May 15, 2017

Weeks been good! i really love it here in Quevedo!  We found a new investigador on Friday named Jessica, she has a sister that is a less active, we went to the less actives house to invite her to an activity for mothers day that we were going to have in the church and we were inspired to ask if she knew anyone else that would be interested in going to the activity and she said maybe her sister that lives next door but then said no she is a monster and will never want to come but we were like The Gospel changes monsters!! haha so we knew her and she is like the opposite of a monster!! she is such a sweet lady!! she gladly accepted to come to the activity with her kids.  She attended!!! it was so great the next day we invited her to baptism and she gladly accepted!! She said that she had never attended before simply because no one has invited her! so it was really great!

well sorry for the short one choa nos vemos

well i got to go sorry i couldnt write more love you guys 

May 13, 2017

MOTHER'S DAY SKYPE TALK!!!

We spoke with Caleb on Saturday May 13 for Mother's Day.  IT WAS SO AWESOME!!

He said that he isn't serving as AP anymore.  When Elder Godoy came to visit a few weeks ago, he released all the APs that were not serving in the office.  The white missionary handbook doesn't really say they can have APs in the field, so he released the ones that were not in the office.  Caleb said he will miss the opportunity to work with so many awesome missionaries, but he loves loves loves working with Elder Martinez in Quevedo.  Because Caleb served in Quevedo before, he is enjoying catching up with the members that he worked with before.  He is hoping a family he worked with before is able to be baptized the week before he comes home on JUNE 13 (29 days in case you are counting!).  They have been reading the Book of Mormon everyday at 5am and have seen blessings because of it, which has led to them setting a date for baptism.

Caleb has definitely become a lover of the scriptures as he has served his mission.  He has surprised himself at how much pleasure he now takes in studying the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We had a wonderful talk about how the Book of Mormon has been not only a blessing in each of our individual lives, but also that of our family as we continue to feel the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ as we study the scriptures.  We also talked about what taking the sacrament means to us each week.  It was such a blessing to share our testimonies about the Gospel with this last time to Skype.

Caleb has loved serving in Ecuador!

Not a great pic...Last Skype of the mission.

May 8, 2017

hey i just talked to my companion and we think it would be better to talk on saturday but not sure at what time so it would be between 10am to 4pm but not exactly sure the exact time i think it would depend on where we talk but it would be at that time. 

this week was great the area 70 president came his name is elder godoy. I got to talk to him a little he is a really cool guy. He talked alot about when he was a missionary and when he was a mission president. i really loved it.

he also ate lunch with us and elder martinez and i sat right next to him!! he talks alot about the mission and it kinda suprises me because it was such a long time ago and it kinda worries me because i honestly dont remember all the things that happened in my mission haha but any way its all good. that was the highlight of the week!! 

ill talk a little more when we talk. i got to go now but i love you guys and hope all goes well

May 1, 2017

I got transferred to Quevedo again!! im still running around as an assistant but just in Quevedo!! President assigned me to work as an assistant in just the Quevedo South and North zones! so i can do interchanges with just about anyone in the both zones. President told me to teach them how to work with the ward leaders!! haha literally yelling haha i love him so much.  the ward im working in is called Bellavista. and my companion is named Elder Martinez from Texas.  the story of  this guys mission as just been hard, he trained 2 elders that went home before they finished their 12 weeks, but not because of him!! i actually chose to work with him haha!! he is probably the hardest worker ive ever met and is super obedient, his words are i just came to work for the lord!! so the fact that his 2 companions havent stayed was definitivly not his fault but he kinda feels bad for it... but it is really fun because he really got babtised only 3-4 years ago, his mother and 3 sisters. his mother is from mexico but he was born in Arkansas and then moved to texas. he grew up in texas playing football and knew the church there. he got baptised at 15 with the rest of his family, then when he moved to Utah at 18 and finished his senior year there in Midvale, Sandy.  that is where his family is.  Its awsome because its not like he had his whole life in the church so he still learned a ton!!  I love when he figures out some doctrine really well because he gets really happy!! He likes football a ton. we played today! he already knew spanish but like spanglish so ill try to correct him on some spanish error and he gets all defensive haha its so funny.  

anyway the changes are because there has been a bunch of elders that have gone home in this last week.  the elder that i was working with last week i showed all the love i could possibly give him and even helped him repent of some of the crap that he did here on the mission with other missionaries.  anyway the results are that he has a mental issue and he said, Elder Blackhurst i think these last 2 days that I got to have with you ive actually felt like a real missionary!! he said that he has never felt like that before. anyway he was really distructive as well he always questioned obedience and fought if he didnt get his way, he doesnt really have an inner feeling of guilt for anything! so he just doesnt care about obedience. i really just treated him like a little child because that was basically his mind set.  when i told him no it was like no elder you know that bad with like a baby voice and it totally worked so i think he has like some disorder. at the end he himself decided it would be better if he wasnt here.  so he was sent home. i told him that i would continue to write him because someone like that is prone to inactivate :( so i will try to write him.  he is from peru. 

