Banana Capital of the World!

I am in Machala!    (Click here to find out more about Machala!)     

We got sent out here on Saturday.  We are now in the Aurora sector--which is about 70 times bigger than the sector in Guayaquil.  We are living with Elder Hickens.  It is a little strange to meet an elder and say “Hi, I’m Elder Ludlam.  My mom reads your blog.”

View from Grant's
Machala apartment

Our house is in the middle of the sector, on the fourth floor, way up in the clouds.  Just about every thing that we can see from our view is in our sector.  There is a lot bigger spectrum of economic status here.  In Guayaquil, everyone was about at the same level, living in little brick houses that are all built on top of each other.  Here in Machala, however, there are a number of members of the ward that have houses like you would see in the states while at the same time there are some members living in bamboo huts down in the mud.  It’s a pretty big range.

The ward here is fantastic.  Elder Gonzalez said he has never seen anything like it.  There are one or two young men preparing to leave in a few months on their missions who have been going on exchanges with us.  They have keys to our apartment, so they like to invite themselves over.  The ward is really supportive of the missionary effort and has given us a lot of contacts.  When they learned I could play the piano, they got real excited and said, ¨Finally, someone can play our piano.¨ I believe them when say that they have not had anyone touch it in several years because I don’t think they realized it has gone way out of tune.  After I played, I think they were all a little disappointed.  When I sat down, a ward member whispered to me, “I think the piano may be broken.”

Well, I am really excited to work with this area.  The people are a lot more open here than in Guayaquil.  We inherited a ton of investigators from the previous missionaries.  They have all said they were looking for something in their life, and they felt they found it when they met the missionaries.  It is rather remarkable how prepared some people are to receive the Gospel.  I think I will get to see more of the changes it can bring to peoples lives in this sector.

Maria Magdelena, Andres, Katty, Fabian Estacio

I enjoyed living in the office house for a little while, but it is kind of difficult to have a normal mission life, living with ten or twelve other elders, trying to coordinate who is going to meet which investigator when.  I learned that Assistant to the President only means that you are exempt from all the mission rules.  I had all the big mission home experiences: the iguana park, taxiing to all the different sectors, rat bashing, and sleeping with the air conditioning, etc., but it is nice to be able to just work with Elder Gonzalez and focus on our sector.

Well, I hope to hear from you all soon!



Surprise!

Surprise Family!

I get to write to you again today.  Saturday is only the P-day for the office.  Everywhere else in the mission it is on Monday.  Well, we have not heard back from the mission president yet, so it looks like we may be staying in our same sector for the next two weeks until the whole mission does transfers.  I think I like it this way because I will be able to stay with some of the families that we started teaching when I got here. 

Back: Elder Heaps, Ucler Zambrano, Xavier, Elder Caro;
 Front: Elder Barboza, Luna

There is one family, the Zambranos, with whom we have worked with the most.  Some of the little girls are members, but the parents are not.  We have been teaching the father, Ucler, and one of the daughter’s boyfriends, Xavier.  Ucler has already stopped drinking after two lessons.  I was surprised by how willing he was to start making the changes necessary to prepare for baptism.  We got them both to come to the activity on Saturday, church on Sunday, and a baptism later that night.  I have not been able to talk to them since, but they seemed to like it.  (We have six missionaries working in our sector right now, so we share a lot of our investigators)  It was ward conference, so they had a member do a special musical number on the violin.  He came back for the baptism and to accompany us as we all sang along.  The singing was almost on key, too. 

Anyway, I think they liked the music a lot.  The activity was a lot of fun.  For the Relief Society’s (women’s organization) number, they all stuffed pillows down the back of their shirts, like they had osteoporosis, and hobbled out onto the stage with canes and crutches.  They turned the music on, and they flung their canes off and started their merengue number.  It was pretty hilarious.

P-day hike overlooking airport with Office
(Elders Johnson and Mendez, Zone Leaders)

Well, I way lucked out on my companion.  We have a lot of missionaries pass through the office, and they have all told me I really am blessed to be able to have such a good trainer.  I look forward to learning a lot from him.  He really has a special way of winning the confidence of the people we teach.  He is a very caring person.  When he first made me some mate, he dumped a quart of sugar into it to try and mask the general taste of grass.  He’s going to slowly wean me off the sugar.  He makes us some mate for every companionship study.  It’s not too bad.  He is really good with both investigators and ward members.  Most families here do Family Home Evening on different days besides Monday, so we have been able to do a few family nights with them.  One family has three sons that we take out tracting almost every day.  They have been quite helpful.  I have enjoyed stepping back and looking at the range of families in this area.  There are one or two families that have had the gospel for a few years now, and it is great to think that the families we are teaching now might be as happy and blessed as these families in a few short years.

