Shopping in the Fenix

Week 29 Valencia

Hey! Today we are in Quevedo. We are going to a party for Elder Bejar, because he is going to be going home next week. So we are having his farewell party. We had to go take out the censo of Elder Machuca today and in three weeks I have to take mine out again, because it expires. Now we are in a cyber doing internet before we have to go to the party. I think that we are going to buy in the Fenix before we go to the party, too, but we will see what happens. The Fenix is the biggest and the best super market here in Quevedo. It has a lot of things that you can´t find in other parts of Quevedo.



We are working hard. We have a goal of four baptisms this weekend, but the mom is a little bit on the fence right now, so we are hoping that she will let us baptise her daughters. But the bishop also said that we can´t baptise her daughters if she doesn´t get baptized, so we have a bit of a problem there. So we have some work to do this week, but I think we can pull it off. We are really hopeful, so let’s see what happens. Other than that, everything is going good. We are working hard and having fun, the best way to work. Well, I hope you get this soon, so we can chat a little bit, but let’s see what happens.


Hi Curtis,
I am on the computer right now. I can chat in between taking care of Taylor. She is watching Curious George intently at the moment, but I am sure it won't last very long.

It sounds like you are having a really great day today. What exciting things will you buy in the Fenix?

I hope your baptisms work out. We will pray harder for you and this family.


I am thinking that I want to make lazania again. Elder Hernandez made it once while we were together and I want to make it again, so I will buy the stuff to make lazania. The other day I bought a can of Pringles. That was pretty cool. In the Fenix they sell a lot of things that isn´t normal, like you can buy tortillas to make tacos and American and cheddar cheese and we can buy fish that comes frozen or the shrimp that I used to make the cerviche a while back. Just about all of the missionaries here in Quevedo buy in the Fenix, so when we go, we usually run into a lot of other missionaries.


Sounds good. I made lasagna for Braxton last week, I think. I might make that again this week since I am home and twice baked potatoes that Clain keeps asking for.

What kind of a party is planned for Elder Bejar?

Where do you have to go to do the censo?

What concerns does the mom have about getting baptized?

Is Elder Machuca getting the hang of things now?

Hey we are going to go buy right now and then we are going to go to the party and then we are going back to Valencia and in Valencia we will get back on the internet for a little bit about three or three thrity. Ok? I love you lots! Bye!



I waited all afternoon for another email from Curtis, but none came. They must have decided to do something else, their plans changed or it was such an exciting party that they didn't get home as early as they anticipated.

Baptisms, Birthdays and Life Skills

Week 23 Valencia

Hey, here is the photo of Dexy’s baptism. I´ll send more in a minute and I will send a report of what I have done these past two weeks.

Hi, Curtis. Neat photo! Have you grown taller? She is really cute. She looks nice. Can't wait to hear more from you.

Here is a picture of Shirley.

Shirley is very pretty, but not very tall. She looks like she is a sweet girl.

Here is a photo of the baptism of Isabel she is in the white and the other two are her daughters and her grandson.

Awesome!!! Congratulations!!! How are her two daughters coming as far as baptism? Who is the other lady in the photo?

Here is a picture of my birthday this is what we ate for lunch we had lazania with a salad of broccoli and corn and rice (It isn´t food here in Ecuador if there isn´t rice.) And we had the cakes, too. If you look good, the candles are in the cake, too. The cake was really good. It is a three milk cake with peaches on top. It was delicious.

It looks very festive with all of the bright colors. You and rice are going to be lifelong friends!!! There are seven plates. Who attended the party?

OK, to answer your questions. In the photo of the baptism of Isabel, the other lady is the sister Paula Pinarera. She is the one that lives in front of Isabel and loves to cook for us. I think because of her I have stopped losing weight. In my party, there was me, of course, my companion, the mamita, her husband, and their two kids, Cesar and Aura and a friend of Cesar and Hector Ramirez. He is a friend of Cesar. He is my convert, if you don't remember. There are only seven plates, because Elder Castaneda wasn't feeling very good that day, so he didn't eat, but the mamita gave us two plates more and we put them in the fridge to eat later, so it was really cool.

