Hello Lago Agrio!

Letter from the mission president to the Lomeli Family:



Dear Lomeli Family,

Since today is P-day, we hope that you’ve heard from your son, but we also wanted to let you know that we are delighted to have welcomed Elder Lomeli to the Ecuador Quito North Mission.  We spent three days last week training with him and learned some fun things about him.  He shared with us that his grandparents on his Dad’s side are from Mexico and that his dad served a mission here in Ecuador.  No doubt, he will continue what his father started here.  He has a wonderful personality and has quickly has found a special  place in our hearts and we are confident that he will be a great addition to our mission. 

We assure you that we will do everything possible to help Elder Lomeli grow in his personal conversion, and to thus have a positive experience here in the newly formed Ecuador Quito North Mission.  This is a wonderful mission that experiences a high number of baptisms, and success in reactivation. Our boundaries include coast, jungle, a native Indian area, as well as the highly populated city of Quito so our missionaries have a wide range of experiences.  President Spencer W. Kimball said that the most pure Lamanite people live in Otavalo, which is a part of our mission.  This is easy to believe because of their faithfulness and strength – earning their city the title of “Utah”valo.

The theme of our mission is translated “The Center of the World; Centered on Christ,” and we have a wonderful group of 19 missionaries who arrived with him.  He will be serving in the jungle area of Lago Agrio, an area that was likely not open when his father was here, with Elder Gonzalez of Peru.
The Lord is hastening the Work of Salvation and this is an amazing time to be a missionary.  Elder Lomeli is needed here and we are so grateful he has chosen to serve a mission.  We will care for him as if he were our own. 
We know you’re already planning on it, but we want to remind you to write your son a weekly letter.  His preparation day will be on Mondays.

With love,

President and Sister Richardson
Misión Ecuador Quito Norte

Travins Email:

Hello Lago Agrio!

Hola everyone!

Well, I am here in Ecuador finally in the field.  I am serving in the area Lago Agrio, which is in the JUNGLE part of Ecuador.  It is very humid and hot here, and if you know me at all, I very much dislike humidity.  It was about an 8 hour bus ride from Quito, so my car sickness phobia wasnt helped much either.  There are 6 missionaries in the city, one branch of about 75 people, and a lot of work to be done.

My companions name is Elder Gonzalez.  He is 23 and is from Lima Peru/Chile.  He speaks very very little English, but a rule in our mission is that as the North Americans learn Spanish, the Latinos are supposed to learn English.  So I teach him and he teaches me everyday.  We get along pretty well, and he likes to joke around a lot.  He is my "Padre" and I am affectionately known as his "Hijo".  This is only because he is my trainer.  I will be with him for a total of three months here in Lago, and after that we will just have to see!

Our first actual day of work, we had lunch with a mamita.  We ate rice, beans, fried plantains, beef, and Coca Cola.  Everything was good but the Cola, because Im not a soda drinker haha.  Then we went contacting in a little neighborhood, with dirt roads, wooden houses, etc.  The first lady I even talked to invited us to sit with her and share a message.  Her name was Ines Castillo.  We shared the Plan of Salvation, and I gave the baptismal invitation, and she accepted it!  We just have to track her down now, since she lives all over the place, or so she claims.  We then tried to contact the area more and we wound up at a part member home.  The Familia Ceballos, are a great familiy, and the grandparents that live with them are the investigators.  They fed us, tried to teach me to play the guitar, but I ended up playing the maracas :)  

The next day, it was my turn to take the lead in contacting, and even though I was a little nervous, I did a good job, and we contacted about 7 people that day.  We then went back the the Ceballos home, and taught them another lesson.  Hermana Ceballos fed us afterward, and after I finished my plate, she gave me a whole new plate with even MORE food.  It left maybe one bite, becuase I was about to explode after the first plate.  They love love love to feed the missionaries here.

