Adam Ericksen's Ecuador: Week 13 - Taking a Ride in "Angelito"

Dearest friends and family,

I learned a new Spanish word this week: colchon. In English it means "mattress." Let me tell you how this word went from being one unfamiliar to me to one that I now know very well.

One of my missionary friends that I have mentioned before, Elder George, was assigned to a new companion this past transfer that was supposed to be flying in from Provo, along with a fresh shipment of 25 other new missionaries. Mr. Unknown Companion, to our disappointment, had an issue with his visa so his travels were delayed 2 full days, leaving Elder George without anyone to be with in the meantime. Also, because my companion has been called to serve as the district leader over Elder George, myself, and 3 other missionaries, the responsibility fell to us to take him in until everything could be squared away in the office. This is all great and I was stoked with the prospect of a sleepover combined with a full day following of work in a trio. There was only one catch to all of this: the colchon for Elder George to sleep on was a good 20-minute drive away in the area of Propicia in the apartment of two other elders.

When we were thinking all of this through, the task at hand didn’t seem too challenging. Simply find a reliable source with a truck, pay them a couple bucks to pick up the colchon, and run off to our day of service, mystery soups and avoid getting attacked by stray dogs or stray people. Simple, right? Well we quickly found out how limited the resources are of 2 gringos and a Bolivian in the society of Ecuador. The series of events that unfolded in the next 3 hours involved a lot of settling for the best we could do. We settled for a burly, tattooed, semi-reliable friend of a source, in place of our reliable source. We settled for a 4-cylinder, 3 seat, tricked-out mini truck in place of a regular truck. And we even settled for a dirty, very stained, very stinky, very gross mattress in place of our preconceived colchon that we were venturing to obtain.

I think for me the moment I knew I would never forget this experience came when I was sandwiched between burly tattoos’ gold tooth and Elder Fernandez with Elder George legitimately sitting on my lap, the both of us ducking our heads because the roof was so shallow, as we bounced along an unpaved road. I’d say I wish I had a camera to photograph the scene but I honest to goodness don’t think we could have fit it in the cab of the truck. I wish I knew the make and model but the only tag I could find said “Angelito”. I’m pretty sure it was a Mazda, the 5600 or something like that. The really small one. You should have seen our driver trying to reach the shifter. Did I forget to mention that it was a manual transmission? Well, it was.

Question: why didn’t one of us just ride in the bed of the truck? While this may appear to be one of those times in life where a rule actually only complicates and compromises its designed purpose, I know that we were protected because of our obedience. I can’t tell you what would have happened if one of us had ridden in the back of the truck. But I can tell you that we ended up getting the mattress to our house safely, none of us were hurt or murdered by burly tattoos, it only cost 7 bucks, and we taught 3 really powerful and inspiring lessons later that night. Friends and family, don’t look for special circumstances to break rules. Look for special circumstances to obey rules and I know you’ll be blessed for it. Have an amazing week!

Until next time with affection,

Elder Ericksen

Other tidbits this week:

Packages still haven’t arrived and everyone, including Lisa, is getting very anxious in the continued delay. Especially the ones mailed around the time Adam left for Mexico.
A church member showed Adam how to make a basic banana bread by mashing a bunch of bananas up with a loaf of bread with a little milk and butter then baking the mash. Very simple and “pretty good tasting.”
It was a huge blessing having Elder George around for a couple days. Adam loves his companion but being able to speak to someone in English and talk about things from home was therapeutic.
A new group of missionaries arrived this week and several were sent to Esmeraldas. It’s been a huge boost to Adam to be able to offer support and advice to the new guys. He realizes his Spanish has improved a ton and that he really has learned a lot. And it’s a relief to no longer be the new guy.
They took the new missionaries to Playa Las Palmas today - it must be a tradition because that's were Adam went his first P-day as well.
Adam confessed today that his area is a bit sketchy and that he’s been holding back in his letters home. He said he plans to tell us those stories once he's left the area. (What's worse than hearing the actual story? Being told there are stories but he'll tell you later. Great kid, thanks. You opened a can of worms with this one.)
"I've had some delicious shrimp and fish – and I’m a shrimp addict now"
Adam was introduced to a guava machete this week, It’s a sweet, hairy fruit - the hairs are so fine they dissolve in your mouth and there's a seed you spit out. It has a really sweet, earthy flavor. Tastes great but I despise the hairs and the seed is super slimy.