Not Much

So its been another week here in good ol santa ana. Another week of contacting all day and all week. We didnt have our first lesson until Thursday so it was a little hard to keep going hard at it touchin doors until Thursday but it was good:) My knuckles hurt pretty bad though because some houses here have doors that look like wood but I swear its steal and it just about breaks your knuckles but I love this sector! 

So this week we had our interviews with president for the change and it was a good one. I told him at the end when he gives you time to ask him whatever you want and I started expressing my stress about the sector. He told me not to worry about it and then gave me some mas o menos helpful advice haha. He told me that missionaries in the past have lost the trust of all the members. He said he believes every single member in the ward has a reference ready for us but they are just waiting for the right missionaries to give it to. So he said I have to work to gain that confidence. Thats the tricky part though because the ward is literally a relief society ward meaning its like all women. So to visit members we literally have to bring members with us which is a little weird but whatever haha. Then he goes on to say that he had 2 sons serving in Spain. He said im almost positive one had one baptism his whole mission and the other one only had one lesson his whole mission. He said you just have to wake up each morning and just keep going at it so you can enjoy the blessings. He said so dont get to desanimated if you dont baptize the rest of your mission. For that line I took it as some what helpful advice haha. But I can honestly say in my time here in this ward I have given everything I have trying to get something going!

Sunday there was an investigator family that came to church for the 2nd time. They have come on their own will because they passed by the church one week and decided that they would assist. Well we couldnt teach them last week cuz they gave us awful directions to their house but we talked to them again on sunday and got better directions and had a member take us in his car so we finally found them:) It was awesome our 3rd lesson to an investigator this change haha but seriously it was an awesome lesson! I know the Lord is helping us out because of our diligence that we have been showing!

Anyways life is good. Its raining a lot and we are still going at the doors in the rain but I love it! My diet is also going good so thats great:) Anyways, love you guys! Talk to you all next week 

La mama de los cheat meals

 this is my favorite fruit here i think now. People say it tastes like wet cotton but I think it was good. Sadly my companion said I wont be able to pack that in my suitcase :( 

Sadly I read this sign after I finished going to the bathroom

Cast the Net

So this week has been pretty good. I know my companions name now which is cool haha his name is Elder Alanoca. He's a cool fun companion and we get along pretty well. He thinks I'm funny so thats cool. This week has been a pretty hard one as far as work goes but man am I pumped about working! Seriously I am so pumped and its awesome. Its been raining like crazy here in my new sector. It was 3 days of straight rain so basically the only time I was dry was when I went to bed but it was still awesome to work! Like the caption says, cast the net, thats what we have been doing a lot this week. 

This sector was not taken very good care of this past change. No one did the area book and all they did was visit members so we have no program and like nothing to do all day. So its just been contacting all day basically in the rain. And yes its walking every where there aren't any buses that we take(#JakeFisherdoesntknowwhatwalkingreallyis). It sounds pretty miserable but I'm actually very happy here. Im working probably the hardest I ever have my whole mission. I have so much energy all day and then once i step foot in the house im basically falling asleep while we plan at night and doing the area book but its all good:) 

I know that the lord is blessing us because we contacted over 100 people this week and we got maybe 5 numbers out of it. It was pretty discouraging but I tell my companion every time we get rejected or that someone doesn't answer their door that its not their time then I smile and then we get going to the next house and I realized its really helping him out because he doesn't wanna be here in this sector anymore. So having to put the team on my back this week I continued contacting. Today when I got online we had 10 references given to us! (that was the blessing). i have no idea if they are any good but man was I pumped! I know the Lord is aware of us and hears our prayers. Its going to be a great week:) 

So something that is cool is that when I first showed up all the members told me I look like Peter Parker and some said I look like Harry Potter. Well yesterday while we were contacting one of the doorbells was a little low and i cut my forehead on the little visor type thing it had and so now i look even more like harry potter. Ive also got fleas or bed bugs again and my flea collars are out of juice:( Hopefully with all the work and changes I made to the bed it takes care of the problem:) 

Anyways I love being a missionary! Only 20 more weeks to ball out baby! Love you all and thanks for all you do! 

