Leaving Ecuador & Coming Home

Week 97 Ecuador

Hey family,

Just sending out a quick letter here on President Riggins laptop, ha. Everything is goin great, here with the guys all together again hanging out. We have some meetings today, final dinner with president, and then we head to the airport. I feel happy. Lots of laughing and telling stories. 

Love you and see you soon.

Elder Wilson

Week 96 Ecuador

Voice recording  “The Finale”  7/25/16

Hello to all of you beautiful people in Utah, where I will, believe it or not be, in 1 week. The week has cruised on by and shot me head first into this final week of my mission. President Riggins even gave me a hard time about dying in a meeting we had as a zone, saying that he would be honored if I gave the closing prayer, as it would be my last…terrible. 

Honestly, I still don’t know what to think about coming home, so I try not to think about it to much. It’s hard believing this will all end. I almost feel like I wish I could be an apostle and have my next mission booked in three weeks from now, but I guess in some terms I will in going to college, working, whatever we can pick up. 

The week has been good though, we’re staying focused in the work. Elder Coton is teaching piano classes while I go to the branch council meetings, getting some investigators interested, getting some priesthood volunteering to go out and work with us, doing some visits. It’s pretty tough though still. The branches are a little bit…I can’t say weak, they’re about as big as a ward, it’s just leadership. The leaders here serve their hearts out for 3, 4, 5 years, then they just die. They don’t want a calling, they don’t nothing, it’s kind of sad. 

Outside of the branch, we also took a 24 hour road trip to do inspections on the sectors in El Triunfo and La Troncal staying to work a day. In La Troncal they only have three missionaries right now, and are organizing one big sector. They have a new branch president there, so we got to meet with him to kind of get him clued in on what we’re doing as missionaries. The weather there is beautiful though. I imagine it’s what Tiffie lived in her mission for two years, just cloudy, cool, little bit of a breeze. That’s what I imagine anyway. It even rained a little bit in the morning. Me and E. Coton took a morning jog in the rain, very invigorating. 

As a zone we have seen some highs and lows, but honestly we’ve accomplished a great deal in these past two months; more than they’ve accomplished in a long time, and I’m very grateful for that. Though strangely as things are looking I will be the last ever zone leader of El Triunfo due to the decreasing number of missionaries that are coming to the mission field right now, and a lack of prepared leaders here in the mission ready to step up. What were eleven zones will be dissolved into eight, affecting some of my old sectors, Quevado is going to be put into one zone where as it was two, Babahoyo is going to combine with another zone, and Duran South is going to get a little bigger as Triunfo and Troncal combine and Naranjito will adjoin with Milagro. Almost all of my past zones where I served are just going to get crunched together, but that’s ok. That’s the vision that Pres. Riggins has to work best.

So the week goes on. We met with a crazy mission leader in El Trunfo who tells stories of his conversion and years in the church like an old war veteran. Interviewed a sweet old man who is half blind, who honestly for two years now I’ve read the sacrifice that God requires of us is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, but the spirit taught me what that really means as I talked with this man and he was so repentant and humble and just wanted to do good, was so sorry for what he’d done wrong in his life. Wow, that interview hit me. Sometimes you have some good ones. He was baptized Saturday as well as our investigator Byron. I can’t send pictures, because my camera chip has a virus. Hopefully we’ll be able to save the pictures that are on there when I get home. We can figure it out. 

We did a way awesome activity this week on Friday night. It was inspired by some sisters in one of my one zones. They came up with it, and I took the idea. It was a desert party. We planned it with a couple weeks in advance, and asked all the organizations to prepare some treats, cake, brownies, jello, fruit salads, all kinds of just stuff. We brought together about 80 people and at least 18 of those were investigators, and the other half were probably less actives. It was so awesome. The whole branch was so impressed at how well it turned out, and me too. It was all improvised, we did not know exactly what we were doing, but we bought a big bag of candy, and we were doing scripture questions and tossing them out to the people that could answer right. We shared a lesson based on John 7:17 about those who live the gospel will  know that it is of God. That it is his doctrine, and his gospel. We said you have to try it to know if it’s good or not, and so that was kind of the idea of eating the cakes and seeing if it was sweet, if it was good. So we ate lots of cake, and awarded the winner. We had a contest who had the best cake, and our less active that we are rescuing, we awarded her with a Bonbon. It’s a big chocolate treat thing. It’s pretty sweet. So, that honestly wrapped up what will honestly be my last activity that I will ever organize in the mission, and my last baptism. 

