Hola mi querido familia!
SO....the best part about this week definitely was talking to you guys on the phone!!! It was great to hear everyone's voices and to hear that everyone is doing well :) I am doing great and working hard :)
After I talked to you guys we taught a few lessons and then went to dinner with some members. It was SOOO good! We ate real turkey! (and salad..that part wasn't so good lol). We ate SO much...and no rice! It was great :)
On Christmas day, it was just a normal work day. Except almost nobody was home and everybody was hung over lol. But that's why I love Ecuador! (I guess lol) In the night the 4 Elders in my house bought Avena Polaca and celebrated with that :) And we listened to a little bit of Mannheim Steamroller haha. It was fun :)
Something fun..but that made me a tiny bit homesick... Our neighbors bought a Bassett Hound puppy! It looks almost identical to Snickers when she was a baby, but Snickers had longer ears. I sat and pet their dog for like 5 mins and thought about home a little bit...and then got back to work lol.
On sunday we did a Secret Santa with some ward missionaries and our ward mission leader Jorge. I got a Guayaquil Temple tie tack and candy :)
Well, I think that's all for this week! I love you all SOOOO much! And I'm already excited to talk to you guys in May hahaha. Thanks for EVERYTHING you all do for me :)
Love,
Elder Beck
ps...I want to send you pics of ERod and I in front of the door to our house with the Merry Christmas banner and one of me drinking Polaca...but this computer doesn't have a USB port accessible. But hopefully next week! Love ya!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Feliz Navidad Familia
Hola mi querido familia!!!
Feliz Navidad this week! I can't wait to talk to you guys on Christmas Eve (Noche Buena here in Ecuador). I decided not to write so much today cause I want some stuff to be able to talk about on Thursday! haha
We had a baptism this weekend!!! Oliver Chillogallo got baptized. He is a 13 year old boy whose dad and bro are less active. We are working with them though haha. He was baptized by a member and it was great :)
We went to the templo last Wednesday for our zone conference! It was SOOOO great...and I understood most of it in Spanish! haha Pres Gamboa told us to focus our investigadores on the temple and eternal families instead of just baptism and we have been doing that and the people seem so excited to get baptized and be able to go to the temple. :)
Some American missionary's parents sent presents to EVERY missionary in this mission! I got a hymn book cover, a tie, and socks :) Pres. and Hermana Gamboa gave us banana bread :) It's been a fun week :)
I'll talk to you guys on the phone at 2:30 Ecuador time on Thursday...SO EXCITED!!!!!! Call me at the number I gave dad :)
Well that's all for this week...thanks for everything! Prayers, letters, love, packages, love, prayers...everything! I love you all SOOO much!
Love, Elder Beck
Feliz Navidad this week! I can't wait to talk to you guys on Christmas Eve (Noche Buena here in Ecuador). I decided not to write so much today cause I want some stuff to be able to talk about on Thursday! haha
We had a baptism this weekend!!! Oliver Chillogallo got baptized. He is a 13 year old boy whose dad and bro are less active. We are working with them though haha. He was baptized by a member and it was great :)
We went to the templo last Wednesday for our zone conference! It was SOOOO great...and I understood most of it in Spanish! haha Pres Gamboa told us to focus our investigadores on the temple and eternal families instead of just baptism and we have been doing that and the people seem so excited to get baptized and be able to go to the temple. :)
Some American missionary's parents sent presents to EVERY missionary in this mission! I got a hymn book cover, a tie, and socks :) Pres. and Hermana Gamboa gave us banana bread :) It's been a fun week :)
I'll talk to you guys on the phone at 2:30 Ecuador time on Thursday...SO EXCITED!!!!!! Call me at the number I gave dad :)
Well that's all for this week...thanks for everything! Prayers, letters, love, packages, love, prayers...everything! I love you all SOOO much!
Love, Elder Beck
Monday, December 14, 2009
Lame computer...
Hola mi querido familia!
So...I typed up a huge letter telling all of the exciting stuff that has happened this week and then it wouldn't send....I love the computers in ecuador lol.
But...this week I was transferred to Guayaquil! Guess who my comp is???? Elder Rodriguez! haha I'm back with my dad lol. We are in Guayaquil in a zone called Prosperina in a sector called La Florida. HUGE sector with GIGANTIC hills lol. But its all good. We are working hard :)
No more time...sorry :( I don't like not being able to write alot. But I love you all tons!!!! Thanks for all the prayers
Love, Elder Beck
So...I typed up a huge letter telling all of the exciting stuff that has happened this week and then it wouldn't send....I love the computers in ecuador lol.
But...this week I was transferred to Guayaquil! Guess who my comp is???? Elder Rodriguez! haha I'm back with my dad lol. We are in Guayaquil in a zone called Prosperina in a sector called La Florida. HUGE sector with GIGANTIC hills lol. But its all good. We are working hard :)
No more time...sorry :( I don't like not being able to write alot. But I love you all tons!!!! Thanks for all the prayers
Love, Elder Beck
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Another week has come and gone...
HOLA MI QUERIDO FAMILIA!
I love you guys so much! This week has gone by so fast...like most weeks here! Sounds like you guys have been busy in North America, and I've been busy in South America too! haha Things are going great :) People here have been putting up Christmas decorations...it is different than the US haha. The biggest tree that I've seen in ALL of Babahoyo was like up to my shoulder. Things are a little more humble here, I guess. I'm gonna miss the 'non-humbleness' of Christmas decorations in the States lol. Like the decorations at the First Pres. Christmas Devotional. The conference center looked AWESOME! And it was fun to see the lights of Temple Square. I loved the music, too :)
So, I think it was mom that asked me about Maestro a while ago and I've been meaning to tell you guys about it. The Maestro is a TON of scriptures (more than 200) that we are supposed to memorize. It is organized by 'Millas' and I have memorized the first milla...which consists of the 1st Vision, the missionary objective, the last 2 paragraphs of the intro to the BofM, James 1:5-6, etc. I can't remember what else lol. Also, we have to study Preach My Gospel and do the activities and stuff. And when we're done, we pass it off to our zone leader. I'm working on it...it is hard to memorize scriptures in your non-native language lol.
Guess what?! We actually had service this week for the first time! lol We helped move planks of wood from one house to the place where the Hermano is going to live. It wasn't very hard work, but it was really hot lol. It felt good to help out a little bit too :) Maybe one day people will actually start saying that they DO need help....?
Today is 'Super P-day' !!! Which basically means that we clean the house for 2 hours instead of 1 haha. The last p-day of every change is super p-day. So the house is extra clean today! (Still not clean like home, but that's ok haha)
Hmmmmmmmmm.............what else do I need to tell you guys??????? OH YEAH! BAUTISMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had 3 Baptisms this weekend :) They were the 3 daughters of the Ochoa family (the parents are ready to get baptized too, minus that the dad needs to get divorced from his former wife so he can marry his current wife....they are working on that). Anabela, Lucia, and Yorleni got baptized on Saturday and on Sunday were confirmed. It has been so awesome to see the happiness in their family increase as they have gained their testimonies. And the smiles of the kids as they got baptized were priceless! Love it :)
That's all that I can think of for this week...this letter seems shorter than other weeks? But I love you guys SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!
Love,
Elder Beck :)
I love you guys so much! This week has gone by so fast...like most weeks here! Sounds like you guys have been busy in North America, and I've been busy in South America too! haha Things are going great :) People here have been putting up Christmas decorations...it is different than the US haha. The biggest tree that I've seen in ALL of Babahoyo was like up to my shoulder. Things are a little more humble here, I guess. I'm gonna miss the 'non-humbleness' of Christmas decorations in the States lol. Like the decorations at the First Pres. Christmas Devotional. The conference center looked AWESOME! And it was fun to see the lights of Temple Square. I loved the music, too :)
So, I think it was mom that asked me about Maestro a while ago and I've been meaning to tell you guys about it. The Maestro is a TON of scriptures (more than 200) that we are supposed to memorize. It is organized by 'Millas' and I have memorized the first milla...which consists of the 1st Vision, the missionary objective, the last 2 paragraphs of the intro to the BofM, James 1:5-6, etc. I can't remember what else lol. Also, we have to study Preach My Gospel and do the activities and stuff. And when we're done, we pass it off to our zone leader. I'm working on it...it is hard to memorize scriptures in your non-native language lol.
Guess what?! We actually had service this week for the first time! lol We helped move planks of wood from one house to the place where the Hermano is going to live. It wasn't very hard work, but it was really hot lol. It felt good to help out a little bit too :) Maybe one day people will actually start saying that they DO need help....?
Today is 'Super P-day' !!! Which basically means that we clean the house for 2 hours instead of 1 haha. The last p-day of every change is super p-day. So the house is extra clean today! (Still not clean like home, but that's ok haha)
Hmmmmmmmmm.............what else do I need to tell you guys??????? OH YEAH! BAUTISMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had 3 Baptisms this weekend :) They were the 3 daughters of the Ochoa family (the parents are ready to get baptized too, minus that the dad needs to get divorced from his former wife so he can marry his current wife....they are working on that). Anabela, Lucia, and Yorleni got baptized on Saturday and on Sunday were confirmed. It has been so awesome to see the happiness in their family increase as they have gained their testimonies. And the smiles of the kids as they got baptized were priceless! Love it :)
That's all that I can think of for this week...this letter seems shorter than other weeks? But I love you guys SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!
Love,
Elder Beck :)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Last day of november?!
Hola mi familia!
How is everybody doing? I hope thanksgiving was lots of fun. I celebrated thanksgiving too! Sort of...lol We were at an investigators house and they ALWAYS give us something to eat. That night, they gave us pumpkin juice! And it tasted like blended up pumpkin pie. So I just imagined that it was pumpkin pie and that I had just eaten a bunch of turkey and potatoes and It was like Thanksgiving! lol It also made me think of Harry Potter...they always drink pumpkin juice, don't they? I always wondered how it would taste...and now I know lol.
I can't believe that today is the last day of November! Tomorrow is december and the month of Christmas! I hope the tree is up...or going up soon :) I want a pic when It is all decorated, please :) I sent a package with a little christmas present for everyone today...it SHOULD be there before Christmas...I hope haha.
So...what was the temperature here in Babahoyo on Saturday the 28th???? Cause I have NEVER been so sweaty in my life! lol It was a brutal day lol. But that's part of the fun of being a missionary....i guess :) haha
There is this drink here called Avena Polaca. It is made with quaker oats and milk and some other stuff...I'm not sure what else. But it is SOOO good! People walk around selling it all over Babahoyo. Supposedly it is pretty healthy...but It tastes kinda like sweetened condensed milk lol. It is the same texture as that too. You guys should look it up on the internet and see if you can order it. Cause it is so good.
Well, I found out yesterday that they DO have Primary Programs here in Ecuador! You can imagine my excitement when I found out that it was Primary Program sacrament meeting..cause they are always awesome back home lol. But wow, it was a letdown here lol. The kids actually give talks and they are all reverent and nobody screams when they sing! haha What's the point of Primary Programs if there's not one kid screaming the songs, or crying, or yelling their part into the microphone?? lol. But it was still fun (sort of) :) lol
That's all the news that I can think of for this week....I love you all TONS!!!!!!!!!