Thanks for the pictures. It is awesome to see you looking all happy and well and great to hear from you. I do not like it when you miss a week, so don't do it again, please!

This picture is for Braxton. I heard that you recently earned your painting merit badge. Congratulations and congratulations on earning your Eagle, too. But you know what Braxton, you never know when the things that you are learning right now are going to come in handy. Look at the picture. I too, earned my painting merit badge with dad. We painted a lot of things in a lot of different ways and look, I got to use what I had learned to help a friend here in Ecuador. Really you never know when you are going to be able to use the things that you have learned to help others, so keep on learning and keep your chin up. Ya, I love you Buddy and I am looking forward to next year when we can go hunting together just the two of us, ok? I love you lots! Bye, Buddy.

Hey! It is Braxton. Thanks for the picture. It was very cool to get something from you and I really enjoy getting things from you.

Hey, Braxton! What is up with that? I sent you a whole paragraph and you sent me one line. I went to all of the effort to write and send you a cool picture and I get a line....................................................................... Now, I know how you feel! I will definitely have to try harder, Buddy. I´m sorry that I haven´t been writing very much. I will try harder, ok? I love you, Buddy!

This picture is for Clain. Clain here I am using my machete in one of the ways they use it here in Ecuador. When they say that they are exorting someone to do something they say that they are macheteing. It is one of many uses. In this photo, we were having a little bit of fun in the house, but I have learned many things about machetes here in Ecuador. I learned that all that you need to build a house here in Ecuador is a machete, a hammer and nails and you can build a house of wood and cane. I am pretty sure that you are going to learn how to build a house using many different tools and different techniques. Learn them well, because they will serve in the future a lot. You have always liked to work with tools and with materials, so I know that you will do great in your Construction class. Keep working hard Buddy and tell everyone Hi for me, ok? Thanks, Buddy. I love you lots! Elder Goode

What scripture are you reading? What are you exorting him to do?

Hi Curtis
How are you doing? I am doing good? Thanks for the email. I love you. Clain

Curtis,
Hi! How are you doing? We just got done putting a loft in a shed for Shara and Rob. The guys at work all say Hi. We have been back to school for a couple of weeks. What are you doing in the picture of you with the machete? I love the classes I have this year.
Love, Clain

Hey! Sorry that I didn´t write last week. The internet was down in all of Valencia, so we couldn´t write at all, but today there is internet, so here I am writing you. So, since I last wrote you we baptised Isabel and now we are working on preparing about six people for the next week. We have a family of four women that we are preparing and we have two friends of Dexy that we are teaching that want to get baptized, too. And we have a family that investigated the Iglesia about two years ago and then moved to Quito, so they didn´t get baptized. Now they are back here in Valencia and they want to get baptized, so we just have to see who will be ready for next week and baptise them. That is all. I hope that we can baptise them before changes, so let’s see what happens. If not, I will leave more for the next missionary to reap when he gets here. But let’s see what happens. We are working hard and having lots of success now. I don´t know what changed when Elder Castañeda left and Elder Hernandez came, but now we are having lots of success.

I bought my new suit. I had to go to Buena Fe today to try it on, so he could see how it fit and he is going to finish it and Elder Frye will bring it to Quevedo on Wednesday. My suit ended up costing a little more than I thought it would. It cost 160 dollars, but I had him make me a vest, too and put on all of the bells and whistles, too. But for the suit and the vest it took five and a half yards of material to make. He said that usually it only takes three. So this is the biggest suit that he has ever made. I will try to be better about my spending and let’s see what happens. Well, I love you lots and I hope everything is going good.

