The Art of Roasting Marshmallows -Week 11

Everything´s great in Zion! This last Monday we had a Family Home Evening and taught the good people of Abdon Calderon the art of roasting marshmallows, haha. We also acted out Ammon defending King Limhi´s sheep.

It was too nice.

Most of the people we talk to don´t even believe I speak English. They´re like, "Really? But can you speak it well?" I take it as a compliment. Also, EVERYONE thinks that Elder Moore and I are between the ages of 25-38. It´s super funny to see their reactions when we tell them we´re 19. Everyone here, even the 70 year old women, watch Dragon Ball Z and know everything about it. I´m not exaggerating. A lot of the people here have a hard time learning, or they can´t read. So we always use visual aids  with anything we can think of. We´ve been getting more and more creative.

There was a man who came up to us asking for money. He said "I´m far from my country. I'm hungry. I´m tired, and I don´t have any money" It was super funny because little did he know, we were in the same situation, too. My companion and I were teaching a man who approached us on the street, when he said "Wait, let me get my song book" He came back with a Hymn book! Apparently, missionaries had been teaching him before. We sang for him, and it was nice. We decided to sing to everyone we taught this week. We´re like David Archuleta, but better :)

Love,

Elder Najera

Week 10- New Missionary Training

Elder Moore and I have been doing a ton of contacting this week! We´ve been working hard and walking a TON. There´s a place where we buy pan(bread) every day for dinner, and it´s delicious. We finally have a ward mission leader after about 4 months of not having one, so we´ll be able to receive a lot more help getting people to church. I still miss Denver a bit, but that´s gradually going away as we find more and more people. Also, the blisters on my feet are kind of going away I think.

Love,

Elder Najera

New Missionary Training

New Missionaries and Their Trainers

Week 9- Lots of Walking in Manta

The mission life here is completely different from Colorado. It is a lot more difficult, and I still haven`t adapted. I am learning a lot from my companion. Elder Moore has taught me the importance of talking with everyone here. So we talk with every person we pass. Sadly, he has been deathly ill. Yesterday, after going to church and eating lunch (Elder Moore wasn`t able to eat anything at all), we returned to our apartment and were told by the zone leaders that we were not allowed to leave the apartment.  Manta is very much like Tijuana. Well, the way everything looks. It is much more humid though. It is more humid than in any other place I`ve lived in. I`ve accepted the fact that I`ll be sweating 24/7 for the next two years. The Spanish here isn`t the same Spanish that I`ve been hearing for the past 19 years. Apparently, that`s just here in Ecuador though. Many people slur their words together and have weird words for many things. However, I can communicate with the missionaries from other Latin countries just fine. The big meal here is lunch or "almuerzo". They usually give us a huge plate of rice with some potatoes and a little bit of meat, a bowl of soup, and delicious juice. I love the food here. It`s different, and delicious. We use U.S. money to pay for everything. Ecuador illegally prints U.S.currency and makes their own coins. So yeah. I have blisters on my feet like never before. We walk more in a day here than we would in a week in Denver. My man Elder Humphries is in my zone, and we see our zone every week for weekly planning at the church, so that`s pretty cool. Well, that`s all for today.

Love,

Elder Najera

In Denver

Traveling to Ecuador

Photos of Elder Najera arriving in Ecuador

I've arrived in Ecuador - Week 8.5

I´ve arrived in Ecuador without a hitch. So President Murdoch drove us to
the Denver Airport at 11:00 pm on Monday only to find out that our flight
had left 24 hours before. Two hefty fees later, we found ourselves on the
last two spots available for the Miami plane. We waited at the Miami
Airport for 10 hours and finally flew to Ecuador where President Dennis was
very happy to see that we had made it at last. Last night Elder Humphries
and I stayed with the other missionaries at the apartments they have at the
Guayaquil Temple. We were able to do a temple session the next morning and
then we went to the mission office where we got our new companions and
Elder Humphries and I were interviewed by the President. Elder Humphries
and I have been sent to the Manta area. About a 4 or 5 hour drive north of
Guayaquil. My new companion is Elder Moore. Like Elder Baughan, he too is a
district leader. And like two of my previous companions, he is a blonde
white man from the states. But he´s been out for a year and communicates
without a hitch. I quickly learned that the spanish here is very different
and slurred, so it is hard for me to understand a lot of the people.
However, they still know what I´m saying, and I don´t feel like it will
take me too long to understand what they´re saying. Well, that´s all for
now!

Love,
Elder Najera

P.s. We usually took about 2 hours for emailing in Denver. Here, we are
only allowed a maximum of 1 hour every preparation day. So expect shorter
emails

Week 8

We went to a single house, and a woman answered and allowed us to teach her
about the restoration on her doorstep. We didn't think she was even highly
interested, but after teaching her, she gave us her number and allowed us
to schedule a return appointment with her. When returned to teach her, she
wasn't home. However, her 18 year old son answered the door. He didn't seem
too interested, either. However, he too allowed us to teach him about the
restoration on the doorstep. Again, we scheduled a return appointment so
that we could continue to visit with him.  Upon our second return to this
house, ANOTHER woman answered the door. She did not seem pleased to see us
at all. When we asked if she would like to hear our message she gave us a
sort of "Yeah. Sure." So that was promising. But we taught her a doorstep
restoration lesson anyway. When the lesson was over, she admitted that she
had been praying to God. Praying for comfort and for a way out of the hole
she was in. She thanked us for coming, and scheduled a return appointment
with us. Believe it or not, when we returned to teach her, she was not
there. Four kids answered the door. And for the first time in the history
of the universe, WE ENTERED THE HOUSE. Instead of teaching them about the
restoration, we taught them the 10 commandments using hand signals that I
had been taught by  Elder Cabas. We had SO MUCH fun teaching them! When we
left, they were so happy and insisted that we come back the next night.
When we came back the next night, they insisted that we come back the next
night. They're the best. And one of their moms is stoked on us teaching
them.

Here's some pictures of our District P day (Super fun) Sadly, district P
days are now prohibited. We played Mafia, and the Skittles game. Sister
Torres has health problems and sadly had to go home :( But we had a bomb
last p day.

That's all for now

Love, Elder najera.