Love, Elder Beck
How is everybody doing? I hope thanksgiving was lots of fun. I celebrated thanksgiving too! Sort of...lol We were at an investigators house and they ALWAYS give us something to eat. That night, they gave us pumpkin juice! And it tasted like blended up pumpkin pie. So I just imagined that it was pumpkin pie and that I had just eaten a bunch of turkey and potatoes and It was like Thanksgiving! lol It also made me think of Harry Potter...they always drink pumpkin juice, don't they? I always wondered how it would taste...and now I know lol.
I can't believe that today is the last day of November! Tomorrow is december and the month of Christmas! I hope the tree is up...or going up soon :) I want a pic when It is all decorated, please :) I sent a package with a little christmas present for everyone today...it SHOULD be there before Christmas...I hope haha.
So...what was the temperature here in Babahoyo on Saturday the 28th???? Cause I have NEVER been so sweaty in my life! lol It was a brutal day lol. But that's part of the fun of being a missionary....i guess :) haha
There is this drink here called Avena Polaca. It is made with quaker oats and milk and some other stuff...I'm not sure what else. But it is SOOO good! People walk around selling it all over Babahoyo. Supposedly it is pretty healthy...but It tastes kinda like sweetened condensed milk lol. It is the same texture as that too. You guys should look it up on the internet and see if you can order it. Cause it is so good.
Well, I found out yesterday that they DO have Primary Programs here in Ecuador! You can imagine my excitement when I found out that it was Primary Program sacrament meeting..cause they are always awesome back home lol. But wow, it was a letdown here lol. The kids actually give talks and they are all reverent and nobody screams when they sing! haha What's the point of Primary Programs if there's not one kid screaming the songs, or crying, or yelling their part into the microphone?? lol. But it was still fun (sort of) :) lol
That's all the news that I can think of for this week....I love you all TONS!!!!!!!!!
Love, Elder Beck
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
No Power Yesterday
Hola mi familia!!
So, sorry I couldn't email yesterday. We went to this place called Montalvo. With waterfalls, rivers, rainforest-y, and it was really cool! (picutres coming) But, when we got back to Babahoyo, there was no power in the whole city cause they're doing power cuts. They didn't get much rain last year, so they cut the power for a few hours every day (at different times in all of ecuador). It's pretty annoying. And I was bummed that I didn't get to email yesterday. But I'm glad that Presidente Gamboa said that we could email today!!!
So, this week is Thanksgiving! That means nothing here! haha But HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone in the United States!!! Make sure to eat ALOT of turkey and potatoes and pie and Reba potatoes and everything else that we eat on thanksgiving :)
I've already decided what we'll eat first when I get back home in 2 years lol. Want to know?? First, Cheesecake Factory. Next, Barro's BBQ Chicken Pizza. Last, Nielsen's Chocolate concrete with Peanut Butter and cold fudge. hahaha Those are the things I crave the most I think :)
Maybe all of you already know this, but I just found this out this week. Babahoyo in English means 'slobber hole.' haha Kinda fits with the way parts of this city look :) lol
Something random and funny, but that made me kinda excited....The other night Elder Auccapuclla told me I was talking in my sleep lol. Guess what language I was speaking?!?!?! SPANISH!!! hahaha I haven't been able to remember ANY dreams here so I wasn't sure if i dreamt in spanish or english, but apparently they're in spanish lol.
On sunday i spoke in church for the first time :) I gave a 10-min talk about prayer and it went well. That was kinda fun... but not really lol.
So we had interviews last week with Presidente Gamboa in Guayaquil on Wednesday. No problems there, everything went well haha. But Pres Gamboa asked me to help Elder Aucca learn English. So this week I have been teaching him Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer lol. It is so funny how he pronounces the words. It reminds me of those chinese guys that sing in the restaurant in A Christmas Story hahahahaha.
Something not so funny....lol. Last week we were in San Juan and this member named Mariana was accompanying (is that a word?) us to some lessons. We were walking along the side of the highway and she fell!! It wasn't funny...but the way she fell reminded me of Louise at Waimea Bay the first time we went to Hawaii, and THAT was funny lol. Mariana is about the same size as Louise and she fell and kinda rolled down the side of the highway lol. She scraped up her knees, but she's ok now :)
That's all for this week. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and that everyone eats a little bit extra for me :) haha I Love you all SOOOOO much! Keep praying and reading the scriptures and doing all those 'little' things! They make a BIG difference :)
LOVE YOU ALL!!
Elder Beck
So, sorry I couldn't email yesterday. We went to this place called Montalvo. With waterfalls, rivers, rainforest-y, and it was really cool! (picutres coming) But, when we got back to Babahoyo, there was no power in the whole city cause they're doing power cuts. They didn't get much rain last year, so they cut the power for a few hours every day (at different times in all of ecuador). It's pretty annoying. And I was bummed that I didn't get to email yesterday. But I'm glad that Presidente Gamboa said that we could email today!!!
So, this week is Thanksgiving! That means nothing here! haha But HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone in the United States!!! Make sure to eat ALOT of turkey and potatoes and pie and Reba potatoes and everything else that we eat on thanksgiving :)
I've already decided what we'll eat first when I get back home in 2 years lol. Want to know?? First, Cheesecake Factory. Next, Barro's BBQ Chicken Pizza. Last, Nielsen's Chocolate concrete with Peanut Butter and cold fudge. hahaha Those are the things I crave the most I think :)
Maybe all of you already know this, but I just found this out this week. Babahoyo in English means 'slobber hole.' haha Kinda fits with the way parts of this city look :) lol
Something random and funny, but that made me kinda excited....The other night Elder Auccapuclla told me I was talking in my sleep lol. Guess what language I was speaking?!?!?! SPANISH!!! hahaha I haven't been able to remember ANY dreams here so I wasn't sure if i dreamt in spanish or english, but apparently they're in spanish lol.
On sunday i spoke in church for the first time :) I gave a 10-min talk about prayer and it went well. That was kinda fun... but not really lol.
So we had interviews last week with Presidente Gamboa in Guayaquil on Wednesday. No problems there, everything went well haha. But Pres Gamboa asked me to help Elder Aucca learn English. So this week I have been teaching him Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer lol. It is so funny how he pronounces the words. It reminds me of those chinese guys that sing in the restaurant in A Christmas Story hahahahaha.
Something not so funny....lol. Last week we were in San Juan and this member named Mariana was accompanying (is that a word?) us to some lessons. We were walking along the side of the highway and she fell!! It wasn't funny...but the way she fell reminded me of Louise at Waimea Bay the first time we went to Hawaii, and THAT was funny lol. Mariana is about the same size as Louise and she fell and kinda rolled down the side of the highway lol. She scraped up her knees, but she's ok now :)
That's all for this week. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and that everyone eats a little bit extra for me :) haha I Love you all SOOOOO much! Keep praying and reading the scriptures and doing all those 'little' things! They make a BIG difference :)
LOVE YOU ALL!!
Elder Beck
Monday, November 16, 2009
Pictures of Baptism
The 4 of us Elders and the 5 that got baptized
Fernando Abraham Justillo Diaz and I
WOOHOO!
Hola mi querida familia :)
¿Comó están todos?
So this week has been another busy week that went by really fast. I like weeks like this though :) Last week I had the opportunity to give a blessing for health to a member of our ward....in SPANISH! To be honest, when he asked me to give it, I was really nervous. But after I said the part that you have to say at the beginning, I waited a few seconds, and then I felt really calm and I started to bless him. I don't really remember what I said, I just know that my mouth was filled with the words I needed to say. It was awesome. And a couple days later we went to check on him and he wasn't there because he was all better and back to work! It has been awesome to see the Priesthood bless people's lives.
Well, I ate my first DISGUSTING thing here this week. Actually I didn't really eat it, but they served it to us lol. It was COW FOOT SOUP. The soup part was really good..minus the part that there was a cow foot floating in it. I think they expected us to eat the cow foot too, but I wasn't about to try and eat it. It was a big bone with like a mixture of fat and cartilage on it lol. So that was lots of fun :)
Last week I saw Snickers' twin..I miss Snickers. How is she doing? Wait, let me guess, she's sleeping? lol
Also last week, Elder Arellano (our zone/district leader...yes he is both) invited me to go on a split to Guayaquil with him. He had a zone leader counsel thing and I don't know why he invited me instead of his companion but I'm glad he did! lol We were just there for like half the day. When we got to the church where the meeting was I went with 2 other gringos to work in their sector close to the church. Guess who one of the gringos was? ELDER WALKE who has a blog that I think I bookmarked on our computer! lol (Aby I think you said you've read his blog?) Anyways, I told him that he has blog-stalkers in our family :) lol It was pretty random and funny. We tried to teach a few lessons but nobody was home, ate lunch with a member, and then went back to the church. And guess what was at the church when we got there???? PIZZA HUT!!!!!!!!!!!! haha They invited us to eat....and I ate 11 pieces hahahahahahaha. It's been too long since I've had american pizza haha. It was so good though.
I GOT PACKAGES THIS WEEK MOM AND DAD AND ALEXA!! Thanks so much! Alexa your jokes made me laugh hard lol. It was fun to read Elder Beatty, Calderwood, and Shoemakers letters. I'm excited to read church news. Thanks for the sour candy, JELLY BEANS, CAKE MIXES (can't wait to make those), sunscreen, shoe polish stuff, and the bookmarks :) The one with the missionary laws-all of that is so true! lol
Now the good part. Guess what?!?!?!?! WE HAD 2 BAPTISMS THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Carla and Fernando got baptized on Saturday and it was great. I baptized Fernando (he asked for the "grandote" or "the really big one" to baptize him lol...at least he didn't just call me the gringo haha). It was really awesome to have some baptisms finally and see the happiness in their faces as they were baptized and the following day were confirmed. We did the baptism with the other elders that we live with, too. So altogether 5 kids got baptized. And all 4 of us elders were dressed in white. The pictures look awesome :) I was thinking about Zack and all of you guys as we were getting ready and baptizing. It was really neat :) Congratulations Zack!
The family Ochoa also committed to get married this friday, so we are praying that all goes well and they can get baptized on saturday! That would be 5 more :)
Happy Birthday Grandpa Beck!!!
Well that's all for this week I think...I'm sending the pics in a separate email :) I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!
Love, Elder Beck
¿Comó están todos?
So this week has been another busy week that went by really fast. I like weeks like this though :) Last week I had the opportunity to give a blessing for health to a member of our ward....in SPANISH! To be honest, when he asked me to give it, I was really nervous. But after I said the part that you have to say at the beginning, I waited a few seconds, and then I felt really calm and I started to bless him. I don't really remember what I said, I just know that my mouth was filled with the words I needed to say. It was awesome. And a couple days later we went to check on him and he wasn't there because he was all better and back to work! It has been awesome to see the Priesthood bless people's lives.
