Week 11! 

Friends, Family, estemed aquitances. Hello, thank you for the support! All is well here and is moving along faster and faster. This week picked up at the end a bit and so Im feeling better about that. 

So to start, they are really not efficent with anything here, like for real. They have no garbage system, you just dump it in the street and then they drive around with dudes hanging off the back and they pick it up by hand. Watering plants is this giant truck with a pump and a guy hanging off the back of the truck spraying the plants haha, they sometimes spary people and they get soaked so fast hahaha. Another thing is passports. My comps passport expired so he cant leave the country haha and this is the 4th time we have tried to renew it but they give us differnet instrutions everytime. We slept in the mission home with the assitants and the elders that work in the office. Then the next morning we woke up and 5:30 and went and stood in line for 2 hours then while my comp and an elder from the office were in the consulate we stood outside for another hour and a half... They walk out with nothing... 

Anyways, Tuesday. We had a big 5 zone meeting where an area 70 spoke to us for.... 4 hours... then two hours from the president and his wife, that was too much time in the chpel with a 40 min break for lunch. It was really good and I finally understood! Nice and crazy to see how my spanish has progressed. I understand almost everything but Im having a hard time speaking it, Its a ton to remember!

Had my 2nd split in 3 months.. Finally. hah that was really good and learned a lot of things from Elder Curberos, from Columbia. Hes me ZL and we killed it got tons of people to listen and want us to come back and listen again! Things are better, I learned that I just need to take the lead and I did that the next day and we are doing good now. 

Yesterday at church I met a guy from Utah, Hes here on business and Is a lawyer for Young essitanel living oils. Cool guy talked with him and said that he served in Mexico 13 years ago. Lives in lehi. They have a farm down here and do 350 million a year now! Crazy huh?

Well, I want to thank everyone for the support and look forward to hearing from you! Love you all and hope all is well! 

Love,

Elder Strang

Week 10

Time is flying. 3.5 months done as of today. Pretty typical week, at least like they have been for forever. Anyways, I think I learned one of the most important life lessons this past week, one that I knew I needed to learn but I dont think that I could have learned it any other place than here. I do not know why I was letting myslef be bothered by my comp? Why? I could teach him, show him what to do, and the likely hood is that he would move on after the short time we have together and then just do it again with the next companion. I realized that, this is the way he was taught, the way he grew up and the way he is. I dont need to change him, hes a unique person and if he wants change then he needs to do it himself not me. I also realized Im not here to be the teacher, the babysitter or the counslelor... Im here to be an example and love him. That whole time I was looking for things I could change in him, when all I had to do was change one thing in myslef. And now, Im happy, things are the same but with my attitude different, Im a lot happier then I was. 

I was studying PMG this week in the attibutes of Christ chapter and learned alot. Also thinking back to how people judge those around them. For what? Because they walk differnet? Talk different? Well, they do not know a single thing about them and they have no room to judge. Makes me sick to think how many times every single day that happens. Happens here with me. Yeah Im white, Im tall. If we were all the same, what fun would that be? I wnt everyone to remember that were not here to change or judge only to love, help and accept.

Anyways, got some cooking lessons this past week from the lady that lives below us and I make some mean salad and some killer rice now. Yeah I know, Rice isnt that hard... Yeah good rice, my rice ooooo baby, so good! Trying our for iron chef Ecuador next Pday. haha 

On wednesday my comp and the comp of another elder had a meeting with all the leaders in the mission because they are district leaders sooo I dont know who thought it was a good idea to put two new missionaries together ahha becasue this Elder, Elder Saman was in my same group that came here haha so it was interesting to have us two unexpirencened Elders together for they day, needless to say we were a bit lost! 

Tomorrow we have a big meeting with the Mish President. Hes trying to uplift and motivate us because the mission as a whole is stuggling right now. They set a high goal to hit 290 baptisms before the end of the year so the work is cut out for us. 

Agency. Our hardest thing to overcome. Not very many like to follow through with comittments or read or come to church. They dont even seem to like to give it a shot. Its hard as a missionary becasue I want them to follow through and be able to recieve the blessings that we promise, and its also hard beacause we want to have success. Persevar hasta al fin, endure to the end! They are out there.

Thanks to all who write me and applogies for my English, Im not speaking it too well either. But thanks for all the support, please keep it up, its helps so much. Love and miss you all! 

Elder Strang

Week 9 I think? 

Well, I have learned a lot this past week, and that is to never give up. We have been denied, shut down, book of mormns returned and no one wanting to follow through with commitments. The whole agency thing can be a killer for the missionary work. People dont understand that Im here for them, that I care about their eternal salvation and that rides on everything we are telling them and is testified in a book that they are holding in their hands. This week I broke down after an investigator returned a book of mormon and didnt want to talk with us anymore, I called the zone leaders and talked with them. I learned something very important. When you care so much about one person to wake up at 6:30 in the morning, walk your legs off all day in 90 degree weather with 90% humidity, all for this person. Its hard to leave people when they arent progressing because you feel so much hope and love that they can and will do it. Enduring to the end and having hope that you will find those who are prepared for you, thats the thing that I learned last week.

We put 3 baptism dates last week and the one was for last saturday but shes having a true trial of her faith and shes struggling with a lot right now. Also antoher family, we put two dates with them and hoping to put the others tonight!

