Week 50 Ecuador

Crazy good fruit I forgot the name of...

Houses on concrete columns, over a rice swamp. haha Ecuadorians are so creative! Too bad I didn't get a pic of the houses ON the river yet.

Out with the old (Elder Alguera)

The Zone

In with the new (Elder Albrecht from Oregon)!

Sept 6, 2015

Ring, ring…Hello?  Um, hello?  Oh! Hi Family! How are you? Well, wouldn’t I like to know.  I guess I’ll find out tomorrow but I am doing wonderful. We officially sold $93 worth of Jell-O with cream and strawberries for our investigator Mariana Salvatierra.  Whose going to get married Friday and baptized Saturday the 12^th.  Yeah!  It was cool.  We got a few members to drive us around in cars to sell it.  When they couldn't help us out, we had a three wheeled trike/bicycle thing with a big cart up front that my companion sat in and I peddled around Babahoyo.  So that’s fun.  No, between that and lessons, leadership meetings and zone meeting we’ve stayed pretty busy this week.  Not that we’re not always busy but serious, I’m tired.  Its Sunday night 10 o'clock I don't even want to watch the 7 new church videos that I have on my pin drive.  Pretty awesome, huh?  God keeps helping us.  Really, every day.  Except for the two chess games I won the other day at lunch.  That was all me.  I won myself a free lunch.  Having cebollado for winning too, on a bet.  That’s good stuff.  It’s like fish soup with vegetables and chifles.  It’s really good.  It sounds really disgusting but, Tiffie, you might have tried it. It’s really good.  I’m gonna bring the recipe home and we’re gonna make it for Sunday night dinner, for everyone.  Not that we could ever replace chili or grandmas chicken noodle soup.  But, you know, a good addition.  Mix it up.

I'm actually glad to have my voice back.  I lost it a little bit like Tuesday. I think I wore it out and then Wednesday I had a really weak voice.  So I drank a bunch of herbal tea thinking it would help and, I don't know, I think it did.  But I realized that it is delicious and now I'm hooked on herbal tea. I make like a litter of it and then I just let it stay in the fridge and drink it little by little.  I think I’ve drunk like 3 liters of tea!

The zones doing really well.  It keeps us super busy with five new missionaries in training. Me and my companion have to go around and do verifications with them.  Whoo.  And they’re mew sp there’s a lot of checking in.  We’ve really been trying to help them with a bunch of references that we are passing over to them. But shoot, half of them haven’t even contacted these great people that I’m getting them to go and teach.  It’s frustrating.  There’s a couple of frustrating things about it but they’re learning little by little.  Two of them are super afraid to invite people to be baptized or read their scriptures and stuff.  They’re just timid.  Just stuff that they’ve got to overcome.  We have a goal 17 baptism this month as a zone, so…start inviting!  

It’s good.  I had two interviews that were really good this week.  One interview was with a mom that had just recently separated from her husband.  It was kind of rough.  We also met with her older daughter, she's like 20.  I feel bad for this girl because she’s pretty but she has like really masculine features.  Really bad.  She’s hairy and she has like a beard and chest hair.  I don’t even have that.  But she was super nice.  We had a great conversation.  The mom was like all nervous when she had a chance to come talk with me.  I love the trust that the Spirit can create between people.  Just like, in a minute and it’s right there.   It’s always enlightening to meet new, sincere people that truly want to do good and just do what's right.

So anyway, are the sister missionaries still coming over to eat every once in a while? Well, if they are and they offer to do a service for you, just give them something to do because I'm so sick of getting rejected by people.  I always have to ask if they need anything or if I can do anything for them.  Honestly I want to help.  I want to do something.  I mean, it’s not like I don’t have anything to do but, you know, just give them something to do so they feel like they’re fulfilling their purpose of helping people.  But don't make them wash the windows.  That’s awful.  Honestly you can save that for when I get home.  It’ll be for your birthday or Mother's Day, mom.  Something, I don't know.  I would mow the lawn though.  That sounds fun.  Or blow snow.  I'm in like the greenest part of the world but there's no lawns or snow.  

Anyway, I’m getting out of line.  Ha, ha.  Anyway, the bishop did ask us to do something this week.  He asked us to help all of the elders quorum do their home teaching visits because no one does them.  Like none of the men do anything here.  So I was reading one of probably my favorite chapters in the book of Mormon for this week and it made me smile thinking about all of these men.  It’s when Pahoran?  Pahorun?  Shoot, I can’t even say names in English anymore.  Anyway, he was the chief judge in the time that Captain Moroni was kicking Lamanite butt out in the battle field.  Anyways, the Kingmen, or what we would in modern language call, the liberals who wanted more government, more programs and a King.  They were really lazy and they didn't want to defend their country or their liberty.  Well they took over the kingdom and kicked out Pahoran, the buddy of Moroni.  Well Moroni stopped receiving food and soldiers and everything to fortify the cities that they were conquering.  So Moroni started writing some strongly worded letter's back home and he finally received one back that said they had been overthrown by the rebels or the Kingmen.  So Moroni leaves his army and takes a few of his best men and they march towards the land of Gideon where the government was.  And it said, he raised the standard of liberty in whatsoever place he did enter and gained whatsoever force he could as he marched toward the land of Gideon.  At it came to pass that thousands did flock unto his standard and did take up their swords in defense of their freedom that they might not come into bondage. So, anyway, he ends up showing up and there’s a battle and he ends up destroying them. After that, they all had their trial for the prisoners that were taken.  And it says that whosoever would not take up arms in the defense of their country but would fight against it were put to death.  So he put things right in order.  And he leaves us with these words. Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world but for the glory of my God and the freedom and welfare of my country. Powerful stuff.  Makes me want to just give a little bit of justice to all of these guys down here. But we have to remember that everyone in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day are all volunteers.  Nobody gets paid.  And so, we just have to treat them with a lot of patience and love.  We will all be rewarded one day according to our own efforts, works and desires.  So we’ll just keep doing our part and hold out for the justice of God to come.

To do a complete flip flop though.  Finishing things up here.  I do want you guys to know that I'm trying to love the people here, missionaries and Ecuadorianos alike. I was listening to some final testimonies of missionaries going home this week in the leadership conference.  They were talking about the atonement and pondering on it.  Everything that God did, His sacrifice, was in love. Love for all of us.  He died and paid for the sins of even the people that would hours later crucify Him.  So, I’ve really come to think and set the goal that I will understand the atonement more fully when I learn to love all people or maybe better said, learn to show love to all people through kindness, service and accepting them.  Trying to see them all a little more how God does.  So that goals gonna take me a good 11 months so I think we are set for long term goals.  Anyways, always wishing the best for all of you.  Have a wonderful week.  I love you. Take care.