I'm Home

Elder Boyce arrived home June 16, 2011 after a long plane ride from Uruguay to Sacramento, CA. His family was there at the airport to greet him and welcome him. He has grown so much and had the experience of a life-time serving the Lord. We know he will miss Uruguay and the people he came to love.

Knockin Off My Best Two Years

Hola from Montevideo. I had to come to have an interview with President Da Silva. We are waiting to head back to La Paloma, and will be heading back tomorrow morning after saying goodbye to a few people. These past few weeks have been I think some of the most challenging and emotionally stressful for me, but the Lord has really blessed us. I am so happy and content right now. I know I have done my best and have given my all. I love Uruguay and I know that this is the work of the Lord.
We had an AMAZING zone conference this past week. It was with three zones. Trienta y Tres, Rocha, and Melo. The same church building where I had my first zone conference with Elder Bowen of the Seventy. This time Elder Foster came, one of the counselors in the area presidency. He complemented the mission on the amazing progress it has had over the past years, and talked a lot about who we are and that Our Heavenly Father KNOWS us by our own name. He shared a very tender story about a man named Joseph Millet. I encourage you to look it up. It brought tears to my eyes. He talked about a day when the work will progress so much that the members will be doing the mission work, and the missionaries will simply teach. It was quite the meeting.
Although we weren’t able to get another baptism in La Paloma, we continue to progress in the area. We are no longer allowed to use bikes in the mission. A missionary had quite a spill and in another mission, I guess there was a fatal accident. Sooo..... no more bikes. That makes things a little interesting for La Paloma. Oh well, Elder Castillo will surely adapt. We already have begun to do so. Angel is doing great. His wife René has started to come back to church again. That was a great miracle. She wants to get baptized, but she is elderly and wants to wait till the warmer weather comes..... figures..... :) It’s alright. We continue to be patient with her and we have been finding a few other families to teach. We met this family Rudy and Rosario. (Great name right?) They are pretty great people. They have been planning to come to church these past few weeks but there is always something that impedes them. Their family has been in town. They said next week for sure they will be coming. I hope so. That would be great to have another family coming to the branch.
Well, I think I am starting to see that the work will just go on without me. I was thinking a lot that I’m really just being called off to another place to serve the Lord. Even though I know that I will never again be able to serve in this capacity, you never know... I can still serve just as faithfully and willingly. This mission really has been the best two years of my life. I have never sacrificed more for anything in my whole life. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.
I am looking forward to seeing you all again, and I have really come to see the things that REALLY are important. I have changed so very much, but more importantly I am so happy to have helped other people to change as well. I testify that Christ loves us. Our Heavenly Father listens to and answers our prayers. HE loves us. I know it. I know they answered the prayer of a fourteen year old boy in 1820. I love them. I love you all. See you on Thursday, but until then, as always, KEEP THE FAITH!
Love your son and missionary,
Elder Boyce
K.C.

Yo amo a Uruguay

June 6, 2011

Well, what you said Dad pretty much sums up all of the feelings I’ve had over the past few days. Its been mixed emotions and I’ve felt a couple of things that I wish I had done better and such, but then I realized that I really have been trying my best. I have learned so much, and I know I still have much to learn. But, I need to go where the Lord wants me to go. I still got a week left! I know its not over quite yet. I still have work left to do here before I get on that plane. I hope to tell you about it! This past week was filled with a couple of slumps, but lots of learning experiences. No matter how much it happens, it’s always frustrating when the difficulties come. We have a couple of investigators that are doing pretty well, only it’s really hard to get a hold of them. We’ve been trying to work with the members as well, but it’s going to take time and patience. I hope Elder Castillo or whomever the Lord calls here next change will carry forward with that. We’ve seen a few miracles with some of the members as well. The other week, we visited a sister Adriana Cardoso. She was going inactive, and felt the difference in her life when she didn’t go to church. We had a REALLY spiritual lesson with her, and her family has slowly but surely been following her example. She has started to come back to church and was recently called as the Relief Society Secretary. She is really excited and wants to keep moving forward. It felt really neat to have been able to help in a small way. I know the Lord sends us where He needs us, even if we aren’t sure if it is the right place. I love Uruguay. I love the people. They are really special, and the members struggle against difficult trials, but still hold on as hard as they can to the iron rod. I am so happy to have the Gospel. I am so grateful to our Savior who made it possible to return to live with God again. Without Him, life would be utterly meaningless.

The Great Cause

May 30, 2011

Well, it’s been a few weeks since we got into this new house. It’s all going fine. The work now moves forward unhindered by the annoyances of where to sleep. As the Savior put it, ¨Consider the lilies of the field.¨ Anyways, we just keep working hard. Elder Castillo has really grown a whole lot and has a lot more self confidence. He teaches with a lot of confidence and we work really well together. He’s going to do so well. I’m really proud of him. The past few weeks have been full of trials as well, but nothing more than the usual. Just trying to help people come to Christ and be baptized. I love doing this. I really feel that I have a lot more love for the people and for others in general. I find myself setting more goals to think about myself less and think about others more. I firmly believe now that this is the key to true happiness. I had to give a gospel doctrine class on charity. It was really insightful and as I read over the manual, one of my favorite scriptures on charity came to mind. I probably have already shared it with you numerous times, but I love it so much. 1 Corinthians 13. And Moroni 7. Charity is the source of all we do as disciples of Jesus Christ. We must become perfected in Him and develop this unique and universal attribute. Once, I remember Elder Bednar state that the gospel is not just a check list of things to do, but rather an overarching spiritual question which there are steps we must take all leading to one goal. I hope I can develop even a fraction of the charity that I’ve seen in others in my life and my time here as a missionary. We also had the opportunity of watching the video of Thomas S. Monson, On the Lord’s Errand. It really led the theme of charity. He is another great example of what it means to serve the Lord and serve others. These past few weeks have been really insightful. I’ve pondered a lot over what I’ve been able to do these past two years, and I realize I’ve changed more than I even realize. I know that that’s not as important though as the people that the Lord has allowed me to meet and help to follow Christ. Once again, I testify that this is the work of the master. There is NO greater cause and no greater wonder on the face of the earth that compares to His mighty saving grace. I love Him. I know He loves us. Thank you for teaching me that.

