Forgotten in Valencia?

Valencia Week 30

Hey! How are things going? Well, first of all, last week we got back here to Valencia late, like four and then we had to go open the church so that a few of our investigators and some members could play basketball and soccer. So, we didn´t have time to get back to the computers.

The party was good. We ate hamburgers and chips. We got to the party a little early so we helped set up. The Latins, my companion and the companion of Elder Esselman, his name is Elder Rojas, said that we couldn´t start the charcoal briquettes on fire to start the grill. Ha! Ha! They didn´t know that I am an Eagle Scout and I could start a fire with wet wood in a rain storm! Ha! Ha! I proved to them that we gringos know what we are doing! I started the charcoal briquettes on fire, but they weren´t burning very good. They weren´t burning all over like they should have been, so we went and got a fan and with the fan we soon had a whole grill full of briquettes ready to cook. So, we cooked the hamburgers and everything and it was cool. On the way out, is when they told us that it was going to cost us $4.50 a person, but oh well. It was definitely worth it!

Elder Bejar is going today to Peru. He might be there already. I don´t know for sure, but yesterday he went to Guayaquil and today to Peru. Elder Neyra is also in or on his way to Peru today. So now, my first three companions have finished the mission. Elder Castañeda will finish his mission in May and then I will finish and then Elder Hernandez finishes in January of 2011 and Elder Machuca in September of 2011. So ya, they are starting to go home little by little.

I still can´t believe that I have 14 months in the mission. I am over the hill and I am picking up speed really fast. I can´t believe it, but everybody keeps saying that if they change me this change that I am going back to Quevedo South. I hope not, but let’s see what happens! If that happens, I am going to change the name of my mission from Ecuador Guayaquil North Mission to Ecuador Quevedo Mission! Everybody thinks it is so funny that I now have 14 months and I am still in my second sector! I sure don´t think it is all that funny! President in my interview asked me about my sectors and when I told him that my sectors are Valencia and Balzar, he asked me how much time I had in the mission and when I told him I was going to complete 14 months, he said “Wow” and got really quiet like, “Wow, I really forgot about Elder Goode out there,” but who knows. I am pretty sure that the Lord has something in mind for me and I think it is that I have the six baptisms that I am planning for this weekend!!! I hope it works out and we can have the baptisms!

About all of your questions that you asked me in the other emails I can´t remember what they were, but I will pull up the other emails and try to answer some of them, if not all of them. Ok? Well, I hope you get this and you can respond.

I love you lots!!!

Elder Goode

Hey Buddy!

It is great to hear from you. I am sure glad you are an Eagle Scout! It really pays off at times and proves that moms do know what they are doing occasionally! Ha! Ha! Dad needs to remember some of his scout training. He wanted to burn a big pile of garden debris on Saturday. He piled it all up on the garden and then poured some gas on it because it was pretty much all wet stuff. He said he moved the gas can way back out of the way and stood way back. He threw the first three matches with no luck, but the fourth one caught and he had a huge explosion. No one was hurt, but it sounded like a sonic boom in the house and shook all the windows. Kathy and Chrissy were out working in the field across the street. They both looked up to see what had happened. Dumb!

I am sure you were meant to stay in Valencia and take care of these baptisms. Is there any chance Shirley is going to get baptized there before you leave?

I don´t think that Shirley will get baptised before I leave here. She doesn´t turn 18 until after the change and she hasn´t come to church lately and I don´t think that she really wants to anymore, so I will try, but I don´t know. I doubt it.

That is too bad. Maybe she was more interested in you than in the church. Darn!

Which six people do you have lined up for baptism this week? Did you baptize anyone this past week?

We have six lined up this week. Five are the San Martin family and one is a daughter of a member that is really inactive, but the daughter has been coming to church a few times lately. Yesterday, we went and put the date with her for this Saturday and taught her everything that she needs to know to pass the baptism interview. Last week, we were planning on baptising the San Martin family, but most of the kids were sick this week, so we taught them about blessings and then we gave them blessings and they all got better! So now they have faith that we have power to heal and to help people, so now they are a little more excited for their baptisms!

I do have a copy of the new Spanish Bible, but if you want, you could send me another copy. I have the paperback version, but I would really like the really fancy one with the side that has the little cuts in it so that you can find the books easier, so if you can, would you send me for Christmas the new bible, but the fancy one in black not in the red. I would also like the Money Maker goose call, but I think I can wait another year to get it. I think by the time I get back there will be another newer better one! So the bible yes, but the goose call no! I still have my stocking and my Christmas tree. I haven´t done the barbeque yet, but I will see what happens if we could do one, maybe this week. Oh well, let’s see. Write me back. Ok?

