December 15th, 2008 - Monday

I know it it is early...but this will be my last email for a while till christmas or after I don´t know. Because our pday is on Christmas. To begin with I want to say a huge thank you for the two envelopes and package I got. In the envelopes I got the batteries I asked for and the medicine and other things and in the other envelope I got candy, emails, and quotes. In the package I got the christmas decorations which I love soooo much. Thanks.. I set them up today and took pictures. I sure wish I could send you pictures but I can only make cds in montevideo and I go there very rarely so I can send my memory card if you want and we can just mail swap if you want. I am sending you some christmas cards from the ashby´s for you all. She gave us five each so am sending 4 home. I wish I could send you all something for Christmas. Anyways, On christmas the president has asked for you to call us. So there is a five hour difference me and my comp decided that her folks would call her at 7 your time. So could you call me at 9 am your time 2pm my time. So 9 your time, would be perfect. I get a 90 minute phone call and I am so excited. Could you thank Uncle Jay, the Cooks, and grandma and grandpa bell for the christmas money. So this is how money works. Not a lot of places use credit cards so I do whenever I can I used it for the first time to buy shoes to help my feet heal so if you could check my account. We each have a church credit card and money put on each month and then we take it all out at the beginning of the month and it only works at certain banks. But whenever I go to montevideo I can take money out of my debit card and I´ll keep trying to find places to be able to take it off. But I have a lot of money for a while I changed all my dollars to pesos today. I don´t have to pay customs boxes the assitants bring them to all the zone conferences and interviews. There is no local address to send them to. But thanks again for the the boxes and envelopes and emails from dad, mom, nikki, and kim. Well, so there were a lot of up and downs this week, It sounds like it is going to be this way for the next 16 months. But on monday and tuesday it rained and poured and it rains so hard here and so I wore my raincoat and rainboots. It was funny. But it was nice it was cool. On monday we started house hunting for a senior missionary couple coming to our area to help our branch and we met them saturday and showed them all the options and they took us out to lunch. It was an awesome morning. And they were so kind, they were both told I was homesick so they tried very hard to give me lots of words of encouragement, We found a house close to ours and they were just exciting to talk to. They made my saturday. On Tuesday we went to a marriage farewell. It was neat and interesting. They have a party at the church and they had a devotional by a recently married couple and then the family bore testimony and gave advice to the couple and we sang hymns and then they brought out a lot of good food really good food. Then on wednesday we I had my first district mtg. all in spanish and they even asked me some questions in spanish and I was kind of frustrated at that and they extended our working hours to ten at night . Then on thursday I don´t know I just worked and it was a really cool breezy day and it was a great day. Then I don´t know what happened I woke up friday and I just didn´t want to be here. And I was sad all morning and then we rode to montevideo to have a christmas program at the presidents house. My comp made me talk to her and I started crying because she has been telling me a lot of stories about how hard the mission is and the many many trials she´s had like her grandfather dying and I just didn´t see any light at the end of the tunnel. She helped me a little but I slept the rest of the way and then we went to the Ashby´s and it was so neat they fed sloppy joes and chips and salad and we read the christmas story and sang and they gave us some nice presents and the testimony´s you wrote which were so nice thank you. President talked to me right before I left and it helped me and then I read your emails today and I know I need to enjoy it here. And just because it is hard I need to enjoy and learn to love it. On sunday we went to church and I like to church even though I can´t understand it, the organ is broken so I haven´t played yet but I understood a little about the topics and the members are so kind and they really love us. They want to feed us everyday and we got multiple invitations for christmas eve I felt bad. So nice. That night we watched the christmas devotional in spanish and it was neat because a really inactive lady we visit came and I still felt the spirit and I still understood the mormon tabernacle choir. It was neat.
I hope you all have a great week and a half before christmas. Thanks for the prayers and love and if I forgot anything I am sorry I can tell you christmas. Oh my comps family wants to talk to you and so I gave her your address and number so they will probably call. They live in provo. I am glad all is well. Thanks again for everything. Merry Christmas!!! TE AMO!! I LOVE YOU!

December 8th, 2008

to be posted

Picture from district in the Argentina MTC

This is a picture of all the missionaries in the Argentina MTC. Tiffani's group were the first North Americans to go straight to Argentina and all those original North American missionaries were all going to Uruguay. Tiffani entitled this image "Capacitacion Centro Misional - October 2008 - December 2008"

Tiffani's companions were:
Kelsey Orme - Gridley, California
Analey Yeates - West Valley, Salt Lake City, Utah

The Elder's in her district were:
Elder VanWagnen - Salt Lake City
Elder Hutchinson - Canada
Elder Daniels - Idaho
Elder Manning - AZ
Elder Fowler - California
Elder Smith - Washington

December 3, 2008 - I am in Uruguay!!!!

Well, I am here. It has been a whirlwind the past couple of days. And I am finally in my area Minas. Ummm, so my pday will be on mondays from now on and on transfer on wednesdays and sometimes they just change it randomly, so I hope it will be pretty regular but you never know so don´t worry if I don´t send you a weekly email once in a great while, our pdays are moved. Anyways, it was a half an hour flight to Montevideo and we were picked up by the president and his wife and all the assistants they were so nice. We then came back had a quick orientation and ate lunch. Next we had pictures with the president at the temple and he will send you picture of me and them and I also wrote a letter to you yesterday and had some of the things I wanted...sunscreen, not charged ones because my charger is not working, hand sanitizer, multivitamins with calcium (Hna. Ashby said I should take one everyday), carmax, black permant marker, peptobismal, and bandaids, ranch dressing packets, I know random, they are all things that would be helpful, oh and could you start refilling my prescriptions yasmin, spironlact, ampicillin, including one for semprex my allergies are here. I´m sorry I´m taking time to write things I need I´m sure you want to here more interesting things. After we wrote a letter we had more orientation and they are really neat, we visited and the assistants answered questions about Uruguay. It sounds like it is going to be hard, I am so grateful for your prayers. Later, we ate, and had interviews with the president. I kind of cried as I am sure you are all surprised and told him how scared I was of dogs and the rigorous schedule we are working all day with study in the morning, and the walking and heat. I felt like such a baby. He was really nice and just expects my best and with your prayers and love, I will be fine. Muchas gracias. We stayed that night at the temple hotel like the ones we stayed at in Argentina super nice. We stayed with two girls who are coming home today, it was kind of hard to see that, but they were so nice and encouraging. The next day we met our trainers her name is Hermana Dittmar she is from Texas but her family moved to Utah and live in Provo now. She is super nice and very encouraging. I really appreciate that. We had to go to immigration and get a health exam and give our blood. Took a while and then we took a two hour bus ride to our area. It is nice and really different. Looks a lot like argentina. Lots of palm trees. which I like. Tonight we have about 5 appts. pretty scarey, but Hna Dittmar is so encouraging and is willing to help me whenever and whereever I need it. I am really grateful for that. Well, I think I mentioned everything. I love you all, thanks for the love and support. I received emails from Nikki, joseph, mom and dad. I recived a envelope from Dad in argentina and one in Uruguay but it was addressed to the president so I gave it to him. I received and envelope from kim in Uruguay. THANKS SO MUCH. FOR ALL OF IT!!! Te Amo Mucho. I miss you all. I hope all is well. Thanks for the news. Enjoy the holiday season. I know I am doing the best thing for the holiday season. Love ya.
Con amor, Tiffani...

