12/12/09
Subject: I think you're all getting older...
Because everytime I hear a story about something Dad did, it gets crazier and crazier, haha. Things kinda slowed down here when I got to the office. We were just talking about how much harder it is to write weekly letters to our families because nothing really happens here. But I'm going to do my best.
This week the assistants were gone with the president all week travelling around the mission doing zone conferences. So we had the whole sector to ourselves. Yeah.
We started teaching one of the assistants investigators named Freddy. Freddy used to be a Satanist, worshipped Satan, and cursed God. But then he felt bad about that and decided he needed a change. And just on time, he found the missionaries. They taught him the first lesson, and he was amazed that we believe in visions and that people have talked face to face with God. Because he said that he has had similar experiences but no one believes him. Interesting. He loves the Book of Mormon. He loves to pray. And he's felt the Spirit really strongly. When we taught him about the gift of the Holy Ghost, he got really excited that he was going to have the chance to feel the Spirit ALL THE TIME. So yeah, he's going to baptized on Christmas or the day after. His story probably doesn't sound real interesting in writing, but it's pretty sweet in real life.
Emerica Reina is just putting right along. She hasn't come to church in a while, so she isn't really progressing much, but she says she still wants to get baptized. So we'll see what happens with her I guess.
This week the power came back on so it doesn't go out anymore. That was exciting. It hasn't rained yet, but should be starting very soon.
It sounds like Trent's doing well training that dog, so I can't wait to meet her when I get back. Even though she'll be OLD by then. And me too.
So I guess that's really it. Take care everyone and have a wondermazing week.
Love,
Elder Thayne
With Elder Sawyer at McDonalds
With Companion at Rio Guayas
Elders Cambra and Tesimale
Because everytime I hear a story about something Dad did, it gets crazier and crazier, haha. Things kinda slowed down here when I got to the office. We were just talking about how much harder it is to write weekly letters to our families because nothing really happens here. But I'm going to do my best.
This week the assistants were gone with the president all week travelling around the mission doing zone conferences. So we had the whole sector to ourselves. Yeah.
We started teaching one of the assistants investigators named Freddy. Freddy used to be a Satanist, worshipped Satan, and cursed God. But then he felt bad about that and decided he needed a change. And just on time, he found the missionaries. They taught him the first lesson, and he was amazed that we believe in visions and that people have talked face to face with God. Because he said that he has had similar experiences but no one believes him. Interesting. He loves the Book of Mormon. He loves to pray. And he's felt the Spirit really strongly. When we taught him about the gift of the Holy Ghost, he got really excited that he was going to have the chance to feel the Spirit ALL THE TIME. So yeah, he's going to baptized on Christmas or the day after. His story probably doesn't sound real interesting in writing, but it's pretty sweet in real life.
Emerica Reina is just putting right along. She hasn't come to church in a while, so she isn't really progressing much, but she says she still wants to get baptized. So we'll see what happens with her I guess.
This week the power came back on so it doesn't go out anymore. That was exciting. It hasn't rained yet, but should be starting very soon.
It sounds like Trent's doing well training that dog, so I can't wait to meet her when I get back. Even though she'll be OLD by then. And me too.
So I guess that's really it. Take care everyone and have a wondermazing week.
Love,
Elder Thayne
With Elder Sawyer at McDonalds
With Companion at Rio Guayas
Elders Cambra and Tesimale
12/05/09
Well, things here in the office are going well. We're just working super hard! When I said that the old secretary was leaving this transfer, I meant he was leaving the office, not the mission field. So he's here with me for this transfer, and he's been in Guayaquil for his whole mission (a year and a half) so he's pretty anxious to get out. But yeah, anyway, this week was pretty crazy. We didn't get to go to the sector a lot, because we were doing a ton of stuff to get ready for the zone conferences that are this week, and getting visas registered and filed for the 18 missionaries that came this transfer. It was a lot of work, and we had a lot of really late nights. The secretary has to do more work than anyone here, so we spend a lot of time in the office. On Thursday, we were in the office until midnight.... sheesh. The schedule here is a little bit different (obviously). We doing everything we can to get in bed by 10:30, but sometimes it's just not possible. But we still have to get up at 6:30!
As of today, I have seen every one of the missionaries that I came with from the MTC. Yesterday, right after zone conference, I saw Elder Robinson because his conference was right after ours. That was the first time I've seen him. And Elder Johnson was the last one. I hadn't seen him in four months, and he popped up in the office this morning! It was really cool seeing him again, I had forgotten how tall he is! He is literally a GIANT here. Haha, but yeah that was cool.