It is pretty amazing when I think about it that you have been gone that long. In some ways it seems really long and in other ways fairly quick. These past two months have really flown by for me. Did they for you, too?

The Lord knows what He is doing and I am sure the people you have met and taught will be touched by the seeds you have planted. It may not be right away, but someday, those seeds will take hold and grow. Everyone there will always remember a big, tall, handsome and kind gringo missionary who was always very Goode! They will remember you fondly and with great love!!! I bet you will end up somewhere entirely different in two weeks, maybe near the ocean or in the big city. Be prepared for a BIG change!

Chris Jenkins gave the Relief Society lesson on Sunday. She talked a little bit about Clayton. He has been in the same sector for seven months now. He has been living with an older couple in their home. He thought he would for sure get transferred six weeks ago, but he didn't. He was made a District Leader. He was kind of frustrated by it. Then last week, the man he lives with called Chris Jenkins. He said that he had called Clayton's Mission President and requested that Clayton stay there one more change. His mother was ill and they moved her to their home to take care of her. This man said he had met many missionaries in his lifetime and he knew if any missionary could convert his mother, Clayton was the one who could. So the Mission President had left Clayton there another change and he did convert the mother. She got baptized on Saturday. Clayton is getting transferred this week and he will be a Zone Leader. It was a very touching story. I am sure Chris told it much better than I just did, but you get the idea. The Lord is in charge and He knows where your special talents, abilities and personality are needed. Hang in there!!!

I love you so much!

Mom

Cool. I will check into the Bible. I have not been to the Distribution center since they released it. I will go this week and see what they have. Maybe I will get one for your companion as well. You will probably have a different companion by then, but I am sure whatever Elder I send it to will love it.

Are you able to study the Ensigns and Liahonas that I send you?

Which version is best for you for the Conference Issue?

Good luck on the baptisms. I am sure you will be successful this week. That is really neat about the blessings. What kind of sickness did they all have? Tell me more about the blessings please.

Are you still there? I love you. I wish you would say goodbye before you sign off.

Love always and forever,

Mom

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.

2009_05_04 Week 5 Valencia

May 3, 2009

Dear Curtis,

Hi! I hope you have had a really great week. Mine has been pretty good.

First off, we need to figure out how we are going to do your phone call home on Mother’s Day which is next Sunday, May 10th. Do you have a phone that you can call from?

Can you call me and then I can call you back on that phone?

I need to know the whole phone number with the country code. I have a calling card that I can use from this end. I could just call you if I knew the number and what time to call you.

We have church from 11:00 till 2:00. Clain is giving a talk in Sacrament Meeting, so we have to go. His topic is gospel principles taught to you by your mother. He is supposed to speak for five to seven minutes.

We would like to go to Cache Valley to visit Grandma Goode and Grandma Parkinson after church. I don’t think Michelle and Shara are coming down here. I have been trying to talk to Michelle all day to find out what she is planning, but she won’t answer my calls or texts. I am not sure what is up with her. I haven’t talked to her much this week. It was her last week of school, so she should be all done for a while.

Shara was called to be the Second Counselor in the Primary Presidency. She has to sing with the Primary Kids in her ward on Mother’s Day. Her church is at 9:00, but I still doubt she will come down after because she will have two mothers and four grandmothers to go visit that day and all but me are up there in Cache Valley.

Email back and let me know what will work best for you as far as time and how you are going to call. Do you have a calling card you can use?

Can you buy one if you don’t have one?

It might be good to get one with enough minutes in case I can’t call you back for some reason like last time. How long can you talk this time?

I put your tax refund in your bank account. I transferred $500 of it to your savings account because you get a little bit better interest rate on that account than on the checking account, but not by much. The rest is in your checking account. You have been using a lot of money again. Are you having to travel a lot in your new area? Did it cost you money to go to the Volcano and the Waterfalls?

Answer these questions first and hopefully we can email back and forth a couple of times today.

I love you so much and I am very proud of you.

Love always, Mom

Hey how are things? As far as the phone call we have a cellular in the house that we are going to use to call. What we are planning to do is buy a card that will put money in our account in the cell phone and then we can call. I am going to buy thirty minutes of time I think that will be enough, but I will check and find out more before I buy, so I buy enough. I think that this will be better and more sure than you trying to call me. I can only call on Sunday, but just about whenever you want me to during the day. What time will be best for you and what phone do you want me to call?

Okay. That will be great. I think it is probably best to call my cell phone then you will get me no matter where I am at. The number is 801-725-****. You could call at 3:00 or anytime after that. What time do you have church and what else do you have planned for that day?

