Week 47

Miracles

So first of all I will start with the questions. I´m doing well. I love the life here in the mission. The last few weeks were a bit of a rough patch, but the Lord is using it to help me grow, and this week was awesome. I am so happy to be in the service of my God. So transfers are next week. I think that I will be staying here, but really I have no idea. I love working here with Elder Ramirez but also I have a lot of time here in this sector. Jorge didn´t get baptized. In fact, we couldnt even find him this week. I think he is avoiding us. It is a bit sad, but that dang free agency gets a lot of people. We don´t do anything on p-day. Today we went and got our hair cut, went to the mall to buy maple syrup haha, and I practiced the piano for a bit. Also Elder Ramirez and I ate encebollado (fish soup with onions). Other than that, there isn´t much to do. 

So this week has been very busy and went by super fast. Last Monday after I emailed, a super solid appointment fell through. We went to visit our backup plan which was a contact named Andres. He has had problems with alcohol and he is struggling. We tried to get in touch with him like 10 times with little success. Finally this day we found him home. He told us that he was eating dinner and that he had to leave shortly, but he let us in. We were able to teach him the plan of salvation and help him understand the atonement. It was one of the most powerful lessons that I have had in the mission. The spirit was sooo strong. Then we got a surprise visit this week from Elder Tarbet, one the the assistants of presidente Moreno. He told us that he would be working with us for the week, and he worked with us until yesterday. It was a good experience. This week we were able to find a lot of people to teach. We found a woman named Gladys. She accepted a baptismal date and is really a nice lady. She has 3 kids and we hope to be able to teach the whole family. Also we found 3 more people who I won´t really mention because of time. However, we found a young couple with their baby. The parents are 18 and 16 and they have a 3 month old son. Their names are Melania Bautista and Melvin. We were able to teach them the plan of salvation as well and they almost accepted baptismal dates. It is such a spiritual experience to be able to teach people about eternal families. Also, I don´t know if you remember Taylor Quiñones but he has problems coming to church. We decided to have a lesson with him in the chapel and it was a super powerful lesson. He commited to come to church this Sunday, and he now will be able to come every Sunday from here on out. His mom gave him permission. What a miracle. We put a baptismal date with him for the 18th of August. I hope he is ready. Also, this week we contacted a man in the street who was sitting on the curb and looked a bit depressed. We tried to talk to him and he ignored us. We shared a bit of the atonement. We tried to give him a pamphlet and he told us no. We told him that we came to talk with him because he looked a little down and told him that if he ever wanted to talk that we would be there for him. As we turned to walk away he asked us when we give classes. We told him that we give them whenever he wants. His name is Ernesto. He told us that he had problems with drugs and robbing before. We visited him later that same day. It was another powerful lesson. He accepted a baptismal date and told us that he wanted to change. He asked us what would happen if we left and he couldn´t get baptized. We told him not to worry and that we would be there to baptize him. What a special experience and a miracle. I pray for him and hope that he can progress well. 

This week we also had a zone conference. I learned a lot and it was about teaching with power and authority. Then I had an interview with president Moreno. It went really well. My thought for this week comes from what somebody shared with me today and it is from presidente Monson. He said, ¨Your happiness in this life has nothing to do with your circumstances and everything to do with your attitude.¨ I know that Jesus Christ lives. I am so happy that He lives because it makes it possible for me to find happiness and to one day have an eternal family. I am so very grateful for the gospel in my life. I love you all so very much. Remeber that the church is true!

Love, Elder Black

PHOTOS

Today I made something thats called corviche. It was really good. Its made with shredded plantains and filled with a bit of meat. 

Me and Elder Ramirez

Week 46

Hola

This week has been a little bit rough like last week. We weren´t able to find anybody new to teach this week. We had a lot of appointments to teach new people, but they all fell through. We are pushing through and I am sure that this week will go better. We asked for a lot of references and we knocked a lot of doors, but the people just weren´t wanting to accept God this week or something haha. So Jorge came to church again. When we got to church we asked how he was and he told us that he was okay and that he didn´t want to come but he came anyway. He has a baptismal date for this week and has come to church 4 times, but I think that he is missing something and I´m not sure that this week he will be baptized. Also, this week we taught a new person named Juan. He was in the street and we talked with him for a bit. He wanted to know why there are so many churches. We explained the restoration and he understood really well and I am sure that he felt the spirit. However, when we asked if he was willing to read the Book of Mormon he said no. He said that he believes in God in his own way. He then tried to convince us that it is ok to drink alcohol every once in a while if you don´t drink like crazy haha. We explained a lot to him and testified, but he is just not motivated to read the Book of Mormon. Darn free agency haha. Its a bit sad, but it was his choice. María and Anthony still want to get married on the 10th of August, and María wants to get baptized on the 4th of September because that is Anthony´s birthday haha. I told them that it was your birthday too and so that would be pretty cool. Well that is about all that I have to tell for this week. 