Well, I ate my first DISGUSTING thing here this week. Actually I didn't really eat it, but they served it to us lol. It was COW FOOT SOUP. The soup part was really good..minus the part that there was a cow foot floating in it. I think they expected us to eat the cow foot too, but I wasn't about to try and eat it. It was a big bone with like a mixture of fat and cartilage on it lol. So that was lots of fun :)
Last week I saw Snickers' twin..I miss Snickers. How is she doing? Wait, let me guess, she's sleeping? lol
Also last week, Elder Arellano (our zone/district leader...yes he is both) invited me to go on a split to Guayaquil with him. He had a zone leader counsel thing and I don't know why he invited me instead of his companion but I'm glad he did! lol We were just there for like half the day. When we got to the church where the meeting was I went with 2 other gringos to work in their sector close to the church. Guess who one of the gringos was? ELDER WALKE who has a blog that I think I bookmarked on our computer! lol (Aby I think you said you've read his blog?) Anyways, I told him that he has blog-stalkers in our family :) lol It was pretty random and funny. We tried to teach a few lessons but nobody was home, ate lunch with a member, and then went back to the church. And guess what was at the church when we got there???? PIZZA HUT!!!!!!!!!!!! haha They invited us to eat....and I ate 11 pieces hahahahahahaha. It's been too long since I've had american pizza haha. It was so good though.
I GOT PACKAGES THIS WEEK MOM AND DAD AND ALEXA!! Thanks so much! Alexa your jokes made me laugh hard lol. It was fun to read Elder Beatty, Calderwood, and Shoemakers letters. I'm excited to read church news. Thanks for the sour candy, JELLY BEANS, CAKE MIXES (can't wait to make those), sunscreen, shoe polish stuff, and the bookmarks :) The one with the missionary laws-all of that is so true! lol
Now the good part. Guess what?!?!?!?! WE HAD 2 BAPTISMS THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Carla and Fernando got baptized on Saturday and it was great. I baptized Fernando (he asked for the "grandote" or "the really big one" to baptize him lol...at least he didn't just call me the gringo haha). It was really awesome to have some baptisms finally and see the happiness in their faces as they were baptized and the following day were confirmed. We did the baptism with the other elders that we live with, too. So altogether 5 kids got baptized. And all 4 of us elders were dressed in white. The pictures look awesome :) I was thinking about Zack and all of you guys as we were getting ready and baptizing. It was really neat :) Congratulations Zack!
The family Ochoa also committed to get married this friday, so we are praying that all goes well and they can get baptized on saturday! That would be 5 more :)
Happy Birthday Grandpa Beck!!!
Well that's all for this week I think...I'm sending the pics in a separate email :) I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!
Love, Elder Beck
Monday, November 9, 2009
Pictures of Life in Babahoyo
district for the first change.
sunsets.
a nearby cathedral.
Elder Auccapuclla & Elder B
sunsets.
a nearby cathedral.
Elder Auccapuclla & Elder BMonday...my favorite day
Hola mi FAMILIA
Wow..another week has already passed and it's monday again. My favorite day of the week. We cleaned the house this morning [always nice to have a clean house...at least for a few hours haha] and now I get to email my family...my favorite part Ü And we'll probably eat pizza after this..another good thing haha.
Well this week went by really fast and things are going great with Elder Auccapuclla. We taught SO many lessons this week and he really likes talking to everybody so we have lots of new investigators too. And I already feel like my spanish has gotten alot better just in this week. We try to talk alot and I am actually communicating in Spanish Ü haha. It feels good to get more comfortable with the language.
So, this Saturday when Zack is getting baptized, we should be baptizing 2 kids too Ü Fernando and Karla...they are 9 and 11 years old and there mom WAS inactive. Now she is going to church though and her kids have wanted to get baptized since the first time we talked to them lol. We just had to teach them the lessons and get them to church..which we have done and now they are ready. Interview thursday, baptism saturday Ü We are praying for them alot and fasted yesterday for all of our investigators again. I feel like we're going to have lots of success this change. Also, 2 couple committed to get married within the next 2 weeks...one step closer to baptism Ü Lot's of good things happening in Babahoyo.
So, I got a bunch of DearElders [7] last week as well as a letter and some pics from Nicole and some pics that J&G drew so that was alot of fun to see and read those this morning. I love getting letters and everything from the family, so keep it up Ü
So I felt my first 'earthquake' this week Ü I say 'earthquake' cause it was like 5 seconds and tiny. It almost just felt like a really big truck drove by our apartment lol. But still...i can now say I've felt an earthquake. But hopefully I don't ever feel anything more than that haha.
Well...there's not really any more news...but I love you guys. Dad, yes I am eating lots of fruit. The mangos here are SOO good and the bananas are way better than in the states lol. Also, here you ask for 25cents worth of bananas and they give you like 12 bananas. Fruit is so cheap. Members give us fruit pretty often too. So most of what I eat is fruit and rice.....and ramen at night sometimes lol. I'm definitely not hungry haha.
I love you all SOOO much Ü
Until Next week..
Love
Elder Beck
Wow..another week has already passed and it's monday again. My favorite day of the week. We cleaned the house this morning [always nice to have a clean house...at least for a few hours haha] and now I get to email my family...my favorite part Ü And we'll probably eat pizza after this..another good thing haha.
Well this week went by really fast and things are going great with Elder Auccapuclla. We taught SO many lessons this week and he really likes talking to everybody so we have lots of new investigators too. And I already feel like my spanish has gotten alot better just in this week. We try to talk alot and I am actually communicating in Spanish Ü haha. It feels good to get more comfortable with the language.
So, this Saturday when Zack is getting baptized, we should be baptizing 2 kids too Ü Fernando and Karla...they are 9 and 11 years old and there mom WAS inactive. Now she is going to church though and her kids have wanted to get baptized since the first time we talked to them lol. We just had to teach them the lessons and get them to church..which we have done and now they are ready. Interview thursday, baptism saturday Ü We are praying for them alot and fasted yesterday for all of our investigators again. I feel like we're going to have lots of success this change. Also, 2 couple committed to get married within the next 2 weeks...one step closer to baptism Ü Lot's of good things happening in Babahoyo.
So, I got a bunch of DearElders [7] last week as well as a letter and some pics from Nicole and some pics that J&G drew so that was alot of fun to see and read those this morning. I love getting letters and everything from the family, so keep it up Ü
So I felt my first 'earthquake' this week Ü I say 'earthquake' cause it was like 5 seconds and tiny. It almost just felt like a really big truck drove by our apartment lol. But still...i can now say I've felt an earthquake. But hopefully I don't ever feel anything more than that haha.
Well...there's not really any more news...but I love you guys. Dad, yes I am eating lots of fruit. The mangos here are SOO good and the bananas are way better than in the states lol. Also, here you ask for 25cents worth of bananas and they give you like 12 bananas. Fruit is so cheap. Members give us fruit pretty often too. So most of what I eat is fruit and rice.....and ramen at night sometimes lol. I'm definitely not hungry haha.
I love you all SOOO much Ü
Until Next week..
Love
Elder Beck
Monday, November 2, 2009
Change #2 : Day #1
Hola mi familia!!!
So change #1 is done and it flew by. And now it is change #2...and I have a new companion! His name is Elder Aucapucllo (Ow-cuh-pook-yo) and he is from Peru. He only has 4 1/2 months in the mission..just a little older than me haha. Also, he doesn't know english.......so this should be a change full of learning for me haha. I'm hoping my spanish gets way better with him. Elder Rodriguez is now a Zone Leader in Guayaquil. I'm gonna miss him..we got along really well and had fun and worked hard...and we had a bunch of baptisms planned for this month that he won't get to see happen :( I guess that's when transfers happen though..when things are going well haha. Oh well, that's the life of a missionary :)
So, the past couple weeks we've had some opportunities to give people blessings for health. I've done the first part in all of them. We had one really neat experience though with a little girl named Yaxeli. She was really sick and had been in bed for 2-3 days and could barely eat anything. We gave her a blessing and the next day we went by to check on her and she was walking around the house and eating a little bit. And the next day, she was outside playing soccer with her friends! It's really neat to see the power of the Priesthood work and heal people.
Saturday was my first real 'holiday' in the mission, Halloween. It was quite the letdown compared to halloween in the US lol. People here just get drunk, dance, and some teenagers wear masks and scare little kids lol. It definitely wasn't the same without chili and homemade doughnuts! haha It's all good though...only one more Halloween in the mission! lol
We have 10 people with baptism GOALS for the 14th of November! That will be really exciting if they all follow through :) We're praying hard for them and Elder Aucapucllo and I are going to be working really hard this change to make sure they're ready. I'll keep you all updated on what happens with that... :)
That's all for now...I hope everything is going great with everybody back home in the US! I love you all SOOOOO much!
Love, Elder Beck
So change #1 is done and it flew by. And now it is change #2...and I have a new companion! His name is Elder Aucapucllo (Ow-cuh-pook-yo) and he is from Peru. He only has 4 1/2 months in the mission..just a little older than me haha. Also, he doesn't know english.......so this should be a change full of learning for me haha. I'm hoping my spanish gets way better with him. Elder Rodriguez is now a Zone Leader in Guayaquil. I'm gonna miss him..we got along really well and had fun and worked hard...and we had a bunch of baptisms planned for this month that he won't get to see happen :( I guess that's when transfers happen though..when things are going well haha. Oh well, that's the life of a missionary :)
So, the past couple weeks we've had some opportunities to give people blessings for health. I've done the first part in all of them. We had one really neat experience though with a little girl named Yaxeli. She was really sick and had been in bed for 2-3 days and could barely eat anything. We gave her a blessing and the next day we went by to check on her and she was walking around the house and eating a little bit. And the next day, she was outside playing soccer with her friends! It's really neat to see the power of the Priesthood work and heal people.
Saturday was my first real 'holiday' in the mission, Halloween. It was quite the letdown compared to halloween in the US lol. People here just get drunk, dance, and some teenagers wear masks and scare little kids lol. It definitely wasn't the same without chili and homemade doughnuts! haha It's all good though...only one more Halloween in the mission! lol
We have 10 people with baptism GOALS for the 14th of November! That will be really exciting if they all follow through :) We're praying hard for them and Elder Aucapucllo and I are going to be working really hard this change to make sure they're ready. I'll keep you all updated on what happens with that... :)
That's all for now...I hope everything is going great with everybody back home in the US! I love you all SOOOOO much!
Love, Elder Beck
Monday, October 26, 2009
Last pday of my first change in ecuador!
Hola mi familia!! :)
So, It is already the last pday of my first change in ecuador and it has gone by so fast! And everybody says it just goes faster and faster, so that will be exciting.
