Email 10/27/2014 A Walk into the Waters

  This week here on the volcano of Imbabura we were blessed to see one of our investigators enter into the waters of baptism and then recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost.  His name is Jhon and we had his friend Wilson baptize him. It was great and also the Zone leaders, who serve in our ward  had a baptism of 2 other kids. It's cool because they are all friends with each other and they are super excited to pass the sacrament. (I'll send pics). But the baptism was a tough one. So Elder Valentine and I went early to fill up the baptismal faunt. Then when we came back, the water was super low. And to make it worse the water pump wasn't working to pump more water into it...... So they were baptised really really close to the ground.

   This week we also found a young teenager named Tupoc De La Torre who we thought was a member. He has been attending church for over a year and we just recently gave him a baptismal date. He's  super awesome and really knows everything already. Only one problem, his parents are really against the church. But his older sister, who is about 22 or something, is a recent convert of the church so we are gonna work really hard and pray that the Lord softens the hearts of the parents. Cuz Tupoc really wants to be baptized....It's weird.  

    So then on Sunday we started out with a heart breaker.  One of our best Investagators, who we had the highest hopes for, dropped us........ So we were walking to the church all bummed when out of nowhere I find $5.... It was amazing cuz pretty much everysingle person that was walking to the church had to have walked past that bill. Lucky me. 

   This week we also found a super old lady. She looks about the same age as Yoda from Star Wars. She also walks about at a 90 degree angle due to hard labor her whole life. So we talked to her about prayer and she begins to tell us about one time when her grandson (Joey Diaz a return missionary) prayed and she didn't like it. He did one of those lazy missionary prayers where your on your bed praying in a fetil position. And then she showed us how, I mean she got on the ground and demonstrated. My companion and I could not stop laughing and I think she realized she is crazy because she started laughing too. 

    Well that's all of the things that happened this week. Hope all is well.

Love ya all PEACE,

Elder Rodriguez

Double Rainbow on Volcano Imbabura

Jhon's Baptism 

Zone Leaders Baptism 

Email 10/20/2014 CH-CH-CHANGES

Well this week we had changes..... And nothing happened for us here in Iluman.

     Anyway I can't  say too much happened here this week. We are still here working very hard with our investagators and this coming Saturday we have a baptism of a young kid named Jhon.

So that's gonna be awesome to start my comp off with a baptism. He's an awesome kid who goes to seminary and church everyweek by himself.

    Then this week we had some divisions for the day. So I was working in my area with Elder Guild (Wyoming USA). I was so excited for that day because I had scheduled meeting all day, unfortunately just like during every single division I have ever had all the meetings failed.............

    Then to top that off our mamita practically gave us the volcano that we live on in the form of rice. After the lunch we were sharing some lesson and I just ran into the bathroom. (WARNING) This next part might get gross (WARNING) So I run in there and just fill the whole toilet bowl with the food that I just ate, in the form of puke...........Sorry about that. Anyway I felt better right after unloading a bit. 

     Okay but besides those parts that day was really fun and after all of the meetings failed we prayed together so that the Lord would show us where we were needed. So after praying we found a little old lady that told us her husband just died about 3 months ago. So as missionaries we talked to her about why we are all here and where are we going after. She was so over joyed that she began to cry. So that day was horrible but we felt great after being tools in the Lords hands.

     Then this week my companion and I had to go to Quito for his verifications and that was really boring for me because they insisted on teaching us stuff we already know and do everyday. 

Fortunately on the bus there we got to see the new Transformer (it was too long) and Guardians of the Galaxy (it was awesome but we didn't finish it). Then while we were in Quito we got caught in a terrible storm. It was hailing so hard, with lightning and we were all soaked. Fortunately while there I bought some church movies so on P-days I'll be enjoying those.

      Well that's all for now folks. Oh shout out to Grandma Bev and Aunt DeAnn for the package, I already eat everthing and I'm enjoying the cloths. THANKS

     THANKS to all of you viewers out there, just stay tuned for next weeks issue! 

PEACE,

Elder Rodriguez

My minion from Esmeraldas with the matching hat. 

Email 10/13/2014 A little more than a Year

Helllllllloooooo here from valcano Imbabura Ecuador.

   Here it's rather wet due to the ridiculously cold rain but all is well. Oh and I don't know if you all know but I passed that one year mark. I know I know, I'm a stud. Thanks.

  Anyway this week was great. We had the opportunity of having an invasion in our sector. So all the missionaries came to our sector and just found people for an hour. It was a lot of fun just receiving names of people to go and teach. In that time we found a young kid named John who has been attending church and seminary for quite awhile. So at church he walks up to us and just asks, "When can I get baptized?" So now we got a baptism lined up for the 25th. So that was cool, especially when we asked, "what do you know about the book of mormon," and he responded, " only that its true". SWEET.

   So that was fun. Then the bad luck continued with my companion on one rainy day. So we were just walking back to the house at night in the rain and I feel like I should just stop walking, so I stopped. Unfortunetly he continued in front of me and falls in a huge hole, invisible to the eye because of the rain water flooded it. I laughed so hard, and he laughed, then I checked if he was alright........ He was.

   Just glad that somebody up there is looking out for me. 

  Then that brings us to today, well I lost my plak (name tag).  Then the zone leaders were on a bus and a little girl gave them my plak. So that was good. Then to celebrate the finding of my plak I made some cheese empanadas. 

  That's all for now kids. Thanks for listening.

PEACE! 

Elder Rodriguez

For my one year mark I burnt one of my messed up ties. Enjoy my hat and sweater, it's cold outside.

One Year Out in the Mission Field 10/09/2014

Email 10/06/2014 Being Sick Of it

So lets start this thing off with a bang........ Oh sorry I meant to write barf.

    My newbie of a companion got terribly sick.  It all started out with us eating some questionable food at one of our mamitas. She prepared us a plate full of river weed. Like you know when Nevel Longbottom gives Harry Potter the Gilly Weed.... That's what it looked like on our plates, and suprisingly it was good. I liked it alot. Then more in the afternoon I felt a terrible pain in my stomach and so did my companion Elder Valentine. 

     So we headed home at the nomal time which is about 9, and my companion just empties his stomach in the bathroom. Well I thought he emptied it out but he comes out and begins puking every-which-way. So I played nurse for that night helping him and cleaning up the nastiest stuff, but he's my companion. Then the day after he was feeling a bit better. Then BAM, right in the middle of a district meeting he pukes again. So that day we just stayed at home. He slept from 12 in the afternoon until the next day...... I thought he died.

     Well now he's all good and we are working hard. The day after we even found a huge family. It wasweird  because we just walked in a dark alley and found like 5 different houses and all of them are family.... Oh and they are all investigating the church now.

     So that brings us to conference. And for missionaries conference is like the Super Bowl, so it was a good time. Especially since our whole zone dressed like the Waiki´s (indigenous people here). Oh and Waiki means brother. I'll send some pics of that.

    Anyway so even though my companion might not have had the best week it was a good one for me. Plus I found a Coca-Cola with my name on it.

Well thats it for this week.  Hope I didn't scare you with the title! 

Welp Love ya all and hope for the best. 

PEACE,

Elder Rodriguez

Elder Valentine & Elder Rodriguez dress as indigenous people.

Zone 

Coca-Cola with Elder Rodriguez name on it.