Through Thick and Thin‏

Hello my mother.  Whew well it`s been a craaazy week.  Where do I begin.  First off, YEAH!  Kyle`s back.  You`ll have to tell me how he`s doing.  He must have extended right?  Have you heard anything about Ben getting back?  

Wow Ty`s leaving.  Two weeks in the MTC and then he`s off to California.  Man, I wish I remembered what the letter I sent Ty says.  I remember telling him what really matters but more than that... well it was for him and I`m glad it`s helped him.  If you see him before he goes tell him I love him and tell his parents that everything will be great and not to worry, he`s in the Lord`s hands.

And happy mother`s day to Nicole!  Sheesh when I left nobody was married or had babies and now I`ll be coming back to find Grandma and Grandpa great grandparents and my teenage cousins all grown up.  Good grief two years makes all the difference.

Ah, speaking of difference, thanks for the package!  I got it all!  I had forgotten that I said that I missed pop tarts, and then I find them in the box! Sweet!  Thanks a lot.  I believe in the law of consecration though and had to give my two companions some, they had never even seen pop tarts before! I told you all that I`m with Elder Dos Santos again now right?  No?  Well I am.  We`re in a trio.  Who`d have thought I`d be back with this crazy brazilian again?  Asi es la vida.

Okay as for what we`ve done, I went to the mountain Cayambe last Monday, thus you can see the photo.  I love Ecuador, I can be 16,000 feet up in the snow and wind, and four hours later I can be in the hot humid Amazon rain forest or a beach by the pacific ocean.  Can`t get much better than that!!

So one thing that`s really struck me this week was when the zone leaders showed up at our door Saturday morning saying that President Ghent wanted to talk with us.  uuuuuh ooohhh.....  So they call him and I talk to President first, he informs me that my companion, Elder Granda´s, dad had died.  He told me not to tell him yet but that we needed to go to the offices where Elder Granda`s bishop would be waiting for us because President was in a stake conference in Esmeraldas.  I said okay and said we would help Elder Granda as much as possible.  I then told my companions that we had to go to the offices to talk with Elder Kaneen, the finances elder.  On the bus ride I couldn`t help praying for poor Elder Granda who just seemed so happy right there and then.  I tried to talking to him, tried to prepare him, talking about his study of the Atonement and one of his favorite scriptures, D&C 122:7, but there`s no way to prepare someone for a thing like that.  Finally we arrived at the empty offices, all empty except for Elder Kaneen (a senior missionary) and the bishop from Machala.  There Elder Granda heard the news and called his family.  

Now I`ve learned several things from this last couple of days, first and foremost I`ve come to understand another face of the Atonement.  While in the bus I prayed asking Heavenly Father to put some of the pain and sorrow of Elder Granda on me, that he wouldn`t have to take this on by himself, that I would be able to feel what he was feeling and help make his burden more light.  That`s when the thoughts came to my head saying, you don`t have to, He already did.  Christ already took upon himself our sorrows and heart ache.  He already knows how we feel so He can succor us according to our "sicknesses" or trials that we pass through.  Elder Granda`s faith shouldn`t be on me, but on the Savior because He`s the one who`s drank from the bitter cup.  So that helped me know where I should direct people`s vision when they`re suffering.  I can always help and try to provide comfort but never as well as Jesus can.

Now my companion has gone through this trial remarkably well.  He`s been doing great and has been able to continue working and has stayed focused.  Of course he misses his father but things are different here on the mission. What goes on at home doesn`t feel real.  Or sometimes the Spirit has more opportunity to comfort us.  So he`s been doing great.  This has taught me that I have absolutely nothing to brag about.  These last few months I`ve been with companions that have lost loved ones, that have gone through terrible pain and injury, that are the only members in their entire family and thus receive no support from family members whatsoever, yet they`re here serving the Lord.  They`re here giving the best of themselves.  Maybe they understand something that elders such as I (the type with great family support, years in the church, good health, and that have made little sacrifice) haven`t fully understood yet, that the mission isn`t about us, it`s about the people we serve.  It`s about our brothers and sisters who haven`t had the chance yet to know the gospel.  It`s about the lives and generations that we can change.  So people ask, why can these young men and women make such sacrifices and leave so much behind?  BECAUSE IT`S THE TRUTH!!  There`s absolutley no other reason.  I`ve personally seen the sacrifice, prayers, and tears of these companions and I know that there could be nothing save the very work of salvation that would make them give up so much for nothing in return.  This the work of God and I`m so grateful I`ve been able to a part of it.  I`m also grateful that Christ`s sacrifice is very real, and His Atonement really does give us strength in times of trial.  What else can I say?

