Feliz Navidad

Hey there everyone!

We've broken out the Christmas music and depending what happens in transfers next week we'll setting up a decorations too. Ecuador started getting ready for Christmas in October because since they don't have Halloween or Thanksgiving there isn't really any other commercialized holiday for them to get ready for, so, Christmas starts in November around here.

I do miss thanksgiving, there are lots of great things that come with it, but we're also pretty happy about Christmas, although it's hot, humid, and the missionaries don't have family close by... The truth is that Christmas is one of the most tricky days of the year. :P BUT that's ok because we're doing something even better out here; missionary work!

Not too shabby either, we got to baptise our golden investigators this last weekend. :D

Isabel and Krystal have been investigating the Church for about a month and a half.  We got along well in the first visit where they proclaimed "I feel a lot better talking to you guys than the Jehovah's Witnesses!" They read the first 14 chapters of the book of Mormon without us even telling them to.  Right now they're almost finished with 2 Nephi

The members bug us about them because of that little bundle of joy in the red shirt.  That's Jahir, my best friend.  I have to be very clear that he's my friend and not my son because the members ask sometimes. 

We actually aren't sure how he came out like that... He's Isabel's son and he's 100% latino, but he looks like a gringo.  We contacted her because she was standing in front of her house with him waiting for the water truck to pass by, the blonde hair caught out attention.  Go figure...

Isabel has a son and Krystal has a mother and a sister who are will probably be the next to be baptised, I however probably won't be here due to the fact I probably have transfers next week.  I've said that before though...  the problem is that I'm terrible at predicting transfers. As the good book says: "Believe in God..."  "...believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." -Mosiah 4:9

Things around here having been going pretty good, we're working hard and staying low on stress for the most part. I hope all is well back home!  don't be too busy! 

hay que desfrutar la vida también. :)

Love, Cameron 

Día de Muertos

Hey there everyone!

Here in Ecuador we don't really have Halloween because the El Presidente del República said that its a North American holiday and that here in Ecuador it distracts from the national day of the coat of arms (Día del Escudo) Therefore, Halloween here isn't that fun, however, there were still Halloween parties and masks in the stores, and the neighbor kids (knowing that I'm north American) knocked on our door asking for candy.  I was ready for them.

Things around here have been alright.  We are going to have two baptisms this Saturday of two people who came to be really good friends of ours.  We are very excited for it. :)

It's also Día de Muertos here, which translated (day of the dead) sounds like a horror movie title, but it's basically a three day long Memorial Day.  In honor of it all we went to the zoo.  :D Things around here have been going really good, we are moving forward in this work one step at a time and getting things done.  Which is good because I hate not getting things done these days.

It's a...thing.

Selfie?

If ever I end up being lazy after the mission someone has to make me eat my words, because I hate being unproductive these days.

I hope all is well back home.  Write me and tell me about your Halloween!  Did you do anything fun? From what dad was saying, it sounds like everyone did something different.

I love you all and I will see you later!

Cameron

Service Projects and Burritos

Hey there!

This last weekend the Zone got together with the Stake and the City and we did a big service project in the Sun.  We pulled weeds, cleaned up trash, and swept the sidewalk in one of the main roads in the south part of Duran.

It was good fun, but it the end, we all got badly sunburnt.  I´d send a picture of my snow white chest and my latino arms and head, but I figured missionaries shouldn´t be taking shirtless selfies, besides, I have an Ecuadorian rice belly the no one really wants to see.  When I was with Elder Gutierrez he always made a point to remind me that I´m fat.  When I wake up in the morning he often tells me ¨ESTAS GORDO!¨ as if it were my fault.  just you wait, when I get back to 4200 feet above sea level I´ll be shaking it all off.

...Tal Vez...

During the time I´m here I´m not really worrying about the rice belly thing, I do exercise every morning and walk, like, 20 miles every day.  I eat the lunches because I´m required to (that and I really really like the food here, I eat just about anything and everything) and I make myself fancy breakfasts because I love me.

Ever since I got here I´ve really been missing the huge breakfast burritos that me and dad would always buy.   Here in Ecuador Burritos, Tacos, enchiladas and all the stuff doesn´t really exist.  Those foods are traditional in Central America.  last week while I was buying food I thought to myself ¨Why don´t I just make a huge breakfast burrito?¨

and so I did...

I love me!

The truth is that everything here is going great.  My health is good and we´re working hard.  As always we´re expecting great things in the future.  The next transfers are in three weeks.  We had interviews with President Riggins last week and he made it sound like I´ll probably have a transfer this time.  Transfers are always bittersweet.  I´m going to enjoy the time I have left here in Duran. :)

Selfie of me and the best Bishop ever!

I hope all is well back home!  I hope you all stay away from getting colds and that dad will start to feel better too!

Talk to you all next week!

-Cameron

Ponderize God´s love for us

Hello!

Last Tuesday I got pouch!  A letter from grandpa and something very unexpected.  THE PACKAGE CAME!  I was very very happy that day, but I couldn´t really tell you guys until today... because p-day is on Monday.  The new shoes have saved my life, they are very comfortable and they don´t hurt my feet like new shoes normally do and the blisters and my feet might finally start healing, though, I think I´m going to get a pedicure when I get back.  I´m not too sure if pedicures help for not, but the words pedi and cure together sound like a good thing.  xP

I got the new camera and the Frisby, I´d send pictures (because I did take pictures) but my adaptor chino that I got for $2 isn´t working, I´ll probably have to buy something I little better for next week. :P

I was ponderizing Moses 7:28,27,32,33
It´s sort of long and mixed, but president Riggins showed this to us a few weeks ago and I wanted to ponderize it.

