Gobble Gobble

Cause every time we TEACH, I get this feeling
And every time we PRAY I swear I could fly
Can't you feel my heart beat fast,
I want this to last
With MI HIJO by my side!
-Cascada (I heard this song like 10 times in the street this week.  They love gringo music)

This week was kind of a slower one, but thats ok becuase we´re missionaries.  We were walking around almost all week with almost every appointment falling.  Even for the ones that were set in stone!  We decided to fast as a companionship for two new families and two people with a baptismal date.  And yesterday, God blessed us with two new investigators with a date for the 19th of December.  Its another mother-daughter duo and they are both named Karina.  AND, God also blessed us with THREE new families!  Fasting really does work!

Elder Liendo and I had a lot of new experiences as well.  As he is a smaller, asian looking guy, and I am gringo, we have lots of great friends that like to ask us for money :)  Elder Liendo kinda freaks about and gets behind me.  Then, I just have to say "Lo siento pana, estoy chiro" or "Sorry buddy, Im broke".  I give them a fist bump and we walk away like nothing happened but my comps heart rate might be off beat haha.  
We also taught a few drunk guys this week that just walked into lessons and wanted to listen to "La Palabra" or "The Word".  Lots of great times here in Esmeraldas.

Played lots of indor (futsal) this week, so watch out.  Ecuador is undefeated in the World Cup process so we are just going to take it all.  The whole country shuts down when there is game, so we try to bug people a bit by making them answer doors during an important game.

I remember that last Thanksgiving I ate crackers and water for dinner.  I think it will be somewhat the same, but we may add some rice and chicken in there somewhere :) .Ponte Pilas this week during Thanksgiving.  Christmas is great, but next month.  Give thanks for EVERYTHING.  Even your trials.  That has helped me find ways to become a better person.  This is the true Gospel!  It rocks!  Grandkids have fun at Gma´s party!

Elder Lomeli

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Sunday Lauren!  Wow the big 17.  Make sure to celebrate it a bit with God at church :)  Love you!!

Live action shot writing home :)

Apples to.....Onions?

Elders are like onions. *sniff*.  They stink? Yes....NO! Oh, you mean you leave them out in the sun and they start to sprout curly white hairs!  NO!!!  Elders have layers...HUH?  We just both have layers, you get the picture.  Cakes! Everybody loves cakes! Do cakes have layers?

Well another week has come and gone ladies and gents.  Things are rolling here in Propica for sure.  One morning this week Elder Liendo got up early to make breakfast.  He made pasta and a plate full of chopped onions.  I wondered what I was supposed to do with them, and he takes the worlds biggest mouthful of raw onions and washed it down with a teeny bit of pasta...  I think soon he is going to eat onions like apples.

We were also able to have an amazing tour of the chapel this week with an investigator named Daisy.  We ended in the sacrament room and we asked her to take some time to ponder and pray about if the church was true or not.  When she had finished she started to cry and the Spirit smacked us in the face like a ton of bricks.  She said that she felt that the church was true, and the next day she brought 4 of her family members to church!  In total we had 6 investigators come to church and 12 less actives!  But we still struggled to get them to commit to baptism becuase no one wants to get married here.

And to make the week even better, we found this kid named Eduardo contacting.  We taught him the Restoration and he accepted the baptismal invitation.  We got to know him a bit better and came to find out the he plays BASEBALL.  I was so struck I almost hugged the kid.  He is a pitcher like me so we will definitly be working to get this guy closer to Christ.

We have lots of big plans to take this ward up to the top.  Please pray that we can find a FAMILY that will be able to progress in this perfect Gospel.  I know that its true.  It is perfectly outlined to help the family become Eternal.  I just love being that blonde haired white missionary, in a pool of black people.  Its awesome!  Gotta try it sometime!

Have a grrrrrrrrrrrreat week! -Tony the Tiger

Elder Lomeli "Lamoni"


Get this guy some Sploosh :)

Got His Dad's Nose :)

Hello.....Hi.  So, uh, whens the baby due? Baby?! What baby!?! (wack with a purse in the gut)

Weighing in at 110 pounds and 5 ounces, measuring 5'4", and all the way from Tacna Peru, my son is Elder Liendo!  

I got to Quito and it was SUPER cold.  I am definitely more of a costal person.  Me and cold dont mix at all.  I was at a missionary hotel (house of a ZL in Quito) with Elder Colfack (also from LP) to recieve our children.  The night before we wanted to order pizza.  We called at like 9.30, check all the prices, tell them the address, and place our order. Long story short they said that it was too late and werent gonna give us pizza.  Dominos is 110% more reliable in the states than in Ecuador.  We all just considered it an unplanned fast haha :)

As I was thinking about who my comp was gonna be, it though I was going to get a gringo.  There were a lot in this group.  But, I was totally fine getting a latino, preferably not from Peru because all my latino comps have been from Peru.  But there must be something that God wants me to learn from Peruvians becuase he gave me yet another one.

Elder Liendo is great.  He is very intelligent and loves to just talk and converse about the Gospel.  He looks Asian becuase his mom is chinese.  His mom is currently a less active member and his dad isnt a member.  He is truly here on his own accord and had to go through a lot to get here.  He is teaching me more than I am teaching him.  I am very excited to be able to help him be the best missionary possible.

In the sector we are struggling with investigatos attending, but we have faith that they will come.  We find new people almost every day.  That is what is great about this Gospel.  We always have a chance to change and get better.  And the Atonement is just what makes it all possible.  This really is the true church.

Come what may, and LOVE IT.

Have a great week!

Elder Lomeli


Mi Hijo ✌

Baby on Board!

Rockabye baby, on the tree top, when the wind blows, your cradle will drop. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, crying and all!

Well if you cant tell, my new companion this change is going to be a newborn.  He is entering the final stages of labor with his mother in the CCM as we speak.  He is scheduled to be delivered in Quito tomorrow around 2:00 p.m.  Then after some time in the NICU with the doctor (President) he will be transfered to the hands of his parent.  I dont know who he is or where he came from, but I already love him and am willing to help him be the best he can be.

This week has been full of finding finding and finding.  But, sadly most of the new people we found werent able to come to church.  But, we did have 10 less actives come, so we hope we will be able to get some rescues very soon.  Please pray that we may be lead and guided to those that are prepared to hear the Gospel.

It was raining a lot this week, and it was the last week we had together as a district.  We were all really close, so we wanted to live it up a bit.  We wanted to play soccer erryday and just keep the laughs going.  The soccer court here is of cement, and when wet, is a great trap for Elders that think they are better at sports than they really are. The court took its revenge out on us, and we went back to the house wet and dirty everyday.  And to top it off, the one day that it was dry, it decided to slap us in the face by still making us slip and fall.  Been a good week for sure.

I am currently in the process of obtaining the recipe of the best encebollado here in Esmeraldas to make back in the states.  Anyone ever heard of yucca?  Before coming here I never had, but its like the potato. Start looking so we can have a bit of paradise later on!

Something that has been on my mind this week was a quote from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. "Come what may, and love it".  Sometimes we think that we need to complicate humility to live it.  Its as simple as Elder Wirthlin said.  It has started to change the way that I see and respond to things.  I know that it can do the same for all of us.  Just love life and learn from it. Dont complain, its part of the journey that God has planned for each and every one of us.

Hope yall have a good week!  Congrats to Dylan for yet again winning the championship in football!  LPOD

There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.  -Thomas S. Monson