Fall is Here? - October 26th

So here we can´t really tell any difference that the time is passing into fall. They only really have two seasons here. It´s still hot and sunny, like always. It´s going to be interesting to be in cool weather again soon, wearing sweaters and, bueno, normal clothes in general.

Last Sunday we had the baptism of Rafael. It was a bit stressful. Saturday night Jairo filled up the font with the mission leader of the other ward but when we got to the church at 7am, the font was empty. So we had to start filling it up again and it takes forever! They had to fill it up with buckets too so that it would go faster. Rafael got baptized at 8:50 and Church started at 9:00. I´m glad that day is over!

Tomorrow Oswaldo is getting baptized. He´s one of the people that I know the Lord sent me here to find. He is escogido (chosen). We found his wife one day tracting. She has been inactive for several years and has never attended this ward for the three years she´s lived in this area. We got her coming back to church but we never really saw her husband because he worked a ton. Then finally one night he happened to come home while we were at the house teaching Yolena. He immediately committed to stop workin gon Sundays and come to church. He went to General Conference and he´s just been making all of the changes in his life to be better. He´s so humble and willing. It makes me so happy! So he´s getting baptized tomorrow and then I can finish my mission a happy missionary. And his family is so happy too! It´s amazing the light that the gospel brings to a home and to the soulds of those who live there.

I listened to a video clip of Elder Bednar this week. He was talking about being sent for "the one." He was saying that as servants of the Lord--apostle, missionary, etc--we aren´t sent to save the world or baptize the world, but we are sent to find one. Someone specific. And that one will go find one more, and one more, and one more... And that´s how it works in the Lord´s work. So Oswaldo is one of my "one"s.

I hope that all of yáll have a fabulous week. I love you all very much!

Love,

Hermana Williams

Friday! - October 18th

Tomorrow we have an activity with the ward missionaries so they changed our P-day for this week to today. We`re going to MIDUVI tomorrow with pan de guineo (banana bread) to get references. I`m basically just excited about the bread because it`s good!

This Sunday Rafael is getting baptized before church. He`s so excited and I`m so excited for him! He has changed a ton. Next weekend Milton and Oswaldo will be getting baptized. I`ll tell yàll more about them later.. they are both super special.

This week has been pretty chill. We`ve just been teaching and taking care of sick people. A lot of people have been asking when I go home. I usually don`t like to talk about it. I just tell them that I still have time here. Actually my whole group is going home a few weeks early, at the end of October. I`m staying my full time to help out with nursing. One of the elders that is leaving told me he was sorry that I had to stay longer but that the Lord would bless me for my extra time. And I was thinking--I`m sorry that you have to leave early and don`t have any more time! I guess he`s ready to go home though. Maybe I`ll be ready too... I just feel like it`s gonna be a big shock and that scares me.

But I am also super excited to apply evreything I`ve learned and to keep progressing. God has pu tin place such a wonderful plan for all of us. We just need to help everyone realize that reality--and especially the infinite LOVE that God has for each and every one of us. I wish everyone understood that. It hurts me to think that there are people in the world that don`t know their true worth. But I guess that`s why we`re here--to help each other figure it out.

I love yàll so much. I hope everyone has a great week next week. We should be writing on Saturday again. Yàll should listen to this talk from President Monson in the Relief Society session of Conference... http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-relief-society-meeting/2013/09/we-never-walk-alone?lang=eng

Love you all!!

Hermana Williams

General Conference - October 5th

Today is P-day so we only went to the first session of Conference. My poor companion still doesn´t understand enough to be able to enjoy it that much but I could get everything! I especially loved Elder Uchtdorf´s talk. I don´t know exactly what it is in English but I loved the quote--Doubt your doubts before doubting your faith. I wish I had heard that a long time ago. It might have saved me a lot of worry haha.

Everything is pretty normal here in Ecuador. I still love the ward and my companion and my president and everyone. We had two birthdays yesterday--Sarah, President Dennis´s daughter, and Hermana Blas, my old companion. So there was lots of cake going around! And I smashed Hermana Blas´s face in her cake. It wasn´t as bad as when Hermana Sanchez put my facein my cake last year but it was pretty good. I kind of felt bad for doing it but it had to happen--Ecuadorian tradition.

Recently we´ve met some cool new people and I am so excited to be teaching them. There are a lot of families to be completed here in La Florida. Hermana Lyman and I have so much fun together. She is progressing quickly in Spanish but she still has so much to learn. We laugh a lot together though. I am so grateful to be her companion in this time.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week. Be looking for that subtle blessings of the Lord in your lives every day. He loves us so much and it really is amazing and humbling the seamingly insignificant blessings that He grants us to show this love.

I love you all!!

Hermana Williams