December 28, 2015

Well i hope everyone had a great Navidad because i know i did i got to talk to my parents on skype and luckly i was in the city of Guayquil so i could find someone with a computer i can skype on!!! We had our mission activity on the 22 and the 23 and they were way fun days.  For probably the most of it we were singing on the street or singing at like a old fokes home to really old people that were kinda insane too haha.  Then president made dinner for us on  the 23 and it was super good!!! Turkey with mash potatos with green beans with GRAVY!!!  I dont know where he found gravy but he really pull on that one!!

The actual day of Christmas we could get that much work done because everyone was out in the street either still drunk or have a real bad hangover from the night before so it was hard to do anything but we did visit so recent converts and members and created kind of life a Christmas nativity but just with scriptures and hymns and it was super fun.  

Today i got transfered to a city called Babahoyo and a sector called Universitario 2!  This is alot different from the city haha.  I feel like i just arived on the mission again! hah no but it is alot different because it is all fields and stuff but the city had other people that were just a little bit more rich that the ones here.  So i just went from cinder block houses to baboo houses haha.  

My new companions name is Elder Argueta he is from Guatamala.  he is pretty cool he only has 3 months left on the mission so he is kinda nervous haha but its cool he is a really hard worker from what i could tell.

It was really hard to leave Vergeles because i basically knew everyone there because we did so much contacting and stuff and i got the call last night at like 9 o clock in the night that i had to pack cause they needed to throw me out in to the jungle for a bit haha.  but i didnt get a chance to say good bye to anyone and that really sucks so i wrote a few letters to my converts and left them with my companion so he can give them for me but it kinda sucks to start over again but its ok it will be way funner than last time and the house that i live in now is way bigger and way cleaner cause its not so much in the city. 

Well i hope everyone had a nice Christmas and sorry i havent emailed in a while!!

Choa!!

de Elder Blackhurst

ya im really pumped but also kinda sad i wanted to be there for like a few more months

(I asked if he had a chance to say goodbye to Carmen-his mom away from home)
no its good i called here before i left this morning but she wasnt there so i left a message with her son

ya and i also gave that byu football to Bryan her son because i think he would enjoy it way more that me

ya the youngest is very downs syndrome and like almost ever sunday it seems like she has to go to the hospital for a doctors appiontment ugh its kinda anoying because she is slowly starting  to lose her testimony cause of it.  but ya i gave the football to the 2 oldest cause he said he liked it a ton and he looks like a future offensive linman

 

(I asked if his new area had a university because the wards are called Universitarios)

ya but i havent seen it yet ive only seen the house and the grociery store by the way the food is super cheap here!!!! its super cool!! and this cyber

no we had transfers today elder morga got transfered too.  it was like a 2 hour bus ride is all

 

(I asked if was a big bus or a chicken bus)

it was a big bus but no i meant to say Guayaquil is super expensive so its super nice to have cheap things for once

 

(I asked how many were in the apartment and if he rode the bus alone or with someone)

there is still 4 and ya i was by my self it sucks i felt really weird haha

haha i cant remember there names yet haha but i know ill be good freinds with them next week

hah the christmas party for the ward was horrible cause they had it on the day of christmas and nobody could go!!! so dumb

(Rob asked him about the bus ride there and how his own experience was scary because he didn't know the language yet so he wasn't sure if he would get there)

haha ya thats honestly all i was thinking on the ride there is of your story on your mission and i was really greatful i could comunicate with the people

ok guys i have to go now thanks for everything you guys do for me i hear from you next week!!! love you

December 21, 2015

yes i think we are going to skype but its hard to find a place to do it cause not too many people have a computadora with camera

yes i got the peanut butter and honey its super good i love it thanks so much

No i havnt got the Christmas packages yet i hope they get here before april haha

No we have it tomarrow and im super pumped cause we are doing i cant remember what it is called in english¿iniciatorios? hah 

ugh Jipson he did exactly what i was afraid of im kinda panicing he started doing the same things he was struggling with before his babtism and ugh man i feel like it is all just falling apart with him and im super sad about it cause before he was so pumped when we came but now its like we come and he just seems tict at us or something and i honestly dont know what im doing wrong thats why i was super bummed but its ok i decided i was not going to give up hope because he is a pretty dope kid and has a really bright future ahead.  I know exactly why its cause he has no freinds in the church so there is absolutly no drive to presevire to the end.  Walter its not going to well either i dont know what happened cause i think he doesnt like telling the truth with us so he says all this stuff about how he wants to be babtised but every time i ask him why he wants to be babtised he says one wants to get rid of all the mistakes in his or her life so there is absolutly nothing personal about it hes just saying what he thinks we want to here but we really just want the truth 

ah man that sucks that byu lost cause i was really going to send an email to hack to to glote maybe get some members to take a pick with a byu shirt on or something but ya whatever i never really bronco losenhall ugh.

ya the christmas party is tomorrow and wensday so it is almost all the day long both days but i kinda dont want to cause we found a new investigador named Jorge and he is super dope but doesnt have legs cause he was in a car accident and the wind shield choped them clean off hah its funny and really sad at the same time ok maybe not that funny just more sad than funny but he needs faith that jesus is the christ and not just a "good guy" cause that what he thinks right now so was thinking about him this moring and i thought of leaving him alma 36 to read cause its super a sick chapter!!!!