Sunday was different from any normal Sunday.  We have church at 9:00 like normal, but its not a regular chapel.  Its on the second floor of a Colobian Refugee building with no A/C and no nice pews.  We had plastic chairs and fans the whole time, but it was still pretty hot.  I was called to give the closing prayer at the end of sacrament meeting.  There is only one Melchizedek priesthood holder in our branch, so one of the ZL´s is the branch president, and our DL is his secretary.  The rest of us missionaries are the teacers for classes and stuff.  After church we had lunch with some members.  We ate rice, corn (like Nacho Libre), salad, Coca Cola, beef, chicken and ubre (COW UDDER).  Oh it was so weird.  It was really chewy and had a weird texture.  I didnt know what it was until after I ate it, so I ate like 5 pieces about the size of my palm.  I didnt puke though so that was good.  We shared a message about Christ with them afterward, and I tried to give as much as I could as possible.  It went well though.

Then later that night, some of the young men in the branch came on splits with Elder Gonzalez and I.  Pablo and Christopher were their names, and they are both Teachers.  They bore powerful testimonies to the member that we visited.  One member was less active, and the other was a family where only the father was a member and the rest of the family was investigating.  They taught me a lot of spanish and local terms.  I think that the young men should go on splits with the missionaries more often in Utah.  I never had the chance and I wish I had.  They have such great spirits and testimonies that strengthened mine.  

President gave us little DVD players to watch the District videos to help with the infield training out here.  My comp never saw them, so we watch some each night, and he is astounded at how easy it is in the show for people to accept the gospel.  He gets a kick out of it.

Well, now that I am here, I am ready to start working.  There are people here that I need to find and teach, and I am going to do just that.  The book is blue, the church is true, and Im really really sweaty.  I encourage you all to keep striving to become closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Love you all.

Love,

Elder Lomeli

Me and My comp

Elder Keyes and his comp

Arrived in ECUADOR

Hola everyone!

This is going to be a quick one.  I will send a longer one when I know when my Pday is.  So we left the CCM at 10:30, and our flight left from Mexico to Colombia at 2:15 in the morning.  After a four hour flight we landed in Colombia and had a two hour layover.  I was able to go through customs, call home, and get some Dunkin Donuts before having to board the next plane to Quito.  That flight lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes.  We were met my the AP´s and President and Sister Robinson by the doors.  One of the APs went to LP as well haha.  We had an hour bus ride to the chapel, where we will be having training for the next few days.  I wont get my companion until Thursday, and I will also go to my new area that day as well.

I got here safe, and am happy to be here.  Cant believe dad was here 30 year ago!!!

Love you all, and I will talk to you soon.

Elder Lomeli

Last week in the CCM!

Hello everyone!

This week really did fly by.  So many good lessons, teaching appointments, and excitement to leave.  I got my travel itinerary a couple minutes ago, and I leave Tuesday at 2:15 in the morning.  So I willl actually leave the CCM at 10:00 Monday night.  I will have a four hour flight to Bogotá Colombia, have a 2 hour layover, then have another 1 1/2 hour flight to Quito.  I cant wait!  We even get a hot meal on the plane too haha.  So I think I will be able to call home either when I am about to leave Mexcio, or once I get to Ecuador.  I will let you all know as soon as I find out.

This last Sunday, my district and I had to opportunity to give a mini sacrament service for the workers in the Comedor (cafeteria).  I gave a little two minute thought on the importance of reading and feasting on the words of Christ.  Afterward, some of the workers told me that my spanish was really good.  Maybe I am learning something here haha.  Then, in our normal sacrament meeting, my comp and I had the chance to pass the sacrament.  I hadnt passed in a really long time, so I jumped at the opportunity.  President Brown then asked me to give a talk on the Holy Ghost.  I tried to just wing it, and use some scriptures, and it turned out really well.  Once again, the branch presidency and their wives all told me that my spanish was good.  Now I just need to completely immerse myself to get the full effect.

We heard some really great news the other day.  This coming Satruday, we are having a special devotional by NEIL L ANDERSON!!! Holy nuts I am sooo excited.  He even wishes to personally greet EACH missionary as we come into the auditorium.  This will be the first time I will shake hands with a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.  Good thing he decided to come this week instead of next!

