Week 1 Babahoyo
Hi Mom! So guess what? I am not in Portoviejo anymore! I am in a place where there are lots of mosquitoes and lots of water and bamboo houses on stilts over water and bridges of bamboo. That’s right! I got transferred to Babahoyo! And guess what else? I am not District Leader anymore. I am now Zone Leader here in Babahoyo!
My new companion is Elder Alvarez. You know him from Quevedo. This is his last change. So guess what? I get to kill an Elder for the first time in my mission! I am in Barrio Lindo. We are opening a sector together. Elder Alvarez was in Barrio Olmedo, but they called him to be a Zone Leader, too, so we are new Zone Leaders in a new sector and it is kinda hard.
So this is what happened. They called Elder Sanchez to be the new Assistant and Elder Janampa (brother to the Elder Janampa that was my District Leader) had more time in the sector, so he left, too. So I came to be the new Zone Leader and replace those two. So we don’t know the sector very well and the people. We are trying to find them to keep teaching them. But you know what is really cool? I have three baptisms planned for this Saturday and as a Zone, we have eight planned. So we have lots of work to this week to get all of the investigators interviewed and ready for baptism.
Well I am going to send this letter off and wait for your response to my new change. I love you lots!
Elder Goode
Curtis,
That is awesome news!!! And a huge responsibility and trust put in you by the Mission President. I know you will do great! You are a leader! You will set a great example for the elders who are looking to you for guidance and encouragement. Be the kind of Zone Leader you have liked and respected. Learn from the examples of all the Zone Leaders you have had and combine all the best parts of each, but be yourself, too. The Lord placed you there for a purpose.
Congratulations!!!
Write more please!!!
Did you have any baptisms before you left Portoviejo?
Love,
A very proud mom
I didn’t have any baptisms before I left, but I left lots to do for Elder Garcia. His new companion is Elder Perez, that was in Bahia. They changed him to my old sector and Elder Garcia became Senior Comp now. Elder Parkinson also got a new companion and Elder Avila went somewhere else. I don’t know where. I am really excited to work here in Babahoyo. It is really neat from what I have seen! I am excited! Really I am!
Your new companion is Elder Paul Alvarez? Where is he from? I have on my list that he served in the office in September 2009 as the Secretary of Materials. Tell us more about him.
What other missionaries are in your Zone?
Is your apartment nice? Hot water? Clean? Insects and Rodents?
Yes, he is he is from Bolivia. Yep, he served in the office. There is Elder Baum from Quevedo too. Elder Dayton, he is new, a gringo. Elder Mamani, Elder Casas, Elder Amayo, and I can’t remember the rest, but Elder Amayo and Elder Mamani and Elder Baum are going to train this change, so I will have three new elders in my zone.
The house is in good shape, two bathrooms, two bedrooms, the kitchen and a room to study in, so it is pretty nice. The house doesn’t have hot water, but I am used to showering with cold water now. It is so darn hot outside anyways, who wants to shower with hot water. There aren’t any bug problems or rodent problems either. Things are good in the house. I have another toilet to fix, too, but that won’t be hard, just another flush handle.
Do you share the apartment with another missionary companionship or just Elder Alvarez?
I am glad you are able to deal with the cold water and not complain. I am glad the apartment is nice. Keep on fixing those toilets. Leave Ecuador a better place than you found it. Should I make tags and send, "This toilet repaired by Elder Goode on (date). Happy Flushing!!!" You could really leave your mark on the mission that way. Ha Ha!
Where in Bolivia is Elder Alvarez from? Tell us about his family, what he likes to do, girlfriend, plans for post-mission.
Is your new email account working okay? I didn't change it to Spanish, but you could in the Options menu at the top. I think it is on the General Tab.
Did you move today or sometime last week?
