December 18th, 2017

Well, it is cool it snowed a little (in Utah); I really hope it is just waiting for next winter. Yeah, I'm really excited to Skype you guys, but I don't know at what time, because I forgot to ask people if we could do it at their house. So, I will send you guys an email next Monday, in the morning, for what time, but it should be some time between 10 - 4 😀
Thanks for the Christmas money, I'll use it wisely 😉

This week was ok. We had a ward party for Christmas but they did it at 8pm so we only went for an hour. The members just did a little talent show, so it was cool.
Also, today is transfers, so Elder Johnson is leaving, but I'm staying here. I think I know the sector good enough.

With the family that we found, we haven't visited them because whenever we try to visit them they are working, but we are going to keep trying. But all our investigators are slowly progressing.

But with health, I'm doing good. I have allergies, I think. I'm just always sneezing. Luckily, everyone here is rich so we are eating better/cleaner food, so I hopefully won't get sick from anything I eat. There is a big park here, and I love walking through it because you can't hear cars or anything and there are pine trees, I love the smell of pine. It takes up a lot of our sector.

I love you all, and I'm going to send pictures to Ellie.

December 11th, 2017

Well, it is cool you guys went to a conference and elder Ballard spoke. I know that church leaders have been talking to the leaders here more about helping less actives because they aren't really doing it, and now that the mission is low on missionaries, a seventy told us we don't have enough missionaries to really be focusing on less actives.

Ellie did good with her piano playing. I wish I could play like that.

Not a lot happened this week. today we spent all day on getting my companions VISA renewed, so we just got back, we did nothing today.
It has been raining this week, so it has been nice and wet and cold.  We did service again, we were helping the same family that we did last week just, this week we helped them prepare to build a new house.

Yeah nothing really happened this week, we just visited a few people and contacted.

Sorry this is short, but have a great week, and I love you all. 
Sorry, I don't have any pictures. 🖖

December 4th, 2017

Well, it is cool it snowed (for Utah), it has just started to rain about every day here.  And yeah, it is crazy that it is December, because that means tomorrow I will only have 6 months left in the mission.

It is cool that you guys are doing the Light the World, we were supposed to get calendars for it so we wouldn't have to watch the videos, but we never got them.  But that doesn't mean we can't serve people every day.

The Christmas dinner with president Barlow was good.  I don't have a video of our performance, but I will try and find one.  I just love the house of president, it has a cool view of Quito.

It was cool because this last week we found a family of four, and they are so cool.  They were Catholic and, five years ago, they joined a different church.  Then we knocked their door.  They said that something was missing still in there lives and that they couldn't find faith.  So we talked to them about faith.  At the end we mentioned that families are eternal and they were so excited to hear that, they just exploded with joy.  It was the coolest thing to experience.

Also this week we were doing a lot of service projects with the zone.  It was crazy and a lot of fun.  We also cleaned up a house after it had burned down, which I have no idea how it burned down because all of the houses here are concrete.  But it was raining when we started so it was really muddy, so we got so dirty.  Then the sun came out and we all got sun-burned, and then it started raining again, and it followed that pattern like 100 times.

That was about my week, but I love you all and hope you have a great week.

November 27th, 2017

Well, it is too bad you guys haven't gotten snow, I hope it is just saving up for next winter.  It is cool you guys had a good Thanksgiving.  I did nothing, we were going to buy pizza, but at the end we didn't, so I ate noodles.  I wanted a simple thanksgiving dinner, :)

This week was good, it was just like every day.  We haven't found anyone new, but in time we will.  So this week was just a lot of walking, and I feel like I'm losing weight because my pants are starting to get a little big, so I think I need to eat more :)

Not a lot happened this week.  But this Thursday we are having our Christmas party with president Barlow, and each district has to do something, so my district is going to play a song using bottles.  I will send you guys a video when we do it.  For Christmas, I don't know what we are going to do, but yesterday a family invited us to go to their house for Christmas, so we probably will.  I just wish we would get snow, but I will will just get a green Christmas.