I am super glad to hear that everyone is doing well.  Just so everyone knows, I placed tiny cameras in the Lyman house to make sure that everything stays in order. haha just kidding.  Have a good time down there!  Im sorry to hear all the bad news about BYU.  At least we have basketball to look forward to in the coming years when BYU-Alpine trasfers to BYU-Provo :)

Things with my companion have gone up this week.  We had a good comp inventory, that will at least get us through this final week.  Our district has also become closer knowing this is the last week we have together.  Its ok though, four of them live in Utah so we can hang out after the mission. They live in: Riverton, Sandy, Alpine, and Park City, So pretty close

I recieved an email from my mission president that I will forward.  It is a brief welcome and overview of the mission.  I cant wait to get there!

I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  I know that Joseph Smith restored this gospel here on the earth.   I know Christ died for us so that we can live with Him again.  

I pray for all of you every night.  You were all great helps and examples to get me out on my mission.  Thank you for your prayers in my behalf.  I love all of you so much.

Talk to you soon FROM ECUADOR!

Elder Lomeli

Before

After

our new latino friends

Elders:

Reynosa

Marin

Ramirez

Guevara

Gonzalez

Letter from the Mission President:

Dear New Missionaries,

You have one more week in the MTC and then you’ll be coming to the GREATEST MISSION IN THE WORLD!!!  We really feel that way, and there are many reasons for that.

Our mission is new and becoming more and more obedient and diligent with each new group.  We fully expect that your group (of 20) will be as strong as or even stronger than previous groups and we look forward to meeting each one of you.  We have been looking at your names and pictures and have been praying for you.

The Ecuador Quito North Mission is made up of 230 missionaries, of which approximately 130 are Latin and the rest are North American.  We have 65 sisters.  Our mission includes coast, countryside, jungle, and city and you will enjoy a wide range of experiences and climates.   Our missionaries consistently reactivate and baptize because the people are very believing.  President Spencer W. Kimball said that the most pure Lamanite people live in Otavalo, which is in our mission.  That part of the country is often referred to as “Utahvalo,” because of the abundance of members.

We will receive and love you like our own child and will do everything we can to help you have the most rewarding mission.  We know that will happen as you choose to be obedient and diligent, which means following the mission schedule and the mission manual.

Please know that we already love you and look forward to meeting you in person in a matter of days.

With love and best wishes,

President and Hermana Richardson

Amazing Weekend!!

Hola everyone!

I think the title speaks for itself.  This weekend was one for the record books.  I will admit up front that this was the first time that I have ever stayed awake for all five sessions of General Conference.  And this was the first time that I have taken notes in every session, not just the Priesthood session.  I have to agree with everyone that all the talks in this session were phenomenal, but if I had to pick out just one (three) they would all be from the Sunday afternoon session.  I really really like Elder Ballards talk about staying in the boat.  I liked how he likened our life jacket as the scriptures.  If we read them, ponder them, and apply them we will never sink.  Elder Scott has always been one of my top three favorite speakers, and this session was no different.  The four tools he gave us to resist temptation really impacted me.  Especially the first two tools, which were prayer and heeding the words of the scriptures and of the living Prophets.  And lastly, Elder Bednars talked geared towards the non members.  His talked really strengthened my desire and confidence to help bring more souls unto Christ.  He made it all sound so simple, and thats how it really is.  So I invite everyone to take his challenge that he made at the very end, to COME UNTO CHRIST and see how he can bless your life.

Things with the companion have gotten a little better.  Just gonna have to try to love and tolerate him for another two weeks.  The departure date that my flight itinerary gave is not the correct one.  I dont leave the CCM until the 21st.  The church has to just schedule that flight in case I needed to have anything done with my visa.  They will end up cancelling it, and scheduling me another flight for the 21st of this month.  So now I get to be fed all this delicious, and desirable food for two more weeks.........  I am ready to just get out of here and go to work.  Sitting in the classroom all day gets really old.

