Jose. Boned chicken, I'd say. Wow, this is going to be a long while.

"And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)

I am a living example of this scripture. I love almost all food now, except canned tuna. Nooo way will I eat that. I know that if we truly bring God our weaknesses, He does turn them into strong things unto us. Being a missionary requires a humble heart and real intent. You can't change or do it if you're not humble.

Carmen Del Valle. My first baptism. Every single Tuesday and Thursday, we would go with me and Elder Christensen to her house with Melvin, the best member ever. We taught her a lot. She was a Facebook reference that wanted a Book of Mormon, so Elder Christensen brought her one in the beginning of his time there, then she stopped listening. She then referred herself again to the Facebook page, and we got her number. He and his companion, Elder Ogden, went over there once or twice, and she wasn't interested. Right when I got there, she referred to herself again, so we went over. I loved teaching Carmen. I don't really remember much, just trying so hard to not fall asleep on her couch at 2 in the afternoon while the sun baked us. But I did learn a valuable lesson about how each one of us has a special role in the conversion of others. Me and Elder Christensen were her missionaries. My humble broken Spanish testimony was exactly what she needed.

Carmen was amazing. She truly changed my life. It was a great blessing to meet her and be a part of her conversion process. She unfortunately passed away in January but was able to go to the temple open house. The last thing she said to me was, "Me siento muy feliz y agradecida de los dos ángeles que Dios envió y fueron ustedes. Los amo" (I feel very happy and grateful for the two angels that God sent. They were you guys. I love you!)

Arecibo was tough. At that time, we couldn't knock on doors because of COVID. We were only able to talk to people in public. The problem was that Arecibo is really abandoned because of the hurricane and the pandemic. So we would walk in circles waiting for someone to come outside. I wish I could go back. We would've been a lot better at missionary work and wasted a lot less time. Why didn't we go to the plaza? I don't know.

I opened my mission call 3 times, and every time it felt even more powerful and true. "You are assigned to labor in the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission. It is anticipated that you serve 24 months."

I was so excited, and even more, I hadn't ever had such a strong spiritual witness in my life that something could be so true.

As the days went on and time got closer, I made it to the temple. I was able to go through with my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my grandparents. This was one of the most special times for me as a person and as a pre-missionary. To be able to go to the house of the Lord and feel what I felt, and finally have covenants and sacred temple clothing. I felt so protected from the adversary that was attacking me so hard. I was free. I had made the covenant of the endowment. And now it was truly like Russell M. Nelson said, a rest from the world because covenants make life easier. I know the temple is the house of the Lord and a refuge from this crazy world.

Home MTC, what a weird time. I felt like I was just messing around and not learning anything. Made amazing friends and had a good time. Everything is virtual. Countless hours on Zoom.

The real deal. The field. The mission. After all this hard work, and here I am about to find out who my trainer is. It's a weird day, and Puerto Rico is always warm. Guaynabo chapel. We get out of the mission van and walk in. The missionaries are screaming like psycho because there were new missionaries. There are 12 chairs. They have us new missionaries all sit on one side. Then they have the people that are training sit on the other side. I remember seeing a kid with glasses and saying, "He looks like a nerd, please don't give me him." Fortunately for me, God knew my needs, and it was the first lesson I learned: not to judge anyone by their cover in the mission. I got Elder Christensen, the nerd with glasses. And he was awesome. I loved him and still love him to death. What an amazing trainer.

We arrived at Arecibo, and I remember him telling me, "Hey, here's your new home, Arecibo." Are what? What did you say? Oh dear, Spanish is a real language?

My first trial. The humbling of boujee Coleman. I walk into the house, and it's sad and depressing. I remember seeing we didn't even have real chairs. Just dirty lifetime tables and those fold chairs that still, to this day, give my butt so much pain. It looked like Christmas dinner at my grandma's house. I remember saying, "This place is a little bit weird. It's so depressing." I was complaining. Cockroaches, ants, and sweat dripping down my face. Dark house, grey walls. That night we had a call with the zone leaders. One of the many lessons I learned about gratefulness, but probably the first time I used it, and it helped me really learn that you feel what you focus on and there's good in everything. I was complaining about the house to my first zone leader, Elder Hurtado. I remember him saying, "Hey, you just said it's like Christmas at your grandma's house. That's super awesome and exciting." The spirit taught me a valuable lesson in that moment. I stopped complaining, and now I'd do anything for the Arecibo house. I love that place.