All Moved In

May 23, 2011

Another week flown by. We FINALLY were able to move into the new house and are still getting it accommodated and ready for the future missionaries. It’s really nice! We were just cleaning today and trying to figure out how we are going to get the washing machine to work. (Thanks Elder and Sister Hegerhorst for leaving that behind!) It’s a real challenge, especially for one who is used to having the plumbing built INTO the walls. Ha-ha! Anyways, we’re all settled in and working hard. My companion got to go to his first future leadership conference in Montevideo. I got to work in Rocha for a day with someone else’s companion. It was really strange not having to go. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to be a leader and really see how the Lord’s work moved forward. I hope my companion has the same opportunity! This week, we have been focusing on finding people to teach. One night, making phone calls, I came across the phone number of a person who lives WAY out in another part of our area miles from the church. Her name is Isabel, and she has 10 children. Some of them are already grown. We have only really met 6 of them or so. They are a wonderful family. The only issue... how they can get to church.... They expressed desires to be baptized. They had listened to the missionaries before, but I think they stopped visiting them for the same reasons. We will have to pray about them and see what happens. They love to read the Book of Mormon. Also, we’ve found a few other people. Angel is doing GREAT! He is coming to church strong, but is a little nervous about receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. We talked to him about it and he wants to wait a little longer and learn a little bit more.Last Sunday, a few people who had been less active came to church. It was the first Sunday without the Hegerhorsts and the members were a little sad, but President Cal is a great guy and really has a desire to do all he can to help the branch. There are about 30 or so who go constantly, and it continues to grow. I love this area. It has had some interesting challenges and distractions, as have all my areas, but it has helped me to know many wonderful people and develop more charity. I love this work. I know it is the Lord’s work. I love you all. Needless to say, I have been a little antsy about the coming weeks. I really don’t want to be done, but I know it has to be done. I love baptism. I love the Gospel. I love my Savior. Have a great week, and thank you so much for your prayers and support.As always, KEEP THE FAITH!

Pondering the Atonement

May 16, 2011

Thank you for letting me know how things are going. It really makes me so happy to know that all is well and that the Lord is taking such great care of you all. I have been thinking a lot about that today. I was studying in personal study a little bit about the atonement and thinking about how I can better teach the eternal importance of that singular act. I was reading in Jesus the Christ. It just strikes me how Talmage describes the emotions that Christ must have been feeling at that moment. It really made me ponder and think about it for a moment. It wasn’t just an act that let us come back to live with our Father in Heaven. It was the supreme act of love ever to take place. I love thinking about the effects it has had on countless lives. As Talmage puts it, it is unfathomable to the human understanding the fullness of His suffering and the far reaching effects it has on all of us. Just something I was pondering. I love Him. Today we had to pull some strings to store some of our stuff in the new house. We can’t move in until all the owners of the new house have signed the contract. There are some that are in Montevideo. It’s a long story.... ANYWAYS... we at least got to have them agree to let us keep our furniture there. We are going to be living in a little house a member usually rents for a few days until the contract gets signed. The Hegerhorst´s are leaving Wednesday morning, so we had to get out now. It’s all resolved though. Thank goodness! The work has hit a few little bumps, but we are moving forward. Its normal and we just keep going. Angel is doing great. Rene has slowed down a bit. She came to a baptism that other missionaries had in Rocha. We went and she felt nice, but there is still something holding her back. Well, we are just going to have patience and let the Lord do His part and just keep helping Angel. She’ll come around.

Awesome Members

May 9, 2011

It was great to get to talk to you. It was really strange and it really left me thinking about how fast time has flown by. I still have much to do before, well, yeah.... It’s just so hard to think about it. I really am so happy to be here in this branch. The members are so awesome. The majority of them are single or widowed women. They are all so special and the majority of them are members of just a few years. Some are what you would call ¨veterans¨ or Pioneers. But, most of them have been around a short time. One of the people not in the picture of the branch is Ruben Bica. He has a constant battle with diabetes, and as a result of it, every wound he gets takes a long time to heal. He had both his legs amputated thanks to just a few little wounds that wouldn’t cause problems to anyone else that wasn’t in his position. This happened a while back. He is our Elder’s Quorum President and just has the strongest testimony of the church. He is also a convert of just a few years. He is quite an inspiration. He had to go to the hospital to get a little more of his leg amputated due to another wound he received. He always has really high spirits and is someone I definitely will never forget. One of the many here in Uruguay... The baptism went, well half great! We are still super pumped for Angel. He was confirmed yesterday in church and was accompanied in church by his wife René. Hopefully she will come along. She is really sweet, but sometimes she can forget a little bit or she gets a little nervous. I hope we can help her understand the Love that Heavenly Father has for her. We will be visiting her tonight with the Relief Society President Lillian Curbelo. I have been thinking a lot about how my testimony has grown about the gospel and how we should never be ashamed or scared about the things we know to be true. Sometimes as a missionary, it gets pretty easy to get shy and not share your full testimony. Sometimes people reject it and no matter how many times it happens, it still hurts. Its like you wrap up a present to give someone, and they just throw it on the ground. Even if that’s not their intention. We just need to be patient and love others and understand that we are all different. The Lord prepares us to hear His word. There are many in the world who do not want to hear, but I know that if we pray for them and do our part to be an example and love them and extend Christ like love to all, the Lord will work miracles in many many people. Just because we don’t wear the title Elder doesn’t mean we are not a representative of Jesus Christ. I love the Hymn Love One Another. It really typifies the essence of all we do as Disciples of Christ. Just some thoughts....