Throughout this whole week I have been wanting to watch the BYU/USU football game, knowing that they play before every conference weekend.  I even asked my zone leaders to call our branch president how the game turned out.  He is an AVID BYU fan, and always gives us updates on the games every Sunday in ¨Priesthood.  To be honest, I kinda had a feeling that Bronco would get too greedy with having Taysom run the ball too much.  Yes that would have won him the Heisman, but it would have been the downfall.  Bronco should just fire Robert Anae already, but he is better that Doman was.  Just my two cents, even though they arent very missionary appropriate.  But hey, it is the LORDS university so we should be striving to make it a better school and a better football coaching staff.

I am so so glad to hear that Elder McCown is doing well.  Im sure he will be itching to get out of the MTC and get into the field.  You come to realize in the CCM that it doesnt matter how prepared you are or how well you know the language.  As long as you can invite the spirit, it will teach the investigator all they need to know to come unto Christ.  Knowing the language and lessons just make it a little easier :)

I love you all, and thank you for your prayers. I pray for the blessings of the Lord to come upon all of you every single night.  I know this is where I am supposed to be and I am too excited to serve the Lord.  Kinda hard to believe that I am already ONE MONTH done with the mission.  I am 1/24 done Mom, and next month will be 1/12! But who's counting? :)

Talk to you all next week! Love you! 

Elder Lomeli

Time really does FLY!

¡Buenas Tardes!

Oh my goodness I dont even know where to begin for this week!  First off, Im writing this email in the afternoon because we were able to go to the Temple today.  They are renovating the temple, so we werent able to go inside and do a session :(  We were however able to go into the visitors center and take the tour in there.  It was probably one of the cooler visitor centers that I have ever been in.  They have a special room dedicated to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  I just sat in there and looked at the pictures for almost a half hour, and pondered over the life of Christ.  

On Thursday we had a special devotional where we had two general authorities came; David F Evans, and Steven B Allen.  They are both really high on the executive missionary board for the church, and Elder Evans is in the First Quorum of the Seventy.  They gave good talks about what to do while in the CCM to make your experience in the field better.  Then afterward we were able to shake their hands.  It was awesome.

Our lessons with our mock investigators are going really well.  Elder Hagemeyer and I are getting better at teaching with the Spirit and assessing the needs of the investigator instead of trying to pound them with doctrine.  I have to help my comp with vocab words here and there, but for the most part we do a real good job.  Yesterday in comp study we were wondering what to teach our investigator Miguel.  We had been sitting there for a while, and couldnt figure out what to teach. So we got back down on our knees and we said another prayer.  When it was over, we both had the same prompting to teach the Plan of Salvation.  It was amazing to know that we both recieved the exact same prompting at the exact same time.  Truly increased my testimony of prayer.

Im glad to hear that things are going well at home!  I have only received one letter in the mail from Oma and Opa, but I got it like 11 days late.  If there are more letters, I havent seen them yet.  There is another Elder in my zone who said that his parents sent him a package on his first week and he hasnt received it yet....and he has been here for five weeks now.  I dont know what the deal is either.  I would have thought that the letter I sent to dad would be there by now. Oh well.  Maybe the postage will be better once Im in Ecuador.

Im not going to lie, Im getting sick of this place.  I want to get to Ecuador.  The food here is the primary reason.  It is becoming straight up awful.  The casa we live in is filthy, classes get kinda long, and I would be alright with a new comp.  I still love him, I just think its time for a change haha.

Idk about all of you but I for probably the first time in my life am STOKED for General Conference this weekend.  Maybe its cuz we will get out of class, but its mostly cuz we can listen to the Lord speak through his Prophet and Apostles.  AND, for the first time, Im going to try to stay AWAKE during all five sessions.  Wish me luck! I would love to hear what everyones favorite talk was too!

En conclusión, quiero compartir mi testimonio en español  Sé que esta iglesia es verdadera.  Sé que José Smith fue un profeta de Dios y que él tradujo el Libro De Mormón.  Sé que La Expiación de Jesucristo es el camino que podemos regresar a Dios por eternidad.  Sé que este misión no es mío, es el misión de Dios para mí.  Familias pueden ser eternas.  Sé que podemos recibir respuestas a nuestras oraciones si tenemos fe.  En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Love you all.  Talk to you next week!

