Christmas in Ecuador

My mission got together at President and Sister Ghent's apartment to celebrate Christmas. It is always great to see the other missionaries and catch up. 

Elder Meriles from San Francisco

 

Elder Christensen, my companion, from Massachusetts

President Ghent, my mission president, from Manhattan Beach, California

President and Sister Ghent's home

 Elder Sanchez, my favorite companion, from Honduras

Good and Bad

A successful week. We are doing great here in Colla Loma. We have 3 people with baptismal dates, Juliana, William and Alison for the 29th of December. Juliana is ready to be baptized right now, but she really wants her mom to be there for her baptism and the 29th is the first availability she has. William is the dad of the Rojas family whom are a less active family. Alison is his youngest daughter who is not yet baptized. They are very excited to be able to clean up their lives and have felt the Lord's hand in helping them achieve that. We had an appointment with them on Friday and we had scheduled to just teach the restoration, but after we had finished talking about the Book of Mormon, I felt prompted to talk with them about the sabbath day. It took a while explaining it to them, but it proved a very true prompting. On Sunday morning when we had a visit with them, Maria, the less active mom, told us of the miracle they experienced on Saturday. They had committed to us on Friday to attend church and keep the sabbath day holy and not work (they sell cell phone parts and batteries in the street and make very few dollars a day), so once Saturday came, they were determined to sell enough for Sunday too. But, at mid-day, they still hadn't sold a single thing and their daughters were really hungry. The mother gave them a few dollars to find something to eat and after the girls returned, they said a prayer right there in the street to ask Heavenly Father to help them be able to keep the sabbath day holy and sell enough on Saturday. By 4 o'clock they had over $50 and at the end of the night they had more than $70! They were so excited at church knowing that the Lord had helped them out. 

Elder Christensen is passing through some tough times (as is normal for the first few weeks on the mission) but he is doing well over all. Elder Putnam, an elder who was with me in the MTC and was in my first zone here in Ecuador, lives in the house with my companion and I (along with his companion). Well, he has had a few mental shutdowns and has had some difficulties with migraines, so they sent him home to the states to get some real medical treatment and then hopefully come back. It seems like it may be the start of epilepsy, but we'll just have to see. He is a great guy, born in Temecula and moved to St george. He and I passed a lot of the same newbie experiences and grew up a lot and it was fun to have him here with me these last few months and see how much he'd changed. 

 

More bad news, looks like Elder Sanchez did some more foolish things in Esmeraldas, and he may get sent home ): we went to the offices and found him there ready for an interview with President with his bags all packed. He was way bummed and so was I, but we got to talk a lot and I was glad that he loves me as much as I love him. We had some of the best experiences of our mission together in Ibarra. His family lives in New Jersey and he has a half brother who is a US born citizen but lives here in Quito (another crazy story) and hopefully Elder Sanchez can get sent to the states to be with his family. I told him that if he needs anything my family is his family and "mi casa es su casa" as dad loves to say (: I'll find out tonight if president ends up sending him home or just repremanding him. More crazy news, the sister missionary from my MTC group is going home on the 20th to be home for the next semester! ahhhh! Time is going by so fast!

 

Love Elder Blackwelder

 

These are some pictures I took this week of the Volcano Cayambe. The sun was setting one day and it was magnificent. I love how I can see it from my shower and from the bus. It makes me so excited that I am here and not somewhere else.

 

New Companion

Well, Tuesday night I received the call that Elder Ramos was to leave the next morning. I am not going to waste my time nor yours to tell you about how difficult of a companion he was, I'd rather tell you about my new one Elder Christensen. He got out of the MTC early because he already knew spanish pretty well. He has helped me to see the spirituality that is necessary to have success in a mission. We have an investigator named Elizabeth who has leukemia and her husband left her for a few days because she needs to get married in order to get baptized but he got really offended and mad that she was talking about such things. We found her one day on the street and she told us the news about her husband leaving her and her 3 kids. and after she walked away, my companion suggested we offer a prayer for her. I was happy to hear that, and we did so, but it made me think about how sometimes here I begin to just work, and sort of leave God out of it. After having done the same kinds of things every day for 16 months, I'd begun to think that I kinda had it all under control with my own skills that I've acquired. I was happy that he could teach me so much with such a small action. I'll let you guys know next week about how things are doing with Elizabeth. We also have another person preparing for baptism but is really nervous about making a decision. She knows it's all true, but is hesitant in making the decision. Her name is Juliana. We are going to focus a lot this week on finding new people to teach and I just KNOW that there is a family waiting for my companion and I to knock.

