Hey everyone, well this week was alright. We had like two days to work in our sector because of trips. This week will be the same unfortunately, so my time is very short here in the jungle. I dont know how I'm going to be able to leave this sector. I've given so much to it. I've never walked closer to Christ than I have in this sector. It has been an incredible experience. I was reading the letter that dad sent me four months ago right when I got here with the challenge he left me, and I realized that things went how God was planning. The real challenge in that letter was not to stay positive and serve others not so the plan we had would take affect but to stay positve and serve others after we didn't get the results we wanted. You trully were inspired when you sent that to me four months ago. I do know that God knows what he's doing and that I was able to get done what needed to get done for the good of this branch in the future. It's been a great experience and this week I have been happier. I'm enjoying the last days I have here in the jungle. I'm nervous now because the time I spent in the jungle is what I have left. I don't know where my mission went, but a good chunk has gone by without me even knowing about it. Truth is I dont want to come home. I dont want to leave the sector, and I don't want to leave Ecuador. I just want to be a missionary my whole life. I know that God knows what he's doing and that he will bring to pass the salvation of many souls in Coca long after I'm gone. I'm just happy to say I was here to prepare the way for the future elders that come and harvest like beasts here! I love you guys! I'll talk ya next week. Hasta luego!
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This week was interesting. To tell ya the truth it was a long week. New Years took a pretty good hit on the week. But we did what we could. Here in Ecuador for New Years they build life like statues out of paper of movie characters or players on sports teams and they write a testament of what they are leaving behind in the past year and looking forward to in the coming year, and they burn them. It's their tradition. There was a bunch. It was pretty dead though. In Coca they didn't really do hardly anything. Everyone was gone. There were more chickens in the street than people so our week was pretty slow. We still don't have anyone progressing. The zone and really the whole mission dropped for the holidays. Now that it's all gone we hope to start building things back up. I can't believe that 2016 is here. I feel like it should be 2015. Last year flew by. I'm a little bit nervous that this year will do the same. It's weird walking around new missionaries and watching their faces when you tell them you have almost 19 months. I feel like I was in their shoes yesterday. Now it's time to leave it all on the field. Things are going good out here. Always learning and trying to get better,. It's been a great experience in the jungle. I'm grateful I was able to come here and do what I did. I truly gave it everything I had. I have nothing more to give to the branch. Sometimes I still feel like it just wasn't enough, but in the future good things will happen. God is running the branch and he knows what he's doing so I'm at peace with that. I read a scripture that hit me pretty hard this week. It's in Mosiah 14:10. It's talking about how Christ suffered so much in the atonement, how he was wounded for out transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities and how he was oppressed and opened not his mouth and how he wasn't esteemed of men. I thought to myself, why did he suffer so much after not doing anything wrong. He gave everything he had to the people and did everything he could for them, and they still rejected him and his gospel. In verse 10 it says, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him." It wasn't until 2000 years after his death that the Gospel of Jesus Christ made it into the entire world. It wasn't until 2000 years later that it began to be accepted and shared to everyone. Even though not everyone is accepting it even today, it's fulfilling its purpose. It was simply the Will of of God that it happened that way. The same with Abinadi. He testified to the death probably thinking nobody believed him. Now around 2000 years later much of the Book of Mormon is in our hands thanks to the boldness he had before the priests of Noah. I haven't done anything like them, but I do wonder sometimes if the fruits of our efforts will come in a future a day, simply because it pleased the Lord that way. One of the greatest blessing I've received in this sector is to have been able to take a step or two in the Savior's shoes. It was hard but God gave me the opportunity and I'm grateful for it. I have a firm faith the what we have done won't be in vain, even though I struggle with not seeing success right now, I do have a strong hope it will come in the future and that we will have helped a tiny bit in blessing the branch. I love you guys and that's about what I've got today. I have a few pics that I'll try to send. Hasta luego
Well, I just talked to ya Friday so there isn't too much to say other than today we went to the Zoo. It was fun, we saw all the animals and it was fun. Also this week I met a guy from Guayaquil who belongs to one of the richest families in Ecuador. He's a returned missionary and a super cool guy. He had some good ideas about the branch and we are going to see what we can do. He served in California and is currently studying in BYU Idaho, so hes fluent in English. He bought us a ton of pizza today so that was cool. He's a cool guy. Things are good out here., We are just preparing for new years. The zone is pretty down right now, so we are trying to build it back up to where we had it. It will take some work, but we will get there. We have good plans. Things are normal out here. We will see what happens here in the future. I love ya guys and I'll send the pics and talk to ya next week.