(he is inviting Jipson to family night) ya like today we have a noche hogar i and i called him to ask if he wanted to come and he said ok 

 

ya so im thinking with walter if he doesnt show progress with in the next 2 weeks we have to drop him but i know the lord still has his back

(THIS IS WHEN HE WILL CALL ON CHRISTMAS!!)

ya 11 is great for me so ill call around 9 your time i forgot about day light savings

(About a wonderful lady in Guayaquil named Carmen Murillo)

no what does she what to make for me!? and she went to church i was so pumped he had a huge lesson with her and aparetly she was not so sure what the sacrement was cause she felt no need that she had to attend at all.  so i just explained it to her stern cause she talks alot so she had to understand and ya she understud and went to church i was super happy

it was roast ah i miss it super bad but i know that i have not chance of seeing it here  but ya carmen is super sweet and she loves you and said i was one of her favorite elders!! ya shes like my mom here but dont worry im not going to replace you ha

 

yahoo i babtised again this week

ya but i have to go i sent you a pic so you can laugh haha and yea hes 9 so its a babtism of the mission see you friday bro hahah!!!!!!

ok i have to go cause its six and i cant be late so tell everyone i love them and i cant wait for friday

December 14, 2015

Today is changes and again i didnt get transfered so im still here in Guayaquil Vergeles ward!!! Whoo!!! 

Wow this week was great!! we had 4 investigadors attend church and 6 less actives!!!!! Wow it was great!! one of our babtismal dates fell his name is Walter and he has pretty much lived his life solo and his hes made a few mistakes in his life that he wants to correct and his brother is mormon so we got the chance to visit him and hes taking the lessons now and everything and he had a date for this saterday but it didnt come to church on sunday so we have to wait for the next week. Its around christmas the next week we can do it but im praying that one nobody talkes him out of babtism and that satin takes a break on the guy cause he really needs this in his life.  I know he does and it would be amazing for him. He talkes aton about how he was in the military and shares all these stories that hes had to shoot people before in the war and all this stuff that makes me laugh. 

I was rereading the book of mormon today and i desided that i was going to try to read on chapter ever night but switch off every night from english and spanish and this week i was reading 1 nefi 13 and 14 and it talks aton about United States and how the united states would kick out the indians in the north and it would be a choice land perfect for the Restouration of the Gospel!! Its crazy how much God knows!! The reason why he literally glows is because of his knowledge that he has, its really cool that when we die and after the judgment and all and we arrive to the Celestial Kingdom that we will but incomprehensibley smart!!!

I love the book of mormon and know with out it would be really confused about aton of stuff so if you ever have a question about if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint is true read the book of Mormon i know for a fact it willl ansewer any question you can think of.  But God wants to see your effert to read it and hes not just going to give you your ansewer for free you got to work!!! God is a God of Work!!!!!!!!

 

( I asked how Elder Hernandez was doing? )

ya hes recuperating a tone he can almost move his whole cheek now
 

We contacted this guy on the street and I took a pic cause its funny

 

No its was just his pet for a while haha and that night they just desided to eat it so ya they cut her open and it was so funny it just remined me of hunting the whole time haha

 

( I asked how the food is )

 

Some food is really good like sometime but very rare we have lasana and its super good. ya its like real real lazana from italia the peple her are crazy for spain and italia

 

ya they dont eat like a ton a ton ( of meat ) but they eat every part like yesterday i had a cow heart soup it was really nasty and i just gutted it down i can honestly say that i didnt finish it but i dont think she noticed a cause i gave the rest to her dog haha i feel bad but i just couldnt eat it

ok first what do you think is the most common thing.  I eat it litterally every day and it is the reason ive gained 20 lbs since ive left. haha its cause ive been trying really hard every morning to just turn it into muscle but im geting behind i can feel my body getting fatter and actually not that much beens i kinda wish there was more just rice.  sometimes for lunch we just get a mountain of rice and like a strip of cow haha

( I asked how big the ward is and how often they feed the missionaries )

we have a differerent lunch every day of the week so thats cool and ya there is a ton like 500 somthing but only about 200 attend church. we only make breakfast for ourselves and normally its just cereal and milk and we usually dont eat dinner

ok i got to go ill write next week love you guys aton and im pumped for Christmas i think im going to cry haha

i cant remember when it ( the mission Christmas party ) is but i got to leave now love you!!!