We had a few good lessons this week when were able to go to the sector. We're teaching a lady called Emerica Reina. She's about 75 years old and lives in a house with a few of her grandkids. We went by last week and taught her a lesson and committed her to be be baptized, but she didn't accept. Elder Cambra said were going to leave her because she wouldn't progress, but I told him we should give her one more chance. We went back and taught a super powerful lesson on faith. The lesson went really well, and right at the opportune moment, we gave her another nice, clear, direct baptismal commitment. She didn't take it. She said she wasn't ready for that, that she didn't want to do it. We gave her some words of comfort, and then committed her to say a prayer and ask God what he thinks about the date we set. She accepted that one at least. Coming back to the next lesson, I didn't expect a whole lot from her, but I still had the faith that things could work out well. We went to her house, and we asked her if she remember the assignment we gave her. She said she did it. We asked her how she felt. She said she felt good. Then we asked what she thought. She said, "Me voy a bautizar," (I'm going to get baptized). Wow. So we have high hopes for her. It was incredible how she just changed like that. She had a completely different attitude about the whole thing, but yeah it was cool. We'll see if she shows up at church tomrrow!
We've also been teaching a young couple and their kid. Omar is 20 and his wife, Jennyfer, is 18 and they have a one year old kid. They live in a tiny little beat-up house the size of my room back home, and they're really nice people. Omar has been listening really well and keeping his commitments. We haven't been able to see them a lot because they're pretty busy with work and school, but we're hoping to place a baptismal date soon. So we'll see what happens with them.
This week, I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish for the first time. It was a pretty daunting task, but I read the whole thing in 12 weeks, and holy cow, when I finished I was speaking Spanish!
So that's that. Sounds like things are going well back home! And oh man, I loved those stories about the balloon, hahaha. So typical, Dad. And the pictures were awesome, thanks!
That's all, chao!
Elder Thayne
As of today, I have seen every one of the missionaries that I came with from the MTC. Yesterday, right after zone conference, I saw Elder Robinson because his conference was right after ours. That was the first time I've seen him. And Elder Johnson was the last one. I hadn't seen him in four months, and he popped up in the office this morning! It was really cool seeing him again, I had forgotten how tall he is! He is literally a GIANT here. Haha, but yeah that was cool.
We had a few good lessons this week when were able to go to the sector. We're teaching a lady called Emerica Reina. She's about 75 years old and lives in a house with a few of her grandkids. We went by last week and taught her a lesson and committed her to be be baptized, but she didn't accept. Elder Cambra said were going to leave her because she wouldn't progress, but I told him we should give her one more chance. We went back and taught a super powerful lesson on faith. The lesson went really well, and right at the opportune moment, we gave her another nice, clear, direct baptismal commitment. She didn't take it. She said she wasn't ready for that, that she didn't want to do it. We gave her some words of comfort, and then committed her to say a prayer and ask God what he thinks about the date we set. She accepted that one at least. Coming back to the next lesson, I didn't expect a whole lot from her, but I still had the faith that things could work out well. We went to her house, and we asked her if she remember the assignment we gave her. She said she did it. We asked her how she felt. She said she felt good. Then we asked what she thought. She said, "Me voy a bautizar," (I'm going to get baptized). Wow. So we have high hopes for her. It was incredible how she just changed like that. She had a completely different attitude about the whole thing, but yeah it was cool. We'll see if she shows up at church tomrrow!
We've also been teaching a young couple and their kid. Omar is 20 and his wife, Jennyfer, is 18 and they have a one year old kid. They live in a tiny little beat-up house the size of my room back home, and they're really nice people. Omar has been listening really well and keeping his commitments. We haven't been able to see them a lot because they're pretty busy with work and school, but we're hoping to place a baptismal date soon. So we'll see what happens with them.
This week, I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish for the first time. It was a pretty daunting task, but I read the whole thing in 12 weeks, and holy cow, when I finished I was speaking Spanish!
So that's that. Sounds like things are going well back home! And oh man, I loved those stories about the balloon, hahaha. So typical, Dad. And the pictures were awesome, thanks!
That's all, chao!
Elder Thayne
11/28/09
Well, here you go. These are the best ones from the last few weeks.
There are a few from the zoo.
