Hey friends and family!
"To serve others effectively, we must see them through a parent's eyes, through Heavenly Father's eyes." -Dale G. Renlund
We were told that we were going to have divisions with the hermanas, so we hurried to get some visits in before then got late to lunch. I got to go out and work with Hna. Cardenas. We visited one lady who was not really receptive before but as we taught, she paid more attention. She had some bad experiences with members but said that she would be willing to do a tour of the church with us. We set one up for next week. Later, we went to visit one less active to help him finish up his lessons to be considered reactivated and as we were leaving, his wife came home. She never wanted to see us and on several occaisions, has slammed the door in my face. We decided to try one more time with her and she began to open up and tell us all her problems and worries. It was an awesome night because we were able to talk about the Atonement with her and show her how she could use the Atonement to heal her wounds on her heart.
We had interviews with president! Bum bum bummmmmmmm... Apparently, he said that we would have 15 minutes or less to talk to him but I ended up talking to him for more than a half hour about all the questions I had. It was pretty funny when I walked out of my interview and my zone said, "POR FIN!". It was pretty funny. Shortest lesson I have ever taught was tithing to a less active in less than 2 minutes. Boom! It was awesome. One of our investigators was amazed because he did not think we knew how to use the Bible. I have actually been studying the New Testament lately and it has been quite interesting. I have learned so much. "The Sabbath and the Sacrament become much more enjoyable as we study the stories of Christ." (Claudio R. M. Costa). How true this has become for me!
We went exploring a part of our sector that I did not know before. Quitugo is exactly what I pictured all of Ecuador to be. I will definitely have to send a picture. The elders quorum president took us around and showed us a few of the people's homes and introduced us. It was exhausting but will be fun to start working there. We finished lessons with our less active and he is now officially activated. His wife now smiles at us and gave us an orange!
Our investigator, Maria, was finally home and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon. Her eyes shone so brightly as we explained the BOM and how it would help her. She was even more excited to know that it would be her very own copy. We went to a wedding! An hermano in the ward got married and we were there for a little bit to support him in the church. Then we headed to Gualapuro which I am going to rename Gualapolvo because the roads are pure dirt! We walk in 6 inches of dirt! It is crazy! We visited a few investigators then I went to play doctor for a member who had hurt her foot (She told me later that it felt so much better and that I am officially Doctor Hermana Duff).
We prepped a ward baptism then went exploring Quitugo some more. We found a guy named German and he was super awesome. He kept asking super good questions and is excited to keep learning more. He said that he would talk to his neighbor, the elders quorum president, for more information until we come another day. We found yet another Narnia in our sector (an area where there are tons of houses that missonaries have not gone to for a really long time) and they received us really well. We are going to do some more exploring there next week.
It was a little bit of a rough day for Hna. Padilla. She had to give her final testimony in Imbaya because we won't be there next Sunday because she has to go to Quito. She is set up to give her final testimony in Cotama next Sunday. Later in the evening, we had a huge noche de hogar with the ward and they sang, God Be with You 'til We Meet Again. It was a super funny night. Everytime the returned missionaries would be waving goodbye to her during the hymn, she would just point at her nametag. It is so weird to think that she is finishing her mission...
Today, we celebrated her last Pday with her buying a duffel bag, buying ice cream, eating choclitos, getting her hair cut, and going to drop some stuff off to our ward mission leader. A pretty relaxed Pday but a fun one. Hope you have a great week!
Until next time,
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