The food trial in training. I was the pickiest eater, and I hated food. That was my biggest fear about the mission: eating at members' homes. So what did God do? He put me in the refiner's fire three times in a row with the exact same meal. Pollo guisado. Wow. I remember looking at the plate and just wanting to die. It was so gross to me. And the cooked green bananas made me want to gag. I said countless prayers. Two years of this? I can't. No way Jose. Boned chicken, I'd say. Wow, this is going to be a long while.

"And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)

I am a living example of this scripture. I love almost all food now, except canned tuna. Nooo way will I eat that. I know that if we truly bring God our weaknesses, He does turn them into strong things unto us. Being a missionary requires a humble heart and real intent. You can't change or do it if you're not humble.

Carmen Del Valle. My first baptism. Every single Tuesday and Thursday, we would go with me and Elder Christensen to her house with Melvin, the best member ever. We taught her a lot. She was a Facebook reference that wanted a Book of Mormon, so Elder Christensen brought her one in the beginning of his time there, then she stopped listening. She then referred herself again to the Facebook page, and we got her number. He and his companion, Elder Ogden, went over there once or twice, and she wasn't interested. Right when I got there, she referred to herself again, so we went over. I loved teaching Carmen. I don't really remember much, just trying so hard to not fall asleep on her couch at 2 in the afternoon while the sun baked us. But I did learn a valuable lesson about how each one of us has a special role in the conversion of others. Me and Elder Christensen were her missionaries. My humble broken Spanish testimony was exactly what she needed.

Carmen was amazing. She truly changed my life. It was a great blessing to meet her and be a part of her conversion process. She unfortunately passed away in January but was able to go to the temple open house. The last thing she said to me was, "Me siento muy feliz y agradecida de los dos ángeles que Dios envió y fueron ustedes. Los amo" (I feel very happy and grateful for the two angels that God sent. They were you guys. I love you!)

Arecibo was tough. At that time, we couldn't knock on doors because of COVID. We were only able to talk to people in public. The problem was that Arecibo is really abandoned because of the hurricane and the pandemic. So we would walk in circles waiting for someone to come outside. I wish I could go back. We would've been a lot better at missionary work and wasted a lot less time. Why didn't we go to the plaza? I don't know.

My first companion change was Elder Teuscher. He is an amazing person. When I was picking him up, I remember that Elder Bushell had, like, 5 million bags of things. The zone leader of Vega Baja was carpooling with us. It was pouring rain on all of us, and we all got absolutely drenched. The car got soaked. We were all squished, and then for the whole next transfer, the car smelled like rotten eggs.

Me and Elder Teuscher got along really well. He and I just clicked. Like, I truthfully know pre-mortal life exists because of that man and our connection. And you'll understand more later.

Elder Teuscher and I almost died. Long story short, I learned a valuable lesson about following the spirit. They were looking for Ishmael and his family. I don't have any idea if they are alive. Anyways, that's another story.

I had my fourth transfer, my 6-month mark, and I got sent to Aibonito. That was my refiner's fire. I really matured and went from a boy to a missionary in Aibonito. Those first six weeks in Aibonito were some of the roughest mentally and spiritually. I had a new companion. He was very quirky and super different from me. Unfortunately, I was being taught humility again and learning to love. I had bed bugs. The branch president's wife was mad at me for making a face at food. I was in the tiniest house. So humbling. It was cold. I was tired. I got sick and threw up. My dog died. I just wanted to go back to Arecibo. I would wake up every day and bonk my head on the ceiling. It was rough, and to make a long story short, I hated it in Aibonito. I just wanted to go back to Arecibo. I was out of my comfort zone, and it was time to grow, and it was uncomfortable. I was just sad.

I was praying a lot for help and comfort. God gave me one of the most significant and spiritual experiences in my life: the butterfly of happiness.