Hola familia and friends! This week was cool. We had a baptism in Carachupa, and it was awesome. It was a super cool experience, but what made it cooler was Elder Barnes watching for Boa Constrictors while we were in the water because the members said there had been one hanging around Carachupa. It was legit, but we didn't see anything. Bryan Steven Eras Rodriguez did get baptized though. He was very happy, and it was a cool service. It was one of the cooler baptisms I've had. I was happy. We had a good week. It was productive. We got to see some more monkeys running around. That's always cool but it's weird to say I'm almost accustomed to seeing that haha. Its been a great one of a kind experience in the jungle. I'm very grateful that God sent me here. Not many get this chance and it's been a life changer for me. I've been able to do things I'd never imagined I'd do. See things I never thought I'd see. It's been a great experience out here. Unfortunately the plan with the folders and family history work has fallen through. The members just weren't ready for it I guess. We tried so hard but we have reached the point where there is no more we can do, We hope the branch can grow still but it looks rough in the future, Elder Arrieta and I are getting along great. He has helped me out a ton and done a lot of great work here. I have pictures of the baptismal service. Today there isn't a ton to write about, but I love you guys, and I'll talk to ya Friday! Hola Familia and friends! This week was awesome! We had a Christmas dinner, lots of sun, changes, and a baptism. The Christmas dinner was awesome. I can't believe it's my last one. It was weird raising my hand when president asked who was in their second dinner. Time is flying by. It was delicious though. This week Minerva Helena Hurtado Calderon was baptized in the Rio Coca. It was a good service and everyone was happy. She asked us if she can accompany on visits to prepare for a mission. It was awesome. I can't wait to tell you the story of her mother on Christmas day. Her mother is also getting baptized in the end of January or the beginning of February. It's powerful, so powerful I won't write about it because written words just don't get the job done with this one! Changes came in this Sunday and I'll be staying with Elder Arrieta another change. He is the best comp ever. He is pretty much my right hand man with a lot of things. The Branch is doing well, but there still aren't any fruits from the folders or trainings. Only one organization is completing with everything. It's a bummer, but we gave and are giving everything we have. I'm at peace with it. I have done everything my position allows me to do. Bryan Rodriguez is set to go this Saturday for a baptism, and he chose to go to the waterfall of Carachupa, and he wants me to baptize him so I'll get to baptize at the waterfall. That's kind of cool haha. He was a miracle. He came out of nowhere when we had nobody to teach. For our Christmas dinner, I don't know if we will be able to pull it off, but we are trying to get a hold of monkey meat, Iguana meat, and Boa Constrictor meat to eat. It's around here but it's hard to find. It would be the most legit Christmas dinner ever haha! This month in the Oriente Norte zone there is a chance to once again break the record but it's on the fence right now, we aren't sure if we will be able to pull it off. Either way the month should be alright. It's been fun out here. It's harder than heck sometimes but it's been a crazy awesome experience. I love this work so much! I can't believe my time is actually starting to look a little short. It's gone by way too fast, but there is still lots of work to be done. I love it out here, and I Love you guys. I'll talk to ya next week. Hasta luego
Hola familia and friends! This week was rough. We had a trip to Quito for mission council and it was good. It took us out of our sector for most of the week so that was a bummer but it was alright. Minerva Calderon from my sector will be getting baptized on Saturday which is awesome. We are all excited for that. It has been cool to see her conversion. When I call I'll tell you guys the story of her mom. You won't even believe it! Her mom would get baptized but her husband doesn't want to get married so that's a problem but it's a powerful family. Bryan Rodriguez who was a reference of a recent convert family is doing very well, Actually the family that gave us the reference has a son that isn't baptized and we watched the First Vision video with him and Bryan was like a member who was accompanying us. He bore a super powerful testimony of the restoration and invited them to pray about