"Your missionary arrived in Uruguay"

2 December, 2008

Dear Mohrman Family,

Today we went to the airport in Montevideo, Uruguay, to pick up Sister Mohrman and invite her into our mission. She arrived a little tired, but full of excitement and enthusiasm to get to work.

We have spent the day with her getting to know her, and we have recognized that she will be an asset to us here in the mission. With this time that we have had with her she has shown many talents that will be put to use in blessing the lives of many wonderful people.

With the morning comes the day of transfers, where she will meet her trainer and after head off for her first area in order to start ¨ [bringing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man¨.

We are now sending you a photo that we took with her this afternoon. As you can see, she is extremely excited and ready to start. We are so excited to have your daughter with us and hope that you receive this photo with excitement and pride in all that your daughter has done to prepare herself for the opportunity that she now has to serve the Lord for the next eighteen months.
Love,
The Ashbys

(Note this is the form letter they email for all missionaries but we were excited to post it along with the picture above...she is there!!!)

November 27th, 2008 - Happy Turkey Day!

Hola mi famlia y amigos,
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! First thing is I am so thankful for you all. Thanks for the faithful emails, prayers, letters, and treats. I love them all. I am sorry mom and dad you didn’t get to give your talks. You can send me them and I’ll read them. Well, Presidente Wilson and Hermana Wilson are the best, they gave us a thanksgiving dinner or lunch I should say. It was fantastic. They started cooking yesterday and helped the cooks here make us turkey, potates, stuffing, gravy. We also had two desserts it was awesome. It was the first time I had ice cream in two months, very tasty. It has been a really good day. We had a zone meeting and talked about testimony and thanksgiving and at the beginning had a thanksgiving quiz and I didn’t do too bad...haha. Anyways, I am glad pday is on thanksgiving. I miss being with my family, but it sure makes me appreciate holidays at home so much more. Today is the last time I will go to the Argentina Temple, it’s so beautfiul and that will be sad not being able to go every week. Thanks for prayers and words of encourgagement about going into the field. I loved the MTC it has been an amazing experience here. There are so many great people here and so many great things to learn and study. Spanish is still kind of worry, I am really slow at picking this up. But I know I will have a companion who speaks and all will be well. It has been a really neat and really hard week. On Saturday we went proselyting again and we went to new area and went for about an hour and half longer. It was really difficult because we talked to tons of people who were VERY catholic and liked there religion and in the afternoon everyone was taking siesta time. We were able to talk to a man from Uruguay, Daniel and we gave him a book of mormon and he really listened and was so patient with all of us and that was neat. And we have two appts. for saturday so we’ll see if they go through. It was a good experience. On Monday Elder Aidukaits and his wife came to speak to us. I shook there hands and he smiled at my name. They are so neat. I loved their talks. He is in the first quorum of the seventy. He talked about how we can see miracles on our mission because the Lord has promised we could and what we need to do. Actually they both talked a lot about miracles and feasting in the scriptures. It was so neat and inspiring. Very good and neat people. I loved listening and it was 2-3 in spanish but I still understood a lot. They have a neat spirits. This last week is a little crazy and stressful, we are leaving Tuesday morning.
I hope you got my letters last week with the temple schedule and I am sending you a picture of our zone that we took last week, we all get a free picture. So I hope you get it. This is what I recieved from everyone to let you know, I got an email from mom, dad, and stefi, and two letters from grandma mohrman. Thank you so much. I love everything. Thanks dad for the gingerale. Can you let me know if you get my letters? I don’t think I need anything but thanks so much anyways. I hope all is well. Enjoy your yummy food and day of rest. The next time you will hear from me I will be in Uruguay. crazy, two months have already gone by. Thanks for the prayers, I am pretty nervous. Happy week!!! I love you!!! Te amo!!!
Con Amor, Tiffani

November 20th, 2008 - Greetings from the CCM...

