Finishing Up My Training

So this coming week is the last week of my 12 week training. So there is a pretty good chance that there will be transfers the next Sunday night. Not sure but Mayta is starting the whole "i'm transferring  thing again. I would love to transfer to be able to see the coast for once.

The big thing this week was that Ecuador and Peru played on Friday night. So all week everyone was talking about it. Elder Mayta talked trash and made bets with some of the other elders. I even gave in a bet a Coca Cola. The game was at 9 o´clock so we didn't get the chance to catch any of it or even hear the score. So Mayta was freaking out all night. In the morning he called like 5 members to find out who won but everyone either didn't watch it or fell asleep. Everyone here goes to bed at like 10. But finally he got hold of a member who watched it and found out that Perú won 1-0. So i got him a coke, a sister owes him another soda and an Ecuadorian elder owes him a tie. Pretty funny.

We had one baptism this week and it was really cool. He had so much joy as he left the water. He works with a member and the member was the one who baptized him. They were both really happy after. 

We had an Elder return home this week from Venezula. he is really cool. Hes the son of the lady who does our lady and feeds us quite a bit so we had a few chances to talk to him. He already had 2 references for us on Saturday and set up appointments and everything to come with us. He will be a great help. 

Im doing pretty good though. No real problems health-wise. I mean theirs the nicks and bumps that happen when you walk around all day but i'm really doing well.

Saturday night i lost my pen. It was tragic. Its a really cheap pen and i replaced it very easily but i was pretty sad. I have used this same pen everyday since i entered the field. It was pretty much out but i was excited for finally use a pen all the way before losing it. 

Funniest moment of the week was when one of these two twins (who are the wildest children ever) went Mike Tyson on the other for touching his transformers toy. They are like 3 years old and super crazy. But the one picked up the transformers toy and the other one bit his ear. No blood and nothing really bad but it was so hard not to laugh. They are truly hilarious. 

The work is going well. I know things will be good as time progresses. But the mission split is getting really close and so it will be interesting to see if there are some crazy transfers these next few weeks or if it all stays calm. Either way. Hopefully everything goes well. 

I'm really close to just being a "Gringo" and not a "Greenie."

Elder Moore

I also put on a picture with Felipe who was baptized 3 weeks ago and he is one of my favorite people here. Super awesome.

End of the Month

So this past week went pretty well. No problems really. One thing weird happened though. No one in our Zone transferred. So everyone is still here. I am thinking that when i finish my 12 weeks there will be changes though. We will see.
I got my Ecuador Jersey and a Manchester United Jersey for 10 dollars total. So i was pretty happy about that.
Ecuador lost to Germany in soccer this week but everyone seems to feel they played well cause Germany won the last World Cup. So they definitely look good for the coming cup.
We had 2 baptisms this week. It was two girls whose parents are not members but want to be baptized but need to get married first. So hopefully we can get them married. This was the baptism were we have had the most people. Their entire family came and they had grandma and cousins and we got some members there and it went well.
The two sisters who werent confirmed last week didnt come to church this week either. The one who was super excited about the church now has doubts. Satan has had 3 weeks to put doubts in her mind and its working. So now we need to try and excite her again.
I got a good picture out of a members back door so hopefully you like it.
We had the training for Ward missionaries again. It pretty much turns into gospel doctrine. We found the scriptures about seventys and bishops and everythingn in the bible. ITs pretty crazy. 3 weeks of 2 hours and we are still on lesson 1.
Things really are going well though. Im really starting to feel a love for the people. When everyone said to just wait until the end of your training to see what the mission is really like, i had trouble believing them. But it really has changed a bunch in the past 10 weeks.
Oh we can drink Coca-Cola now. So.. ya.