We have church from 9 to 12, lunch at one and a meeting at two, so three thirty should work fine. Do you think it is possible that you could be with Skyler so I could talk to him, too? If not, that is ok. Tell him I am still waiting for a picture of him and his fiance. Do you want me to call three thirty my time or your time? There is an hour difference right now.

We can try to get Skyler to come down, but with Mother's day he may be busy. 2:30 or 3:00 our time would be better so we could go up to Cache Valley after, but will that give you enough time to finish your meeting? If not, what time works for you?

I will talk to Skyler about the picture. He was supposed to email it to me so I could email it to you. I guess he forgot. Being in love can make you do things like that.

How has your week been? Tell us about your area, your companion, your investigators and your site seeing trips please.

Three or three thirty my time which is two or two thirty your time will work for me.

Okay. Make it 2:30 my time so we will have time to get home from church. Clain might be really long-winded and make the meeting go over. Ha Ha!

Ok that will work. I will call two thirty your time. I will get back on later today to answer your questions.

Okay. I love you lots. Take care.

Later . . .

I got a really cool photo of you today from Elder Bartolomei's mom. It has Elder Felt, Elder Williams, Elder Bartolomei and you just outside a chapel door. It is an awesome photo. Where was it taken? When?

She sent me another one last week that had Elder Neyra, you, Elder Bartolomei and another guy all hanging on to trees and branches as you climbed down a muddy hill. I am guessing it was when you went to see the waterfalls. I don't think the other guy in the yellow shirt is Elder Bartolomei's companion because she sent another photo of Elder Bartolomei with his companion in front of the same waterfall you sent me. In that photo, his companion is wearing a different shirt. Who is the other guy in the yellow shirt? Who went with you to the waterfalls? Tell us more about it.
Do you have more photos? Tell us about it.

Tell us about the baptisms you have had in Valencia. Names? Dates?

Tell us about the investigators you are teaching now.

Tell us more about your companion. What is he like? Do you get along? What are his favorite things to do? What do you really like about him? Did he know any of your other companions? How long has he been a member? Tell us about his family.

Tell us about your apartment.

I mailed two packages to you on Tuesday, April 28th. They have paper copies of the Conference Talks in English. The Spanish versions weren't out yet. I will send you an Ensign and Liahona as soon as they release them in a couple more weeks, I think. The package has a USB jump drive. On the drive there are a bunch of photos that we have taken since you have been gone. I thought you might want to look at them. I will try to print a few of them and mail to you with the next package. You can delete the photos to make room to store backups of the photos you take. There are also mp3 and mp4 files of the conference. I hope you are able to load them onto your ipod so you can listen to them and watch the videos if that is allowed. If not, just delete the video ones. I also put the music on there. You may have to dump some of the music that is on there or the old conference talks to make room for the new ones. Some may be the same. I think there are talks from three conferences there.

I told you earlier that I would put in an 8 GB SD card. I didn't put it in. It was acting weird and I was afraid you would use it and then not be able to pull up the photos after you took them. I put in 4 new 1 GB SD cards for you.

Let me know if there is anything else you need. I will be sending another package in a couple of weeks with the Ensign and Liahona.

Braxton has been running track. He ran the 1600 meter (mile) race the first week in 6:19:8 He was 34th out of 54 runners. The second week he ran the 1600 in 6:12:60, so he got faster. He was 15th out of 38 runners. He has another track meet this week on Friday. He is going to get even faster. I think he is doing great for a 7th grader running against 8th and 9th graders.

I love you so much and I am so proud of you. You look really great in that photo. You look so happy and healthy. The fruit and rice must be agreeing with you.

Love,
Mom

Hey how are things going? I’m back on to answer your questions. First about my sight-seeing trips. We went first with Elder Bartolomei and his companion Elder Gabino to the waterfalls. We also brought along our ward mission leader Claudio. He is the one in some of the photos you have seen. Claudio had been to the waterfalls before so he knew the way, so it was much easier for us.

Elder Goode at the Waterfalls near La Mana

My sector is big. Here in Valencia it starts at a place called the Esperansa or the Hope in English and ends in the Mana. We also have a place called the Berhel and a place called 6 de Agosto or the 6th of August. We are working mainly in the Mana to help start the church there. We had one baptism. His name is Hector. He just turned 18 and he is doing great. We are planning another baptism for this Saturday. His name is Oscar. He is 16 years old. His mom and dad are members, but his dad died about two and a half months ago.

That is great! If you have more time, tell us more. Has it been raining a lot on you the last two weeks? I have a weather site on the internet I have found and it says you should have had 6 inches of rain two weeks ago and about 4 inches last week. Is that right or is this site giving me the wrong information?

No, the sight is correct. We are getting rain here mostly in the night, but it is raining a lot when it does here. We are getting lightning and thunder, too.