Hola mi familia y amigos,
I hope you all are doing well. Thanks for the letter from Grandma. I received the two packages THANKS THANKS THANKS!!! Just like Christmas. I also received emails from Mom, Dad, Nikki, and Joseph. Thank you much!!! I love hearing from you! Well, It sounds like life is getting exciting for you all that time of the year. I keep playing Christmas music over and over to get in the spirit. And I actually miss the snow covered mountains. One night as I was missing them and the holiday season I was thinking I am right next to a mountain and it is white. The temple. It made me feel better and so I can listen to Christmas music and look at the temple. Happy Holidays!! Eat lots of good food and cook lots for me. I cannot believe I am leaving in a week and a half. A lot of missionaries are going crazy being here but I am pretty content, I mean everything is taken care of for me, it is cool, and I just get to enjoy studying. Because when I leave I will walk all day in the lovely humid heat and start having to cook for me and Hna Wilson gave us a lesson on taking care of our health out in the field and all the bugs and parasites just waiting to make a home in me and kind of scared me so I am just really grateful to be here. I am working on being happy about the field. Because I really love proseylting on Saturdays. You know me and change. haha. It will be good. Ummmm...this last week we went proseylting on Saturday and I always forget to tell you dad but driving in France was heaven compared to here, the lines on the free way are more like guidelines that as long as one wheel is in or half the car in or around then your okay. We’ve had some pretty close calls driving to the area but it is a bus full of missionaries so I think we’re okay. But they are CRAZY with driving!! It was a neat day! We were able to have some good placements on Book of Mormons and talk to some neat people. We talked to this guy Martin who already had a Book of Mormon and was asking us doctrinal questions in spanish...kind of tricky. But we did pretty well he was catholic and wanted to know why we didn’t worship Mary and worship and stuff like that. He was neat and accepted our simple answers and testimony and said he would read and pray more. Saturday really gave me a strong strong desire to memorize where more things are in the scriptures. We also talked to this girl Sophia and she said she didn’t believe in God but we realized it was because she didn’t know about God she really liked listening to us and said she would read. Those are just some of the experiences but we were so much more united and bolder on Saturday and contributed more. We had a companionship goal for Hna. Yeates to talk more and she did and she did AWESOME!!! I really like my companions and I am really going to miss them. We already talk about how excited we will see each other at zone conference. Hna Orme says in exchange for all the chocolate I have given her she is going to find me a husband during her last semester at BYU. Pretty funny girl huh... On Sunday we watched Legacy it was better than I thought it was I used to hate it because it was so sad and it was still very sad but I appreciated it more. This week we had two english fasts where we couldn’t talk any english for part of the day and we get really good at charades. haha. We have been playing some scripture and spanish games a couple times a week against the other district that is going to our same district and we beat them. I have a really good district and they are really smart in the scriptures. very motiviating. I like my teachers. Things are good. I played the piano on Sunday and I didn’{t do too bad just my rhythm I insisted on Silent Night because of my ancestor and everything. It was good. Thanks again for your emails and letters I love them. I hope all is well. Sorry this is a little scatterbrained in writing. Te Amo!!!!!
Con Amor, Tiffani

November 13th, 2008 - Happy Early Thanksgiving

Hola mi familia y amigos,
To start I received emails from Dad, Mom, and Nikki. Thank you. And I received letters from Mom and Nikki, and the envelope from Dad. Muchas gracias. I really appreciated all of it. Well I am on my last 3 weeks here at the CCM in spanish or the MTC. I was going to tell you that I left on Dec. 2, but your one step ahead of me. It is amazing how fast it has gone and yet how sometimes days are really long. It has been a pretty calm week. We said adios to second group of latin missionaries and hola to the new ones. There are now about thirty of us north americans and 7 north american sisters. We are now about half and half with the latins. The other girls are really nice. The temple opened again this week and I am excited I get to go after I email. This past week has had some up and downs. Pretty routine. One really neat experience was that President and Sister Bowen came and spoke to us, he is the area president and and in the presidency of the seventy. He spoke for a about an hour and a half. They laughed and commented briefly on my name when I shook there hands. He spoke a lot about magnifying our callings as missionaries and the importance of obedience and Preach my Gospel. He was nice he translated about a third of it so I could understand more. But I still was able to get a lot out of it. So last Saturday wasn't the best experience we had tracting we were a lot more timid and didn't talk to as many people. I don{t know why, but it was hard. I felt bad because I didn't do my best. Which is sad. But next week I will do better. We were able to give a BOM to a really nice lady and she seemed to really like our message. She was working here while her family is in Chili. A lot of people are like that. It was really quiet in our area and so we tried some door to door contacts. Not really successful. They have buzzers and intercoms and cameras so we didn't do that too long. Nobody talked to us. We found a few people who had been given BOM by other missionaries and they liked it and it was neat to see that and here how they were still reading it. Right now we{re learning Lesson 3 in spanish it is pretty difficult memorizing everything, every friday we are tested so to speak and give our teachers lesson 1, 2, and 3 now. Kind of nervous about that. We usually practice to a latin companionship everyday and they are really nice about that. Hna. Wilson asked me to practice a song for sacrament on the piano. I'm a little nervous about that because I haven't played forever. But I practiced a little bit and I think I can do okay. Last Sunday was good, well they are good in general because we get a siesta which is something I won't get to much of when I leave so I live it up. We also get to watch church movies. We watched church history seminary movies and they were really good. I am starting to get into volley ball down here, surprise surprise. It is really big down here and I really like watching the latins and playing with them. There are a lot of missionaries that are really good and the teachers sometimes play and we have quick tournaments during activity time. It is fun. Yesterday we were playing with an polynesian Elder from Oregon who plays for Oregon State and he treats the volleyball like a 300 pd lineman. It is hillarious to watch but sure scarey to be in his way and a couple of sisters found out the hard way. kind of funny. I really like my district they are really funny guys and we get along well. Which is good. I have also forgotten how to eat down here because I always spill and drop things. My companions want to take a picture of me with a bottle of stain stick. It is good, I think I will be ready to leave even though it is really scarey. I am sorry I don't have much more to talk about. Thanks again for the letters, prayers, and emails. I hope all is well. Te amo. I love you much.

Con amor, Tiffani

p.s. stefi and joseph get on the ball. I love you.

