Bueno

Good day, good afternoon all! another good week down and another good week to come! 

This week was the 1 month aniversary of Grandpa John passing, and what are the odds of me and Elder Brown spending practically the whole night with Fausto, my own grandpa john, on the 20th. It was so awesome. Just like Johnny, he has such a love for the people who talked to. we traveled about an hour away from Latacunga to visit some people who were baptized a few years ago and haven't really come to church since. when he say them, he could not stop saying stuff like "What a miracle! we are going to save souls today!" just over and over again! it was especially cute when he just sat down in the grass to sit and talk with them. Might or might not have shed a little tear. 

This week I also went on splits with Elder Medina, Who is from the Dominican Republic. He doesn't speak much english, so I got to practice a lot of spanish with him. But we see each other all the time so I get to practice with him all the time. he is really fun, and he is also a convert so he has a good fresh testimony. 

Went out to visit some of their recent converts who were baptized last transfer. I love getting to go on transfers and learn the pros and cons of the ways that other people teach.

this weekend (literally right now) is a huge party called "Mama Negra" the history behind it is really weird, I keep asking people and like, the story is just weird. you guys can probably look it up and find out more. But anyways, you know how you always see videos of people dancing in those colorful dresses and clothes and stuff and think "wow it'd be so cool to see that some day!" I had got to watch it for a couple hours yesterday and it was so cool! not so cool to see all the alcohol being passed around to literally anyone, but aside from that the culture and excitement that comes from it is incredible. below I have some pictures of some of the things that people dress up in. A lady in our ward has been making a lot of different things for it to sell. way cool and fun!

This week we have a couple families we are going to make a big push on to get baptized, they have all taken the lessons, they know the stuff, they just cant seem to commit to coming to church. These will be the "get baptized or get dropped" lessons. We have been praying so hard for these families and hope they can commit to this glorious gospel! We are trying to hand them salvation! 

Love you all!

Elder Roberts

Being Friends and Eating Pizza

Buenas

This has probably been the fastest week so far! let me try to remember some of the key parts.

Yesterday in church  a member of the seventy came and spoke to us in sacrament meeting, and again in the third hour the elders quorum and relief society got together and he did a little QA, and there were a lot of really good questions. this week we focused a lot of our lessons on the idea of our investigators wanting to read the Book of Mormon and go to church because THEY want to, not because we want to. one of our investigator families was at church and the Seventy brought everything back to the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and finding relief and answers to our questions in there. we are really excited to talk to them this week about how they felt, especially because the day before we were talking to them about the exact same thing!

This week I went on divisions with Elder Reynolds, and it was such an awesome learning experience. When Elder Brown and I go contacting, we usually just do the whole "hi we are missionaries" thing, and the conversations are really short. but Elder Reynolds takes all the time he needs to develop a friendship and will talk to them about anything so they see us as people instead of robots saying the same thing over and over, and it really works! and it is also way more fun that way! 

today for P-day we went into ambato to a buffet and the guys making pizza always looked a little bit more surprised everytime that I walked up and asked for more, but it was sooooo good! 

 I still cant fall asleep on buses, but I never really have been able to sleep in cars that well. but Elder Brown can fall asleep just fine! 

All is well here in Latacunga! We are gearing up for another good week!

Love, Elder Roberts

House Building and Finding News

Hola

Another week down! This one went by quick, and it was probably one of my favorites so far! 

on wednesday we got to go help some investigators of the other elders build their house. but they dont do it anything like we do in the states, everything is made out of cement. but still, it was soooooo awesome to get my hands dirty again and figure out the system! I made friends with the guy in charge and everything.

Apparently finding "news" is a struggle for most missionaries, the idea of getting a new is based on giving a lesson and saying a prayer. for some reason, elder brown and I find news ALL the time, but we feel like its just people that listen to get us off their porch, because whenever we go back they are never interested to learn more, so this week we are going to focus a lot on finding news that really want to learn and follow Christ. 

heres some reasons why Ecuador is cooler than the states:

1.You dont need to buy a minivan, because you can fit your whole family on your moped or motorcycle. cheaper and much more exciting!

2.also, apprently all the public parks here have free wifi

3.people here actually go to parks!

(those last two might be connected, but if people are outside, who really cares?)

This work is amazing and everyday I fall more in love with the people! I am surrounded by great examples of converts and missionaries that strengthen my testimony every single day.

 it was so nice to see my hands (and knees) get dirty again building a house!

 this is the house we were helping out on, they were getting the second floor ready to pour concrete

 I tried out my contacting skills on this llama on the way home from helping with the house, but he didn't seem too interested

this is a little view of Latacunga, it doesn't feel this big while walking around, but when you get up on a hill side its huge!

Hungry for Bread

Howdy all,

Another week in the books, and I hope I can tell some good stories this time too!

still haven't walked into any walls again, but believe me, I have gotten really close. the people here just dont like "tall people" like us. 

