Training :D

MOM. Oh my goodness. I just barely got the package that the Shaws sent to me for Christmas, and it was soooo nice of them!!!! Can you please tell them thank you? I sent a letter to them a couple of weeks ago, but I didnt say anything to them about the package cause I just barely got it this past thursday even though they sent it like December 11th haha. That is how much packages get delayed to get here haha. Please tell them thank you!!!! It meant the absolute world to me! And all stuff I needed! haha I dont know how they knew, but man... Thank you. :)

And you need to write me earlier on Mondays so I get your email before I leave the internet place haha.

I also got the letters from the Relief Society sisters and holy crap.... SO NICE!!! I pretty much almost cried, it just meant the world to me. Please tell them all thank you!!!!! It is so good to hear that the Sanford ward is doing well :) It just made me realize how much I miss them all, haha... It makes me super grateful to be a part of the Sanford ward family. I can't wait to return back and see everyone!! gahh it will be great.

Haha yes, the weather here is Otavalo is mellow as always. Makes me grateful to be here, that's for sure. Me and my hija are doing really well, we get along really well and are really learning a ton together, which is great! She is sooo much shorter from me, and is from Lima Peru so she talks in spanish super fast!! haha but it is great, we have been having a great time together, and it is definetly a learning experience for me, and I am so grateful that I have the chance to help her start off her mission right, and be an awesome missionary!! She is super cute though, and has a really good sense of humor, which is always the best! We are really trying to improve as missionaries each day, and life is good. :D Being a trainer really helps me focus on what I need to work on to improve, and it really helps me be out of comfort zone and learn and grow. Service is the best though. I love being here serving these people :)

Keep being awesome, always look for ways to share the gospel, the members are really the key to missionary work.

Thanks for everything! Oh and how are Sam and Matt, have you heard from them lately?

Have a great week! Love, Hermana Wright

Transferss

Transfers... man a lot of crazy stuff happened yesterday. I am pretty much a mess right now... my amazing comp just left me, we were both balling and almost got hit by a bus haha. and I am going to be staying in my sector and training a brand new missionary... I couldn't sleep at all last night... this is probably the hardest thing for me right now. I just feel so inadequite.. man. I know I just have to trust in the Lord, but it's hard to think that I am now here, on my own, training someone, mi hija, and I am in charge of everything, in charge of the work here in my sector, in charge of making sure that she starts her mission well and learns everything she needs to learn, and that she is happy and everything. I am just so scared of failing I guess... But I leave for Quito on Wednesday to pick up my new missionary who is coming straight from the MTC... oh man... crazy stuff. I really do know that I am going to learn a ton from this though, it's true that Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need to grow and really reach our potencial. I'm not really one to go out of my comfort zone too often, and this is like miles out of my comfort zone, but I know that I will learn a lot, and I know that this is the Lord's work and if I am humble and obedient and try my absolute best, we will have a lot of success in the next coming weeks... it's going to be hard though, but that's okay, no one said it would ever be easy.

And I am excited... a bit haha. I'm just pretty nervous and thinking about the million things that I have to do and have to remember and everything. But it will all be good, I know that I will learn a ton, and I know that I just have to trust in the Lord. :)

Also, we are doing a thing in the whole mission called, The Faith of Febuary brings the Miracles of March. So everyone in the mission is sacrificing listening to church music in the apartment, and doing a personal sacrifice as well. We also will be sacrificing haveing activities as zones on Mondays and stuff. For my personal sacrifice, I chose to sacrifice one of my favorite things- sleep haha, so every morning instead of getting up at 6.30, I will getting up at 6 and reading the Book of Mormon for a half hour woot woot. It's going to be great, and I know that these sacrifices are really going to help us to see miracles in the work of salvation in March. :D

Anyways, I am doing really well, nervous, but that's okay, it will all be good. I almost only have a year left in the mission!!! Crazy stuff. I really have to make the most out of everyday, time goes by so fast on the mission. But it's great stuff, and I am learning a ton, and love the people here, like always.

Thanks for the support and Happy Valentine's Day!

Love, Hermana Wright

Nueve ANo!!