Monigotes are these paper'machet-ish statue things that they make here. And some of them are really big, and incredibly detailed. They've been working on these ever since I got here. And then on new years eve they're going to stuff them with fireworks and other things that explode and light them on fire! Pretty cool huh? The massive Santa Clause one is now at the mall. Not sure if they're going to light it. We'll see :)
And then there's just some other randoms. The two assistants work in the same sector as Elder Cambra and I, so they're kind of like my companions too.
That's all.
E Maldonado, Zuluaga, Ochoa
monigotes
giant guinea pigs
There are a few from the zoo.
Monigotes are these paper'machet-ish statue things that they make here. And some of them are really big, and incredibly detailed. They've been working on these ever since I got here. And then on new years eve they're going to stuff them with fireworks and other things that explode and light them on fire! Pretty cool huh? The massive Santa Clause one is now at the mall. Not sure if they're going to light it. We'll see :)
And then there's just some other randoms. The two assistants work in the same sector as Elder Cambra and I, so they're kind of like my companions too.
That's all.
E Maldonado, Zuluaga, Ochoa
monigotes
giant guinea pigs
11/28/09
Okay, first things first. I got one of my christmas packages today. I don't know how it got here so fast, but it's here. It says missionary supplies, t-shirt, and candy. So yeah... it'll just be sitting in my room for a month...unopened...all alone...without any friends...just a box, sitting there on a table...
No, maybe I'll put it in my suitcase so I don't have to stare at it anymore.
Okay, so this week!
Being in the office is pretty cool. I kind of miss being out on the streets teaching all day, but the office has its benefits. For example, President and Sister Johns made us all a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving and we all went over to their house and stuffed ourselves! We actually ate lunch with the President three times this week. Also, the house we live in is super cool. I went from one of the ugliest houses in the mission to the nicest one. There are 8 missionaries living here (the 8 that work in the office) and it's really big, and comfortable, and clean, and it has air conditioning, and a hot water heater, and even a washing machine and dryer!
BUT this week has been SUPER busy. We have to take care of all the arrangements for the new missionaries coming in the and the old missionaries leaving. Fortunately, there were only 4 leaving. But we a big group of 18 come in, 10 latins and 8 americans. The americans didn't catch their flight and so they came a day late, so we had two separate orientations, one on tuesday and one on wednesday. The orientations were pretty fun. It was cool meeting the missionaries, and watching them go through the orientation and getting their first companion and everything just like it was for me 4 months ago! Elder Maldonado is training one of the latins, so I got to see him again too. AND, on thursday, there was a big meeting for all the zone leaders in the mission, so the ones that live outside of Guayaquil come in the day before and spend the night with us. And coincidentally, one of them just happens to be Elder Tezen. It was weird seeing him again because it feels like so long ago that we were together, but yeah, it was fun. Also on Thursday, there was an inspection of the church-owned cars here in Guayaquil, and I got to drive one of the President´s cars to that and back. It was pretty wild driving here because the people drive like CRAZY.
On Wednesday, we went to the sector for the first time. My new sector is called Garay, and we have to take a taxi to get there. I've met a few of the members and we've had some pretty cool lessons so far. But yeah, I don't know a whole lot about it yet.
Anyway, I think I owe you some fotos, so I'm going to send you a big batch of the best ones. After going through power outages, losing my memory card, finding out that it's corrupted, and doing a recovery of all the files, I'm finally ready to send you some pictures. :)
Well that's my week! Bye!
Elder Thayne
No, maybe I'll put it in my suitcase so I don't have to stare at it anymore.
Okay, so this week!
Being in the office is pretty cool. I kind of miss being out on the streets teaching all day, but the office has its benefits. For example, President and Sister Johns made us all a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving and we all went over to their house and stuffed ourselves! We actually ate lunch with the President three times this week. Also, the house we live in is super cool. I went from one of the ugliest houses in the mission to the nicest one. There are 8 missionaries living here (the 8 that work in the office) and it's really big, and comfortable, and clean, and it has air conditioning, and a hot water heater, and even a washing machine and dryer!
BUT this week has been SUPER busy. We have to take care of all the arrangements for the new missionaries coming in the and the old missionaries leaving. Fortunately, there were only 4 leaving. But we a big group of 18 come in, 10 latins and 8 americans. The americans didn't catch their flight and so they came a day late, so we had two separate orientations, one on tuesday and one on wednesday. The orientations were pretty fun. It was cool meeting the missionaries, and watching them go through the orientation and getting their first companion and everything just like it was for me 4 months ago! Elder Maldonado is training one of the latins, so I got to see him again too. AND, on thursday, there was a big meeting for all the zone leaders in the mission, so the ones that live outside of Guayaquil come in the day before and spend the night with us. And coincidentally, one of them just happens to be Elder Tezen. It was weird seeing him again because it feels like so long ago that we were together, but yeah, it was fun. Also on Thursday, there was an inspection of the church-owned cars here in Guayaquil, and I got to drive one of the President´s cars to that and back. It was pretty wild driving here because the people drive like CRAZY.