I was praying and fell into a dream. It was a field, and I was running after a butterfly. I was running and running. It was a warm, sunny, happy day. One of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen. I was running and running, and then I went to grab the butterfly, and it slipped through my hands, and I woke up. I had the strongest feeling to ask my comp the life cycle of a butterfly. He had no idea. I looked it up. It was six weeks from caterpillar to butterfly. A missionary transfer is six weeks.

A few days later, I was still struggling. My mission president decided to come and give me an interview and a blessing. He sat me in the room and looked at me, and the first thing he said was, "Happiness is a lot like a butterfly, Elder Tew. We are always chasing after it and trying to catch it, and when we get so close, we just miss it." I've never seen a man so in tune with the spirit. It was exactly what I needed to hear. "We need to live after the manner of happiness. Like someone trying to catch a butterfly needs to be reverent and still, and it will land on their shoulders. You just need to live after the manner of happiness, and like a butterfly, one day you will realize that the happiness will just come and land on your shoulder. The way of happiness is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Live it. Love it. Fake it until you make it." And I did. And it worked. I became happy the next few weeks. There is more, and it's deeper; that's a shortened version because it's very special to me.

"Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will evade you, but if you notice the other things around you, it will gently come and sit on your shoulder." - Henry David Thoreau

When I was in Aibonito, I was able to teach a mom who lost her son and her daughter, Giselle and Odalis. I know they were the reason that I was called to go to Aibonito. It was a really big learning point for me in Aibonito. I am grateful for the time to teach that family.

I got transferred out of Aibonito to an area called Toa Baja. It doesn't actually cover Toa Baja, but it's the ward's name. We lived in Bayamon and I ran the Facebook page with Elder Donaldson. I learned a valuable lesson with my companion at the time while serving in the ward of Toa Baja, in the Toa Baja Stake in Puerto Rico, and our area covered a small town called Dorado. It's a little beach town on the north coast, about 30-40 minutes west of San Juan! One day, while walking in a neighborhood called Mameyal, we had the objective to find a less active member named Jonas (who we ended up finding and he gave me a guitar). However, we got lost. So we said, "Well, there are no coincidences in God," and we walked down that street. We ended up seeing a couple named Marie and Jose outside, cleaning their small red Kia Soul. We started talking to them. Marie really liked talking to us because she was outgoing and also wanted to practice her English. Jose was not interested at all in the beginning, but after some small talk and getting to know them, we taught them a small message and asked for a time that we could come back. Marie agreed, and Jose smirked, then laughed, and said okay (he claimed to be an atheist, but I think he was more agnostic than an atheist, but it was one or the other). Jose then told us he had lots of questions he wanted answered. We promised him that there wasn't a question he could ask that we couldn't get him a satisfying answer to. If I'm not mistaken, the first time we tried to go back, they canceled, but they called us (which never happens, they never call us), so we were like, "Okay, they are different than most." And not only did they call us, but they asked for a different day. They were super interested in learning more; their hearts had been touched by the spirit of the Lord. So we set up a time and a day to be able to go by and share with them, and they accepted the next time and were home. We taught them the restoration, and it was a normal lesson, very calm and peaceful. At the moment, I didn't realize how strong the spirit was testifying to them, but Jose was silent. He said he was going to ask a lot of questions, and he was just silent. Then we invited them to read the Book of Mormon and come to church, and they said yes to the Book of Mormon and were hesitant about the Church. So we came back later in the week with the Menas (a couple from the Toa Baja ward), and we had them FaceTime us to share with Jose and Marie. I think we taught the restoration again, and the Menas invited them to sacrament meeting. They showed up that Sunday (they have not missed a Sunday since, as far as I know). So we ended up teaching them quite a bit, and we invited them to be baptized. We invited them to be baptized, and they just kept saying they weren't ready. Jose was just iffy, and Marie was a little nervous but wanted to say yes, so we invited a lot. We probably invited them to be baptized over 10 times.Every time we prayed, we just felt that we needed to keep inviting them to be baptized. Before they accepted a baptismal date, Marie and Jose during May and the beginning of June got really close to us. Marie and Jose were in some problems. There were lots of lessons that we just taught about marriage and the gospel, healing marriages, and all that jazz. We had no idea what we were doing. I remember one lesson just being so caught off guard and not knowing what to say. And I just saw the light in my companion's eyes as, out of nowhere, he just started teaching and testifying of the truth of everything and helping them. He was overcome with the Spirit. June 26th, 2022, was transfer calls (the photo of all of us in their kitchen is that night). It was also my companion's birthday. So we had hamburgers and cake. Then we got really excited and talked about baptism, and we decided to pray about it together for July 6th, 2022. And they decided okay, so we all knelt down, and every single one of us offered a prayer out loud, taking turns asking if it was right. And Jose and Marie just knew it was their time because me and Elder Donaldson trusted our calling and promised they'd get answered as we all kneeled down and prayed together. I know that spirit that was there changed all of us. And then Elder Donaldson got transferred the next day to St. Kitts, and I stayed and ended up baptizing both of them—Marie at the beach and Jose in the chapel of the Toa Baja Ward. They truly changed my life. "We have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work." (Alma 26:3)

