2009_05_18 Valencia Week 7 Changes

During our Mother’s Day phone call, Curtis told us about an experience that was happening in Valencia, the city he is living in now. I haven’t had time to type out the transcript for all of the phone call yet. I will try to get it done this week. This webpage has the story that was posted in the news. I could only find this same story posted over and over on different web pages. I have been unable to find any other stories or details. Read this story first, then today’s letter.

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=10331843

Some of the details are not right. Valencia is not a southern, coastal city. It is in the center of the country at the base of the Andes Mountains, but anyway, now you have the basic story.



Hey how is it going? I don’t have a lot of time right now because we had some problems, but I will be writing later today with all of the details.

Thanks, Curtis. I will wait to hear from you more this afternoon. I pray that the problems are little things, easily solved. I love you.

Ok, to tell you what has happened this weekend. First you remember that I told you that they burnt two robbers here. Well they are from Quevedo. The family of the two kids that were burnt were saying that they were going to come to Valencia Sunday in the morning and cause problems, going to kill people and more problems. When we heard this, we called President Gamboa and told him what was going on. Well he told us to pack our bags with the nececary and go to Quevedo. So Saturday in the afternoon, we went to Quevedo and spent the night there.

Sunday we went on splits. I went with Elder Martinez and Elder Neyra with Elder Bartolomei and we went to church. After, we spent the day visiting in their sectors. We got to the house about seven and then we received a call from the Assistants with the transfers. They told Elder Janampa that he was leaving. Then they asked to talk to Elder Bartolomei and told him that he was going to train this change. Then they asked to talk to me and they told me that I am now Companero Mayor or Senior Companion, but I am not going to train this change. Then the Assistants said that they would call later and tell us the transfers.

So we had to wait for about an hour to get the changes and I found out that my companion is now Elder Castañeda he is from Otavalo. I have my first companion that isn’t from Peru. He is Otavalanio. He has what they call a cola here or a pony tail. So Elder Neyra is going to Manta to the sector called Monte Cristi, but his things were still in Valencia and we were in Quevedo. So we called the Assistants and asked them what to do and they said that he would leave later not with the changes today.

Well in the morning, we came to Valencia and got all of Elder Neyras stuff and then went back to Quevedo and my companion was in Quevedo, so I came with my companion back to Valencia and here we are now in Valencia. Elder Neyra is going with Elder Martinez and Elder Verastagui (he is now our Zone Leader) to Guayaquil tomorrow. So ya, that is the problems that we have had this weekend, a little bit sad, but ya, it is ok. It all worked out.

I am glad to know you are safe and well. Congratulations on becoming a Senior Companion. I am sure you will be a great one. Did your baptism work out? Tell us more about your companion.

Have you heard if there was trouble in Valencia on Sunday? Were the two kids that were burnt brothers? How old were they? That is very sad. I will have to search the internet for more details. I haven't been able to find much on the story.

There was a few people that marched in protest, but nothing violent, so we were able to come back. The two were not brothers. One was nineteen and the other twenty-one, I think, but I am not for sure.

As far as my baptism, it didn’t work out because we had to leave Saturday, so we are planning on the baptism this week. We are going to visit Oscar today to make sure that everything is going good and that there won’t be any problems. Give me a week or two to find out more about my companion and then I will tell you about him.

Sorry about the baptism. How long has your new companion been out? Is he from Ecuador? I will search on the internet for more on the place you said he was from. Send photos of him next week please. I love you so much.

Ya, he is from the Sierras of Ecuador or the mountains that border Colombia. He has been out a little bit more than a year. Well, I love you very much. Thank you for the package and the photos.

Hey, I got some good news! Elder Bejar is now the Zone Leader in Manta. All of his mission he wanted to go there to eat sea food and now he is there. Bye.

Elder Bejar is from Lima, Peru, a coastal city, so he has probably been missing all the great seafood that is there to eat.