it. It was nuts. He is getting baptized on the 19th, but he's already to do visits with us right now haha. It was one of the most powerful moments of my mission. It was nuts. Good things are happening here, but there is a lot of opposition. Two of the elders got robbed in Coca this week and lost everything, so we had to sort that out. The other elders have been super sick and it's just been a crazy week. Things are trying to come together, but it will be interesting to see how it comes out. We are working like crazy so that things come out good. We still aren't seeing a whole lot of progress in the branch. We are close but we still lack a lot, and we have reached a point where we now can't do almost anything. We did activities. trainnings, visits, and services to help them get on track and they haven't made it yet. I don't know what is going to happen in the future. I just hope things work out because we have given everything to this branch. We've accomplished what has never been accomplished, but we haven't accomplished what we most want to yet. I live and die for this work and I live and die for hastening it in the best way possible. It's been my goal since I was called in the Teacher's quorum through seminary and now in every zone as a missionary. If we pulled off this plan we'd move a mountain. It would be incredible. I hope we can. Until the day they take me out I'll be working for it. This week we have a Christmas dinner with `President so that should be fun. That's about all that's going on right now. I love you guys. Talk to ya later.
Sometimes we learn more about Easton's area and what he is doing through reading blogs written by other missionaries serving with Easton. Easton is not great with details. the following is from an Elder Dyal's blog entry this week. It gives a better description of the work Easton is doing.
This week has been a great week for us here in Coca. To start off, Elder Nielson, the zone leader here in Coca, came up with a plan to boast up Rama Orellana so that it has better retention for our recent converts and reactivated members. We started with a training meeting that took place last week with the branch council. We talked to the presidents of the auxiliaries in the branch on how to use binders and files and how to fill everything out to make their calling more organized and simplified. The Sur America Nortoeste area leaders have trained and asked the stake presidents to use these rules to make their stake council more eficaz, so we thought it would be good to also have the branch use it as well. Another idea of Elder Nielson's was to have a branch activity called "Vuela a Hawaii" which explained the plan of salvation but in a way no one was expecting. It was like this: Everyone started on a free plane ride to Hawaii and were given fake money and told to use it wisely. When we landed in Hawaii, there were a bunch of activities everyone was able to do. There was a movie theater, karaoke, basketball, and also activities that would waste time. In all these kinds of activities, one had to use their money to participate. And then there were activities that you could gain money instead of use it. These activities were a little more boring but had to do with reading scriptures or learning something new, like using your time well. After an hour or so, everyone got back on the plane to go back to Ecuador. But on the plane ride there was a "freak accident" and everyone "died". Then we were in the afterlife and we explained that there was going to be a judgement for their use of time and how much money they still had. Then they were assigned to either the Telestial, Terrestial, or Celestial Kingdoms. The day that we were suppose to be at the church for that activity, Elder Perez and I had a bunch of difficulties getting there. As we were on the bus going to the church, there was a accident that delayed us almost 2 hours. We had an activity planned during the "money exchange" time, but when we finally made it to the activity, it had already started. So instead, we were judges for the final judgement. We changed into baptismal clothes (in all white) to be judges and then we were angels in the Celestial Kingdom. It turned out to be a really good activity. But some people were upset with the kingdom they were assigned to... :p Hola familia and friends! This week was pretty cool. It was full of new experiences, a new a record, and a lot of rain. First of all to answer your question dad, I have seen alligators out here. They aren't close to the city, but there is a place about a half an hour out of Coca where there are alligators and I've seen them. They are cool. There are also Boa Constrictors