 

on monday night president basically showed me the holes that he had because all the elders had left so he just asked where do you want to serve haha i told him with elder martinez!!! he is such a dope guy! he is from Rio Grande city from a spanish speaking branch over there

 

April 24, 2017

Caleb didn't have much time to write a letter but we were able to email back and forth for a few minutes.

6 Elders in an apartment meant for 4..haha...crowded much?

The one with the green shirt is Elder Oyler.  Elder Oylers little brother had a birthday so Elder Taylor made a cake for him that we ate haha

Well Elder contreras went home as well.  the one with the yellow shirt is my companion and Elder Oyler is my companion as well, we are in a threesome.

 

ya it was bad we were living 6 before.  the apartment is made for 4.  Honestly its just so bad haha but its ok because we all try to clean as much as we can. elder taylor was our district leader.  he was great!! but he was in the ward next to me and the wards here in Guayaquil are really small.

We got a new bishop this past week.  wow the spirit is so strong in those meetings, hearing the old bishop and old counselors give their testimonies and hearing a new bishop testify with his new counselors! 

hey i got to go. had some great experiences with a lost elder.  it was kinda sad, he wants to go home, its a long story but we had some great conversation.  hey my flight plan came  😬  i think the mission sent it to you too. 

 

Just for some back story...Elder Taylor (far left in the black shirt) is from our stake here in Highland.  He and Caleb went to different high schools so they didn't know each other prior to serving together.  Elder Taylor completed his mission a couple of weeks ago (and still has a hint of a Spanish accent when he speaks English) and gave his homecoming talk on April 23.  Rob and I were able to attend and meet him afterward.  He is a great young man.  Very humble.  He shared some great things that the mission president, President Riggins, is teaching them.  When we introduced ourselves to him afterward, he was happy to hear about Caleb.  We were more happy since he has seen Caleb more recently than us!  Haha!  He said that Caleb taught him a few things and even taught him how to make eggs (which seems funnier now since I know he made the birthday cake). It was great for us to get a glimpse of someone who had developed a friendship with Caleb in the mission field.  We loved it!

April 17, 2017

Wow surprise visit from an apostle!! Last monday in an assistants council with president, president mentioned that Elder Christofferson is going to be in town for the Guayaquil South Mission.  He told us that it would be weird if he didnt invite us also.  So we waited not really expecting anything and president got a call on Wednesday saying that he invited all the zones with in 3 hours of Guayaquil. Luckily the mission is super small so the whole mission was invited and we all got to listen to an apostle!! Elder Christofferson is really cool!! He speaks spanish so he did the whole thing in spanish!! And speaks well also!! That is a real testimony to me that the Lord counts on his children to continue useing their talents to hasten the lords work!!  Elder Christofferson served his mission in a spanish speaking country and i imagine that he still studied after he got home from his mission!  

Anyways he and a General Authority Seventy named Elder Montoya and their wives and spoke to us!!  They talked about a bunch of different topics but a few stood out to me more than others.  He said If we really love the people we teach we will teach them truth, We are here to teach not to be taught, If they dont want to listen make sure you are good with filling out the area book because maybe they will be more ready later on.  

He also spoke of teaching skills,  Sometimes we focus so much about covering material that we forget about the person that we are teaching!! I so glad the he said something like that because I am always worried about that in the mission.  Its just poor teaching... Getting through the lessons is like a homework assignment!! Boring They will never listen to us. We have to love them!! 

Anyway that was probably the highlight of the week because thats the second apostle that has came!!  We didnt work in the sector this week cause we were with president Riggins traveling for interviews.  Its really neat cause president has us interviewing too about some topic that he worries about and a lot of what we said in the few interviews before we listened to Elder Christofferson we spoke of some of the same things!! Obviously he said it way better but it was fun to see another testimony! 

I know Christ Lives i love him very much and i want to please him!!  I know that he suffered for me on the cross and died and then resurrected on the 3rd day. That gives me a lot of hope because the death has no victory!! Imagine! Something so cruel, dark, and mysterious like death cannot win because Christ already beat it!! I know he lives and loves us and forgives us for our mistakes! love you guys a ton and i love you dad!! I know it was your birthday on Saturday!! I thought about you all day and i really appreciate having a loving earthly father and loving heavenly father! Wow im really blessed!

hey i got to go! but i love you guys so much and i pray for you daily! The Sarco family is not going to be baptised for another year but the good part is is that he is going to get divorced to his last wife the bad part is is that his last wife doesnt want the divorce but doesnt want him. cause if something bad happens to him she gets a bunch of money... Evil.. she'll know judgment day... anyway because she doesnt want to he has to wait a year to be married with the women that he is with now. 

bye love you guys!!

April 10, 2017

mom, your going to make me cry.  I think ive gotten that same promting... its not that ive lessend the love i have for them but im defitevly not focusing on increasing the love i have for them

ya you almost made me cry...

hey ive got to go im really sorry i didnt say any thing