La Vida Es Una Autopista pt. final

Well this letter is about a week and a half late and a little bit out of context now but I figured I owe it to you all to fill you in on what’s been going down recently. Unfortunately, due to the Corona Virus Pandemic and political problems around the world, I am no longer in El Salvador. We had to pack everything up and basically just say goodbye. Due to the strict quarantine laws in El Salvador, we couldn’t leave the house to say goodbye to anyone and so everything just kinda happened really fast. I was closing in on my last months of my mission so I was released this week as a missionary and I am now officially no longer Elder Moulton. So it’s back to Tanner. 

I really don’t think there’s words (in English or Spanish) to express just how much these last 20 months meant to me. The lessons the Lord has taught me over the past little while will always always always have their place in my heart. I didn’t understand God or life or pretty much anything before i left on this mission, and the truth is I still have quite a ways to go. But I came to understand one thing. 

Now I don’t wanna get too long or sappy on anyone, but I think that this being my last email and all of us being stuck in quarantine with nothing better to do gives me an excuse to rant a little bit. I decided to go on my mission because I felt that God loved me. Most of my life I went through the motions, learning, growing and progressing, but it wasn’t personal. Until one day I felt the call. So I left. I left expecting to get to know another country, another people, another culture, another me. And I would definitely say that all of those things happened. But the best thing I really came to know wasn’t the food or the friends or the experience, it was my Savior. 

John 17:3
And this is life eternal , that they might know thee the only true God , and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent .

I came to know joy, watching 84 year old Don Paco entering the waters of baptism or watching Luis Delcid stepping into the church for the first time in years. I got to know sadness, Hermano Candido dying just months after his baptism and familia Martinez struggling to put food on the table every week. I got to know some of the best people in the world, people I am honored to call my best friends. And I came to know El Salvador, a country that may lack in size but makes up for it with love and pupusas. In almost every aspect of my life I came to know more than I ever had before. But putting aside the mountain roads and the rainstorms and the bus rides with chickens and bananas in my face, what I came to know was so much greater. Because I came to know my Savior. 

If there is anyone reading this and if you feel in anyway at all like what I am saying is true I just want to share one piece of advice. LOOK. Nothing happens in this life until you go out and do something. And the most important thing in life, at least in my mind, is happiness. By coming to know my savior I came to know happiness. I saw familia Cortez, a family with absolutely nothing who sacrifice everything to put a tin roof over their dirt floors and provide their children with beans. I saw Tomas, a lonely old man with only cats and cigarettes as his company. And I saw the familia Fuentes, a single mother with 4 kids and a whole lot of bills and unemployment. i saw Diego and yamileth, a struggling couple who’s parents both died within 3 weeks and who even with the world against them were married and adopted a pitbull. But what I saw in each and every one of them is something I can never forget. I saw happiness. They didn’t care about what they didn’t have because they had joy. These people had every right in the world to just throw in the towel and mope, be sad, complain. But they didn’t. Why? Because they were happy. They had come to know Christ. 

I know and I testify, as my last testimony to you all, that there actually is a living God. He is a God of mercy and love but he is above all a God of happiness. The gospel of Jesus Christ has brought me that happiness. And I can not deny that it has the power to do the same in the lives of each and every one of you. I was honored to represent our Savior for these past few months and I am happy that I will be able to continue getting to know him even more now. I pray that we can all get out of this mess soon and that at least a little good will come out of all of this. God has restored the truth to the world in these days, all you have to do is look. Thank you all so so so much for your emails, support, love, and especially prayers. There were days when the spiritual boost really kicked in, I really needed that. Please continue praying for paradise (aka El Salvador) and stay on the grind!

SALUUUUU

(Ex) Elder Moulton

Ps 
Please keep in touch! I will have this email a little while longer but if you wanna stay in touch just shoot me an email or look for me on social media. Gracias por todo amigos, cuídense.