We also met a mom named Crisitn. We went to Cristin's house. She had been wanting to get baptized because her husband was baptized but kept putting off a date for a reason we had no idea why. So we had her 7-year-old daughter offer a prayer. So we had her daughter ask the question, "What date should my mom get baptized?" And I felt really strongly on May 22, so I told my companion what I experienced when she was praying, and he didn't say anything about a day. Later he randomly looked at me and went, "Ya, I think May 22 is right." So we decided to make the invitation for her baptism before telling her because the Lord already told us May 22, so we weren't even scared at all for her answer. We were looking forward with the eye of faith, knowing that the Lord already promised. So we went to her house Friday with the invitation to her baptism. And we were super excited to talk to her and making it super exciting, and she was like, "Why are you guys so excited today?" And so we had a really good lesson, and we got to the point about the date and how we felt. We told her that we are going to kneel right now and have her pray about it. So we had her ask, and we finished the prayer, and all her arm hairs were sticking up, and she had goosebumps and looked at us and said, "God said yes."

We baptized a man named Oscar. We found him through a Facebook referral. Invited him to be baptized our first contact. Now he's confirmed 3 weeks later and has the Aaronic Priesthood! Pretty impressive to me. How hard the Spirit works. He was really good at keeping commitments. Unfortunately, he never went to church again, but we did our job.

We met a couple named Bill and Marilu as well. I got transferred, and I thought maybe we should do some Facebook work, so we went and started messaging people. I went to some Facebook group, and so I messaged the moderator a simple message, and it was a pretty cool thing. All I said was this, "Hey Marilu! I hope you're doing okay! I am Elder Tew (I know this message is a little weird, forgive me for that). I am a new missionary here in Dorado, Puerto Rico! I am just messaging you to find out if you know anybody here in Dorado that would need or want more happiness and blessings in their life from God, or maybe answers to questions like this, for example:

Is there a God?

What does Jesus Christ expect of me?

How can a belief in Jesus Christ help me?

Is there life after death?"

What is the purpose of life? Let me know if you know anyone that came to your mind, or maybe if you need some help with any of this! I also do service with some of my friends cleaning houses, washing cars, cutting grass, painting, or anything. Let us know if you know anyone. Thanks!

Next thing you know, I'm at this lady's house cutting down a trail in the jungle with machetes. It was absolutely so fun. Then she said this: "I have been recovering, mending, and improving in health. No more 'Rona, but the projects in my life have been attended to slowly. An uncomfortable experience for who I am as a high-performing individual, with a modus operandi of 'get it done' and make big strides. Some time ago, I was lying in bed with a raging headache, upset that even though I had the 'Rona when the pandemic started, I had it once again during a time when I can no longer afford to get sick or fall behind. I thought my illness would surely put a damper on our avocado harvest season, which requires so much work to get the property ready and up to par for safety, to take the food out of the yard, and make a dent in ending the fresh produce food desert we have on this side of the island. I felt such pain in my lungs one night... I prayed: 'Hashem, I don't know who would be willing to help me, but if you can send me help to get the farm cleaned out, please do. Help us continue sharing food with people so joy continues growing and no one ever goes hungry. I can't do all this without someone who doesn't need to be asked and cares enough to help.' Three days later, I received a message from a person asking: 'Hey! We are missionaries working on the island and we, like Jesus did, love serving people and helping them. Do you know anyone who would like our help?' I was stunned. That person was a direct answer to my prayer.

