It's July???

Even though it hasn´t felt that long, you can tell that it has been almost two years when a member family that you met and taught at the start of your mission, goes to live in Utah for some reasons that you didn´t have a chance to talk with  them about. And that family lives in Utah for a year and a half, they meet your family, eat ecuadorian dinner with them, enjoy the utah snow, and then in your last sector they come back to ecuador saying "Hey! we were just in Utah, we saw and talked with your family". 

The Sanchez family! What a crazy experience! I didn´t even think I was going to see them again! What a great love I felt to see them again and it also made me feel like I have been here on the mission a little longer than I thought! 

I really don´t like talking about the "lasts" but this was my last fast and testimony Sunday on the mission and I actually felt super sad. I love bearing my testimony and I couldn´t let the oportunity pass! I felt the spirit super strong and I am so glad for every chance I have to say what I believe!

This week we decieded to look for new investigators in a new way! We printed out the branch Directory and we went searching! One great experience from that was when we visited a 30 year old man that was baptized when he was 11 years old. He sure thought that the church had forgotten about him but they haven´t. We just happen to go to his house the birthday of his daughter or otherwise, because of work, we would never find him. We shared a scripture of how the Lord prepares the way for ALL His children to find the truth. We testified that his wife and children would come to know the gospel through him in this time. It was a great lesson and as I gave the closing prayer, I couldn´t help but feel God´s love as I heard the husband cry.

I almost forgot to mention  (which explains one of the pictures) This week we went on a 5 hour split with James from Idaho. How is this possible?? There is a charity foundation here in Ecuador called FAOM (Not sure if that is how you spell it but that´s how it sounds) It´s baiscally only members but it is also filled with people who served here in Ecuador 25 years ago. SO a big group of Utahns, Californians, and Idaho people came here with their dentist, house builder, nurse parents to help all the children  and kids getting ready for their missions! We  got to sing for them as a Guayquil mission and President spoke to them. I really loved one of his words: he turned to us and said "I have a lot of missionaries that have asked me what a succesful missionary does and looks like. Well look at FAOM and their families. These are succesful missionaries"

If I want all that I have done here count for something, I have to stay faithful forever! (isn´t that true with our baptismal covenant)

It´s so marvelous to be out here. I would say that you are all missing out. But in reality, no matter where you are. In a place where everyone is a member or accross the seas where no one isn´t, as baptized disciples of Christ we can looking and find people that will listen to the light of Christ they have inside of them and BOOM you are a missionary. The first seconds are hard  but as you open your mouth to say "hello" suddenly everything becomes easy.

Love you all! 

Elder Devan Alder

The rest of the pictures is our little district in the Mall de Sur. I will sadly not be eating Wendys in Ecuador right now. James and I. And the Sanchez family, they have changed a lot!