Moving Forward

May 2, 2011

Changes came and my companion and I are staying together. So this will be my last assignment as senior companion. I’m really glad we are staying together another change. We really have a lot more we can learn together. It’s been a huge learning experience. I really love my companion Elder Castillo. He is such a hard worker. We’ve been finding a whole lot of people to teach. Now it’s just a matter of organizing ourselves and moving forward. The baptism set for the 7th is looking pretty good now. Rene and Angel came together to church on Sunday and they loved it! The Elder’s Quorum president was sick in bed, so I had to give the class in Elder’s Quorum, then in Gospel Principles. It was quite a handful, but thankfully we are always teaching. Although sometimes I still feel like I have a LOT to learn about being a good teacher. It requires a LOT of patience, love, and not trying to teach all you know on the subject. The spirit must guide our words, and those listening must feel his presence and be able to find the inspiration they need to answer heaven sent questions. It’s a difficult process, but very very powerful. I love what D&C 50 says about this process. I hope I can get better at that! Rene is super excited about the baptism. Angel as well, but he’s fighting against smoking. He quit for good on Sunday, so we are going tonight to visit them to see how he’s progressing and help him to progress. I love him a lot. He was quite a miracle. He ended up knowing a whole bunch of people at church. We have a few other families we are trying to help. The more this work continues, the more I see that if we want to reach the Lord’s expectations, the members and missionaries have to work 100% together. That’s probably something we really want to improve upon here. The members are really willing, they just need some guidance! It’s starting to get really cold down here. Especially with our proximity to the coast. Last night there was a huge wind storm and the ocean was going nuts! I thought a title wave was going to come and wash us away! No just kidding!

Pascua

April 25, 2011

Thank you so much for your messages you send me every week. It really lets me know that the Lord has blessed me so much in so very many ways. It helps me be able to testify even more boldly that I know these things are true. I am so thankful for this time here! It was a wonderful Easter, well Pascua, for us down here as well. I was able to give a talk in church on the message of the April Liahona called Always Remember Him by Elder Christofferson. It was a great opportunity for me to see how I can better remember the Savior always. I think that is my favorite phrase from the Sacrament Prayer. It really is the reason for everything. Remembering Him and His mission, and His sacrifice. I love Him. This past week was the best we’ve had yet here in La Paloma, and probably one of the best on my mission. I finished the Book of Mormon again in Spanish, having marked all the references to heart. I highly recommend you all do so. It really helped me realize a couple of REALLY important things. I won’t tell you because it might not be the same for you, and I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Now I’m reading it again, marking every reference to Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the End, The Gospel, or the Doctrine of Christ. It so far has been also very enlightening. I’m reading it in English this time. I think I’ve decided I’m just always going to read the Book of Mormon, even when I’m studying other scriptures, which are also VERY important. :)

We had a little visit from President Da Silva this week, in what was probably my last interview with him before, well... let’s just say June. It was great. I love talking to him. He reminded me that most of the Savior’s finest and most tender moments were in the last week of His mortal ministry. He counseled me, much as you all have done, to work as hard as I can till the end. It’s funny, because I really don’t want to stop working. I just go and do it. Of course there are times when I get tired and would love to lay down or take it easy. But then I think of whose work this is and I just have to keep at it!

Church was AWESOME! We had 4 investigators in church! Angel came, but his wife was a little under the weather. He LOVED it! They seem to be fine for their upcoming baptism for the 7th of May. I’ll let you know about that. They are such a sweet couple. They have opened up a whole lot to us and I have just grown to love them. That happens all the time! The other three who came were an investigator who has come to church for a LONG time but her husband doesn’t want to marry her. He came to church with her! Quite the miracle! We’ll see what comes! Also, a cousin of a member came. It was great. The little church house was filled to the brim with visitors and people. Well, I gotta go. Lots to do! Lots to DO! As one of my BYU professors used to say. Keep the FAITH! I LOVE YOU!!!!