November 6th, 2008: Happy Holiday Season

Hola Familia y Amigos,
Muchas Gracias for the emails from Dad, Mom, and Nikki. And another Muchas Gracias for the two envelopes from Dad and Mom. I am so grateful for the love and support you all give. My district is amazed with you. I got the one envelope with the cd today and so I will listen to it tonight. Thanks. Thanks for the letters-emails in it. I am grateful for the chocolate but I think it may be getting to warm for it. It is kind of melted. But it is okay, I still eat it. My health is good so I can keep working. So I heard about the election from some of the cooks here and I felt really bad for you and for me. I wish I had done my part and voted just to show support. I am glad the propisition 8 passed there are silver linings. Hna Orme showed me a scripture in Helaman that day that told about the people turning away from God and putting in bad men as leaders and corrupting there governments. Very applicable. I am amazed everyday at the book of mormon and how it applies to everything about us. It is so neat. I am really learning to love the scriptures. I am grateful that we have the gospel and that no DUMB president can ever take it away.
On a positive note, Hna Orme, Hna Yeates and me had some great experiences proselyting saturday. I really enjoy doing it, even though it gets pretty hot and humid and my feet hurt. It is worth it. I hope I still feel that way when I do it everyday all day. We were able to place 5 books of mormons to people that seemed really interested and sincere in there desire. We gave like ten pamphlets and were able to get 7 names and contact info for the missionaries. It was so awesome. It was neat to have people understand our poor spanish and be able to still feel the importance and joy in our message. The spirit is amazing. We went to the same are as last week Vicente Lopz which is by the coast. Our area touched the coast. It is a more well to do area. We went all day saturday well from 9 to 4 and it was a busy enough area that we didn{t have to clap a single door (they do that instead of knock). The best people we talk to and are golden we joke and cannot run away from us are security guards, men that the neighborhoods pay to sit in a box about the size of 2 telephone booths and protect them. Basically they sit all day and do nothing. They are not from the area and are usually from the lower class of people kind of less to do. But pretty much all we have talked to minus a few are really nice and humble and listen to us. We were able to get 3 references and hand out two bom to them. One man Raul was so neat and he loved our message and when were were done he said that he really felt something. It was neat beacuse that discussion was really united and we all participated. The spirit is amazing, again. There are also a lot of workers in the area and we talked to man named hector with his two sons were with him about 9 and 10 and he stopped his work to listen. He was really humble and let us talk for like 15 minutes. He was interested. I had candy in pack because was a long day and i gave the boys packages of skittles which they really liked and made them less restless and kind of listen a little bit. They liked us. My favorite experience was about a girl Frede we met last week who was amazing and she was a maid who stopped to talk to us and she told us her brother had a book of mormon in paraguay and that she knew about us but not really anything. So we gave her a bom and challenged her to read it. The following week we gave the contact infos to the missionaries and we had lost her number and I felt so bad. I hoped we would go to the same area and if we did I prayed we could find her because she had a neat spirit. I prayed friday and saturday to find her and saturday around 11 she was one her way to work and we found her and she gave her number and told the bom was beautfiul and she liked it. It was amazing. Prayers are answered. I love sharing this message with people. Thanks for your prayers of support and words and love. I appreciate it so much. I love you all.
con amor, Tiffani
p.s. I will write questions and comments to letter to you all this week. I love you. thanks for the stamps.

October 30th, 2008

Hola mi familia y amigos,
Muchas gracias for all the emails and letters. I am glad to still be a part of things. Well another week has gone and it flew. We have been studying and practicing lesson 1 and 2 a lot in spanish. It is very tough, but our companionship is becoming better. Our one teacher Hno. Melerio told us we were doing so well and we made him cry a little bit after teaching him lesson 1. The spirit was really strong. It was neat and a great compliment. It is so nice to see progress sometimes. Do not get me wrong though spanish is still keeping me humble, a lot. It is hard but I know I am being helped. Last friday, I missed a class for the first time because I got the flu. I was so sick all weekend. But I toughened it up for Saturday to go tracting. It was the first saturday we went tracting all day. Usually just for 2 hours. They put us in a bus and took us 45 minutes away to the city. Our companionship had an off day, plus me and hna. orme were sick... she had a cold. In the morning we talked to some crazy wackos and it wasn't going well. But in the afternoon we talked about our problem a little bit and prayed and then we were able to meet some neat people and gave away two more Book of Mormons. We mostly got some names and phone numbers for the missionaries assigned to that area but it was neat to be able to talk a little bit and testify. It was also really neat to walk around and see things other than the MTC. It is a neat city, the part we went to. The meeting place was the church and it was a beautiful little church looked a lot like the one in Antibes, France. The mission pres from that area came a few days later to get our contacts and he told us that this area is so ready for baptism that we can really start with questions like this to meet people. "If there was one book in this world that could tell you which church was true, would you read it" and then if yes "If after reading realized that the church was true, would you be baptized" Amazing huh. It is the highest area in argentina I think for baptisms. Really neat. We met some really nice people. These experiences prosylting are eye openers, the next 17 months will be hard. I felt really sick that night and the district leader gave me a blessing and I healed fast. It was a really nice blessing and the presidents wife hna. wilson helped me. The temple is closed for the next 3 weeks and that is sad but I will go before I leave the mtc which is nice. Time is flying and there is so much to learn and memorize. I really appreciate the prayers and words of support. They really help. I am sorry I can not respond to everyone. I will say though who I get letters and emails from so you know I got them. I will respond to what I can. I love you all. Thanks Dawn and Nikki for the letters. And Mom, Dad, and nikki for the emails. I have not received one from uncle Jay but tell him thanks for thinking of me. I hope all is well. I keep you in my prayers. I love you! Te Amo. Happy week!!! The gospel is amazing and I am so glad to have the privilage of teaching it.
Con amor, Tiffani

Oct 23, 2008 - Sorry, I cannot think of a clever title for my letter like Hna. Yeates. haha.

Hola mi famila,
Como le va. At least I can greet people in Spanish. haha. Yes, Spanish is still so very difficult. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I know that one day I will catch on. Things are going pretty well, like I said spanish is a little rough. But I think I am really in the swing of things. We went proselyting again on Saturday and we did much much better than before. I enjoyed it. It was so exciting we were able to give 2 book of mormons away and made 2 appts. and one almost appt. We were going to teach lesson 1 but we need to give the contacts to the area missionaires, because they can visit more often we can only do it on saturday. But we are visiting the one lady, Connie, Saturday. We practiced a little presentation that we gave when we talked to people and we were a lot more bold. I basically greeted people and introduced us and later bore my testimony of the book of mormon. I did not really understand anything, but I smiled a lot. haha. Hna Yeates said she understood like 70 percent which was great and she taught a bit more. Hna. Orme is the best and does most of it. Even I don't understand it was still really neat. I really cannot wait to pick up the spanish so I can really teach and really understand people and be more helpful. The latin employees and missionaires laugh at my red face when I get back from proselyting because of the heat and my cherry sunburn face, it is pretty funny but worth it. The weather is gorgeous here we had a huge crazy storm and the day was dark almost the whole time, it was really wierd. I love going to the temple each week, it is so pretty. We were finally able to take pictures sunday. The latin group of missionaries left this week which was super sad and we had some new missionaires this week some more north americans elders and sister but mostly latins. Yesterday, we had a district goal to talk only in Spanish the whole day everywhere, it was a pretty quiet day and we got really good at charades. haha. Hey Joseph congrats on being a stud, enjoy the dances. You will be proud of me we have a ping pong table here and the elders love it so I do not ever really play but yesterday I finally challenged on the elders in my district who loves ping pong and is a major stud athlete and basically I destroyed him. 3 games 3 skunks. haha. Your teaching has helped me. I need to learn how to slam it though and be more aggressive, they told me I am a really good defensive player. haha.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the packages, I got the conference one last week and the 2 packages of treats tuesday. My companions love the talks and so do I, I love to study them and read them. There are so many great talks Thanks so much for the notes, they make me so happy. They say thanks. Everyone thinks I have the coolest family in the world 4 packages in the 3 weeks. When I recieved the two from customs it felt like Christmas. I was so grateful the chocolate made it okay, the only thing that melted was the jolly ranchers. The chocolate really is a lifesavor. haha. I usually eat some after a nasty meal. People think of me as a chocolate girl or something. haha. THANK YOU!!! I SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT!!! I hope all is well and happy!! Thanks for your prayers. I am so happy the MTC is going well for you Mom, and traveling for you Dad and your calling. You should send me your testimony in spanish when you bear it in novemeber. I love hearing how things are going. TE AMO!!!!
Con Amor, Tiffani

