Feb.22.2016 - Entrando la Puerta de Narnia y manteniendo un nivel de estres bajo a la vez

Hello!

We learned that the area south America north-west has a psychiatrist.  His name is Elder/Dr. Reaside and he came to our mission this week to give zone conferences to all the missionaries.  He gave some really good tips about stress and how to manage it.

One of my favorite parts was the part where he talked about perfectionism:  He explained that perfectionism is when you feel like you need to set high goals for yourself that you can't reach, and you get stressed when you don't reach them.  Some people feel like as members of the church we NEED to be perfect, which is more or less true, Jesus did invite us to be perfect and that is the end goal. (Matthew 5:48)

However, it's a process.  And we need to progress day by day to reach that goal, we aren't going to be perfect all at once.  It's not an excuse to not be obedient, we have to give it our all, but what he asks of us is that we are WILLING to keep all his commandments.  To be perfect you have to be willing and expect that you will fail, and get back up after you fall.

Things have been good this week, normal, really.  We have been teaching lessons, finding people, and jumping through doorways to Narnia that we found in our sector.  Best of all we are loading up March with baptismal dates so that I can go out with a bang.  :D

Really, everything here is all good, I hope you guys get my emails, It made me sad to learn that mom didn't get an email from me for the last two week even though I wrote them and sent them.  Meh.

Right, anyways, I'm gonna get working pretty soon here.  I'll see you all soon!

-Cameron

Me jumping through the gateway to Narnia (first picture) and Elder Ames (second picture)

Feb.15.2016 - Four Guys

Hey there!

Today will probably be a photo recap because I owe you all pictures. I heard that I won't be speaking in Church until the 24th of April. WHAT A RELIEF!  I like to have time to write talks, yesterday the bishop had a problem, the speaker didn't attend church.  And what do you think he did?  Five minutes before sacrament meeting started ¨Hey, Elder Howell, could you speak for ten minutes?¨  ¨...sure bishop, I love speaking for 10 minutes...¨

If Mr. Sam from my speech and debate class who taught me how to write a ten-minute talk in five minutes is reading this I'd just like to say. THANK YOU!  You saved my life.  Luckily giving a testimony can extend a talk by 2 minutes and keep the spirit too.  I spoke about the first principles Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Have I ever told you guys that I love the gospel of Jesus Christ?  It's so simple and so profound at the same time.  Go read 3 Nephi 27!

Right, so, I thought I'd start this photo email with food; For my soul delighteth in food.  First off-

We found this near the terminal in Babahoyo, we don't know how it got here but I'm sure that no one but North Americans get the joke.  The burgers aren't as good Five Guys though... they lack a guy.

I was caught eating my birthday present to me last week.  I have no regrets.

Carnaval, a holiday that I would enjoy VERY VERY much if I wasn't a missionary.  Basically, its three days of free for all water fights with paint, foam, and balloons. On the third day of Carnaval, we sat down to eat some bread and soda because the lady who was going to give us lunch went out of town for the holiday.  While we were sitting we watched a large family play Carnaval.  A girl came over to us from the party and asked if she could spray foam in our hair.  Before we could answer, she did.  After that, the family sent us over some roasted plátano and chancho from their party.  We contacted them out of gratitude.    ....Here I am talking about food again... Carnaval all and all was a full big party.

Feb.8.2016 - El Día de Amor y Amistad

Wow,

So, lots of things have happened this week.  Right now we´re in day two of the three-day holiday called Carnaval.  It's been a big party full of loud music and drinking and water balloon snipers on the roofs.  We´ve discovered that the same spirit that Samuel the Lamanite had is the spirit that we have.  Everyone who has tried to get us wet hasn't been able to hit us with their balloons, much like the arrows and the slings that the wicked used against Samuel.

The weapons of choice around here is foam spray, water, balloons, and calk-paint.  We have today and tomorrow to service, I think we´ll be able to do it!

Oh yeah!  When I say we I don't mean Elder Rojas and I.  Elder Rojas got transferred today and just a few hours ago I picked up my new companion, Elder Ames.  He´s my second North American companion and probably my last companion too seeing as I'm on my last transfer cycle. D:
He´s from South Dakota but has attended BYU Provo.  I don't know too much about him yet because in our time together we´ve only been able to go buy food and eat lunch.  However, I know now that he likes to eat at KFC (yes, there´s KFC in Ecuador), he buys cereal, eggs, milk, and green apples among other things.  I'll be sure to be entreating him all week long to be able to share details with your guys. :P

I have some good pictures but... I let another elder borrow my SD card adapter and I wasn't able to get it back from him, so... pictures will be next week too.  Sorry about that.