December 7, 2015

aaaaaaaaaaa!!! dont tell me that!!! holy crap that game (BYU v UTAH at the Vegas Bowl) is going to be so intense i want to watch it!!!  Anyways this week i dont know what came over me before i felt i liked to duck hunt and fish and stuff but it was like a past time thing but now i would kill just to go to strawberry one time for like an hour and fish and duck hunt!! man i got so trunky this week haha but its ok im fine i just want to go hunting really bad haha.  ya jipson is great he is attending church and going to activities and stuff its awsome but the only problem is that some of the people is this ward are like hard core wierdies so he is not really making freinds and he has to go to church alone every sunday.  We got to know his freinds outside of the church but they are not the best people and they dont really want anything to do with the church and his family is great but they dont really want anything either it really sucks.  i keep praying that he will find someone but i keep thinking i just babtised a less active.  

Ya i hope i dont get transferred right before christmas but ya im kinda due for one so i dont know ya ill be able to find a place to skype if im here but ya if i get stuck in the freaking campo im not sure but im sure ill find somewhere just send me your skype account name so i can right it down and call you guys.

ya Elder ashman is gone it sucks cause im not going to lie its kinda hard cause elder ashman is a hard working but these guys im living with not are not the best workers but im doing my best to keep my spirit up

ill send pics of the babtism then i got to go love you cant wait to see you guys on christmas



Elder Blackhurst, Jipson, and Elder Hernandez at Jipson's baptism!

November 30, 2015

Well this week we babtised Jipson!!  hes a super dope dude and way nice im kinda bumbed tho cause his whole family went to see him get babtised and i was like super pumped to see them there but then sunday came for him to recieve the holy ghost for a birthday present and he was the only one that showed so now im like What they didnt like it of somthing but im just praying that they can do the same thing one day

ya im pretty sad this week its not even transfers and my best freind Elder Ashman is leaving and my companion maybe needs to go home if the medicine doesnt start working this week.
i have to go sorry there isnt much time this week so i got to go love you all and tell the kids that i said that

November 23, 2015

I got a new Comanion this week we is Elder Hernandez de Mexico city!

he is pretty chill i like him its a big change cause Elder martinez always was just so jumpy and sometimes was a spaz like he would get up at 430 am and practice typing and a keyboard while i was tring to sleep haha but i miss him alot actually when we said the last prayer like a companionship we both ended pretty much in tears but its all good he was a good guy.  Ya so its a big change now cause Elder Hernandez is alot more calm and stuff like the first morning with Hernandez i accitently slept till 635 cause i usually didnt need an alarm with martinez cause i was up with him at 430 so i woke up and looked at Hernandez and then the clock and i was like Shoot Get boy he got to get to work!!! haha but i have an alarm now.

I thought this week was going to be bad cause im basically the senior comanion because he doesn't know the Sector so i just felt like i was doing everything and Elder hernandez has this face thing when he has paralisis and the right side of his mouth so it is difficult to understand him not just for me but for other people too so a few lessons i was litterally saying everything but its fine  cause president said that it will heel with time and he will be back up and running.  and its just more practice for me

The great news is we have a babtism this week his name is Jipson and his this big black guy that really has a testimony of the power of repentence and truely wants to take advanage of this power in his life so im super pumped for him.  Actually so pumped that while he was in his babtism interview i literally have never been so nervous in my entire life for anything.  i had to wait outside while he was in there and i was just praying to God that he is all good to be babtised and he was so ya hes getting babtised this Saturday and reiciving the gift of the holy ghost on sunday which is actually his birthday too so he getting a pretty dang good bday present from God!!

Well that was pretty much the most exciting part of this week and a super good testimony builder to see some one like him want so badly to be for given of what he has done and wants a clean slate that really only knows the basics of this church he is just going to take a leep of faith and trust Gods got him.  Well i can testify that he does and with the gift of the holy ghost he will always have him.

Elder Blackhurst

 

Extra parts to our conversation that day:

 

Its so wierd what i think is luxurious now.  Like to day i went grocery shoping and i bought ice cream and i was like yes!!! im so happy now all i have to do is not buy water for the rest of the week its fine its a good sacrifice lol

 

(Talking about why his companion's temporary paralysis)

I talked to president and he said its cause the viens broke in the back of his neck and so he cant move any muscle on his cheek so he is just waiting to have the viens grow back.  he said he just woke up on morning in a ton of pain

(Cammie asked if his new comp Elder Hernandez speaks any English)

no he doesnt no one does haha actually somtimes you just hello mister how are you 12345 good aftrnoon

(A reply to Rob's letter regarding a conference talk)

Wow thats really cool i think i forgot about that talk.  it reminded me of something i read this morning in Jesus the Christ. also by the way you should read cause it is really cool and chuck full of doctrina.  so first of all alot of people think that Heavenly father can litterally see the future i dont think that is true cause i was reading the part that talkes about why we nee a savior and i read the heavenly father is just so ridiculously smart that he can see you and what you are doing and your mind set of it and he makes a pertiction of either torment and pain and regreat and all things bad or he makes one of many many many blessings and pure clean happiness that can only be attained thru Jesus Christ! And then he motivates us to make changes or to keep on the path and that is pretty much how it works.

