First week in Ecuador! Not gonna lie, it was a pretty rough
week. I can say about anything I want to in Spanish. But understanding them....
oh man, they talk so flipping fast here. Like honestly I think they’re talking another
language half the time.
In regards to the title: this statement describes Ecuador
very well (or at lest the part I’m in, and this is not considered ghetto at all
I’ve been told) but to be honest, I’m actually beginning to love it so much! Every
time we leave our apartment building (which is on the 3rd floor and is like 4
rooms and holds all the elders in my zone) I am just so happy to be here. It
was super hard my first few days cuz I felt super useless and unsuccessful. But
Sunday turned things around. I’ve just had the biggest change of heart and am
trying to learn to love the people (which has been hard because I cant really
understand them that well)
My companions name is Elder Hudson, he is from Washington/Idaho
and loves to play basket (basketball) he is actually really good, he’s a little
smaller than me and loves to clown around and make President Clinton impersonations.
He’s super good at the piano and Spanish.
The people here are so awesome! I haven’t meet one person that’s
been rude or even kinda mean. Everyone says hi to each other and a lot of
people love to yell ELDERS and wave. The people we visit always give us something,
which is pretty cool since they don’t have much. The most common thins is
bananas or mangos! Oh man these mangos are day makers! Seriously the best
things I’ve eaten on my mission!
Oh I gotta talk about the showers and washing cloths. So my
shower is literally a hose attached to a wall in this cement square with a
drain. And the water is soo cold every day haha! Then to wash cloths we go on
our roof and use this faucet, bucket, and brush to wash our cloths. Its kinda
weird to say but I really like washing my cloths this way, makes me feel like I’m
accomplishing something on my own for once.
I’ve learned that sometimes its ok to rely on others. Especially
the savior this week. I was feeling so down when I first started and just
thought ´I guess I can endure this for two years´ but ever since Saturday night
I’ve decided that it will get better, I will be able to change lives, and I
will be able to feel more of what the Savior felt during His mission. Super
grateful for these trials because they have helped me decide what kind of
missionary I want to be.
Oh man I’ve been missing my papa a lot this week. Not sure
why but everyone here just kinda reminds me of him. Thanks for all you’ve done
for me big bad John! Le amo tanto
The food here is kinda weird. Good, but weird. First off
they have like 20 different kinds of bananas. My favorite is called verdes
(greens) that they cut up, boil in oil and smash them after. They eat rice with
everything here, which is great cuz I love it. Soup is super common here too,
they usually throw fish in it too, but this fish hasn’t been deboned or anything.
Haha my first day I got soup and it had the head of a fish in it, teeth and
all. I was just like, ``welcome to Ecuador Elder Stidham´´ some things here are
super cheep and others are way more expensive. We eat tuna, avocado, hard
boiled eggs and blended up banana smoothie every morning. Our momitias make us
lunch every day and its always mystery food to me. And no dinner cuz they don’t
really do that here, but it’s ok because the juice makes up for it!!
Chupa la piña is something a lot of missionaries say here
which is pretty funny. It’s kind of a joking way to say making out. Literally
it means `sucking the pineapple´
The lessons here are so hard. Not only because I don’t
understand most of the conversation, but also because there are so many
distractions!! Ahh it’s killing me. We finally had our first super spiritual lesson
and then her sister came in, gave our investigator (Juana) a crying baby and
left. But there’s always something going on and so many loud noises. Most of
our lessons are outside on the doorstep, they just bring stools outside and we
talk there.
Its been a long week, had a great P day, now I’m looking
forward to getting back to work! Love you all!
I appreciate the prayers and support
Chao
I am in Naranjal right now. It’s not very hot here.
In fact it’s actually pretty cold in the mornings and evenings.
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