So when I got here someone forgot to metion that different words have different meaning in spanish countries. For example. Bag, like a grocery bag. Normally you would say bolsa, but here you use fonda because bolsa means man parts. So ask me what it was like when I walked into a store and said I need a bolsa.... hahaha

Papa Jhons last week was manna from heaven! 2 for 1 on tuesdays so we split the cost and got two giant ones! Really good and shared with the people we live above and they seemed greatful for that. Last week was a little better with the comp but everytime it just gets broked back down but something dumb. He´ll lose patientce and there goes what we built up. Trying and gotten to the point where Ive realized I cant change him, I can only love him. 

Im not sick anymore which is good! But those pills were a trip everytime that I took them! Haha lesson were interesting and the dreams I had... Unbelievable. 

Thought Id share a little from my journal from day one here. It says: ¨Well here goes nothing, not really sure what Im doing and the questions, why am I here, where am I going and where did I come from keep playing through my mind. We got here and started with a lesson with a member which fed us dinner. Rice, beans, and chicken. It was good and I hope it doesnt destroy my stomach because we dont have any toliet paper right now..¨ haha come a long way from that ha

Well all is well. Other thing from this week, I want to be a doctor. Im very sure of it now and everytime I think of dentist it just doesnt feel right, so Ill be swiching the name tag of ¨Elder Strang¨ to ¨Doctor Strang¨ when I get back. 

Miss you all and cannot thank you enough for the support. Love you and keep sending me stuff! Love you guys!

Elder Strang

A little extra questions I asked him:

What kind of food are you eating most of the time? What do you like you are trying new?

Rice rice and more rice! every meal starts with soup and then some kind of unidentfiable meat and tons of rice! I dont really know what Im eating sometimes cause I still havent learned all the words for food yet! But there is stuff..im just not sure what it is...

What are the people like in there cultural?

Same as home just a more extreme and rampant level. 

Do they have the same sociaty problems we do? Divorce,pornography,drinking,smoking, drugs ect?

BAD! The drugs and theft are very bad and some parts of the city and super dangerous and we arent allowed in. Theres a part in my sector that we arent allowed to enter after 6 in the evening. Most people dont get married they just hook up, have kids and then live their lives. porn is terrible. they sell it on the streets and every internet cafe has it. 

What do you love about the place.

food is good and the people are amazing. The members espically. Sometimes im nervous but im learning and trying my best. 

What don't you like about it?

The sketchy parts of the city. Early mornigs and being denied..

Daddy I love you too I would love some lquid bandage and I sent the other list to mom. I love and miss you so much and look forward to talking today :)

Koko

Kolby finds a Live One on P Day

Well another different and interesting week 8 in the Ecuador! 

For starters, how do I have a sinus infection in such a humid place? So I started not feeling too hot just kidding its always hot. hah but I started feeling sick last wednesday and then it got worse till I called the mish president on saturday and I guess Im not supposed to wait that long cause he gave my comp a chastizing saying that we need to call sooner and go get it taking care of. So yesterday I was told to go to the Clinic which is the hospital to get checked and get some meds. Holy sketchy, I do no like being in there at all. So with my spanish I talked with a doctor about medical stuf.. no big deal there ha and then he gave me a precription and you dont have to paly for a thing here. Use a medical card, and then walk out. Bit different from home right?

So the meds they gave me... Before without taking anything with just the sickness I just felt that my head was detached from my body, but when I took these, wooooowwww. 625 mg of a roller coaster. 1 step I sleep. They cause my to literally knock out. 2 step, last night we were sitting in a lesson and I kid you not the walls started moving and my body lost all weight. Crazyiest out of body expirence I have ever had! Kinda fun! 

Other things. Today, I got a haircut and the lady thought I was 27 and totally wanted to go out. Ha nope. I cannot explain how many women just flirt it up, but the crazy thing is we kinda can us a little to our advantage...

This week we had the new Zone Leaders come on a trio with us, so we had one elder and the others in our sector had one. Hes from Oregon and I sweat hes my twin lost at birth. We talkand decided to use the flirting to our advantage a bit and then well be able to get more baps. hah so we tried it and got two baptism dates in that day! haha anyways right now Im a Trio again with an elder from ut. Woodscross and i call him gringo falso. Which means false American. His comp is going home beacuse he finished his mish. That was hard to see and maybe a bit homesick! You get really close with them and then they jet to another area in the mish or home. Anyways the falso gringo.. the other day we sitting at lunch and I asked him how to say bacon in spanish, he says whats bacon? Youre not American, get out. hhaha Hes okay and quite different!

We are still having a hard time trying to figure out why we dont have refernces or any baps, and I did figure it out! I cant explain much but know Im trying to help fix it and then next week pray for me to have more success! This week we went into an area in our sector that we havent been in beore, I dont like it. Not much good feelings there. We taught a lesson to a lady there and she says, your bible is not equal to mine. we show here THREE times that they have the exact same words, she says, still different, mines better and walked away. Wait what? You just looked with your eyes? 

Had fresh caught dorado fish this week and it was so gooood. Had it with a fresh made salsa too, so I felt right at home :) Dorado, 3.50 a pound. Talk about cheap! 

Everything else is going well and I thank you for all your support! Much love and I miss you all an thank you for all the emails, they help me! 

Love, 

Elder Strang