Love,

Elder Goode

Hey, do you remember the Elder Feldman that sent you a letter for the family that he wanted me to look up? I found them and gave them his email address and they said that they have written him, but he hasn´t written back. Can you send him an email and see what is up? The thing that is kinda cool is that I found them without really trying. There is a member of my ward that is engaged to the daughter of Julia Romero, so I found them by chance. If you could write, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Bye,

Elder Goode

Okay. I will try to contact him again.

Dexy's Baptism

Week 21 Valencia Emails with Mom

Dear Curtis,

I am so excited to hear about Dexy’s baptism. Please tell us all about it. Who attended? Did her family and friends all come?

No she didn´t want her family to come to the baptism and we haven´t yet had a chance to meet her family but we are going to try and set up an appointment this week.

You said you were teaching some of her siblings, how are they progressing?

We aren´t teaching any of her family yet.

What about her parents?

We aren´t teaching yet this week we are going to try and set up an appointment.

Are they willing to listen? Are you teaching her friends and their families?

Right now we are teaching the family of one of her friends but the problem is they don´t want to come to church because it is a ways away.

You said you were going to baptize her, did you?

Yes

Who did the confirmation?

The bishop

Was she confirmed in church on Sunday?

Yes

How is Isabel doing?

Isabel is doing good she is excited for her baptism this Saturday so things are going really good.

Did she attend church?

Yep she did!

Is she ready to be baptized this week?

Yep! She will have her interview this Wednesday and then Saturday she will be baptized.

Do you have any other investigators who are ready to be baptized?

Right now we don´t, but we are working on it we have a family of five that we are getting ready for baptism, but they are a few weeks out right now.

How is Esther doing?

Esther is doing good she hasn´t been coming to church so we are working on that so that she will come and then when she has been coming to church for three or four weeks she can be baptized without problems so we are just waiting and exorting her to come to church.

Shirley is the one that is going to go to school in Guayaquil and she went last week and she is there right now.

When does she leave to go to Guayaquil for school?

Last week.

What is she going to study there?

She is going to be studying computers and design I think or something like that.

You said you would send us a photo of her.

I took a picture last Sunday, but the problem is I left the camera in the house so I can't send you a picture right now.

How is Mosche doing?

He is doing good he is back with his wife or his girlfriend so we have to help them get married but I don’t know if they want to get married so we will see what happens.

Is he still listening to you on Saturdays and Sundays?

Ya, he still is, but his wife won´t let him come to church. So it is hard for him to progress, so we will see what happens.

You said you have an inactive family that gave you a reference. Are you still teaching them? Tell us more about them, please.

Yep they are the Arias family, a family that consists of the mom and four daughters that are eight or older and three kids one girl and two boys that are younger than eight. They are progressing the mom wants to be baptized so we are working on it. We still need to teach them a lot more before they can be baptized so that is where we are right now.

Tell us more about your companion. What city in Guatemala is he from?

He is from Guatemala city or the capital.

How many are in his family?

There is his mom and dad and then he has his older brother and an older sister and then him and he is the baby in the family.

How long has he been a member?

He has been a member all of his life.

Where did he serve prior to coming to you?

He was in Babahyo for six months and then he came here like I did.

This is Elder Dan Mitton with Elder Mauricio R Hernandez.
Elder Mitton was his trainer in Babahoyo.

Who were his other companions? There was a Mauricio R Hernandez who was companions with Dan Mitton in Babahoyo. I wrote down that Dan was his trainer. Is he your new companion? I am attaching a photo. Is this him? Send us a photo of him if you can.

Yes, he is my companion now. He was with an Elder Mittton, Elder Donoso and an Elder Rodriguez and now with me.

Please take a look at the other photo and my guesses about who each missionary is. Correct it and send it back please.

Please send photos soon. It has been a very long time since you sent us any. We only have a couple of photos since you have been in Valencia. We want to see the people and the places you visit and your apartment and your companions. Please.

Have you received any more packages, letters or cards?

Tell us about the people you are teaching.