As for mom's question, there are thousands of  Catholics here and Jehovah witnesses.  Every door is one of the two, and they normally just want to fight with us.   

I love you all and hope you guys will have a great week. 

November 20th, 2017

It was cool because today we went to the equator; it was a cool little park.  There was one room that talked about how the universe got formed and what star systems you can see from the equator, it was cool.  Another place talked about how the gravity is different, it was cool. It also talked about the history of Ecuador a little. The only weird thing was there was a lot of people from the U.S.A, and all of them were asking us to take pictures of them, it was funny. I almost think some of them thought we worked there.

We went to the top of this tower and there were all of these teenage girls there, they were from the U.S.A, and it was really weird for us. So we were just talking in Spanish about how weird it was. I hope none of them could speak Spanish. It was fun, it juts took all of our P-DAY.

The week was good, it has been hot and sunny some days and cold and rainy others. Sunday there was a virgin party or something so none of our investigators went to church, they all went to go pray to the virgin, so we need to talk with them about that.

I don't know if we will do anything for Thanksgiving. I guess a family was talking about it before I got here, but they haven't talked to us this week, so I don't know. Also, if you guys are going to send me stuff, I want pudding packets, so I can make it, and taco seasoning.

Sorry this is short but have a great week and I love you all. If you guys have not seen this video yet you guys should watch it for family night.

https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/a-good-samaritan

November 13th, 2017

It is nice here in Armania, it is a big sector and I don't know any of it.  I feel lost whenever we are walking to lessons and stuff and I don't like that.  I just want to know were I'm going and were I am.   But the weather is nice, it has rained like 3 times this week.
I live in the rich part of our mission, I think most of these houses are better then any I have ever seen, they just need carpet.  I guess the Seventy doesn't live in my sector, he lives in the one next to mine.  The members are cool here, they like helping us.
My companion is elder Johnson, and he is from southern Utah.  He is cool.  I will get a picture of him soon :)
Today we had a little Zone activity.  We ate breakfast and played some futbol and kickball, it was fun.  It is weird because I'm starting to be the missionary that has the most time in the mission. I think in my zone there are only 3 missionaries that have more time then me. 

Sorry this is short, I have pictures it is just this computer is being dumb.  I love you all and hope you have a great week.

November 6th, 2017

Well, it is good you guys are doing well, and that it is going to start snowing.  I can't wait until I can feel snow again, but I have to wait one year.

With transfers, I'm going to be going to Armenia, it is in Quito.  I leave tomorrow.  I'm ready to leave the heat and go back to 64 degrees every day all day.  I guess a seventy lives there, so I might get to know a seventy really well.

This week was good.  We think we all got dengue fever, because a lot of the members have been getting it and then me and my companion and the other elders here have started feeling like our bones are broken and we had fevers and headaches.  We are a little better today, my body still hurts.  We called it in and we think they didn't understand us, the nurses, because they just told us to drink water, and take Ibuprofen.

It is funny because Christmas is starting here, the stores are full of decorations and stuff.  I just want the snow. 

Sorry dad, I don't have any pictures of cool bugs.  I just didn't see any.  But just like two days ago, the other elders here found a less active family that has a huge piece of land.  I guess there are a ton of insects, sloths, crocodiles, and a bunch of other things, so they are going to go there next week.  The bad thing is, I will not be here. it is dumb.

I love you all and hope you guys have a great week.

October 30th, 2017

Well, it is good you guys are doing good.  The conference was great, it was Elder Godoy, he was great.  He told us that we need to use the Book of Mormon more, and that we need to repent of our little sins, and we can't postpone repentance.

I learned a lot at the conference and it was nice to leave the heat for a day.  We stayed the night, so it was nice to sleep in the cold too.  It has started raining here, so it has been getting a little cool, but much more humid.  Transfers are next week, so I hope I get changed, I don't know how much longer I can take this humidity.