The picture that Elder Bartolomei’s mom sent you was taken last Tuesday in the Zone Conference. We are only missing Elder Smith to have all of our district together in the same place, but Elder Smith is in Duran still, in his first sector. I talked to him during the transfers in Guayaquil. He’s doing good and loving the mission.

Here in Valencia we are working with a lot of references. We are contacting about ten to fifteen a week and right now we have more than twenty that we have received that we need to contact. For the most part, the references are in the Mana that is where we are working the most, because the Bishop wants to form a branch there to make it easier for the members, so they don’t have to travel a half an hour to church every Sunday. So this is what we have been doing, contacting lots of people to find five families in the Mana that are members and are paying their tithing. That is the most important, that they have priesthood in the families and that they are paying tithing.

That is awesome. I am glad you are making a difference. Five families doesn't seem like a lot, but it will be enough to give them a good start. Keep working hard at it. I am sure you will find them or help them to get the priesthood and start paying their tithing.

How is your memorizing coming along? Your deadline is coming soon.

When you can, send more photos.

Have you heard any more about Elder Fewkes? Whenever you can, take photos with all the other missionaries you know. Try to do a photo with all of your companions so far if you are ever all together in one place.

Elder Fewkes had some health problems here in the mission, so he went home, got it all figured out and right now he is serving in Idaho Spanish speaking. But when our transfer comes, he might get the chance to come back to Ecuador to serve. That is what we are hoping, but let’s see what happens.

I think that it will be a little hard to get all of my companions together because Elder Alcocer is going to leave here for his house on the 8th of this month, so I think that is Friday, so he doesn’t have a whole lot of time left in the mission. I did get a photo with him the other day in the Zone Conference though. I talked to Elder Bejar in the terminal in Quayaquil for a little bit. He is now district leader in Pasquales doing good. He has six months left before he goes back to Peru, too. Elder Neyra is in the same group of missionaries as Elder Bejar. He came to Ecuador with Elder Bejar and he will leave with him in October.

I was afraid you wouldn't be able to get them all together before he left. I guess that is okay. You will always remember them anyway. Gather the ones you can whenever you get a chance.

I do hope Elder Fewkes gets to come back to Ecuador, but I guess it won't matter as long as he is serving the Lord. I am glad Elder Bejar is doing great. That is neat that he is a District Leader now.

Tell me more about Elder Neyra and about your scripture memorization. And make sure to say goodbye before you get off today.

Elder Neyra is from the center of Lima, Peru. His family consists of his mom and dad and eleven kids. He has 8 brothers and 2 sisters. He is the youngest of all of them. Elder Neyra likes to play guitar and sing. He loves my Ipod and he is trying really hard to take advantage of the fact that he has a gringo for a companion to learn English, so I am talking a lot of English with him in the house, so he can learn it. Elder Neyra likes to be in style and in fashion. Some of his brothers live in the states in New York, so he has a bit of an American style, but he still has his Latin style, too. Elder Neyra likes to joke around. All of his brothers are bigger than him, so he has a little bit of the attitude like I do that we are big and bad and that no one can hurt us. You know what I mean.

He sounds like fun. I am glad you are enjoying your time together. Just be really careful, even though you are big and bad. There are still things like guns and knives that can hurt you. Always be obedient so you will be protected. Maybe you will get to see Elder Neyra after your mission. He may decide to come to the states, too.


Send us more photos when you can. I love to see you. Send us a good photo of Elder Neyra. I have the one you did with the multiple exposures and the one on the muddy trail, but I want a good close up shot of him.

How is your memorizing coming?

What did you learn at your Zone Conference?

Ya! I know that there are still things that can hurt us. My memorization is coming along slow, but sure. The Zone Conference was about obedience to the rules of the mission. It was good.


Well I gotta go. I love you lots. I’ll talk to you Sunday at two thirty your time, three thirty my time. Bye.


I love you, too. I am so excited to hear your voice on Sunday. Be careful and remember who you are.


Love always and forever,
Mom

2009_04_13 Week 2 Valencia

Do you need more 1 GB SD cards?

I have two sd memory cards that are one gig and one that is two gigs that I bought with my other camera. I sold my other camera to Elder Nayra for $140 with one of my one gig cards so that leaves me with only one card that is one gig.

Is there anything special you want or need in this next package?

This is Elder Alocer with Curtis's flags in Balzar.

Not that I can think of. Elder Bartolomei wants an american flag but he says that he wants to pay for it. He says that he know you will buy one and give it to him, but he says that he wants to pay.

Duct tape? (Another elder keeps asking his parents for more duct tape. Useful I guess.)

(No answer.)