A Foot in Brazil

April 18, 2011

It was a really fun week this past week. To start things off, I have officially crossed the border and visited Brazil! We had a district meeting in a town called Chuy. The border cuts right through the middle of the town on the main street. (Border protection is not so tight here.) After the meeting, we had a little of time to kill before the bus left, so we went and explored a tiny bit. We all went and bought some Guaraná (a really tasty soda) and some tang with some really interesting flavors. If we ever go again, I’ll have to take a picture by a sign that says Brazil. It was pretty cool, and interesting to hear full blown Portuguese. The closest I ever got was in Melo my first area listening to the television that the people watched. Like someone once said, Portuguese is like speaking in Spanish while sucking on a piece of candy. They weren’t very far off! Other than that, we had some really cool experiences with some of our investigators. We have lost a few, but we continue to have faith and push forward. This woman named René came to church. She is about 70 or so, and we are teaching her husband Angel. They both accepted a baptismal date after a couple of attempts. It was a MIRACLE! But Sunday came. Friday it had rained and it wasn’t the summer warm rain. It was the cold rain! Saturday, like today, was a perfect day. We were excited that many were going to come to church. Then we woke up Sunday morning to a cold and windy rain storm...Needless to say I was kind of bummed. But, as promised, we went out before church to pick up René to go to church with her. My comp’s bike tire popped. We went back and borrowed another bike from Elder Hegerhorst. We called René. She was ready and waiting so we went flying. We got all wet and muddy (she lives in kind of a campy part of La Paloma.) We got there, and she said, ¨I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk with you guys.¨ We got a little nervous. Then Angel said, ¨I’ll call a taxi! ¨ It was awesome! We went to church. Even though there were only about 15 people due to the rain, it was a great meeting. She really enjoyed it and is excited to get baptized! Angel, even though he didn’t come, will probably not be too far behind. So that was our little wet adventure. One of the many of the mission! :)Well, we just felt so tired, but so happy. I love this work. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but it has helped me realize what is most important. I love these people. Thanks for all your love and support. I love you all SO much!

Great News From Home

April 11, 2011

Well, it's AWESOME to hear so much great news from home. Congratulations to you all! Just as President Monson and Elder Scott drop some cane and tell us to just GET MARRIED so many marriages are happening in our family! (You don´t have to tell them I said that...) I was really excited to hear about all of them, and though I am not trunkie at all, I AM SO EXCITED FOR BECKY AND TERRY! Just a funny thing I noticed. I´m going to have to join the club eh? Ha ha! It's also so awesome to hear about all of the people who will soon be leaving on missions from our ward! Congratulations to all of those guys! Anyways, things sure have been progressing here. We continue to get to know our area better and we found a new place to move to. We just have to find out if President Da Silva approves it. But enough about that. The work is moving along. This past week was filled with some interesting experiences. We visited a couple of people who hadn´t been to church in a while. We shared some spiritual thoughts with them and talked with them. The spirit was so strong in some of these lessons, and in one occasion we got to give a blessing of comfort. Miraculously, many of them came to church this last week and it was a very spiritual testimony meeting. It's just so amazing to remember that the Lord really does have angels in all parts of the world, lifting up the down trodden and inspiring the afflicted. I bore my testimony and I just felt this love for the people. We as members of the church have the opportunity and responsibility to be examples of the believers and help in ANY way we can. I have felt my testimony grow so much about that. I know that The Lord trusts so much in us and we can truly be His hands here on earth. We have found quite a few people here to teach in La Paloma. The issue is as always getting them to progress. But we just have to have patience and keep helping and inspiring them. I know the Lord loves each and every one of them so very much. Like you said Dad. Charity is so important. Without it, nothing would have any meaning. I love how its put in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Charity never faileth. With that note, I gotta go. Have a great week and keep the faith! I LOVE YOU!! Love your son and missionary, Elder Boyce K.C.

Beautiful La Paloma

What an amazing General Conference. It was so moving and like Elder Holland stated, really was the word of the Lord sent unto all nations from that one place. It’s amazing to watch Conference from a foreign country. Although I was able to view it in English, which is quite a miracle and blessing, I loved being there and seeing that it really was being watched in all the world. I loved all the messages and I think I found something the Lord wanted me to hear in each one. I feel that as each Conference has passed, I have received council for that specific point in my mission. For example, I remember my first conference; a talk that really motivated me was Elder Holland’s talk on the Book of Mormon. It inspired me to just go out and work. These past years have brought so much instruction to me, and I am just so happy that we have living prophets and apostles. We must NEVER take it for granted.

It was a pretty nice week. A little slow due to the traveling we had to do to watch General Conference in nearby Rocha. But, we were able to find a family to teach! We are also really trying to get to know the members better and help them share the gospel with their friends. It’s going to take a whole lot of patience and some time, but I know that if we just keep at it, the Lord will bless us and we will be happy and love the people. I love how much this last conference was focused on service and how we just need to BE more Christ like and go DO IT! Strong advice. Like Nephi of old stated, ¨I will go and do...¨ He is definitely a model of that for me. I don’t know if I told you before, but to make matters even more interesting, we have to find a new place to live because Elder and Sister Hegerhorst are going to be leaving soon. That makes things a little shaky too, but the ward has been on the lookout for something and it has helped us get to know our area a whole lot better. La Paloma, as you can see from the pictures I sent, is BEAUTIFUL! The people are great and the members are really firm. Our Elders Quorum President is a convert of just a few years, but he is so awesome! He is in a wheel chair, but he is so willing to do all he can for the work. He is always trying to help us find someone to share the gospel with. Being here has been a really humbling experience so far, and as you said Dad, an experience of lots of growth. I shouldn’t be surprised. Since when is that new on the mission? Ha-ha! Well, my time is about up. Until next time! Know that we will be working hard and having fun!