P.S. Nicole Curtis sent me a email, crazy bonkers huh, it was really nice. Thanks for the email everyweek they make my day. NOTES TO SIBLINGS. Nikki, where are your notes I saw you wrote my companion the first week but what about me. I know your busy. its okay. Thanks for the faithful writing Joseph and the for the 1.5 emails from you Stefi. I love hearing from you all. I hope you got my letters earlier. Happy week!!!

(Note: Nikki has been sending email to Tiffani's email from her first email...that was an incorrect address and the correct one is on this site)

October 16th 2008

Hola everyone...I can not believe it has been 2 weeks. It seems like it has been months since I have seen you. It is weird, time goes very fast and very slow. I just have to say spanish is tough business. I am impressed with everyone who learns a language. I have good teachers who help, but I am just super slow. Memorizing is really hard for me. every friday we have milestones or like tests and we usually have to pass off english and spanish stuff. We are still on lesson one. Very tough. I eat a lot of chocolate to keep me sane. suprise suprise. My companions think I am willy wonka or something. We are all chocoholics, I exposed them to fine eurpopean chocolate and I do not think they{ll ever be the same. haha. I was able to go to the temple last thursday and it is beautfiul. It was wierd listening with headphones because it was in spanish. On Saturday we went tracting about twenty minutes away from the temple. We had to talk to the people. My companion H. Orme knows a lot of spanish and she helped a lot. But we were pretty chicken and not as bold as we should have been. But it was an eye opener and for me. Plus most argentines and uruguayan my teacher tells me don't like americans. But we still should have tried harder. We learned a lot and set goals for next week. It was funny how people recognize us missionaries and try as fast as they can to get away from us. On Sunday we watched Mountain of the Lord which I loved and I had never seen and I was grateful I received my endowments from SLC. We also had sunday nap. really great. On Monday Elder Civic and his wife from the 1st quorum of the seventy presidency and his wife spoke to us. They were so sweet. They shook all our hands and when I introduced my self he asked if I was a mormon, it was kind of funny. His wife was so sweet she sat by me and she translated a little bit for me, so nice. He spoke in Spanish but the presentation was in English and so I understood some. On Tuesday Elder Nelson came and his wife and the Cvics and they recognized me. When I shook their hands and Hermana Civic kissed me on the cheek. All the missionaries sang for him This is the Christ in Spanish with an elder accompanying on the violin it was powerful. Elder Nelson was really brief but gave us an amazing apostolic blessing to all of us missionaries. He promised these blessings, that we{ll be safe, that we will lose ourselves in the service of our Lord, that our families will draw closer to the Lord through my service, and that we can become true disciples of Jesus Christ. Truly incredible. The spirit was so strong. It was a great blessing to listen to Elder Nelson and Elder Civic and their kind wives. I hope I can be faithful to receive those blessings. There is a neat spirit here, also an intense pressure but I know it is a privilege to be here. Thank you so much for the prayers, love, support, emails, and words of encouragement. They help so much. I hope all is well. I love you and I miss you. Con Amor, Tiffani

P.S. I got notes saying I have 2 packages in customs. Thank you so much. The President said we actually might get them. If we pay for the taxes. which wont be very much. I will let you know if I get them. also, the rule about food has changed so I eat it alot and it helps, so if you do send anything I can keep it and eat it. My companions and I love the Lindt balls. heehee. Thanks again for the other package, they have some good sauces down here so I doctor my food up a lot my companions laugh at me. We have had some awesome steak and potatoes. I hope you get my letters. I sent one to stefi through argentina mail so she gets stamps I hope she gets it. We also have an address change down here just more detailed to send letters and stuff.

Hermana Tiffani Mohrman
Argentina MTC
Bonpland 2349-55
(C1425 FWE) Buenos Aires
Argentina

Thanks so much I love you and I love the support and news from home. Happy week. Talk to you later....Te Amo...I will let you know about letters and packages I receive.