They called me Thursday night and I left Friday morning, so I have been in Babahoyo since Friday at about two in the afternoon. President Gamboa called me to tell me that I was going to be Zone Leader here in Babahoyo, so I knew where I was going to be going in the changes, so that was pretty cool. I also knew who Elder Alvarez was, so I knew who to expect and what he was like. The third companion of Elder Alvarez was Elder Alcocer. What a coincidence and when Elder Alcocer left the sector with Elder Alvarez, he came to Balzar with me.
Hey, I gotta go! I love you lots and I hope you have a good week!
Love,
Elder Goode
You, too. Be extra GOODE this week!
Love,
Your proud mother
P.S. You know I am always proud of you! This just feels like a very special day for you! Congratulations!!!
Showing posts with label toilets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toilets. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Shrimp, Fish and Octopus, but no Iguana
This is last week's letter that I didn't get posted until today. We did not hear from Curtis today. I know they were having Zone Conferences this week with Elder Eduardo Gavarret, the first counselor in the Presidency of the South American Northwest Area Presidency. I don't know which day the Portoviejo Zone will have their conference. I also know that this week is Carnival a big celebration in Ecuador where they throw lots of water balloons and get everyone wet. President Gamboa has asked that the missionaries stay in their apartments during the afternoon hours for a few days till Carnival is over.
Week 15 Portoviejo
So, how is it going today? I am on a little later than usual. We went to Manta and bought fish, well fish and shrimp and some octopus, too. We bought four pounds of shrimp which is about one hundred and twenty or one hundred and fifty somewhere in there shrimp that are about three to four inches in length. They cost almost fifteen dollars for the shrimp. We bought four pounds of octopus for four dollars and paid a guy a dollar to clean it all up good. In four pounds, comes five arms that are about a foot and a half long and start about two or three inches in diameter. And lastly, the fish, we bought about twenty five fish for five dollars. They are about eight or nine inches long and about six inches tall and they are really thin like a half an inch or three quarters maybe an inch thick at the widest point. We also paid another guy a dollar to clean the fish, so we spent somewhere between twenty and twenty five dollars and bought a lot of seafood for the rest of this change. I think that later we are going to clean the shrimp. We have to peel them and cut the veins out of them and then I think we are going to bread them and fry them. I am excited it should be good with some rice and beans.
Well, we didn´t have our baptism. We couldn´t find Luis´s dad when he was sober so we didn´t get permission for the baptism, but we have hope for this week.
President is in a really good mood lately. I like him like this a whole lot better. When I called him yesterday to ask for permission to go to Manta to buy the fish, he was in good humor and actually joked a little bit. I had asked to go last Monday, but we couldn´t go, so we decided to go this Monday. So I called and asked for permission again and he said that he had given me permission for last week because last week’s fish were good and that this week’s fish weren´t any good so he said no. And I was like no, President and he started laughing and told me to go and buy all of the fish I wanted. But he also said jokingly that I was forbidden to buy Iguana, so I playing along with the joke said, but President they sell really good iguana there
and he just laughed and told me to have fun, but no Iguanas. So ya it was kinda interesting. He seems to be happier and I think it is because we are going to have an area seventy come for our zone conference this change so that will be really cool.
Oh yeah, last night Hermana Gamboa called me and asked me about something that I had bought a few weeks ago. We have to send our receipts to the office so that Hermana Gamboa can see what we are buying. So she called and asked me why I had bought a seat. That is what the receipt had said. She asked me if I had bought a chair or something for the house, which I hadn´t and she asked me what the seat was, so I had to explain that the seat was a toilet seat and that I was fixing the broken one that was in the house. And then she was really happy with me and told me thank you for fixing the things that were broken in the house and that all missionaries should be like me and take care of their houses and not just live with their stuff broken. So that was kinda cool, too. I was kinda surprised when she called, but it turned out ok.
So everything is going good here. I am doing good and we are hoping to have a baptism this weekend. We have hope, but let’s hope that we can have permission, too. Well, I am going to send this letter off and then write president and then see if there is a reply.
I love you lots!