Please explain why you are withdrawing money all the time?

Because in Balzar we were using a lot of money in travel expenses and I wasn’t having enough money with just my giro to cover everything, so I had to withdraw money.

Have you heard anything about trouble with mail or money down in Ecuador?

They aren’t letting our materials into the country. President Correa wants to close Ecuador to imports so that the people will start producing their own goods here in Ecuador, but it is hurting us because we don’t have enough pamphlets and other materials to teach.

Are you buying souveniers, paying for the people to get married or just running out of money each week?

A little of everything. We pay for the marriages. We pay for everything here. I haven’t bought a lot of souveniers, just things that I need.

What did you do on Easter yesterday? Tell us something that made the day special for you. How do they celebrate Easter in Ecuador? Are there any holidays coming up?

This is a photo of a cake made with Platanos.

I went to the ward here in Valencia, fasted, had a great lunch of rice with marinated and fried chicken with manestras or beans and after we had a slice of cake that was made from ripe platano or maduro, as they call it here. It is similar to a banana, but it isn’t. After, we visited the people that went to church, our investigators and the members that are a little inactive.


We had dinner in the house of one of the members and taught a little bit about Christ. Here they don’t celebrate Easter. It is called Semana Santa or the Holy Week, so we explained that we celebrate this every week in the church when we partake of the sacrament and that we don’t need to wait for just one time in the year to remember Jesus Christ, so it was good, but very different. One of the traditions of Semana Santa is that last Friday, they don’t eat meat, beef or chicken or pork, but they do eat fish. It is a little weird, but o well.

The other missionaries wrote a lot about Carnival, but you didn’t. Did they celebrate it much in Balzar? Did you get wet and hit by balloons very often?

In Balzar, they did celebrate Carnival, but I didn’t get wet at all. They tried to hit me a few times, but no one here played baseball like I did, so their aim isn’t very good, so I didn’t get wet at all.

Tell us all about your new companion. What is his full name?

I don’t know.

Where is he from?

Lima, Peru. Who would have guessed my third companion and my third companion from Peru.

Tell us about his family.

He comes from a family of 11 kids. He has family that live in New York.

What does he like?

He likes to play guitar.

How long has he been a member?

He joined the church when he was nine. I think he is now 26.

How long has he been out serving on his mission?

He is in the same group as Elder Bejar. He will complete 16 months in May and he will go home in November.

How long has he been serving in Valencia?

This is his fifth change in Valencia. He was here 4 changes with the same Elder.

Can you please attach a photo of him to an email and send it today?

Are you getting along well?

Yeah we are getting along fine. We cook food from Peru, so we don’t have any problems.

How old is he?

26

Do you like Valencia?

Yeah, it is littler than Balzar, more quiet and less people, but our sector is big here, too. We are the only sector that enters into the mountains. We have a part of our sector that is called La Mana. It is in the mission Quito, but it is very far from where the missionaries are in the mission Quito, so we pass into the mission Quito to teach in this part. It is really cool. The climate here is better. It is cooler and more fresh here. Sometimes you can see the mountains when the smog clears up a little bit, but so far that hasn’t happened yet.

Have you met many of the members yet?

I have met a lot of members, but there are a lot of members that are inactive, a lot like Balzar.

How big is the church there?

There is about 300 members and about 75 active members.

Do they have a branch or a ward? How large?

It is a ward, but a ward for two weeks. They changed just before I got here.

Do you cover any of the surrounding towns or cities?

Yeah the Mana and some other places that are a ways away, about an hour or an hour and a half.

Can you see the mountains to the east of you now?

(He answered it above.)

Are you enjoying the fruit in Valencia? What kinds have you found there?

This is a Zapote. I searched on the internet and it looks like they come in different varieties or colors.

I am eating a lot of bananas and oranges, but here the oranges aren’t orange, they are green. There is a fruit here that is called zapote and one called achote they are really good. There is pineapple and apples, grapes, pears. There is a pear here that is a reddish purple. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure I will.

What are those little round orange and red fruits that were in your earlier photos?

I think those were mangos.

It appears you are playing a game in many of the photos and a couple of the videos. It appears that you are doing this at Family Home Evening Activities. Was the game part of your lesson? Explain please. It looks like hot potato with a stuffed animal. Then the person who ends up with the item is "it" and gets their face painted with marker or pink lipstick. Is that right? What is the purpose?

Yeah, that is the purpose of the game. It is to have fun, so that the investigators know that the church is more than just what is in the church.

Another game seems to be to have people put your body parts in positions and you have to stand and hold it that way while they move you.