We have a couple really cool investigators right now. This last tuesday night we were walking back to our house but I was soooo hungry and I didn't know why, so I asked if we could stop and get some bread. (there are a million bread stores on every street) we walked into one, I asked the guy for some bread (in spanish, I know. I'm amazing) and as we were walking out he asked "pardon my question, what church are you guys from?" so we told him and said we could come back another time and teach him, and he was really interested! So later in the week we went back and taught the restoration, and he had so many good questions, and they always lead into the next part of the lesson which was perfect! Elder Brown is really good at telling who might progress and who might not, and as we were leaving he said "I LOVE teaching people like him" so we will see what happens there! 

Another family we have is Familia Panchi, we found them while contacting a couple weeks ago. Apparently the missionaries have knocked on their door a lot and they almost always tell them to go away, but for some reason they felt different when we knocked! we have taught them a few times and they are so nice! He is one of the taxi drivers here in Latacunga and everytime he drives by us (its surprising how often it happens tbh) he always stops and sticks his head out the window and says whats up! we have another visit with them tonight which we are both excited for! 

I want to give everyone a couple little assignments. this is not an assignment that should be turned in, just a self assessment of sorts. 

there is a talk called "becoming perfect in christ" (I think, I read it in spanish but thats my translation of it) by Elder Gong

I think a lot of people focus on being perfect (myself definitely included in that) which causes a lot of anxiety and stress, when all we are asked to do is the best we can.

there is a video called "music of the gospel" I dont want to spoil the fun of the video, but it was definitely a huge testimony questioner and strengthener too. 

I am loving this work, I am loving the people. Each day I get more opportunities to learn and grow and I am so excited for more!

Elder Roberts

In the way of pictures, I dont have many this week

 every sunday night we have family home evening with some members of the ward and investigators. we always play games and someone pulled out a wig so we, of course, all took turns wearing it. 

also, last week was changes, the new elder in the picture is Elder Reynolds from california, and he goes home in a couple more changes

This might have been my best purchase so far on the mission. that oreo bottle is going to be my best friend

 also a selfie of Elder Brown

Forever Young

Hello friends and family

As probably most of you know, my Grandpa John passed away a week ago today. In typical John fashion, he was working until his last day, helping a neighbor just hours before passing. I dont want to talk too much about what happened, but I want to touch on my feelings for him.

I have a lot of people in my life who have made a large influence in my life spiritually, mentally, etc. but I can only think of a few people who are as high on the list as he is. Although he wasn't perfect, he got pretty close. After receiving the call about him passing, I sat down at my desk to make a list of his attributes that I want to emulate, and believe it or not, they are all of the christlike attributes. Nobody worked harder, loved more, and was more charitable than grandpa John, and I plan on carrying that legacy of love and hardwork with me to share this glorious gospel with the people of Ecuador. 

now to my week!

first off, my face is looking much better. I haven't walked into a single wall this week. 

On wednesday we got to go do some service at the bishops moms house. we aren't exactly sure why there is so much dirt and huge pile of rocks in her backyard, but I gladdy grabbed a shovel and started filling bags. We were going for probably a solid 2 hours, I got 5 blisters (my poor baby hands) and I could not get enough! so good to do some manual labor again!

As for the language, it is slowly coming day at a time, but this week I was able to help in the lessons more than ever before! it was so awesome! for the most part, I can understand all of what people are saying if they are talking about church stuff, but normal everyday conversations are full of words that I dont know quite yet. baby steps!

I am doing awesome and everyday it just gets better, I know this church is true and that I have angels by my side. I know why I am here and there is no where else I would rather be. I belong to an amazing family who also knows and loves this glorious gospel and I would not be where I am today without the love and strength that they give me.

Love,

Elder Roberts

 this backyard is so full of junk its so funny! we had to fill bags of dirt and carry them through the house to but it in the back of the bishops little truck!

 The people here just put their dogs on the roofs. while contacting the other day we saw this cute guy watching us and I couldn't not take a picture.

 this here is Fausto, he is the closest thing I have to grandpa John, he has a tool and joke for everything and loves going with us to visit our investigators. he talks really fast and is missing most of his teeth, but slowly I understand a little bit more and slowly I am helping him learn english. he has "nice to meet you" down like a pro!

he missionaries here love to decorate their planners and preach my gospels with different pictures and stuff. 

on the back of my spanish one I have a picture of the barges from the jaredites and above it I wrote "be still my soul" to remember that I can be calm even when there is a storm around me.

my english one has Christ in Gethsemane, to help me remember why I am here and to help me push through the hard days.

On the back of my planner I have a family holding hands and walking and above that I wrote "All in this together" to help me remember that my family and I are always together. on the front I have a castle cause it looks cool