Love,
Elder Lomeli

Don't fall asleep in the CCM haha

 Random guy chillin on the slide in the street

Mexico City Temple

Elder Fierros

Elder Calle (left) and Elder Hernandez (right)

CCM Week 2

¿Cómo les va? Or in English, Hows it goin?

So the second week here in the CCM has been a pretty good one.  Lots of spiritual experiences.  To start off, we finished out appointments with our mock investigator David.  He said that we did really well, we just need to slow down and not do too much doctrine in each lesson.  Now we have TWO new mock investigators: Miguel and Luiz.  They are really just our actual class teachers but they do a really good job at making it seem real.  Miguel is really hard to read, and he doesnt share his feelings and past experiences.  Its like teaching a brick wall, but Hermano Cates says that it is good practice for how the real investigators will act.  We got a new teacher for the afternoon classes.  His name is Hermano Vargas.  He is 23, and is the most happy, bubbly, and caring person at the CCM.  He is always laughing and smiling, which makes it a lot easier to learn.

So I need to share and experience about this last Sunday.  For our intermediate hymn, the district that would be leaving on Tuesday sing.  They sang a Childs Prayer.   I had never had that primary song hit me so hard as it did on Sunday.  I had been praying to know that Heavenly Father would hear and answer my prayers, but I didnt get it till that song was sung.  I actuall started to cry a little, and the branch president, Presidente Machado saw me doing it.  He asked me after if I was ok, and I just told him that I was feeling the Spirit really strongly.  He gave me a hug and said that this is the reason I am here.  To feel the Spirit so that I can go out to Ecuador and share that same spirit that I felt.  It amazes me how much I have progressed since I have been here.

The food here has dwindled a bit.  Most the other Elders in my district have had "Montezumas Revenge" all week long.  That one Nacho Libre quote has never been heard that many times by human ears.  Its "Easter" every single day, if you know what I mean haha.  The Costco pizza we get to eat every Tuesday is the same as back in the states.  The only drawback is that we have the last Comedor (cafeteria) time, so the pizza is on the colder side.  But it is still delicious none the less!  I just have Mexican blood, so the food doesnt effect me the way it does with the other American elders :)

Just hearing that we are gonna have a hopefully completed backyard when I get home sounds great!  When they mow the grass here, I kinda wanna hop on the mower and weed wacker and show them how its done at a Country Club.  But they do  a really good job, they just need to make the air smell like fresh cut grass more often.

Things with my companion have improved a lot.  We made a goal to be more than just companions.  We are also trying to be friends.  The only thing we need to work on is exactly what to teach our investigators, becuase we sometimes think they need to hear different messages.  But we somehow make it work when we are actually in the lesson.  We work by the Spirit and the lesson always seems to turn out alright.  The Spirit really is the Real teacher, not us.

I got the package y'all sent, and I loved it! I ate the beef jerky right away haha.  I hope you had a good BIrthday Dad.  I sent you a letter, but I dont know if it got to you in time.  Also, happy birthday TODAY Oma!  Dont have the party with the baloon slide until I get home, ok? Haha just kidding.

The language is going really well.  Most of our lessons are taught in Spanish, so my ears are getting better.  We sometimes sit with the Latinos during meals and talk with them.  They are really funny people.  In fact, they invited our district to play cage soccer with them today.  Im sure they are going to kick our butts.  I am getting better at praying in Spanish and being able to speak my mind when the Spirit helps during the lessons.  I just love speaking this language, and cannot wait until I start dreaming in spanish. That will be so cool.

To finish, there are a lot of Elders here from my high school. Everyone is amazed at how many people I already know, and they get a little jealous.  Im gonna try to remember as many names as I can: Jake Irving, Sterling Dahl, Kolin Powell, Austin Keyes, Zach Frampton, Alex Pocok, Austin Burt, Luke Yamada, Matt Christensen, Braden Vance, and Maddi Rees.  Small world Eh?  

Love you all, Thanks for your prayers!