But he has given us such a big gift in fact the gift of all gifts and that is agency so we have choose what we are going to do this gift actually limits the power of God because now he cant just control us to return in his presence. Which sometimes i think would be better sometimes cause we would be gaurenteed to return but we also would never ever feel happiness and the good things in like would just be nothing.  And that was the plan of Satanas.  Satanas was an extreamly important charictar in the preexistance and pretty dang smart you can tell that he put a ton of thought into this plan just the only differenc is that he did it selfishly he wanted all the glory and no happiness to anyone else but him he honestly did not care one bit about the Father.  So ya that is part of what if studied this morning and ya you should buy that Jesus the Christ book cause it is really cool

Love Elder Blackhurst

 

 

November 16, 2015

Cambios!!! ahah well the Lord called Elder Martinez to another place. So i have a new compaion now his name is Elder Herdandez from Mexico City Mexico.  Ive literally only been with him for like an hour now so i really dont know much about him.  

Well i would be liying if i said i wasnt a little nervous cause right now im the only one that knows like sector and all the people that we teach and im kinda scared ill forget where people live and stuff but i think im fine ill figure it out.  It was kinda hard to see Martinez go i dont even know what Ecuador is without him so i feel like im going to a new Country.  

Plus it was way hard for the ward to let him go too cause he has been here for so long.  There was a ton a tears when we were stoping by houses to say good bye and stuff.  Im actually pretty scared that some of the people wont want for us to visit cause they were so atached to martinez but i hope they can love the Gospel and not the missionary.  Well not much else happened last week.  One of our Investigadors is going to be babtised the 28 of november.  I know for sure he will be babtised because he set his own day and also we taught him about fasting and asked him to fast but we taught him to fast for a purpose and we asked him what question he really wants to know to ask God and he was like i want to know if the 28th is the right day.  We we were like heck ya bro then i promised that if he fasts with real intent he will recieve an answer and i promised him in the name of Jesus Christ so pretty much i know hes gunna get the right answer.   Well that is pretty much all for this week 

Choa

Elder Blackhurst

Elder Martinez (Caleb's Trainer)

Caleb took Elder Martinez around the ward to say goodbye

Carmen Murillo and her three boys with Elder Martinez (AWESOME lady)

November 9, 2015

This week was actually really funny.  Apperently we have not been paying our water bill for 3 months but i honestly didnt even know we had a water bill i thought the church just took care of it so anyway one night we get home from a tired and sweaty day to find a paper on our door notifing that they have cut our water because we havnt paid the bill and at this point im like i dont want to try and figure out what this stupid paper says all i want to do is take a shower.  so im getting ready and and turn on the water but there wasnt any so i asked martinez hey why wont the shower work he like this paper says they cut our water so i went to be sweaty and really stink for that night and the next until they turned it back on so it was a really funny experience that i probably wont every forget haha.

We have a babtism this saturday will a kind of youger black kid that 19 but he looks like hes like 28 and taller than me which is extremly odd for ecuador haha but ya he has just been eating up what ever we tell him and it is really cool to watch him grow!!  he even takes notes while we are teaching him!!  Well i guess thats because we told him to fill out these questions that we gave him at the end of the lesson!!

Today we had a really fun pday cause it is the last pday for my companion!! he started his mission here in this sector and has been here for like 6 months so we are almost positive that hes leaving this next transfer so we made today really fun for him.  First we went to this really old plantitarium and watched like a constilation show in a big dome theater.  i couldnt understand anything they were saying because it was just a bunch of big sciency spanish words but it was really dope cause martinez loves this kind of stuff!! he studied it before his mission.  We went with our ward mission leader and we left in his little Fiat.  The planitarium is like way out of our mission too it is into the guayquil south mission but president said it was chill.  i think it was just cause martinez is taking off soon so he was being a cool president.  on our way back we stopped at this park were the pigeon and iguanas eat out of your hands it was so sick!!

Must have been a service project with the community.

At the planetarium in Guayaquil
 

Elder Ashman and Caleb at the planetarium (Elder A is from Spanish Fork and his dad is a dentist too!)

Is it safe to be THIS close to an Iguana!?!  Ugh!