Elder Goode
The lady that we were teaching hasn´t been home much lately she still lives here, but she is having some construction done on her house and it is hard to find her there at all, so we are going to keep trying, but I don´t know if we are going to have much luck. The two friends of Luis have kinda gotten lost. We aren´t having much luck finding them either. One of them moved and we don´t know where his new house is. It is in our sector, but I don´t know where and the other one works all day and when he is home he is tired and doesn´t want to listen to us, but we are trying as hard as we can. I just hope we can find the one and that we can get through to the other one, too. I will have to talk to Elder Parkinson and ask him what happened if his mom said anything about a letter from you or maybe the email is wrong I will get it again and send
it to you in this email. Let me go ask him.......................ok I am back. He said that his mom didn´t say anything about getting a letter from you. Here is her email again. I am pretty sure that it is the same one that I gave you last time, but check anyways. ronikki7@aol.com
Well, I hope that this letter will answer your questions. If not, send me another letter quickly I don´t have a lot of time left.
Love,
Elder Goode
You never seem to have a lot of time. What happened to the 45 minutes you were supposed to have for emailing home? I think that is the address I sent it to. I will double check and maybe try another short one this week.
Are you finding any other investigators to teach. You don't seem to be having much success in this area, yet other missionaries who have served in Portoviejo say it is a great area with lots of baptisms. What can we do to help you more?
Well I should have an hour to write to you guys, but I always spend the first half an hour reading all of the emails and then I write the letter to you and then to President and then I write back to you guys. Well, I gotta go. I am hungry and there are shrimp to peel, so I love you lots.
Bye!
Elder Goode
Just pray for me a lot and it should be enough. Make sure that dad sees the letter I wrote to Skyler. It is pretty funny.
Bye!
Elder Goode
Maybe I should start writing much shorter letters so you will have time to write longer letters!
Week 15 Portoviejo
So, how is it going today? I am on a little later than usual. We went to Manta and bought fish, well fish and shrimp and some octopus, too. We bought four pounds of shrimp which is about one hundred and twenty or one hundred and fifty somewhere in there shrimp that are about three to four inches in length. They cost almost fifteen dollars for the shrimp. We bought four pounds of octopus for four dollars and paid a guy a dollar to clean it all up good. In four pounds, comes five arms that are about a foot and a half long and start about two or three inches in diameter. And lastly, the fish, we bought about twenty five fish for five dollars. They are about eight or nine inches long and about six inches tall and they are really thin like a half an inch or three quarters maybe an inch thick at the widest point. We also paid another guy a dollar to clean the fish, so we spent somewhere between twenty and twenty five dollars and bought a lot of seafood for the rest of this change. I think that later we are going to clean the shrimp. We have to peel them and cut the veins out of them and then I think we are going to bread them and fry them. I am excited it should be good with some rice and beans.
Well, we didn´t have our baptism. We couldn´t find Luis´s dad when he was sober so we didn´t get permission for the baptism, but we have hope for this week.
President is in a really good mood lately. I like him like this a whole lot better. When I called him yesterday to ask for permission to go to Manta to buy the fish, he was in good humor and actually joked a little bit. I had asked to go last Monday, but we couldn´t go, so we decided to go this Monday. So I called and asked for permission again and he said that he had given me permission for last week because last week’s fish were good and that this week’s fish weren´t any good so he said no. And I was like no, President and he started laughing and told me to go and buy all of the fish I wanted. But he also said jokingly that I was forbidden to buy Iguana, so I playing along with the joke said, but President they sell really good iguana there
and he just laughed and told me to have fun, but no Iguanas. So ya it was kinda interesting. He seems to be happier and I think it is because we are going to have an area seventy come for our zone conference this change so that will be really cool.