Season 14 Episode 1

So its another change and im out of my good ol sector of Mariscal de Ayacucho but it was an awesome 3 changes. I learned to love so many people there and it was hard to say goodbye to so many of them. As of now I am in a sector called Santa Ana in a zone called la colón. So you can basically say im in columbus again! But with this new sector i have now been in every sector in Quito. (4 in quito and 4 outside of it) But im excited to work hard in my new sector. I forgot my companions name (lol haha but its so hard) but he is a bolivian and just finished his training. I almost had my first kid but the streak continues. So yeah im no longer a zone leader but im still super excited to keep working because no matter what, the work is true:) 

So something ive really been trying to focus on is my obedience these past couple weeks. Not trying to say im disobedient, but  there is always room to improve. Idk why its so hard at times but everyday my goal is to be more obedient than I was yesterday. You really can see the difference in the work when you give everything you have as a missionary including your thoughts and your efforts. The Lord needs missionaries with ready hearts and desires to serve so that this work can go foreward. 

Sorry this letter is short. It was a good last week and I loved it all. Im really enjoying being a missionary and im trying to make every last second count.

I love you all and thanks for your letters. I have plenty of pictures to send so stay tuned:) 

 my home boy Jose and his sister Daniela and the mom Susana 

The Andrade family

Fourth Quarter Baby!!

So this week was pretty good. Im getting more pumped about our sector because we have been able to find more investigators the past several weeks. We have a couple families but now we are only lacking in making more contacting with them so that they start to progress more. Like I told you guys in the phone call its a little hard to squeeze everyone in between 6-9 everyday. But its still no excuse. 

Anyways I've been thinking a lot about the whole fourth quarter reference that my president told me last week. I use it to get me pumped up about everything. Especially since its been raining a lot here in Quito and not just raining but down pouring you got to get some motivation to keep contacting in the rain haha. I made a few goals this week and one of them is to be more sensitive/ follow the spirit more. I know it probably sounds a little ridiculous because i have like a year and a half in the mission so you think I would be an expert at it but as time goes on and you teach the restoration 100s of times and you talk to 1000s of people throughout the months, its hard not to fall into a routine. To not start saying the same thing for every point in the lessons or even in doing the same thing everyday. So the goal is during lessons to really pay attention to what the spirit wants me to say. Or where the spirit wants me to go while we are walking around in the streets looking for people to teach. 

So this past week on divisions we were just contacting some people and trying to just go places we havent been to hit some doors. So we were walking all over the place contacting and making our way towards an old investigators warehouse to see if we could teach him (he was only an old investigator because we have lost contact). So we were walking and we passed a door and I heard a family inside the house and I felt the prompting to hit the house. When the door was answered it was that investigator that we have been looking for. The first lesson we taught him about 2 months ago he confessed to us about his dad and one of his kids passed away in his arms both happened within a month. So we were able to find out where he lives and we were able to teach him the plan of salvation and how he is going to be able to see them again. Without a smile the whole lesson from him when we said that he got a big smile on his face. The work is so much more effective when we pay attention to the spirit and not just go off of experience that we may have as missionaries. My desire now is a lot bigger to keep paying more attention to the spirit. 

Anyways, thanks for everyone who wrote me. You guys are awesome :) I hope you all have a great week and Ill talk to you guys next week! 4th quarter baby! LESSSSSSSSSS GOOOOOOOO!

Still A Buckeye

Tell you what, wasnt fun to show up to the offices and have everyone saying role tide to me today. All I know is that Ohio state got stomped and nothing else because mission life. Anyways, on new years eve we werent allowed to leave, besides to go play soccer in the morning from permission of president bc it was my comps birthday, but after we just had to stay in the house all day. I took it like a champ drinking from my ohio state mug all day just trying to do all I could to support them but it didnt work so its been a long pday. I also didnt play to hot in soccer Saturday, darn it

So this week was pretty good. It was a lot better of a week than the last, which isnt to hard because we had like 10 lessons all last week, but we found some new investigators and they are legit. Not gonna say they are golden because they arent, but they are awesome. We just have to keep pushing to help Alejandro change his job and things will get rolling. He is the son of one of the baptisms we had about 4 months ago here. Its his son and his wife so it should go great cuz his dad and his brother are super strong converts:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

My mission president made a good reference to me today that i thought I would share. So he told me that football players give everything they have when they play, but winners tend to give more in the 4th quarter and then he goes your in the 4th quarter of your mission. So it was a big wake up call telling me its time to start working harder. With 2017 being here, never thought this year would come when I first started haha, time is just going to start flying by. This time doesnt come back so im excited to give all I have these next couple of months!

I love you guys! thanks for your letters and those writing my college essays;) you da real MVPs. Anyways talk to you all next week! 

Maria Rodriguez´s baptism 

I don't remember if I sent this one home, but its Darwin's baptism :)  

I screen shotted a firework show. It wasnt too poppin but it was better than last years show!