 

November 2, 2015

We had ourselves a little halloween this week!!!!

haha no its not a mango actually i like pretty much all the fruit here except mango i dont really like it.  That was a mariquya fruit they have seed in the middle that you eat that are super sour so pretty much it is my favorite fruit here i send a picture of one full a few weeks ago i thing but ya after i ate it i was about to thro it away but then i realized i could turn it in to a jack o lantern so i did and the other elder that is from the us liked it alot to cause they dont do the whole pumpkin thing here or the trick or treating but they do celebrate the day of the dead yesterday and today is another holiday but i forgot what it is called but this one is bigger and everyone is off work and stuff so the mall today was packed!!

This week wasnt that exciting just normal.  one of the assistants went out with us this week to make sure we are doing everything goodand stuff.  and that was probaly the biggest learning experience ive ever had.  we set 5 bautismal dates in like one hour!! it was so cool!!  But just cause we set it doesnt me they will be batised but it does improve our odds to do it!! 

It was really cool the way he did it.  first he just explained babtism and then asked if they want to have the blessing of all of their mistakes taken away and usually they say yes and then we ask if they want to be babtised and prepare for this date and if they come to know that these things are true it was really cool and really spiritual.

also this week we did service for our ward mission leader and we had to chop a tree down with a machety cause thats all he had!! it was realy hard but then we burt all the branched and basically the way they clean yards here is just set a huge fire so that was pretty fun!!!

October 26, 2015

i didnt send one this week haha because nothing really new happened excet my compain bought a rugby ball and he is in love with it!! at so we all played as a zone today and it was super fun

I asked if he got the BYU football we sent for his birthday and if he could reinflate it.

ya there is a member that owns a bike shop so he pumped it up for me thank you by the way that was super nice im wearing one of the byu shirts right now lol

i didnt say nothing happened.  nothing new happened all we do is teach and walk teach and walk and look for people to teach its not a bad thing even tho i just made it sound bad i love it here and i know that im serving

 

we are teach a really cool family of three they went to church the first 2 hours then bolted.  i hope they didnt get scared off because the lesson in the class for the investigadors was the law of chastity and maybe that was awkward for them cause they are not married and here in ecuador it is kinda awful with that.  they just think if it is nature that man wants this stuff that is all good ugh i hate it!!  the world can really be messed up sometimes but i loved the lesson i just hope they were actually trying to get some thing out of it

ya also another kid is super cool and honestly i almost know for certain that he will be babtised!! he only has 19 years but he is super mature and stuff and just soaks up everything we teach him and he is like as tall as me and black which is really cool cause almost no body is tall here 

ya its pretty cool today we are going to a family home evening and this guy is ttying to learn english for buisness and stuff so me and elder ashman and gunna teach him a little sumthing

Conner just emailed me he said he gets to drive a 2015 nissian truck i was pretty tict when i heard that haha

 

I asked if he could teach English to people (like in a class).  A sweet lady named Carmen told me that he helps her learn English.  She loves the missionaries. She threw Caleb his surprise party and sent tons of pictures to me.  We messaged each other for an hour.  We love her!  And she loves to take care of the missionaries.

 

i dont know maybe i feel like i do any way it is really fun to teach english!! ya carmen told me all about your little chat she really really loves you!!

 

October 19, 2015

This week was pretty fun!!  last monday we went to these two famous spots in guayaquil Malecon and Faro.  So that was super fun!! and also today we went to these market places you can buy stuff for cheap but its kinda funny cause you have to work for the prices.  The will say one price and all you have to do is say no way i cant do that there is another store right over there that sells the same thing for less and then there just like yaya ok fine and you can pretty much choose your own price haha its pretty fun.

Not much else has happened.  We dont have to many investigadors at this moment and the ones we do have wont attend church so we have to set a whole nother babtism date.  because like the first or at least the second lesson we ask them to be babtised and set a date 3 weeks from the day we ask because they have to attend church at least 3 times and recieve all the first 4 lessons.  So that is a big frustration!!  but its ok i still have hope that god will help these people along i know he will!!

 

Better Bird Picture from last week

October 12, 2015

Well this week we didn’t hear much from Caleb.  He said he wrote an email and attached a bunch of pictures, but it never came, and the computer he was on was giving him a lot of grief.  We were able to briefly email back and forth though.

I asked if they had transfers this week

"ya.  Elder lizana went home and there is a new gringo in the house and he is from mapleton ut  and he is newer than me and came from mexico ccm so he knows a lot less spanish than i did at the start haha but its cool we help eachother"

Rob asked for his address so we can look it up on Google Earth

“the streets have no names and i dont know the number but i figure it out for you this week”

I asked what the new housemate’s name is (since he is from the US)

“ya his name is elder Ashman and i have to go im still with elder martinez by love you choa bye bye”

Unfortunately, that’s it for this week.  Hopefully next week he can resend the letter from this week, and cross your fingers for the pictures too.