On Wednesday, we went to the sector for the first time. My new sector is called Garay, and we have to take a taxi to get there. I've met a few of the members and we've had some pretty cool lessons so far. But yeah, I don't know a whole lot about it yet.
Anyway, I think I owe you some fotos, so I'm going to send you a big batch of the best ones. After going through power outages, losing my memory card, finding out that it's corrupted, and doing a recovery of all the files, I'm finally ready to send you some pictures. :)
Well that's my week! Bye!
Elder Thayne
11/23/09
It happened.
I'm here in the office with my new buddy ol' pal (companion), Elder Cambra. He's pretty cool stuff. He's from Salt Lake City. He was the secretary before and now he's training me to be just as good as him! So yeah. My p-day is now on Saturday, so I'll shoot you a letter then, but just so you know... :) I don't have photos or anything to send, sorry. We've been working all day getting things done, and I haven't even unpacked yet. So yeah!
I didn't actually send the photos that I told you I was going to send. Just before I got them all ready to go, the power went out and we left. But on Saturday I might be able to send them.
AND. I got the candy bars the Tuesday before my interview. So I don't know when they came, but I got them in district meeting. But now that I'm here in the office, I won't have to wait until district meeting. I get my mail as soon as it gets here! :D
I'll write more on Saturday. Bye!
Elder Thayne
Secretario del Presidente
Mision Ecuador Guayaquil Sur
I'm here in the office with my new buddy ol' pal (companion), Elder Cambra. He's pretty cool stuff. He's from Salt Lake City. He was the secretary before and now he's training me to be just as good as him! So yeah. My p-day is now on Saturday, so I'll shoot you a letter then, but just so you know... :) I don't have photos or anything to send, sorry. We've been working all day getting things done, and I haven't even unpacked yet. So yeah!
I didn't actually send the photos that I told you I was going to send. Just before I got them all ready to go, the power went out and we left. But on Saturday I might be able to send them.
AND. I got the candy bars the Tuesday before my interview. So I don't know when they came, but I got them in district meeting. But now that I'm here in the office, I won't have to wait until district meeting. I get my mail as soon as it gets here! :D
I'll write more on Saturday. Bye!
Elder Thayne
Secretario del Presidente
Mision Ecuador Guayaquil Sur
11/16/09
But this Friday I complete 6 months in the mission. Yeah, crazy, huh? Tomorrow I'll be home! Time flies like crazy here, I can't believe it! And yes, it is REALLY nice being at a point where I actually understand what's going on. Where I can actually understand people, and get around on my own. Those first four months were tough, but they say that the mission gets better and better with time, and that's proving to be true!
And speaking of time flying like crazy, this week ends another transfer here in the mission field! On Thursday, I had my transferly interview with the mission president and it was really good. He told me that he wants me to stay here in 25 de Julio for at least one more transfer. He said he has a little goal of his to keep missionaries in an area for at least 4 transfers, so if they're working hard and don't have problems, he does everything he can to make it happen. Of course it all depends on revelation, but yeah. I was really excited about that, because that means I'd get to spend christmas AND new years with my peeps here! Yaya! So I was really content Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But today ruined it all. Today I was in the mall, talking to some other elders. I started talking to another elder that I've never met before, and he said, "hey, so you're going to be the next secretary huh?" Now I'm scared. Because he wasn't the only elder I heard it from. There's rumors going around about me being the secretary this transfer (because everyone knows the current secretary leaves this transfer). But I have no desire to sit in an office all day (the office missionaries only work from 6-9 every day), get white, and lose my spanish. But then again, when the Lord calls, you just do it anyway. So I guess we'll see what happens! But I just might cry this week.
We're still out of power this week. And it turns out that this is happening in all of Ecuador, not just Guayaquil. Today and tomorrow they're trying a new schedule where there won't be power between 7 and 9 at night. So we have to be in our houses by 6:30. Lame. Between 7 and 9 are when the BEST appointments are... bleh. Oh well.
