Dearest friends and family,
Cayambe is very artisanal. At least I think that’s the word
I want. What I mean is that the people here put a lot of effort into the little
details of certain parts of their culture, especially their food, dress,
architecture and, of course, the flowers. Okay, maybe not so much with the food
because the lunches here actually look and taste just like they do in other
parts of Ecuador, but I bring up the food so I can talk about the cheese
industry here in Cayambe.
I’ve learned a lot about cheese production because of a respectable
man named Danny who is listening to us missionaries along with his family.
Danny works in a big cheese factory with a name that I don’t remember right
now. His main responsibility is feeding chunks of parmesan into a gigantic
shredder that I’m sure has appeared in a horror film or two, producing flaky
crumbs of parmesan sort of like what we have in the states. Now this isn’t a
complaint but I feel like it would be appropriate to mention that for me Ecuadorian
cheese is a disappointing experiment compared to the cheese we have back home.
All the cheese I’ve tried here is salty and really, resistantly waxy. How do I
explain? It’s like when you take a bite, the cheese makes a squeaky noise on
your teeth and then bounces back to its original shape. You get the idea. When
I showed interest in Danny’s knowledge of the production of yogurt, manjar, and
especially the parmesan cheese, he brought us out a little sack of that day’s
batch and gave it to us! Mom, it was perfect because just one day earlier I
received your package of pasta sauce packets. We cooked up a delicious alfredo
and the cheese was great!
So cheese production is one industry that provides jobs for
many of the people we visit and meet here. But the far larger industry is the
production and exportation of flowers. Everyone in Cayambe either works on a
plantation or knows a good handful of people who work in related businesses. It
makes for an interesting culture. Logically there are lots of stages in flower
production: planting, classifying, harvesting, preparing for export, constructing
and maintaining the green houses, tending the soil, tending the workers – in short,
many stages and processes. I can tell when someone is a classifier / packagers
by looking at their fingernails. The classifiers always let their nails or at least
their thumbnails grow long. They do this to be able to pluck off erroneous
leaves that just don’t belong on the perfect flowers. It’s all just part of the
occupation. Another thing that some people told us is that the government
regulates the allowed age to be able to work on the fincas by putting an age
limit of 35 on certain jobs. This is interesting to me because the majority of
the people work with the flowers but when they sign up for the job it’s a given
that they’ll have to find other work to sustain themselves and their families.
I admit that I’ve reached a tiny bit of a stumbling block on
this letter. I’m not sure how to close! I’m going to finish just throwing out
whatever feels natural in my raw thoughts.
I love seeing people work hard and do all they can, give
everything in their power, to provide for their families. I have also loved
being engulfed in such a rich culture with such longstanding and deep
traditions. I’ve only been in Cayambe for 3 weeks but I’m exceptionally fond of
it – I hope some of that comes through in my writing. I’m thankful that my
companion and I have been blessed with such a great start here. I’m thankful
there are people that listen to us and that we have been able to help them. I’m
thankful for our beautiful apartment and that we can see the volcano out our
window on clear days. I’m thankful that I’ve learned to be happy with just
being by myself. I’m thankful that I’ve completed a year in my mission already
and even more thankful that I have so much time, another year, yet to complete.
I feel like I finally have the hang of this, guys! I’m so thankful for the
people who love me and thankful that some of you read my letters. I’m doing
really well. Does anyone have any questions for me? Shoot me a note (adam.ericksen@myldsmail.net). I’d
love to hear from you.
Have an amazing week, everyone. Keep smiling and never stop!
I love you all,
Elder Ericksen
Other tidbits in Adam’s letter to his mom this week:
- It’s Thursday evening and I’m super happy to be jotting this note to you about a tiny miracle I saw tonight. In week 3 of the 12-week training program for new missionaries we focus on how to better find people to teach. A big part of the lesson is focusing on talking with everyone, in every moment, where appropriate. I really, really believe in this concept and it is something that has blessed me greatly. Lots of missionaries just go knocking doors all day, but I’d much prefer to talk to people out in the street where it’s easier to have a conversation and where we can better observe what a person might be going through and therefore be able to better tailor our conversation to their needs. This is something I could write pages and pages about so let’s just say I strongly believe in the importance of talking with everyone. Anyway, this happens to be an area where Elder Cuevas is less comfortable and I’ve been trying to help him with it. So tonight there was a large group of people outside a restaurant and I invited him to go and speak with them. He said he would and then, in the moment, backed out and walked right by, creating an awkward situation and leaving me feeling a little frustrated. It became the last straw of what had been a long day. I had us say a little prayer and then asked him if he thought it would have been better if he had at least introduced himself and smiled at them. He replied yes and I then promised him that we would be able to find a new family to teach that same night if he would do at least that. Man, I was praying so hard in my heart that I would not be made a liar! We rounded the next corner and saw a man taking an empty box out to the trash. He looked really tough, with a firm jaw, and kind of intimidatingly buff. I reminded Elder Cuevas of our goal to talk to everyone. Elder Cuevas was on the fence as we approached and, for my part, I was praying super hard in my head. Well Elder Cuevas accepted the challenge and we were invited in and taught this little 4-person family a brief lesson about God’s love for us. Meeting Orlando and Jessica was a definite miracle…a last minute, legit, last contact of the day and God honored my promise to Elder Cuevas and rewarded our effort!
- We witnessed again the hand of God on Saturday while talking with Luis and Soledad about their marriage. [This is the family living on the extreme outskirts of town Adam mentioned last week.] Out of the blue, Luis told us they both had been praying and have decided to get married on the 9th of September! They then asked to be baptized on the 16th! We have been blessed with a lot of success here in Cayambe. We have several other people scheduled for baptism in September, a number of other families progressing towards it, and we had 9 visitors in Church yesterday which was perfect because the Otavalo Stake President visited and spoke and the Relief Society had brought in some genuine flower arrangements from the nearby plantation and the chapel looked beautiful.
- We go into Quito tonight (Monday). We have an appointment to get Elder Cuevas’ visa registered tomorrow morning. Speaking of, Elder Cuevas is doing really well. He’s progressing a ton and losing the fear he had of talking to people. We get along really well and help each other a lot. Something interesting is that I thought that I might feel lonely here in Cayambe because I’m far away from everybody and it’s just the two of us and he’s a new missionary and all this stuff. But I’ve actually been extremely happy and I know it’s because I’ve devoted myself to working as hard as possible, being a good example, and for the service I give to Elder Cuevas. It’s amazing. I can’t fully explain and I certainly cannot complain.
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