Made In America

"He loves his wife, shes that wife, that decorates on the 4th of July, and says,

every day is independence day!" -Toby Keith

I hope everyone is having a great 4th of July!  Hotdogs, baseball, fireworks, popcorn, popsicles, and pop music.  Makes the US awesome.  I cant lie though, Ecuador is pretty dope.  I love this country, I really do.

This week was a bit better than the last.  We are still trying to find people to teach, but this week we found some people that are more willing to listen.  We just need to keep praying and finding is all!  However, here in Cayambe the other two elders baptized a great family!  The Zambrano family is from the coast and they passed through lots of trials to make it to the waters of baptism.  I had to buy quite a few of the siser´s delicious empanadas so they could get married.  They were so happy after!

Us gringos were super excited for today to come, so on Friday in the well-being meeting, we sand the Star Spangled Banner as the opening hymn.  You could say that patriotism never dies!

I have been reading a small talk by Elder Ballard about mental toughness.  I dont quite know how to translate into english, but the last phrase that he states is "Think you will baptize, and you will baptize!"  It has animated me a ton to keep going.  

Joshua 1:9

Elder Lomeli

Got da shooz shined :)

Taxopamba

Doc! Youre not gonna believe it! We gotta go back to 1985!.....I dont belive it!!!

Well well well.  Im gonna be a little straight forward in this one folks.  This week was hard.  Lots of contacting with no real success, and Oscar and Wendy decided to stop visiting with us.  Frustrating to say the least.  We are still chuggin along trying to find a family that will accept us and accept a baptismal date.  

We went to Taxopamba today as a district for an activity.  Its a waterfall by Otavalo that is super cool.  We took tons of pics and ate some pizza after.  PUNYAMBE!

Also we were visisted by my companion from Agato Elder Kimball.  He and his parents came and took the four elders of Cayambe to lunch.  Super awesome and talked about a few memories.

I was comforted a bit by a few scriptures that my zone leader Elder Matute shared with me. In Alma 21 it talks about how the people didnt want to listen to Ammon and his brethren. But when they kept going, and kept being diligent they were given much success.  I hope it comes soon after a good effort on our part.

Enjoy Stadium of Fire and TIM MCGRAW....So Jealous

Elder Lomeli

Catch me Elder Valentine!

Sloppy Joe´s

Hey so thanks to al for the Birthday wishes!  It was a good day and ate like three cakes...  Well, my face was smashed into a cake three times to be exact.  I love the members here a ton in Cayambe.  My district even bought me a cake!  20 years old now, still lots of things illegal for me dang it.

Update on Oscar and Wendy!  We might need to call an amber alert cuz we havent been able to find them all week.  They did mention to us last week though that they want to get married and baptized!  Just. Have. To. Find. Them. First......

I also had the final party thing with President and Hermana Richardson.  We ate lasagna and told funny storeis from the mish.  The winner was Elder Jeffrey though.  Lets just say that the parasites got the best of him haha.  Then we had a last testimony meeting and a going away video with pics of all of us.  Then on the way back to Otavalo we watched Taken 3 on the bus.  Prime.  To finish that day off we went to Sloppy Joes.  Its a burger place run by an AMERICAN, so the burgers are big and good!  

The cyber guy is playing 80´s classics right now so its a little hard to concentrate.  Elder Chistama is doing great. We get a long really well.  We are both quiet for the most part, but when we do talk we laugh :)

Lets Get Rockin!

Elder Lomeli

Last Dinner with the Richardsons!

When youre on divisions with Elder Lomeli, yer gonna sleep under the stars :)

Cake smash #1

Cake smash #2

Daráse Caminando Ve!

Van Pelt says that when Joseph went into a wood to pray, he was overcome by an evil dark virgen. Haha

Hey Hey Hey so I have been sending tons of things into the offices today so I will try to get everything in!  This Tuesday President will have a going away party with all the missionaries from my group.  He will only do this for the missionaries going home in July and August, since we will have almost completed 2 years with them.  Its gonna be sick.

Update on Oscar and Wendy.  They are acting super bipolar right now.  We did a chapel tour with them and Oscar recieved an answer that the church was true and everything.  We were pumped because he was really unsure about getting married to Wendy and being baptized.  But, Wendy, who was pumped before the chapel tour, totally closed off.  We dont know really what happened but neither of them came to church and have kind of been avoiding us.  We are going by today to see if we can talk to them.  Pray for Oscar to have the courage to be married and for Wendy to recieve and answer about the church.  They are(were) so close!