Love,

Elder Lomeli

Our district with our teacher Hermano Cates

Dad, even our buses down here are all MERCEDES!!!! IM IN HEAVEN hahahaha

First week at the CCM!!!

Hello everyone!

It has been a great week here at the CCM. CCM stands for Centro por Capitación de México.  The MTC is for all those provo missionaries.  My companions name is Elder Nathan Hagemeyer and he is from Colorado.  He was born in Guadalajara, so he has dual citizenship and doesnt need a passport to enter Mexico.  We definitely have different personalitites.  I am more easy going and like to collaborate when it comes to planning or teaching, whereas he likes to be the one in charge.  But I am trying my hardest to love him and get along with him!

The food here is not quite as bad as everyone says it is.  We get to eat authentic Mexican food everyday for every meal.  The Mexican food is COMPLETELY different from the food we eat back at home.  There are no such thing as burritos, flour tortillas, or cheddar cheese.  Oh how I have longed to have some cheese with my refried beans....  They do have have things like cereal, and a full on nutella bar for those that either have diarrhea or dont like the Mexican food.  I have only had one "bathroom" problem, but I popped a pill to take care of that.  But every Tuesday, we get pizza night from the local Costco.  I cant wait!!!!!! Also Tuesday is my P-day, so my emails will come then.

I met my district on Wednesday.  There are eight of us and there are no hermanas.  There are only two districts here in the CCM that are all elders, and we are one of them.  The elders are: Christensen (DL) and Miller, Hagemeyer and Lomeli, Atkinson and Harmer, Tague and Jaussi (yowsee).  We all got along really well right of the bat, and we consider ourselves brothers.  This unity really has brought the spirit when we are doing our studies in the classroom.  We are not afraid to tell each other how we are feeling and how we think we can better help the district.  In my last email, I think I forgot to mention that the name of my district is 12B, not just B or 12.

The studies here have gone really well.  Our teacher is Hermano Cates.  What makes him special is that he is also the Director of Teaching and Operations of the CCM, and he said that he HAND PICKED our district to teach.  I feel so blessed to have him.  He and his family live here and the kids are hilarious!  To go along with being blessed, we also have a great zone.  The ZL's (Grantham and Schmidt) are amazing, and they also said that we are the only zone that has a little family night every Monday, and that we are the only zone that meets together every night before we return to our casas to sing and pray together.  The spirit is so strong when we are all together.

On Thursday, we began teaching an investigator.  He is really a member, but he does a good job at role playing an investigator.  His name is David Urias, and we have already had three discussions with him.  In our most recent one, we invited him to come to church, read the Book of Mormon, and be baptized! It was amazing.  Knowing as much spanish as I do has really helped.

I know this email is long, but a lot has happened and I just HAVE to share!!

Yesterday was Mexican Independence Day.  We got to be done wit classes and have a program where we learned how Mexico gained its independence, and watch closes to 20 traditional dances of Mexico including: The Mexican Hat Dance, and the one that goes like Bamba bamba over and over again.  At the end we all stood and sang the Mexican national anthem.  Dont want to sound rude, but the Mexican one is SOOOO much cooler.  They actually sing it with gusto and with pride.  They dont try to change it and make it over the top like they do in the US.  ¡Viva México!

Lauren: Yes the keyboards here are in spanish.  There are keys for all the different symbols and letters, and the normal symbols arent in their normal places, which makes it harder to type.  But there is a function where you can change the keyboard from English to Spanish. It makes it nice.  Just go ahead and gleek on all the boys.  They deserve it.

Dyl; Keep helping out mom and dad.  You need to learn how to do the technology stuff so you can teach ME when I get back.  But Im sorry to say that you wont beat me in Tiger Woods ;) And make sure mom doesnt break the vaccum haha.

One last thing.  I did find out that you can send my packages while I am here.  You need to do it through a website called www.missionarypackagemx.com.  I dont know the kinds of things you can send, but yes you can send me a package :)

I love you all, and thank you for the prayers and support!  Write to you next week around the same time!

Con amor,

Elder Lomeli