My thought for the week comes from Jacob 4:3. It says:  

Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.

I really like this scripture, and I have been thinking a lot about the marvelous work of the restoration of the gospel and of the Book of Mormon. It was written with hopes that we would accept it with thankful hearts. I am ever so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the marvelous work of the restoration. God has reached out in love to us, His children, to bring us knowledge, joy, and peace. I know that through the restored gospel we can find peace in our struggles and we can find refuge from the storm. It is the only way home. I am ever so grateful for the gospel, the Book of Mormon, and my testimony of the Savior and His church. I love you all tons! Sorry for the short email without pictures. 

Love, Elder Black

Week 45

LIFE IN ECUADOR

So the truth is that this week not a lot has happened. It has been really slow finding people this last week. Most of our appointments fell through every day, so this won´t be a very long email. I loved the thought that you sent this week and really every week! Thanks. Training is going ok. It is a learning experience for sure. At times it is frustrating but I remember how I started the mission as well. Our investigators are doing ok. We have indeed given out a couple ctr rings and books. 

So this week was ok. We were able to do a service project for a less active member and help her build a chicken coup type thing. I only got 4 blisters haha. We had to dig holes for the fence posts in super duper hard ground. Tahis is progressing well. Jorge Moreira came to church again and might be getting baptized soon, but I really don´t know. He kinda confuses me and he might just be going to get help with finding a job. We will see. But anyways, this week we found a few new people to teach. One night we knocked a door and a man named Andreas came out. He just left rehab for drinking problems. He has had huge problems with Alcohol and anxiety. We are hoping to be able to teach him soon. Also, we found a family that lost a baby about a month ago. It is the familia Reyna. They are 4 people in total, and they could progress well. We taught them the plan of salvation to help them and they seemed happy and invited us to come back. Also, we were able to teach Bryon Serverino again, but he has lost interest, and doesn´t want to progress and in less than a month he is going to the cuartel, which is army boot camp for a year. Not much else has happened. Maria and Anthony are kinda iffy with their marriage. Maria wants to get married, but Anthony wants her to change first and told us this week that he can´t marry her. Hope we can help them with that. 

Also, I have some good news that I forgot to tell you about 2 weeks ago. So when I went to Guayaquil to pick up Elder Ramirez, I was talking with Elder Clark in the temple. (I lived with Elder Clark when I was in my first sector.) I asked him how things were in Puerto Nuevo, and he told me that 3 people got baptized after I left. Sylvia Cereza got married and baptized. Also, Nicolas Oña ended up getting baptized shortly after, and Isaac Lopez´s mom, Lupe Soriano got baptized less than a month ago. One day while she was reading the Book of Mormon she had a vision of a lamanite and knew that the Book of Mormon was true, and asked the elders to baptize her. I am so very happy that they all got baptized. We worked so very much with all three of them when I was there. Anyways, that is about all for today. 

My thought for today comes from 2 Nephi 5. Verse 27 says that Nephi and those with him lived in a happy manner. If you read verses 10-12 and 15-16 we learn how they lived in a happy manner. You will have to read it for yourselves, but more or less to live in a happy manner we must: Strive to keep the commandments, Not be lazy (work for ourselves and others), Search the scriptures and the other resources that the Lord has given us (like the conference talks), Learn to be self reliant, and participate in the marvelous work of the temple. I truly know that if we do each one of these things that we wil be living a happy life. We know how to live a happy life, we just have to do the things necesary to find the happiness. God has given us the secrets. I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. He lives and loves us. We are here ¨that we might have joy¨. God has shown us the way to find happiness and I know that it is possible to find even in the hardest of times. I know that all things are done for our good. I love you all. Press forward with faith. 

Love, Élder Black

This is the only picture for this week....sorry 

It is a plate named Tigrillo. It is a breakfast dish made with plantains that I made. It turned out good. 