Other than that we`re doing well.  We`ll be working harder this week.  We`ll be doing our best.  Thankfully, I have no time to be trunky with a companion to help and train as well as a ward to help and people to teach.  So pray for us please!  Thanks for all your help and all you`ve done for me.  I`m very grateful for all the support I have from home and for the things I learned there.  Stay strong, have a great week, and do what`s right!  I love ya guys! Adios!

Re: Hello June 2‏

Hello Mom I`m sorry, we had another zone activity hiking to a mountain and so I don`t have time.  Forgive me!  I`ll write next week. I`m feeling better and am doing better.  The Cortes family was married and baptized this weekend so I`m happy.  It`ll be a good week.  Good work in Washington DC, have a great week I love you guys!

Trunky Papersssss.‏

Well the things finally got here!  But I have a few questions about what it wants to know and I`ll ask you.

What airport am I going to?  Do I go all the way to Alamosa or do I go to Denver?

It also asks me if I`ll need transport from the airport to my house.  Do I?

And that`s about it!  OH, what`s our direction?  411150 County Road T right?  Just to be safe :)

HELP ME!  and thanks for doing so.  I love you!

Forward, Pushing Forwa

Hello my long lost family!  So I am jealous that you`re in Washington DC.  All those museums sound like nirvana to me.  Some day I`ll go!  But hope you`re enjoying it.

Okay so I have a lot of catching up to do.  Let`s start from Monday or Tuesday of last week.

So I got my results back and I have amoebae.... I asked the nurse what the heck that was and she said they`re like little fish, so I said I have fish inside me?! and she said no but she likes to think of it that way.  They live in my colon.  Great.  I also went to the doctor Tuesday morning and I also had a sinus infection and so they gave me a shot for that and some 20 pills to take over the next few days.  (haha getting a shot from an Ecuadorian nurse.

Brett - sooo how long have you worked here?

Nurse- Two years.

Brett - ah yeah?  Great.

Nurse - Pull your pants down and lay on the table.

Brett - Eh? Oh yeah okay.  How big is the needle?....CHUTA! Have mercy!

Nurse - Ready?  Relax

Brett -  Oh they always tell me to relax right before jabbing a needle in my rear.  Hey, aren`t you supposed to rub alcohol or something?

Nurse - Of course!  We`re just as trained as Americans! (aaaand then injects me)  

And I limped out of the clinic with the dignity of a sheared lamb.)

Then I had to take some urine tests, get some blood drawn, and then the people in the lab rejected my urine ("It`s because I`m white isn`t it?!")  and I had no problems with my blood.  Which is good I was kinda nervous to see if Ecuador has given me HIV or something... all clear.  So I started taking some pills for the parasites and I started feeling better.  The thing is I still feel a little sick and not 100% rocking so I called the nurse again and turns out I was taking the medicine wrong.  I should have been taking 2 pills once a day but I thought it was one pill once a day.  Sigh.  So she said I have to....what a surprise.... poop in a cup again.  NOOOO!!!  "sister just give me the pills again and we`ll go from there!" "No elder I want to test you again so I can be sure."  Dang it.  Soo.... I`m opening a new sector, again, and I don`t know where any good labs are!  So here we go again.  Ah the new sector, so that brings me into the next topic.

So Sunday night we were leaving an appointment when the zone leaders called me and told me that I was going to be changed.  "Nooooohohoho I just got here." I thought.  So I got the change to come back to Quito, zona Ofelia ( just to the north of zona Quito) sector Carcelen Bajo, to open a sector while training a new missionary.  

Here it goes here it goes here it goes again, I should have known should have known....

So I packed my bags and said goodbye to my sweet jungle home for the last time.  It was raining and I just sat looking out the window the five hours on the bus going to Ambato trying to get my last glimpse of the Amazon.  It`s sad to think that I might not get the chance to go back.  But life moves on and I`m happy I was able to help at least a few people there in Tena.  Hopefully the returned missionary we found by accident that day gets married and his wife gets baptized.  As well as the doctor who was helping us get better, she had a baptismal date!  But I love the little branch.  

