Week 11 I like to change my companions every 3 weeks

Buenas tardes mi familia y amigos!

This week flew by way quick. I was talking with Hrma Narvaez on Friday and thought, woah, it is already Friday! Where did my week go?! Time really does fly when you are having fun!

Tuesday

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we go to work in Pifo, about 15 minutes away by bus. We tried a bunch of people but no one was home! So we decided to go to El Vergel to visit a less active but she was not home either! Darn it all! Haha we returned to Yaruquí and were able to visit with a bunch of families so the day was not a complete waste. 

Wednesday

It rained, it poured... All day... I actually really like the rain here, at least it has not been super heavy rain. We payed our bills and began working. We tried a bunch of people but they were not home, so we climbed Mount Yaruquí to find some of the people that we had contacted the previous week. We ended up talking to this sweet old lady who could not read but really liked how she felt with the things we talked about. While talking with her, her dog bit me! I got bit! It was not bad, I promise, just looks like a scratch. I made sure I cleaned it really well. Another appointment fell, so we visited with Isabel, the daughter of Marta. We talked about the plan of salvation. I love talking with Isabel! She is so funny. Later in the evening while walking to an appointment, I told Hrma Narvaez that I was craving french fries. The funny thing was that she was too! They were so good and we got to talk to Veronica a little bit. 

Thursday (4 month mark since I started my mission)

We had verification today which means we had to go to Quito... again... This time it took 2 hours in the bus because there was a huge protest in Quito and traffic was insane! We eventually got there... They took all the new missionaries to El Panecillo, a huge statue on a huge hill, and talked about how President Spencer W. Kimball had dedicated Ecuador for missionary work in October of 1965. Ecuador will have had missionaries present for 50 years in October, how cool is that!? While taking pictures, a group of tourists (high schoolers from Utah) came up to us and said they had been searching for missionaries all week and finally found some (or a ton!).It was fun to chat with them. Later in the evening back in Yaruquí, we went to visit a recent convert. She has the most beautiful home ever! It is a Spanish country style home complete with horses and ahh, be still my heart! I told her I was going to move here just to live in their home. They laughed and said I was welcomed to, sooooo I probably will not be coming back... ;) Afterwards, we had an appointment with Mariella and her son was able to get a blessing (he fell last week and got a huge cut on his face). I am so grateful that we have worthy priesthood holders here and that they are always willing to give blessings.

Friday

Yet another day in Quito... We had our usual district/zone meetings but two hermanas have finished their missions, so we got to listen to their testimonies. It was sad to know that they were going home but happy to know they had done a lot of good here. On the way home, there was an elderly couple from the states. I talked to them and they told me that they had decided to retire here in Ecuador. They were lost but I was able to help them. It was funny because I laughed as told Hrma Narvaez that I did not feel like the gringa (foreigner) anymore. 

Saturday

We were studying when we heard loud music outside. Apparently during the month of June here in Yaruquí, they celebrate San Pedro. The little ones from elementary school dress up in traditional Otavalian clothing and dance around. It was fun to watch. Later in the evening, we had a huge branch family home evening. It was so much fun. We had a short lesson about the Book of Mormon and then a scavenger hunt to get to know the chapel better. All put on by the missionaries! We even had some of our investigators attend. It was a blast!

Sunday

We went to Pifo to get an investigator, Ana. She does not like traveling to church by herself, so we went to travel with her. We also had another investigator, Maria, and her father, I call him Papi, come to church! They absolutely loved church! It was awesome! Usually after church, we have branch counsel but they were working on something, so it got cancelled. We ended up taking a bunch of pictures with members. They got scared because when the missionaries take lots of pictures, that means the transfers are coming... Yep, transfers. We had the feeling that we were not going to be transeferred (they do not like transferring the new missionary until after the first two transfers). Turns out, Hrma Narvaez got transferred. Hrma Molinar is considered to be strong enough to come back! I have my original trainer again! I was sad to see Hrma Narvaez go but I am excited to have Hrma Molinar back!

Shout out to my little brother for getting his mission call! He is going to the Pocatello Mission on August 11th! CAAAAAAARRAAAAZZZYYYY! 

My weeks are flying, I love these people with all my heart. So much has happened, can you believe I started this adventure only 4 months ago?? Have an amazing week and I hope to hear from you soon!

Until next time, 

The Strawberry Blonde Hermana