Well, how are things back home?  Is school still going well for everyone?  There was one girl I tried to help with her math homework here.  It was pretty fun trying to figure out what all the different math words were.  We’ll talk to you all next Monday.  Next week I’ll take my camera and see if I can send you some pictures.  Love you all,

Elder Ludlam

Ecuador at last!

Hello Fam Fam,

Goodbye to Elders Mecham and Farrell in Lima airport

Ecuador at last!  We flew in on Tuesday afternoon, to what I am told was one of the hottest days in a while.  This is good news-- to know this is as hot as it gets.  We were picked up by Elder Griswold and Elder Guerrero (so I guess if you want, you can corroborate my story with his site).  Ten minutes out of the airport, I got to see Elder Griswold proselytize our taxi driver.  I guess the taxi driver belonged to some 666 church, and he and Elder Griswold went back in forth quoting scripture.  The taxi driver started pulling out chapters and verse numbers as he explained his beliefs.  Elder Heaps and I just sat in the back seat looking like deer in the headlights. 

The first day we got to study and hang around the office because Pres. Montalti was not there.  Elder Heaps and I are the only new missionaries, and since the MTC kicked us out in the middle of a transfer, the office was not ready to deal with us.  That night we got to go out tracting with the Assistants, which was really cool.  I think they gave me a skewed perception of how easy missionary work is.  I was really surprised at how similar our practice lessons in the MTC were to how real investigators would react in a lesson.  I remember thinking during our practice lessons, “A real investigator would never say that,” but sure enough, that is exactly how they reacted-- even in my first lesson. 

My trainer, Elder Gonzalez

We have been sleeping with all the office missionaries in their air conditioned mansion. The second day, we met the President and he gave us our new companions.  I will be working with Elder Gonzalez, from Buenos Aires, Argentina.  When he learned we would be companions, he said, “Do you know what yerba mate is?  Good.  Tonight we are going to start our companionship with some mate.”  He is really good to work with and has given me many opportunities to share in the lesson.  When he isn’t talking, I know that it is my turn to go.  When we are in a lesson, I can usually tell what is going on, but when we are just having a regular conversation, I can only pick out bits and pieces. 

I have now had the chance to teach some of the investigators a few lessons.  Even in just a few days you can really see a change in them once the start making commitments to follow the commandments.  I have been really surprised how quickly they make the necessary changes in their lives.  I am already drawing close to these people, but it looks like Elder Gonzalez and I will be heading out on Monday to a new sector to finish out the transfer.  We may move downtown where Elder Guerrero is working now or we may even be sent to Loja.

When we go out tracting, there are little kids everywhere playing in the streets.  They have these little goals they set up that just turn into road blocks.  There is one little girl that likes to test my Spanish knowledge every time we go by her house.  “How do you say giraffe in English?”  What does manzana mean?”  She likes to correct our pronunciation of English words.  One time Elder Heaps asked her, “How do you say ´nariz´ in English?”  She kept on saying “No sé ,” as in I don’t know, so Elder Heaps would say, “It’s nose,” and she said “No sé, that’s how you say it,” and ran back into her room to get her English flash cards to show us she was right. 

The Solana chapel

Well, hope to hear from you all soon.  Thanks for sending that conference question game, Mom. That was fun.  I am afraid your package did not make it to the MTC in time.  Make sure that if you send anything by US postage, you ask for a green sticker.  I don’t think you need to do anything for FedEx, though.   Tonight we have a ward activity.  They call it an open house, and we are having a talent show.  The Relief Society is doing a merengue number, which I think you’d like, Mom.  It should be fun.  Well, I’ll talk to you next week.

Love, Elder Viktor

Unrest in Ecuador, Missionaries in Lockdown for 1 day

In case you may not have heard, Ecuadorean police in Quito shut down the airport and President Correa was tear gassed.  During this period, the larger cities had a lot of rioting and looting, including Guayaquil.  Calm seems to have returned for now.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11455665

Hello Family, 

Hermana Boza in green sweater

I had no idea about the unrest in Ecuador.  Tomorrow I will definitely have to ask my teachers what they know.  I don’t know if we will be flying in or busing up.  Some people are planning on leaving on Tuesday.  I don’t know when they are planning on sending the rest of our district off.  We are still basically the same district as Provo, only without the Bolivians and a few Hermanas added in.  I certainly am learning a lot here every day so I wouldn’t mind staying here a little longer. 

