Mexico City Temple/Gave his first Priesthood blessing/Gave his first haircut

Note: Ty and I were able to email back and forth a little today and he confessed that last week's email was a little bit of a prank.  He assured me that his English is perfectly in tact.
What a STINKER!

Ty at the Mexico City Temple Visitor's Center

Hi Family!
  
I hope Amy had a good time with her party, she looks like she had a lot of fun. I cut a guys hair this week! He loved it. Then I cut mine and I love it. I look pretty fresh and I can easily say that I´m a pretty good barber ;) I miss you guys a lot and hope you don't make too big of a mess of my room :) 

Note - We moved my treadmill into his room :)

    Also.... A request for some cookies on Christmas is in order... and I wouldn't be too upset if I got another care package because that last one was a very pleasant surprise.. The food here is alright...  . We have a gym here but they only have two 45lb plates so I normally hog them... I've been staying healthy as much as I can. I floss every morning, brush my teeth, gargle with mouth wash, and do my hair. It's a cycle. Oh and THEY MADE US MOVE HOUSES. The storm did hit us the other night and there was a lot of water. But, they moved us because they thought it was going to flood. We had to pack up all our stuff and move down the street. 

    We have gym time everyday and cage soccer is awesome. Its sooooo much fun. its probably my second favorite sport now. Oh and don't tell Amy yet, just show her the picture once I send it.. But I FOUND MEOW. 

Note - Meow was the nickname of Amy's Counselor at her Oakcrest Girls Camp over the Summer.  She is going to a Texas Spanish speaking mission so she was sent to the Mexico MTC.  Picture below..

Ty and Hermana Homer "Meow"

   I have constantly been striving to feel the spirit. I gave my first blessing on Sunday, we were talking about priesthood ordinances and my companion said he had a blood clot in his arm that he would like to receive a blessing for because he´s getting worried about it. He sat on the chair and another Elder anointed the oil on his head. Then I gave the blessing. I felt so blessed because I thought the branch president was going to give him the blessing. As I was sitting in my chair, I kept getting this feeling that when he was going to be blessed, he needed to be blessed with comfort with the gift of tongues. He´s been struggling a little bit with the language but while I was sitting there I was trying to figure out how I could get the branch president to include that in his blessing. Then the branch president asked me to give the blessing and the spirit overcame me. It was such a privledge to be able to give my companion a blessing, and to receive the revelation of what needed to be said.

   I am constantly thanking Heavenly Father for all the spiritual opportunities that I have and the talks that I can listen to. We recently had a member of the 70 and his wife come and speak to us last night at the devotional. He had great experiences and carried the spirit with him. The sacrament meetings here are great and very spiritual as well.

Love you, miss you,

Ty

Ty's District in front of the CCM (MTC)

Ty gave his first haircut to one of the other Elders in his district, and to himself.  Lookin good!

Ty and his companion at the Mexico City Temple

Ty and his District at the Mexico City Temple

1st P-Day!

Wednesdays will be my favorite day of the week for the next 5 weeks.  It's P-day!!!  This mama needed some pictures of her boy BAD!  Here is a letter for your Spanglish enjoyment.  They speak only Spanish in class so he is having a hard time speaking English....even after only one week  :)


Hello Family!

The MTC is great. Since its in mexico its called the CCM (Centro de Capacitacion Misional). I've had tons of great experiences and I've been having a lot of fun. There are so many people here that they divide us up into zones, then into individual districts. There are 8 people in my district (4 sets of companions) and then pretty much everyone in my zone plays sports. We have about an hour of gym time everyday and we are always playing anywhere from volleyball, soccer, basketball, etc. The first day when I got here I was kinda out of it. Not really missing home or homesick, but I just felt this empty feeling. I didn't know why I was feeling this way until later that day right before dinner we had a meeting where there were a couple of investigators (people looking to join the church) that came and were asking us questions about what we know, and we had shared experiences and our testimonies about how the Gospel had touched our lives. At that moment, I had a complete feeling of comfort come over me, as I bore

He could not wait to wear one of these.  

my testimony to these two wonderful people. It reminded me why I was here and what my mission was and what I needed to accomplish. Ever since then, I have always been happy and have always felt the spirit as I go about my meetings and classes. Even though it's only been a week, its been pretty hard to type this message in English. I have learned so much and there are some words I have to think about, and retype so that they are English. Yo missíon es invitár las personas a venír a Cristo al ayudarlas a que recibán el Evangelio restaurado, mediante la fe en Jesucristo y Su Expiación, el arrepentimiento, el bautismo, la recepción del don del Espiritu Santo y perseverar hasta el fín. There are so many personas who help us cada dia con nuestro español. All ustedes do es talk to nos en Español. At this point I've just given up trying por escribo en Ingles. Amo everyone. The food es muy bueno y mi compañero es grandioso. enseñamos an investigatore, el nombre es Ramiro. nosotros enseñá on nuestro primerá diá. I miss you all, es dificil trabaja pero es worth it. I love you all. You all have been a great impact in mi vivé. We hear gun shots cada noches, policia sirens, pero barking, y personas screaming. es bueno though...