October 9th, 2008

Hola,
I appreciate so much the emails, it is so nice to be loved. This week has actually gone by pretty fast. I want to say some business first before I get into it before I forget. I only have 30 minutes to do email and I can not print anything. It times me out. Also, they said all e'mails need to come through someones account and then to me. I do not know why. Also, I cannot have food in my rooms so please do not send me food, so I can be obedient. We can use the pouch system so could you please send me some USA stamps it will be cheaper. I am only sending a few letters this week to test the Argentina system. I hope all is well. Things are pretty good here. The MTC here reminds me of the apt. we stayed in Europe by the temple so they are really nice. The food has also improved. no more fish. I get to do a session today. So I am excited. On Saturdays we will do proselyting on the temple grounds and in the visitor centers so that will be funny especially with me not knowing spanish. My companion Heremana Orme knows a lot of spanish and she talks a lot me and Hermana Yeates just listen and are grateful she can communicate. We already had to practice part of the first lesson on the temple grounds with people on there and it was scarey to say the least. But I can bear my testimonio is spanish a very small one, but I did that and that was cool. I also learned to pray and say the first lesson although I cannot remember anything when I need it. Oh well I will keep plugging away at this spanish business. haha. On sunday we had the sacrament and an hour and half testimony meeting which was neat. I even bore my testmony, which I am sure will shock everyone who knows me. I was one of 3 who did in english everyone else did in spansh. These young whipper snapper elders sure pick it up fast. Us hermanas are the first 3 north americans sisters at this MTC ever and we{re the only ones here now. Definite minority. That was cool. Conference was really neat and my favorite talks were Elder Uchtdorfs and Elder Hollands. Really neat. I felt they were really talking to me. Us Hermanas had to watch Priesthood which turned out to be pretty neat. I like Priesthood session. Especially Elder Scotts talk. hahaha. the President and his wife Hermana Wilson are very nice and supportive. She is such a sweetheart. It is neat the Argentina flag also has a sun on it. I{m suppose to be here. I can only take pictures once every three weeks so they will come sometime. The latinos missionaries are so nice and so patient with us and they really try to talk to use and vica versa. The food is decent. We eat a lot of meat and potatoes. Which are tasty, I say decent because they don}t really feed us sugar, once in a while. But it is good. I really enjoy it. Elder Nelson is coming next Tuesday and Im so excited. We are practicing This is the Christ in Spanish to sing to him. It is hard but it is a great growing experience. I hope not only in weight. haha. Anyways, I love you all. Thank you for everything. I will write letters as much as I can. Con amor, Tiffani

Side note post...

I found this poem that Tiffani wrote earlier this year. I never knew she wrote it and only accidently found it posted online. While she has never been one to write poems, I think the message is applicable. It can be found at:

http://www.poetry.com/dotnet/P6174056/999/1/display.aspx

HIM

How can thou forget
"Thou captain of thy soul"?
The supreme sacrifice,
the greatest gift of all.

Our older brother and redeemer
our comforter and friend.
How can thou be thine own captain
when such a price was shed.

The price was paid, the cost great
and given all through love.
And all is asked for in return
is obedience to him above.

Life is simply but a step
a memory in the eternities.
So best remember the only captain
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Tiffani Brighten Mohrman

I Am Here

Hola Family,
They let me e-mail you finally because the internet was now in the computer lab. After a long flight, we rode a bus to the MTC which is really close to the airport. We had some sort of orientation that I think went over my head because I was so tired. I really like my companions, Hermana Yeates and Hermana Orme. They had Hermana Orme come early so we are a threesome. There are only 3 american sisters in the whole place with a max of 16 total sisters so we are definitely the minority. The food is okay, they do not believe sugar and so I am really glad for the treats you gave me. They served a rice stew for lunch which was a lot better than the fish we had for dinner. I filled on up veggies and rolls dipped in vinegar and oil. We only have 45 minutes to get ready and 30 minutes at bed time all to ourselves and that is the only time I can go to my room. It seems really hard and I am pretty scared, I am really grateful for the letters and the support you gave me at the airport. I love you very much and miss you. This is going to be my e-mail address. My p-days are Thursdays. The temple is so gorgeous. I will not able to send pictures soon because we are only allowed to take pictures one sunday the entire time we are here. I love you again. Thanks again for everything. I will write you next Thursday.
I LOVE YOU!!!! GIVE MY LOVE TO EVERYONE!

tiffani.b.mohrman.um@myldsmail.net
Con Amor, Tiffani

P.S. I have the wrong plug for my convertor is there anyway you could send me the one for australia and china with diagonal plugs.

On the road to the Argentina MTC

Images of Tiffani at the airport...

A final hug at the house...

The Mohrman girls....

Tiffani, Mom and Dad...

Sisters Mohrman and Yeates and the four Elders from Utah and Idaho...great young men with great young ladies...
Tiffani and Mom...
Tiffani and Nikki...
Tiffani and Stefi...
Tiffani and Joseph...
Tiffani and KimMarie....

Hermana Tiffani Mohrman and Hermana Analey Yeates from Salt Lake City....
The family....

Sisters Mohrman and Yeates boarding the plane...

Tiffani boarding....and the plane to go to Dallas and then on to Argentina...


Today Tiffani left for the Argentina MTC. She will be there for 2 months and then on to Uruguay. As her father, it was hard to not feel much emotion. Tiffani is not only a daughter and sister...but a friend to the family and watching her face her fears was humbling and an example of more I can do and try harder...especially with my own fears. Here are some images from Tiffani with the family and a wonderful sister missionary that is travelling with Tiffani...it would not surprise me if they are companions for the next two months. Her name is Hermana Analey Yeates and she too has a blog page http://hermanayeates.blogspot.com/ and then a mission page her family will maintain. The following are the images of the day:

So long farewell...my farewell talk

Yesterday (9/21/08) I gave my farewell talk, and I appreciated the lots of support I received. I decided to post my talk for those who didn't hear it.

The Fifth Principle and Ordinance of the Gospel

Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters. I’d first like to thank those who have come to support me and hear me bear my last testimony of the Savior and His gospel before I serve my mission in Uruguay.

The very first time I was asked to speak in my life was actually in this same ward and at this same pulpit and I can remember it pretty clearly. I was eight years old and had just been baptized and my Dad and I were asked to speak on Mother’s Day. My dad wrote me a simple Mother’s Day appreciation poem like M is mother and O is for etc, etc. And then I was to say how much I loved my mom and my testimony of the church and then I was done. However, as I sat with my Dad on the stand through the music and the Sacrament I was feeling scared to death and my Dad asked me if I was okay and he could tell I wasn’t okay and then he asked me if I didn’t want to give my talk and I could just go sit down by my Mom. So I didn’t give the talk and went down to my mom crying and just kind of hid behind her shoulder for the rest of the meeting. My dad spoke and excused me using my shyness. I remember feeling pretty disappointed in myself for not giving the talk. But I was able to move on and grow up and since then I’ve spoken many times here and in other wards and even at a stake conference with perhaps a little of the same nervousness but mostly with faith that Heavenly Father will always help me and support me when I try.