Life is good, just not a lot happened this week, just teaching, and contacting, which are great.
Sorry this is short, I'm out of time.  I love you all, and hope you have a great week.

October 23rd, 2017

It is cool Ellie had a concert, I watched the video dad sent me and Ellie did a great job.  It is funny dad had blood on his clothes, maybe next conference Elder Clark will talk about it as an object lesson.

This week we are having a conference with a general authority, I don't know who but it is this Thursday and it is going to be in the city Ambato, which is like 6 hours away.  So we are going to leave here at about 2:30 in the morning, it will be great. 

As for a package.  I have no idea what I want, maybe a pot roast, :)  but, I don't know, maybe some twix, jolly ranchers, and lemon heads.

The baptism was great.  I guess a few days before the baptism, some Jehova Witnesses talked to him and told him that our church was of satan and it would destroy his salvation if he joined.  He told them that it was his decision and that whenever he is at church or reading the Book of Mormon he feels great, and he knows those feelings are from God.  He told them that they should talk with us and they can feel they same joy he is feeling.  We told him good job and that yeah, all of these feelings are from God.  We never did see those Jehova Witnesses.

Life is good here in La Concordia.  In December we are going to be low on missionaries because a ton are leaving and we are not receiving a lot.  I don't know why God wants so few missionaries here.  I don't know how many missionaries are leaving or how many will be here after December, but we will see what happens.

I have started to make empanadas.  I'm going to try to make breakfast ones.  Right now I just use cheese and ham, but I have no idea why I'm starting to love them.  The pineapple is incredible, I love it, it has so much flavor here.

Not a lot happened this week, just contacting, and teaching.  Sorry this is short.
I love you all and hope you have a great week.

October 16th, 2017

Well, it is good you guys are doing well, and that fall break is this week.  I hope you guys have fun.
Life is good here.  We are going to baptize Luis this week!  He would keep bringing up baptism with us and telling us that he was ready, but we just gave him some time and yeah, so we will baptize him this Saturday!

It has been a good week.  I have been thinking for some time about an activity to do to preach the BOM to La Concordia.  I thought of painting a picture of Christ, but a big one (with the help of the ward), and we would go to a park that is in the center and teach people about Christ and how the Book of Mormon is another testament of Him.  Then I started dreaming about it, and one dream everything went awesome, it was a great day, we got a ton of new investigators.  But then the next night I dreamed that everything went wrong, it was raining and  no one was walking around.  But, at the end of the dream, a family was walking around and came up to us and asked us who the picture was.  Then we taught them about Christ and the BOM.  It was a cool dream, but so I have never stopped talking about this activity with the other elders and the members.  When I thought of this activity I felt that this activity will have a lot of opposition and, on Sunday, we had a little meeting with the ward leaders to talk about the activity.  All of them said that it would not work, and that this year is too busy to do it.  But I feel like we can't not do this activity.  Every day I just have the feelings of why we haven't done it yet.  We are going to have a meeting next week with the members, to talk more about this activity.  If none of them want to help, then we will just do it.  It will take forever to draw the picture.  We just have to do this activity, someone here needs it. 

I hope you got the pictures I sent Ellie.  I love you all and hope you have a great week.

October 9th, 2017

That's funny mom has a mouse at her work, I've only seen dead ones.  I think there are more frogs than mice here, but a lot of insects.  Some nights I feel like I'm in the movie Avatar.   Some of the insects are so weird, but cool.

Life is good.  The rain is starting to come back, but in the night.  So it gets nice and cool in the nights but then it is horrible to shower in the morning because we don't have hot water.  I tried asking the owner, but I think he thought I was joking when I told him that I want hot water.  He just looked at me and said, "in this heat?"  So I don't think we will be getting hot water.

The baptism was nice, this time the water was green.  I hope next time it will be pink or something, no just kidding, but I have no idea why it was green.  Ivan is doing good, now I just hope we can get Luis in the water soon.  We are also now teaching Luis' daughter, but she is really quiet.  We were teaching his son too.  He was doing great and he loved readying the Book of Mormon, but about two days ago he left to join the army.