Biking it and Liking it

March 28, 2011 Well, here I am in La Paloma. Its been quite an interesting week! One of lots of growth and trust in the Lord as always, but we are super positive. There is lots of work to be done, but I´m SUPER excited! La Paloma is pretty much like a Hawaiian beach town. There are about 60 members on the records and about 30 to 35 that regularly attend. We meet in a little house that the Church rents. It even has a little sign on it. The baptismal font is in the closest church in Rocha 30 minutes away or on the beach. Needless to say its a pretty interesting place. I love it of course! My oro is Elder Castillo. If you haven´t noticed, he has the same name as my trainer. However, he´s NOT from California he´s from Peru. The majority of the members are widows. The branch president is Elder Hegerhorst. He and his wife are serving a senior couples mission. We live with them for now. They are finishing their mission this coming month. So we´ll see what happens. We have to find a new apartment to live in! Oh well, its surely an adventure! The place is really calm. During the winter months, the town pretty much shuts down except for the people that live there. They pretty much make their living in the summer then close shop. They live off of tourists. There are about 5,000 people during the winter months, and 50,000 during summer. We´ve found some people to teach and we hope will progress. The Hegerhorst´s don´t know too much Spanish so I get to help them out. They are really sweet and have grown a whole lot here. I can´t imagine how difficult a job it must be to serve a mission in that way! This last week, we just tried to get to work and do as much as we could. Even though few people live here, the area is HUGE!!!!! I got so confused. Luckily Elder Hegerhorst was able to take us around to visit a lot of the members and to show us the area. We now feel a WHOLE lot more comfortable in the area. We even have bikes! My companion is an awesome hard worker. He´s from Lima. He´s a great sport about everything and is teaching me a whole lot, despite the fact that I´m his trainer. He´s got this down already. I´m so excited for what the coming weeks hold in store. I´m super excited for General Conference this Sunday. We will be watching it from the district center in Rocha. I am so thankful for this glorious gospel. It is such a great blessing to know that Heavenly Father lives. That He loves us. That Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins, and that He has a living prophet on the earth today. p.s. CONGRATS ON YOUR MISSION CALLS MITCH AND SARAH!!!!! The mission is the best experience you will have ever had up to this point in your life. Enjoy every moment of it!

Off to La Paloma

March 21, 2011 Well, my time here in Barrio 13 in Montevideo has come to an end. I have really grown attached to this area and have grown to love so very much all of the members and investigators. Its going to be super hard to leave. Thankfully I was a little prepared to leave. I was finishing my fourth transfer here. Elder Luke and I have had some awesome faith promoting experiences. I have grown to love the missionaries with whom I´ve served. I loved this area so much. The members gave me a cool t-shirt to remember the area. They were so gracious and were thankful for the work we had been doing. It just filled my soul with a sense of gratitude and love for this work. It is the Lord's work, and when we do it His way, we feel His love fill our souls. Graciela´s baptism turned out really nicely. Though as always there was a little bit of opposition. The pump to take out water got clogged as we were cleaning the font. Luckily some hermanos were there to help us out. I had to get my feet a little wet and take some gunk out of the filter, but it all worked out and we got it filled. Hot water and all! I got to perform the baptism. She is elderly, needless to say I was a little nervous. But we took it really nice and slow and it went perfect. Thankfully we only had to do it once. She came to church on her own again yesterday. She is really happy and the members are taking her in. That's been one of the best things about this ward. Everyone is really nice and willing to talk to new people. They have come up to us and have noticed that lots of new people have been coming to church. Sometimes its hard to get them to come constantly, but we are making progress on that part. We have a few baptisms lined up for the coming month. The Mother of a recent convert named Marta, and this woman we met named Maria de los Angeles. She came to church on Sunday and we will be working to help her read and pray. However, that will be stuff for Elder Luke. I'M OFF! Its sad, but I gotta accept it. I'm just happy I´ve been able to stay in all of my areas for so long! I´m heading off to a little tourist town called La Paloma right on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay. I've heard it has a teeny tiny little branch. I'm so excited.To top it all off, I'M TRAINING!!!!!! a new Elder. I get a little orito! I´ll find out who he is tomorrow. I´m so happy and blessed. I am so excited to make these next few months the best experience. I know that if we do our part and trust in the Lord, he will ALWAYS keep His promises. I love you all! Have a great week and KEEP THE FAITH!!!!Love your son and missionary,Elder BoyceK.C.