As for me, I'm doing alright. :)  Healthwise I'm fine, I haven't let any mosquitos give me Zika, nor will I.  Its raining right now but I haven't gotten sick from that either so... yeah, life is good.

I completely forgot valentines day was this weekend until mom emailed me... right now everyone is focused on drinking and getting each other wet, I'm sure Wednesday they´ll start remembering ¨El Día de Amor y Amistad¨

Although I forgot about valentines day I did not forget about dad´s birthday.  Happy Birthday dad!  You´re turning... a... -older than you were last year! yay! (age doesn't matter when you´re always a good looking bald guy)

I hope all is well back home. I guess Ill be seeing you all soon, but not before I get to work!

Love you all!

Cameron

Feb.1.2016 - Mis Cumpleaños, Carnaval, y Zika

Hola!

So, yesterday was my birthday.  I kinda forgot to tell members about it because... well... There isn't really time for parties in this work.  However, I got some pretty great gifts that I didn't even ask for:
In sacrament meeting a guy walked in and found us.  He said that he attended the stake conference a little while back and wanted to learn more about the church.  He attended the full three hours and afterwards we made an appointment with him.  It isn't often that a new investigator walks into church without anyone bringing them there, for me it was a huge blessing/birthday present from God. :)
After church a member came to us and told us that he has a non-member friend that would like a priesthood blessing.  That night we went with him and visited his friend.  We ended up visiting for an hour talking about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he also wants us to come back to teach him more.
God somehow knows that the best thing you can give a missionary on his birthday in new investigators.

Another thing that happened yesterday is that the APs (assistants of the mission president) called me on the phone and sang happy birthday and then told me that they found someone I knew in their sector in Guayaquil and that they wanted to talk to me.  They then passed the phone to the person and I heard Gisselas voice.

This photo is from the wedding of Gissela and Carlos September of 2014

Not sure if you guys remember Carlos and Gissela, (mom and dad kind of paid for their wedding two Septembers ago).

I got to talk to both of them on the phone yesterday and hear how they were doing. I was worrying about them for a long time, I lost contact with them when I left Buena Fe almost a year and a half ago. A few months ago, I asked the Sister Missionaries that are in Buena Fe if they knew them, and they told me no which made me a pretty discouraged.  Now I know that they moved and they now live in Guayaquil because Gissela is working there now.  She told me that she is two months pregnant with her first baby and that her and Carlos are good.  I talked to Carlos too, they are doing well.
It also helps me to know that the assistants are visiting them, I didn't ask, but I'm guessing that when they moved provinces they lost contact with the church.  Now I'm sure they are being committed to going to church and remembering the promise that they made to get sealed in the temple.  I'm going to be bugging the APs a little bit about this one.

Hearing from them ALMOST made me cry, it was one of the best birthday gifts ever.  Apart from that President Riggins called, he and Sister Riggins sang happy birthday to me.  El es un Buen dato.

Things here are going good, here is a picture of me eating cheesecake.  Cheesecake isn't at all common here, but every once and a while I can find it.  It is nothing like the cheesecake back home, but at least it brings back memories.

We are getting ready for Carnaval down here, which is one fo the biggest holidays in Ecuador.  To describe it in few words, it's a huge national water fight + beer.  Anything goes: eggs, dyed water balloons, burnt oil, foam, ect. We are going to try to be careful this week, missionaries would be great targets in a water fight.

There are people selling weapons in every corner in our sector.


...So it begins...

If I wasn't a missionary, I'd be all in.

Things here are all good.  We are making an extra effort to put on mosquito repelent these days, these is a new scare about a sickness call Zika right now.  But, not much to worry about, I kill every mosquito I see.

Thinks here are all good, I hope all is well back home.

Love you all!

Cameron

01-25-2016 - Crabs.

I was just thinking about how crazy this week is with the things that are happening in life that I'm not in control of.  The good thing is, they are all good things!

First of all, I'm turning 21 this coming Sunday, which is weird but I haven't even thought of it yet. :P

The other thing is that Jessi is headed off to the MTC in a couple days... which is weird too but probably one of the best things in the world.  The mission is the best place to be to learn and grow, I wouldn't hope anything better for anyone. Good luck out there!