I love you all and sorry this is short, but I ran out of time.  I will send pictures next week.

October 2nd, 2017

Well dad, I have no idea how mom let you get uncle Logan's motorcycle, but it funny, it is almost winter so you only have a few days left to drive it.

It is funny the dryer broke, but good dad could fix it.

But yeah, conference was awesome, me and another elder went to a member's house to watch it in English.  I loved elder Anderson's talk at the end.  I think he changed his talk completely, and I loved how he used a part from elder Hales' talk, and how he basically introduced elder Nelson to the world.  We thought at the end of the prayer they were going to announce that president Monson died just because of how much elder Anderson was talking about elder Nelson.  It was great because after conference when we left the house of the member it was so quiet, no cars, no music, just birds and the wind, it was so peaceful.  But the world quickly made its entrance, with worldly music and tons of cars.  But I felt great after, just spiritually exhausted.

This week we were supposed to have two baptisms.  We are still going to have one this Saturday, his name is Iban.  He is a really old guy that wants to make sure he's on the right path before he dies.

We have another investigator name Luis and he was going to be baptized too, but last week we found he has a few problems.  We made some goals with him, and are going to help him every step of the way.  He is a great guy, all of his family is dead, so he is very excited to walk the path God wants him to walk, and then to do the work for his family.

Life is great, it is getting hotter every day and the sun just gets more and more powerful.  But I love being here in Ecuador.  I know the food isn't great nor are the people open to the Mormons, but I never want to leave.  I hope the second coming comes when I'm still here in Ecuador serving my mission just so then I can stay here for the millennium.

I love you guys so much, and hope you guys have a wonderful week.
I will send pictures to you guys next week, sorry :)

September 25th, 2017

Well, I'm happy that you guys had a good week, and that dad was able to use my tornado machine, and that mom and Ellie went to the conference.  I cant wait, we will probably watch it at a member's house in English.  Nothing got changed with transfers, so I will get mom that picture of my companion and I next week, I keep forgetting.

This week was good, the conference with president was good.  Not a lot happened this week just walking and teaching, which is great.  This cambio, the mission is going to focus on the BOOK OF MORMON and every two weeks we will receive about 30 BOMs per companionship.  So we will be using the BOM a lot.  We will be doing an activity in La Concordia to help people to come to know the BOM, but we are still thinking on an idea.  If you guys have any ideas on what to do please share them, and do them.

Today we made cinnamon roles, and they were so good.  We made some for some of the members, but we ate most of them and still have more.  When we were letting the dough rise, ants got all over one of the batches, we still ate them.  They were good, some just had cooked ants in them.

Life is good, and hot.  This cambio I will be the missionary with the most time in the mission in my district, it will be weird.

I hope you guys have a great week, and you guys should go to the temple with Nana this week.  I love you all and yeah, have a nice week.

September 18th. 2017

Well, it is good you guys had a nice week.  It is funny Dad lost his talk, but it is good everything worked out.  I wish I got to give more talks.  I will get a pic of me and my comp this week.

But yeah, we had a baptism, it was good, but the water was blue.  The water was a little dirty and a member told us to go buy a chemical that would clean the water, so we bought it and I told my companion not to put it in the water until the member got there, so he could do it.   But my comp put it in, and all the water turned blue.  So it was almost a perfect baptism.  We still did the baptism, just in blue water.

Transfers are next week, so the next time I write you I might be in a new area, but we will see.  This week we have our conference with president Barlow and interviews, so it should be a nice week.  I love talking with president Barlow.

It has started raining again here, so it has started getting really humid again, so I hope I won't die.

Life is going good.  I'm a little sick today, but nothing I can't beat.  We went to a native place today, it was fun.  They just talked about there clothing and music and, in the picture I sent you, I think she was praying or something, it was a weird room.

I love you all and hope you have a great week.