Well, life here in Ecuador is going good! This week we really worked super hard and had a ton of lessons with members, which was our goal and it helps out a ton! We have also been working with less active families a lot, and they are sooo nice and always give us food, and we have just had some really spiritual lessons with them, its been great. And they are coming back to church, which is the greatest part! We also have been lacking on visiting members cause we have been so concentrated on the investigadors, that the members this week at church were like, 'when are you going to come visit us?? we miss the missionaries!!' haha they are the cutest! So we will visit a lot of members this week and ask them for references, missionaries love references from members, you should give the missionaries some references haha

My comp is basically the cutest!!! Seriously, she is super nice and fun and we are really teaching according to the investigadors needs, which means just teaching stuff from the scriptures and not super structured, repetive lessons, which I loooove so much better! I feel like I can really speak from the heart and the spirit can testify of my words. Its just such a nice change. We are really working on being super obedient, and my spanish is improving, and man, things are just going good. hmmm que mas... Its raining like usual, and I now know how to make fried bananas!! wooot!!!

Here, for news year eve they have the weirdest tradition, they take their old clothes and stuff them with straw and put masks on them and then when it turns 12am, they burn the 'ano viejo' the straw people dressed in their old clothes haha how weird is that?? But it was really cool to see all the ano viejos on display in the streets. I guess burning them signifies that they are burning the old year to invite in the new year, or something like that haha. then we had a bit of troulbe falling asleep that night cause everyone was drinking and dancing in the streets haha. But we bought pizza and docorated the apartment, so that was fun!

Anyways, there was a quote that I really liked from a conference talk about how probably never will we see faith move an actual mountain, but we will see faith move spiritual mountains and mountains of doubt or pain. And really, I can testify to that. :D I have seen the Gospel of Jesus Christ change lives, and it really makes all the difference to have that faith to move mountains. 
Life in the mission is good, Love you guys! Hermana Wright

Nuevo Ano woooot!!

Dang, sounds like Haley is going to do such great things in the mission field!! Ya, that is my address for the whole mission, it is the address of the mission home in Quito, and then they distribute the mail to us. Hey, if you want to send me a flashdrive with church music on it, or CDs, I would love it sooo much. :D I dont think it would cost too much either, I just really want some good morm tab haha. Haha fergs class, nah, I didnt get 9s all the time, just keep practicing and applying the advice that he writes back on the papers he hands back. Hmm ya, just do practice SAT questions, those help a lot, cause they are all basically formated the same with the same grammer principios.

This week we had cambios!!! WOOOT. Seriously, it just feels really nice to have a switch up of comps after 3 months with the same comp, who I learned a TON from and am super grateful for, but 3 months is a bit long with the same person haha. Anyways, my new comp is from Honduras and basically just a ball of happiness and smilies and I think that we are going to work really well together! Why is everyone from Honduras so cool? Who knows haha. But she is super excited to start working, and wants to run in the mornings!!! GAHHH How much luckier can I get?? I am still in the same ward and sector, which I am super happy about, cause I just love love love the members in my ward and I think that the Lord really has great things planned for our sector!

I have so many new years goals this year haha. Do you? But my most important goal that I am making is to try to be perfectly obedient to all the mission rules and everything. EXACT obedience bring miracles. :D I am also trying to be more selfless, I feel like sometimes I am always just thinking about me and what I want out of the mission, but really, I am here to serve other people, and what I want is not nearly as important as what the Lord wants. I am here to serve Him and be an instruement in His work and for that reason, I am so happy :D

Anyways, another thing, our discrict and zone just has some super awesome people who are all just really good examples to me. I have met just some of the most awesome people here in the mission, missions really change lives! Its just a testimony to me that the Lord really takes the weak things of the world and makes them strong. OH! And a member of our ward is traveling to Maine in a weeek! He is staying in Bangor, how cool is that?! And he wants to visit you guys with his family! Que Piensa?

This past Christmas was soo good! I was just so happy to see you guys and talk to you guys! And then, we went and made cookies at a members house which was super fun. Life in Otavalo is good! Besides the fact that I am still getting sunburnt everyday haha.

And ya, I will write Matt a letter!

Love you guys!!! Hermana Wright

Ate Guinea Pig this week!

Sooo this week has been really great! I ate guinea pig for the first time! It was after we taught at a family home evening and the family was like, and do we have a treat for you!! And I was like sweet! Must be some kind of yummy bread or something! But nope! They handed me a plate with a half roasted guinea pig on it! And I was like, crap... I have to eat this... because it is wicked expensive here, and kind of a delicacy. It still had the claws and everything on it!! But it wasn't too bad surprisingly, tasted like a different kind of chicken. Still, eating the skin was kinda gross..