Reflection

Well this is coming in a little late, anyone reading this should know I am writing this about a month after the fact. So I think this is going to sound more like a reflective diary piece, which should be a nice change of pace to the whole “another week in paradise” schpeal. Well we’re talking about February, maybe January. Jokes start coming in about the whole corona virus, the mission presidents wife is sending us memes. And here we start. In the middle of all of this, President decides I am ready to be the Senior AP. I had been junior AP for one change and President decided it was time for me to train a new guy. So there we are, Elder Foster and I are out here, clueless because I’m supposed to be the senior comp of the mission but I never know anything. And we are just blowing off the corona virus jokes as some phase joke thing from China. Really wasn’t even a concern. But it starts spreading. And I started getting worried. My last weeks on the mission were without a doubt the weirdest, hardest, most educational, and spiritual times of my life. I remember getting put on quarantine. The national panic that entered slowly in the ward and community.  I remember going out to buy kiddie swimming pools because they shut down the baptismal fonts and we had to have something. Teaching lessons over the phone, doing a whole bunch of facetime interviews because we had to do all the the interviews for the whole mission. It was rough. I would check the church newsroom page daily and beg God for a way to be ok with what was happening. Quarentine wasn’t so bad. I learned to cook eggs and stuff, wrote a great original cover song to Bare necessities by Mowgli and Co. It was something. We got locked on our balcony and everything. But I remember one day just breaking down and sobbing because I knew we were coming home. Next day we go to the office to start coordinating stuff and we get the call from president. Official. Then we get put on a country wide lockdown, jailtime if youre outside. But this is the crazy part, we had just designed an extremely complicated bus route in 2 parts circling the entire eastern and central parts of the country, moving and joining a few groups of missionaries to prepare for the great escape. So we got this crazy, brain bursting logistical nightmare going on and then 1, President notifies us officially we will all be going home, and 2, the president of the republic shuts down all the streets. Long story short, we prayed and fasted and they got through checkpoints and even tho they had to stop and pay a gang some fees in front of one of the houses and do a midnight run, everyone got to a house safe. Also we had a baptism the next day but no water to fill our kiddie pool baptismal font. Your boy was losing it with the stress and non stop phone calls, but we clung to hope for the baptism of Carlos. So we prayed for rain and boom as soon as we start the fast rain comes down for the first time in 6 months. Just to clue you in, the baptism didn’t happen. Which was a very tough situation but we weren’t out of the water yet. Due to the shutdown, we couldn’t get home from the office. So we stayed with the secretaries. We managed to make arrangments and get someone to pack and smuggle us our bags a few days later but I never saw our house again and we lived a fat minute in the secretaries house with just the clothes on our back. Then the fun stuff started. The next week and a half we waited by the phone as we received updates and forms and requests from governments to get everyone home. We didn’t sleep till 2 or 3 every night. We filled out forms and brought a computer from the office to the secretaries house to do work without  internet. Ended up making forms to give buses permission to travel. The forms had my signature and were very suspect but got buses through. We did trips and movements and all kinds of mumbo jumbo (excuse the language) to get it all lined up. All in all I think it was like 2 weeks of quarantine. And full crisis mode. I can’t and honestly wouldn’t even want to explain every detail but after a few fallen through flights the gringos got on board Sunday. We had to work out everything from police details to bags to passports to clearance permissions and yeah. Wack. But God came thru. You can read my feelings about getting released in another entry just know that this whole thing taught me a lot. We had to go home. But we saw miracles and blessings and growth. I am not a big fan of Corona Virus but in the time we had reflecting on all this I realized what I wanna study, what I had loved about my mission, what I had learned in 20 months, I gotta spend time with my family, and help them move houses. Things worked out. And things always will. 

Los Ángeles Toman, Arriba en Cuenta

Well let me just start off with the news I think you all wanna hear,paradise is still paradise and even the Corona virus can't change that.On the real, everything is going good down here. The country is takinga bunch of precautions and we are all like super duper safe. But wekeep the prayers up for the victims of Corona virus and even though Iam a little disconnected here and don't know exactly what's going on, Ipray everyone is safe and ok.

But I really really really would like to share a story with you all this week.
Hermana Erlinda is probably one of my best friends. She is about 68years old, has lost one eye and a few toes and is basically one of thesickest people I know. She has just about every kind of sickness youcan imagine. Diabetes, Gastritis, Blood Pressure, you name it and shehas it. The missionaries had been teaching this sweet lady (the sameone we built a house for a while back) for over a year and she neverreally wanted to progress in the gospel. But as I think I have sharedrecently, she has really started moving forward. Even tho she cannotwalk and we have to use a walker, a wheelchair, a string of taxis, alot of prayers, and alarm clocks very early in the morning everySunday to go to church with her, she is firm, and hardly ever misses aSunday. But she never never wanted to get baptized. Even after tellingus one time that she did, she changed her mind and decided no. Butfast forward to this Sunday. My comp and I get up early, put on ourmatching suits (I bought mine first) and head to her house. And she isjust sick. This is normal for her, she is always sick, but this timeits different. Long story short she can't come to church but in theafternoon we get a call from a neighbor, she needs to go to thehospital immediatly. We were outside of our area and had urgentmeetings and things to take care of so we call a taxi friend and shegoes to the hospital. Turns out she has terminal kidney failure. Sothe next day, Monday, I go back with one of my ex-compaions whohappens to be in the area. And she is just a mess. She can barely talkand is not doing good at all. We talk for about an hour and she justopened up. Explained her desire to be healed and to be baptized. Butshe doesn't have the strength. So we rush to a nearby health clinic,she goes through a quick treatment, and then off to the baptismalfont, where after having to haul water by hand in buckets for an hourand almost falling in the well, Erlinda was baptized. By far the mostspiritual experience of my life.

