fotos

A delicious lunch that we ate this week. A huge plate of french fries with sausage and ketchup and mayo. (I think I might like Fry Sauce now haha) We avoided volcanos of rice 3 days in a row this week! I'm pretty sure that has to be a record here in Ecuador lol.

A picture that was in the Ensign for March ( I think) of missionaries teaching in BABAHOYO :) Did you guys notice that picture? I saw it and totally thought that is was Babahoyo and it is haha.

The baptism of Moises (he's the kid standing next to the bald guy) Try to ignore the little girl that the dad threw on my lap for the picture lol. She didn't want me to touch her so I couldn't help her with her shirt or help her sit up straight haha.

oh yeah

AND HAPPY EASTER!!!

AND ENJOY GENERAL CONFERENCE :)

LOVE YA!
ELDER BECK

29 MAR 2010

Hola mi querida familia!!!

¿Como están todos?

Everything is goin great on this side of the equator :) Kind of a slow news week this week.

But, I would like to send a TON of thanks for the packages that I got this week :)

Aby and Brent and fam- thanks for the birthday package! M&Ms (those didn't even make it back to the house...my comp and I ate the whole bag on the bus ride to the house lol), mints, gum, Fruit Punch powder, sour candy, and the great letters! Thanks a ton... I love you guys so much!

Mom and Dad-thanks for the packages with the cakes, peanut butter, letters, letters from Elder Beatty, Shoemaker, and Karlderwood, Church News, Apple Pie Recipe, and Mom's Stake Conf talk. Mom, I was reading your talk this morning and I felt the Spirit so strongly! You are awesome :) I always think of when we went to the Sacred Grove and we all had a bit of alone time. That was the day that I knew for sure, for myself, that the story of Joseph Smith was true. I've shared that story many times with investigators and every time I feel the same strong spirit. It really strengthens my testimony. Don't be afraid to open your mouth and share the Gospel with your friends and family. If they don't accept, that's okay cause you're doing your part to try to help others :)

Mom, I would like a simple recipe for Cheesecake, please :)

This Saturday we had a baptism! Moisès Burgos got baptized. He has come to church for MONTHS with his grandma and his parents FINALLY said that he could get baptized. I have a feeling that one day they will accept it for themselves too :)

This Thursday we have a wedding planned for Luis and Maribel!!! Right now, Elder Contreras and I are going to go to Babahoyo to get all the paperwork done, and we're hoping everything works out for Thursday. They have progressed SOO much in the past couple weeks. Maribel used to say that she never wants to get married...and now she wants to get married and baptized. Luis accepted from the beginning...we've just been trying to help Maribel lol. I thought it was usually the guy that doesn't want to get married..but not in Ecuador I guess haha. They have a Baptism date for April 10th :)

Also, the mother in law of the recent convert that we found last week has a baptism date for April 10th :) I hope all continues going well with her and Luis and Maribel!

Well, that's it for this week! I love you all so much!!!!!! You all really are the best :) Thanks for everything.

Love ya!
Elder Beck

Pictures

The first batch of cookies :)

Pretty sunset in Vinces

8 Months!

Hola mi familia!!!

How is everybody doing this week? Great, I hope :)

Everything is still going great here in Vinces and we are working hard and finding lots of new people to teach. For a while, we didn't find almost anyone, but this week we found 13 people! They say they are willing to listen, and they said that they are willing to get baptized :) We'll see how it goes with all of them :)

As you might have noticed from the Subject of this email...I have been in the mission 8 MONTHS!!!!! Wow!!! The time has gone by so fast. That's a third of the mission..woah haha.

So, there is this recent convert in our branch that is super excited to be a member and wants to share the Gospel with everybody...and does it! This week, we went to her house and she opened the door and said "Hi how are you? My mother in law wants to get baptized." So...we went in and taught her mother in law and put a baptism date for April 10th! AND she came to church yesterday! Amazing how the Lord prepares people.

Another day, we were knocking some doors and this guy opened the door and he didn't look too promising. He opened the door and said hi, was wearing only boxers, and then shut the door. We turned around to walk away and were thinking about where to go next, and then he opened the door and was all dressed and said to come in. So we went in and told him who we were and started teaching him. He had great questions, that the message of the Restoration answers clearly. The spirit was so strong in that lesson and I know that he is going to progress.

So that's the news here in Vinces when it comes to teaching the Gospel.

Other news....my eyes burn when I am in air conditioning now. That's not good....I don't know what Ecuador is doing to me lol.

This week was the Regatas here in Vinces. The big thing was a boat race on Sunday that started in the river in Guayaquil and ended in the river here in Vinces. The most important part of all the parties though seemed to be beer. I have NEVER seen so much beer in my life! lol The whole park where the Eiffel Tower is was full of beer and they had giant posters of beer hanging from the bridges over the river, etc. Beer, beer, beer. Yesterday we were walking to an appointment and there was a woman sitting on the curb throwing up....it was nasty lol. The members here said that Vinces was Sodom and Gomorra (I don't know how to spell that in spanish lol) and Babylon combined into one city for the weekend haha. It was a little bit crazy, but pres gamboa said that we could still leave the house :)

Last thursday I taught the relief society how to make the choc chip cookies and they turned out great and everybody loved them. I made them doughy, just like I like them. And I got to eat some dough too...so that was good haha.

