321

Well, I just want you guys to know that I figured out what I had going on that was worse than what jake fisher does. So about my 2nd week here the shower stops producing hot water. Not to mention the shower head is about 4 feet from the ground and its electric and im surprised I haven't been shocked yet because I have hit my head on it plenty of times. Anyways I took a cold shower for exactly 15 days TAKE THAT JAKE! I took it like a champ though. It helped with my recovery on my hard workouts:) But now the new problem hit about 3 hours ago. ALL the water in the house comes out WAYYYY dirty! It literally comes out like orangish brown. Its pretty gross so I dont know what to do about that one because I could take it like a champ like I did with the shower but then again that would probably be pretty gross. 

SO this week was a good week. We had a rule change that we can only listen to the music put on the missions dropbox account so luckily they put America the beautiful on there and thats all we listen to now. Luckily my bolivian companion doesn't make the annoying comment that they are americans too because they aren't. I also had a crazy dream about the virgin and I'm not gonna lie it scared me pretty bad. Just a sign you have been in Ecuador too long when that happens. And to finish off I got the chance to eat guinea pig again this past week. She told me right before she gave it to me "you better eat all of this or I'll get mad" (don't know why she said that I always eat all the food even though its usually gross) but she gives it to me and it was awful. Its like she took the least amount of time possible to pluck the hairs off. There were several patches of hair on the skin haha. I tried plucking off one patch and only got a part and then it all got stuck under my fingernail so it was pretty gross. So I tried taking the skin down like a champ too but I just cant. So I peeled the skin off and when they weren't looking I hid it under all the bones from the chicken and I don't think they found out:)

So about the week it was solid. We were able to find several new investigators this past week which was cool! So im super happy and have been thinking about it a lot that after 321 contacts (street tracting and hitting doors) we finally found a new investigator out of it! I was pumped even if my companion said bautizo and not bautismo in the lesson. We have been able to visit her several times this past week and we are excited to see her progress. The awesome part is that she wants to involve all her family in this. She thinks, and shes right, that it can change her families relationship and make them a better family so we are pretty excited to have her in the program:) I know the Lord has been testing our diligence this change by having us contact 321 people before He finally lead us to this family:) The church is true!

I love you all and i love being a missionary! I hope everyone has a great week and talk to yall later! 

Went to the Teleferico again and once again.... You cant see Quito 

MI REY

Well its been another good week. Lots of things happened this week so ill try to do my best to explain what good has happened. So the other week we had a mission broadcast where a few Apostles talked about a couple things including a new mission horario( i dont remember what apostles because the screen wasnt working so I was looking at a wall listening to a voice translator in spanish. So boring seriously haha but I got a few good things out of it. But anyways this week our mission president came up with what will be our new horario. I wont go through it all but just the big things. So in the morning we have until 8:30 to get ready and everything now. Neat. Then we have personal study for an hour and companionship study half hour and then we do our daily planning in the morning as well. Then we leave the house and start work at 10:30 until lunch and after lunch we have to find time to do our language study. But the big change is, is that we have to be inside the house at 9 not 9:30 so that way if we want, we go to bed at 9:30. Its a pretty cool change and this week was a little weird trying to get used to it but its good it gives us a lot more accountability to make sure we get everything done. 

The other day I was doing something and I was thinking there is no way jake fisher is walking as hard core as i am right now but I dont remember what it was so im not too happy about that, but just know Jake, that i won i just forgot what it was because these day to day scenes of me walking just all smash together and I forgot. But btw i found out like last week, i didnt have bed bugs, i had spiders. I noticed once all the swelling went down and saw the bites. Pretty gross but you would all be proud to know that i didnt sleep with my companion once I found out i had spiders. I took it like a man.

So the big news for the week was that we had a multi zone conference with Elder Montoya (from the area presidency) and it was LITTTTTTTTT!!!!! Seriously it was so good! I loved it. So he talked about a lot of things and so did president Christensen but what he said was just so good and what i needed to hear and got me so pumped to give everything i have! So ill just tell you what i loved the most. So we started doing some practices (not me thankfully cuz I totally would have tanked) but some others and after he started talking about the authority that we have as missionaries. He said "I promise you all that if you tell who you teach that you promise in the name of who you represent, you will have double the amount of converts as you did last year" You know I wrote that down. I havent used the line yet because I havent felt the spirit tell me to use it yet but Im about to go hard. He then starts talking about the reasons we come on missions. He named a few and then he said "the only valid reason to go on a mission is for the love you have for the Savior" We are here to do His work so we need to be willing to serve Him because we love Him. The last thing i loved was he told us a story about his mission president. Right before his mission president was going to leave he was diagnosed with cancer in his hand. The doctor told him he would have to postpone his mission and go to chemo and everything. So his mission president left thinking what he should do and goes back to the doctors office and says up to where do you have to cut off my arm to make sure the cancer wont come back. The doctor told him just to do the chemo and not to worry about that but he insisted and the doctor pointed to above the elbow. So Elder Montoyas mission president got surgery and cut off basically all of his arm so he could go serve the mission he was assigned to. Ive been thinking a lot about that. Ive been asking myself where do I have to cut my arm, or what sacrifices am i willing to make, so I can serve the Lord and show my love for Him. I suggest you all think about that. What are you al willing to do to show your love for the Savior. 

anyways, i love you all and I love my Savior and I cant believe its only 18 more weeks of this! Ill talk to you all next week!

Btw in a contact we had, a man called me his rey so I now use it to boss my comp around 

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!