Elder Loli, Emeritus Seventy

There is an emeritus general authority that is somehow connected to the MTC here that we get the opportunity to teach every once in a while.  He has good suggestions on how to improve our teaching and is himself a very good teacher.  He also is very good at making any missionary who is trying to teach him sweat bullets.  He stretches us quite a bit.  We get a lot more teaching opportunities here.  I am getting to the point where I can understand almost everything the latino elders are saying when we teach.  What I probably am learning the most is how to direct the discussion.  Elder Hernandez and I try to always turn the investigators questions back into a gospel discussion.  Lately we have been working on how to share a message with someone if you only have a very short amount of time.  It gets better every day.

Elders Brown and Fuentes wave goodbye

I really do love the latino companions, even if they are always a little naughty.  It is strange though because the way things are set up here, we are in different districts than our companions.  The only times that we get to be with them are during meals and when we are teaching.  And futbol, of course!  The teachers told us that we could not have any more gringo vs. latino games.  It’s a good thing, too.  They all have such great senses of humor. 

Hermano Huerta, farthest right, 4th row

Well, General Conference was definitely the biggest event of the week.  I really got a lot out of it.  I think that with the greater responsibility of being a missionary, I was able to listen to the speakers on new levels.  I really liked President Monson's talk on gratitude.  That is what I want to focus on.  I like how he said that we cannot both be prideful and grateful at the same time.  I think that is what I like about teaching so much.  Once you let the spirit guide the lesson, you can step out of the way and focus on the investigator's needs.  It is always such a wonderful experience.  Elder Hernandez and I had certain topics we were working on improving that we were listening for instruction.  Many of the talks directly responded to our questions.  It truly was an answer to our prayers. 

Elder Hernandez is really happy because they announced a temple in Tijuana, which is where he is from.  I am glad because he can appreciate this blessing even more now that he has been through the temple.  It takes a while for the “dearelders” to get here.  I did not get my first one until the end of last p-day.  You should probably just start sending them up to the Guayaquil South Mission home now.  I hope I'll be up there to get them.  Well, I’ll probably write to you one more time from down here before I’m in the field.  Hope to here from you soon.  Yes, to your question, Mom.

Elder Rojas from Bolivia

Love Elder Lumlum



More Big News...only here 3 weeks!

Hello Family,

How are you all doing?  A few more days and it will be a month that I’ve been out in the field.  More big news!  I will only be here for three weeks.  This MTC is over capacity so they are kicking my district out
with the advanced districts who are scheduled to leave in two weeks.  We are the only North Americans here who can really talk to the natives.  Everyone else has gotten really good at sign language. 

Elder Giraldo, famous for his
President impersonations

The latino companions are all great.  They all like to make the gringos play on the same futbol team so they can dance around us.  When they play, they only call each other by the name of their country.  ¡Paselo aqui, Columbia!  They like doing impersonations of their companions.  One elder does a pretty good imitation of President Whetten.  Every night they quiz us on American pop culture. “Do you know what is Red Hot Chili Peppers?”  One meal, we all sang the Lion King songs and some songs from a few other Disney movies to each other in our respective languages.  It was really fun. 

Elder Ludlam Espinoza, Diaz, Westerberg, Heaps

All the meals here are fantastic.  The chefs really out-do themselves.  There is always a soup and a main dish that is usually a slab of meat with a bunch of rice and vegetables, but the entrées are always prepared by a gourmet chef is seems.  We still get ice cream every Wednesday and Sunday. 

Going through the temple with Elder Hernandez

Today was a really special day for Elder Hernandez.  He did not have the opportunity to receive his endowments before he left, so today was the first time he got to go to the Lima Temple and I got to be his escort.  He has been a great companion.  In Mexico, were he lived, the mission president had a system set up where the young men in the area could live with the missionaries for two months before they left for the field, so it is almost like he has been out on his mission for a while.  He got to wear a plaque and everything.  He has a good knowledge of the scriptures and can usually find one to apply to whatever we are teaching about. 

I am really enjoying my time here, but I still can’t wait to get out in the field.  The Peruvian members here truly make lots of sacrifices to help us prepare to be the best missionaries that we can be.  The teachers, the cooks, the maintenance workers are all really friendly and are more than willing to try to talk to you in English. 

I had my first adventure in the outside world today.  The .5 soles that it cost to ride the bus to the temple were certainly worth the rollercoaster ride. Every three weeks they have the money changer come to exchange dollars for soles (Peruvian currency), and they suggested everybody exchange $20. Since I will only be here for three weeks, I have $20 dollars of soles I need to spend.  If you think of any thing you would like, let me know. 