Well...we were supposed to baptize the Ochoa family this upcoming weekend (on halloween) but they didn't come to church!! So HOPEFULLY they come to church this week and they can get baptized the following week :) Also, we tried to recommit Raul to baptism and he said he just wants to keep listening and he doesn't want to get baptized. We're trying to figure out what we can do with him....lol Other than that all is well in Babahoyo, Ecuador :) Yesterday we had 5 investigators from San Juan in church and that was exciting cause in my whole time here we haven't had ANY cause it's 1/2 an hour away and they don't have money.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TREVOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :)
Mom, thanks for the list of addresses of everyone :) This week I finally got some dearelders that were sent while i was in the mtc. Not sure what took those ones so long, cause I got ones that were sent general conference weekend a week earlier lol. But they got here :) Also, someone wrote that people had sent packages...none have gotten here besides the first 3 that mom and dad sent. Hopefully everyone is using the GREEN STICKER for packages so that I get them haha :) :)
Mom and dad, there a couple things I would greatly appreciate you sending me :) Sunscreen (the Neutrogena kind...that kind costs like 25 dollars here lol), cetaphil face wash (they don't sell that here), Tide2Go pens (they don't sell those here), crest white strips (I just want those lol), and sour candy (I just want that too..they sell weird candies here lol). Other than that I'm set for a while haha THANK YOU! :D
Something kinda fun...in San Juan there is this big cemetary...and the whole thing is full of Plumeria trees! I always think of hawaii when we walk by there...it smells so good haha. (I miss Dole ice cream though lol). Also, there have been some awesome sunsets this week! We live really close to a river and it is so pretty to watch the sun set on the river :) Fun stuff...
So, I've heard that this winter will be a pretty hard one from what they are predicting. I hope the weatherman is wrong (like normal) cause I don't want to walk around in water up to my knees every day lol.
I love all of you SOOOOOOOOOOO much! Keep praying and doing the 'small stuff' like scripture study and personal/family prayer...they really make a difference :)
Love ya!
Elder Beck
So, It is already the last pday of my first change in ecuador and it has gone by so fast! And everybody says it just goes faster and faster, so that will be exciting.
Well...we were supposed to baptize the Ochoa family this upcoming weekend (on halloween) but they didn't come to church!! So HOPEFULLY they come to church this week and they can get baptized the following week :) Also, we tried to recommit Raul to baptism and he said he just wants to keep listening and he doesn't want to get baptized. We're trying to figure out what we can do with him....lol Other than that all is well in Babahoyo, Ecuador :) Yesterday we had 5 investigators from San Juan in church and that was exciting cause in my whole time here we haven't had ANY cause it's 1/2 an hour away and they don't have money.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TREVOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :)
Mom, thanks for the list of addresses of everyone :) This week I finally got some dearelders that were sent while i was in the mtc. Not sure what took those ones so long, cause I got ones that were sent general conference weekend a week earlier lol. But they got here :) Also, someone wrote that people had sent packages...none have gotten here besides the first 3 that mom and dad sent. Hopefully everyone is using the GREEN STICKER for packages so that I get them haha :) :)
Mom and dad, there a couple things I would greatly appreciate you sending me :) Sunscreen (the Neutrogena kind...that kind costs like 25 dollars here lol), cetaphil face wash (they don't sell that here), Tide2Go pens (they don't sell those here), crest white strips (I just want those lol), and sour candy (I just want that too..they sell weird candies here lol). Other than that I'm set for a while haha THANK YOU! :D
Something kinda fun...in San Juan there is this big cemetary...and the whole thing is full of Plumeria trees! I always think of hawaii when we walk by there...it smells so good haha. (I miss Dole ice cream though lol). Also, there have been some awesome sunsets this week! We live really close to a river and it is so pretty to watch the sun set on the river :) Fun stuff...
So, I've heard that this winter will be a pretty hard one from what they are predicting. I hope the weatherman is wrong (like normal) cause I don't want to walk around in water up to my knees every day lol.
I love all of you SOOOOOOOOOOO much! Keep praying and doing the 'small stuff' like scripture study and personal/family prayer...they really make a difference :)
Love ya!
Elder Beck
Monday, October 19, 2009
Hey Hey Hey
So, apparently i'm not meant to write my family this week cause i've typed and tried to send a letter about 4 times and it wouldn't send! Just know that I love you all SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much! And we had 12 investigators in church this week! :) 4 of which are planning on getting baptized on halloween! So that was excting. The baptism that was supposed to happen last saturday didnt happen. He said he wasn't ready.....AFTER he passed the interview! Weird..but everyone has agency! Hopefully next week i'll be able to write a real letter. Sorry fam, if i didn't reply to letters you emailed me. I tried, it wouldn't send them though :(
I love you all tons!
Love, Elder Beck
I love you all tons!
Love, Elder Beck
Monday, October 12, 2009
Another Week in Ecuador
So..it has been another week already! Time is speeding up now..the first couple weeks were slow lol.
Last week I saw my first Iguana...that was exciting lol. It was really long and brownish reddish. There arent many iguanas in this part of ecuador so I guess that was kinda rare haha.
Something kinda funny...Last week we were in San Juan (The part of our sector that is a 1/2 hour bus ride away) and we were at a members house and I asked to use the bathroom cause I had drank a bunch of water. She took me out back, to the corner of her backyard and said 'You can go right here.' hahaha! Luckily I didn't need to do any more than pee because I would have had to use a leaf or the chickens that were all around me to wipe lol. I love Ecuador :)
I made it through my first fast sunday in the mission field! haha It was even that bad cause we were sleeping or in church sitting down and resting for alot of it. I thought it was going to be really hard cause usually we're walking all over the place. But I did it haha
So...you know how in the United States, 12-year-olds are riding bikes around the neighborhood? Well in Babahoyo, 12-year-olds are zooming all around the city on motorcycles! It's scary lol.
The other night we were teaching a lesson outside someone's house and it went really well and everything and she is progressing. But...in the 20 mins we were sitting there, I counted 5 rats that went into there house. GROSS!! lol The worst thing I've seen in our house are like little gnats (is that how you spell that? lol) But the people here are fine living with rats :P
Other than that, all is well and I'm learning alot and working hard! Today we had Zone Conference in Guayaquil and the new elders in the 3 zones that were there had to share their testimonies. Everyone was saying that my spanish was so good...so that made me happy lol. It's still kinda hard to understand when natives talk though.
I'm out of time on here cause of the zone conference so I can't send any pics :(
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!
Love, Elder Beck :)
Last week I saw my first Iguana...that was exciting lol. It was really long and brownish reddish. There arent many iguanas in this part of ecuador so I guess that was kinda rare haha.
Something kinda funny...Last week we were in San Juan (The part of our sector that is a 1/2 hour bus ride away) and we were at a members house and I asked to use the bathroom cause I had drank a bunch of water. She took me out back, to the corner of her backyard and said 'You can go right here.' hahaha! Luckily I didn't need to do any more than pee because I would have had to use a leaf or the chickens that were all around me to wipe lol. I love Ecuador :)
I made it through my first fast sunday in the mission field! haha It was even that bad cause we were sleeping or in church sitting down and resting for alot of it. I thought it was going to be really hard cause usually we're walking all over the place. But I did it haha
So...you know how in the United States, 12-year-olds are riding bikes around the neighborhood? Well in Babahoyo, 12-year-olds are zooming all around the city on motorcycles! It's scary lol.
The other night we were teaching a lesson outside someone's house and it went really well and everything and she is progressing. But...in the 20 mins we were sitting there, I counted 5 rats that went into there house. GROSS!! lol The worst thing I've seen in our house are like little gnats (is that how you spell that? lol) But the people here are fine living with rats :P
Other than that, all is well and I'm learning alot and working hard! Today we had Zone Conference in Guayaquil and the new elders in the 3 zones that were there had to share their testimonies. Everyone was saying that my spanish was so good...so that made me happy lol. It's still kinda hard to understand when natives talk though.
I'm out of time on here cause of the zone conference so I can't send any pics :(
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!
Love, Elder Beck :)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Week 2 in Babahoyo
Mi Familia :D
So...I´ve been in Ecuador for 2 weeks already!!! :) This week went by really fast, especially with conference weekend! Basically all we did Sat and Sun was watch conference and eat lunch at member's houses, and at night we visited a few people. We invited like 50 or 60 nonmembers/less-actives and 4 people came to conference...lol Every one of them said they would be at at least one session. It's kind of a tradition here to lie, which is pretty sad. But oh well..we're doing the best we can and then they have their agency!
My favorite session of all of them, by far, was Priesthood Session. Priesthood and Saturday morning were the only sessions I got to see in English lol. The rest of the sessions I hardly understood, cause they use words that are hard to understand in English, let alone SPANISH! lol But it was all good :) We watched it at a Stake Center that had AC!!! It felt so great cause we had to wear our suits haha. My favorite talk was Elder Ballard´s talk in Priesthood session...so many good things for fathers, sons, and RMs. I loved it.
The weather is still hot and really sweaty during the day..but we dry out at night so it's ok haha. It feels SOO good to come back to the apartment at night and put on basketball shorts and sit in front of the fan and drink water haha. I wouldn't say I'm used to the weather, but it's not unbearable. It actually feels really nice at night and in the morning. I'm just glad we don't have to wear suits...but I WOULD be ok if they wanted us to wear flip-flops lol. My shoes are really comfortable though...especially the 'more casual' ones. (I might want another pair of the 'more casual' black shoes that I bought :/ Not any time really soon but just some time on the mission. Cause they are much more comfortable for walking ALL day than the 'more dressy' ones. Would that be ok?)
Have I ever told you how much I just LOOOVE cold showers??? NOT!! lol I really don't like cold showers and they don't do hot water here...there's not even a knob where the hot water knob should be hahaha. So hot water is something I look forward to in 2 years lol.
Everyday at member's houses they give us SOOO much food. It's usually a giant mound of white rice with a little bit of meat and some sort of soup. It's not bad..some of it is actually really good. But it's not Mom's fajitas, or roast beast and potatoes and carrots, or ritz chicken...just to name a few things that sound really good right now lol. The other day one member gave us alot of meat and it was like beef jerky lol. And the only utensil you EVER see hear is a spoon. Try eating dry beef jerky with a spoon...seriously try it...it's really hard lol. Yesterday with la familia Vallejo (where we eat every sunday) the food was so good though. They gave us some TASTY beef, rice (of course), and this salsa made from just tomatoes and onions and it was so good. And freshly squeezed orange juice. And they had a papaya the size of a WATERMELON! It was HUUUGE! I didn't believe them when they said it was a papaya, until I tasted it lol.
I got the packages you sent (mom, dad, and Al) at the District Meeting last Wednesday :) THANK YOU!! I love the sour punch straws and it felt so good to brush my teeth with the electric toothbrush! lol Thanks for my shorts, gum, vitamins, and deodorant too :) I also got the letter of pictures last week. That was fun to look at those. Cute outfit Alexa :) And cute faces Mom and Alexa in that one pictures. lol
Last week I got a call saying that I got a package sent with a White sticker..I don't know who sent it, but I had to send a paper saying that so and so could pick it up with my signature and stuff. And they asked me to remind my family to use the GREEN STICKERS :) (code CN22) They get here a lot faster that way and it's cheaper. Thanks!