You know for as simple as our lives are here as missionaries. How we live, what we do every day, sometimes it can be frustration, or boring, or who knows what, but I have really tried to love the things that God loves, do his will, like Jesus Christ did. I think that’s what makes it so hard for missionaries to leave the mission. At some point along the way were not doing it because its our duty to God anymore, we’re actually doing it because we love it. 

This is my final mission voice recording. I hope it gets to you all well. I hope I get to you all well…ha! We’re going to enjoy this last week. We’re going to work hard, and I am going to hold my head high, and see you all in the airport. I want you all to know that I fully expect you to call me Elder Wilson until I’m released by President Wadman…ha. No, it will all be great, so have a great week, all of you take care. I love you, and see you soon. 

Week 95 Ecuador

Super excited...Elder Wilson is 15 days from Utah!!! :):):)

Week 94 Ecuador

Family,

Sorry I didn`t write hardly today, I will admit I spent my Day searching out Waterfalls and eating smoked meat in Bucay .. sadly for the last time. Bye to my all time favorite place in Ecuador. I have pics but they don`t want to send for some reason. Later I suppose all things will be revealed!

Take care and have a superb week .. try not to get too excited over the fact that I am 3 weeks away from Utah. Love you all. 

President Uceda (area 70) said something to this effect once, ¨Focus. Learn your duty from God. How do you know your duty? Ask him. He will show you. Then you should be sure to do all that he asked you to. That is a life with purpose...¨ 

So, don`t worry, I will stay anxiously engaged in my duty to God here. It wouldn`t make much sense to be here and dream of home  :) 

Week 93 Ecuador

50 plus Utah State quarters...is that a Trunky thing? haha

My right thigh where the exercise band snapped and cut me. Ouch!

Baptisms from last week

Good Sea-food. I'm going to have to get me a good restaurant when I get home.

Me in 'my office'

So the voice recording didn`t work-out.. way lame, too many virus`s on the computers down here.

So I started by singing God Bless America for like 37 seconds! ..with lots of American Pride and my companion expected nothing less.

..then I went on to say how we have found 2 great families this week that I hope to be able to baptize the end of the month.

..then I talked about how my P90X band snapped on me and totally smacked my leg pretty hard, left me sore for a bit. now what do I do!? I`mma come back with zero muscles  :(

..then I talked about me locking us out of the house Sunday night at 9 o'clock and we had to go ´make some friends´ asking around for an extension ladder. We made it in the house by 9:30 curfew, whew. 

..then one of our awesome investigators is going to Cuenca for 1 month to take care of his mom. Dangit, he`s gone.

We have leadership conferences and exchanges with the other Elders this week and we`re happy! 

..not much happening for the 4th, go find me a good lunch. Sad when you live 1.5 hours from the rest of your Zone! Oh well, no pity on me. 

Take care, love you all

Week 92 Ecuador

6/27/16 Voice Recording

Hi family, good morning. It’s Monday morning; I hope you’re all doing excellent. Since a week ago when I dropped E. Coleman off, it’s been a super long week. We’ve been battling out the salvation of our zone, doing all we can do to secure the goal we made. In May we set a goal to save/rescue 25 souls that includes baptisms, rescues, all that. We are super happy to announce that we did better than that, we got 26! We had a family fall through because they couldn’t get married, and then we just dug and dug. I know that God guided us to people who were ready. They had attendances in church but for some reason or another they hadn’t been progressing. We went and taught them by the spirit, and wow they came through. We had 8 baptisms this week as a zone. It was really nice. We baptized 3. One of our guys didn’t pass his baptismal interview, bummer. When your 70 years old you’ve got a lot of sins to clear up I guess…bad habits. We definitely saw little miracles occurring daily as we pieced together the goal as a zone. Definitely happy that the month is over though, because I am tired. I feel super grateful that God really forced us to look back and search for people that otherwise may have been forgotten, and not given the attention they needed, and they wouldn’t have been baptized. I know that God directs his work, that the Holy Ghost does speak to us. He spoke to all of us in a meeting, when we came up with these people. 

