Dearest friends and family,
Goodness, I have eaten a lot of potatoes this week. I know
I’ve written about the truckloads of bananas I used to eat in Esmeraldas,
including one week when I ate like 35 of them. Well, bananas have officially
been replaced by toobers. It’s pretty normal here to find 3-4 baked potatoes
on the shoulder of your plate as a little offering of something extra in
addition to the main dish. Sure they’re smaller than the big potatoes back home
but it’s still a lot of potatoes and never, in the history of the world, has a country
needed so badly a little sour cream! By the way, when I say “it’s pretty normal
here,” I mean it’s a sure thing you’re going to eat 3 to 4 potatoes at every meal.
I think I included a comment in my letter last week that a
lot of the time when we make visits in the evening the kind people of Tulcan
give us a hot herbal tea and some bread. These visits also create the perfect
opportunity to give us a Chimborazo (the main volcano in Quito) of rice, with
the aforementioned 4 to 5 potatoes, and an egg on top. Sometimes these potatoes
come peeled and baked (eat as served) or washed and baked (eat with skin) and sometimes
they come baked exactly as they were pulled from the earth (put down your fork
and peel with your fingers). It’s all fun and games and I do love the
Ecuadorian culture. I hope you’re not bored after reading a half-page tribute
to potatoes.
The week flew by and good things keep happening and coming
our way. My companion, Elder Quispe, and I get along perfectly. We started a
game that whenever a medium-sized rock crosses our path, it becomes a soccer
ball in a high stakes game of save your pride shootout between the legs of
whoever is walking in front. Elder Quispe can kick it through my legs three out
of four times but hey, he was almost a professional football player. It’s
expected. I’ve been lucky in sneaking a few goals myself. We have fun entertaining
each other as we work hard. A few nights ago, I was sharing some family photos
with him and our annual family Christmas card was in the stack. He was intrigued by the idea of a family-picture Christmas card and promises he’s going to bring the tradition back to
Peru. I think it would catch on there and I better be on his mailing list!
I received some packages from home this week and, speaking
of intrigue, we’ve fallen in love with something I received. Do you all
remember those fuzzy little worm things on a thin string that look alive if you
run them through your fingers or make it jump out of a cup? Well, thanks to Max
Clark, one of those worms made his way to Ecuador and Elder Quispe loves him!
Man, I wish I had my camera yesterday because he attempted to trick nearly
every person we met. It’s so fun when people have such enthusiasm for the
little things. While on the topic of packages, Aunt Kristen you should be happy
to hear that when I opened the Pottery Barn towel we both remarked that it was
much, much softer than the blankets we have. And mom and dad, I’m super grateful
for the sunscreen and flash drive with church videos and music and thanks grandma
for the fancy chocolates, pants, and owl tie. Thank you all, dearly!
Like I said, this week passed smoothly. Easter was
delightful and I got to eat some great food and share a few Cadbury eggs with
the Lopez family. Thank you mom. In fact, they love them and I’ll need to
remember to send them a bag at future Easters.
I want to finish this week’s letter by sharing a small experience
that was a big uplift for me and made me really happy. This Thursday we had a
little get together to celebrate a sister missionary who just returned from her
mission in Bolivia. The congregation here threw her a little welcome home party
at the church and we got to hang out for like 45 minutes because one of the
families we are teaching wanted to go. I knew that the Hermana had served in Bolivia
but I had no clue as to where, specifically. So she was up in front of everyone
and shared some heartfelt experiences and then put on a small slideshow of
pictures she had taken during her 18 months there. In an instant it hit me that
she served in Cochabomba, Bolivia when I saw a photo of Hermana Hansen
and then, a few pictures later, photos of President Hansen with a big smile on
his face. Hermana and President Hansen are members of the church from my
congregation back home and had a big impact on me growing up, watching out for,
teaching and helping me, especially in early morning seminary. It was
incredibly exciting for me to see their faces and to realize that the world
really is smaller than we think. It was also amazing to think that their 3-year
mission is nearly finished even though it doesn't feel like they left that long
ago. It was a great night for me.
I’m happy, healthy, and working hard. We’ll talk to you soon.
With love,
- EE
- It finally feels like this is my normal, instead of living in some other world waiting for the day to return home. Sure I still miss you guys like crazy and a lot of the things of home but I’m finding my confidence. It also feels good to know just how important family really is. I am happy and proud to be here with your support.
- I’m loving the Cadbury eggs. I’m eating 1 per day until Easter and then we’re going to rip open the bag and go to town. Elder Castagno totally gasped when I told him I had them.
- I’ve been really moved by the importance of Easter and the love of our Savior. Hermana Murphy shared her thoughts about the sacrament being the last act Jesus performed with his apostles to remind them of him and she had me completely in tears. I was floored at the emotions I felt – I’ve become infinitely more sensitive to the spirit. The mission really is an interesting experiment.
- Today we finally went to Las Lajas! In the morning we played soccer on a synthetic field and it is true that Elder Quispe is amazing at soccer. It makes me laugh whenever we play with the Latinos – you have to because we don’t stand a chance. Check out the huge pile of meat we had for lunch – delicious! Then we were off to the sanctuary. It was amazing and unbelievably gorgeous. I was taken aback quite a bit. It was an awesome day and I am so thankful for the deep friendship I share with Elder Morales.
- [Scott Note: During our post-Christmas garage clean out and purge exercise, we came across Stripey, a small stuffed animal Cheetah Adam loved as a baby and toddler. Lisa took a chance and shipped him in a care package. Judging by the photos, it looks like Stripey arrived in Tulcan safe and sound. I'll spare you the photos of Adam snuggling him ;)]
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