But why am I sharing this story? Truth is while we were in the
baptismal service many people shared that they saw and heard angels
there with us. I am not big into supernatural things or anything like
that but I know without a doubt that God was sending his support and
that there were angels working that day. Which brings me to my point.
God plays an active role in our lives, and he sends his angels and his
love to us. I saw that this week with Erlinda-who is now ingressed in
the hospital on her last stages of life. I have seen and felt this
love and support from on high my whole life, I think we all have. But
sometimes we just don't recognize it.

God is aware of you. Of what you are doing. And God takes part. He
lives and he loves everyone of us. Which is something I didn't
understand before but something that I now testify of. So with all
this news and everything going on, first off be careful, but just know
that angels are real and God knows where to send them. Pray for
Erlinda and I hope everyone is doing aight.

SALUUUUUU
Elder Moulton

Solado Caído

Well another week in paradise, you already know that we have been out here grinding. This week was full of meetings and trainings too but its been fun. Honestly, I feel like we have learned a bunch. Got to work with a bunch of cool missionaries this week which was fun. Its been a ride recently. We also finally finished filling the rat hole in our house so we will soon be able to take showers without fear of getting our toes bitten off. And we have finally mastered the art of
making banana smoothies, so hit us up if you'd like to place an order.

This week has really taught me something tho. It has really been kind of a ride recently, like I said before, and this week was even more crazy. 3 of the people we are teaching had severe medical problems and 2 were hospitalized and a couple more had some serious problems with work and family things. That, to be honest, is one of the harder things about the mission. You get to be so close to people changing their lives and receiving blessings, but you also see the people you love going through hard times. Its hard to see the people I have come to know and care for so much struggle and fall. But this week as we were walking down the street after being rejected by the
nice lady who makes tortillas by the bus stop (its a shoutout and not a callout, she's actually a very nice lady) we said, we may have lost the battle but we won't lose the war. And like my title says, a lot of times we got a man down. We lose the battle. We fail or we fall or we
experience something that knocks us back a bit. But what I love about being here, serving in God's army for lack of a better phrase, is that I know we won't lose the war. I think we never really understand just how much good we can do, or how much good we are doing in the moment.
Nothing good dies in vain. Evevry little bit counts. So as your weekly Elder Moulton ranting sesion comes to a close this week, let me just say one thing, don't sweat it if you fell down, messed up, got hit, or took an L. Because the war goes on, and we already know the outcome. . .Its a dub.

Keep on keeping on, tune in next week

SALUUUU
Elder Moulton

De Vuelto

Well its been a minute so its probably about time that we get back to swinging you the updates from paradise. Its been a wild ride recently and I’d love to hit you with all the updates but we are gonna keep it short so you don’t get bored. Spent the last little bit going to a lot of meetings and learning a lot of good stuff. 

A couple weeks back, we had the opportunity to work on a couple of service projects. We got to build a house for Hermana Erlinda which was pretty cool so if anybody needs help building a house out of mango trees and cement blocks, hit us up. Also, we got to herd some cows which got a little out of hand and we ended up chasing three heifers through a riverbed full of trash to the amusement of all our neighbors. When our city ran out of water again, we helped some families carry water through the streets on our heads so that they could be ok. So its been pretty nuts recently which is also why I haven’t been able to email very much but here we are again de vuelto. 

“If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves. God himself was once as we are now and is an exalted man and sits enthroned in yonder heavens. . . if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form-like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God. “

That quote is from Joseph Smith. I found it this week and it really made me think. Many times in life our biggest problem is a lack of confidence in who we are and who we can become but as this quote says, our divine potential is unimaginably grand. So when God asks something of us or when we have to do something hard, just think, God in all his power and glory made us in his image which gives us a pretty high goal to reach but it should also give us a little bit of confidence in the road to get there. So next time you doubt you can do something that you know you should be doing, just remember that your potential is perfection and that we can become as He is. 

Hope everyone has a great week. Stay on the grind. 

SALUUUU

Elder Moulton

Don't Give Up

Well another week in paradise. Been here smelling pretty bad because we didn’t have water for awhile and we didn’t know when the pickup trucks with the water were going to pass. So we never filled up our water supply. But hey that’s life right? Sometimes you can shower and sometimes you can’t. What you gonna do? Been a pretty killer week though. 