The baptismal service on our part was powerful. I got to baptize the three people, they asked me to. Me and E. Cotton, he plays the piano super well; he played and I sang I Believe in Christ in Spanish. Then we had some powerful testimonies of the members. One especially by Bro. Espinosa is his name. This guy’s crazy. I see a lot of stuff down here, and sometimes I wish I wouldn’t. When he was 17, this is like 25 years ago, he had a third degree burn down the back of his leg. Since they don’t have medical insurance, and don’t have money to pay for the operation, he has lived with those burn scars, and it’s like an open wound still. He showed us, and oh it made me cringe. He limps around and everything, but he works and maintains his family the best he can. I think it’s a Miracle that this thing hasn’t been infected, that he hasn’t lost his leg. They invited us over to eat, and we ate lunch with them. You guys have got to understand, they live in a house of cana (sugarcane), and plastered up on the walls so the rain and the sun and everything doesn't come through the cracks, they have glued on the walls pages of Liahonas. Talks, and talks, and photos…that’s their wallpaper, Liahona pages. It’s just shocking. He about made me cry. In his testimony, he looked at me, and he was crying, and he said “Thank you for sharing our poorness, humility, and struggles”. Then he paused and said, “An American from Utah in my home. An Elder from Zion”. I wish I could have done something to help this man. Sometimes I feel so helpless. I have the priesthood power of God, I’m worthy to use it, and I exercise it every day, but then in so many situations people want to get baptized, and oh your not married, I can’t help you. Or you have a third degree burn on you, I don’t know how to help you. It’s just sometimes I feel powerless. It’s interesting, but I know that God can direct us, and he will direct us how we should do his work. This mans gratitude touched my heart, and I will never forget him, or his wife, 

Anyways, other than that we’ll go on to some positive notes. I was doing P90x, and I was doing some pull ups with the bands, and I almost pulled the wardrobe down on top of me. Well, I got out of the way quick enough, and no harm done. E. Cotton, he’s a great workout partner too.  We get things going.

Well, it looks like this is going to turn out as a short voice recording this week. A returned missionary invited me to write out a piece of my testimony, and so one evening I sat down and wrote a short testimony. I guess I can end with that for you guys. I based it off of a scripture D&C 68: 4-6. I love it. I know that I am a Child of God. I am the son of Allen and Cammie. We are sealed as a family for all eternity. I have been taught and made sacred covenants with God since 8 years old, as I seek to do and be what my Father has called me to do. I know Jesus is my Savior, and has redeemed me from the person I do not wish to be. I know He and the Holy Ghost and one with the Father, as can I be, if I like them, seek to save and strengthen my brothers. I have been led to many of my chosen brothers in Ecuador. I know that this is the mission where I was called by a prophet of God and need to be. With my brothers we have loved one another and the Lord for his mercies. I truly needed them as much as they needed me. I love righteousness, and I pray every day to cringe at the sight of sin. Life is filled with trials, triumphs and joy. Our covenants will guide and protect us and blessings will abound as we endure faithful. Until that day when the Holy Spirit of Promise testifies of these truths and we are welcomed to a heavenly home, with our families to reign in love and righteousness forever, just as Christ does, for he is the way. I leave that with you all, with a lot of my love. Wishing you all a wonderful week. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Week 91 Ecuador

Elder Coleman is off to the great USA while I carry on in the labor of the Lord with my new companion, Elder Cottòn from Guatemala. He has 9 months and is the luckiest kid ever to start off as a Zone Leader with me because we are going to complete the goal this month and eat lunch with President Riggins!! I`ve been fighting for this the past year and I`m so excited because the potential is there. Sad that Elder Coleman won`t be here to see all of his great work pay off. ...moment of silence ... Ok! Yea, we`re still going to carry on with the baptisms of Juan and Daniel this Saturday, two great future priesthood holders for the church. Fun to see their progress. 