Mom, Dad, and Alexa..you are so lucky you get to go see Weston and the rest of the CA Becks this weekend! Send pics :) I can't believe Weston is almost a month old! That went fast.
I LOVE YOU ALL TOOOOONS!!!!!! (Elder Bednar said to say it more and show it...this is the only way I can really show it :) lol)
LOVE,
Elder Patrick Grant Beck
So...I´ve been in Ecuador for 2 weeks already!!! :) This week went by really fast, especially with conference weekend! Basically all we did Sat and Sun was watch conference and eat lunch at member's houses, and at night we visited a few people. We invited like 50 or 60 nonmembers/less-actives and 4 people came to conference...lol Every one of them said they would be at at least one session. It's kind of a tradition here to lie, which is pretty sad. But oh well..we're doing the best we can and then they have their agency!
My favorite session of all of them, by far, was Priesthood Session. Priesthood and Saturday morning were the only sessions I got to see in English lol. The rest of the sessions I hardly understood, cause they use words that are hard to understand in English, let alone SPANISH! lol But it was all good :) We watched it at a Stake Center that had AC!!! It felt so great cause we had to wear our suits haha. My favorite talk was Elder Ballard´s talk in Priesthood session...so many good things for fathers, sons, and RMs. I loved it.
The weather is still hot and really sweaty during the day..but we dry out at night so it's ok haha. It feels SOO good to come back to the apartment at night and put on basketball shorts and sit in front of the fan and drink water haha. I wouldn't say I'm used to the weather, but it's not unbearable. It actually feels really nice at night and in the morning. I'm just glad we don't have to wear suits...but I WOULD be ok if they wanted us to wear flip-flops lol. My shoes are really comfortable though...especially the 'more casual' ones. (I might want another pair of the 'more casual' black shoes that I bought :/ Not any time really soon but just some time on the mission. Cause they are much more comfortable for walking ALL day than the 'more dressy' ones. Would that be ok?)
Have I ever told you how much I just LOOOVE cold showers??? NOT!! lol I really don't like cold showers and they don't do hot water here...there's not even a knob where the hot water knob should be hahaha. So hot water is something I look forward to in 2 years lol.
Everyday at member's houses they give us SOOO much food. It's usually a giant mound of white rice with a little bit of meat and some sort of soup. It's not bad..some of it is actually really good. But it's not Mom's fajitas, or roast beast and potatoes and carrots, or ritz chicken...just to name a few things that sound really good right now lol. The other day one member gave us alot of meat and it was like beef jerky lol. And the only utensil you EVER see hear is a spoon. Try eating dry beef jerky with a spoon...seriously try it...it's really hard lol. Yesterday with la familia Vallejo (where we eat every sunday) the food was so good though. They gave us some TASTY beef, rice (of course), and this salsa made from just tomatoes and onions and it was so good. And freshly squeezed orange juice. And they had a papaya the size of a WATERMELON! It was HUUUGE! I didn't believe them when they said it was a papaya, until I tasted it lol.
I got the packages you sent (mom, dad, and Al) at the District Meeting last Wednesday :) THANK YOU!! I love the sour punch straws and it felt so good to brush my teeth with the electric toothbrush! lol Thanks for my shorts, gum, vitamins, and deodorant too :) I also got the letter of pictures last week. That was fun to look at those. Cute outfit Alexa :) And cute faces Mom and Alexa in that one pictures. lol
Last week I got a call saying that I got a package sent with a White sticker..I don't know who sent it, but I had to send a paper saying that so and so could pick it up with my signature and stuff. And they asked me to remind my family to use the GREEN STICKERS :) (code CN22) They get here a lot faster that way and it's cheaper. Thanks!
Mom, Dad, and Alexa..you are so lucky you get to go see Weston and the rest of the CA Becks this weekend! Send pics :) I can't believe Weston is almost a month old! That went fast.
I LOVE YOU ALL TOOOOONS!!!!!! (Elder Bednar said to say it more and show it...this is the only way I can really show it :) lol)
LOVE,
Elder Patrick Grant Beck
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
A letter from Babahoyo, Ecuador
¡¡¡HOLA MI FAMILIA!!!
How is everybody doing? I made it to ecuador and I am in a city/town/place called Babahoyo :) And it is hard to type on this keyboard cause the symbols are all in different places lol.
So, I got here Tuesday night at like 1030 and the Pres Gamboa and his wife and the APs were there to greet us and help with our bags. They took us to the AP's house where we ate McDonalds lol. And they told us what we would be doing on Wednesday. Then we went to bed downstairs where they had 11 matresses all over the floor for us 4 white guys and 7 Latinos who arrived earlier that day. They got to go to the temple but we didn't :( And from what I hear we won't get to go to the temple...that stinks. So wednesday we woke up and played kickball at a field across the street from the house (gringos vs. latinos....I think we won lol) Then we went back to the house and got ready and went to the church. There, we met with Pres. Gamboa and we learned a bunch of rules and stuff. Next, we went to Pres. Gamboa's home (which is way nice and there's a pool and stuff) and we ATE and ATE. I was SOOO full lol. We ate a fresh fruit cocktail with all kinds of fruit, some sort of breaded chicken/turkey thing with mashed potatoes and carrots, and a banana pie with ice cream. And they had this really good juice, too. I thought I was going to pop cause I was so full! lol
After that we went back to the church and had a quick interview and met our companions! My companion is Elder Rodriguez and he is from Mexico. He speaks English pretty well though, thankfully lol. He's been out for 13 months. So after I met him we got in a taxi and rode to a bus station. The bus station kinda reminded me of a ghetto Union Station (like the one Alexa made everyone evacuate lol) So, we took a bus to Babahoyo. It was about 1- 1 1/2 hours with no AC, just open windows. And yes it is pretty sweaty here during the day, but not unbearable. When we got to Babahoyo we dragged my suitcases about 1/4 mile to our apartment. The apartment is 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and like an open area. It isn't TOO gross, but I wouldn't mind if it had an "Extreme Makeover:OCD Edition" lol. It's all good cause we wear flip flops all the time.
So after we dropped of my bags, we bought a few groceries. I bought a dozen eggs, bread, jam, cereal, milk, juice, cookies....for $8.34 lol. Most things are sooo cheap, but like a little jar of peanut butter is like $4 haha. After that we went to a few houses and taught lessons.
All of the houses are pretty small here and either have cement or bamboo/wood floors. Some houses are made of bamboo, others are made of like bricks or cement. VERY humble houses...but they almost all have a flat screen LCD TV and a DVD player hahaha. It's interesting.
So this week we've been walking ALOT and teaching. On the 10th of October we are planning on 2 baptisms! Lucia, and Raul. There's this family, the Ochoas, and they have 5 kids that are super smart and remember everything we tell them. People here speak really fast and most of them are missing teeth so that makes it even harder to understand lol. I am catching on more and more though.
On friday night I "knocked" my first house (we don't actually knock..we stand outside and say "¡A VER!" haha) So I talked to the lady a little bit and asked if we could come in and she said....YES! haha It was awesome. She also told us that she already believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet...so that was interesting lol.
Sunday we had church, and only 2 investigators came. :( Elder Rodriguez told me that it is like a tradition here to lie...I am learning that that is true lol.
Today we took our laundry to the laundry Mamita and we pick it up on Wednesday. We don't have a cooking Mamita, but we do have lunch appointments every day (except Pday). They feed us ALOOOOT lol. Mostly rice with a little bit of chicken. Yesterday, though, we started off with some jello, then some chicken with pasta stuff. Everything I've eaten has been edible, and it's all pretty good. They put catsup on like everything lol. Today for lunch we're gonna eat lunch at a pizza place...the pizzas are like 12-14 inches and are $2.50 :) Earlier today I bought a "satchel" ....kinda like a 'murse' haha.
So..i gotta write to Pres Gamboa now. But reply and I'll try to reply too! All is well here in Babahoyo, Ecuador. We're workin hard! I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!! Seriously :) Keep praying for me!
Love,
Elder Beck in Ecuador
How is everybody doing? I made it to ecuador and I am in a city/town/place called Babahoyo :) And it is hard to type on this keyboard cause the symbols are all in different places lol.
So, I got here Tuesday night at like 1030 and the Pres Gamboa and his wife and the APs were there to greet us and help with our bags. They took us to the AP's house where we ate McDonalds lol. And they told us what we would be doing on Wednesday. Then we went to bed downstairs where they had 11 matresses all over the floor for us 4 white guys and 7 Latinos who arrived earlier that day. They got to go to the temple but we didn't :( And from what I hear we won't get to go to the temple...that stinks. So wednesday we woke up and played kickball at a field across the street from the house (gringos vs. latinos....I think we won lol) Then we went back to the house and got ready and went to the church. There, we met with Pres. Gamboa and we learned a bunch of rules and stuff. Next, we went to Pres. Gamboa's home (which is way nice and there's a pool and stuff) and we ATE and ATE. I was SOOO full lol. We ate a fresh fruit cocktail with all kinds of fruit, some sort of breaded chicken/turkey thing with mashed potatoes and carrots, and a banana pie with ice cream. And they had this really good juice, too. I thought I was going to pop cause I was so full! lol
After that we went back to the church and had a quick interview and met our companions! My companion is Elder Rodriguez and he is from Mexico. He speaks English pretty well though, thankfully lol. He's been out for 13 months. So after I met him we got in a taxi and rode to a bus station. The bus station kinda reminded me of a ghetto Union Station (like the one Alexa made everyone evacuate lol) So, we took a bus to Babahoyo. It was about 1- 1 1/2 hours with no AC, just open windows. And yes it is pretty sweaty here during the day, but not unbearable. When we got to Babahoyo we dragged my suitcases about 1/4 mile to our apartment. The apartment is 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and like an open area. It isn't TOO gross, but I wouldn't mind if it had an "Extreme Makeover:OCD Edition" lol. It's all good cause we wear flip flops all the time.
So after we dropped of my bags, we bought a few groceries. I bought a dozen eggs, bread, jam, cereal, milk, juice, cookies....for $8.34 lol. Most things are sooo cheap, but like a little jar of peanut butter is like $4 haha. After that we went to a few houses and taught lessons.
All of the houses are pretty small here and either have cement or bamboo/wood floors. Some houses are made of bamboo, others are made of like bricks or cement. VERY humble houses...but they almost all have a flat screen LCD TV and a DVD player hahaha. It's interesting.
So this week we've been walking ALOT and teaching. On the 10th of October we are planning on 2 baptisms! Lucia, and Raul. There's this family, the Ochoas, and they have 5 kids that are super smart and remember everything we tell them. People here speak really fast and most of them are missing teeth so that makes it even harder to understand lol. I am catching on more and more though.
On friday night I "knocked" my first house (we don't actually knock..we stand outside and say "¡A VER!" haha) So I talked to the lady a little bit and asked if we could come in and she said....YES! haha It was awesome. She also told us that she already believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet...so that was interesting lol.