So now I`m here in Carcelen Bajo with my new companion Elder Granda, he`s Ecuadorian from Machala and he`s waiting for his visa to go to his mission in Mexico, Tampico.  He`s really prepared and actually knows what to expect on the mission.  So that makes everything easier.  And he`s been strong in the gospel as well.  He`s gonna do good.  The ward here is struggling, this Sunday there were only about 40 people in the sacrament meeting, and the bishop and none of his councilors could be there.  The high priest group leader was conducting the meeting.  And he didn`t give much hope in his talk either, what he pretty much said was, "Well they combined two wards in the stake today, they had been divided for 17 years but now they need to combine to be stronger.  I hope the same doesn`t happen with us, but they haven`t told us anything yet, so I guess we`ll have to wait and see."  Oh dear.  And so there is a LOT of work to do here in this sector.  And not too much time to do either.  So the good part is that I don`t have time to be trunky!  I have a son to train and a sector to save and I have to try my best.  And that`s probably what will inspire me to poop in a cup again because I can`t do it being all low energy  being sickly.

The cool part is that the Tena Branch president`s sister lives in this ward, and we`ve been teaching her husband, Jose Luis and he`s hopefully getting baptized this weekend if they get married this Friday.  Wooo!!  Hopefully it all turns out all right.  Other than them we`re teaching some contacts, a mother and a daughter, who are really receptive and went to church this Sunday.  I have high hopes for them and hopefully they`ll be baptized the 8th.  Other than that, we gotta work like lumberjacks and talk to the people we meet!  We found a family of Columbians, really friendly, but they`re not married and I imagine it`ll be super hard because I think they`re illegal immigrants here in Ecuador.  And the Ecuador marriage system is a pain in the neck.  But we`ll see what happens.

Oh and the other good part is that nobody knows how much time I have here in ward.  They all ask me and I tell them "more than a year" and they seem satisfied with that.  I told my companion the same thing and he seems okay with it.  So we`re avoiding all trunky comments what so ever.  

And that`s my story,  here I am, and hopefully here I will be till the end.  Speaking of which, it says I`ll be traveling June 28th....which is a Friday.....I don`t get it?  I`ll have to go to the offices and find out what`s going on.  My zone leader son, Elder Dearden is assistant now so I got connections!  haha

Well hope you have a great time in the capital, take some pictures, I love you guys!

Adios!

My good friend, La Virgen del Rosario

Hello my mother.  Well it was good to talk you all and see that you look good.  Thanks for the college help.  It makes me feel good that I know where I`m going at least.  I didn`t want to be like the dog barking to just get  out of the yard then when I`m finally out I just sit by the fence.  Plans give direction.

I think I forgot to say Happy Mother`s Day yesterday....so....HAPPY MOTHER`S DAY!!  haha I`m sorry it`s like the video turns on and then my mind goes blank.  It`s like...well hello!  And nothing else.  So sorry for not saying that yesterday.  My bad.

Um but other than that I called the nurse last night and she told me that it`s possible that I have a parasite, so I was thinking just tell me to take a pill and I`ll do it but nooooo I have to go poop in a cup.  Dang it!!!  She told me not a lot, just about two spoonfulls and I asked her how the heck am I gonna measure that.  You want me to go in the bathroom with a spoon and a bowl or what?  I was joking with her of course but I need to do it.  And it was awkward going to the pharmacy and asking for the container.  It seemed so hectic and everybody was talking at the same time then the lady by the counter asked me what I needed so I said "Un frasco de orina!"  For some reason it seemed like everybody stopped and just stared.  

"A what?"

*Brett sweating and looking nervous* "uh a aa frasco de orina?"

"Ah ya okay.  25 cents." 

I look around and the young mother with the baby is staring at me with a face that says, "Gringos. Psht.  If I had a parasite I would have killed by myself."

Then I asked if they knew a good lab or clinic I could go to and then everybody had an opinion.  "Thank you Tena!  I`m glad you`re all concerned about my the welfare of my bowels!"  But they suggested that I go to a lab called Virgen del Rosario, a very catholic name that`s surprisingly run by Jehovah's Witnesses..... there`s a whole bunch of contradictions there.

But anyway I`m alright.  No results yet.  I haven`t tried poopin in the cup yet so we`ll see how it goes.... I`m scared.  Sigh.  But I`m drinking some Gatorade anyway.  I took out some money today, I`ve been barely getting by because I haven`t wanted to spend money that`s not mine but with your permission I`m gonna make use of it.  No use letting it rot in the bank when I need it.  So thank you for that.  I`ll use it wisely.

Anyway nothing new.  I`m doin alright.  Thanks for everything you`re doing for me, thanks for the prayers, I`m gonna be working and finishing strong.  It`ll all work out. We`re gonna work our parasite ridden hides off this week and we`ll see some results I`m sure.  We`re also gonna have interviews with President Ghent as a zone in Ambato on Friday so it should be a good week.  

I`ll see ya guys later!  I love you all, have a great week!  Adios!