We did go out with a bang though. Pres. Riggins asked us to go to a Stake Presidency Mtng and teach the Presidents and Bishops the importance of retaining Recent Converts and Less-active members using a new format called the IPM, following their progress up to 1 year. Great learning experience for me and always fun to work with church leaders to see how the church is really run. So crazy to see how revelation comes down from the Prophet himself or the 12 Apostles through the 70`s, mission presidents, stake presidents ... straight to us! I know this truly is the church of Jesus Christ and He leads it.

Keep praying that we can find ´God`s Chosen people` and guard them away in the Stakes and Temples with immovable testimonies of Jesus Christ, whom we love and serve. 

Love to you all, Elder Wilson

cool Lizard???

Elder Coleman & I with tourism train that passes through town 

New companion Elder Cotton from Guatamala

Week 90 Ecuador

Life in Naranjito is moving along! I`m an emotional wreck sending Elder Coleman home, but the work will go forth and I am eyes forward on MY mission. We had a couple baptismal invitations bounce off hearts of stone this week and come back to slap me in the face but a couple sincere investigators stepped forward too. Can`t ask for more. 

We had the very special opportunity of a lifetime, Making History as 3 missions came together under the voice of an Apostle. We all shook his hand and learned from his great counsel Saturday morning. 

Elder Rasband transmitted the Love of God and spoke with confidence. Experience was manifested in each of his stories or gospel principles taught as we shot questions at him. Most of all my vision of my Savior, Jesus Christ, was illuminated as he spoke a familiar, yet special Apostolic witness of Him. I will testify every day of my mission that Jesus Christ is our Savior, he lives, this is his church, there is evidence of that. He is a God of Miracles, of mercy and justice. One day, whether it be in my lifetime or the life of generations after me, he will come to redeem all those who love him and have come to know him through service; a lifetime of service in his kingdom would be well spent. We serve him because we Love him.

...I love every one of you, my family, and the only thing that has kept me from coming home throughout these past two years and what will keep me working these past 7 weeks is my love for Jesus Christ.

I love you all.

Pitahaya, coconut, cheesecake...all delicious!

Week 89 Ecuador

3k Anti-Tobacco Run

1st and 2nd place goes to "the gringo Elderes"

...we made the newspaper

Baptism of Sabina Castaneda

6/6/2016 Voice Recording :)

Alright, hi family. Let’s get all caught up on a busy, busy week. We are back here on Monday, but last Monday we’ll start this out with a spiritual experience. I know we don’t get enough of those. So, last Monday night we were at a family home evening with a somewhat less active family, except they’ve come to church twice now, so they’re progressing quite well. Anyways, we were teaching the restoration, and the invitation was that they work towards receiving temple recommends once again. I don’t know that they’ve actually ever gone, there not sealed or anything. It was cool because the wife said that she really would like to get sealed someday, and her husband agreed. We taught them, and the wife was kind of sick, so I got this spiritual impression that I should ask her if she wanted a blessing. So I asked her, and she said yes. Then I asked the husband if he would give the blessing? He’s like I’ve never given one before, so we showed him how to give a blessing. We each put our hands on her head, and he gave a really choppy, broken, simple blessing, but it was powerful, powerful. We finished, and she stood up with tears in her eyes, and gave him a big hug, and they kissed. Spiritual hot zone right there;) We were just like Yes! Are job is complete…and we left them. That is how a missionary knows he does his job good. aka…being guided by the spirit.

Anyways, we had some other good lessons the next day, and then we were off to the temple Tuesday afternoon for a 7:30 endowment session at night. It was all wonderfully familiar, the spirit, and everything that was there. Me and Elder Coleman were, sorry, Elder Coleman and I (proper english here) were one of the last to enter into the celestial room, and it being what we believe the final visit if Elder Coleman to the Ecuador temple, we just sat down and, not even by each other, in our own parts of the room, and I started praying and soon found the room nearly empty. Everyone else had left, and I cannot describe the complete stillness that was in that room. It was incredible. I can truly say for one of the first times that I received revelation. The Holy Ghost talked to me about my responsibilities, how to help me prioritize, and some counsel that I needed. Definitely a special experience there. 