Week 44

10 Months????? and Baptism

I can´t believe that I already have 10 months here in the mission. Time is flying by. First of all I will answer the questions. Training is going ok. Its really stretching me to grow as a person and as a missionary. I am trying to teach the best that I can. We get along well. My birthday was good. A few people asked me when my birthday was that day haha but I refused to tell them. I did open the package. The socks are good. The keep your feet more or less cool. Beker did indeed get baptized, but Taylor didn´t come to church and so he wont be able to get baptized. 

This week has been a bit weird. Not a lot has happened so my letter will be pretty short. We didn´t do anything for the 4th because nobody even knows about it here. However, Beker did get baptized and so that was the highlight of the week. His baptism was good, but like always here the people all showed up late. We planned to start at 7 but not a single soul was there including Beker. We finally started at like 745. Also, this week we taught Maria and Anthony a few times. They are progressing well, and told us that they want us to visit them every day haha. We taught them the law of chastity with a member couple (our ward mission leader), and it went really well. We asked them to make a goal for their marriage and they said, ¨Bring us a calender the next visit and we will pick a date.¨ It was awesome. They put a goal as the 10th of August. I really hope that they do get married this day. Also, we taught a new investigator named Tahis. Her aunt is a member and she is 8. She wants to get baptized and go to the temple haha. Taylor wants to get baptized but has problems with the sabbath day. Jorge came to church again and might be getting baptized. We will see. Also, yesterday we had a family home evening with Danny´s other son, Luis. We are now teaching all of her children that aren´t members! He is super cool. We watched the restoration and he asked a couple of questions. Sure hope that progress as well. Then the whole family can be sealed in a year. 

Also, the night of the 4th we got a phone call at 10 night from Hna. Moreno. Her and president wished me a happy birthday. Also, last night at 1005 we got a text message from president. It was a message that said ¨Starting tomorrow you will be able to sleep until 715 every preparation day.¨ Normally we wake up at 630 every day. However we now get to sleep in until 715 on p-day. I know it is super small, but it is great. I was super excited. Also this week we taught a 17 year old young woman who was baptized a year ago. She had a lot of questions and doubts. I felt impressed to ask if she believed that Russell M Nelson is a prophet. She said ¨Yes, but I think he is a false prophet.¨ And she said that same about the Book of Mormon. In this moment my heart literally felt broken. I felt a pain that is hard to describe. We are now trying to help her gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, but today I want to base my thought off of this experience. 

This morning in my study I was reading a conference talk from the last conference and it was talking about the great, sacred, and semi rare oportunity that we had in the conference to sustain our dear prophet. I remember clearly this moment. As the called each organization to stand and sustain the prophet the room was filled with a spirit that was almost tangible. I had a very strong confirmation the Russell M Nelson is a prophet of God. Nobody will ever, ever, be able to take that testimony from me. I know that we have a prophet of God on the earth today. I know that the church is directed by Jesus Christ, and that our Heavenly Father knows and loves us. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. If we read it and apply its teachings it will safely guide us through these last days. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He loves us. He guides us. He strengthens us. Because of Him we have every reason to stand tall and have joy. He gives us hope, faith, and strength. We should never be discouraged because He has overcome all things. He is indeed the light and life of the world. I testify of Him and His love. It is so very real. I am grateful to share it with those here in Ecuador for 2 years. If you don´t have a testimony of the Savior and His dear prophet Presidente Nelson, do what you need to to know. Ask of God. I love you all so very much! Know that all is well here because I am on the Lord´s errand. 

Much love, Elder Carver Bruce Black

The birthday packages

Beker's baptism

I cooked chicken with gravy and rice for lunch today... it was pretty good 

Week 43

¡HOLA!