Sunday we had church, and only 2 investigators came. :( Elder Rodriguez told me that it is like a tradition here to lie...I am learning that that is true lol.
Today we took our laundry to the laundry Mamita and we pick it up on Wednesday. We don't have a cooking Mamita, but we do have lunch appointments every day (except Pday). They feed us ALOOOOT lol. Mostly rice with a little bit of chicken. Yesterday, though, we started off with some jello, then some chicken with pasta stuff. Everything I've eaten has been edible, and it's all pretty good. They put catsup on like everything lol. Today for lunch we're gonna eat lunch at a pizza place...the pizzas are like 12-14 inches and are $2.50 :) Earlier today I bought a "satchel" ....kinda like a 'murse' haha.
So..i gotta write to Pres Gamboa now. But reply and I'll try to reply too! All is well here in Babahoyo, Ecuador. We're workin hard! I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!! Seriously :) Keep praying for me!
Love,
Elder Beck in Ecuador
Monday, September 21, 2009
Week 9- LAST MTC WEEK
HEY! I can't believe my time at the MTC is done! But I am ready to get out of here..if you didn't already know haha. This is the last time that I will be emailing from the US for TWO YEARS!!! Kinda crazy haha. I'm excited to talk to everybody tomorrow on the phone :)
Sooooo...something exciting actually happened last week! Crazy, I know.. haha But guess who was here on Tuesday night?!?!?! We were hoping that it would be Pres. Monson, cause he spoke at BYU earlier that day...but it wasn't him. But, it was ELDER HOLLAND!!!!!!!!!!!! It was SOO good :) I'm not gonna lie..I was a little nervous he would yell at us or pound the podium or something like I've seen him do before lol. But he stayed pretty calm the whole time. He was funny, spiritual, and it was just a great talk. And his wife spoke too and she was really good and she said that seeing pics of him still takes her breath away lol. It was a great last devotional :D
Half of our district left this morning to Paraguay...kinda sad but exciting! They don't get there till like 10am tomorrow lol. They have a 12 hour flight from Dallas to Buenos Aires, and then they go back up to Paraguay.
Something kind of sad...this past saturday was the FIRST DAY (besides sundays and labor day) that I didn't get mail! lol Thanks for writing me so much all of you! It has been so great to have letters every day...i'll miss that in Ecuador! haha
Lately, I've heard to enjoy the food in Ecuador because it is GOOD. So that's exciting. I've also hear they have really good juice and rice. Can't wait to try that stuff....and Guinea Pig haha. I've also heard that you can eat Iguana down there..so maybe I'll get to try that lol.
Excited to talk to you guys tomorrow!
LOVE YOU ALL
Elder Beck :)
Sooooo...something exciting actually happened last week! Crazy, I know.. haha But guess who was here on Tuesday night?!?!?! We were hoping that it would be Pres. Monson, cause he spoke at BYU earlier that day...but it wasn't him. But, it was ELDER HOLLAND!!!!!!!!!!!! It was SOO good :) I'm not gonna lie..I was a little nervous he would yell at us or pound the podium or something like I've seen him do before lol. But he stayed pretty calm the whole time. He was funny, spiritual, and it was just a great talk. And his wife spoke too and she was really good and she said that seeing pics of him still takes her breath away lol. It was a great last devotional :D
Half of our district left this morning to Paraguay...kinda sad but exciting! They don't get there till like 10am tomorrow lol. They have a 12 hour flight from Dallas to Buenos Aires, and then they go back up to Paraguay.
Something kind of sad...this past saturday was the FIRST DAY (besides sundays and labor day) that I didn't get mail! lol Thanks for writing me so much all of you! It has been so great to have letters every day...i'll miss that in Ecuador! haha
Lately, I've heard to enjoy the food in Ecuador because it is GOOD. So that's exciting. I've also hear they have really good juice and rice. Can't wait to try that stuff....and Guinea Pig haha. I've also heard that you can eat Iguana down there..so maybe I'll get to try that lol.
Excited to talk to you guys tomorrow!
LOVE YOU ALL
Elder Beck :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Week 8
Elder Beck's email home this week was to inform us of his travel plans...
He goes to ECUADOR next week!
It will be just one day of travel with enough layovers that none of the flights are too long so he's glad for that.
He's also excited to call home from the airport!
MTC food is made with love, but he's looking forward to eating some fast food at the airport:)
One more pday in the MTC...and...one more email from the MTC.
One quick email said that he would be leaving the MTC on Wednesday to get a filling and it was something to look forward to because he got to leave for a short time!
Also big news for our Elder...another nephew was born last week... so he's an uncle to 7 now!
He goes to ECUADOR next week!
It will be just one day of travel with enough layovers that none of the flights are too long so he's glad for that.
He's also excited to call home from the airport!
MTC food is made with love, but he's looking forward to eating some fast food at the airport:)
One more pday in the MTC...and...one more email from the MTC.
One quick email said that he would be leaving the MTC on Wednesday to get a filling and it was something to look forward to because he got to leave for a short time!
Also big news for our Elder...another nephew was born last week... so he's an uncle to 7 now!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Week 7
So today is P-day and Labor day....not a good combination for the MTC lol. The temple is closed on labor day, and there is no mail on labor day! The 2 best things about p-day...non-existent today lol. And there were no doughnuts at breakfast this morning..whats up with that?! haha But everything is going great here...plenty of time to write letters today! :) I am super excited for the end of this week because we should be getting flight plans!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait for that lol. 1 week from tomorrow we should be leaving :)
So, we had a fireside last week and the wife of somebody asked What is your missionary story? Who was the first member in your family? And I don't know...so who is it? Or who are they?
Have you guys watched the 9/11 YouTube video on the homepage of LDS.org? It is really neat :) I love you all so much!!! :D
This week we got a new branch president. Funny story..every week we write letters to the branch president and then they go in this folder that our district leader gives to the branch pres. This week, Elder Baum put some of those fake bubblegum cigarettes in the folder just to be funny cause our OLD branch president was kind of a jokester.... BUT now we have a new Branch President so we're wondering what he'll think of that...? lol We won't find out till Wed. when he returns the letter. Hopefully he thinks its funny :/ lol
Not much else happened this week...one of my new favorite hymns (in english) is "Gently Beams Our Father's Mercy." A group of Elders sang an AWESOME arrangement of it last night at the fireside A Capella and it was SOOO good. Try to find an a capella version of it online or something... I had never heard it before but now I love it lol.
I LOVE ALL YOU A TON!!!!!!
Love,
Elder Beck :D
So, we had a fireside last week and the wife of somebody asked What is your missionary story? Who was the first member in your family? And I don't know...so who is it? Or who are they?
Have you guys watched the 9/11 YouTube video on the homepage of LDS.org? It is really neat :) I love you all so much!!! :D
This week we got a new branch president. Funny story..every week we write letters to the branch president and then they go in this folder that our district leader gives to the branch pres. This week, Elder Baum put some of those fake bubblegum cigarettes in the folder just to be funny cause our OLD branch president was kind of a jokester.... BUT now we have a new Branch President so we're wondering what he'll think of that...? lol We won't find out till Wed. when he returns the letter. Hopefully he thinks its funny :/ lol
Not much else happened this week...one of my new favorite hymns (in english) is "Gently Beams Our Father's Mercy." A group of Elders sang an AWESOME arrangement of it last night at the fireside A Capella and it was SOOO good. Try to find an a capella version of it online or something... I had never heard it before but now I love it lol.
I LOVE ALL YOU A TON!!!!!!
Love,
Elder Beck :D
Monday, August 31, 2009
Week 6
So..this has probably been one of the most UNeventul weeks here at the MTC. Minus the fact that Richard G. Scott was here on Tuesday. That was just AMAZING! But I already wrote a Looooong letter about that and hopefully everybody has heard about that already haha. Other than that, basically nothing has happened :) Gotta love the MTC haha. I can't wait to be in Ecuador (LIKE 3 MORE WEEKS) and have fun stories to write home about :)
Well, this week Elder Baum and I were supposed to teach a lesson in Spanish in the TEC (where they have teachers who pretend to be investigators) but the teacher had a sub who didn't speak spanish. (they hardly spoke english, either lol. They were from China) So we had to teach in English....it was SOOOO weird. We kept starting our sentences in spanish, and then remembering that she didn't speak spanish because she would start looking at us weird lol. So, I guess we have made the transition to speaking in Spanish!
But we still have to wait a few weeks to go to Ecuador...I'm so ready to get out of this place now lol. Something exciting...we should have our flight plans by the end of next week!!! WOOHOO!!! Can't wait for that... :)
Well, I've got 15 mins left and nothing to say lol. So write back and I'll reply! :)
I LOVE ALL YOU GUYS SO MUCH! KEEP PRAYING :D Love, Elder Beck
Well, this week Elder Baum and I were supposed to teach a lesson in Spanish in the TEC (where they have teachers who pretend to be investigators) but the teacher had a sub who didn't speak spanish. (they hardly spoke english, either lol. They were from China) So we had to teach in English....it was SOOOO weird. We kept starting our sentences in spanish, and then remembering that she didn't speak spanish because she would start looking at us weird lol. So, I guess we have made the transition to speaking in Spanish!
But we still have to wait a few weeks to go to Ecuador...I'm so ready to get out of this place now lol. Something exciting...we should have our flight plans by the end of next week!!! WOOHOO!!! Can't wait for that... :)
Well, I've got 15 mins left and nothing to say lol. So write back and I'll reply! :)
I LOVE ALL YOU GUYS SO MUCH! KEEP PRAYING :D Love, Elder Beck
Monday, August 24, 2009
Week 5
So its another monday already!! And i have passed the one month mark. Pretty excting :) Time is going fast....
Thanks fam for the package of cookies! They were really good and soft :) We had a 1 month party last week and I brought a bunch of candy and stuff that I had gotten from you guys. It was lots of fun :)
So last week we taught a lesson on the Plan of Salvation and families and I took one of those photo albums that carlie, aby, and nicole made for me...so thanks for that :) People had lots of fun looking at the pictures.
Something cool and exciting for me....the other night I was saying my personal prayer and I realized about halfway through that I was saying it in Spanish and I didn't even mean to! It was pretty neat :)
So a couple times in the past month our whole zone has done a tie-trade. I took a couple plain gray ones that I didn't really like and got some more bright-colored ones that I do like lol. During one tie trade some other elders got mad at our zone for doing a tie trade cause their zone isn't allowed to do tie trades...it was pretty funny. We checked with our branch president the next day to make sure we were allowed to do them and he said he wanted to come to the next one and get some new ties :) lol.
Elder Baum and I are now teaching ONLY in Spanish and we have a couple appointments a day to teach. It's been lots of fun and it really is helping us. There's a place called the TEC and you sign up on the computer to teach pretend investigators there in english, spanish, or whatever language you're speaking. It's so helpful!