Thanks for all the love and prayers sent Caleb’s way.

www.eldercalebanthonyblackhurst.blogspot.com

October 5, 2015

Well this week was great!!!!! We had Conference!!! i can honestly that for me that was the best conference ever.  Not because there was something special about it but because i listened and i applied everything to me and the people that i teach!!!  My favorite part about it was the very first talk of satraday morning session! Presidente Uckdorf spoke that this gospel is so simple that a child can understand it but at the exact same time it would take life times full understand it all!!!! that is so true.  is see people everyday turning their hearts to the Gospel and they understand just enough for them.  God knows the crap out of you and he knows exactly what you need to know at that time!!  The only thing we have to do is actually get off our butts and look for it!!  

here in Ecuador they can watch conference on the computer at home but because not a lot of people have a computer the stake center is open and you just go to the church in ur chuch clothes and watch some conference. This way is way more effective because people are actually listening and most of the members are taking notes!! That is something that i almost never see back at home.  These people really love the gospel!!!  And they are truely recieving blessing the lord is voluntarally giving them.  

I watched both the saturday morning seccions, the preisthood sesion and the sunday afternoon session.in english because in the stake center they had an extra room with a tv in case the chapel gets to full so me and two other missionary from the US watched it in there.  They can already speak spanish but the profets have said that everyone should hear the Gospel in their apropiate language, the´re real good buds also.

I know that alot more has happend but i honestly cant remember.  Yo se que este Iglesia es la Iglesia de Dios. Se que el libro de mormòn es un otro Testamento de Jesucristo yo puedo testificar de eso porque yo he leido el libro de mormon y estoy disfrutando el bendiciones de eso.  Amo mi familia y les estraño pero este obra es el mas importante cosa yo puedo hacer.  Esto es mi testimonio a ustedes y yo digo estas cosas en el nombre de Jesucristo Amen.

 

Caleb caught a bird! (Gross!!)

Caleb with his Comp/Trainer Elder Martinez and
another elder who is heading home to Peru

 

September 28, 2015

This week went pretty great!!! the people are so nice here. its was my birthday on saturday the whole day like changed a bunch. 

first i went on an intercambio (i dont know the word in english haha but it is when you go with another missionary not your compañero haha) and he is from mississippi but you wouldnt guess it cause he doesnt act or doing anything like he is from the south but he is still really funny and we were laughing like the whole day and for some reason i felt like my spanish like doubled and we were speaking english the whole day (except to our investigadores) so that was a huge b day present.  after that i had no idea but a less active lady thru me a big party with a cake and everything and im pretty sure we only like told her it was my birthday like one time in passing like a few days before.  so that was a way good way to end the day haha.  and the sunday after a recent convert made me another cake and in the morning the missionarys i live with got me a cake too haha so our fridge is full of cake. 

plus there was a red moon on sunday and im just gunna count that as a bday present too!

my sector is pretty messed up and there is drugs everywhere and the teens are just doing them in the middle of the street and dont even try to hide them any more and then they want to talk to us and give them a pamphlet which im pretty sure they just roll up doobies with the paper but it is actually pretty funny to hear them cause they say the randomest crap haha
 
also it rained for the first time on my birthday so that was something new.  you would think the rain would be a good thing cause it is so hot all week but it actually just stays hot and gets to be like 300% humidity but i liked it cause it was new.

we went to a papa johns today cause one of the elders in my house is going home in a week and today is his last p day.  all the latinos think its wierd that we call it papa johns in the us cause papa is a spanish word so that was kinda funny

the lady that thru me a party took probably 1300 pics so i will have to get a few and send them later

chao de Ecuador!!!

-Elder Blackhurst

Pizza at Papa Johns to say goodbye to an Elder

September 21, 2015

hola

well this week went by real fast. its crazy how time flies when you have so much work and you actually enjoy it!! 

i had a cool expierience this week.  So my first day in ecuador we had a visit with a family and i could hardly understand anything because it was my first day and i thought the house was so small and i was like oh crap i want to go home.  But then after like forever they found the time for us to teach them agian and it was super powful because the guy is actually really smart and the great part is it seems like he really understands the role he has as a father hes going to school right now to get a better job so he can provide better for his family.  anyway the second time we went to his house i thought his house was so nice!!!! crazy how your prospective can change that fast!!

 
im still struggling a bit on the language.  its hard to desern the needs of people when you can only understand like half of what they are saying.  But my liders say im doing great and i can talk like ive been out for six months buts its still super frustrating.  




Not too much action this week we do a lot of random acts of service and are always looking for some and in my opinion that makes the mission worth wild!! 

We received this picture mid week from a young member
named Jorge (he is the one in the middle of the picture).

Caleb with two other missionaries standing in front of a church.