The story goes, early yesterday morning, I thought only two missionaries would show up, but instead, heaven-sent NINE angels who took initiative, helped us remove 3,000 pounds of trash from the farm, and helped us build a walking trail so we can finally access all the food. It seems, after all, the hand of the Creator is never too far from me. Just needed to slow down and trust there was a greater plan. Even better news, this group is coming back to the farm for an Earth Day BBQ celebration next week, and hopefully, we will make an even bigger dent on the walking trail and we can take out even more food! So if you're having a hard time today, look at what a miracle we had. The first person to show up and do work on the farm, without being asked, without knowing me, without knowing this farm's mission is for a greater purpose. They worked joyfully without expecting anything in return. Their presence and gift of time brought happiness and lifted a giant worry off my heart, and today, I feel so much better.

Thank you to the wonderful missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ who love our island people so much. I admire this group of young people who could be partying their young life away, but instead, they choose to add value to the planet and dedicate two years of their lives to service, emulating their heavenly teacher, working just to gift strangers on this island with time, love, and care. Values they fervently believe in and practice with the actions that flow from their hearts through their hands.

I just want you guys to know I did absolutely nothing but just follow what I thought was a random thought that me and my comp had. I find it crazy how God puts us in people's paths as missionaries just to be here for them. This lady was super cool! She speaks 7 languages. That's amazing. One thing I want to add is that I don't care if this lady gets baptized. She needed God's love and who did God use to show his love to her and that he is answering prayers for everyone. Everything in life just starts with a prayer, a simple prayer that's sincere. You will see miracles, and who did God use to answer her? HIS MISSIONARIES. Someone he could trust with a prompting. I miss promptings a lot as a missionary. I have many experiences in the mission where I've been. Why didn't I just do that? I have a few pieces of advice for you all, and also myself because I need to get better at spiritual promptings. I've been praying about it and thinking about how I get better at being an instrument and to have promptings, and I keep coming back to the thought of just asking. We just truly have to want it. We just have to ask to be able to answer someone's prayer. Now how do I be better at that? It's a question I am wondering. There's nothing that happens in missionary work without the spirit. I have also decided that I need to get better at just loving the people. I don't know anyways that was my cool experience this week, we're going back for a barbecue with a guy from Texas.