We went to Quito this past week and visited the Pandecium? I think that is what it is the called, the huge statue that is like a symbolic tourism spot of Ecuador. It was huge and really beautiful. I will send pics next week, cause I forgot my camera cord again this week. But it was really amazing, we could see the entire landscape of Quito and there are sooo many people!! And we were able to meet with the mission president and that was really a great opportunity, he is super spiritual and does so much for the mission. We also had stake conference in our stake in Otavalo and that was really a great experience as well! Mostly all of the talks were centered on missionary work and the importance of sharing the gospel, even with just one person a day. If everyone in the church did that, it would make such a difference!

There is a lady talking on the phone next to me, and she is talking really fast in Kichwa... And I dont understand a thing haha. I am learning more phrases in Kichwa, but it is so much different than espanol! For example, here is how you say How are you? Alli sha chu ti kangy? And I have no idea about the spelling. But ya, it is super fun. And we were all able to dress in the indiginous clothing this week for conference as missionaries, so I will send pics of that as well next week.

Im halfway through my first 12 weeks here! Woot woot! And at the end of December, I will be through my 12 week training as a missionary! All the new missionaries start in the feild with a 12 week training program and their trainer, or senior companion. Also, we are recieving 37 new sisters then too, so there is a pretty good chance that I will training a brand new missionary!!!! AHHHH I am just freaking out a bit. But I know that all things are possible with the Lord, and that this is His work, thus, He will make all things possible that He wants me to do. Life is so good as a missionary :)

Love, Hermana Wright

First Few days in Ecuador!

Ach! Okay, there is so much to tell you guys, but not too much time to tell it!

So, the first area that I am assigned is in Otavalo and it is absolutely AMAZING! It is seriously like a picture taken out the National Geographic, the mountains in the background, the mist, the stone streets and the cement houses and then the more rich downtown area is more colorful housing. And the people! They are so nice! The mission presidents's wife told me when I got assigned here, that I would serving the decendents of the Lamenites, and these people really are! All the preisthood holders in the church have long braids down their backs, and these people wear a special kind of indigiounous dress to church each Sunday, it's very colorful and native to Otavalo. And of course, my companion tells me Saturaday night that we are going to a member's house to dress like that for my first Sunday here! I will send you guys a picture haha.

It was also fast Sunday the first Sunday we were here, and my comp tells me, okay, we are both going up to bear our testimony, and I was like que??? But, I got up there, apoligized for my Spanish, and bore my testimony about the importance of the members and missionaries working together to be more successful in the mission. My comp said that they could understand me, so I will take her word for it haha. A lot of people here speak another language though, Kichwa, so it's kind of hard when we are teaching lessons and they start to talk in it, because we both have no idea what they are saying! It's waay different than Spanish.

My comp is from Belize! Her name is Hermana Landero and her native language is Creol but I guess that it is so similar to English, that she understands all of my English. She is super hard-working and really nice, so I like having her as a trainer.

Our apartment is really cozy but nice, the hot water situation is kinda bad, so my showers are really short haha. But I dont have to buy too much food, because the members feed us a lot! And I mean a lot! The plates of food are HUGE. A lot of rice, meat, tomatoes, and eggs. It's really good though! They are such nice people... I can't wait until my Spanish gets better so that I can understand better what they are saying... they speak really fast!

Our lessons have been well so far, my goal this week is to contribute more haha. I mostly just sit there and try to follow along, but they speak so fast and kinda softly, so it's hard, but I am getting better. I have recited the First Vision to a lot of people, haha that is one thing I can do well right now. And said a lot of prayer.

No one knows where Maine is, so I just say that it is close to Canada and very cold. It rains a lot here. And there are a ton of dogs. And everyone has very big families as well. The kids here are soo cute!! And they love to shake my hand and say hello in English. They think it is the funniest thing haha.

Well, so far Ecuador is great, I love it. The work here is really progressing, and I am so happy to be a part of it. The people are so humble here and open to talking to us. The busses are crazy. I really love it here. :)

Hope everything is well with you guys! Les quiero!

Love, Hermana Wright

Last Week at the CCM!

So I havent been doing very well with updating this, but I think I will have my sister take over and add some pics too, cause I just usually forget to email a post to my blog each week...

But life in the CCM is awesome! I have had so many experiences and learned so much and I know that it is going to help me to better to be able to teach and serve the people of Ecuador. I can really feel the love of God in my life right now with all that He has blessed me with.

I'm so excited to start serving in Ecuador though! And to start teaching real people!

I appreciate so much all the love and support that everyone has given me, it helps a ton. Expect more on this blog in the near future.

Love, Hermana Wright