That’s mostly how every big change or hard thing in my life has been like, pretty rocky at first and hard…I cried when I started Kindergarten and I cried when I started BYU. But it has always turned out right. My parents have given me the tagline “Everything always works out.” because I need to be reminded of it many times in my life. The scripture that I asked the Bishop to put on my missionary plaque was Proverbs 3:5-6. It’s along the same lines as everything works out if you try your best and as long as I’ve remembered those words then I’ve been fine.

I decided to call my talk, “The Fifth Principle and Ordinance of the Gospel” which is not frequently talked about under this description, but we all know it. The first four principles mentioned in the fourth article of faith are; Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism my immersion for the remission of sins, and fourth the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. In 2^nd Nephi 31:15, 20 another step is added. Elder Russell M. Nelson in his talk, “Salvation and Exaltation” puts it another way,”

“Eternal life, or celestial glory or exaltation, is a conditional gift. Conditions of this gift have been established by the Lord who said, “If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God. Those qualifying conditions include faith in the Lord, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and remaining faithful to the ordinances and covenants of the temple.”

The fifth principle and ordinance summed up and used more frequently in the scriptures is enduring to the end and I like even better what Elder Uchtdorf said in his talk two conferences ago about “joyfully enduring to the end.”

What does it mean to endure? Elder Uchtdorf in that same talk gave an excellent description,

“Enduring to the end implies “patient continuance in well doing” (Romans 2:7), striving to keep the commandments (see 2 Nephi 31:10), and doing the works of righteousness (see D&C 59:23). It requires sacrifice and hard work. To endure to the end, we need to trust our Father in Heaven and make wise choices, including paying our tithes and offerings, honoring our temple covenants, and serving the Lord and one another willingly and faithfully in our Church callings and responsibilities. It means strength of character, selflessness, and humility; it means integrity and honesty to the Lord and our fellowmen. It means making our homes strong places of defense and a refuge against worldly evils…”

Elder Uchtdorf gave quite a list and sometimes the weight of these choices can make it quite difficult to endure, let alone joyfully. But I love that the gospel means “good news” and that to live the gospel means to live the good tidings from our Savior, Jesus Christ. We know that He just wants our happiness, our happiness in living the gospel to its fullness and then finally our eternal happiness in receiving the gift of exaltation. It is His way that we can be happiest. The rocky parts, the challenges, the trials of our faith, all will make us happy one day if we continue to follow and put our trust in Him, our Savior, who went through the roughest rocky parts, the most difficult challenges, and the greatest trials.

One of my favorite books about enduring trials is a missionary story that happened in the former Czechoslovakia. A young woman name Olga Kovarova Campora. While growing up in a communist country she had hardly any personal freedoms, from what she wanted to be when she grew up, to where she could go, to what she believe in and worship. She fortunately discovered the gospel in her early twenties through a yoga instructor who introduced her to the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father. She chose to get baptized and had her baptism in the middle of the night, because if she and the others were caught they would go to prison. She wanted to make a difference and bring people to the light, so she decided to become a yoga instructor and lecturer like the man who taught her and she began teaching about basic moral principles which were completely foreign to these people oppressed in the communist regime. She taught about honesty, caring for others, caring for yourself, compassion, service, and how these things make you healthier and happier. In these lectures, she never once bad mouthed the communist party and she even mixed in quotes from famous communists and interpreted them in the way that fit her moral based lessons, which shocked the communist police who would come and spy. Because of the little bit of light shared, the people who wanted to learn more were then secretly taught the gospel. She worked hard for seven years and suffered many things but she brought light to so many people that even if they weren’t taught the full gospel she planted many seeds. And then because of her faith and the member’s faith and the faith a many others around the world, the wall came down and the communist party fell. This extremely difficult trial turned into a great blessing. She not only had lived through it she conquered it and many people still reap the blessings of her work. My favorite part of this story wasn’t mentioned in the book but happened about 7 years ago, a missionary came to Payson from the Czech Republic and told us that his father had been converted to gospel through Olga’s yoga lessons.

She said about her story when looking back during these very challenging communist times,

“The most essential lesson I learned during my early membership was that I didn’t have time to flirt with the gospel; I needed to live it as fully as I possibly could. I discovered that living the true gospel means doing good despite the pressure I might feel. I came to understand and appreciate the simplicity of the gospel. Starting to obey God’s commandments has brought me on a journey of joy and has taught me the real meaning of freedom.” (234)

Her real freedom came not only from enduring, but joyfully enduring by taking an active stance because she loved the Lord and His gospel. The real freedom from heartache, trials, and challenges in all aspects of life is following the Savior and leaving your burden with him. Read Matthew 11:28-30.

A major encouragement that can help us joyfully endure the trials of our faith is remembering who we are and who we represent. Growing up for me was little bit different because of my name, it always made people watch me even though it’s not spelled the same as the church it still held me accountable especially when people knew I was a member a church. The name though that holds us the most accountable is the name we take when baptized, Jesus Christ’s name and not only that, but we were baptized because we believed that were children of our Heavenly Father and therefore we automatically have His name. By remembering the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ and the great sacrifice He made for us, we can be given strength and knowledge of the divinity within each of us. There’s a parable that I really like about a eagle and a chicken that I think helps illustrate this.

A farmer and his son were out hunting in the mountains and came across a young eagle. Since the eagle’s nest was so high up, they decided to keep it. They brought it home and put it in the chicken coop and fed it chicken feed. Five years later a naturalist came to see the farmer and after passing through the garden he said to the farmer, “That bird is an eagle, not a chicken.” “Yes,” said the farmer. “But I have trained it to be a chicken. It is no longer an eagle, it is a chicken,” “No,” said the naturalist. “It is an eagle still; it has the heart of an eagle, and I will make it soar up to the heavens.” “No,” said the farmer. “It is a chicken and it will never fly.” They agreed to test it the next morning. The naturalist picked up the eagle and said to it, “Eagle, thou art an Eagle, stretch for thy wings and fly.” The eagle turned this way and that and then, looking down, saw the chickens eating their food, and down he jumped. The farmer said, “I told you it was a chicken,” “No,” said the naturalist. “It is an eagle, give it another chance tomorrow.” So the next day he took it to the top of the barn and said, “Eagle thou art an eagle; stretch forth thy wings and fly.” But again the eagle seeing the chickens feeding, floated down and fed with them. The farmer then said again, “I told you it was a chicken.” “No,” asserted the naturalist. “It is an eagle and still has the heart of an eagle. Only give it one more chance, and I will make it fly tomorrow.” The next morning they arose early and took the eagle outside of town, to the top of the high mountain. The naturalist picked up the eagle and said, “Eagle thou art an eagle, stretch forth thy wings and fly.” But the eagle just shivered. He then pointed the eagle directly towards the newly rising sun and added these words to it. “Eagle thou art an eagle. Thou dost belong to the sky and not to this earth. Stretch forth they wings and fly.” The eagle looked around and trembled as if new life were coming to it and suddenly it stretched out its wings and, with the screech of an eagle, it flew.