 

September 14, 2015

Well now i really miss you guys!!! haha just kidding i know that this work is more important.  My spanish is mas o menos haha i can definetly speak more than i can understand.  but that doesnt mean anything really because alot of the time i teach a leccion and then the person has no idea what i just said but my companion knows some how  ???? and he expains it all over again ugh but i guess that doesnt happen that much but its alot easier to remeber the sucky parts than the good parts saddly. and understands sucks because they talk so freaking fast and so does my companion ugh i almost always have to tell him to slow down and repeat and i hate it because i know what he is saying but i just cant understand!! but i read in my patiachal blessing that i need to be patient with my self so i just need to keep thinking about that!

also mom speaking of questions i have one ive been trying to aswer!! i dont remeber which section it is in the doctrina y convenios but it is when joseph smith called to missionarys to teach the religious group the shakers and i cant remember wich verse but i basicly said all need to repent exept these holy men that we no not of.  and i was like hold up everybody needs to repent the only person how didnt was jesus so what the heck so i read about the 3 nefits that are still on the earth right now and i thought it could be them but it didnt say anything about them not needing to repent they are human too as far as i know. anyways its hard to find time to read for personal stuff so ill keep looking but i need you guys to too!!

well this computer im on is freaking old so there is no where i can plug in my thing for pics so be patient and the wifi at the church is a bit flaking and really weak so its hard to send pics but ill keep tringing

also for my birthday im not sure what i want really probably peanut butter (clasico missionary) 

 

also i bought some stuff i can send to you guys for christmas not even kiddy it takes like month to get crap here to there also the package you guys send probaly put like abunch of virgin marry stickers on it because they will jack my stuff haha

 

(I explained that customs has been blocking packages with food)

dang that wierd because my district leader got peanut butter and sun flower seed and both of wich i would kill for the food all tastes the same so much so that the platanos like at the ecuadorian restaurante taste delicious!! they are like candy but i love the fruit there are so many types

 

(I asked what his pday is like)

pday is like wake up study go to mall and eat lunch because fast food is the best because its american haha then today we are playing futbol with a few other elders then back to work at 6

well its that time i have to go love you and thankyou for all the prayers i know i can feel them

(I asked if he walks, rides a bike or drives, but he was trying to say goodbye :) )

 

always walk ok no more

September 7, 2015

Well not going to lie the first week was ruff but im starting to get the hang of it. the language is hard but i know that i work harder.  I had my first babtism on saturday.  His name is Adrian hes 18 and kinda a thug but hes a dope kid with a real testimony.  also i have to explain day. so we flu in and went straight to the presidents house and he like talked with us a bunch to get us pumped up i guess to meet our trainers.  and then we slept in what i thought at the time a cockroch hole but really it turned out to be one of the nicest houses there is in the mission. haha funny how you lookes on things change when you see the quality of living for everyone else in the country. also me and this other mexican kid from california are the only ones from the us and speak english but he speaks spanish too i dont really but it was all good.

When we met our trainers we went straight to the apartment and had investigator in a little house about as big as a bedroom.  then the next morning we just went right to work doing missionero stuff. 

The wether here is really hot and humid we have fans blowing right in our faces all night so we are cool enough to sleep.  Right now it is winter in ecuador while im sweating like theres no tomorrow all the people are acually freazing.

My compañeros name is Elder Martinez de Colombia.  Hes a dope kid and plays rugby. sometimes i get frustrated cause he will want to talk a million miles and hour and i dont understand a thing.  but he is super funny and a great first trainer. 

The food here is like no breakfast massive lunch with a soup a moutian of rice and like some time of meat. i never ask cause sometimes i just dont want to know.

The babtism days are like once a month and there are usually around 10 or 11 babtism through out the zone

Today we went to the mall for lunch and the buy some stuff and the mall is not that much different frome the malls in the us exept mor spanish. 

My area is called vergeles and it is bordering with guayaquill oeste mission ifact our apartment is in quayaquil oeste mission so i dont even sleep in my mission.

The days are getting shorter and my vocabulary is geting longer. its true that if you just get lost in the work everything is great.  The days are pretty full with investigators, menos activios or recent converts just teaching and visiting members which is actually my favorite cause its just just to talk and joke with people also.  Everybody here pretty much knows atleast who the misionariys are and some when you are tring to talk to them will just be the rudest person and tell you that they are catholic and start just going off on how José Smith wrote the book of mormon and a bunch of other crap they think they know but most acually say they would love to hear more and give us there address and stuff and we go to there house on another day and they arent their or super busy so they cant and others you teach them and you think that they are just soaking it all in and then they just dont want to hear anymore. its kinda sad. 

Also alot of  people here see you and give you a thumbs up or something because they know you are preaching the word of god no matter what religion so thats pretty cool. 

i know that im in the right place i know this church is true and also that the people of ecuador are ready to hear this message and im really greatfull for that. i know that the lord blesses his misionarys always because i can feel the blessing in my life. 