I love you so much.
Love always and forever,
Mom

It sounds like you have been very busy. Congratulations on the baptism. I am glad it worked out. Next week, pictures, for sure! Promise me!

What special experiences have you had this week?

I am actually planning on bringing my camera to the cyber and leaving it there and having them put all of the pictures that I have on my cards on a dvd so that I can send it to you, so I think I will drop my camera off a little later today and pick it up tomorrow with the dvd all ready to go. But next week I will have all of the photos in one disk to send you some, ok?

Okay. It has been a very long time since you sent us any. We want to see all the places and people. Thanks.

Are you getting along well with your new companion? What does he like to do? I sent a photo of a missionary I think is him. Is it?

Yes that is him. He likes the computer and stuff like that. I gotta ask him more. He doesn´t like to talk very much, so I don´t know much yet.

You are together all week long. I know you are supposed to focus on the work, but you could ask him a little bit about himself. :)

What spiritual experiences have you had this week? Anything funny?

2009_08_10 Week 19 Valencia Mom

Do they have programs like Girl's Camp, Helaman's Camp, and Youth Conference down there?

They don´t do anything like Girl’s Camp or Helaman’s Camp here but they did have a Young Single Adult Conference in Manta this weekend so that is pretty cool.

Is there anything you need or want?

Right now there isn´t anything else that I need, but I will definitely let you know.

Do the people down there do any canning or preserving?

Here there really isn´t any canning or preserving but that is something that the leaders in the church are stressing right now, that the people start keeping a supply of food and money in their house. Here it isn´t hard to buy a sack of rice or beans and keep it in the house, but the people just aren´t doing it. The people normally buy every day here or buy every other day, but they are always buying so they can cook. The people that have fridges usually buy every two or three days, but the thing is to buy you leave the house and go to the corner and there is a store.

Do they garden all year long?

No Answer

Do they just replant stuff when it quits producing?

Here they have planting seasons, too. When it is raining, they can plant different plants than when it is dry, so they plant and then they harvest.

Do any of the plants go through a winter dormant stage?

No, here the trees produce fruit and then they wait about three months and they produce again and they keep doing this all year long, but there are a few trees that are always producing fruit like oranges.

How has the weather been down there?

The weather has been pretty good here. It has been a little cooler and drier, but this is summer in Ecuador in winter it rains and is hotter.

The changes are different. This time they called Saturday and told us that I would be staying in Valencia and that Elder Castaneda would be leaving, but they didn´t tell us where. Sunday, we went to the Zone Leaders house and they called again, but they didn´t tell us the changes. They just said that the people that had changes would go to Guayaquil and when they got to Guayaquil they would give them an envelope and the envelope would tell them where they would be going and who their companion would be. So I still don´t know who my companion is, but I need to go right now and wait in the bus terminal until he gets here. Right now I am with another Elder that is waiting for his companion. His name is Elder Peralta. He started his mission in Valencia and his second sector was Balzar, so we have lots to talk about, but he is from Peru. I seem to get stuck with the Paraguanos. Let’s hope that I get a different country this time, maybe Mexico or Bolivia or Guatamala. Lets hope!!! Well, I gotta go, but when I get to Valencia with my companion we will get back on and let you know what is up with the changes. Well, I gotta go. Bye.


Hi Curtis,
I am glad you are getting to stay one more change in Valencia. I hope you can get those baptisms you are working on to work out in the next six weeks. Please write and tell us about you investigators this week and what is happening with them. Did they go to church? Is anyone ready for baptism this coming week? What great experiences did you have?

Who is your new companion? Give us as many details as you can.

Love you lots,
Mom and Braxton

Hey, I am back here in Valencia. My companion is Elder Hernandez. He is from Guatemala. He is starting his fifth change here in Valencia with me. He was in Babahoyo before in the same house as Elder Frye and Elder Elwood. His trainer is Elder Mitton who is now Zone Leader with Elder Cachari in Quevedo South. Elder Cachari is the trainer of Elder Bartolomei.