Elder Moore

Things Are Getting A Lot Better

So first off. I am really doing a lot better here. Things are really starting to click. Me and E´Mayta dont have problems. Things are going pretty good. We had a baptism this week that was really weird. It was planned for 3 o'clock but at 2:30 we called to remind her what to bring and the time and they were in Quevedo. Which is a 20 minute bus ride away. So they said they would leave in a half hour so we called everyone and postponed it till 3:30. Then at 3 they came to the capilla ready to go. So we had to call and try and get another person to come and be a witness and try and get members there in time. Finally we had the baptism. It was the sister of the girl baptized last week that didn't get confirmed. So we were trying to get them to get confirmed this Sunday. but neither showed. So we got our goal for May for baptisms but not for confirmations. Its really weird. But if everything works out right we could get our goal for June in the first weekend.
Our pool is really small right now. Sunday we had 4 places we could go. So we have been tracting a bunch and have quite a few citas for this week.
I put on some pictures of Tricimotos, My favorite random house in the fields, and the baptism.
Elder Mayta thinks he will be transfered this week so we will see. But no matter what im pretty sure it will be interesting to see what happens on sundaynight.
I got the letter Jared wrote at the end of march and sent in the end of april last week. so that was fun to read today.
I dont know what more i really have to say right now but things are going pretty good. Im going to get my first Ecuador jersey today. They are like 7 bucks here in the streets.
Mosiah 1:7
Elder Moore

Mason hasn't explained what these are pictures of exactly... Oh well... still fun to see.  :)

Strangest Week

This week was so weird. We really had a good week but at the same time it was just not a normal week. First of all E´Mayta had a meeting in Guayaquil so he was gone for 2 days. So I stayed in Republica in a Trio. The best part was who i was with. Elder Ramos and... Elder Brady! We did the impossible the Gringos were companions! It was for about a day and a half cause of travel and junk but it was way fun. I felt I learned a lot and it really just helped me to have a great attitude. I also got a better perspective on how much we have improved since the CCM. Crazy to think i'm on my 9th week out here.
We got some baptisms this week though so that was awesome! We had one on Thursday night but her sister didn't come. Then on Saturday we tried to have two young men and the sister but once again the sister didn't come. But we got 3! I was really happy about these cause all 3 really seem to love the gospel and will be great members. They are not just people we got to be baptized but wont stick around. Ill put the pictures of all three on in a second.
Only 2 came to sacrament meeting so we will have to work on getting the other confirmation.
The Rainy Season is now completely done. No more rain at all. Not even a sprinkly till January. The little mud puddles and tiny lakes are drying up and they started oiling the streets to avoid kicking up dirt. But im glad that i can now not have to worry about rain at all for a while.
Im really struggling right now with how the people don't have a high level of comprehension. We can say "these are the 5 things we dont consume" and then they just wont get it. Its the same with everything. I can read a scripture about the importance of the BoM and they just get confused. There are some great investigators who get it but its a very small number right now we have 2 but they both got baptized this past week. So that's something ill need to try and think about.
My companion and I are doing well. I've done small service like washing his dishes, ironing his shirt, or just taking his backpack to him when we are ready to leave. He made me a smoothie a couple times this week and things are just going a lot better.
I also thought id give you a picture i took the other night as i got bored playing with my camera. Its pretty great.


Elder Moore
ps write me letters.

Things Are Getting Better

So this past week was better than past weeks so things are going up hill. It was really nice to talk to mom and dad on mothers day even if i couldn't see them. That was a bummer though.
This week was really tough for baptisms again. We were supposed to have one friday but he went to guayaquil and wasnt coming back till late on sunday. We planned for another on Sunday with the exception of getting them to come to church. So we were really happy when they were 2 of the 3 that finally came to church. So we planned for the baptism that night. We got our clothes and their clothes ready. We cleaned the church. Filled the font. Invited alot of members. Then 30 minutes before we called them to remind them to bring extra clothes for after and they gave us the news. They were at the beach. They would be getting home at about 10 o´clock at night. So... i was pretty bumbed. We couldnt really contact cause of mothers day and no one was home or would listne to us for the same reason. It was a really wierd day.
I have tried to be more patient and i feel its working. Everyone is telling me to do little acts of service and thats my goal for the next week. I have done it a bit this week but im going to really go for it next week.
The spanish is coming a lot better. I still cant say everything but i feel like if i can have the confidence to start talking, i can say alot. No matter what, im definitely feeling the gift of tongues at work. The fact that i can learn a language this quickly while im always tired and sore and not in the best mood is crazy.
I would love to say everyone needs to write me more but for all i know everyone has sent me a letter and its just sitting in the mission office. So, if they havent written me. Write me. If youve writen and i havent written back im sorry. I dont really have a post office here and i never get my letters but i will write you when i can.
Mosiah 4:6-12 was what i was studying today and its pretty cool. Also 2 Nefi 28 and 29 are really good. Im getting better at studying in spanish thats for sure.
One thing im really missing though is music. I cant listen to my music that i brought cause its not mo-tab and my comp never plays his mo-tab. Even the hymns at church arent enough. It doesnt help that they arent the right tune half the time here. The members just kinda go with what they think it is and it rarely ever is correct. So I cant wait until i can get some real hymns to hear. They dont even adjust to the piano or people who know the hymn half the time. Its impossible. But its pretty funy at times too.