Sometimes we all forget who we really are and why we’re here and we need to be reminded to help us endure those hard things that happen. We need to be focused on the sun or the Son of God and follow Him. He points us back to His Father and our Father in Heaven. When we do remember who we are and what we represent we can soar and make a difference in this life. Much like the phrase, “Eagle thou art an eagle…” we can substitute our own names and say, “Tiffani, thou art a child of God. Thou dost belong to Heaven and not to this earth. Open thy heart and serve.”

We are all children of our Heavenly Father and our elder brother Jesus Christ gave us path to go back to him. Enduring to the end sometimes sounds like a very difficult task yet when we know that if we trust Him, he will direct our paths and things will always work out. Heavenly Father is always there and always looking after us. I’ve had so many witnesses of the love He has for me as one of his many many children. Through the trials and challenges that I’ve had, I know Heavenly Father loves me as he loves all his children. And I’m really excited to share that knowledge of the love He has for His children with the people in Uruguay.

Another little update...

So today is exactly two weeks till I fly to Argentina. I'm very nervous, but also very excited. I received in the mail today my tickets and itenary (can't spell it :) and my first name badge, it's partly in English, so I think I'll get another that is all in Spanish when I go down there. Even though I'm suppose to report on the third, I'm actually leaving October 1st at 1:30 to Dallas and then after a hour and a half layover I'm flying straight to Buenos Aires. Approx. a 10 hr flight. Very long. I know I get to fly down with 4 other missionaries from Utah and then I'll meet like around 14 others to go down to Argentina. So that'll be nice. Although, I'll probably feel more like crying than socializing with other missionaries. :) It was funny because in my packet with my tickets and passport and stuff were two pass along cards. I guess I start being a missionary from the get go, no easing into it. :) It'll be exciting. I'm practically done shopping which is SUPER nice, I used to like shopping but all this has kind of put a damper on it, guys have it so much easier. :) My last talk...before talk...oh I'm just going to say it farewell talk is this coming Sunday which I'm really nervous about, actually scared to death, so I'm just working on that and getting some last minute things done. I can't believe how fast it's coming...

"I love to see the temple, I'm going there some day..."

So last week as I mentioned earlier, I was able to go to the Salt Lake City Temple and receive my endowments. It was a very interesting, unique, intriguing, and neat experience. It’s always been interesting about this side of the Church and how it’s not supposed to be talked about in detail, and if it is discussed it is very very broadly. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen and I’ve always loved the mysterious and perhaps I shouldn’t put it that way, because it is very special, but it was very intriguing to learn about the endowment. I was very overwhelmed and in awe. The next week I was able to go to the Provo Temple with my Mom, which is also a different experience and different from Salt Lake. I really enjoyed it and I hope to go often throughout my life. I absolutely love the temples and it’s because of the great love my parents taught me for the temples. When I went to the temple I thought a lot of when I was twelve and I went and did baptisms for the first time at the temple. It was pretty similar, I was able to go with my parents, the temple workers were so kind and so helpful, we celebrated after, and I was very overwhelmed and in awe. Over the years I was able to do a lot of baptisms and confirmations in a lot of temples and now I hope to do temple sessions in a lot of temples. It’s such a peaceful and happy place. It’s so neat, and I love to go. My mom and I are planning to go to as many Utah temples as we can before I leave on my mission and when I get back from my mission I want go through it in Spanish. I'm excited.

A bit of news...

I realize I received my call a little over two weeks ago and I haven’t written anything on my blog, (really new at blogging and telling my life over the internet :) ) so I’ve decided to write a little update on what’s been going on with me for the last few weeks. I am so very excited to go to Uruguay. I was absolutely shocked to receive my call, because I was so sure I was going state side. A lot of ladies I know have been going or went state side and 3 boys from my ward just got called state side. It was a typical mission call opening experience, I had no idea where in South America Uruguay was so I had to look at a map. I researched Uruguay on the internet for like the next 4 or 5 hours that same day, and also the next few days. I was so amazed when I saw the flag of Uruguay because in the corner it has a big smiling sunshine. My middle name is Brighten, so I felt it was a confirmation to me about my call. It was really comforting and neat. I know that Heavenly Father really loves me.

A week later I got my visa papers and I started getting all my info about me ready and I had to get a background check which made me laugh. I found out for ten dollars that I am no criminal in the state of Utah…that was relief. Then I started all my shots of death. So very painful and expensive. But I guess that’s better than turning green or swelling up or getting spots or something. :) Anyways, they’re done, yeah. The main things I have left to do are shop for clothes and shoes…and shopping is always delightful.

I’m looking forward 08-08-08, this Friday because I get to go to the Salt Lake City Temple and get my endowments. Which will be really neat. My family received like 5 invitations to go weddings on that day and I knew of others getting married on that day, so I wanted to be included in all the festivities and so I get to become endowed on that day. I’m excited.

Things are going well, and I’m trying to get through finishing the Bible and Preach my Gospel before I leave and my Mom is so kindly and patiently teaching me the basics of Spanish to give me a head start. “Hola, como esta?” Anyways, there is my update. Adios amigos…

It's official...a call to serve!

So this blog will be of Tiffani's experiences on her mission and we will maintain it for her by placing her weekly emails, photos or other newsworthy events here. Tiffani received her missionary call to serve today, July 17th, 2008. She has been called by a prophet of God, President Thomas S. Monson, to serve in the Uruguay Montevideo Mission. She begins her mission by reporting to the Buenas Aires Argentina Missionary Training Center on October 3rd, the day before General Conference. I can not be more excited for her and I know that Heavenly Father is very mindful of her.

Enjoy this Mission Blog of Tiffani's experiences.