Her husband is named Bill. He's a former higher-up in Jimmy John's. He's spent a lot of hours with Jimmy. He helped get the company started, and he can make a sandwich in 20 seconds. Also, his sandwiches are super good. He also loves to talk, and he grew up as an Orthodox Jew, no longer a Jew but grew up Jewish. He's also gringo, born and raised in Texas (personality is the same as Brett Iverson, my old coworker; only a few will understand). Anyways, now that you've got the background, let's go to the lesson this week. This couple is super cool. His wife worked for MTV when it was cool. Anyway, we went to their house, and we'd been fasting for like 12 hours already (since breakfast). We walk in, and there's this huge thing of chicken and a mega pot of cooked carrots (like the boiled ones, my family knows how much I like cooked carrots. Throwback to when I puked on my grandma's floor because my dad was shoving nasty cooked carrots in my mouth and making me eat them). I was like, oh no, THE ULTIMATE BEAST. CHICKEN AND COOKED CARROTS. My comp and I already had made the executive decision (you know, with the spirit and the situation). We have to make this man love us. He loves cooking and loves when we eat his food. I'm not gonna lie, the Texas barbecue he gave us was good! So we are in the car with me and my companion. We're just pre-lesson counseling. We decided, yeah, we've gone 2 meals like we're supposed to, so if he gives us a meal, we have to eat it because it makes him so happy. We already sacrificed, God knows. Like the guy with the withered hand. So we already had 2 meals. If there's a meal, we will be so accepting; if not, we keep our fast. We walk in. I'm like, oh no, NOT COOKED CARROT. NOT CHICKEN. OH DEAR, the ultimate beast. I never thought I'd face my two least favorite foods (oh, and tuna, tuna sucks, ew). So we sit down, and I'm like, oh great, well, good thing I got ziplocks in my bag!!! Anyways, we start talking, and Bill is like a super coffee fan. I don't know how he already knows about the coffee, but it's aight, I ain't scared. Anyways, he really is like got religion issues because he was raised Jewish but now isn't believing in God, not really Jesus because, you know, he was Jewish. Thinks he was a prophet and not our savior, but that's okay. Anyways, we were sitting at the island of his kitchen table, and he's cooking the carrots and baking cookies. He's like, "Do you guys want water because I know I can't offer you coffee?" Me and my comp were really complicated because we were fasting, but we think that food is for us but then also our pre-game plan, so we were sitting there looking at each other awkwardly deciding what to do, and Bill goes, "Oh, I forgot, you can't drink water after 7." We both burst out laughing because he's just teasing us, and it was so funny the way he said it. We're like, yeah, we can have water, thanks, Bill, and so then this man gives me a LaCroix, smh.... Anyways, we kept talking, and it was super good! Then he gives the carrots and the chicken to his dogs. LET'S GOOOOOOO, that's what I'm saying. Cooked carrots and chicken are dog food; I ain't ever eating them. No, but then we are off the hook and pull the cookies out of the oven, and he's like, "You are coming every Saturday night because I need to cook for you. I'm now your Jewish grandma, so now we're his godchildren." We were teaching them some of the plan of salvation, and Bill says, "So I've heard a lot about this second coming of Jesus Christ, how are we supposed to know it's him if there are all these false Christs?" Then we said, "Well, the scripture says every tongue shall bow and every knee confess. I mean, it's pretty obvious to us, at least when a man is coming out of heaven in a red robe, who will it be?" Then he hits us with "Tony Stark." We both burst out laughing again; this guy is so awesome. We have a good relationship with him, and he just teases us but learns too; it's so funny. Time goes on, and we're kind of doing a lesson about their questions. Something super cool is that I felt like they taught me more about Jesus as we were teaching them about Jesus and our church because Jesus was a Jew, and so I felt like I learned a lot about Jesus this week! I saw the replica they have of the ark of the covenant, also the Torah and the Quran. It was cool. I never realized how much our church just makes sense. It's so cool to teach about Christ to someone who isn't Christian. I never realized how much he meant to me until these lessons. It's so cool to just teach from the beginning about our Savior, and then while we're testifying of him and they're talking about Jews, and it just feels like it makes you really appreciate the truth of the restoration. Our church is so unique; it was super cool to see how similar we are to Jews and Muslims in things but different, how Christian we are also, just restored to the truth. It's really cool when you see the whole picture and where it went wrong down the road. Anyways it was fun to teach him about Jesus while I was also reading the new testament. and in the zone conference this week we did a passover meal. feels like really cool, to be so focused on Jesus.

I really enjoyed my time with the elder Donaldson. We truly connected. He changed my life by letting the spirit and the atonement change us both. I thank him for his desire to get better like me. It's hard when your companion doesn't want to grow. There is nothing better than two people that want to do good together in a companionship. Roommates in college, check.

When I got my mission call, I had the strongest feelings that Puerto Rico is where I need to be and where I need to serve my mission. I had an undeniable experience reading my mission call, and I read it three times. About a year into my mission, I got a call from our mission president telling me I am going to be transferred to the Islands Zone (meaning one of the islands that are in the district), but he didn't tell me which island I was going to go to. A few days later, after ruling out some options, I got another call, and it went like this: "Hey Elder Tew." "Hey President Skinner, how are you doing?" "Good, I am sure you want to know which island I am sending you to, right?" "Yeah, I do, I am curious." "I am going to be sending you to Tortola; you will be in charge of the British Virgin Islands with Elder Teuscher. I know you have already served together, but the Lord wants you together again." I got my dream to go to an island, Puerto Rico, but then I got the news that I was going to be over the Virgin Islands, which was even more of an island like the Cayman Islands because it was small and in English. But then, not just the Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands. And it's crazy because this is the closest I think I could've gotten, besides the Cayman Islands, to be serving like the Cayman Islands: overseas British territory, small island, English, etc. Of all the islands in our mission, I went to the British overseas territory islands in our mission. What are the chances of that? Especially when I already have wished to serve on a Caribbean island like the Cayman Islands.