 

Love you all,

Elder Blackwelder

 

Tamarindo- a pod fruit that has seeds with like a tart paste all around them.

The elders who live with me and the Christmas garland (:

 

My speaker I bought with the money from Miki Olsen. Finally can ring in the season with the Manheim Steamroller dad sent (:

This is what I look like RIGHT NOW (: ¡feliz cumpleaños Thomás!

 

I just got my hair cut (: it grows so fast...plus i have to shave daily now...not every 3 or every other...dang. I love the advent cards; they are the best. They make me so excited to have a new day. Today was from Bree Lundquist. Made me laugh really hard to hear what she had to say. Sounds like she is happy though. You guys should do the letter advent again at the end of my mission, like the last 30 days or something.

Here is a picture of breakfast on Dec 1st- granola from home and mangoes. So rico.

 

Thanksgiving 2012

I actually had a splendid holiday. Our whole zone was invited over to a family's house to eat with them...and their house was soooooo nice. By far the nicest one I've ever been in in Ecuador. The food was really good and the mom did her best at making pumpkin pie. All sorts of goodness, and then after eating, we all got to go play in the yard. They had a trampoline, punching bag, soccer field, piano, guitar, lightsabers...it was great. Definitely made for a great Thanksgiving away from home. Well, I wish I could write more, but this gooofy keyboard has sucked up all my time in trying to type ledgibley.

Love 

Elder Blackwelder

The whole zone

My plate

Dessert selections

Real salad

My special place marker

Elder Plua and me

My desk

My old shoe inserts and the new ones you sent me

The last of the chocolate cake

MAJOR mission challenges

Wow, major challenges with my companion. In fact, president invited us over tonight to eat with him and his family (his daughter and son in law are visiting) and probably to have interviews with us... On Thursday after the district meeting, one of the assistants came on divisions with us. My companion didn't really behave himself very well, and the whole rest of the week was just kind of a joke...contacting doors by myself was a very different experience (: "Hi, we're missionaries. I'm Elder Blackwelder and that's my companion over there on the corner" hehehe thats just how it was this week, but we (I) found a new family of 5. In the prayer at the end of the lesson, the wife-who was praying-just bursted out in tears asking for help with her kids and her husband. It was a really good first lesson, but they didn't end up going to church ): Our church starts at 2:00 and we taught them in the morning at 10:00, they said they would try to go, but weren't able to do so. Anyway, I am growing a lot in a lot of ways. Physically too! I got my pull up bar installed and have been hittin it every morning (: and the elastic bands they gave us in the MTC I use as well. With my companion, I am learning how to be decided, direct, and firm. I am not wishy washy nor suave anymore. Well, at least I try not to be. I think that is something I got from my dad, very suave. But it will help me to be a better leader here in the mission and a better dad in the last days. 

Sorry I don't really have much to write about, nothing really exciting happens in Quito. Nor do I have photos to send for the same reason. But if you write and ask questions, then I will have something to answer to (:

Oh, there is a new missionary in our house. He is from Utah, but has lived just about everywhere in the west. Named Elder Fowkes (like Faust but with an X sound at the end). That's about it for news from me..

 

Until Next week

Elder Blackwelder

January 30, 2012

Candice,


Sadly we cant have bikes here, kinda a bummer. But it
is still fun to see others using them, even though they are usually just thrashed. I saw one fixed gear the other day though, but you wouldn't be able to tell because normally people take a lot of pride in their bike, but his was just gnarly and rusty.I am jealous about the film festy and the valentine party, that sounds so fun. Well, I hope you are doing well, and make a good choice for the valentines dinner. If I was invited I know who I would bring. How are you doing with your prayers and scripture reading? Just do it for one week and you will see. Major change. You have nothing to lose, not even your social image! haha (: I love you, and wish NOTHING but the
best for you.

Ian

TURTLE NECKS!