New Companion!

Hey Mom!

How are you doing? I hope you are doing great! Haha you do not know how funny your little comment about your jig in the kitchen is for me! I laughed pretty good when I read that! Thanks!  How is it having Tori back in the house? You should put her to work and take away a little of your stress! ;) I hope you guys have a great spring break and enjoy yourselves! Sounds like Ammon is doing pretty good with soccer! I bet it is hard when they loose because it would be easy to feel like it is his fault.  

Well I have a new companion! His Name is Elder Cabezas! Haha it is kinda funny because that means Elder Heads in english! He is super cool! He is nice and fresh! Only has three months in the mission! And well his trainer went home because he was a little disobedient! So I have the chance to kinda show him how to be obedient and everything! I am really looking forward to this change working with him. He is super super humble and just a great guy! A little new and not super friendly with the people but he will for sure learn! :) Haha especially now because I don't always understand everything so he has to speak a little more than I think he is use to. 

The work is going great! We have a lot of people to teach the only problem is that everyone needs to be married! If we could just have everyone married we would have 8 baptisms! But for now we are waiting for them to be ready and papers and everything but I think that we will for sure get them all in the water here sooner or later. 

Well I got a surprise package today! That was awesome! I just cant wait to open it up and see what is inside! Thank you a ton! Made my day! :) One thing that I think I might want to do for my companion is buy him some new shoes! He only has one pair and they are like slippers! I wont be surprised if they don't last him longer than a good two changes...

Well I will make sure to keep Jake in my prayers! I feel bad for them but what do you do?

Hmmm I have been studying about faith a little bit this week and have realized just how important our decisions are! Each and every decision that we make will benefit us for good or for bad! And often times decisions that could help us are great but often times we could choose do something even better! And from everyone of our decisions we will grow in one way or the other! So my commitment for you and the family this week is try to always make the best decision to every decision that you have to make! By doing this your faith will grow and you will be able to have a firm foundation that is built on Christ! :) Tell EVERYBODY that I love them and that I am doing great!

Love you mom! Un Brazo muy fuerte!

Elder Guild

This is the view from our apartment! Its pretty awesome!

House at the end of the Earth...

Well we had changes today! Elder Vera went to Ibarra! And I am still here! I have not met my companion yet due to miscommunication, but I should be able to meet him here soon! Hahaha so I have a funny story for you! 

The other day we were contacting because we just had absolutely nothing else to do! And well Elder Vera does not like contacting--in fact he tells me that he will not contact... so I was contacting and I had knocked on doors and been rejected for about an hour! And It was about time to go to lunch! So I told Elder Vera that he had to contact one person and contribute a little before we go to lunch! Well we were standing on the end of this hill and we could see a house clear in the distance! Super far away on this other mountain! So after about ten minutes of waiting for Elder Vera to make a decision, he finally said he would contact that house! And only that house! Haha well I was feeling a little stubborn so I said: Okay, lets go! And we went! After about an hour of walking we finally made it to this house and were greeted by 5 huge dogs! At first I thought they were going to eat me! But they ended up being nice! Well there ended up being a man there who lives all by himself! And we talked to him ended up giving him a lesson and now we have a new investigator that lives at the end of the earth! I couldn't believe it! Pretty awesome walk to his house though! hmm nothing really new has happened! I will let you know how my companion is next week when I know him! I hope everything is going well! How is everyone? I hope great!

Love you,

Elder Guild

we started out on that hill and it took an hour to walk were i took the picture

i was teasing elder vera and tried to get him to be my model here but he wouldnt do it!

 This is on the walk to one of our investigators house! Pretty cool huh!

2 baptisms! The spirit is so strong!

Hey mom! 

Sounds like life is going pretty well! I am doing well.  The spanish is always a struggle but I am getting it little by little! It has really taught me to be patient with my self.  If I didn't have patience I would be one frustrated upset missionary! But I am happy! The mission is tough and I have had a lot of problems lately with my companion but they are all experiences that I can use to learn and to grow! I am happy! :) How is Ammon doing now that wrestling is over? I hope grandpa stays healthy! And I am a little sad that I don't get to participate in cupcake tuesday! Haha I have a little confession! So sometimes for breakfast I have yogurt and oatmeal! Pretty healthy right! Haha it is until I add some coco powder! Haha it tastes just like frosting! And is super good! :) Haha probably not the healthiest though! :) }