Let’s start at the beginning. Last Saturday Rosa was baptized. That experience is probably one of the most spiritual, emotional and just overall cool things that I have been able to experience in the mission. She lost her husband to cancer a few weeks ago and has overcome a lot to take this step. After her baptism, she shared with us her thoughts and it really hit us hard. 

Apart from that, it was a pretty cool week because we got to go visit the eastern part of the country. Which means aside from bus rides, crazy drunk people attacking us, and a little kid who stole my toothbrush and used it to scratch his belly, we had some really neat experiences. We got to visit some really cool people and I really felt the spirit affirming that what we are doing here is true. 

I don’t know exactly who is reading this email right now, but I just want to close out with one thought. . . . Usually in life when we try and do something good, or we are trying to reach a goal, the first time around we get a "No." Sometimes we don’t even try because we figure its not even going to work out. The best times in my mission, the coolest experiences and the most powerful moments have always come after a "No." Satisfaction comes when we accomplish something difficult and as I have come to see here in the mission, difficult things are always worth the fight.  As my  companion Elder Foster always says, “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe that is when you will be successful.” When we don’t want something bad enough, that is when we accept "no."  So as cheesy as I can be, I just leave you with this message. . . don’t give up. 

Stay on the grind. 

SALUUUUU

Elder Moulton

Vamaos a un Viaje en Nuestro Cohete Espacial Favorito

WELLLLLLL another week in paradise, life is good down here in El
Salvador so we got some good things cookin. Dont have a lot of time
because we are going to go play basketball right now and well, ball
never stops being life so you can rest assured we are gonna ball out.
Just want to share a little story with you all.

A couple weeks back, Bryan was baptized. Bryan's brother (William) is a
very shy boy who doesn't like to go out or talk to people. But Bryan
motivated him and he started to come out of his shell a little bit.
These past few weeks, the lil guy has been begging to come teach with
us or go to church or whatever possible to get out and learn about
God. So the highlight of this story would be this past Saturday when
he got baptized. Just an amazing experience, but what impacted me even
more is what happened a few days after.

We were teaching his neighbor, a kind old lady with only one foot and
one eye but a great voice to sing out Christian pump up songs. So
there we are in her tiny, humble, dirt and tin made house when William
walks in. Now this is pretty normal here because everyone chills with
the doors open and its like a big family. So we are sitting there
talking about the answers God sends us when all the sudden William
whispers to me, "Hermano quiero compartir algo," (I want to share
something). And we are like William? This kid didn't even want to leave
his house before and now he wants to testify in front of a group? So
we get all excited and are like yeah yeah man go for it. And no lie,
this little 14 year old stud gets up, looks this sister in the eyes
and testifies that God answered his prayers and gave him the courage
to go to church and be baptized. And we just sat there amazed.

God is real and he REALLY REALLY REALLY does answer prayers. So I add
my testimony to that of William and invite anybody who may or may not
actually read these little Elder Moulton rants to pray. Because God
will answer.

SALUUUUU
Stay up
Elder Moulton

Nosotros Ponemos, Dios Dispone

WELLLLLLLL another week in paradise and I gotta say things are looking
groovy. I sadly am bald now because I miscalculated in the barber shop
but we haven't had water for a week anyway so with less hair, its less
to wash right? But this week brought about changes which meant saying
goodbye to Elder Nuñez and getting my new comp, Elder Foster. He's
from Idaho and I am convinced that we are twins. We even have the same
birthday so I think it could be legit. But with all the changes we had
some highlights too. SOFIE GOT BAPTIZED!!! cutest little girl ever,
she is a stud and it was so neat to see her and her family supporting.
Just an awesome experience. She is 8 years old and even got up to
share her testimony afterwards.


But this week got your favorite central American, recently bald,
pupusa eating, boring letter writing elder thinking. And well, as my
people down here say, "We make plans, but God has the last word."
Basically if I have learned anything in life its that I don't know
anything. The more you know the more you don't right?

Mosiah 4:9 -Believe in ^aGod; believe that he is, and that he ^bcreated all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all ^cwisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not ^dcomprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
We don't understand a lot in this life, sometimes we can't see the
connection between what we do and the results we receive. But what I
have learned is that God has a plan. By sticking to the plan and
obeying what he has commanded, we gain access to the blessings he has
prepared for us. By doing things our own way, we negate the blessings
and don't see the results we want. God knows more than we do what it is
that we need. We obey, He sets it up. God tosses the lobs and we get
the blessings. Just sometimes we don't recognize the blessings cuz they
come in God's way, not ours

Hope everyone is ok and RIP Kobe

SALUUUUUUU
Elder Moulton