"For with God, nothing shall be impossible." He is always for us and never against us.

How amazing is that? A small, simple thought: I had to serve on an island, and it happened. And I had no idea it was happening. God was so aware of me that he made that happen just because it would be such a small thing but it would mean so much to me. God's plan is a perfect plan. Every single thing happens for a reason, even when we don't know why or how it's happening, and it happens because God wants it to happen. I went through all of the trials and tribulations, good times and joys, that led me up to coming here to Tortola. My parents felt prompted to go to church because of the seed it would plant in my heart about the church in the Cayman Islands.

Also, the fact that I was with Elder Teuscher again, that was awesome. We baptized three people.

Greg was baptized!!! He is awesome. I am very mind-blown. We started teaching him and baptized him about 15 days later. That's really fast. We found him by listening to a prompt to stay and be bashed by a Seventh Day Adventist. I don't know if I ever wrote about this, but she started saying, "How many days are in the week... 7? What's 7+? 14! What's 14+14? 28... February!" She proceeded to act like she owned us or roasted us after, and to be honest, I still have no idea where she was going with that. Anyways, after we got bashed by her about February, we walked down the street, helped a guy moving a couch out of his house, and 2 weeks later, he is baptized. He was extremely prepared for the gospel but still never showed up after I left.

Elder Teuscher and I woke up (Saturday was Franklyn and Algernon's baptismal day) and we checked the phone. We had a text from Franklyn at 3:30 am saying, "I'm awake." So Elder Teuscher and I thought, "Oh perfect, Franklyn is awake, and he's ready for his baptism." But that's a little early to wake up. We drove to the beach (Brandywine Bay) and we were waiting for both Algernon and Franklyn. Algernon showed up right on time, so we were all standing there waiting. Then we decided, "Okay, it's been a minute since we have been waiting here, let's call Franklyn and see if he is coming." No answer. We were so confused. So we called the member who was supposed to give him a ride, and he said, "I was sitting there waiting from 6 am to 7 am, and I didn't see him." We were really confused at this point. Did he hitchhike? Is he on his way? So we called Franklyn again and asked him where he was. He told us he wasn't going to make it. We were very confused, but we proceeded with Algernon's baptism.

Algernon's baptism was amazing. Algernon is literally the most elect person I've ever met on my mission when it comes to reading the Book of Mormon. You know those people that you wish you could teach and find and just give them, like, a chapter of the Book of Mormon to read, and they end up reading the whole Book of Mormon? That's how Algernon was. We gave him a chapter, for example, Moroni 10, and he read the whole Book of Moroni. It always just blew our minds away. We gave him a talk from Russell M. Nelson, and the talk was laminated. Anyways, we did Algernon's baptism. Algernon has been a big inspiration in my life. I don't know what I'd do without having that wonderful man there for me to give me advice when I need it. He's awesome.

We ended up calling Franklyn afterwards and asked what happened. He heard us say 3:30 and not 6:30 am for his ride, so he was up and out by the main road waiting in the middle of the morning, just waiting. And he waited there for 3 hours, then went home. So we called and we were like, "Franklyn, what happened???" He told us, and we were like, "One second, we will call you back." We called the branch president, and he said, "I will find him a ride. Meet me on Beef Island at 3:00 pm, and we will baptize him." So we did, and everything went smoothly. And God prevailed in the lives of two of our dear friends this weekend.

Franklyn was awesome. We met him in the park in town on my first day in Tortola. He had actually just come from church, really frustrated because he was in a choir, and like he said, his Baptist church just was missing something. He told us he said a prayer for help finding the correct path, and we met him 20 minutes later. Then he was baptized.