Oh yeah, last night Hermana Gamboa called me and asked me about something that I had bought a few weeks ago. We have to send our receipts to the office so that Hermana Gamboa can see what we are buying. So she called and asked me why I had bought a seat. That is what the receipt had said. She asked me if I had bought a chair or something for the house, which I hadn´t and she asked me what the seat was, so I had to explain that the seat was a toilet seat and that I was fixing the broken one that was in the house. And then she was really happy with me and told me thank you for fixing the things that were broken in the house and that all missionaries should be like me and take care of their houses and not just live with their stuff broken. So that was kinda cool, too. I was kinda surprised when she called, but it turned out ok.
So everything is going good here. I am doing good and we are hoping to have a baptism this weekend. We have hope, but let’s hope that we can have permission, too. Well, I am going to send this letter off and then write president and then see if there is a reply.
I love you lots!
Elder Goode
The lady that we were teaching hasn´t been home much lately she still lives here, but she is having some construction done on her house and it is hard to find her there at all, so we are going to keep trying, but I don´t know if we are going to have much luck. The two friends of Luis have kinda gotten lost. We aren´t having much luck finding them either. One of them moved and we don´t know where his new house is. It is in our sector, but I don´t know where and the other one works all day and when he is home he is tired and doesn´t want to listen to us, but we are trying as hard as we can. I just hope we can find the one and that we can get through to the other one, too. I will have to talk to Elder Parkinson and ask him what happened if his mom said anything about a letter from you or maybe the email is wrong I will get it again and send
it to you in this email. Let me go ask him.......................ok I am back. He said that his mom didn´t say anything about getting a letter from you. Here is her email again. I am pretty sure that it is the same one that I gave you last time, but check anyways. ronikki7@aol.com
Well, I hope that this letter will answer your questions. If not, send me another letter quickly I don´t have a lot of time left.
Love,
Elder Goode
You never seem to have a lot of time. What happened to the 45 minutes you were supposed to have for emailing home? I think that is the address I sent it to. I will double check and maybe try another short one this week.
Are you finding any other investigators to teach. You don't seem to be having much success in this area, yet other missionaries who have served in Portoviejo say it is a great area with lots of baptisms. What can we do to help you more?
Well I should have an hour to write to you guys, but I always spend the first half an hour reading all of the emails and then I write the letter to you and then to President and then I write back to you guys. Well, I gotta go. I am hungry and there are shrimp to peel, so I love you lots.
Bye!
Elder Goode
Just pray for me a lot and it should be enough. Make sure that dad sees the letter I wrote to Skyler. It is pretty funny.
Bye!
Elder Goode
Maybe I should start writing much shorter letters so you will have time to write longer letters!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Welcome Elder Walke!!!
Week 13 Portoviejo
Hey! So guess what? I am still in Portoviejo and still with Elder Garcia, so everything is going good. Elder Walke is now my new Zone Leader with Elder Fonseca. Elder Felt left and Elder Avila, his old companion is going to train, so he went today to Guayaquil and will be coming back on Wednesday with his kid. We spent the morning cleaning the house, just the two of us. I´ve kinda gotten used to living with four in the house, so it was kinda lonely with just the two of us. I also did some repairs on some toilets in the house and I am going to have to buy some parts a little later to finish all of the repairs. I need to install a new toilet seat and a new flap and flush handle on another one and a chain broke on my toilet, so I found a string and made the toilet work again. Nothing like some redneck engineering to fix things right!!!
So I want things to be good for the new elder when he gets here. I sure know how hard it was when I started and I know that someone that thinks ahead a little will be a big help. They should get here to Portoviejo at like seven or eight on Wednesday, so they should be really hungry. I am going to make sure that I buy some stuff that they can eat Wednesday night so that they don´t get there and have nothing to eat and I will leave a note telling them that they can take the food and eat it. It will be a whole lot better than when I got to our house with Elder Machuca and there was dirty plates all over the house and there wasn´t any food. That was kinda hard, but I am going to prevent that this time with this elder.