Yesterday we got to see the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication. They broadcasted it to a bunch of stake centers up here and the MTC. It was really neat. In some of the talks they mentioned stories about Guayaquil and Asunscion(where the other 5 guys in our district are going) so we felt like a pretty special district lol.
Mom and dad, am I supposed to get a flight reimbursement sometime while I'm here? Do you know when, if I am? Also, am I supposed to get a water purifier? I don't remember that being on the list but some people have been talking about them...
A couple times during firesides/devotionals we have sang Come, Come, Ye Saints. I now LOVE that hymn...everyone should read the words to it, it is great :)
The boy from HSM sang a duet last night at the Fireside and he was really good. It was a song about Joseph and Hyrum. And last night he was walking around saying his line from HSM ("Is that even Legal?!") and I could totally recognize that it was him. It was hilarious lol.
I think that's about it for now...I've got some time left over so reply and I'll try to reply today! :)
I LOVE YOU GUYS ALL SO MUCH!!!
Elder Beck :)
Thanks fam for the package of cookies! They were really good and soft :) We had a 1 month party last week and I brought a bunch of candy and stuff that I had gotten from you guys. It was lots of fun :)
So last week we taught a lesson on the Plan of Salvation and families and I took one of those photo albums that carlie, aby, and nicole made for me...so thanks for that :) People had lots of fun looking at the pictures.
Something cool and exciting for me....the other night I was saying my personal prayer and I realized about halfway through that I was saying it in Spanish and I didn't even mean to! It was pretty neat :)
So a couple times in the past month our whole zone has done a tie-trade. I took a couple plain gray ones that I didn't really like and got some more bright-colored ones that I do like lol. During one tie trade some other elders got mad at our zone for doing a tie trade cause their zone isn't allowed to do tie trades...it was pretty funny. We checked with our branch president the next day to make sure we were allowed to do them and he said he wanted to come to the next one and get some new ties :) lol.
Elder Baum and I are now teaching ONLY in Spanish and we have a couple appointments a day to teach. It's been lots of fun and it really is helping us. There's a place called the TEC and you sign up on the computer to teach pretend investigators there in english, spanish, or whatever language you're speaking. It's so helpful!
Yesterday we got to see the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication. They broadcasted it to a bunch of stake centers up here and the MTC. It was really neat. In some of the talks they mentioned stories about Guayaquil and Asunscion(where the other 5 guys in our district are going) so we felt like a pretty special district lol.
Mom and dad, am I supposed to get a flight reimbursement sometime while I'm here? Do you know when, if I am? Also, am I supposed to get a water purifier? I don't remember that being on the list but some people have been talking about them...
A couple times during firesides/devotionals we have sang Come, Come, Ye Saints. I now LOVE that hymn...everyone should read the words to it, it is great :)
The boy from HSM sang a duet last night at the Fireside and he was really good. It was a song about Joseph and Hyrum. And last night he was walking around saying his line from HSM ("Is that even Legal?!") and I could totally recognize that it was him. It was hilarious lol.
I think that's about it for now...I've got some time left over so reply and I'll try to reply today! :)
I LOVE YOU GUYS ALL SO MUCH!!!
Elder Beck :)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Week 4
HEEEEYYYYY FAM!!!!
So..its another pday already and i can't believe it!!! Time is flyin and people say it just goes faster in the field, so that will be fun :) The food is getting a little old...but its ok. I'm not hungry haha.
Sooooo...there have actually been some interesting things this week! haha First I'll start off with some sad news. My ipod screen is half broken :( I think it happened on the flight up here...yesterday was the first time i listened to it and the screen was partly black. but i can still make out what stuff says mostly so its ok. Also....a kid in my district decided today that he is going home :( We are really sad and a little bit shocked. He seemed like he was having a bit of a hard time, but apparently it was worse then people knew. My companion and I found out in the temple at the end of our session today. It kinda took away the temple mood pretty quick :(
On to some better/funny news though! We played softball against another district this week and my comp. was playing 1st base. someone hit the ball and ran to first and my comp was standing on the base about to catch the ball. But the kid who was running ran straight into my comp with his face! The kid fell on the ground and was bleeding all over the place from his eyebrow! He got to leave the MTC to get 10 stitches though so he was excited about that lol. He's doing fine ow...he got the stitches out today. Thankfully my comp didn't get hurt. Also, i got my haircut today...i seriously needed it lol.
Other than that, things are going pretty much the same! Thanks for the packages mom and aby :) That was fun to get those! I've still got 15 mins left so i'll be checking back a few more times :)
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! KEEP PRAYING...I HONESTLY CAN FEEL PRAYERS WORKING SO MUCH MORE NOW THAN EVER BEFORE :)
-ELDER BECK :)
In letters to the family: Elder Beck says he can "mostly understand" the scriptures.
He was hoping that he'd get to see Elder Beatty the night before he left for Argentina, but didn't get the chance.
So..its another pday already and i can't believe it!!! Time is flyin and people say it just goes faster in the field, so that will be fun :) The food is getting a little old...but its ok. I'm not hungry haha.
Sooooo...there have actually been some interesting things this week! haha First I'll start off with some sad news. My ipod screen is half broken :( I think it happened on the flight up here...yesterday was the first time i listened to it and the screen was partly black. but i can still make out what stuff says mostly so its ok. Also....a kid in my district decided today that he is going home :( We are really sad and a little bit shocked. He seemed like he was having a bit of a hard time, but apparently it was worse then people knew. My companion and I found out in the temple at the end of our session today. It kinda took away the temple mood pretty quick :(
On to some better/funny news though! We played softball against another district this week and my comp. was playing 1st base. someone hit the ball and ran to first and my comp was standing on the base about to catch the ball. But the kid who was running ran straight into my comp with his face! The kid fell on the ground and was bleeding all over the place from his eyebrow! He got to leave the MTC to get 10 stitches though so he was excited about that lol. He's doing fine ow...he got the stitches out today. Thankfully my comp didn't get hurt. Also, i got my haircut today...i seriously needed it lol.
Other than that, things are going pretty much the same! Thanks for the packages mom and aby :) That was fun to get those! I've still got 15 mins left so i'll be checking back a few more times :)
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! KEEP PRAYING...I HONESTLY CAN FEEL PRAYERS WORKING SO MUCH MORE NOW THAN EVER BEFORE :)
-ELDER BECK :)
In letters to the family: Elder Beck says he can "mostly understand" the scriptures.
He was hoping that he'd get to see Elder Beatty the night before he left for Argentina, but didn't get the chance.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Week 3
Hey family!!!! I can't believe how fast time is going. The MTC has been lots of fun..but i am def glad that its going fast lol. I think the food rotations start over this week so we're starting to see the same stuff from my first couple days here lol.
Mom, will you please send deodorant and my long-sleeve underarmour gray shirt? It's been a little cold this week actually and our room is FREEZING at night haha.
I thought Emma would be excited to hear this.... There is a kid in my district that went to East High, but he wasn't in HSM haha. But...there is another kid in my zone who WAS in HSM #1 and he is the one in the cafeteria I think who says "Is that even legal?!" hahaha He has red hair..so look for him lol.
I got my patriarchal blessing reduced and laminated this week and I got my Spanish scriptures engraved with my name :) For FREE...if you get them from the MTC bookstore, they'll engrave for free :) Pretty sweet. Everything is so cheap there cause we get a missionary discount (like 40%) haha.
This past week our Tuesday night devotional was not from the top 15 again :( lol But it was Merril J Bateman. He is currently the provo temple president and I think he was the general sunday school president and some other stuff. So that was pretty cool :)
The spirit is SO strong here all the time. It's amazing. I wish i had more time to email so i could just tell you all the neat stuff that comes to my mind. Endowment session this morning was great...there were FIVE people going through for the first time so that was neat.
Well I can't think of anything else to write right now but I have 15 mins so write back and I'll try and reply today! :) It's 4pm right now and we can email until 6pm :)
Letters going in the mail tonight or tomorrow morning!
I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!
keep praying :)
Love, patrick
***********************
In letters to the fam: He's lost 4 lbs and we is exercising every morning.
Mom, will you please send deodorant and my long-sleeve underarmour gray shirt? It's been a little cold this week actually and our room is FREEZING at night haha.
I thought Emma would be excited to hear this.... There is a kid in my district that went to East High, but he wasn't in HSM haha. But...there is another kid in my zone who WAS in HSM #1 and he is the one in the cafeteria I think who says "Is that even legal?!" hahaha He has red hair..so look for him lol.
I got my patriarchal blessing reduced and laminated this week and I got my Spanish scriptures engraved with my name :) For FREE...if you get them from the MTC bookstore, they'll engrave for free :) Pretty sweet. Everything is so cheap there cause we get a missionary discount (like 40%) haha.
This past week our Tuesday night devotional was not from the top 15 again :( lol But it was Merril J Bateman. He is currently the provo temple president and I think he was the general sunday school president and some other stuff. So that was pretty cool :)
The spirit is SO strong here all the time. It's amazing. I wish i had more time to email so i could just tell you all the neat stuff that comes to my mind. Endowment session this morning was great...there were FIVE people going through for the first time so that was neat.
Well I can't think of anything else to write right now but I have 15 mins so write back and I'll try and reply today! :) It's 4pm right now and we can email until 6pm :)
Letters going in the mail tonight or tomorrow morning!
I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!
keep praying :)
Love, patrick
***********************
In letters to the fam: He's lost 4 lbs and we is exercising every morning.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Week 2
Hey everyone!!!!!
Dad, thats funny that it went to SPAM lol. It makes me feel great :) lol I'm glad i'm approved now, though haha. I love you...keep praying!
Mom, I didnt have extra time last week, but i think i will today! The temple is so great!! Today we did sealings and there were some CRAZY names...it was kinda funny lol. Yeah, i really like dear elder cause we have alot more time to write than email :) "Church Drivel" was HILARIOUS!!! Keep praying :) love ya
Carlie, The eggs are just nasty. They just like squirt em from a tube. theyre not real eggs...butter wouldnt help lol. I hope brady's test went well! Thanks for ALL the dearelder letters. Me and one other guy get the most mail..but its not a competition haha. i dont think i can view pics...but i might be able to send them. ill try that some other time. in the field i can probably check ASU mail, not here though. The comps here are SOOO restricted lol. Love you!
Aby, I'm glad i get ice cream twice a week too, i look forward to wednesdays and sundays lol. im sleeping much better...but it takes a while to fall asleep. yes dearelder is easier to reply to :) LOVE YOU TOO!
On tuesday there was a devotional and our district sang in the choir. it was really pretty song- "faith of our fathers" i think. We were expecting an apostle or something to speak cause they had all these telepromptors. But it was an emeritus 70 that i had never heard of lol. He had some really neat facts about translating the book or mormon though. haha We're hoping for an apostle tomorrow night...we're doing choir again so we for sure get seats. I'll let you know. :)
LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!! Write back fast and maybe i can reply. There's letters in the mail coming to all the fam!