Alright, now on to the fun stuff. We this week had a special invitation I guess you could say. There’s a policeman that works below our house. We kind of talk with him sometimes, I gave him lesson on the restoration, a little booklet and stuff. He invited us to run in a community 3k race, so it was only like 2 miles, but it was for an anti-tobacco awareness event type thing. So, we have these little t-shirts, mormon helping hands from the LDS church bibs, and we went wearing those, and handed out a bunch of word of wisdom pamphlets, and we ran this race! It was actually competitive right there at the end, coming around the last corner. We haven’t run much, but I kept my pace with the Elder Coleman. I never mentioned to you guys that he is like a state champion in the 800 in track, so I was pretty happy with myself. I gladly took 2nd place, as we sprinted all out for the finish. There was a big old ripped gym dude giving us a run for our money. So, hopefully we made some friends. We each got a medal for placing 1st through 3rd, and we also got a trophy. They gave E. Coleman the trophy, and I, and we happily gave our trophy to President Riggins for letting us run the race. E. Coleman found a great scripture. You guys will have to look it up in 1 Corinthians 9:23-24. We wrote that on the bottom and gave it to President Riggins. It was fun, it was fun. We were at the leadership counsel the next day, Wednesday after going to the temple and he told the story to all the missionaries that were there. It was fun. We didn’t know until yesterday in church, but a bunch of members were telling us. Hey, you guys were in the newspaper! We were like, wait, why, for what? You won the race, we saw it. So, we’re trying to get a newspaper article, but apparently we made it in the newspaper. Way to advertise for the church, right? 

So the traveling didn’t stop. After getting back from Guayaquil the next morning we had to make the hour and a half to two hour drive to our zone meeting, and no pressure with the assistants there, but we were able to lead a good gospel conversation on faith, the nature of God and the trinity. After that we split up E. Coleman and I. I worked with E. Merit, a long time friend here in the mission who is going home with E. Coleman on the 20th…2 weeks by the way, we’re kind of freaking out. I stayed here in our sector, and then the next day, traveling again on the bus 2 hours to Babahoyo to pick up E. Coleman. All the traveling in this sector wears us out, but we’ve had a really, really successful week. That left us two days in the sector, and we’re super happy we had a great baptism of our friend Sabina. Love all my converts, sorry, their not my converts, the Lords converts, I said that wrong. She’s good, her mom’s a member, and we’re also teaching the mom’s boyfriend. He’s a super cool guy. We’re hoping that he and maybe two other men can get baptized the end of this month. 

One of these guys is our 70 year old investigator. He’s Juan, and he didn’t go to church this week because, well we passed by after and he was pretty sick. We saw a pack of cigarettes sitting in his house, so we were like hey, teach the word of wisdom. We taught him the lesson; this guy is a champ. He’s like well, if the Lord tells me to do it, then I’ll do it. We were like ok, Juan we want to do two things. First we want to get all the coffee, or alcohol, or tea, or cigarettes, anything that’s in your house and just put it on this table. He just had coffee and cigarettes, and put it on the table. We were like okay, now Juan we want to give you a blessing, so you can be strengthened, and overcome these addictions. He’s like yeah, yeah, yeah…we give him a blessing, and he gets a newspaper and wads it up, and smashes the coffee and cigarettes, and gives them to us to throw away. Yes, dudes a stud! So, we’re really excited, hoping he can get baptized at the end of the month too. It’s a bit of a heartbreaker that E. Coleman won’t be here. Oh, who am I going to be with? Crazy.

This same lady that…she lives in Milagro, a half hour away from here. She’s the one who drove out here and presented us to Juan, and took him to church the first time. Yesterday in church she brought another reference, so this lady is on fire. She might just stack up all my baptisms right through the end of my mission here. These next two months, that’s what I’m hoping for! I tell you what, she’s a returned missionary. I hope I can be as pilas as her when I go home. If all members were willing to give references and work in the mission work, Wow. It would be a different story. The success would explode. Makes me realize how ignorant I was about mission work before I came out here. I had no idea. I remember Brian Keith being called as the High Priest in charge of the mission work in the stake, and I had no idea what his calling was. I was like oh yeah cool. 