Yesterday, some people from Florida showed up in our ward at church. They were visiting Ecuador with a friend from their stake who's from here. I talked to them for a little bit, but it was sooooo weird. Like, they don't belong here. I felt kinda like Tarzan. I'm living in this totally new culture, and then some random "strangers like me" show up at church. And then I talked to them, and that was weird too. They just act differently, I don't know. But the WHOLE ward commented to me that they thought they were my parents. Haha.
This week I got the three coolest letters I've every received in my life. The first one was from you, Mom, with the South African candy (thanks!). The other two were from Trevor Greene in Thailand, and my BYU friend Tanner Thayer from Japan! So get this... you remember Justin Porter from South Africa? Yeah, he got his mission call to Thailand. I also had a friend from BYU called Taylor who got his call there too. They were companions in the MTC. Crazy, huh? It gets better. I left a note with them to carry to Trevor Greene. So now Trevor knows them too, and he sent me a letter to let me know! And he sounds like he's doing awesome there! He wanted to know where Dad served at in Thailand, all in Bangkok or in other places? Let me know. Or, if you want, I'll give you his address and you can write him! It's a tiny world!
And speaking of small worlds... One of our investigators has a grandson who's serving a mission in California, but he's in the MTC right now and he knows one of my teachers from the MTC that served here in Ecuador because his family talks to him every night on the phone! Loco.
We started teaching a BUNCH of new investigators this week (about 15), but I'm not going to explain them all until we see what starts happening with them.
It looks like we'll be ending this transfer with one baptism, but we've got a lot of people lined up for the next one!
Okay, well I better go. I've only got 3/4 of my mission left and too much work to do!
Love you all!
Elder Thayne
Oh, and if you say so, Mom, I won't open my package until Christmas, I guess...
Oh, and I have a lot of cool pictures from this week. I'm going to send them over GMAIL!s address and you can write him! It's a tiny world!
And speaking of small worlds... One of our investigators has a grandson who's serving a mission in California, but he's in the MTC right now and he knows one of my teachers from the MTC that served here in Ecuador because his family talks to him every night on the phone! Loco.
And speaking of time flying like crazy, this week ends another transfer here in the mission field! On Thursday, I had my transferly interview with the mission president and it was really good. He told me that he wants me to stay here in 25 de Julio for at least one more transfer. He said he has a little goal of his to keep missionaries in an area for at least 4 transfers, so if they're working hard and don't have problems, he does everything he can to make it happen. Of course it all depends on revelation, but yeah. I was really excited about that, because that means I'd get to spend christmas AND new years with my peeps here! Yaya! So I was really content Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But today ruined it all. Today I was in the mall, talking to some other elders. I started talking to another elder that I've never met before, and he said, "hey, so you're going to be the next secretary huh?" Now I'm scared. Because he wasn't the only elder I heard it from. There's rumors going around about me being the secretary this transfer (because everyone knows the current secretary leaves this transfer). But I have no desire to sit in an office all day (the office missionaries only work from 6-9 every day), get white, and lose my spanish. But then again, when the Lord calls, you just do it anyway. So I guess we'll see what happens! But I just might cry this week.
We're still out of power this week. And it turns out that this is happening in all of Ecuador, not just Guayaquil. Today and tomorrow they're trying a new schedule where there won't be power between 7 and 9 at night. So we have to be in our houses by 6:30. Lame. Between 7 and 9 are when the BEST appointments are... bleh. Oh well.
Yesterday, some people from Florida showed up in our ward at church. They were visiting Ecuador with a friend from their stake who's from here. I talked to them for a little bit, but it was sooooo weird. Like, they don't belong here. I felt kinda like Tarzan. I'm living in this totally new culture, and then some random "strangers like me" show up at church. And then I talked to them, and that was weird too. They just act differently, I don't know. But the WHOLE ward commented to me that they thought they were my parents. Haha.
This week I got the three coolest letters I've every received in my life. The first one was from you, Mom, with the South African candy (thanks!). The other two were from Trevor Greene in Thailand, and my BYU friend Tanner Thayer from Japan! So get this... you remember Justin Porter from South Africa? Yeah, he got his mission call to Thailand. I also had a friend from BYU called Taylor who got his call there too. They were companions in the MTC. Crazy, huh? It gets better. I left a note with them to carry to Trevor Greene. So now Trevor knows them too, and he sent me a letter to let me know! And he sounds like he's doing awesome there! He wanted to know where Dad served at in Thailand, all in Bangkok or in other places? Let me know. Or, if you want, I'll give you his address and you can write him! It's a tiny world!
