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