Conference = Christmas

Hello Family,

Well, this week we have started to teach some of Carlos’s friends that came to live with him from Loja.  They all seem really interested and like what we teach.  One of them even has already made a little protective case for his Book of Mormon.  We took them to see a baptism of some of the other missionaries and they really liked what they felt.  Hopefully, they can continue to progress if they can get married to their partners.  It should be really easy if it doesn’t take two years, based on their previous voting record.  I don’t know if I told you before, but Ecuador has recently passed a bunch of laws in the year or so that really slows down the marriage process.

 

I hope you are all looking forward to General Conference this week.  As a missionary, it kind of feels like Christmas again.  (I’ve learned to not associate holidays with the weather any more.)  Hopefully we can get our investigators to realize what an incredible opportunity it is to hear the Lord’s mouthpiece address the world this weekend.  The last conference sure helped me a lot in the CCM as I was looking for ways to explain particular concepts to investigators.  I have certainly made good use of all the material from the October session.  I have started a little collection of conference Ensigns (church magazines).  The other day I found one from '98.  I had forgotten how awesome Elder Maxwell was.

L to R: Elders Church, Despot, Keebles, Nuñez,
Ludlam, Nelson, Miller, Guanchaj (too short for pic!)

The members enjoyed our missionary activity.  Elder Nuñez, our branch mission leader and I made hundreds of little brochures for the members to hand out with pamphlets of the missionary lessons and an invitation to General Conference attached to the back.  We went over to mission leader’s house, designed the invitation, stuck in Men of the MoTab, and started manufacturing the brochures.  I think the members liked the activity.  They want to do another one.

Anyway, as part of another branch activity this week, we watched this Mormon comedy about how two young men escape from this military correctional camp and rob a car of two missionaries.  While waiting for a chance to leave the state, they pose as missionaries for a few days.  Unfortunately, after watching that movie, the members haven’t quite looked at Elder Nuñez and me the same again.

Well, I look forward to talking to you again next week.

Elder Lamslud