Ecuador Updates

Sent Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Hola!!!

Wish I could write more today but I just don´t have that much time....ever! This week was better. We had 2 people that were suppose to get baptized this Saturday but wont be able to until next Saturday. We also have another baptism planned for the 26 of October. He is GOLDEN!!! He is 30, married with one kid and so willing to follow commandments and progress. Our first lesson with him we taught him keeping the Sabbath day holy and he said then and there he would stop working on Sundays. We are very excited about him. The other 2 ladies that I told you about last week we ended up dropping as investigators because they can´t progress. It is very sad because they both want to be baptized but their men wont marry them. That is actually one of the biggest problems here, nobody is> married!!! Last night right before we returned home to the apartment we knocked on one last door. It was my turn to pick a house and I am SUPER excited about her.  It was late so we just invited her to church and set an appointment for today so I am excited to teach her. Something about her seems right and my companion as well is excited. I am out of time...wish I had more.

Con Amor,
Hermana Lyman


Sent Friday, October 18, 2013
Hola!

So our P-Day is a day early because tomorrow is a ward activity where we deliver banana bread to a sector in efforts to receive referrals. President Dennis allowed us to have our P-Day today on Friday instead. I am reading the Book of Mormon and Preach my Gospel in Spanish which is actually going very well. I have found that speaking is more of an issue for me at this time. I am beginning to understand a lot more of what is being said! The ward is so awesome. We always have members wanting to got out proselyting with us and always have at least one member with us for every lesson. We have 3 great investigators at this time who all have baptismal dates. Rafael, 21, is getting baptized this Sunday. He has progressed so MUCH these past few weeks. Oswaldo and Milton are so GOLDEN! Everything we teach them they understand and recognize as truth. Oswaldo´s wife is a member but has been inactive for years. She is now reactivating and their family is just beaming and so happy! Milton is actually the bishop´s brother. We saw him sitting alone in sacrament meeting on Sunday and by the end of Church he told us, I am getting baptized in two weeks and I know this is the true church, being here makes me feel like a new person. We gave him a reading assignment in the Book of Mormon and he told us he read it 3 times to understand it. Can all of our Investigators follow suit? He also is getting married sometime within the next 2 weeks so he can be baptized. How faithful these men are! The difference in the countenances of these investigators has been such a blessing to be a part of. They are so eager to follow the commandments of the Lord and change their lives. It gives me such joy to teach someone to pray and hear them talking with their Heavenly Father for the first time in prayer.

Last week we went to the airport with President to pick up a new sister and we met the President of the south mission. I had actually met his daughter in the CCM in Mexico City. He is actually a doctor from Arizona and still working some for the practice he was at as far as managing etc. He gave us his number in case a question arises that we need medical help with. Dr. Piepgrass, the area medical adviser, lives in Bogotá, Colombia so we can only call him from our office phone. We are only in the office 3 times a week so this will be a wonderful source for us in Guayaquil for us. This week we had an Elder who had to get his wisdom teeth removed and he had some issues with payment but the Dentist has a lot of trust with the Church and went ahead and did they surgery. A lot of the doctors and dentists here have a lot of trust with the Church. They get plenty of business from all the sick missionaries and of course always get payed.

This morning we did a lot of cleaning before our land-lord came. The people that live on the floor below us have a cat and no litter-box. The cat has decided to use our balcony as it´s personal restroom. We cleaned up several piles of #2 and when I say several it was in the teens. This is the cat that got into the apartment one night and used the bathroom in the living room and got into the kitchen trash. We have covered the base of the bars that the cat comes through that separate the balcony from the stair case but he still gets through. The elders that lived here before had pizza boxes at the base of the bars but nothing is stopping Smokey the cat (we have named him.) If anyone has any suggestions on how to resolve this cat problem I would be more than happy to hear them, we are desperate. The land-lord came to fix the hot water in the apartment but was only able to fix it in the bathroom of Hermana Aramayo and Hermana Blas. I might be using their shower from now on because our water is FREEZING. Hermana Aramayo is from Bolivia and worked in a salon with her mom before the mish. She gave me a pedicure and manicure this morning! She did a great job and I have missed this luxury.

I will try and get some pictures of the city soon. It is not safe for me to carry my camera around so I have to be careful.

Con Amor,
Hermana Lyman