This is the work of the Lord

March 14, 2011 Glad to hear that all is well at home. I received a letter from the Stake Presidency this week. It was a wonderful reminder to me that you all support me and this work. Once again, thank you for all your prayers. They really do help and sustain me. I know the Lord blesses us all so very much if we keep His commandments and follow His direction. This week was filled with great experiences, many of which humbled me HARD! One experience in particular I think was one of the most humbling if not THE most humbling experiences I have ever experienced. My companion and I learned a whole lot. I would like to tell you about it in person because it was kind of personal and special, but I have it written down in my journal. I would like to tell you about it some day. Just know that it REALLY humbled me and reminded me that this is the work of the LORD. We depend completely and wholly on Him and His influence in the lives of others. I will tell you of another experience though. This Saturday we had a huge rainstorm that of course SOAKED us! Haha! I love it! Nothing beats getting everything wet, of course our scriptures and pamphlets were in plastic bags. Anyways, it made things a little chilly and complicated for a couple of investigators to get to church. However, Graciela, this elderly woman we´ve been teaching, was set on coming and getting baptized this coming Friday. First off, the brother who was going to help us pick her up slept in and didn´t come to church in time to take her. We called her and she said, ¨It doesn´t matter. I´ll just walk.¨ We went to go meet her, and she just walked all the way to church! She got on for a little bus ride and made it. We met her on the way, but she was just determined and wanted to get there. She is really excited for her baptism and has made a few friends in the ward. She has a few neighbors that are members that have been visiting her with us to teach. Its amazing how much she just accepts what we teach her! Where there is a willing heart, the Lord pours out His blessings. That is what I´ve really been relearning lately. The Lord truly knows our hearts. He knows what we really want, or if we really desire something of Him. Graciela will be baptized this Friday. I´m so excited for her! On the other hand, our other investigators are hanging in there. We are doing all we can to help them develop similar faith, but we are all different and have different experiences. We will see this coming week who we will be able to keep teaching and maybe a few people we will have to leave for a while. A couple of people like Richard and Grisel fell into old habits, but we just can´t lose faith in them. Maybe now they wont get baptized, but the Lord knows them and will take care of them. We just have to keep going and finding those people who the Lord has prepared.One of the members of the Stake High Council spoke on Sunday. He spoke of missionary work and what each of us can do as members to open our mouths and just share the simple message of the gospel with others. He shared a couple of personal experiences that really touched me and helped me to realize that this time out here is almost like a boot camp for future opportunities. I know it will never be the same as always focusing completely, but I know that if I´m always willing and prepared to share the Gospel, the Lord will always offer me the opportunity. Also, another AWESOME thing happened in church. Brian Medeiro, our recent convert that got baptized in February, a young man, gave an AWESOME talk in church! He just looked so much like a missionary. He was so confident and has learned so much! His family was so excited and so were the members! It made me feel so happy to have been a part of his conversion. I went up and gave him a big hug after the meeting. He is so awesome. The stake high council member said ¨ we look forward to the day when you will be Elder Medeiro, serving the Lord.¨ I do too. Anyways, I will let you know how the baptism goes. Until then, we continue to press onward, finding, teaching, and of course, baptizing! I love you all! Take care and have a wonderful week!Love your son and missionary,Elder Boyce

Just Keep Swimming

March 7, 2011 Well, what can I say. Its been a wonderful week as usual. Things are going really well. Although I´ve gotta say that I´ve been really tired lately. Seriously. I don´t think I've ever been more tired my whole life. When I hit the mattress, I feel like a log! But it´s so satisfying and just makes me smile. We just keep going and doing it! I love it, and wouldn´t rather be doing anything else. Anyways, things are going well, and things keep moving along. Some of our investigators and recent converts have been having a couple of problems, but we just keep our heads up and continue to trust in the Lord. We had a very awesome Zone Leader Council on Tuesday. I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a zone leader. It has taught me so much and has helped me grow up a bit. I think the best part is getting to have a little more contact with President Da Silva and the assistants. They are such great examples of humility and service. At this past meeting, President shared a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3. And then we talked about the experience of Moses parting the red sea. There are some very interesting insights and details that he talked about. We just need to go. ¨Just keep swimming!¨ And trust that the Lord will open the way, even if we get wet all the way up to our necks. Sunday was AWESOME!!!! We had 9 investigators in church, even though they weren´t exactly the people we were expecting. This one woman named Graciela came. We have to bring her because she cant walk too far, but she is always ready to go. She understands perfectly what we teach. She had a super spiritual experience during sacrament meeting. She felt the spirit so strongly. She will be baptized next week. Testimony meeting was really powerful as well. I shared my testimony. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and has an immense love for each of us that we could never come close to understanding. I think if we really understood how much He loves us, we would do whatever it takes to return to live with Him again. Also a missionary that recently returned home came to visit the ward with his mom and dad who both served Spanish speaking missions. I knew him. His name is Drew Smith. He's from Las Vegas. It was pretty interesting for him I could tell. It was really cool. It added to the spirit of the meeting. He went up and shared his testimony as well. It was just an awesome Sunday! This last week, we had some very interesting experiences. I don´t know if I should really tell them to you in an email, but maybe one day I´ll tell you in person. They were just kind of interesting and a little eye opening and spirit strengthening. I know that the adversary has power, but like it says in Doctrine and Covenants 121, a man might as well try to stretch forth his hand to stop the Missouri River from flowing in its due course than stop the Lord from pouring wisdom and knowledge upon the Latter-day saints. We have interesting investigators, each with unique challenges and stories. I just know the Lord loves them and wants them to be happy. I have seen so many wonderful people accept the gospel here. I know its true. I know it. What more can I say?Well, I´d better go. I'm sorry if I don´t tell you very much or if I repeat myself a lot. I just sometimes don´t know what to tell you specifically. Just know that I love you so much. I love the Savior and my Heavenly Father. If it wasn´t for them, I wouldn´t have the joys I now enjoy. Thank you! I love you! KEEP THE FAITH!