Elder Moore

This was a really weird week

So Monday we had one of our investigators do something really cool. We went in planning to teach Sabbath Day and Tithing. When we got to her house, she said she had a couple questions cause she read For The Strength of Youth. She wanted to know more about the Sabbath Day and Tithing. It was really cool to see her want to know more.

Tuesday was pretty much normal. We were super busy which was good.
Wednesday was when things started to get really interesting. We had a zone conference in Babahoyo. So it was four zones and Pres. Amaya talked to us. Because of this we had to get up at 4:20 in the morning. We traveled there and it went well. We learned that its official if i'm here on July 1 i'm in the north mission. Another change on July 1 is we will no longer eat lunch with the members. This is because some elders are spending too much time. We will eat in the restaurants  Starting in May we will get 12 more dollars each time to pay for this. I'm not excited.
On the way back from the conference we had a guy preaching out of an English bible and translating it for the people. He got it right but it was weird. Then our bus got stopped cause it was like 8 at night and we all had to get out and they asked for our papers. I hadn't gotten my green card yet so i was worried but they didn't seem to care and let us all back on.
Thursday we went to Guayaquil to get my papers. This meant a 4ish hour bus ride out there. Me and Elder Brady just chatted the whole time. There we were excited to talk with Elders Gray, Erickson and Costello. We came back and got back at like 9:30. So that is two days in a row without any lessons.
Friday and Saturday we did our 3 interviews. (the other wants to be baptized with her sister in a couple weeks) and they all passed. Saturday was the service and at the time of it, none of the investigators showed...
But finally 1 showed up like 20 minutes late and i got to baptize him. It was really cool. Turns out that the other two could come and we couldn't contact them cause their mom is sick and in the hospital. So we will see about them in the future.
Things are going pretty good though. Definitely hard.

Elder Moore

Things Are Moving Along A Little Bit

So things are really tough. This past week i was pretty bummed out most of the week. Wednesday was great and the rest was really really bad. I felt like we are losing investigators left and right. Then the language was just really frustrating.  I also am sad that Elder Anderson (my ZL) got transferred this week. The intercambios were always a highlight of my week cause i actually had someone to talk to consistently.

We are probably going to get 4 baptisms this week. They are all doing really well and progressing. Not like the 6 from last time that were kinda iffy. They all have their challenges but they are moving really well.

The whole thing in Boston really freaked me out. Especially when i couldn't understand the news and i just saw the video of the explosion. Its a blessing that Mckelle Boren´s Mom and Irfan are ok.
Pretty much i'm getting used to the work but its still hard and i need to work on my patience. Nothing really bad has happened.The young men and young women in the ward want me to teach an English class. I told them maybe but they would have to invite nonmembers and less active members. They agreed but i dont know if we could do it cause i just don't know how to teach English haha. I could mainly teach Spanish in reverse haha. But one sister in the ward gets her mission call Tuesday and she said that if she is going to the US she needs me to teach her English I figured that would work cause its gospel Spanish i know the best haha. Everyone should send me letters through Pouch. I didn't get the chance to get me letters for this week yet but they always make me way happier to read.