Hola a todos. This week has been a little bit (a lot) crazy. So first of all I was working in the sector with the zone leaders Monday and Tuesday because I didn`t have my companion. Then on Wednesday we had to wake up at 2:30 in the morning to go to the bus terminal to send an elder to renew his visa. Then I had to leave in a bus to Guayaquil at 4:00 in the morning to go pick up the missionary that I am training. So we got there to Guayaquil, had a training, ate lunch, got assigned our companions, and then we had to take another 4 hour bus ride to come back to my sector. It was a very long day. But at least the lunch they fed us and the new missionaries didn`t have rice! haha. So today for the 4th of july all of the Elders in our zone got together and we made some really good hamburgers and a red velvet cake. And when I say that we made hamburgers I mean that I made them and we all ate haha. One of them asked if I was going to be a chef when I get back haha. So we had gigantic hamburgers with onion, tomato, ham, jalapeños, a fried egg on top, and of course BBQ sauce haha. We also made french fries and ate some of the fry sauce that Arden and BillySue sent. It was super yummy. Then I bought a red velvet cake to make, and made a cream cheese icing. It was all super yummy. We all ate 2 hamburgers and a giant piece of cake. We did it to celebrate the 4th of July. And yes, the package got here. It is a miracle that I got it before my birthday haha. So when I went to the mission office to pick up my new companion the package wasn`t there. However, a few days ago president Moreno was driving through to visit another zone and dropped the packages off in person. I think he only did it because he knew it was my birthday. Anyways a small tender mercy even though it wouldn´t have mattered if I didn`t get them in time. It is a little bit bitter sweet to have my birthday and the 4th of July here. I couldn´t ask for anything better than to serve the Lord on my 20th birthday, but I have so many memories flooding in. In all of my time in the mission the letters from this week were the hardest to read. But I love that I am here in the service of the Lord for this great time. I just can´t believe that I am 20!

So our investigators are doing ok. We only had 6 in church this week. However, there are a few promising investigators. First of all we have Beker who is 11. His mom is a less active member, but he has been coming to church and wants to get baptized. He is on track to be baptized this Saturday. Also, Taylor Quiñones might be getting baptized the following week if he comes to church on Sunday. Taylor is awesome, but he struggles with coming to church because his mom takes him to work to help her on Sunday. He is 19. Also, we have María and Anthony. Anthony is the son of Danny who just got baptized. He and his wife María want to get baptized. It has been great teaching them. At first Anthony didn´t want to listen to us, but he did and now he wants to continue and is very kind and they are reading the Book of Mormon and praying together. Elder Ramirez invited them to be baptized as his 2nd baptismal invitation and they said that they want to but Anthony works on Sunday, and they need to get married, but don´t want to.  Also, this week we found somebody named Káryn. She went to our church as a little girl and loved it. She doesn´t like other churches. She was even looking at our church on the internet not much time ago. We knocked on her door, and we taught her a 5 minute lesson because she was busy, but she excepted the invitation to return. I really hope that she progresses. 

So my new companion is Elder Ramirez. He is also from Perú. He is from Dagna Perú. He is 18 years old and his mom is a single mom, and he has 2 siblings. His older brother was inspired by his example and will also shortly be serving a mission. He is great, but training sure takes a lot of patience haha. I am learning a ton in the process. 

So a few interesting things this week... first of all one day we knocked a door that was open. There was a very long hallway, and we heard a dog barking. The next thing we knew, the dog came around the corner barking like crazy and starting running at us. When it got to us it barked like crazy like 2 inches from us, but luckily it didn´t bite us. Then we knocked the door of Beker, and a group of kids started chucking rocks at us. It was insane they were just flinging rocks at us like crazy. He didn`t answer the door, and so we left. Then when I was with the zone leaders we got a call from a missionary and they found like 26 movies in their apartment that disobedient missionaries left there. They weren´t good movies either. Anyways, not much else happened this week. 

My thought this week is on love. I was reading in 1 John this morning and all it talked about was love. We are nothing without love. We must have love for everyone. Also the part that struck me the most is when it said something like, ¨Perfect love casteth out fear.¨ I had heard it before, but when I read it in spanish it hit me. If we really have love for God and for our fellow men then there is no need to ever have fear, and we won´t have fear. Fear is the enemy of love. I know that this church is true, and that Christ is our Savior. He loves us dearly, and I love Him. I know that my Heavenly Father answers prayers and that He has given us His Spirit to guide us. I know that the gospel changes lives. It is changing mine, and I have seen miracles as it has changed the lives of others. I love you all tons! Keep up the good work! Life here in Ecuador in the service of the Lord is wonderful. 

Love, Elder Carver Bruce Black

PHOTOS

made egg casserole

Egg Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy

The new missionaries at the temple waiting for their trainers

Elder Ramirez wanted rice so we made an ecuadorian tuna dish with beans

my birthday package

the hamburgers and french fries I made with fry sauce

red velvet cake with cream cheese icing

pictures that elder Rojas gave me before he left

Zone Conference

My district 

Miguel and Danny