Well we had two more baptisms this week! Two little girls! One is named Mayuri and the other Selene! They are awesome super ready for baptism! Now we just have to get their parents into the water! The dad has a drinking problem so things are not looking to great for him.  I want to tell you of an experience that we had though.  So during the baptism I was watching their dad the whole time.  And it almost seemed to me that he was on the verge of tears for a lot of it! I kept on thinking that he had to be feeling the spirit and hoping and praying that the spirit would tough his heart! Well when Maryuri went up to bare her testimony she said that she was happy and all she wanted was for her parents to be there.  Well this is all she could say with all the tears that she was shedding.  I looked at her dad and I know that the spirit had touched his heart! I know that the spirit touched my heart and I know that families are central in the plan of God.  Now it is just up to him if he is willing to accept what he felt or not.  The spirit was very strong and I am very grateful to be able to be there and feel the love that Heavenly Father has for his children! 

I love you guys and I hope all is well! Keep me updated on everything! :) 

Una grande brazo

Elder Guild

ps I have finally ate guinea pig and it is actually not that bad! Not my favorite but not bad...

"Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible...  for every Paul, for every Enos, and for every King Lamoni there are hundreds and thousands of people who find the precess of repentance much more subtle much more imperceptible. day by day they move closer to the lord little realizing they are building a godlike life.  They live with lives of goodness, service, and commitment. They are like the lamanites who the lord said were baptized with fire and  with the holy ghost and they knew it not"

I hope you guys are continually striving to become like Christ!

All things happen for a reason!

Hey mom! 

So I was reading out of the Feb. Liahona and I read an awesome article about making decisions! Well one of the things that really stood out to me is how Heavenly Father has given us all these experiences! Some of them bad some of them good! But all of the experiences that he gives us are put in our path to help us to become more like Him and in the end become a God! We all have the choice of how to react when our children to not obey us or when someone is bugging us but if we act in a Christlike manner we will develop patience! If we don't act in a Christlike manner we will develop more satan like qualities! Therefore for all of the things that happen to us in this life happen for a reason.  The reason is to give us experience so that we can react in order to gain qualities of darkness or qualities of light! i hope that you are always trying and striving to act in a christlike manner so that you can develop his attributes! Really this is the only way that we can really find happiness in this life! This is the only way that we return to his presence! Our life is short and it is very crucial! I love you mom and you have always been such a great role model for me! 

oh ya! here is an aweomse scripture for you and the family! onmi 1:26! m love you all!

un Brazo

Elder Guild

9-year-old Dayra Baptized!

hey mom!!

Tell Ammon great job! I am excited! Chuso that makes me smile! el tiene muchisimo potential llegar a ser awesombroso!

 l will write more later

Oh and I love you mom! Haha my companion told me he wanted to just see who wrote him for 5 minutes and it has been about fifteen and he continues to write! I will write more later!

Hey mom! 

How are you doing? How is your class going? Are you loving the kids? Are you making a difference in their lives? I hope you do everything you can to help them out and help everyone that the Lord puts in your path to help.  :)

Well we had a pretty good week! We had a baptism this week! And i am sorry that I don't have any photos because my card got filled and I sent it home in a letter today.  So you will be getting that! I really hope it gets home because it has a ton of photos and stuff on it that I would be super sad to lose! We baptized a 9 year old girl named Dayra! She is one of the smartest nine year olds I have ever met! She is super awesome! It was a little sad because she had her grandpa baptize her and well the water was super super cold so she got in the font and she was cold!!! Well it would not have been a big deal if her grandpa could get the words right! I am not exaggerating when I say he probably tried about 20 times before he got it right! It got to the point where she was not wanting him to try another time because she was so cold! But we talked him through it word by word until he got it right and it was all good!  A little intense but we got it done! 

Elder Vera is a good missionary.  We did not have a great week of work this week but we are definitely going to have a better week this week! He makes me laugh sometimes just by some of the things that he does... Haha for example we had some chicken the other day and he had the leg and well instead of eating it with his fingers he used his fork and knife to cut off all the meat! I wanted to lean over and whisper in his ear that we are in Ecuador and it is okay if he touches his food! haha 

I am glad to hear that the family is doing good! I hope Katie does well! I will pray for her! And for Grandma! Keep me updated on things! Let everyone know that I love them and that I am doing great! 

Elder Guild

New Changes!

Hey mom!