I Love Being a Missionary

February 28, 2011 Things are fine here in Uruguay. More than fine, we are doing AWESOME! This past week brought lots of interesting experiences. We found lots of new investigators and had a few miracles happen in church. This elderly lady named Graciela walked to church with her cane and enjoyed the all of the meetings. Apparently her daughter was going to come as well, but she didn't get ready in time, and her mother lost her patience and decided to leave without her. Oh well, next time! But this woman is really amazing. She understands perfectly the Book of Mormon and really feels the spirit and puts it to the test. She is excited to be baptized as soon as possible. We have also been teaching the mother of one of our recent converts. Her name is Marta (Mariana´s mom). She also wants to get baptized as soon as possible. The miracle at first is that she really didn´t want to. But we left her 2 nephi 31 to read. The next time we came back she told us, ¨I want to follow the straight and narrow path. I want to get baptized.¨ IT WAS SO COOL! It also happened with a few of our other investigators after they had read and studied in the Book of Mormon. We have started teaching that woman named Grisel that we taught a while back. Her son, who has some problems, really wants to change his life. We invited him to be baptized and prepare himself. He also rejected the initial invitation. But we left them with Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon, and when we came back, he and his mother had read and expressed desires to change. He committed himself to prepare for baptism! We also have a few other investigators who have felt the same! Well, we have had no shortage of opportunities to teach and invite to be baptized. Now we just have to help them to keep developing their faith and to keep reading and praying. It amazing the power the Book of Mormon has to change the hearts of good people and bring them the light of the Restored gospel. I have been reading it again. Another assignment from President Da Silva. It is amazing how the prophesies are all being fulfilled and that the gathering of Israel has moved forward with so much force. I love being a missionary. I love this area. I love my companion. I love the Savior. We had a nice morning. We played some soccer (Fùtbol) with the zone and had some lunch. Now we are going to go do our shopping and wash some clothes and clean house. Not much else to tell. Just the little but nonetheless powerful experiences that constantly remind me whose work this is.

I Love the Book of Mormon

February 21, 2011

Things are going well in the mission. We’ve been working with quite a few investigators and the Lord has really blessed us. It was a week full of trials and testing as well. But we had a great zone conference with President Da Silva and another zone. We had to get everything ready in terms of food and seating. It was as always a little stressful, but it all worked out, and it was a huge spiritual experience. President talked a lot about opposition and overcoming it. As well, he made reference to Joseph Smith’s first prayer and that when Satan opposed him, he exerted ¨all my power to call upon God...¨ I felt a little like that at times this week. We saw lots of opposition in the zone this week, but we are overcoming with faith. We just have to do our part, and then trust in the Lord that He will fulfill His promises. I know that He never forgets His promises. President also left us with the challenge of reading the Book of Mormon in 6 weeks again. This time, marking all the references to heart. Hard hearts, soft hearts, etc... It has been really eye opening. I love the Book of Mormon. Every time I read it, I find answers to my questions and direction to what I should do and how I can be a better missionary and representative of Christ. I love the story of Nephi. He is such a CAPO!!! He was so faithful, even when it would have been so easy to give up. I have been trying to develop faith like him. It’s no easy task, and I doubt I will even be able to get there anytime soon, but I’m going to try! We’ve been working really well with the members. The ward is doing very well. They recently changed the borders to give another ward more support and a couple of families. But the attendance is already up to 117 again! This ward is very great! They work really hard and are so willing to help us and support our investigators. We just have to work hard and earn their trust.

Working Harder Than Ever

February 14, 2011

This past week was very interesting and full of challenging experiences. I always get a little nervous when my companion leaves and I'm left to run the area by myself for a few days. Elder Luke is really awesome. He’s a big guy from California Los Angeles area. His mom is Samoan and his Dad is from the states. He and I get along really well.

We have been helping this family to make the preparations to get married so they can get baptized. They are Juan, and Nancy, and their family. The marriage process here is a little complicated and expensive for those who don’t make a lot of money. But they are doing fine and continue to progress and read the Book of Mormon. I love that book! It’s so true!

Also, we had a miracle at church yesterday. An investigator named Andrés was going to come. But Sunday morning he sent us a message saying that his son wanted to see him and that he wasn’t going to make it. We kind of got a little discouraged. But as we were waiting at the door, he sent another message telling us he was on his way! When he got there, he received a warm welcome from the members and felt really nice to be there! It was awesome! He has a baptismal date for the 26th of February. We are hoping and praying a lot for him. We lost some contact with a couple of other investigators like Carlos but we still have hope that if we do our part, the Lord will pour out His blessings upon us. He already has so much!

I know I need to be focused on the work and I am, but I can’t help but get really excited about Becky’s wedding! VA A SER UNA BODA MARAVILLOSA!!!!!

I have to admit, these past few weeks I’ve been feeling super tired... probably more tired than I ever have in my life. I was just pondering that I don’t think I have ever sacrificed more time, stress, energy, and love in one thing in my whole life. This work, difficult and challenging as it may be, is the most rewarding and peace bringing thing I have ever done. ¨He who looseth his life for my sake, shall find it.¨ This scripture is so very true. I love you all. Keep the faith, and you are in my prayers!

An Awesome Baptism

February 7, 2011


We had an AWESOME baptism this past weekend. It was a great way to start off February, and it was one of the most well attended baptismal services I have ever been to! There were about 60 people there! And Brian Medeiro, the guy who was baptized, invited lots of his friends to the service. It was really cool; He even got up in front and shared his testimony in the end. It was a very sweet experience. He is the nephew and grandson of some members in our ward. He was such a miracle. We had been looking very hard for investigators. He came to church with his aunt and grandma and we set a baptismal date with him the same day. Three weeks later he was baptized. He has fit in nicely with the growing Aaronic Priesthood quorum. He is 15. I sent you a few pictures. It was such an amazing experience. That was the biggest news from here in Uruguay. Well, changes have come as well. Elder Carlock is headed off to Florida! My old area of Piedra Alta! I’m so excited for him. The area is going great right now! All the families I left there are doing great, and I hear that they have received their first callings in the Church! He’s going to love it! My new companion is a new zone leader named Elder Luke. Changes are tomorrow, but I already know him. He came to Uruguay with my greenie Elder Delbar, and I was in the same zone with him for a couple of months. He’s a great guy. He’s a big Pacific Islander.

