THE TRUNKY FEELING IS NOT GOOD

Hola Amigos

So this week was good, but I was sick for a lot of it and it was hard to not let the evil monsters of trunkiness to get over me. I'm fine now though. =P

So the person we met with drinking problems last week just kinda disappeared which is a little sad, but if he really wants to follow God he will find the missionaries.

Jazmin didn't come to church this week, so we'll have to see what happened and help her to keep talking steps to get closer to God. Her children are really good at helping her do what's right. She was just about to drink coffee when her children stopped her, so I think we are making good progress.

Also I talked a few weeks ago about a person named Carmen. She's come to church now twice and she invited her daughter in law Katerine to also listen to us. They both have lots of excitement to hear about God and to do what's right. Carmen has lots of questions for us this week.

We went to baños again for our free day today. This time we went to some tree houses with big swings high in the mountains.

Here are a few pictures.

Two years have gotten to me. I'm sick

Hola todos!

This week was really busy. We had interviews on Wednesday and we had to stay in ambato for the afternoon. I forgot how cold and dry the air felt there. On Thursday we had zone conference and got back to the sector at about 7:00. Then on Friday and Saturday we had service in the morning as we helped members and nonmembers clean a house lot and move a bunch of rocks. 

Finally on Sunday a member invited us to go to her house to teach her drunk ex husband. She sent him away to Quito because of his drinking problems, and he wandered back after two years. He wasn't very receptive on Sunday because he was drunk, but we went by and visited him today in our P-day and he was really really interested in stopping his bad habits and getting married with the member. I feel blessed that we could help him make the first step to that on our preparation day. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Jazmín came to church this week. It looks like she really wants to be baptized because we didn't even visit her this week and she came to church anyway. I feel blessed for being able to teach such prepared people.

Although all the craziness and working for two years has gotten me feverous and tired. I'm frustrated that it has to be happening in my last month of my mission, but my body ́s imperfect and it can ́t keep up with what my mind wants to do. Oof. I'll have to take it easy in the part of my mission where I would like to take it so much harder.

Here are a few pictures 

ñuncamunani!

Elder Cloward

Rainbows, Purple Potatoes, White tigers, and quichua

Ali chishi 

This week was really great. I personally feel that my energies have been down. In other words, I find myself more and more tired as the days pass. I was feeling discouraged about my lack of energy when God sent this.

I felt like it was a bit of a message to us about how we were doing a marvelous work and he was proud of it. 

Also this week I cooked some chinese potatoes, which are like potatoes but kinda purple.

This week we met a few new really great people.

Gonzalo and Diego are a father and a son that we met this week while we were contacting. Diego has lots of faith in God and loved hearing our message. Gonzalo was looking for the true church for a long time but didn't find anything so he kinda gave up. But we found him!

Also we were waiting for a member of the church who was going to join us in a visit and decided to eat some salchipapas. The most common fast food in Ecuador. We started talking to the vendor and she told us all about her interest to follow God due to the fact he had saved her life. We went back later and she came to church on sunday! She reminds me a lot of Marialena who is a person that I baptized a year ago in Santo Domingo. I'm excited to keep teaching her. 

Also this was Jazmin's last week in her beauty class so she's coming to church this week! 

We are about to see a lot of success with them and a few others so I'm pretty happy about it.

Today for P-day we went to the zoo. Here was the coolest animal there.

And here is a picture of my companion and I being awesome

That's about all folks 

Ñuncanunami

Elder Cloward

The coffee robbers

Hola Amigos!

We had a really good week. Elder Williams was sick for a part of it, and due to the holiday (Day of the Dead) a good lot of the people we were planning on teaching were visiting their ancestors in cemeteries. So we weren't able to find a lot of new people this week, but we did teach about the word of wisdom to Jazmin. The word of wisdom is God's modern law of health given to a modern day prophet. Members of the church and those preparing to be baptized abstain from consuming alcohol, tobacco, drugs, tea, and coffee. After we taught about it, she said "I know that drinking coffee was bad for my health but I didn't know it was a sin. She gave us her bag of fresh coffee grounds. That is the first time someone has been so willing to keep the commandments that they have given up their vice. We are the coffee robbers. =P

It reminds me of a passage of scripture I read this week. In Alma, a group of missionaries leave to preach to a wicked people and through their preaching they get this to happen.

7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren. 

All of us in life have to give up our vices, and I am really proud of Jazmín for doing it.

That's all folks!

Elder Cloward

he lighting on this picture wasn't that great, but I've got the coffee bag in there. And we are both wearing our ponchos. 

hhhoney

Hola Amigos!

This week was great! 

My new companion is named Elder Williams. He's probably the funniest companion I've had so far. He can talk like over a dozen fictional characters from movies and shows. My favorite is his winnie the pooh voice. "Hmm Elder Cloward, do you have some hhhoney?" With lots of stress on the hhhhhhoney.

Also when we get back home in the evening he is a walking radio and just sings every single song that comes to his head. It's fun. I think his goofiness will help me to be a lot happier

This week we had two grande miracles.

First Jazmin accepted a baptismal date. It's a little far out (in December), but she felt the spirit really strong about it.

Then we were out walking when a man (Giovanni) stopped us looking for work. A lot of times here people talk to us and ask for money or things like that because we look like rich americans, but he was just looking for work so we told him to come to church on Sunday and he could find some people to help him with that. Nobody new came to church for us except HIM! He said that he was out walking and a member also invited him to church so he decided to come and he liked it a lot. We set a lesson to see him on wednesday in the morning and we also saw him randomly today. God just put him in our path. 

A person who we were teaching gave us a basket of fruit and vegetables that she had traded for deodorant and other hygiene products in a jungle village. How cool is that? 

Also I forgot to take a picture with my companion so here we are.

And with that I'll be finished for the day.

Chau!

Elder Cloward

Staying in the jungle maybe till the end...

Hola Amigos!

All of the problems here in Ecuador seem to have helped us out. Even though we couldn't go out teaching God seemed to play his parts in helping people change their lives this week.}

We've been teaching a family of a single mom and her three kids (Jazmin, the mom, and Alex Jordi and Jadelín). The oldest son is best friends of the branch president's son, and has come to church quite a bit, and when we went to teach them this week the spirit was really present and they all were really excited to keep learning and come to church!

Also a while ago we found a family of 4 (Familia Padilla) and they showed a lot of interest at the beginning but it was hard to meet with them often. This week we taught the parents and the mother Vanesa said she felt chills as we taught her. She recognized it as the spirit. It was great!

The Zambrano family who have the 9 year old unbaptized daughter also promised to be better about visits and the mom said a really powerful prayer at the end of our lesson. 

The sad part about this all is that Elder Gomez got changes this week. We were both thinking that I would leave the sector and he would stay to direct it, but we were surprised to hear that he was getting changed to Quito and I am staying here, perhaps till the end. 

I am going to miss Elder Gomez a lot. He may as well be the best companion I've had here in Ecuador.  He's shown such great love to me and all of the people we have been teaching. I love him a lot, but he has finished his training and needs to go to other places now.

Today for p-day we found a place to buy jungle spears and stuff like that and because 2 of us four elders here in Puyo are leaving we took a lot of pictures.

Here are a few

That's all folks.

See you next week!

Elder Cloward