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times‏

Alirghty, hello how are you?  So first things first, I think I should be calling on skype on Sunday at 3 in the afternoon here in Ecuador so around 1 your time.  Or maybe a little later so you can eat.  Don`t worry about it.  so let`s say 1:20 haha.

If ya wanna call me call.... .  It`s the church phone.  That`ll work.

Yeah UVU or UofU whatever is better I`ll go.  I don`t know much about either!

So Cameron is going to live in Papa`s house?  Plaza de Sol.... dang, what will papa do there?  That`s rough.

Um okay so this week was a good one and a bad one.  It was like.... well I guess I`ll tell you.

So President Ghent called on Monday night asking me about my companion, how he was doing and what not.  I said he`s good, but what exactly was he asking for?  Spiritually?  Physically?  So he got to the point and said that the nurses had told him that Elder Briñez`s knee was hurting him.  I said yes and that it would swell sometimes and it hurt him.  So he told me that he had spoken with the area doctor and they decided that it was better that Elder Briñez return to Cali, Colombia and do therapy sessions until he could get better.  (He had surgery in December for a torn ACL....it wasn`t getting better.)  So I said, "Dang. But okay." He then informed me that I would be receiving another companion.     He said he was sorry that this would have to happen but that he loved me and yeah things would work out.  So I said, thanks for the opportunity and passed the phone to my companion so President could talk to him.  Elder Briñez objected, he didn`t want to go home, afterward he was sad, we had to talk there for awhile, he was frustrated and scared about what everyone would say once he got back.  They would think it was an excuse not to go on the mission.  We talked and I tried to help him but he asked me, "And what if I don`t come back?" 

"I guess it`s what the Lord wants."

"But I had faith I would be healed!  And it didn`t happen.  Maybe I don`t have faith."

"Faith in God doesn`t mean, having faith that He`ll give us what we want, but give us what`s best.  It`s trust in Him.  Everything happens for a reason."

But we left the next morning and we talked and laughed but then said goodbye in the terminal with tears in our eyes and then he left to Quito.  He`s a good guy, and I`m gonna miss him. 

So then I met up with my new companion, Elder Riveros from Paraguay, with five months in the mission.  He`s really happy, likes to joke, and I met him in the zona activity to Baños.  He knows Elder Recalde, the elder that I trained also from Ecaudor.  So we started talking and I`ve found a few things about him.  He`s the only member of the church in his family of 10, he was less active for four years but active for two and now he`s here on the mission.  He has good intentions but nobody`s really taken the time to help him I feel.  So he`s good and he`s adopted me as his trainer haha.  I asked for mountains to climb so can`t complain when they come!

We also had the baptism of Anibal  this weekend, awesome!!  By a beautiful river and we had member support and it turned out really nice.  Church attendance also went up.  so I feel good.  I`m happy.  Just a little sick.  I ate something terrible!!  Destroyed my stomach.  I`ll send photos next week.

But anyway I hope ya have a great week. I`ll talk to you all on Sunday!  I love you guys, take care!

When In Rome‏

Hey mom how´s it goin?  Your little adventure sounded like a whole lot of fun.  Nothing teaches better than experience.  And good for Joselyn.  Hope she has a good mission.

Well right now I dont have a lot of time to write, again, because we had another zone activity.  I told myself no, no we´re not gonna go but then they said we were going to a monkey park.  How could I resist?  So I spent today chillin with my monkey cousins lovin life and basking in the jungle heat.  The bad part was that I lent my camera to our missionary leader, Einer.  He´s crazy.  But I did it and he used up almost all of the battery and so the camera died and I didn't have enough battery to take good pictures of my monkey friends.  So.... the next time.  And this was in Puyo so we had to travel two hours and then come back.  We also ate.  I ate a food typical of here, it´s called Mayto.  It´s fish (called talapia) that´s cooked in corn leaves.  And that´s it!  You eat it all.  And then they give you a pound of yuka and an Ecaudorian salad to go with it (which consists of onion and tomato. nothing else).  Luckily the store next door asked if I wanted a smoothie (YES!) so I  got an avocado smoothie.  Now at first I didn´t like avocados  but then I started buying them because it reminded me of dad eating them.  Then I became a man and started to love those dang things.  So in smoothie form, with a little of sugar and milk.  It´s delicious.  So try it!  You´ll like it.  

Um other than that we postponed the baptism of Anibal for this weekend because we felt like it was the best thing to do.  Like grandpa told me, you should always follow an impression no matter how hard the decision is.  I think it´ll work out better that way.

Well thanks for everything mom.  I´ll be writing you next week and I´ll send you  a photo of mayto.  So we can cook it at home haha.  I love you, thanks for the help, have a great week.  Tell the family I said hi.  Adios!