Growing

¿Cómo están todos? Pa! No puedo creer que el tiempo pasa tan rapido! Seriously it’s hard to believe that January is almost over. Elder Carlock and I are having a great time here and it’s been a super interesting experience having been with a companion for so long. It’s been great during our planning sessions. We put personal and companionship goals on how to improve. Sometimes we get on each other’s nerves, but we get over it fast, and just help each other grow. I really feel like he’s my brother. Anyways, the work has been progressing. This month it only looks like we’ll get to 6 baptisms in the whole zone. It was kind of a humbling experience. We have been working hard to motivate the missionaries. We have been trying to convert ourselves more to the gospel and to the need for baptism. Pres. Da Silva once read to us the scripture in 3 Nephi 11: 33-34. It’s quite powerful, and has helped inspire us to just remember how important baptism is and that we need to help the people to prepare for this saving ordinance. We are really positive of the future! We have two baptisms planned for this next weekend. Not this weekend, but the next, (The 5th of February) They are really cool guys that just showed up in church! Yet again! Well, one of them we invited. His name is Carlos, and he is trying to change his life. The other is a young man who lives in a house where a few other members live. Lots of his relatives are members. He came to church and he accepted a visit from us. We invited him to read the Book of Mormon, and pray, and according to his answer be baptized. He accepted and has felt a calm peace about it. He’s been doing great and came to church again last week. He’s a super stud! Well, that’s all that’s been going on around here. We continue to work hard and the Church here continues to grow ¨unhindered¨ as Pres. Monson stated in the last general conference. We have had our fair share of trials and learning experiences, but its just keeps growing.

Summer.... south of the equator

This week, we had a baptism! Her name is Mariana Gomez. She came to church a few weeks ago and we started to teach her. She is really nice and the members have really extended a hand to her and have helped her feel welcome. She was confirmed yesterday in church

My yummy birthday carrot cake !!

En la lucha!

We’ve been working hard, and we had lots of conferences last week. I’ll admit it, sometimes I really love going, but it sometimes throws me off a bit.

We had a great start last week, and we have been finding lots of awesome people as always. The challenge is just helping them to progress and reaching the waters of baptism. Sometimes I feel like I’m just giving all I have and they just don’t quite reach it. But go on we must. My companion read me a few words of comfort from The Sons of Mosiah. They went through lots and lots of opposition, but they held firm and pushed forward. And as I have seen many times on the mission, the best times are just after the most intense moments of opposition. But really, we are doing great. I can’t complain. The Lord has blessed us immensely with people who are progressing as well. Well, I guess I just need to follow the prophet’s advice and just be more grateful.

We have found this cool family. We have been teaching the husband for a while, but now more and more of their family have started to listen. They even came to church together as a family. They aren’t married, but they have plans to do so. They are even friends of the bishop and a few of the other members!

It’s been interesting. As always, the mission brings its highs and lows, but one constant is that we just gotta do what the Lord wants and follow His Son. The baptisms will come.

I wanted to share an experience that I had this past week. At the beginning of the week, I just decided to trust in the Lord and love the people even more. It had an interesting effect on my work. It became even more of a joy to go out and just talk to everyone. The lessons became more focused and powerful and there was a sweet spirit. I know I’m not perfect. That’s why we REALLY have to rely on the Lord and do our part. I felt so happy. We were able to teach a lot of people. But then with the conferences and such, it kind of threw me off. I don’t know why, but it also renewed my determination to be more consistent and be an agent and not an object. It was interesting, and a testimony that if we decide to just have faith and work, the Lord blesses us with what we need.

I am REALLY looking forward to what’s in store for the coming week. I love this work so very much. It is not our work, it is His work. I testify of this. I love you all so very much. It sounds like all is going well at home. I’m really glad. Even though I look forward to seeing you all again soon, I hope it doesn’t feel like too soon. I still gotta do some things before that day comes.

WOW!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Dear Mom, Dad, newly engaged people that I love so much, new parents, and silly people,

Well, I’m sorry to start off. I was a little selfish and wasted a little bit too much of my time reading all of your emails and seeing all of your pictures. Words cannot express the feeling of gratitude I feel in my heart to see how much our Father in Heaven has blessed me in ways that are to numerous to count. I love you all so so so very much. CONGRATULATIONS BUDE!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU BECK!!!!!! And TERRY TOO!!!!!!! I’m so excited for you guys! What a great way to start off the New Year! I was also pleasantly surprised to see in the pictures you took of the party at the Hall’s home how much everyone has just grown with their spouses and families. Everyone just looks so comfortable and well suited. I was surprised by HOW BIG Olivia and Sammie are, and even Abby! I ALWAYS forget that time just keeps marching on, though I’m not there. I’m so happy to have had this extraordinary opportunity to serve the Lord and give Him thanks for His numerous blessings. Pres. Parkinson sent me an email in which it quotes Psalm 100. That pretty much sums up my feelings at the moment. We have been working hard and seeing lots of great experiences. We have started off a little shaky this month, but we look forward to follow the example of Captain Moroni and watch with faith and diligence and prepare ourselves for the coming challenges. I love you all so much! Sorry I once again sent off such a short email. Me and Elder Carlock are closer than ever, and this long time together has built a brotherly companionship.
Take care! KEEP THE FAITH!!!!
Love your son, and missionary, Elder Boyce (K.C.)
P.S. I’ll be home for the 16th of June I believe. Nate, the picture killed me! I was dying of laughter. Eres un bobo! No puedo esperar hast que podamos hacer cadas chistosas juntos! Que cuide muy bien Noecito.