"I FOUND MY FRIEND!" And so it was that this young missionary had been made an instrument in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

You and I are God's instruments. Every day he's trying to reach out to use us as his instruments. We have been sent here in this time and at this place to bless our brothers and sisters. So how do we become those instruments? To bless the lives of God's children and have that joy that comes from sharing the gospel. While pondering this question, a scripture verse came to my mind. Alma 17:9. In this story, the sons of Mosiah reunite with Alma, and it goes on to give an account of their mission. It shows the start of their mission and their desire to be good missionaries and save the Lamanites. It says that the sons of Mosiah fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

The reason I love this verse is that the way to become an instrument in the hands of the Lord is to do the things that would invite the Spirit of the Lord. So we can be in the right place at the right time, to bless those people that we have promised we would find, teach, and bless through making covenants with the Lord. The Book of Mormon contains many other examples of what Alma and the sons of Mosiah did to become effective instruments in the hands of God.

That has been one of my favorite parts of missionary work, the friends we meet.

After Tortola, I got transferred to PONCE, my longest area, my hottest area, my most rejection area. The one that means the most to me is Ponce. I love it. I have been a zone leader here in Ponce for the last six months. It's been amazing hard work but amazing. I was able to train an elder and have a native companion.

We were able to baptize Edvelio, an older man who was a reference from the members. He was extremely prepared and has a prosthetic leg, so helping him in and out of the font was very humbling. It was awesome.

I'm forever grateful for my mission.

Here's some things I learned from each companion and area.

Experiences:

Arecibo - Love of God for all.

Aibonito - Butterfly, we are here for a reason, where we are and what we are doing.

Toa Baja - Following the Spirit.

Tortola BVI - How to work hard.

Santa Isabel - Trust in God (faith in His plan).

Companions:

Elder Christensen - Patience and love.

Elder Teuscher - Loyalty to friends and brotherhood.

Elder Granandos - Diligently working, selflessness.

Elder Blakemore - Cleanliness.

Elder Donaldson - Faith.

Elder Morley - How to have fun.

Elder Teuscher pt 2 - Teamwork.

Elder Deer - Humility, accepting that you don't know all.

Elder Aslami - Leadership.

Elder Tau - Focusing on others more than yourself, selflessness.

Life lessons:

God does make our weaknesses strengths (Food is not scary walking either 12:27).

Socializing.

Budgeting.

Simple life = happy life.

Purpose in life = happy life.

Change in life = happy life.

Memories and experiences are the most important.

God is good. He puts you in the right place at the right time.

Covenant keeping makes life easier.

The Book of Mormon is the word of God.

The importance of complimenting others and taking time to look for the one that's forgotten.

Goal setting.

Planning.

Working for the goals.

Achieving them and continuing like Secretariat (the racehorse).

Faith is a principle of action.

Nothing gets done unless I myself do it.

If I don't want to do it, nobody else will.

It's more important to be Christlike than Christian.

The mission is truly for the missionary. It's not for anybody else. I have enjoyed taking you guys along the ride of my mission and seeing me change and grow. I've seen a huge change and a huge growth. I'm sad but excited for the future. I have and will always have my heart here in Puerto Rico.

My old San Juan,

How many dreams I forged

In my childhood nights!

My first dream

And my troubles of love

Are memories of the soul.

One afternoon I left

Towards a foreign nation,

As fate would have it,

But my heart

Remained facing the sea

In my old San Juan.

Goodbye (goodbye, goodbye)

Dear Borinquen (land of my love).

Goodbye (goodbye, goodbye)

My sea goddess (my palm queen),

I'm leaving (I'm leaving)

But one day I'll return

To find my love,

To dream again,

In my old San Juan.

But time passed by

And destiny mocked

My terrible nostalgia,

And I couldn't return

To the San Juan that I loved,

A little piece of my land.

My hair whitened

And my life fades away

And death calls for me,

And don't want to die

Away from you,

Puerto Rico of the soul.

Goodbye (goodbye, goodbye)

Dear Borinquen (land of my love).

Goodbye (goodbye, goodbye)

My sea goddess (my palm queen),

I'm leaving (I'm leaving)

But one day I'll return

To find my love,

To dream again,

In my old San Juan.

Well, that's it. I'm signing off for now.

My homecoming talk is June 11th at 10:30 am, 1300 West Pleasant Grove Utah Building.

Message me if you want a pin.