Well the weeks are passing rapidly now, aren’t they? I’m
getting by on a diet of hard work, loving families, deep studies, chicken,
rice, potatoes, various oatmeal products, lots of laughs with my companion,
uplifting letters, inspirational life experiences and, lastly, divine help. I
mean these are a few of the things that push me along. Have I ever told you
guys about all the fun ways Ecuadorians consume oatmeal? My goodness, it’s a
staple here. Personally, I love all the oatmeal drinks they prepare. They do a
lot of fruity, savory flavors mixed with a thin oatmeal to make a milkshake. I
should go on Martha Stewart or something to teach this, but it’s absolutely
delicious if you boil milk and then put in maybe 5 or 6 spoons of oatmeal so it
thickens up and later add cinnamon and sugar. Then after all that, put the hot
mixture in the blender for a minute and then strain out all the oats so it’s a
smooth drink. Oh what a delicious concept! You’re all welcome for that one.
Many houses we visit give us a mug of some variety of this
drink. They also give us herbal teas with little pieces of bread or things like
that or hot drinks with fruit flavors thickened with corn starch. As you can
tell from the pictures, it’s a chilly climate here and people are always trying
to ‘quitar el frio’. One family that really likes to give us oatmeal colada which
we always accept without complaint is the Rosero family. They’re members of the
church and have been very good to the missionaries for a long time despite
being a younger family. The father, Robinson, is a handyman – he can basically
get work from any job site and provide for his family. (Side note – he’s the
guy who took us boxing a couple of weeks ago). His wife, Diana, is super
awesome and cooks really good food and soup. She also works as a cashier at an
internet café and we sometimes stop by to buy candy, water or other Ecuadorian
treats and share a few laughs.
Robinson and Diana have an adorable 5-year old daughter
named Monserrat Isabella who I just love. She’s super sassy and talkative and
she always makes me laugh. She always shakes my hand very maturely and makes
her best effort at my name which makes me smile. I, of course, kind of tease
her back which causes her to put on her sass “humph” face with her hands on her
hips. She usually responds by calling me Elder Malo or Elder Feo. I’ve said it
before but the kids and families really remind me of my own family and it’s
been really good being surrounded by people that care for me. Even though I get
called Elder Ugly by a 5-year old when she thinks I kicked her dog (I didn’t…it’s
a long story), it’s really comforting being with people who feel confident and
comfortable teasing me and treating me like one of their own…like a real
friend.
Truth is, I was a person who teased and joked very often
(maybe too often?) before I left on my mission. When I arrived here, I was
lost. I was in over my head with the new language and culture that this side of
me disappeared and I got really serious. Not because I wanted to but because I
legitimately could not express myself in that way (in any way, really) for a
time. Now that I’m with Elder Quispe who has helped me improve my Spanish
100-fold, it’s starting to come back to me! I said something the other day that
even got a laugh from hermana Diana…so score one for me.
Basically I don’t have any complaints. For some reason that
I can’t explain this week flew by. Usually the weeks that go faster are the
ones where I have lots of responsibilities or extra things to take care of that
keep me really busy. However, there wasn’t much of that going on this week. I
saw a cow fight in the countryside. We had the chance of talking to and
comforting a person who lost family members in the Colombian mudslide. We had
our meeting of the elders of the new Ipiales (Colombia) zone and Tulcan had
some celebrations related to its foundation as a province that was fun to see.
Mainly it was a put your head down and get it done type of week.
I’m happy. I’m learning, growing, improving and polishing in
many ways. But I promise I’ll never forget my roots and I’ll never forget each
of you. I promise.
With all my love,
- EE
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