I am really thinking about what I say now. sometimes I have to ask others what certain words in English are pero i´m doing my best. I have learned soooooooooo muuuuuuuch. del don de llenguas es verdad. I haven´t been homesick. I love mi compañero, we get along grandioso. es fun hablar en Español y escribar en it. The food is quite different pero es bueno. Los chips tortilla eres muuuuuuuuuuy bueno. So crisp, so flavorful.  I miss you. Love Ty.

Ty and his companion Elder Jackson

Ty and his companion Elder Jackson

Elders in his district

He got the top bunk (I recognize the blanket)

There is the "Greenie" package I sent him on the floor.

Rear view of his classroom

Hermanas!

I think this might be the outside of his dorm.  I like how he pulled his jacket to the side so we can easily see his badge  ;)

1st Care Package DELIVERED!

I'm so excited!  I sent my first Care Package to Tyler and it arrived today!  I used http://www.mtcmexicocarepackage.com/

It is so awesome.  I just got the confirmation email that it was delivered and I almost leaped out of my chair.  They even sent me a picture of what it looked like with my little message on it...how sweet is that?

This little business is so great...they are located in Mexico City so you pay no shipping costs.  They create the care packages themselves so it is so easy.  Here is a picture of the one I got...It's called "The Greenie"  :)  I hope he was surprised.

He's Alive!

I just received this email from Elder Koontz.  I would have seen it last night but he sent it to my work email instead of my personal email (silly boy).

Hello Family! I am alive and safe in Mexico, the flight was long but it was sufficient for a first two flights EVER. I kept thinking of the song "You can fly" from Peter Pan. I also met a missionary who knows Amelia White! The food is pretty good, and my main purpose for sending this message is to keep you posted on whats happening now. I will be able to send you a longer message next week on my P-Day (Wednesday). I love you all and encourage you to stay faithful in your doings. 

                                                                                   Love,

                                                                                          Elder Koontz

Email and Mailing Addresses

Missionaries love letters AND care packages from home. Believe me, I know!

Please read this post carefully

Ty's Email:    

tyler.koontz@myldsmail.net

The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve have determined that missionaries may, under the guidelines established by their mission president, communicate with their family, friends, priesthood leaders, and new converts via email during their missionary service.

MTC Address:

Elder Koontz

[Departure date-23/11/2015] [Branch/16 - District/C]

Carretera Tenayuca-Chalmita #828

Colonia Zona Escolar, Gustavo A. Madero

07230 Mexico, Distrito Federal

Mexico

Packages are generally not accepted at the Mexico MTC BUT

you can send letters (for free) and packages (for a reasonable 

price) through this family that lives in Mexico and has a package 

business.  I was so HAPPY when I heard about this  :)

http://www.mtcmexicocarepackage.com/home.html (Link)

Ty leaves the MTC on 11/23 so I wouldn't send any letters or packages after 11/15

Letter Mailing

Elder Tyler Owen Koontz

México Xalapa Mission

Mision Mexico Xalapa, Av. Arco Vial Sur

#738 Loc 5, Col. Lomas Verdes

91098 Xalapa, Veracruz

Mexico

Package Mailing   

***My Missionary Shipping***
(Link)

This is an AWESOME and inexpensive way to send 

packages.  It doesn't take nearly as long as sending it 

through other shipping methods. You can still send it through 

regular shipping methods but this way is faster.

Elder Tyler Owen Koontz

México Xalapa Mission

Av. Arco Vial Sur No. 738 loc.5

Col. Lomas Verdes

91098 Xalapa, Veracruz

MEXICO

Phone: 52 228-201-4016 - (Do Not Call)  If you ship a package via a private courier, you will need the mission office telephone number listed above.

Small packages of nominal value may be sent through regular mail. Photographs, tapes, CDs, thumb drives, etc., should be sent in padded envelopes because they may damage postal equipment or be damaged during transit if placed in flat envelopes.

And....he's off!

Well, he's off to the Mexico MTC. It was an early morning and a bittersweet farewell, especially for me.  We've been waiting for this day since he was born but I still couldn't help the water works from flowing. Klint was awesome and just kept smiling so that I wouldn't cry but, it didn't work.  :(  On our way home we stopped at our favorite donut shop (don't tell Ty) and then went home and slept for a few more hours.  We've been tracking his flight on Alaska Airlines website which has helped calm my nerves.  Its been hard not to be able to call him or text him to get updates.  All I can say is, I hope I get an email today letting me know he arrived safely.