Pouch Address:
Elder Mason C. Moore
Ecuador Guayaquil North Mission
POB 30150
SLC UT 84130-0150

Getting In The Groove Of Things

 So the plan was to have 6 baptisms this past Saturday. Tuesday to Thursday really messed with that. Tuesday we called 2 of them to see if we could visit to teach them but they will be out of town and their mom isn't really supportive of their investigating. So that brings us to 4. We had trouble getting hold of another. He never seems to be there. He then got hurt on Thursday on a bike crash and cut his leg. Now 3. One lady (the mom of the boy who was baptized my first week) had Dengue all week. 2. Wednesday we tried to find an 82 year old referral who had the lessons in the past, started coming to church and wanted to be baptized. We took a taxi out and could not for the life of us find his house. We ended up looking for an hour and then waiting for a ride back for another hour. Then on Friday we found out that he had died. Really Sad stuff. 1 person made it to interviews. She had had trouble with word of wisdom and only came to church a bit. Then in the interview she told the ZL that she doesn't want to be baptized. So we did not have any baptisms this week. Really tough stuff.
This week we had another intercambio with the ZLs. they said we do them a lot and I'm glad. they really help me stay upbeat. I am always with Elder Anderson. Its good to be able to speak a bit of English. He's been out for 21 months now and is a super great guy. He gives me a bunch of tips about the mission.
You can let Cody know that Elder Anderson said we don't really have to worry about getting robbed. He hasn't been and only knows of a couple elders that have been. Just be smart and you'll be fine. People are really respectful of religious people.
Things are going fairly well though. The weather has been weird this week. it will be sunny and clear in the morning and at like 6 or 7 just start pouring rain. But that was only like 3 days this week. Its really pretty cool though.
I got some letters today from Grandma and Grandpa Heiner, You guys, and Simon. It was really good to hear from everyone and its awesome that Simon knows Duzzett and Edmonds. I hope to get in touch with Duzzett after the mission and that's awesome that we will have the 3 of us. It was also really cool to hear about how the ward is sending out so many missionaries at the end of the semester.
The pouch letters got here in about a week. I was really surprised by that.


Elder Moore
Ser constante es la puerta del exito.
(Being consistent is the door to success)

Getting In The Swing Of Things

Hey so its good to hear that everyone is doing pretty good.

I am quite a bit taller than Elder Mayta. But either way its all good i'm taller than pretty much everyone.
I talked to our ZL and he said that we are in the farthest north part of our mission. Like the next city down the road is in the Quito mission. Its nice cause we are higher elevation. Not a lot but a bit. So this is actually the coldest part of our mission. I had noticed that the heat was not the problem at all here its just the humidity. Either way we have a "cold" season too. Its in Junish to like September. Apparently the sky's clear up and the humidity goes down and its supposed to be really good weather. I might be here for that cause Elder Anderson (ZL) said its likely that we will train right after we finish training and it would be in the same area. So who knows.

Conference was a struggle and a victory at different times. Saturday morning we went and one of our investigators who has been super excited about the church didn't end up coming. I was excited to hear about the Cedar City Temple. Everyone asked me if i lived by it. But I was able to understand a lot of the messages of the first session. Until we lost internet about a hour and fifteen minutes in. So they fought with that before realizing they couldn't fix it and call someone who said they would come 40 minutes later. So that was the end of that session for us. We went back and ended up taking a small nap cause there was only 45 minutes till the next session. We woke up and it was pouring rain. We went to the capilla and they didn't have power. The entire section of town had had their power cut for work on it. So after 30 minutes there we called our ZLs and got on a bus and went to watch it at the stake center. We caught the last 45 minutes of it. With about 15 minutes left a member came and asked if id rather watch in English  I didnt want to be a bother and so i said no. I didn't know that elder Brady and Elder Anderson were watching it in English in a different room there. So i wish i had done that. Then we went back and watched the Priesthood session at the capilla cause the got hold of a generator. Everything worked fine and we could listen to all of it. I understood what they were talking about but not well enough to take it to heart. I didn't like the Pres. Uchtdorf and Pres. Monsons voices weren't the same. I hoped they could find a German who spoke Spanish to translate. But they did not. But was we walked back i felt really excited and ready to go and filled with the spirit.