This is a form of punishment, if the person doesn’t want their face painted. It is called the statue.
They each take a turn putting you into different positions around. Is that right? What is its purpose? What did the horns on everyone’s head mean in the one set of pictures with the hot potato game?

I am not for sure why they did the horns, but o well.

Elder Alcocer seems like quite a funny guy. It looks like you had lots of fun with him. Are you enjoying your new companion as much? Are you working hard?

Yeah, we are working hard and having fun.

Do you have any baptisms lined up?

We had one baptism this last Saturday and we are planning on another one this Friday, too.

Did you have any more baptisms before your transfer?

No, but I left a family of 8 for Elder Alcocer and his new companion. They will be able to baptize 4 of this family this Saturday.

Explain all of the hand gestures please. What do they mean in Ecuador?
Thumb up - The same as in the US.
Two thumbs up - The same, too.
Thumb and pinky finger up - For the missionaries, this means aposticia.
Thumb, index and pinky finger up - I don’t know this one.
Index and pinky finger up, thumb holding middle and ring finger down - I don’t know.
Index and middle fingers up – Peace.
Both hands up in the air, fingers outstretched – (No answer.)
Any others I missed?

Have you given more talks in church?

No, not lately.

Do you bear your testimony on Fast Sundays?

No, but if no one was bearing theirs, I would, but there are always people, so it isn’t a problem.

The church house in Balzar is small. They use the chapel for a cultural hall as well. How many other rooms does the church have in it?

It had a room for the Relief Society and four classrooms, the office of the Presidente and the secratary office.

How big is the church house in Valencia ?

It is a bit bigger, about the same design as Balzar, but everything is bigger.

Do they have a regular meeting schedule like we do? Do they have the three hour block?

Yeah, they meet at nine in the morning for three hours.

Do they have Young Men and Young Women activities each week?
In Balzar, no, but here they have seminary and institute every week.

Do they have Relief Society activities each month?

No.

Who is your Zone Leader now?

Elder Contreras. I replaced him in Balzar, when I first arrived.

Who is your District Leader now?

Elder Gabino and Elder Janampa.

How many districts are in your zone?

Two.

Where is Elder Bartolomei serving? You told me the name, but I can’t find it anywhere on Google Earth. I can see a map with the cities, but no satellite view of the area.

The Republica. It is a sector of Quevedo. It isn’t a city, just a part of Quevedo.

There is a video of a lady washing clothes. Was that your Mamita de Ropa? What are the boys names. They are cute?

Yeah, that was our mamita in Balzar and the kids were Rambo and Cocoa.

Do you have a mamita de ropa in Valencia?

Yep.

Tell us about your apartment. What is it like? Better or worse than Balzar?

It is good. It is smaller than Balzar, but we have air conditioning in our bedroom. We only have one bathroom, so we have to share, but we have hot water that works.

Are you and your companion that only missionaries in Valencia? Do you share your apartment with any other elders?

No, it is just us here in Valencia.

Does the city seem level or is it on a hill. The elevation makes it look like it would be on a hill with a gradual incline. Do you notice that you are going up and down?

No, I haven’t noticed anything.

Do you have to walk as much as before?

Yeah, we are walking still.

Do they have busses within the city?

Here in Valencia there isn’t much businesses, but in Quevedo there are a lot, so if we need something we can go to Quevedo.

One of the videos is on a bus and appears to be mostly members on the bus. Were you going to or from church? Elder Alcocer is doing a video of the trip. Was that with your camera? Did he have a camera? Did you make him copies of all of the photos and videos?

It was with my camera. Yeah, we copied all of the pictures and videos for him. This was a trip to a district conference in Vinces. It is like our Stake Conferences.

Please try to attach some photos each week to your letters. Resize the photos and save them with a new name, so you keep the originals. Then attach the smaller files.

You sent money in your package. Did you know it is illegal to send money into or out of the country? Why did you send a torn 20 dollar bill? Does that mean it is no longer legal currency? The money and package arrived just fine.

We use American money here. These were sucres. They aren’t in service any more.

Your note to the pouch monkey said it had y 20 moneras antiguias. Does that mean the money was antique or no longer useable because it was torn?

No, it just means that the money isn’t usable any more. They don’t use sucres here anymore, so it is ok to send them.

Did you buy the banana stickers or have you saved that many of them?
The people that work in the bananeras, where they grow the bananas, give the stickers to the missionaries.

Was Elder Alcocer working hard or was he getting a little trunky?

Elder Alcocer was working hard.

Did you buy the machete?

No, this machete we borrowed to cut weeds it was President Ruiz’s machete.

Did you buy the hats?

(The guy on the left is a member who went with them to lots of their appointments. Curtis said he was 15 or 16 years old.)

I bought one hat. Elder Alcocer bought the other two. They cost two dollars each.

