Have you gotten your packages yet? I sent them on September 15th, so it has been 27 days.
I got the packages. Thankyou so much! They were great!!! Elder Machuca ate just about all of my jerky, so I think he liked it.
If so, how are the insoles working?
The insoles are amazing! I am using the work insoles, not the walking ones that you sent me. The walking ones made my feet really hot all day long, but the work ones have little air vents in them that keep my feet much cooler and a lot happier, too.
Is there anything you need or want in your next package?
Well let’s hope that the boys get some deer so they can send me some more deer jerky. Tell Clain to be careful with the duck that he grinds up for jerky. I found a BB in the jerky.
Did you ever get the post cards we sent?
Yep, I got a ton of post cards from lots of people. They were all from Island Park and Yellowstone.
Have you mailed my photo CDs yet?
No, I haven´t sorry. I need to call the pouch guy and ask him how I can do it.
Are you going to resend the package for Clain and Skyler?
I don´t think so. I think I will just bring the things home with me and give them the things when I get back.
How much of General Conference did you get to see this time?
I got to see all five sessions. That was really awesome!
What was your favorite talk? Why?
I liked in the Priesthood session I can´t remember who it was but they gave a talk to the sons and to the dads about how they can have better relationships.
Elder M. Russell Ballard's Talk
"Fathers and Sons: A Remarkable Relationship"
You said that the San Martin girls attended conference with you. Which session? Did any of your other investigators attend?
They came in the Sunday morning session. Yep, we had seven investigators that attended the conference, the five San Martin girls and a couple that are friends of Isabel.
About how many people were at each session? One of the other missionaries said that the Sunday morning session was well attended, but the other sessions had very few people. Was it the same in your area?
In the Sunday morning session there was a lot, like four or five hundred and in the rest it depended, but twenty to forty people, but in the priesthood session there was about 100 people there.
Where did you have to go to watch the conference?
We had to go to the stake center in Quevedo.
How is Mosche doing?
I haven´t been able to find him lately he started another job so he is just about never home.
What is happening with Esther and her two daughters?
We haven´t been visiting them recently. She doesn´t want to come to church anymore, so there isn´t anything else that we can do.
Have you heard from Shirley since she left for school?
Yep, she had two weeks of vacation, so she came back to Valencia. So we visited a few times this last week with her. She was in a six week course that was like my Connections class or something like that so they could get used to the university and now she is actually starting to study. But she said that now she has more time on the weekends. Before she would study in the university until five in the evening on Saturdays and now she gets done at one on Fridays, so she said that she is going to be coming back to Valencia just about every weekend, so we should be able to visit with her more often now, but let’s see what happens.
Tell us about Dexy?s friends that you are teaching.
There is Valeria. She has a baptism date for the 31st, but she hasn´t come to church for a couple of weeks, so let’s see what happens. She studies with Dexy. They are seniors in high school right now which is kind of funny because Dexy and I are the same age to the day. And she is a senior still, but ya things happen. She got sick when she was younger and had to drop out of school because of it, but now she is finishing up. There is also Mariana. She is 21. She isn´t studying, just helping out at home and working a little here and there when she can. She hasn´t come to church again either, so we need to visit the both of them, but last week we couldn´t go visit them because of the conference and other things that happened.
What is happening with Dexy’s siblings?
We are trying to get her to introduce us to them, but she still doesn’t want to, so we aren´t pushing things right now.
Do you have any new investigators?
We have found a lot of new investigators with Elder Machuca. We have been knocking a lot of doors so that he knows how to do it. We have also been working with some new inactive families that we have found and we found three girls. They are cousins and the three are granddaughters of a less active woman. So we have been visiting and one of the three came to church Sunday and the young men are doing a good job of being their friends. All of the young men that are fifteen to nineteen are their friends now, because the three are 16 and 17 years old and they are pretty, so we don´t have to worry about them not having friends in the church. Three young men went Sunday morning to pick them up and walked with the one that came to church, so that was pretty cool.
Tell us more about your companion. What is his full name? What does he like to do? Did he attend college before the mission? Is he funny like your other companions from Lima?
I will have to do some investigating to find out his whole name. I have seen it, but I forgot and he won´t tell me right now. He liked to dance and do the whole skatebord and BMX biking stuff, things I really don´t like to do all that much. He likes cats, you know how I feel about cats and when I told him that I don´t like cats he like got all offended, so we will have to work on that, but I still think that the only good cat is a dead cat. He didn´t attend college, but he wants to study Civil Engineering. He is pretty funny, but it bugs me sometimes, like when we are in the bus and the radio is playing, he likes to dance in his seat to the music and that bugs me, but I try to have patience. I haven´t said anything to him yet, but ya, it bugs me.