¨28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

 29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;

 33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;¨

This scripture shows us a little bit of an extent of God´s love for us.  He weeps-God in the highest, with all glory and all power, weeps when we fail, when we sin, when we don´t repent.  He has given us everything and is sad when we don´t follow his commandments and love one another.  Don´t you ever think that God doesn´t care, he does.  He cares about every single one of us.

I´m kind of short on time today, sorry about that.  I hope all is well back home! All is well here.

Talk to you all next week!

Cameron

Stake Conference

Hey there!

Dad tells me that you´re all ponderizing.  I started last week with 2 Nephi 2:27 which is all about agency.  I have one in the book of Abraham this week, but I don´t remember the reference, it was something that President Riggins showed us the other week and I wanted to study it a little more.  I´ll let you know about it next week.

This week was the Stake Conference here in La Estaca Duran Norte.  They changed out the stake presidency which was cool because an Area Authority came.

Elder Christopher Waddell of the Area Seventy came to interview the new stake president and to speak in the sessions.  He´s the first counselor del área Sudamérica Noroeste, he´s been living in Lima Peru for four years for his calling, but he told us that this was his last Stake Conference in the Area because he is going to be put into the Presiding Bishopric -I´m not too sure if that´s a secret or not -but he told us, so... no es culpa!

He talked to us about the sabbath day.  He said that the twelve apostles and the first presidency all prayed in the temple before awhile back and asked the lord what the church needed to do to progress.  All of them received the impression that if the church would progress, we need to observe the sabbath day. It was pretty interesting to think about.  Are we observing the sabbath day as we should?
The answer is personal for every one of us.

With the stake conference and things we had a pretty cool week, I didn´t get changed out on the last transfer cycle so I´ll be hanging out here in Duran for the next month or so.

...Yeah, I´m pretty sure that´s all I have to say.  I hope all is well back home!  Enjoy fall break, I´ll be here... in the heat and humidity. (I miss seasons)

-Love, Cameron

Conference and Tacos!

Hey there!

So, conference was awesome!  This was the first time I saw the sessions in English since Ive been here in Ecuador.  We got a television and put it in a classroom where all the North American missionaries watched while everyone else watched in the chapel.  I saw all but the Sunday morning session in English, the Sunday session I watched in the chapel because we had a ton of investigators who came to see that session and we were there to sit with them and answer questions.
We are really exited because all of our investigators who have baptismal dates were in the session.  We have some great families who love the Gospel and are progressing quickly.  We are really exited for them.  :D

I loved conference!  I'm planing to ponderize a scripture every week from now on.  I'm always ready and studying the scriptures, but I think it sounds like a good idea to focus on one scripture, especially every week.

I also plan on asking God ¨What lack I yet?¨ frequently to help with my personal progression.
I also loved the talk by Robert D. Hales giving the youthfully people a whole pile of elderly advice.
All the talks were awesome!  I cant wait to go back and read them.

Mom will be especially proud to hear that today me and Elder Salazar deep cleaned our house just because we wanted to.  We used bleach and disinfectant on every inch of the house.  all this was in celebration of our first p-day with water in the house.  The guy finished our cistern on Friday after having been working on it for almost two months, not we have water in the house at all times.  Its a heavenly thing.

other news in that after conference on Saturday we made tacos.  They were fantastic.  I'll be sending photos.

Love you all!  Talk to you next week.

-Cameron

P.S.  Yes, I did see mom many different times.

TACOS!

These are some people that I know.  The first is the first counselor in the bishopric who is basically an icon and the second is my best friend Jahir.

Replaced by girls and El Niño viene!

Hello!

Last week a seventy came to talk to our mission.  Elder Calderon from Quito Ecuador.  He's a really cool guy!  We learned a lot about diligence and obedience from him.  We had to go to Guayaquil to see him and I was reminded how much I flat out hate buses.  I HATE BUSES!

At the conference I met up with Hermana Romero -a sister missionary who's currently in my old sector in Guayaquil.  She told me how things are in my beloved Barrio Albonor and told me that one of my old investigators was about to get baptised.  That made me super happy!  I found that people I influenced are getting baptized even though I didn't get to finish the work. Things like that make a guy's day.

Buena Fe also has sister missionaries working there now.  It seems that every time I leave a sector they replace me with girls.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  I don't think that will happen in Duran though.  We're serving in Arbolito, which is a part of Duran that Taxi drivers wont take you to because they're scared of it.  The members there say that they didn't know that sister missionaries even exist, I think that President doesn't send them there as a protective precaution, but, anything could happen.

Everyone here has been saying "El niño viene!" "ya viene el niño!"

"El niño"  Translates to be "the child" which is apparently a weather thing where it rains REALLY hard in rain season.  I just haven't been able to figure out why they call it El niño...  It sounds like a horror film if you ask me.

"The child is coming! the child is coming!     ...The child is here"

...I played Limbo back in my day.  GREAT GAME! 

I'm not 100% sure what to expect in the next few months, but everyone says I should buy boots while I can and get ready for lots and lots of rain. ...and maybe a Chucky style horror film in real life... HAPPY OCTOBER!

Yeah, I have to get out of the Cyber now.  I hope everything is all well back home, I love you all!


-Cameron

P.S.  Who's ready for general conference?