Is there a Quevedo soccer team that the shirts represent or do the shirts just advertise the city?

(No answer.)

The cemetery you showed, is it in Balzar?
Yeah.

How many funeral processions did you see while living in Balzar?
I saw about twenty different processions.
(The Catholic Church was just down the street from Curtis's apartment in Balzar. The funeral processions would walk right past his apartment to get to the cemetery.)

Did you do service for the members by cutting their grass with the machete or were you just playing around that day?

We were providing service that day.

What kinds of service do you do for the people each week?

Cut grass and weeds. Just about whatever they want us to do.

The blue boat was interesting. Were the photos on the same day, wet and dry or on the same trip across the river or different trips? Were you crossing the river that day? Do you have to hold on to the rope as you cross the river?
One was when we crossed the first time and the other was the return trip. Elder Alcocer took the pictures of me when we crossed the first time and I took them of him the second time when it was raining.

You really didn’t do hand over hand on that rope to cross the river did you?

We didn’t, but the guy that was behind us, who owns the boat, did. He crossed hand over hand the whole way about forty times every day.

Do they raise the pigs for food or just for pets?
For food.

How did Moroni Ruiz break his arm?

He fell down some stairs.

Are you healthy and happy?
Yeah, I am fine.

(He is sunburned, but he looks happy. I don't think he will ever turn brown. Just a bright red or pink.)

That is probably more questions than you will take time to answer this week. I will save some for next week.

I love you so very much. Take care.

Love,

Mom

Thanks Curtis. It is great to hear from you. Thanks for all the great answers. Tell me more about what you have been doing this week and try to send me a photo of your companion if you have your camera with you.

Do they have a cyber cafe for you to email from?
Did you get the packages yet?

I got two packages Wednesday from you. Thank you for the root beer extract and the jerkey. I sent some pictures but I don’t know if they will come fast or not through email.

You are welcome. I am glad the packages arrived sooner this time. Sorry about the St. Patrick's day one. I bought the card and forgot to put it in the package with the sharpeners like I had planned to. I got an email with two photos. One has a fuzzy fruit and one has you praying and I am assuming your new companion reading on the end of the bed.

What does aposticia mean? The translation site won't translate it.
Cool photos. What kind of fruit is that? What does it taste like?

Is that your new companion in the photo? It is cool. Thanks. You should send a copy of it to your mission president. Are you writing him a longer letter this week?

Have you had any problems with fleas. One mom recommended flipping the mattress over whenever you got to a new area. Also, putting the mattress outside in the sun to bake the yucky stuff out of it. She suggested studying outside so you could keep an eye on it. Another suggestion was to buy a dog flea collar and put it in your bed during the day while you are out. If no fleas now, maybe it will be good information for some later situation you will encounter.

It is really funny that all of your companions have been from Lima, Peru. Did any of them know each other before they came on their missions?
I loved the photo at McDonalds. That was a great shot of you. I will print that one out and put it up on the wall. Don't worry about the money. I will put your tax refunds in your account and try to keep at least a couple hundred in there for you.

Aposticia is anything that is against the teachings of the church for example wearing the cross, praying to santos or idols they do that here, and many other things and when we are teaching if one of us teaches something wrong the other does this symbol the thumb and pinky up and the rest down and touches their forhead the other knows that he has taught something wrong and needs to teach it over again.

The fruit in the picture is achote. It is fuzzy on the outside, but on the inside it is like gel. You put the gel in your mouth and suck on it and when it doesn´t have any flavor left you spit it out and get another one. There is a seed in the center that you don´t eat, but it reminds me of a nut.

Cool. The fruit sounds very interesting. Did you lose your internet connection earlier? Are you at a cyber cafe?

Yeah, I am at a cyber café. Where else would I use internet? My companion does things a little differently. We write a little in the mornings and then in the evening before we leave to teach we go back to the cyber so that we can read what the people have written us and we can reply again.

Well that is awesome. I can deal with that. I thought maybe you had just lost your connection because you disappeared without saying goodbye.

The photo of the two of you is cool. Do you have more photos of your companion and apartment?

Which fruit do you like the best that you have eaten down there?

Do they eat very many vegetables. You have shown us corn and talked about beans and rice. Do they eat any other vegetables?

What else have you done today on your p-day?

Is there anything fun to go and see on p-days in your new area?

So why are you making that hand gesture in some of the photos that you sent?

Please explain the "corn live forever" thing from the video where Elder Alcocer is husking the corn.

Do they use the husks in their cooking? Is that why he his husking it one layer at a time?

(No answer to these questions. Maybe next week.)