Love,
Elder Beck
********************
We have had a few chances to email and get replies today... quick conversations and a few questions answered- like that he liked the cinnamon rolls mom sent!
Dad, thats funny that it went to SPAM lol. It makes me feel great :) lol I'm glad i'm approved now, though haha. I love you...keep praying!
Mom, I didnt have extra time last week, but i think i will today! The temple is so great!! Today we did sealings and there were some CRAZY names...it was kinda funny lol. Yeah, i really like dear elder cause we have alot more time to write than email :) "Church Drivel" was HILARIOUS!!! Keep praying :) love ya
Carlie, The eggs are just nasty. They just like squirt em from a tube. theyre not real eggs...butter wouldnt help lol. I hope brady's test went well! Thanks for ALL the dearelder letters. Me and one other guy get the most mail..but its not a competition haha. i dont think i can view pics...but i might be able to send them. ill try that some other time. in the field i can probably check ASU mail, not here though. The comps here are SOOO restricted lol. Love you!
Aby, I'm glad i get ice cream twice a week too, i look forward to wednesdays and sundays lol. im sleeping much better...but it takes a while to fall asleep. yes dearelder is easier to reply to :) LOVE YOU TOO!
On tuesday there was a devotional and our district sang in the choir. it was really pretty song- "faith of our fathers" i think. We were expecting an apostle or something to speak cause they had all these telepromptors. But it was an emeritus 70 that i had never heard of lol. He had some really neat facts about translating the book or mormon though. haha We're hoping for an apostle tomorrow night...we're doing choir again so we for sure get seats. I'll let you know. :)
LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!! Write back fast and maybe i can reply. There's letters in the mail coming to all the fam!
Love,
Elder Beck
********************
We have had a few chances to email and get replies today... quick conversations and a few questions answered- like that he liked the cinnamon rolls mom sent!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Week 1- MTC
HEY!Everyone can read all the parts of this, I'm just replying by letters that were sent to me. Carlie, just pick and choose parts to blog :) hahaha
Carlie (dearelder) All of the farewells were tons of fun, but yeah, I am kinda glad they're done haha. I'm actually doing ok withouth the shurse! I know, i never thought i could get along without it...I might want mom to send the electric toothrbrush when im in ecuador though. Our district leader picks up mail twice a day and I got yours and moms dearelder letters on Thurs i think. My comp doesnt have family pics so i dont know if he has a cute sister lol. My 3 roommates are all pretty cool and relaxed. One is usually pretty quiet and my companion says WHATEVER is on his mind. i love it :) No we havent shaved our legs yet, and im not planning to haha. Food is fine, but i can def see how it gets old pretty fast haha. i havent eaten aynthing out of a vending machine , so mom and dad should be proud :) You guys had a pioneer day celebration?! We were laughing about how only Utah celebrates that day lol. I LOVE you so much too! Thanks for writing!
Mom(hand-written letter from July 17) the MTC has been great. The first couple days were slow and a little overwhelming, but all is well now. i think i probably know the most spanish in our district of 10 elders. they all ask me questions haha. my companion IS funny. We kind of balance eachother out...he says everything thats on his mind and i'm a bit more quiet :) Oh man, i wish that i could be upstairs "sleeping in" but it actually isnt too bad to wake up at 630 when you goto bed at 1030 haha. ( I got your dearelder letter with carlie's dearelder letter) Thanks for being such AWESOME parents and helping me prepare for the mish. i love you guys.
E & R- thanks so much for the drawings! you 2 are amazing artists! thanks for your letters too :) Emma, i can't wait for your pics "all through the season" ;) I can't believe how pretty your flower drawings are. i love your testimony. i'm learning to say mine in spanish :) Regan, i cant wait to tell you mission stories. i went to the temple today and it was great and very pretty. Love you girlies!
Brent- yes im still figuring out where things are, but i can get around ok haha. speaking of the cafeteria, my favorite things are wraps and ice cream wednesday and sunday. They have TONS of toppings for ice cream. i am already loving the mission so i can't wait to look back on all of the fun, amazing, spritiual memories when its over. i am SOOOO glad we 'followed through' that was such a fun trip.
Zack-thanks for the picture! its my favorite colors and i love the little dolphins. Hawaii was a great trip, huh? I'm glad i could be an example to you :)
Aby-first off, i LOVE the paper and the little diolphin hole punches :) i'm glad i could teach your boys all that great stuff! i love being with them. what zack wrote in his journal is awesome!! :) I can already feel everyones prayers working, so thanks for those. thanks for your testimony. Love you too!!!
Mom (typed letter from July 25) Thanks for the letters from cam and kev. its great to hear what theyre saying. DANG ALEXA! good job golfing! And looking cute in new plaid shorts...:) So monday is Pday-which means check for emails all day monday haha. If i have time left after i write and send the email, i might be able to get back on later and reply if you guys have written back :) But we only have 30 mins total (7 left) so i can't promise anything haha. Ya ive seen cameron a couple times. on sunday after the devotional they play movies like the Joseph smith movie and i sat by cameron during that. OOPS, he's not cameron, he's ELDER BEATTY haha. thanks for the address stickers..if i ever get to write, they'll be very useful haha. For now though, i'm just replying to everyone in this email though. aww, i miss school shoppping in tucson...good times. YAY! I'm so glad ALECKSA BECKSA likes chick fil a now...we can eat there all the time in 2 years lol. OOH! can't wait for some more great socks haha. Brady and David are totally right about the silent first night lol. Good roommates, great classes with awesome teachers :) I'm learning alot of gospel spanish like prayer and testimony. I can say those 2 things like a 5 year old lol. The only nasty thing i've eaten is the eggs! haha
Dad, there'll be plenty of 'banter' in 2 years lol.
YW camp sounds like fun :) Thanks for all the support!! I need a copy of my call and i want the setting apart notes :) The spirit is so strong here :)Alexa, thanks for the note!!!30 seconds....I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!KEEP PRAYING!ELDER BECK
Carlie (dearelder) All of the farewells were tons of fun, but yeah, I am kinda glad they're done haha. I'm actually doing ok withouth the shurse! I know, i never thought i could get along without it...I might want mom to send the electric toothrbrush when im in ecuador though. Our district leader picks up mail twice a day and I got yours and moms dearelder letters on Thurs i think. My comp doesnt have family pics so i dont know if he has a cute sister lol. My 3 roommates are all pretty cool and relaxed. One is usually pretty quiet and my companion says WHATEVER is on his mind. i love it :) No we havent shaved our legs yet, and im not planning to haha. Food is fine, but i can def see how it gets old pretty fast haha. i havent eaten aynthing out of a vending machine , so mom and dad should be proud :) You guys had a pioneer day celebration?! We were laughing about how only Utah celebrates that day lol. I LOVE you so much too! Thanks for writing!
Mom(hand-written letter from July 17) the MTC has been great. The first couple days were slow and a little overwhelming, but all is well now. i think i probably know the most spanish in our district of 10 elders. they all ask me questions haha. my companion IS funny. We kind of balance eachother out...he says everything thats on his mind and i'm a bit more quiet :) Oh man, i wish that i could be upstairs "sleeping in" but it actually isnt too bad to wake up at 630 when you goto bed at 1030 haha. ( I got your dearelder letter with carlie's dearelder letter) Thanks for being such AWESOME parents and helping me prepare for the mish. i love you guys.
E & R- thanks so much for the drawings! you 2 are amazing artists! thanks for your letters too :) Emma, i can't wait for your pics "all through the season" ;) I can't believe how pretty your flower drawings are. i love your testimony. i'm learning to say mine in spanish :) Regan, i cant wait to tell you mission stories. i went to the temple today and it was great and very pretty. Love you girlies!
Brent- yes im still figuring out where things are, but i can get around ok haha. speaking of the cafeteria, my favorite things are wraps and ice cream wednesday and sunday. They have TONS of toppings for ice cream. i am already loving the mission so i can't wait to look back on all of the fun, amazing, spritiual memories when its over. i am SOOOO glad we 'followed through' that was such a fun trip.
Zack-thanks for the picture! its my favorite colors and i love the little dolphins. Hawaii was a great trip, huh? I'm glad i could be an example to you :)
Aby-first off, i LOVE the paper and the little diolphin hole punches :) i'm glad i could teach your boys all that great stuff! i love being with them. what zack wrote in his journal is awesome!! :) I can already feel everyones prayers working, so thanks for those. thanks for your testimony. Love you too!!!
Mom (typed letter from July 25) Thanks for the letters from cam and kev. its great to hear what theyre saying. DANG ALEXA! good job golfing! And looking cute in new plaid shorts...:) So monday is Pday-which means check for emails all day monday haha. If i have time left after i write and send the email, i might be able to get back on later and reply if you guys have written back :) But we only have 30 mins total (7 left) so i can't promise anything haha. Ya ive seen cameron a couple times. on sunday after the devotional they play movies like the Joseph smith movie and i sat by cameron during that. OOPS, he's not cameron, he's ELDER BEATTY haha. thanks for the address stickers..if i ever get to write, they'll be very useful haha. For now though, i'm just replying to everyone in this email though. aww, i miss school shoppping in tucson...good times. YAY! I'm so glad ALECKSA BECKSA likes chick fil a now...we can eat there all the time in 2 years lol. OOH! can't wait for some more great socks haha. Brady and David are totally right about the silent first night lol. Good roommates, great classes with awesome teachers :) I'm learning alot of gospel spanish like prayer and testimony. I can say those 2 things like a 5 year old lol. The only nasty thing i've eaten is the eggs! haha
Dad, there'll be plenty of 'banter' in 2 years lol.
YW camp sounds like fun :) Thanks for all the support!! I need a copy of my call and i want the setting apart notes :) The spirit is so strong here :)Alexa, thanks for the note!!!30 seconds....I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!KEEP PRAYING!ELDER BECK
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Sibling Night
Another one checked off his list - Claim Jumper...
(trevor, nicole, patrick, alexa)
(brent, aby, carlie, brady)
4th of July
On the top of the list of places to eat before experiencing MTC food was Macayo's.So we made a night of it complete with a HOT (107*) fireworks show afterwards.
To Be There With Family & Friends
(brady, carlie, aby, patrick, mom, & dad)
(patrick and the parentals) 
(kevin, cameron, and patrick)Sunday, May 3, 2009
The Next 2 Years of My Life...
So my call came on Thursday and I am going to be spending the next 2 years of my life serving in the Ecuador Guayaquil North Mission! I leave on July 22 to the Provo MTC where I will be learning Spanish. I was a little surprised to be going to South America because everyone was saying that if calls come on Thursday, that means you'll be in the states. That's obviously not true though :) haha. Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador and it is the capital, with about 3 million people. Here is the wikipedia link if you want to read about Guayaquil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guayaquil.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Papers are IN!!!
My papers are now officially submitted! Now I wait...the call should probably be here a week from Thursday or Friday! It's so exciting (and a little bit crazy) that I am already about to serve a mission. Let me know your guesses for where you think I am going...1 guess in the U.S. and 1 guess outside of the U.S. :)
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