Elder Chistama is learning a ton!  We get along great and we are noticing the weirdest thing in the world about dogs here.  Somehow, someway, they always manage to take a poop ON TOP of the rock.  Grass nor dirt does it for them.  American dogs are a little behind I believe.

I have been reading in Mosiah(my favorite book in the BOM) and liked the story of Alma the Younger.  Its amazing to see how he was the vilest of sinners, but was able to repent and be clean again.  Its the same for us.  God WILL forgive us if he turn to him and repent fully.  It all comes from the knowledge that the Atonement allows us to claim mercy and break the bonds of justice on the condidtion of repentance.  If there is still a dark little corner in your life that you need to clean, DO IT and DO NOT DELAY.  Mosiah 16:5, if we dont repent, it would be as if there was no redemption.

Gonna be 20 this week.  Gosh Im old...

Elder Lomeli

Still dont know how the dogs do it.

Contacted it!

Mijito #3

You guessed it folks, along with all other missionaries in my zone.  I think I know have the record of companions from PERU!  My comps name is Elder Chistama and he is from Arequipa Peru. He is 25 and is one of the fruits of my mission loins.  One thing that is really cool about him is that he likes to clean and be clean!!! I think he is the most like his daddy.

So we have some new peeps with a baptismal date! Oscar and his girlfriend Wendy!  They have a date for the 25th of June, but are going to try to get married on the the 18th!!!!!  Oscar is rasta and has those cool dreds so he is pretty dope.  

When I went to pick up my companion they sent me ALONE!  They would have been better to set a three year old off alone in Times Square.  It was kinda scary but since I knew Quito well enough I was able to arrive ok.  I even invited myself to dinner...ALONE, ALL BY MYSELF.  Pollo Gus tastes better when you can eat in silence and enjoy.  But dont worry, I came to my senses pretty quick and ran to the house where I had to stay so I could breath normally again.  Better to stay with your compa.

I done been a little sick with a cold, but I tried an Ecuadorian remedy to fix it. Boil Coca Cola and add lime and drink it while its still hot right before bed.  Works like a charm.

I love this missionary thing. I think Ive said that before but Im sad that its gonna come to an end.  Gotta enjoy to the end!  God Speed.

Elder Lomeli

Took myself on a date

Hijito Elder Chistama

Tan Bobo

Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey! So Danny and Diego got baptized on Saturday!  Danny chose me to baptize him and he was so nervous!  Good thing the water was warm or he would have drowned like the other kid a few weeks ago.  We also had a special music number singing I am a Child of God and in was pretty sick.  All in all it was a good week.

I am going to be staying here in Cayame like President said.  I will be training a new missionary again.  To be honest I would like him to be from a different country thats not Peru, but if it comes to it, oh well :)  I was really surprised to recieve this assignment but Im excited at the same time. We sent Elder Parker to the airplane and he will be touching ground in New Mexico sometime tomorrow evening.  He was about to cry but didnt.  Ill see him at BYU for sure.

A lot of this week was visiting members too.  We made some smores and had a surprise Bday party for a less active that we rescued.  We had some good laughs and last night we had to sleep three missionaries to 2 beds.  Rough when one smells snores and the other is sick with a cold and YOU are the one in the middle.  Experiences that I learn from that I hope to never have to relive haha.  

Keep it cool, keep it clean, and keep reedin the Book of Mormon´s son Mormon.

Elder Lomeli

Kids still got it: String art

Danny and Diegos baptism!

Choclo Frito

Hey so I dont got lots of time this week cuz we get back from Otavalo late but here we go! Danny and Diego passed their interviews this week! They are going to be baptized this coming Saturday! We are too pumped.  We also had a killer lesson with Oscar.  He was feeling pressured by us to be baptized and had stopped talking to us for a while.  We went over and had a super spiritual lesson with him.  We told him that we would put less pressure on him if he keeps his commitments!  He accepted and we hope that he will be baptized soon.

I had my FINAL INTERVIEW with President Richardson this last week.  We had an interview a litle big longer than normal since I have been with him for almost two years. He gave me one last piece of advice that has stuck with me: "Just enjoy it".  Sometimes I stress out about the little things and dont slow down to enjoy the blessings I am recieving.  He did say that I will most likely end my mission here in Cayambe, but to live it to the fullest.

Me and Elder Andonaire (Skywalker) have been a little "chiro" this week, meaning that there is little money.  So an hermana gave us some corn and we pan fried the corn....pretty delicious.  Thats what we ate this week with some oatmeal if we behaved good.  

We are doing well.  If you have any questions or comments, talk to my secretary.  She can be found when I find one :)

Congrats on the Eagel Dyl!

Elder Lomeli

Interviews are stressful

What ya gotta do when your bed has fleas...