Mom and dad...what's the name of our ward and our bishop? Cause if that stuff changes we have to tell Pres Gamboa and I haven't told him that stuff haha.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON WEDNESDAY REGAN! Love you! :)

Well...I think that's about it for the week :) I love you all SOOOOOOOOO much! Thanks for everything you do for me :) Keep it up with the letters and prayers and everything!

Love you all!
Love, Elder Beck

Pics

A sweaty lunch with a VOLCANO of rice :P lol

Elder Contreras and I in the mission offices RIGHT after I found him :)

It's A Boy!

Hey family!

What's up, up in the United States?

Everything here in Vinces is going great, and I still have a hard time believing that I am training! lol But everything has been going great with my son :)

First of all...On tuesday, all of the trainers met at the house of the APs in guayaquil by the mission offices. One of the other trainers was Elder Baum! It was fun to talk to him. He's going to be a district leader now too! We were the only 'gringos' that are training this change :)

After about an hour and a half of waiting, we went to the mission offices and they gave us the suit name tag of our kid and then we had to go into a room where all of the greenies were and look for our kid haha. It was a little bit crazy and fun haha. I found my kid and they took a pic of us and sent us off to our sectors.

My companions name is Elder Contreras and he is from Nicaragua! He is barely 19 years old, an only child, and his dad is stake president :) He studied in the University before the mission and was studying Architecture! He also plays the piano really well, and plays violin. So...we've got some things in common :) This week has been great and I've been teaching him how to eat rice like an Ecuadorian lol.

And we've been teaching a little bit too haha. This week we put a marriage date for Luis and Maribel (the ones who gave us their J-dub bible) for the 9th of April and Baptism date for the 10th of April :) I hope they keep progressing well, and maybe we can move their dates to a little bit sooner :) Yesterday they came to District Conference and enjoyed it. Pres. Gamboa was there too and mentioned the names of the investigators that were there and they liked that haha.

Hmmm....last week the relief society made lasagna! With white sauce :) It was SOOO good...even the mushrooms! haha And they sang happy birthday to me :)

Something that I thought was funny from the conference yesterday... Instead of announcing 'a special musical number by the choir' they announced 'an intervention by the choir.' Like they thought we were fighting and the choir needed to intervene lol. random, but good for a laugh, i hope haha.

I heard the Apple Bottom jeans song this week. low low low low low low low. Made me think of home a bit lol.

People here point with their lips. It's pretty funny and I want to pick up the habit and bring it home with me after the mission haha.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but NOBODY here uses a fork or a knife. ONLY spoons! Try cutting meat with a spoon. Or eating spaghetti. It's hard. lol

Mom and dad, one of my house-comps wants a little English hymn book like i have. Would it be possible to send another one my way, please :) Thanks!

This week, with the Relief Society is going to make the Choc Chip cookies...and I'm going to teach them. Wish me luck! If the cookies don't turn out good, i'm fine with that. I'll just eat the dough lol.

Well, that's all for this week I think. A pic of Elder Contreras and I will be coming your way. I love you all SOOOOOOO much! You're the best fam in the world. Keep working hard. Keep writing letters :) Keep praying!

Love you all!
Love, Elder Beck

Pictures

Me, celebrating my birthday with my cake.

Oh yeah! We had baptisms this week too! One was of the branch and one for us. Jostyn Bacilio. The chubby one that's hugging a little boy haha.

My zone this past change

The family that celebrated our birthdays with an ice cream cake :)

And the bday decorations in the house :)

Cambios....again!

Hola mi querido familia!

How is everybody doing? I love you all SOOOOO much!

Not alot has happened this week (again) but there is some exciting/kinda crazy news coming soon :)

Something funny that happened this week... Elder Morataya and I were talking to this inactive Hermana. Out of the blue, Elder M pointed at the lady's belly and said "Is that belly from food or are you pregnant?!" and the hermana answered "No, I'm just fat." I wanted to say that line that we have in the family for moments like that one ("Are you a moron???") But I decided it would be better not to say it (and I don't know how to say moron en Español LOL). But, I doubt that that Hermana will be returning to church any time soon :P lol

This week has been full of birthday celebrations for Elder M and I. The RS made a cake for Elder M's birthday but not for mine cause they say you can't celebrate early, but you CAN celebrate late (typical of Ecuador...late lol). But this week they're making lasagna for my birthday :) I'm excited haha. And lots of members invited us to eat in their houses. I ate lots of good food this weekend...and VOLCANOES of rice haha. One family made us fried chicken and french fries, and bought an ice cream cake and everything. It was lots of fun :)

So, there is this one family that has a ranch with banana fields, animals, and tilapia ponds. And Pres. Gamboa has given us permission to eat fish only from them. So, this week one family bought tilapia from them and gave us fish for lunch. And guess what? I liked it! haha I would still prefer beef...but I was pretty good :)

I got a lot of packages this week from mom and dad, trevor and nicole, and grandma and grandpa :) I opened them on my birthday so that was lots of fun to have some birthday presents with lots of fun treats :) Thanks for all of that!

