Dearest friends and family,
Hello. I’m feeling blessed to be writing you after another
great week. There’s a lot to balance out here in the mission field and it
brings a good feeling at the end of the week when I feel like there haven’t
been too many stumbles or tripping moments. Do you know what I mean? Maybe
nothing amazing happened but there was good movement in the right direction
and, if there was a stumble, you recovered your step quickly and kept moving?
It was that kind of week.
One thing you learn out here is to balance all of your feelings.
I was able to call home via Skype to celebrate the day of my wonderful Mother on
Sunday. On the surface and during the days leading up to the call I was stoked and,
even as I was talking and sharing stories on the call, I was feeling pretty good.
But when I hung up and later headed back to our apartment for the night I was
shocked by very heavy feelings – that life back home is in fact going along
perfectly fine without me and that it will be a good 7 months before I get to
see my family again. I shook this funk pretty quickly come Monday with a few
much needed comments and reminders in letters from my parents and loved ones. I
don’t want to dwell on these feelings and mention them only because I want to
be sincere in expressing my feelings. But know this: Mother’s Day has become a
very special and emotional holiday for me.
I did get a kick seeing my family drinking some Colombian
sodas my dad managed to secure at some Latin Market the week before. I really
enjoy the Postobon, its great with picada which is a giant plate of meat pieces.
Colombiana is also a favorite and I think any parent would gasp seeing the number
of empty 2-liter bottles in our apartment. (And I’ve only been here 3 weeks!
Ha!) They also had a malt drink that Elder Chavarraga told me is like a
poor-man’s Pony Malta. I’m a Pony Malta “appreciator” so I got a chuckle when
my family said they hated it. Everyone told me back at the coast to give it a week
and I did learn to like it. I’m becoming an “appreciator” of lots of Colombian
foods and goods and there’s a few things I will dearly miss from here when I eventually
return to Ecuador. I love Palomitas (puffed rice with caramel coating),
Ranchera hot dogs, Colombian hot chocolate powder mix, Hit Juices (especially naranja-pina)
and almojabanas (a buttery bread roll that is delicious with Cuban flour). Yum.
Something that helps keep my balance positive are all of the
amazing members, other missionaries and people we are teaching. A mission creates
so many situations that cannot be found anywhere else – even more so the situations
that arise service in a Latin American country. Lots of times these situations
leave me dying of laughter. We gringos stick out and draw a lot of attention and
comments from the people in the streets. The drunks want to meet me, shake my
hand for uncomfortably long periods of time, and be my friend. The youth can be
especially vocal and are always surprised when we understand and are able to
respond to them. I don’t know – it’s all good stuff and helps me stay happy.
Ipiales is certainly an interesting place. It is larger and
the town center is more built up than Tulcan but there are more areas on the outskirts
and that’s where we find a lot of good work. The houses are more square and
feel shorter than homes in Ecuador. There is a lot of metal work, car body, and
motorcycle repair shops which makes many of the areas I’m in feel more
industrial. There are also more dirt roads I’m walking with tall grasses on
both sides. The stores like Exito and Alcosto are larger here – there’s something
comforting about having a reliable store nearby. I enjoy the city a lot and
Elder Soto and I are working hard.
We are teaching 3 people who are preparing for baptism in
the next 3 weeks are so. We have an investigator who is 14 and will be joining
her aunt and cousins in the church on the 27th. We are extremely
happy for her and have seen huge changes in the way she thinks and feels in just
the last 3 weeks. She has worked hard to leave behind some habits that any
person would be a lot happier without and has really lifted herself out of an
otherwise tough up-bringing. She told us that she has felt incredibly relieved
and happy in a way she’s never felt before and all I could think was like “uff –
this is why I am here.” Her words were a definite push for my balance in the positive
direction.
Friends, keep your balance and keep smiling. If you trip or
stumble get up quick and never stop walking forward. I love you all. Have a
great week!
- EE
Other tidbits:
- Okay so I’m doing infinitely better than I was last week and I’m really happy to be writing you guys. I still miss you like crazy but I’m doing well, I’m happy. There’s lots of joy to be had here.
- I’m loving the pictures of the prom, I really hope you enjoyed it Allie. I do have to say that I enjoyed my own prom way more, but the first one was also good. I hope you’re staying happy and that know I love you.
- It rained a lot this week. One day we had to go back and change because we got completely soaked.
- Oh Nathan I heard you like the name Pupiales. It is funny. There's lots of funny Colombian names.
- I got called on Friday night to give a talk in church on Sunday for 8 minutes. It went well. I don’t know why but I still get nervous talking in front of people in Spanish. I’m basically fluent which is awesome but sometimes I can’t find words and I worry I’m going to stumble in front of everyone. I do much better in smaller settings.
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