And speaking of small worlds... One of our investigators has a grandson who's serving a mission in California, but he's in the MTC right now and he knows one of my teachers from the MTC that served here in Ecuador because his family talks to him every night on the phone! Loco.
We started teaching a BUNCH of new investigators this week (about 15), but I'm not going to explain them all until we see what starts happening with them.
It looks like we'll be ending this transfer with one baptism, but we've got a lot of people lined up for the next one!
Okay, well I better go. I've only got 3/4 of my mission left and too much work to do!
Love you all!
Elder Thayne
Oh, and if you say so, Mom, I won't open my package until Christmas, I guess...
Oh, and I have a lot of cool pictures from this week. I'm going to send them over GMAIL!s address and you can write him! It's a tiny world!
And speaking of small worlds... One of our investigators has a grandson who's serving a mission in California, but he's in the MTC right now and he knows one of my teachers from the MTC that served here in Ecuador because his family talks to him every night on the phone! Loco.
11/9/09
I liked the letter you sent from Kyle. Super cool! There's a family here, the Gortaire family, that just recently got sealed in the temple. They were the first people I met here, and they were awesome BEFORE getting sealed in the temple. But now they're just amazing. It's incredible what the sealing ceremony does. They're just so much happier and more loving. The difference is huge. It's hard for them to imagine that at one point they had even considered not getting sealed in the temple... Why can't everyone just understand what a difference it makes?! bleh.
This week we had a family night with them that was really fun! About a month ago, I made your recipe of mac and cheese for them, and they LOVED it! Then they started sharing it with their friends and family who are all making it now, and on saturday the hermana did an activity with all the young women and taught them how to make it. And that was what we ate for family night. It's taking over ecuador. Mac and cheese for the win!
This week the whole city of Guayaquil start cutting out the power. Because the whole city is run on hydroelectric power. They don't have nuclear power like in the states. The problem is, it hasn't rained here in a long time. And when it doesn't rain, there's no water. And when there's no water, there's no power. So they've put the whole city on a schedule, between about 11 and 1 there's power, and in the night starting at 5 or 6. Other than that, there's nothing. We're in the mall today writing letters because they have a backup plant. But yeah, it's kind of weird.
Well, as far as investigators go, this week we found 21 new investigators which is totally crazy. We entered a couple houses and they had all their friends over, so we wrote down all the information and addresses and stuff. But this week we lost Martha. I don't know what happened because she was so excited about getting baptized, but now she thinks she needs to wait. She wants to finish therapy before she gets baptized... ech. But oh well, we're just going to keep working with her I guess...
Well not much else this week. But could you do me a favor and send those photos from halloween to my gmail account? I need to delete them from here, but I want to put them on my memory card, which I don't have today. Thanks! Take care everyone!
Elder Thayne
Oh, I have photos too, but I'm getting sick of this computer, so I'll send them next week!
This week we had a family night with them that was really fun! About a month ago, I made your recipe of mac and cheese for them, and they LOVED it! Then they started sharing it with their friends and family who are all making it now, and on saturday the hermana did an activity with all the young women and taught them how to make it. And that was what we ate for family night. It's taking over ecuador. Mac and cheese for the win!
This week the whole city of Guayaquil start cutting out the power. Because the whole city is run on hydroelectric power. They don't have nuclear power like in the states. The problem is, it hasn't rained here in a long time. And when it doesn't rain, there's no water. And when there's no water, there's no power. So they've put the whole city on a schedule, between about 11 and 1 there's power, and in the night starting at 5 or 6. Other than that, there's nothing. We're in the mall today writing letters because they have a backup plant. But yeah, it's kind of weird.
Well, as far as investigators go, this week we found 21 new investigators which is totally crazy. We entered a couple houses and they had all their friends over, so we wrote down all the information and addresses and stuff. But this week we lost Martha. I don't know what happened because she was so excited about getting baptized, but now she thinks she needs to wait. She wants to finish therapy before she gets baptized... ech. But oh well, we're just going to keep working with her I guess...
Well not much else this week. But could you do me a favor and send those photos from halloween to my gmail account? I need to delete them from here, but I want to put them on my memory card, which I don't have today. Thanks! Take care everyone!
Elder Thayne
Oh, I have photos too, but I'm getting sick of this computer, so I'll send them next week!
Wow! It's been a while!
Here are a couple recent letters and pictures from Elder Thayne:
11/2/09
I just wrote a reallllllly long email, but this myldsmail system timed out and deleted the whole thing. I'm not going to attempt to write it again because I don't have time, sorry. I'm really mad.