Other things, well, I'm coming home in two months... which is probably the weirdest thing, but Im not to worried about that either.  What comes, comes.

One of the tricks to managing stress is not worrying about what can't be controlled.  I've been pretty dang stress free lately, the only things the stress me out are when people don't show up to church on Sundays and busses.  I hate busses. I guess being late and waiting time are also on that list, impunctuality has been one of my biggest pet peeves.

Things around here have been awesome, we are working our tales off the make next month an awesome and rewarding month, I'm also going to be working my tail off next month to make March a big finish.

That's the plan.  Plans are funny though, I think things would all work out almost always, but people's agency normally makes things go a little sideways. January has been a finding month, street contacting and working with the members has been the fab lately.  We have lots of people who are interested to learn about the gospel now though.

As always, I have to talk about food, food is important still, always will be.  Yesterday we got invited to dinner by a less active family who came to church with us.  We got there and discovered that it wasn't only dinner, it was crab. I realised that I have never really eaten a crab before.  Yeah, I've had crab meat, but I've never really eaten one leg by leg to the claws and then disarm its head and eat its organs.  It was a new experience... I liked it.  The insisted that we eat two, so, I ate two...

I once again forgot my camera... so I don't have crab pictures, nor do I have pictures this week, again...  I've been pretty bad about the picture thing lately.  I'll have to go take a bunch of shots this week and send them next week.  Sorry about that.

But yeah, things around here are all good, I suppose I'll be seeing you all soonish.  I hope all is well back home!

Love, Cameron

01.18.2016 - La Arte de no Ser Trunky y Perseverando Hasta el Fin

Hey there!

So, as many of you probably already know, I got my flight plan this week.  It's kind of weird but I made a promise to myself back when I was with Elder Lachuma FOREVER ago that I would never ever be trunky  (that is, let the desire of going home affect my effectiveness in the mission.)

I made the same resolve with my mission life that I made with my entire life:  When I end, I'm not going to die and live for awhile sitting in a chair or a bed.  I'm going to progress until I fall over running.

The time in the mission is too good to waste.  Yeah, I'm tired, but that's nothing new, I've been tired and sore for the last two years.  The only difference is that I'm tired of being tired, but that's nothing to cry about.

The gospel of Jesus Christ talks a lot about enduring to the end.

"...but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." -Mark 13:13

I believe that that applies in all aspects of life.  We have to endure to the end, if we don't, it's like standing in line in Disneyland for two hours and leaving when you only have 10 minutes to go.  ¡Necios!

We can't think that we only need to obey the laws of God of a certain time, we can't give up. Enduring to the end is until the END.  If life, work, family, trials, the mission, everything.  This principle applies. So, that is what I will do, endure to the end.  I will see you all the end of March, no sooner.

For now, I'm gonna go work my butt off some more under the Lords forging fire.

I love you all!

See you soon

Cameron

01.11.2016 ...Estoy Cansado en Verdad, Pero Animado Todavía!

Howdy! (people here tell me that's how they say hi in English)

Winding down from all the festivities, we're able to work with a regular tempo again, however, holidays are always just around the corner.  The next holiday is MY BIRTHDAY!  which I will spend working as usual.  Last year I spent my birthday with elder Taylor who took a video with his camera of me stopping in the street and listening to the children sing happy birthday to another child inside a house.  I tried to imagine that they were singing to me. ...a heartbreaking moment.

The truth is that birthdays in the mission aren't so bad, the zone usually buys a cake and we all sing together in the district meeting, plus members are good about loving missionaries.  Last year I ate good on my birthday.

The next holiday that people actually care about is Carnaval: three days of drinking cheep beer and sitting in kiddy pools while listening to reggaeton, blegh.  Carnaval is one of the more crazy holidays, it's up there with New Year's, however some say it's crazier.  It's a tricky time to work.
Here we're trying to prepare a few people to be baptised, we tracked a lot the last two weeks and we found lots of cool people.  We're hoping for some salvation to happen in February.

Also, as a mission we're all getting ready for a world wide missionary broadcast from the first presidency.  we don't know what it's going to be about but I get the feeling it will be something along the lines of missionary work.  Whatever it is, we're looking forward to it!

Everything here is good, we're pushing on with the work every day.  I hope all is well back home, I'll see you all on the other side!


Love, Cameron