And finally...today was CAMBIOS!!!! Last night at about 10:30 the APs called and told Elder Morataya that he has going to a new sector (he's opening a new sector for his last change in the mission) and they told me that I needed to bring clothes for 2-3 days because I would be staying in Guayaquil. So we went to bed late last night and woke up really early this morning to get to the Guayaquil bus terminal at 8am. So when we got there I got my temporary companion until wednesday. Elder Romero from Bolivia! He has a brother here in the mission too..pretty crazy huh? So I am in the big city of guayaquil right next to La Florida in a sector called Bastión Popular. Supposedly it's dangerous...thankfully I'm only here until wednesday hahah. And on Wednesday I will be returning to Vinces 2 with my "son" !!!!! I am going to be training this change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHH!! haha Kinda crazy lol. But I will go and do what the Lord wants me to do :)

So, that's the big news for this week. Next week you will be receiving pics of me and my new companion :) Pray for me extra hard this week. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous lol. But I know that the Lord will help me, especially with prayer. Last night I said a prayer and I immediately felt calm and happy. The miracles of prayer really are amazing. Sorry the letter's a little short. Thanks for everything family! I love you all SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much! You're the best in the world!

Love, Elder Beck

Pictures 3-1-10

Me with the 'Christ the Redeemer' replica in the Background

Me with Zenovia (She asked me to baptize her)

Lunch...'ecua-spaghetti' with french fries and salad

Brownies, Baptism, and Birthdays

Hola mi querido familia!

Como están todos? Espero que estén bien :)

Well...this week there wasn't alot of funny or crazy things that happened, but it was still a good (and FAST) week! I can't believe that it is March already! Once again...time flies by!

(read the following paragraph as if you had a lisp...) So, one day I was looking up a word in the dictionary and came across the word 'lisp'. I've always thought that word was kinda funny and mean cause the people that have a lisp can't say that they have a lisp without people laughing at them lol. But, in Spanish it's even worse.....the word for lisp in Spanish is 'ceceo' (pronounced say-say-oh...or if you have a lithp...... they-they-oh). I laughed SO hard when I read that that was the word and thought of someone with a strong lisp trying to say it hahaha. Forgive me please if someone with a lisp reads this.... :)

On thursday the RS sisters made brownies in their weekly activity and gave us elders some, too. And they were SO good! It has been too long since I have eaten brownies lol. And I got to 'lick the bowl' too. I was in heaven haha :)

Almost exactly 24 hours after the earthquake in Chile there was a small earthquake here in Ecuador! It was strong enough to shake my bed and wake me up... But by the time that I realized that it wasn't my companion shaking my bed, it was over haha. Still pretty exciting and crazy though. It is a weird sensation to feel an earthquake.

I got some packages this week from home!!!! Thanks so much!! I love the valentines card that you send mom and dad...it smells like chocolate! haha And my english hymn book...I was excited to see that :) And everything else you sent was great! I am always surprised to see how much you fit into those envelopes/boxes haha.

Today is Elder Morataya's birthday...he is 27! I thought I was going to be old.... lol I still can't believe that I will be 20 years old on Saturday. Thanks to all of you for the birthday wishes :) My comp and I are going to find something tasty to eat this week to celebrate :) It won't be Tony Roma's.....but it'll still be good haha.

ON SATURDAY WE HAD A BAPTISM!!!!!!! Edilma Zenovia Lozano Muñoz got baptized saturday, and confirmed sunday. She bore her testimony after her baptism and it was awesome. She said that the past is in the past, and now she doesn't have to worry about it. And that she will always pray to understand the scriptures. And some other great stuff. Powerful testimony...and it always strengthens my testimony to hear converts' testimonies. It was pretty funny when we were inviting people to her baptism cause her name -Zenovia- sounds like 'su novia' (which means 'your girlfriend'). So everybody thought we were saying that their girlfriend was getting baptized. We got some funny responses like "My girlfriend is already a member." and "I don't have a girlfriend?!" Fun stuff lol.

Random for Mom......the other day I was drinking from a water bottle and it made that whistling noise that you do when you drink from water bottles sometimes. It made me think of you :) haha Good times :)

Well, I hope everything is great in the North :) I love you all SOOOOO much! Eat some cake and ice cream for me on saturday! Or just ice cream..... :) lol

Love ya!
Love, almost-20-year-old Elder Beck