Climbing Cerro Plateado

Elders climbing up Cerro Plateado

This is where the aliens landed!

Today we hiked up this hill.  It is special because it has a big cross on it.

Top of Cerro Plateado





Christmas is Coming!

Hello Family,

How are you all doing?  I just got a bunch of letters from as far back as November 7.  Some were regular mail, but some were dearelders, too.  Would you mind writing the date at the end?  Sometimes dearelder does it automatically and sometimes it does not.

Opening a granadilla,
a type of passion fruit

Well, someone asked me to talk about all the different foods I have eaten.  So far I have tried fish eyes, chicken feet, cow stomach lining, cow tongue, cow cow, cuy, chifles (fried banana chips), patacones (fried bananas that have been smashed and fried again), and a bunch of fruits starting with guaya- (guayas, guayana, guayabana, etc.)  Here in the sierra, they eat a lot of canguil (popcorn).  They use it in their soups a lot.  I also had a tangerine so huge it would put most grapefruits to shame.  The member that gave it to us said most people are scared of the giant tangerines because they are so ugly, but they are actually really good.

View from above the Agüello's house

This past Sunday, we had to help the family that was feeding us make dinner.  They have five sisters and one brother.  It reminded me a little bit of making Sunday dinner back home.  Not to be "tronqui", I just wanted to let you all know you did not have to worry any more because I have found Andean replacements for each and every one of you.  (I am guessing I will be hearing from you about this comment on Saturday!)

Speaking of which, I am told that I am supposed to call you a few days before Christmas to give you the number and time to call here so you can me.  Calls from the states are a lot cheaper than calls to the states.  I am not really sure why, this is just what the other elders have told me to tell you, so you can expect a five minute surprise call in the next few days.

I look forward to talking to you all on Saturday,

Love, Elder Grant

Caroling in the Park

Hello Ludlams,

We had Zone Conference this week.  It took up a lot of time, but we still got some good work done.  

Hernan's Baptism with Pres. Reiban, his wife, and son Sebastian

This week many of our investigators gained their testimonies. Hernan works in a bank, so he showed Elder Salvioli and I how he checks dollar bills to see if the are genuine.  He gave us a bunch of pamphlets on the security features of US currency so we could go home to verify all our money.  Hernan decided that he wants to join the church.  We asked him if he knew that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet and that the church he organized was the same church that existed in the time of Christ.  At first, he had to think about it and was not really sure.  He started saying what he thought about what he had read from the Book of Mormon and how it had changed the way he looked at the world.  He said that he felt something different when he studied it and then he just said, "Yes, I know that Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith was a prophet of God."  Then his wife, who was a member before, but never really had a testimony, said that now she, too, knew that these things were true.  

Parque Calderon is where we went caroling

We went caroling in a park as a zone activity.  We had about two or three missionaries taking turns, passing out pamphlets and explaining who we are as missionaries and what we teach while everyone else sang.  It was pretty cool to see benches full of people reading about the restoration of the Gospel as we sang "The Spirit of God" snuck in between "Silent Night" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."  We got some good references from the activity.

This week was Stake Conference.  We had an Area Authority come to speak. President Montalti also spoke.  During the Zone Conference, he told us that we had better give all our investigators a baptismal date before Stake Conference or he would give them one for us.

Well, I hope to hear from you all soon,

Love, Ñaño Nan (your Ecuadorian brother) 

Che Set Everything Straight!

Hola Familia,

I am sorry about the letter last week.  We did not have much time to write after we got back from our little bout with idolatry.  Today I just got back from the office.  I had to travel to Guayaquil to do some paperwork to stay here legally.  I got to see all the office elders again and meet the new assistant to the president, Elder Maguire.  How did you all like the First Presidency devotional?  We arrived in Guayaquil to just here the end of President Eyring’s talk and President Monson’s closing remarks.

These past two weeks we found a few new families to teach.  Hernan Cumbe is probably the fastest progressing investigator.  He came to church this weekend and had a good experience.  His wife is a less active member who came to church with him this Sunday.  They both had a really good time and she started to remember the blessings that come from being an active member. They both are struggling to gain their own testimony.  They both have said they appreciate what they feel when we teach and what they feel in church, but still need the spiritual confirmation of the truth of the Church.  Since this was fast and testimony meeting, I think it really helped them to hear the members bearing their testimony. 

We also found a new couple who own an electronics store, Cristian and Cristina Guaman.  They are one of those mythical Ecuadorian couples who are actually married and not just living together.  Anyway, they are really interested in the message and have turned away quite a few customers so they could pay attention and listen to us when we are teaching them.  Diana got married this week, but is beginning to have doubts about joining the church.  She is not sure she wants to give up all the things in her life that she would have to forgo to join the church. This week we are going to focus on helping our investigators realize all the blessings that come from living faithfully as a member and encouraging them to gain a testimony of their own.

Monay chapel under construction

We have had some problems explaining the first vision, the Book of Mormon, and its significance to us today.  A lot of people have said to us, “If you say that “San José” really had a vision where he was told not to join any church, I believe you.”  Some religious traditions die hard. President Montalti has counseled us to try and give each investigator a baptismal date in our first visit.  Sometimes the people don’t like it, but it has really helped us to know where we need to help them grow in faith.

It is really surprising how many people recognize us as messengers of the Lord here.  When we can get them to understand our real purpose and the significance of what we teach, they gain a desire to find out what direction the Lord wants them to take.  It is always touching at the end of a lesson when we ask them to pray and they sincerely ask for guidance from Heaven.

As preparation for the new Preach My Gospel, our zone leaders have asked us to work on using more questions and really having dynamic discussions with our investigators.  I like using questions to help investigators to realize important principles, but sometimes it really backfires.  It really is a skill to follow the guidance of the Spirit to control the flow of a discussion so that an investigator can contribute the eternal truths that they have learned in preparation to hear the gospel without basing the entire lesson in their beliefs.  So far we have been told a few interesting points of view:

"Hasta la victoria siempre"
Che wears the logo of Quiteño
soccer team La Liga

* There are secret Mormon symbols in the dollar bill and that the founding fathers were all Mormons.  No, sorry, those are the Masons.

* 400 years ago, it took months to travel across the Atlantic.  Now we can do it in a few hours.  So, logically, in the next 2000 years, we will be able to fly in a spaceship to get to heaven.  How is that for a 21^st century Tower of Babel?

* Christ first came to Earth to atone for all our sins, but something happened and it didn’t work so there is still sin in the world.  Christ then came back to Earth as Che Guevarra (Argentine Marxist revolutionary) to set everything straight.

Well, good bye for now family.  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving up in Canby with all the sweet potatoes.  We get to eat a lot of camote (sweet potatoes) down here, too.

Love you all.