Sunday Sessions were different for me. we started the day with watching the Saturday afternoon session at 8 am. I couldn't understand it near as well. I really didn't get anything from it. We then went and got an investigator to come watch the 11 o'clock session. I understood pretty much nothing from this one too. pretty much just what they were talking about (ie. atonement, missionaries) but not what they had to say about it. It really started to get me frustrated. I had trouble focusing during it too. I was tired, frustrated, little kids were trying to talk to us, and the room was packed and loud. The afternoon session was the same without the packed room. Only Sunday morning had a full room. Everyone thought it was the same thing played 5 times. But it was frustrating that i didn't get anything on Sunday so i ended up being in a bad mood for the rest of the day. 

The Work is going good though. We had an investigator who told us we could meet her at 6:30 one day. We got there a bit late and she wasn't there so we started to teach her sisters and cousin. Then she sprinted in the door covered in sweat and seemed really happy we were still there. So we taught her. She is way cool. She told us about how she goes to the Jehovah's Witnesses but feels like its not complete. She doesn't like how much other religions talk down and insult the beliefs of the others. She seems to be really interested and now her sister is too. I think they could definitely be baptized soon. We don't have a date yet but i think she will be completely willing. 

Elder Mayta is pretty cool. He has been a member for about 5 years now and has been out 15 months. His family has been slowly baptized and now they almost all are members. He is super quiet and its hard to start conversations with him. Its tough to keep them going too. But he has mentioned David Archeleta a few times this week and how he bets that he is super successful cause he is famous. I told him that Kelsi met him and he seemed a bit surprised but i think he thinks all the Mormons in Utah know each other.  But overall i'm starting to hear him a lot better now and understand more. Still not a lot but more.

My pres. is pretty strict. No reading or writing letters except on p-day except we get the mail on tuesdays. No emailing anyone not family. 

Starting it off in Ecuador!

Well i am finally in the field. I don't know if i'm excited or terrified. The CCM was cool and the people there where super awesome. But overall i am glad to be doing something and not just sitting around and talking about what i want to do. The work is tough. We don't have bikes or a car so it walking everywhere and a bit of buses.

The area i'm in is called Buena Ventura. The City is Quevedo and the sector is Buena Fe. It was a three and a half hour bus ride then a 15 minute car ride with the stake president to our apartment. Its pretty cool and just what i expected. its fairly poor but not horrible. The people are super loving and nice. Also all the members know St. George. I say Utah and then they ask what part and when i tell them they talk about the tithing talk that pres Snow gave. Then they ask if that happens a lot or how often it rains etc. But overall the people are way cool.

The Spanish is on its way. I can understand most of what is being said but not all that's for sure. I pretty much know what they are talking about but not the specifics. I told Elder Mayta (my trainer) that i want to talk as much as possible so he gives me plenty of opportunities. He is a quiet, fast mumbler. Its difficult to understand him most of the time. Hes from Lima and has been out 15 months but i'm his first norteamericano compañero. He's pretty easy to get along with.

Sometimes i forget that i am pretty tall here. I have to duck to get in and out of the bathroom, i'm normally the one of the tallest in the room or on the bus.

Easter is huge here. its called the semana santa and everyone takes the weekend or more off. They show videos about Jesus on TV so every house we went to was watching those. Some are about Mary too. Mayta told one of the members that these videos are "apostasy." i guess they might be i can't completely understand the message they have.

So sabado was a first. It was my first baptism. now it wasn't really mine cause i walked into it but mayta said i should "count" it. It was of a 17 year old boy who is really excited about the church. There was supposed to be a 12 year old boy too but two days before his dad told us not to teach him anymore. But the 17 year old boys name is Luis Eduardo and now his mom has a date for baptism on the 13th. we have like 10 people with the date but only 3 are on tract to really be baptized. 3 are kids who the mom doesn't want them baptized, 3 are a family that is really casual about the church, and 1 is a lady who doesn't want to follow the word of wisdom or come to church. but the 3 that are progressing are doing great.