Well I did get changed this last week! My new companion is named Elder Vera! He is from Chili! He is pretty cool! He is really good with people! Just his personality and all. He is really smart too and can teach super well! I am going to be able to learn a lot from him so I am excited for that. I am in Calderon! It is in Northern Quito! I love it here because the climate is nice and cool! No more hot and sweaty esmeraldas! Although I did like the ocean...  It is pretty awesome here the people are super super nice and they give us a lot of food! I don't know what I am going to do! Things are good! The time is flying by! I have been on my mission for almost 6 months! Crazy! I love it though! 

Sounds like every one is doing pretty good! That is awesome! I hope Ammon kicks butt at state! Im sure he will.  I am excited for him! Shalee always makes me smile! She is awesome! And yes you need to get on the blog! I am excited to see it when I get back home! 

Hmm well last week when I was in Quito, Elder Aliaga and I stopped by an investigators house to invite him to church.  It was late and we knocked on the door and nothing for a few seconds then after a while we heard someone sobbing on the other side of the door! We had no idea what to do! After a few seconds I knocked on the door again and our investigator Alex answered and he was a mess! Crying like a baby! Well i sat him down and tried to talk to him.... it did not take long to find out he was drinking before.  He started talking to me in english and well I tried to help him the best that I could! He told me that his wife is always leaving him and he feels so lonely all the time and that is why he drinks to try and get rid of the loneliness.  I'm not sure if it was true or if it was just the alcohol talking but anyways I gave him some good advice and i'm not sure how much he really took in in his state but I really feel like I have been a tool in the Lord's hands.  It makes me sad that I had to leave the next day.  I don't know if I will ever know what will happen with him or any of the other people in regocijo! Kinda sad! I am super glad to get to meet some new people though! 

Love you guys! 

Elder Guild
         
                                                                  Our apartment

Outside our apartment

look who i saw today! haha crazy to see someone all the way here is Ecuador that i know

Awesome Alex!!!

Hey mom!

It sounds like everyone is doing pretty good! Haha thanks for giving me the heads up on grandmas birthday! 

So my week was a pretty good one! It is kinda scary how fast the time flies by! We have changes next week! It does not feel like it has been six weeks already! I have been here in Regocijo for three changes though so I am guessing that I will be moved to a different sectors which is kinda bitter sweet! I love the people here and I have come to know the place super well and the people and I just love it here.  But then again I want to get out and see a little more of Ecuador! Maybe learn some of the other languages here! My spanish is getting pretty good! It is not perfect for sure but I have had some people tell me that my spanish is very good so that was nice! If I don't get moved this next change I will be serving here in Regocijo for almost 6 months!! That is a long time for one area!

Well we have on investigator who is a really great guy! His name is Alex and he is supèr smart and he even knows English a little! Well we have been teaching him since I first got here on my mission, so for a super long time! Well he is super super awesome and we finally this last week got him to really pray about the Book of Mormon to see if it was true for himself, and he told us that he received an answer and that the Holy Ghost testified to him that it was true! Wow when he told us that I felt like I had just won the state championship match another time! We have been working with him for so long! And he is finally starting to really gain a testimony simply because he acted! It just really makes me realize the importance of not only believing and having faith but also acting! Alex always believed our words and he always believed the Book of Mormon was true but for him to actually gain a testimony of the things he needs to act! Therefore what can you guys learn from this? If you really want something you need more than to just believe! You need to act! Show your faith and anything is possible! I promise you that! :) 

Elder Aliaga and I have been working on a lot of things recently.  Being obedient with exactness.  Teaching better and with the spirit.  And having love for the people here! Well the lord really did bless us this week! We had four investigators come to church this week and they all have such great potential! I really believe that the Lord had seen our efforts and has blessed us because of our hard work! I just feel super great right now! Its kinda funny because I woke up this morning with a horrible head ache and a fever and so this morning was not fun at all, and then my companion needed a new backpack, so I forced myself out of the apartment and then we had a lesson with a non-active member today during our p-day because he is leaving for work for a few days so we can't teach him.  Well all morning I have felt horrible and we actually planned a super awesome lesson for him because he has problems with alcohol and well I really believe that he is going to try and not drink from now on! So we just got done with that lesson and I am here and I have realized just how much the Lord has blessed me! Although I feel like crap I can still feel the spirit! Haha and I am happy! :) I just hope you always remember to live your life in a way that even when you have bad days you can look to your Heavenly Father and know that He loves you and you have the spirit to be with you to comfort you in times of need! I love you guys!

Elder Guild

Well I don't have a lot of new photos this week but we did buy this watermelon and it was super super super super good! I hope you are jealous Tori! ;)