"Quito is the bomb. I love the picture of me and Elder Peterson on the soccer field with the blue sky, green grass, mountains, and two white dudes. I think all is well for me with Bri right now. I feel like it will be so cool for you guys to visit her - I'm jealous. But I really feel like she is with me a lot, so I can't complain.
Elliott is so cute. Love him. I think about him a lot actually.
Love, Elder Blackwelder"
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
October 24th, 2011
To Mom:
"Today is day 104 of my mission, can you believe that? We had our first changes (transfers) today, but I am still here. A lot of guys in my zone were transferred, though. We will have 14 new gringos on Wednesday...I wonder if I know any.
So, I got carol's package today! It said it was received here in ecuador on the 6th, but it weighed a lot so it got stuck in "prison", and for $5 i got it out. There was a lot of Nutella. Thanks!
I have been writing letters to friends, mostly girls, hahaha! I've gotten some nice letters lately.
Today, I threw in the towel and we searched for a laundromat. We have to wash our clothes by hand every p-day, and it takes 2 hours or more, and they get thrashed! We found a place that washes by the pound; it cost about $3.15 for mine! That is very expensive here, so we're going to look for a different laundromat for next week.
On Saturday, there were 3 baptisms in our ward, and I got to do one of them. His name is Mateo Nicholai Flores Allalas.
I'm gad you got to go to Briana's gravesite. I really wish I could have been there. I'm so happy that the flowers I planted are still alive. Thank you Mike Yancy. I don't know what it is, but this week i saw about 40 Ford Explorers! They were everywhere! And about 25 of them were green like mine.
We sang "Come, Come Ye Saints" in Sacrament Meeting, and it reminded me of Dad playing the harmonica on Trek. I love him."
-Love, Elder Blackwelder
To Candice:
"Thank you Candice, that was a cool letter. And I'm glad you got to check out Briana's grave. I have to remind myself that it all happened for real. Seeing the picture of her grave made it seem real, and seeing the other pictures Dad sent from San Francisco made me so sad to be away from all the...'juice.'Haha...who was it that said that? I think it was Rhea...love her.
"Today is day 104 of my mission, can you believe that? We had our first changes (transfers) today, but I am still here. A lot of guys in my zone were transferred, though. We will have 14 new gringos on Wednesday...I wonder if I know any.
So, I got carol's package today! It said it was received here in ecuador on the 6th, but it weighed a lot so it got stuck in "prison", and for $5 i got it out. There was a lot of Nutella. Thanks!
I have been writing letters to friends, mostly girls, hahaha! I've gotten some nice letters lately.
Today, I threw in the towel and we searched for a laundromat. We have to wash our clothes by hand every p-day, and it takes 2 hours or more, and they get thrashed! We found a place that washes by the pound; it cost about $3.15 for mine! That is very expensive here, so we're going to look for a different laundromat for next week.
On Saturday, there were 3 baptisms in our ward, and I got to do one of them. His name is Mateo Nicholai Flores Allalas.
I'm gad you got to go to Briana's gravesite. I really wish I could have been there. I'm so happy that the flowers I planted are still alive. Thank you Mike Yancy. I don't know what it is, but this week i saw about 40 Ford Explorers! They were everywhere! And about 25 of them were green like mine.
We sang "Come, Come Ye Saints" in Sacrament Meeting, and it reminded me of Dad playing the harmonica on Trek. I love him."
-Love, Elder Blackwelder
To Candice:
"Thank you Candice, that was a cool letter. And I'm glad you got to check out Briana's grave. I have to remind myself that it all happened for real. Seeing the picture of her grave made it seem real, and seeing the other pictures Dad sent from San Francisco made me so sad to be away from all the...'juice.'Haha...who was it that said that? I think it was Rhea...love her.
This past Monday, we had FHE (Family Home Evening) at a member's home. They are new to the ward and came from the U.S. where they lived in Utah for 5 years or so while the husband worked. They are so rich compared to everyone here! We visited them with a new convert. We picked out a movie from their huge collection of church movies and got to watch it on a Macbook Pro! So stoked! But, first, we opened with a hymn and the husband sang from his iphone and the wife from her ipad. Hahaha! I was dying laughing so hard watching the look on my companion's face.
As far as 'disgusting' food goes, I had a chicken head in my soup. At first i had no idea what it was! It had tiny little hairs on it, eyes all closed, the beak cut off and you could see the brains and skull.
The best things to eat are humitas (they are like tamales, but sweet and cinnamony) and a drink called polaca (it's Columbiano and is made from milk, oats, and sugar. It seriously tastes like cake batter. Incredible!)
I haven't really had any scary experiences yet... and I hope that lasts the next year and a half, too!
I want to bring you all back and show you all the beautiful things here. Right now, I really want to hike all the mountains. I try not to think about it all day long, but I just want to get up to the mountains and explore! I could totally see myself living here.
Love Ian"
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Photos from the middle of the world!
"Ian at the middle of the world!"
"Me and Elder Peterson, a friend from the MTC"
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Weeks 3 and 4 in Ecuador
"Food we eat: eggs, fries, bread, ramen, pineapple, juice"
"The view from our toilet"
"So, this week has been pretty quick. Conference was great, we watched it in the Stake Center in Santa Ana. There was a room designated for us missionaries that speak English so we could relax and listen to the true voices of the speakers. Sometimes the translator voices get annoying for me. Glad to see that all is well at home, Something I forgot to say last week, was we went to an open air market of crafts from the Otavaleños, but there was this funny couple there who knew NO Spanish. I heard them ask a lady what the price was for an alpaca sweater, the lady replied, "dieciocho." They were still confused, so I chimed in, "eighteen." The wife said, "Oh, finally someone that speaks English. They just keep blabbering in Spanish as if we understood!" They were waiting for their plane to leave in a few hours.They just finished their vacation in the Galápagos Islands. Joe and Natalie(?) Bison or Bryson... Sorry this letter was short today, we have an appointment at 6. I want to send a bunch of pictures to you! You'll have to wait another week, I suppose.
Love Elder Blackwelder"
"Ian and his companion, Elder Barrera, with their first baptism, Sebastian Portilla, and his wife"
"Ian and Blanca making bolones, (boiled immature bananas (verdes), mashed up and mixed with fried pork, then rolled into these balls, then fried. Really good, but super dense."
"Ian and his companion, Elder Barrera, with their first baptism, Sebastian Portilla, and his wife"
"Ian and Blanca making bolones, (boiled immature bananas (verdes), mashed up and mixed with fried pork, then rolled into these balls, then fried. Really good, but super dense."
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