2009_04_06 Transfer to Valencia Mom

Hey! How are things in Utah? I am doing good here in Ecuador. I am now in the zone Quevedo North and in the sector Valencia. It is a city about ten minutes outside of Quevedo. My companion is Elder Neyra. He is from Peru. Elder Alcocer is with an elder from Mexico now. Elder Alcocer will leave for his house this change on the 8th of May. I saw Elder Bejar in the terminal and we had a good chat and I met my brother in the mission, the second elder that Elder Bejar trained here in the mission. He is named Elder Lopez. Elder Bartolomei is in my zone now. He is in the sector, the Republica. Elder Alcocer was in the same sector about a year ago. He trained a missionary in this sector too. Elder Williams and Elder Felt are in the other zone still and Elder Smith is in Duran, in his first sector still. Elder Fewkes is back on the mission. He is serving in a mission in Idaho right now, speaking Spanish. He will be there for one change and then he will receive a call to see if he can come back to Ecuador or go to a different mission or stay in the one he is at. He went home for medical reasons, but he tried really hard to stay in the mission. I talked today with one of his companions that told me all of this.

The conference was good. Elder Alcocer was sick with a fever of 104, so he couldn´t leave the house, but we did go to Quevedo to the doctor for him and then to the first session of conference on Saturday. On Sunday, I left a member with Elder Alcocer and went with another member to pick up some investigators and we took them to Vinces and watched conference, the first session and then we went back to Balzar. So I didn´t get to see the afternoon sessions or the Priesthood session. I watched the first session in English and the second session in Spanish.

Here in Valencia, there is a lot of farms. They call them fincas in Spanish, that have bananas or platanas or pineapples or mangos or other fruit. Elder Nayra says that the members here all have their fincas, so they like to give the elders fruit. So I am going to be eating a lot of fruit for the next six months, it looks like. Tell me if you can find Valencia in Google Earth. If you can´t, I will see what I can do to help you find it. Oh, the fruit in the pictures I sent you in December was a mango and the pictures that you have posted as the moon is the sun on a cloudy day.

Mango in Balzar

Sun on a Cloudy Day in Balzar

I sent you a package Wednesday so you should receive it in about four weeks. It has a DVD with just about all of the pictures of my mission on it. I also sent some letters and a bunch of gifts for dad. I think he will like them. Well it is getting late and I gotta go, but I love you very much.

Elder Goode

Thanks Curtis. It is awesome to hear from you. I am sorry you missed so much of conference. It was really awesome. I will get the Ensign and the Liahona and send them to you in a package. I am glad you are going to get a change of scenery. Work really hard. Take time to set some wonderful goals with your new companion. Tell us more about him next week in your letter.

Google Map Image of Ecuador

I can't see Quevedo much. It is in that stupid white area that goes up through the middle of Ecuador. It is frustrating. I want to just wipe it all away so I can see what is hiding underneath there. I wish so much they would update their Google Maps and clear this area. It is like they are hiding some national secret under that area or something. Take lots of photos of the area because that is the only way we will know what it is supposed to look like.

I love you lots! Take care.
Love always and forever,

Mom

Note: I have placed a new map at the bottom of the blog page that shows where Curtis is now compared to where he was before the transfer. Up to the right, there is a Volcano that has filled up with water to make a lake. You can see it on the map. It is not in Curtis's mission. I pulled out the Mission Map to compare. The dividing line looks like it runs almost along the base of that mountain range.

Curtis should at least be able to see the mountains now. His last area was just completely flat with no mountains in view in any direction. It might seem a bit more like home with mountains to the east like we have in Utah along the Wasatch Front. They are high mountains, but probably a different sort of mountain than the Wasatch Mountains.

Our home in West Point is at an elevation of 4,231 feet above sea level. The highest point on the mountains to the east is 9,051 feet above sea level, a difference of 5,820 feet.

Valencia is at an elevation of 443 feet above sea level. The highest point on the mountains to the east is 12,700 feet above sea level, a difference of 12,300 feet.

Our home in West Point is fourteen miles from the highest point on the mountain range due east. Valencia is 39 miles from the highest point on the mountain range due east, a distance almost three times as far as at home. That would be like looking at the mountains on the north east side of Morgan. I don't know if he will be able to see them that far away.

The terrain is quite different. Where we live, the land is relatively flat till right at the base of the mountains, then it rises quickly up to the full elevation in only a distance of about three miles. In Ecuador, the elevation increases at a fairly steady rate from Valencia right to the top of the highest peak. I suspect Curtis will be doing a bit more climbing up and down in his new sector, up as he goes to the east and down when he goes to the west, but it will be a gradual change both directions. I wonder if he will notice. He is about 300 feet above sea level higher than he was in Balzar.