Look forward to hearing from you soon.  Love, Girndle

I have made it to Peru!

Hello Family,

I have made it to Peru.  I was glad I got to talk to you all yesterday.  It was a pretty exciting feeling when we flew over the city of Guayaquil on the way down!  We could see the lights from the city up in the plane.  Most of the elders on my flight are going to Ecuador.  I did not know there were so many missionaries in the MTC.  We arrived in Lima at 10:30. 

We all made it through customs fine, but waited for an hour looking for a missing elder in our travel group.  It turns out he had actually gone home from Provo two weeks earlier but the Peru MTC was not notified (We only learned this after our bus driver had made the decision to abandon him at the airport).

Thursdays will probably be our P-day.  My new companion’s name is Elder Hernandez.  He is from Mexico, which is rare for the Peru MTC.  Most of the native elders are from no further north than Guatemala.  He already speaks pretty good English, so we have had no communication problems so far.  We have not been able to talk much because they have us split up for today.  They got to start classes while all the North American elders had to do paper work and get a hair cut.  This is the second haircut this week.  They made us get a haircut when we left the Provo MTC so now I have almost no hair.

The campus here is beautiful.  There are three main buildings.  There is the administration building, the building with our classrooms and dorms, and the cafeteria.  We have a big soccer field, a basketball court, and some foosball and pingpong tables.  There is a big courtyard in the middle of the compound connecting everything.  As we wandered around the campus today, there was some sort of celebration outside with live music.  The flutes and singing certainly added a lot to our first Peruvian experience as we explored the campus.

Our dorm room, shared with 4 other elders

The meals here are good.  So far we’ve had chicken and rice.  For every meal we have different kinds of fruit juices.  Since the names are all in Spanish, I usually can't tell what kind of juice it is.  I think that a lot of them are fruits that we don't eat a lot in the USA.  They said not to send any packages to the MTC, but you still should be able to when I get to Ecuador.

Love, Elder G

Building up Banana Endurance--Farewell to Provo

Greetings from Provo,

Today is our last day here at the MTC.  We got back from the temple and we just finished getting checked out at the medical center before we leave for Ecuador.  Elder Heaps had to get a special flu shot because of his asthma history.  While we were waiting, the doctor came up to me and said "How about you, would you like a flu shot?"  The way he said it made it sound like he was offering me a sucker or something like they usually do at the doctor's office.  I asked him if  I would still have to pay for it and the conversation ended right there.  Anyway, we are getting all packed up and ready to leave and getting our last pictures with all our teachers and other zone members. 

District 48 C--Provo MTC: Back: Elder Brown, Elder Farrell,
Elder Heaps, Elder Olson, Elder Reeb, Elder Johnson, Yours Truly
Front: Elder Pederson, Elder Sainsbury, Elder Westerberg, Elder Mecham

I am glad to hear that you are doing well.  Don't worry about your calculus grade, Lia.  Know you can learn what it means to be ahead of the curve.  It is one of the miracles of our modern scholastic system.  You don't need to know all the material, you just need to know more of it than anyone else. 

The travel times I gave you last week are all in their respective time zones.  I don't know how long it will take to get through international security, so I may not be able to call from Georgia.  I will try and call from both places, though.  Hope I can call when everyone is there.

To answer some of your questions:

1. All the food here is excellent and in great quantities.  However, I am looking forward to all the fresh fruit at the Peru MTC.  Elder Heaps and I have been working on building up our banana endurance.  We try to eat as many as we can every meal.

2. I have only met one sister who is going to Ecuador.  I did finally meet Elder Tait yesterday, though.  He will be part of our travel group going down to Peru.

3. We do like to sing "Called to Serve" in Spanish.  I also love all of the other hymns that are not in the English hymn book.

Elder Sainsbury, my district leader

4. We do keep real busy here.  We just have one classroom, but have different teachers that come and teach us every day for two or three hours.  Usually they start with a grammar lesson and then we talk about gospel doctrines or practice teaching a lesson.  For about four or five hours a day, we have Missionary Directed Time where we can do personal study, study with our companion, and practice teaching other elders gospel principles.  The only "free" time we get is at the end of the day to write in our journal and really take in everything that we learned.  I don't know how similar it will be in Peru, but I know we'll still have teachers that teach us every day.

5. I can't wait to get to Peru.  It will be great to be immersed in a completely Spanish environment.  It will also be great to start teaching real investigators instead of just role playing with volunteers.

Mom, I gave back the Franz Liszt CD to the library.  If you want, you can put Helaman 5:12 or some other scripture on the plaque.  Thanks for writing the questions, Ava.

Love,

Elder Ludlam