 

We think this is his apartment

We think this is his companion and the other elders he lives with

First baptism

President and Sister Riggins and Elder Martinez

 

August 31, 2015

We FINALLY heard from Caleb!  Woohoo!  Since he traveled last week, we didn’t hear from him.

Here is what he had to say this after noon.

“well first week was rough but its been good its been rough because its really hard to comunicate with my compañero.  his name is elder martinez from colombia and doesnt speak a lick of inglish but i can still get by because i know im way more prepared to come here than most missionarys because i went to colombia and all the other missionarys that went to mexico say that when they started out they knew way less!!! so i guess im i little more ahead but it is still really hard i kinda feel like a dog running around tring to figure out what people are saying but its ruff!!  the first day i didnt even have time to unpack we just went straight to an investigadores house and taught leccion 3 to them and all i did was like bear my testimony and try to say as much spanish as i could but it was kinda hard ugh and now its just like that all day teaching people.  i just try and try and try and people always look at me and get mad a me because i cant understand them but i know its been more rough for others but still i just feel inaffective as a missionary. 

i love my companion tho he is super cool and plays rugby and is way patient with me i will send a pic later. you are going to hate me but i didnt take many pics.  also today we went to the mall and suprisingly the malls look like absolutlye no different than the ones in the us even alot of the signs are in eglish and yes there is a cinemark in the mall like the one in af.  our sector is the poorest sector in the city of guayaquil but there is other places poorer in our mission.  i actually live in the guayquil west mission too so i dont even sleep in my mission but we walk over to our mission just across the road. 

 it is really poor here like really when we go to members houses to eat lunch i feel bad cause after i eat there isnt any more left for the family.  the food is just rice and some meat and beans if you get lucky. but ya its like tin shacks for houses but they are so happy.  also dad it looks like south america has not changed a bit from how you described it hahaha”

“no time to write much but crazy first week first day in ecuador i have a lesson to teach spanish is hard im in the poorest part of the city of guayaquil really poor houses with tin houses concrete walls dirt floors and giant tvs.  god bless the usa.  ecuador uses all american dollers so most everything is like 25 or 50 cents.  so many dogs controling the city i swear.  really hot and humid feels alot like texas ill send more next week with pics my companion is awsome.  i have no more time so i have to go love you all”

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!

Caleb’s address has changed!  If you plan on writing him letters, please use this address.  The other address will no longer work.

AND THE NUMBERS LISTED BELOW MUST BE IN RED.

Elder Caleb Anthony Blackhurst
Misión Ecuador Guayaquil Norte
Casilla de correo 09-04-160
Guayaquil, Ecuador

Thanks for all your love and prayers.

 

 

August 23, 2015

Here are emails we got from Caleb on Thursday.

“aqui” (how he begins all emails)

“this week i probably tripled my spanish because of elder rojas!! he is in there hes the brown one haha anyway i will take a more clear picture for you before we leave.  also i leave for ecuador or tuesday but actually like at 3 or 4 in the morning and i might be able to call in the air port but not sure yet so monday night when you go to bed i dont know for sure but just a for warning”

I asked how the Latin missionaries say ‘Blackhurst’:

“haha oh ya thats what i keep forgeting to tell you haha its so funny blackharssssssT hahaha really funny anyway now they call me benito blackhurst i have no idea why but all these guys are crazy!!!”

“i want to get out of here soo bad!!! He (Elder Rojas-his companion) is from bolivia but lived in agentina buenos aires for a while and was born there ya i am going to miss this place actually a lot and the teachers cause they are really great!! also can you just make a blog for and add some up dates about me that i tell you for me and then people can just look at that cause it is too hard to write a massive group message”

Rob asked if he had gone to the temple in Bogota on Thursday before he wrote to us:

“yes earer today really fun last time for inglish for 2 years haaaa”

“oh ya you stictly get only 1 hour so the camera is a life savor”  (His camera emails the pictures directly so he doesn’t need a computer, just wifi, which is usually in all church buildings)

“ya my new district it the pic infront of the flag pole with all latinos and 2 nortes”

“also tell dallin and josh and allyssa and cammie and megan that they are my heros aand i constantly think about them”

I asked about the one sister missionary in his previous district of all Americans:

“she had a comp but they just wert in our district and yes now she does and she has a latino just like all the other 5 and 6 weekers”

I asked if everyone in his new district is going to Guayaquil with Caleb and Sister Nielson:

“no but alot are there are two venesualans that talk so fast and i cant under stand haha”

“bye love you”

Sounds happy.  Hopefully we will hear from him on Tuesday morning extremely early, and if not, we might not hear from him till the following week when he is in Ecuador and on his Pday (which hopefully we be the same day every week, most likely Monday).

He sent lots of pics again so I attached a few.  Hopefully his companion is one of them.

I think he likes converse tennies

Last pic with his district of Americans

New Companion:  Elder Rojas

New district 2 weeks before he leaves the MTC