How did your District Meeting go this past week?
It went good. We talked about the numbers as a district and how we could improve them and then I gave every companionship a copy of their numbers and how they are doing compared to the Standard of Excellence that the mission has. And then we talked about what goals we could put so that we could reach the standard like we should.
How was your Zone Meeting?
Zone Conference was really great. We did a lot of activities and I learned a lot of new things that I need to apply in my teaching now.
Do you handle the mail that comes to the missionaries in your district now? How does that work?
All of the missionaries in my district give me their mail and I make sure that the mail isn´t going to any women inside of the mission, unless they have permission from President. And then I give it to Elder Bejar, the Zone Leader and he packs it up in a box and sends it to Guayaquil. What they do here is they go to the bus terminal and say that they want to send the package to Guayaquil. So they weigh it and pay for it and send it to Guayaquil. In Guayaquil, the pouch guy goes to the terminal and he has to go to the offices of the different lines that the different places send the pouch through and he picks up all of the pouch and takes it to the office. And there he sorts it and sends it where it needs to go, and then he puts our stuff in a box and sends it back the same way it came to us with the stuff that we have asked for.
Did your new glasses fit okay? Did you have to have them adjusted? Is there any place there where they sell glasses that can adjust them?
They fit pretty good I adjusted them a little bit so that they fit better but they fit ok.
Do very many people in Ecuador wear glasses?
There are a lot here that wear glasses. They buy the pre-made ones to read that come in the increments, the ones that you can find in the gas stations, you know.
Are sunglasses a big thing down there?
Yep, but we can´t wear them as missionaries.
Tell us something funny that has happened to you lately.
(no answer)
We would love to hear some of your spiritual experiences. Share some please.
(no answer)
Hi Curtis. It is good to hear from you. Thanks for the answers to my questions. How come you always leave those last two questions blank? We want to hear more of your experiences, funny, spiritual, weird, etc.
I am glad the insoles are working. Do you need more of them for the other pairs of shoes? I couldn't decide which ones would work better for you, so I got two different kinds.
I will tell Clain about the BB. I am sure he included it on purpose so you could have a wonderful reminder of home! Ha! Ha! :)
I am glad that Elder Machuca liked the jerky and I am glad you have learned to share and be nice. It is great training for when you will get married. Your wife will want to share everything with you, even your favorite snacks.
Please make sure you tell your future wife that you do not like to dance! Don't let her be disappointed like I was. I thought your dad sort of liked to dance because we had fun at a couple of dances before we got married. I found out after we were married that he does not like to dance or to hold hands. Be fair and let your future wife know up front that it bugs you. Ha! Ha! :)
I am happy that you are controlling your feelings and not saying anything about the things that bug you. That is also good practice for the future. There are many times when it is better to just keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself rather than risk offending someone. However, you can agree to disagree with your companion about the cats. He can have his opinion and you can have yours and it shouldn't matter since neither of you should be having anything to do with cats while you are on your missions. I guess maybe a few members might have cats in their homes, but you shouldn't be spending your time with the cats, just the people.
I am glad you liked General Conference and that you got to attend all of it this time. It is neat that you had investigators attend with you. I have attached that talk by Elder Ballard on Fathers and Sons. I can send you all of the talks again if you want. Did you use the ones from the last conference?
Did you like the printed ones I did or the Ensign or Liahona best?
Are you able to study them at all or use them in your lessons?
I am glad things are going well with your investigators, or at least some of them. We will continue to pray for them and for you. You need to pray lots, also, for the specific help you need to get them to commit and to feel the spirit. I know the Lord will help you with the work if you put your faith in him and trust that he will do his part if you do your part.
It sounds like you are working hard and being an effective missionary. Set high goals and then stretch yourself to reach them. I would love to see you have a bunch of baptisms during this change. We will keep praying that this will happen for you. Commit them to baptism early and then work hard to make sure they are ready.
We love you so much and we are so very proud of you. I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are pleased with you. That is a great place to be and a great feeling to know that you are doing what the Lord would have you do. You should have a very peaceful heart as you do their work here on earth knowing that you are worthy and actively engaged in the work.
Love,
Mom
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