in all the rivers. I haven't seen one yet, but I really want to. There are all kinds of things out here haha. Including the piranha! I ate a piranha yesterday. I'll bet none of you have done that. It was pretty decent. I like Tilapia more but the piranha was pretty good too. The traditional Coca style of fishing here is awesome. They have a powder that comes from a plant that they throw in the rivers and it drugs the fish so that they swim slower. Then with their own two hands they grab the fish. They grabbed three piranhas this week. There is a recent convert family who went fishing for a branch activity. It's legit. We went fishing last Monday with a fishing line, and a bolt for weight and nothing else. It was awesome, but we didn't have a lot of time to stay there. This month, once again we have broken the record for baptisms in a month. Our last record was nice, but this time we finally broke double digits. We made it to ten and we were stoked. It was a good month for us. This week it was incredibly hot as well. The sun in Coca is unbelievably hot. It burned us up during the week. We have a very large teaching pool right now. We have worked like crazy to get out and find people and we have been able to do so very well lately. Now we just need to make sure these people progress. We have two baptisms set in stone for this month, maybe three in our sector, and we are happy about that. My comp and I are doing super good. Elder Arrieta is awesome. We have not had even one problem with anything. I never thought I'd say that about a Peruvian, Did I say that out-loud? oops. . . This week we didn't have great attendance at church because Sunday morning it poured rain like a beast. We were soaked when we got the the church and we live two blocks away. It's been good here in the oriente. I'm loving it here. It's hard, but we have been working as hard as we can and we are being blessed for it. I love you guys and I'll talk to ya next week. Hasta luego.
Hola familia and friends! This week was the craziest week of my life. We got the training with the branch council out of the way and it was great but that was only the first part. We also had a baptism in "La Cascada De Carachupa." The translation of that is the Waterfall of Facesuck. I don't why they named it that, but I'm sure someday soon I'll figure it out. It's a super cool waterfall though. The baptism went very well as well. We worked liked beasts this week and we had some good success. Bryan Rodriguez is progressing well and he will be baptized on the 12th of December. He wants to be a missionary which is super cool. He's awesome. Minerva Calderon has already started inviting people to her baptism on the 12th of December and there are others who can also be baptized in December. We are happy about that. We did an activity this week called the flight to Hawaii. We assigned four organizations to help us out. Well we get there to decorate and explain everything and one organization showed up, so in a moment of panic, we had to improvise a huge activity with tons of different parts. I volunteered to take on the management of three game at once; Elder Herrera took on one of the biggest activities by himself; my comp did a jeopardy game by himself; and there were many more things we had to do because nobody got there, but somehow we pulled it off. Elder Barnes was directing 65 people and throwing up every 30 minutes. It was awful but we did it, and it turned out being one of the best activities ever. It was crazy though. We went above and beyond the call of duty for that one. Then Saturday night after finishing this activity while us six elders were walking out of the chapel almost dead from the activity, the first councilor of the presidency assigned me a talk for the next day. It was good, so i gave my talk and we found out we lost our ward mission leader this week so we had to improvise gospel principles class. It went well. I had baptismal interviews to do, so I actually wasn't there but the elders did it well. Then our lunch fell through on Sunday. That was a bummer but another family gave us some rice and an egg. It was good. I can't complain. It was a crazy week, but there is a scripture that says "Hold on thy way" and that is what we are doing here in Coca. God is preparing the way and we are doing everything we can to be in the right place at the right time. That's about what happened this week. I love you guys and I'll talk to ya next week.
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AuthorThis blog is dedicated to Easton Nielson's mission to Ecuador Quito North Mission. Archives
March 2016
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