Last thing, I was thinking, and I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but it looks like I’ll be getting home on my flight that Tuesday afternoon at like 1:00. I probably won’t get released by the stake president until the evening, 8 or 9 o’clock, something like that I imagine, so if you guys run into the missionaries, I know we don’t see them a lot, and I know I’m going to be missing you a ton, but I would be thrilled to get home, down a slice of that apple pie, and head out with the missionaries for the final hours of my time set apart as a full time missionary. So if you run into them, if you get it set up, I’m down. If not, don’t worry about it. I probably wouldn’t know how to preach the gospel in english anyway. 

Okay, well keep praying that the work of the Lord goes forth, and we will keep putting the shoulder to the wheel. So take care you guys. I love you. Bye.

Week 88 Ecuador

A different view of Bucay

5/30/16 - voice recording

Hello to all you gorgeous people out there. This is…I don’t know what week this has been. Solid workouts this week with Elder Coleman. We’re in week 5 of P90X, and we will be having our beach bodies in no time. We did some chest, shoulders, and triceps this week for the first time. That was a burner, we just went until pure exhaustion…we couldn’t go anymore. Our triceps especially are suffering. It’s been fun though, a lot of good bonding time with E. Coleman. 

Last Monday night we stayed up watching Charlie with popcorn in the evening. I don’t know if you guys have ever seen Charlie, I doubt it. It will pull your heartstrings for sure, so if you want to try it, go for it; or, we can watch it together when I get home. 

Anyways, this week the work has been crazy, crazy, crazy. It’s nuts being out here, not in Guayaquil because we have to catch a bus at least 4 times a week. We’re averaging about 6 hours on a bus each week, and I don’t think I’ve ever been sea sick, but these buses definitely make me a little nauseous. The next day after you’ve been traveling around…one day me and E. Coleman felt like we were walking around with 50# backpacks, with no final destination. We just really needed a kick in the butt. Nevertheless, we did find 3 new less active families, they’re really good. Makes me think of a scripture from John 21:25. I modified this, but let’s see how you like it…and there were also many other (less actives) the which if they should be written everyone, I suppose the world could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. Really though, even if I stayed in this ward for 2 more years I would never find all the less actives. That is for sure, so that’s a never-ending project. The question is, where are the investigators? We have some progressing, some with baptismal dates coming up maybe this week…maybe? If not, we’re shooting for the 18th; get a bunch of baptisms in before E. Coleman goes back to the USA. 

We definitely have our work cut out for us though with a goal of 14 baptisms with the zone in June. President Riggins informed us, really inspired us, this ward used to have 180 members attending sacrament meeting, and yesterday there was 116. Definitely going to be asking him for some tips on how to get that up. We saw him this week, we had zone conference. That was really fun. We went down Wednesday night, went to a temple session, stayed in the temple, then in the morning we had the conference. I don’t know, zone conferences are fun, but I like leadership conferences a lot better; you get straight down to the doctrine and the dirty stuff, so it’s a lot more interesting. We’re going to be having our leadership conference tomorrow. We have to head out there…back on a bus! It’s ok, leadership almost always requires great personal sacrifices. That was kind of inspired huh? 

You guys all know that I love the temple, and I have felt Great blessings by being able to attend the temple monthly. I feel comfortable in the temple, I feel a familiar spirit, and I leave with a heart full of love for righteousness. I hope that Garrett, mom, Tiffie, and the girls had a great experience doing baptisms for the dead. I hope that was an enjoyable time, and that you maybe got some food or ice cream after. 

Me and E. Coleman are definitely going to take advantage this week of making a stop by McDonalds or something for a sundae, because we are craving some soft serve ice cream. Today for our weekly shopping, our main goal is to find chips and salsa. You guys remember when I didn’t even like eating salsa? It’s delicious now, and it’s not around here, so we have to go searching. We have to take a bus, but we’re going to find it. 

We’ve been at no lack of food though. We catered a wedding actually this week, for a family that got sealed. Well, a couple that got sealed, they’re younger, but lots of pretty dressed up girls that are Not from the church, and shot glasses with soda. It was a typical mormon wedding, not what they were expecting. It was fun to serve them, and look at them, and we didn’t get any pictures with them, but it’s a bummer.