BUT
Things are going well here. Our investigators are good. We're having fun. The Spanish is rocking incredibly. I loved the photos of halloween. Only a few people dress up here for halloween, but this weekend there was nobody in the streets. We did some house hunting this week and found some really cool houses. I read a cool article about the Dead Sea Scrolls (you can look up information on the internet) and how they comply with the doctrines taught in the book of mormon. Did you know that Alma actually baptized himself in the waters of mormon? He had authority to baptized, but he hadn't been baptized yet... It's the same thing Joseph Smith did when he restored the church. We did a cool service project with the zone, washing cars, and talking to their owners about the gospel. That's about it. Enjoy the photos!
Love you all!
Elder Thaynee
10/26/09
Wow, sounds like y'all are goin nuts with the garden! And it's good you got so much before the cold comes... Honestly, I haven't felt cold for 3 months. You wanted to know a little about the weather here. Here you go: Some days are hot, other days are hot, and then every once in a while it's hot. So basically, yeah, it's really hot here. But it doesn't bug me too much. I've pretty much gotten used to being drenched in sweat all the time. But we're just barely getting into the hottest part of the year. And it's really not even that hot, in the 80s usually, but the sun here is SOOOOO strong, and that's what kills. From what I've heard, the sun rays here are actually pretty dangerous. Eek. But I'm wearing lots of sunscreen, mom! In about January we will get into rainy season, where everything floods. I'm surprised I never heard anything about this before coming, but supposedly it rains every day, and the missionaries walk around in 3 feet of water everywhere. Woooo, can't wait! It's not super humid here (yet), but a little bit. There aren't many mosquitos either, but there will be I'm sure! Other than that, cockroaches are kings here. Them and the lagartijas (it means lizard, but the Spanish word is a whole lot more fun).
ANYWAY, this week was super good again! We taught lots of lessons, and the investigators are doing alright! Unfortunately we lost 2 more baptismal dates because two investigators didn't show up at church.
Paulo Vargas left from his house 5 days ago, and never came back. His wife is NOT happy (as you can imagine), she called his sister, and the sister said that he was mad. So he just left. And he won't answer his phone or talk to her... Soo.... yeah, he probably won't be progressing very fast. Not sure what's going to happen there...
Maria was remodeling her house and wasn't able to come.
Cristofer we didn't see once this week. We kept missing him.
BUT, we took Martha to a baptismal service on Saturday from E Zuluagas ward, and she LOVED it. She was sitting up there in front in her wheelchair, and when they turned on the video "Together Forever" she started crying. At the end of the baptism , she said, "Ahora me toca a mi!" (Alright now it's my turn!) That's right it is.
Oscar had his baptismal interview and is sooooo ready to be baptized. He's got all the lessons done and is just waiting for the day to come, there's nothing else he needs. Super bien.
So that's where they're at. Yesterday we taught a reference, a woman named Grace and her two kids Kevin and Andres. They were awesome! I'm really hoping for them to progress, but we'll see what happens!
We also found another man name Holgoer (how's that for a mouth full). He's really awesome. He has a cataract in his right eye, so it's completely white and really scary looking, but he's great! We had a good first lesson with him, he was receptived to everything and asked questions and all that. At the end we invited him to pray and ask to know that this is true. As he was offering his simple little prayer, the Spirit flooded the room like I've never felt before. I noticed that first, that everything seemed to go silent. And then I realized that he was crying. He quickly finished his prayer, and looked up at us with his eyes flooded with tears, thanked us for the visit and brushed us out of his little curbside store. We haven't seen him since, but have an appointment with him tomorrow. So we'll see what happens!
Okay, that's me this week! Take care, peeps! Love,
Elder Thayne
11/2/09
I just wrote a reallllllly long email, but this myldsmail system timed out and deleted the whole thing. I'm not going to attempt to write it again because I don't have time, sorry. I'm really mad.
BUT
Things are going well here. Our investigators are good. We're having fun. The Spanish is rocking incredibly. I loved the photos of halloween. Only a few people dress up here for halloween, but this weekend there was nobody in the streets. We did some house hunting this week and found some really cool houses. I read a cool article about the Dead Sea Scrolls (you can look up information on the internet) and how they comply with the doctrines taught in the book of mormon. Did you know that Alma actually baptized himself in the waters of mormon? He had authority to baptized, but he hadn't been baptized yet... It's the same thing Joseph Smith did when he restored the church. We did a cool service project with the zone, washing cars, and talking to their owners about the gospel. That's about it. Enjoy the photos!
