So. Teaching. I still suck at it. I have almost cried in several lessons...not because I'm feeling the spirit but because I feel like the biggest failure on the planet. Who knew it would be this hard?! Ha. But it's getting better. I just want to study for a thousand million hours and I want someone to crack my head open and pour in a Spanish dictionary.
So here are some tidbits for you about my life in Ecuador:
The Smell. Every place I've ever been has a distinct smell. I am still solidifying what Ecuador's smell is. So far I smell lots of urine. Ha. It's disgusting. But also it smells like rain.
The Look. It is very mountainous here. If this computer wasn't so tonta I would upload pictures. It's really frustrating me that I havent been able to send any. The city is HUGE and pretty typical latin america city looking. Just...google it and you'll know what I mean. Ha. The mountains make me feel like I'm at home, and I love it. I love that it's so rainy and cloudy because the clouds hang low over the mountains and it's amazing.
The Sound. There's this horrible cat that makes these horrible screaming sounds every single morning at about 6am right outside my window. I might strangle it someday. I know that's not very Christlike, but hello. My sanity is at stake. Also. Whistling. I must be the hottest thing to every grace this country because creepy old men won't stop whistling at me! Okay, just kidding about the being super hot. I wish I had dark hair and skin. And that I were about a foot shorter. Then maybe I wouldn't stand out so much. Honking. Everyone honks. About everything. And car alarms go off every 5 seconds. And the accent here!! Ah! I want to speak like a Cuencana. It's my new life goal. I wish I could describe it. It's like music. Youtube it. There has to be a video of a Cuencano speaking Spanish.
We've been apartment shopping this week because our current place is dumpy and really far away from my sector. We found a mansion for only $300 a month. Seriously. 4 bathrooms, a huge kitchen, big closets, a balcony, jacuzzi in the master bedroom, and a thousand rooms. Plus a washer and dryer. And to think that I paid almost 300 a month at my super crappy Centennial apartment at BYU. I'm moving back to Cuenca post-mission to live like a queen. Anyone wanna join me? Anyway. Who knows if the zone leaders will let us live there. They said it was too big, but we're going to try to talk them into it. Vamos a ver. Who even knew I'd be apartment shopping in Ecuador?
Okay. The work. We have 3 baptisms this week. It's been so wild. One investigator - 22 year old Javier - was a drug addict and got out of rehab recently. He understands everything we teach so quickly and has a huge desire to change his life for the better. I'm stoked for him. Another kid we've been teaching is 16 year old Gabriel. Last week we visited him and all of a sudden he had a ton of doubts about prophets and felt like God wasn't answering his prayers. It was the first time I'd ever met him and already I loved him more than words can express. My heart felt like someone was hammering it with a sludge hammer when he said he didn't know if he wanted to be baptized anymore. I never knew I'd be able to love a stranger the way I loved him. Anyway...this week he disappeared. We called and visited and called and visited a thousand times. I felt like a stalker. Plus my legs almost fell off because he lives at the top of a mountain. It was really disappointing that he just disappeared like that! I had so many things I wanted to tell him about prophets and baptism and God's love for him, but he was no where to be found. And then Sunday he finally appeared! Turns out his aunt was in a car accident so he and his grandma had gone to stay with her for the week. We took Gabriel to church and he had a good experience. One of the boys in the ward helped him feel more comfortable and answered a ton of his questions about prophets. Viva ward missionaries. This ward is amazing. Anyway, last night we went to Gabriel's house and taught him about the importance of baptism and talked about why he needs the gospel in his life. It was super poderoso. And guess what! HE IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!! I almost jumped out of my chair when he told us he wants to now. Seriously. I wanted to twirl and skip and sing in the streets.
I'm learning more and more each day what an amazing blessing the gospel is. Faith. Repentance. Baptism. Holy Ghost. Perseverar hasta el fin. I can't remember how to say the last one in English. Endure to the end? Yes. That's it. Those 5 things are the basis of everything.That's how we go home and obtain eternal joy living with a Father in Heaven who loves us more than we can ever even imagine. Easy, right? Why should we make life any harder?
I love telling people how much God loves them. That's my favorite part about a mission. I was sitting on the bus the other day and it was jammed with a thousand zillion people. I couldn't stop thinking about how we're all in such different situations of life and all have different backgrounds, but we're all children of God. I want to rent a car with a big huge megaphone on top and shout that message to the world. All anyone really wants in life is love. Real, pure, authentic, enduring love. Because when love exists, everything else good follows. The gospel is love. And I love that.
Well my lovelies. I am on the verge of peeing my pants...maybe I shouldn't share that information. Oops. But now you know. I love you all. Read your scriptures and tell people you love them.
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