Brandon's Ecuadorian Tales

This week we got a couple different e-mails so I tried to piece them together as best I could - Sorry if some things seem out of order.

~Lindsey~


Hey dad, thanks for you emails. Thanks for all the advice. Things have been going better. Each day gets a little better but its still tough. my personal study in the mornings is saving me. I’ve been reading through first Nephi and it seems like everything in there applies to me right now. I’m sure with a lot of hard work and struggling I’ll be able to learn the language and stuff. its just frustrating right now because everyone keeps telling me that it takes months before you feel comfortable. but I’ll just keep working and praying and I’m sure everything will turn out alright. I think the physical stress of everything is the hardest part right now but I’m slowly getting used to it.

Thanks for all the advice about the apartment and living conditions. I’ll definitely have to try some of those. I was gonna buy a bunch of cleaning supplies and zip lock bags today but we didn’t have any money so I’ll have to wait for next week. we were supposed to get 90 bucks today but it didn’t come. I only have 10 bucks left because my companion used all his money so I’ve been loaning him money for like a week. (another north American told me that Latin’s do that a lot and if I’m lucky he’ll pay me back. but I’m gonna make sure he pays me back. I still have 60 dollars of my own but I didn’t have it with me when we took the bus to the store because we’re not supposed to have a lot of money in case we get robbed and because I was expecting to withdraw money when we got the downtown area. And yea I’ve mastered the shower technique so don’t worry about sending that solar thing I’ll just tough out the cold water for now. Maybe ill get transferred to Quito soon where they have hot water. who knows. Everyone keeps telling me that I’ll probably stay here for like 7ish months.
And don’t worry about sounding like a preaching dad because that’s what I need right now, good fatherly advice. I’ve been trying to just do my best to testify powerfully. its hard sometimes because elder larrea really focuses on being friendly because that’s the Latin culture. He’s almost more interested in being friends and having fun with people than preaching the gospel. But I’ve been trying to keep him focused a bit. Its kinda tough but I’ll keep working on it.
We were supposed to have zone conference tomorrow and Wednesday but president Sloan is in the hospital with pneumonia so he’s not coming. But tomorrow we’re going on splits with the APs so I’m sure they’ll help out.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice and love! You’re an awesome dad and you’re always there for me! I love you!

We had the baptism on Friday and it was good. The girl that got baptized is named Maira and she’s 22. she had been investigating the church for 6 months before I got here she already knew almost everything and I didn’t have to help much with teaching her. the guy that was supposed to be baptized last week still wants to. The thing here is that no one takes schedules seriously so he said he would be baptized but then he had to go to school that day so he couldn’t make it. we’re trying to work out another time for him to get baptized though

I’m in a super ghetto part of Esmeraldes. Its just west of the river. One of the elders I know is serving right next to the river and he has to take a 3 hours canoe ride once in a while to get to one part of his area haha. But yea, I haven’t seen any nice places yet. Some places are nicer than others but everything I’ve seen is pretty poor. The ward I’m in is called Propicia. I don’t know if you can look that up or something.

I’ll let you know when i get the packages! Thanks for sending them! Also, you can send packages through dearelder.com that might be cheaper. I’m not sure. But I definitely know that they get here faster. i think you can just send food and goodies in those though.

Everyone here will listen and a lot of people will just be baptized. The problem is that the retention rate is really low! a lot of times people are baptized but the culture is so lazy here that they just go inactive in like a week. Even some of the ´´active members´´ only come like every other week. We had like 50 people in church yesterday and that was considered a lot. I had to bless the sacrament and lead the music. I would have had to play the piano but they don’t have one right now.

If you send packages make sure and put a green sticker on it and follow the instructions that we got from president Sloan. if you transfer money to my account put it in checking’s. They don’t have much familiar food here. Oreos, Doritos, cereal. Not much. You can send food through dearelder.com and it might be cheaper but I’m not sure. Just keep emailing me and I’ll start printing them in the morning and then emailing you back later after I’ve read them. I have a calling card but I’m not sure how it will work yet. I’ll let you know when I find out.Anyways, right now any type of American food/candy/treats would be good. Thank you so much for you support! I love you!

Mom thanks for your email. It always makes my day to hear from you. it seams like all the new guys are having a hard time right now so that makes me feel a bit better to know that this is normal. I’ve been trying to just push through it and do what I know I need to even when it’s hard. And its definitely helped a lot! Every morning I wake up sick and run straight to the bathroom but that’s been getting better and better day by day. I just force myself to study and to go to work and that always helps. Its funny that you should mention that picture about Christ hugging a black child because most of the people here are black. In fact I’m scheduled to baptism a little 9 year old black boy next Friday. His mom is a semi inactive member/recent convert so we’ve been teaching him and he decided to be baptized this week. Every time we teach him it’s in his tiny backyard sitting on stumps with chickens, ducks, birds, and dogs running around everywhere. Its always fun to go teach him. we’re also teaching a little 12 year old boy and he wants to get baptized but his dad wont let him so we’re working on that. In the mean time we’ve just been taking him to church and I’ve been helping him with his English homework.And the advice about music is really good. I started listening to my efy music every morning and it really helps a lot. So if you send more music i would love it!And I loved how you compared my situation to Nephi’s family because that’s what I’ve been reading during my personal study and it’s really helped me a lot. Anyway, thank you for you support and love and advice! I love you!

Random things about this week:
some kid told me i was Wayne Rooney’s brother
my companion has started making a blow torch with his deodorant and matches to kill the bugs.
Happy birthday Jason! sorry I’m a little late! I’ll bring you a birthday present in 2 years!
at least once a day the lights go out and when it happens at night we have to hurry and get to a safe area so we don’t get robbed or hurt
The lights went out during a baptism on Saturday so we had to use candles. it was cool and I thought it made it prettier
Yesterday we taught a family of 11 that lives in a small shack that is about half the size of my room at home. they kept telling be to speak English and one of the girls gave me one of her rings (haha not sure what that means)
Everyone here listens to American music so i always hear familiar songs when I’m walking down the street. And everyone’s stereo is worth more than there house. their priorities are a littler messed up haha