Love you all!
Elder Thaynee
10/26/09
Wow, sounds like y'all are goin nuts with the garden! And it's good you got so much before the cold comes... Honestly, I haven't felt cold for 3 months. You wanted to know a little about the weather here. Here you go: Some days are hot, other days are hot, and then every once in a while it's hot. So basically, yeah, it's really hot here. But it doesn't bug me too much. I've pretty much gotten used to being drenched in sweat all the time. But we're just barely getting into the hottest part of the year. And it's really not even that hot, in the 80s usually, but the sun here is SOOOOO strong, and that's what kills. From what I've heard, the sun rays here are actually pretty dangerous. Eek. But I'm wearing lots of sunscreen, mom! In about January we will get into rainy season, where everything floods. I'm surprised I never heard anything about this before coming, but supposedly it rains every day, and the missionaries walk around in 3 feet of water everywhere. Woooo, can't wait! It's not super humid here (yet), but a little bit. There aren't many mosquitos either, but there will be I'm sure! Other than that, cockroaches are kings here. Them and the lagartijas (it means lizard, but the Spanish word is a whole lot more fun).
ANYWAY, this week was super good again! We taught lots of lessons, and the investigators are doing alright! Unfortunately we lost 2 more baptismal dates because two investigators didn't show up at church.
Paulo Vargas left from his house 5 days ago, and never came back. His wife is NOT happy (as you can imagine), she called his sister, and the sister said that he was mad. So he just left. And he won't answer his phone or talk to her... Soo.... yeah, he probably won't be progressing very fast. Not sure what's going to happen there...
Maria was remodeling her house and wasn't able to come.
Cristofer we didn't see once this week. We kept missing him.
BUT, we took Martha to a baptismal service on Saturday from E Zuluagas ward, and she LOVED it. She was sitting up there in front in her wheelchair, and when they turned on the video "Together Forever" she started crying. At the end of the baptism , she said, "Ahora me toca a mi!" (Alright now it's my turn!) That's right it is.
Oscar had his baptismal interview and is sooooo ready to be baptized. He's got all the lessons done and is just waiting for the day to come, there's nothing else he needs. Super bien.
So that's where they're at. Yesterday we taught a reference, a woman named Grace and her two kids Kevin and Andres. They were awesome! I'm really hoping for them to progress, but we'll see what happens!
We also found another man name Holgoer (how's that for a mouth full). He's really awesome. He has a cataract in his right eye, so it's completely white and really scary looking, but he's great! We had a good first lesson with him, he was receptived to everything and asked questions and all that. At the end we invited him to pray and ask to know that this is true. As he was offering his simple little prayer, the Spirit flooded the room like I've never felt before. I noticed that first, that everything seemed to go silent. And then I realized that he was crying. He quickly finished his prayer, and looked up at us with his eyes flooded with tears, thanked us for the visit and brushed us out of his little curbside store. We haven't seen him since, but have an appointment with him tomorrow. So we'll see what happens!
Okay, that's me this week! Take care, peeps! Love,
Elder Thayne
Quick Update
Sorry I haven't done so well updating. Eric is doing really well. He's leaving for Ecuador early Monday morning. He's speaking Spanish really well now, and he's loving the work! I will be giving you all a new address soon!
It's Official! He's a Missionary!
Elder Thayne entered the MTC today! He got a different address for while he is staying at the MTC (the first 2 months). Here is that address:
Elder Eric Austin Thayne
MTC Mailbox #280
ECU-GUAS 0720
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793
Elder Eric Austin Thayne
MTC Mailbox #280
ECU-GUAS 0720
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793
Contact Info
Hey everyone! Here is the information you will need in order to contact me on my mission.
First of all, you can email me at eric.thayne@myldsmail.net.
And here are my addresses so you can write me lots and lots of letters!
Pouch (Preferred method - only postcards and letters that are single sheet, folded into three-panels, and taped at the top only. No envelopes)
Elder Eric Austin Thayne
Ecuador Guayaquil South Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150
USA
Mission Office (for sending packages or anything that doesn't qualify for the pouch)
Elder Eric Austin Thayne
Ecuador Guayaquil South Mission
Calle G, Nº 601, Edif. Mallorca, 3 Piso
Cdla. Kennedy
Guayaquil, Guayas
ECUADOR
Cool! I hope to be hearing from you soon!
¡Hasta luego!
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