Well this week, Dexy came to church on her own. That was really cool. Dexy, I found out is a day older than I am. She turned 20 on the 24th of July, but the really cool thing is that the teens and the young adults invited her to a party that they are having for one of the teens in the ward that just turned 18, so they are going swimming to the swimming pool. I thought that that was really cool, because she has been telling us that she wants to make more friends in the church and now they are getting her involved in their activities. She will be a great convert for us. She has a baptismal date for the 22nd of August. Elder Castaneda helped us out with that before he left. Sunday, when we were in the church, he told Dexy that he was leaving, but that he wanted her to keep listening to the elders and to be baptised and he put the date for the 22nd and she acepted it. That was really cool!

We have been working with a less active family and they gave us a reference and we have been visiting with this family and they came to church Sunday and to the activity that we had last Friday. That was really cool! We have a few more people that are working on progressing, so we are working with them. We have a couple that we are working with to help them get married. We also have Shirley that is still coming to church and my English classes and is progressing good. We just have to keep waiting for her birthday in November, so that she can be baptised. But you know what, she is a really cute girl. I gotta take some pictures to send you, but I am definitely going to have to keep in touch with her. Other than that, we don´t have much else, but we are working good and planning on a big change for baptisms so let’s see what happens.

That is neat. I am glad they are involving Dexy in their activities. It is always easier to come when you have made a few friends. Do you know where Elder Castaneda ended up? Can you tell us more about your new companion? You said he is on his fifth change, so he has been out for 24 weeks or about 6 months. Who are your district leader and zone leader now? What other missionaries are in your district and which ones are in your zone?

Elder Castañeda is in Jipijapa (you say it Hippy Hoppa) in Manta with Elder Ruiz. He is from Costa Rica.

I still don´t know a whole lot yet, give me a week and I will let you know more. I promise! Ya, he has been out four changes and this is the beginning of his fifth so he has six months. His name is Elder Hernandes, but I am pretty sure that it is spelled wrong, but I´ll figure it out this week.

My Zone Leader is the same and I think that my district leader will be, too, but we will see. Maybe they will change us. I don´t know. The zone stayed about the same. I received Elder Hernandes and Elder Peralta received another one and that is the only changes that there were in the zone.

When are you going to send us some pictures? A photo CD? Soon please!

I got the photo that the APs took at Zone Conference, but I don't think you ever told me who everyone is. I think I sent you an email asking, but it was one of the weeks that you didn't send us email. So who are your Zone leader and District leader?

There was a Mauricio R Hernandez who was companions with Dan Mitton in Babahoyo. I wrote down that Dan was his trainer. Is that the one? I am attaching a photo. Is this your new companion? I put down that he is from Guatemala and entered the MTC about 1/21/2009.


Can you correct my bad guesses on this photo from the Zone Conference in July?


Missionaries from Left to Right: (My Best Guesses)
1 Elder E Coj – New Greenie - guess
2 Elder Francisco Castañeda - fact
3 Elder R Peralta - guess (probably wrong)
4 Elder J Esselman - guess
5 Elder A Verastegui - fact
6 Elder Blake Bartolomei - fact
7 Elder Donaldo Batista - guess
8 Elder Curtis Goode - fact
9 Elder Amilcar Vargas - guess
10 Elder Junior Lopez - guess
11 Elder C Garcia – New Greenie - guess
12 Elder Mark Frye - fact

Companionships (My best guesses)
Verastegui and Coj – Zone Leader - guess
Goode and Castañeda - fact
Bartolomei and Esselman -fact
Frye and Lopez - fact
Peralta and Batista - fact
Vargas and Jiminez (You said his new companion was Jiminez, but he’s not in the photo – was there a transfer or is the name wrong? Is his companion Garcia?) – guess
Who are the District Leaders?
Which missionaries are in each district?
Who is your District Leader?

Curtis didn’t respond back. We will have to wait and see if he answers my questions about this photo next week.