We’ve been getting lunches almost every day. The members are very kind to us, except they give us the lunch that I think I hate the most. They give you noodles, with chicken & rice; noodles & rice together, that fills up the whole entire plate. It just kills me, leaves you with a big ball of carbs in your stomach, and you walk around in pain. It’s so hard to finish it, I hate eating that, but we do the best we can. Last night we had a big delicious dinner with the district president. He’s a great guy. I think I talked about him before, but we had beef, potatoes, salad, and she knows that we love pancakes, and so she served us pancakes with syrup for dessert. Ohhh my gosh, we were so stuffed. I will definitely miss families like them, that remind you of home. 

Well, not everything is sunshine and rainbows, I gave a talk in church about the Holy Ghost. I didn’t really plan it, I just went up there with Preach My Gospel, and some scriptures and talked, so I hope it made sense to all the people. They said it was good, but I don’t know, they might just be being nice.  

It was a long day of visits though, on Sunday trying to get…the rule of thumb “don’t baptize families in little towns that are a half hour away from the church”, because they don’t go. We went searching for a disaster of converts…#tear? 

We are also studying a lot, getting ready for the leadership conference this week, and after that Elder Rasband of the twelve apostles is coming on the 11th, so that’s only two weeks away! A lot of our studies have been based on first, who is the Holy Ghost? What’s the role of the Holy Ghost? We’re finding out that the Holy Ghost has a big responsibility. When you start getting into the gifts of the Holy Ghost, it’s in every part of our life. It’s really kind of blowing my mind. We have a thing, we’ll be walking down the street, and every time we remember something that has to do with the Holy Ghost, we go #ghost. That’s like helping us realize…but if you guys have any Holy Ghost experiences, that aren’t super personal…we don’t want to be going around sharing super personal experiences…but something, we would love to hear it. Really open our minds.

Well, just a quick thought before I wrap this up. Do you guys think I’m going to grow anymore? Because my whole mission I don’t think I’ve really grown. I’ve stayed about the same size. I haven’t weighed myself in a while, but I’m about the same weight, so I don’t know, just curiosity. They say that men stop growing around age 23, so you think like my shoulders will fill out, or chest or anything? I don’t think I’m going to get into super heavy weight lifting when I get home. I’ll just be staying fit. I think I’m going to get into triathlons. So, I don’t know how buff I’ll be, but I don’t know, just a curiosity thought. 

Tell Darby to send me a picture of her belly. I want to see her pregnant baby, and a photo of Garrett shooting trap, and his bow. Does he practice with his bow? I haven’t seen that in a while. We’re coming into June, so I’m excited to see those first motorcycle ride pictures, get me excited. I don’t know exactly when Garrett is out of high school, it might of already passed, but happy summer to Garrett! Enjoy that vacation man. I know your going to miss me a lot, but I’ll be back before the end of it. We’ll have some great final adventures before we both, you jump into your junior year, and I go into my freshman year of college. Ok well, wrapping this thing up. Things are great here. The ward is taking some big changes right now, it’s going to take a little time. Me and E. Coleman are working way harder than we should be. It’s a big challenge, but we’re liking it. Enjoying each others company. We talk of all of you with much love when occasions permit, so we love you. Take care. Talk to you later. Bye.

Week 87 Ecuador

Elder Coleman and I are having the best time of our missions challenging the people with baptismal dates, or simply just to repent. When again will I have the right to just walk in some strangers house, say a prayer with them and then proceed to tell them to straight up repent? So awesome. Lots of love and laughing too, the people have a good sense of humor here.

Looking forward to some further instruction from Pres. Riggins this week and to sit around with the Air-conditioning and good food. We´ve been putting in some stinking long days lately. 

My testimony is stronger than ever that God guides his worthy servants where they need to be to help his work go forward. At random, we stopped by two members on different days 

1. Had slipped a disk in his back and needed a blessing, and for us to go run and tell someone he needed help as he was home alone, he´d been digging fence-post holes. Shame on him for not asking the missionaries for help. He´ll be alright.

2. A less active with kidney stones, 8mm he might of said if that´s accurate? We gave him a blessing and when we crossed paths the next day he joyfully told us he had passed the stones and was back at work. Whew, Thanks God. Blessings work for the faithful. His son now has a baptismal date.

Some fun pics from last weeks´ trip to Bucay. Beautiful. 

Making sugar-cane juice