So Elder Piedra got a new companion, Elder Cruz. He is from Peru, the one that was in my zone when I first got to Valencia. Elder Piedra called me a little concerned and afraid. He was asking me what he should do this change and how he can deal with his companion. I told him to work hard and help his companion to know the sector and the members and investigators and he will help him with the other stuff, so he seemed a lot happier and things should be going good. Elder Piedra won´t be in my district this change because Elder Cruz is a district leader too. So I will probably get to be zone leader over Elder Mitchell and his new companion, but I don´t know who that will be yet.
So things are going good. This last week I have gained a testimony of the importance of working as hard as you can. Sunday, yesterday, we had three investigators in the church. We worked really, really hard for those three investigators. I know we should have more, but we worked really, really hard for the three. I know if we hadn´t have been visiting them and inviting them to come to church and then calling them to get them up and then going and picking them up for church, they wouldn´t have gone. But we did it! We helped them to get to church and they were really excited about the church after, so it was really cool. I can see a lot of changes in many of our investigators from when we first started teaching them until now. They are much happier and they say that they don´t have as many problems now as they did before. It is really cool!!! Well I am going to send this off and write President and I hope when I finish with President that you will have responded to my letter and then I can write some more. I love you lots!!!
Elder Goode
Hey! I just remembered. I got the last package and about fifty something post cards so I am somewhere around seventy something, maybe one hundred post cards, so I should be getting a bunch more. Well I love you lots!
Bye,
Elder Goode
Hey! So guess what? I am still in Portoviejo and still with Elder Garcia, so everything is going good. Elder Walke is now my new Zone Leader with Elder Fonseca. Elder Felt left and Elder Avila, his old companion is going to train, so he went today to Guayaquil and will be coming back on Wednesday with his kid. We spent the morning cleaning the house, just the two of us. I´ve kinda gotten used to living with four in the house, so it was kinda lonely with just the two of us. I also did some repairs on some toilets in the house and I am going to have to buy some parts a little later to finish all of the repairs. I need to install a new toilet seat and a new flap and flush handle on another one and a chain broke on my toilet, so I found a string and made the toilet work again. Nothing like some redneck engineering to fix things right!!!
So I want things to be good for the new elder when he gets here. I sure know how hard it was when I started and I know that someone that thinks ahead a little will be a big help. They should get here to Portoviejo at like seven or eight on Wednesday, so they should be really hungry. I am going to make sure that I buy some stuff that they can eat Wednesday night so that they don´t get there and have nothing to eat and I will leave a note telling them that they can take the food and eat it. It will be a whole lot better than when I got to our house with Elder Machuca and there was dirty plates all over the house and there wasn´t any food. That was kinda hard, but I am going to prevent that this time with this elder.
So Elder Piedra got a new companion, Elder Cruz. He is from Peru, the one that was in my zone when I first got to Valencia. Elder Piedra called me a little concerned and afraid. He was asking me what he should do this change and how he can deal with his companion. I told him to work hard and help his companion to know the sector and the members and investigators and he will help him with the other stuff, so he seemed a lot happier and things should be going good. Elder Piedra won´t be in my district this change because Elder Cruz is a district leader too. So I will probably get to be zone leader over Elder Mitchell and his new companion, but I don´t know who that will be yet.
So things are going good. This last week I have gained a testimony of the importance of working as hard as you can. Sunday, yesterday, we had three investigators in the church. We worked really, really hard for those three investigators. I know we should have more, but we worked really, really hard for the three. I know if we hadn´t have been visiting them and inviting them to come to church and then calling them to get them up and then going and picking them up for church, they wouldn´t have gone. But we did it! We helped them to get to church and they were really excited about the church after, so it was really cool. I can see a lot of changes in many of our investigators from when we first started teaching them until now. They are much happier and they say that they don´t have as many problems now as they did before. It is really cool!!! Well I am going to send this off and write President and I hope when I finish with President that you will have responded to my letter and then I can write some more. I love you lots!!!
Elder Goode
Hey! I just remembered. I got the last package and about fifty something post cards so I am somewhere around seventy something, maybe one hundred post cards, so I should be getting a bunch more. Well I love you lots!
Bye,
Elder Goode
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