New Year, New Me

HELLO EVERYONE MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS I HOPE IT WAS MAGICAL AND SPECIAL AND YOU ALL GOT TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR LOVED ONES!!

This week was stellar, I had a lovely Christmas.

We woke up at 6:30, worked out, then went back to bed. I then made arepas with eggs for breakfast, then we studied, talked to our families, then just hung out in the house until 7 pm. At 7 we went to dinner at a chinese place with Hermano Castañada. All his family was out of town, so we went and ate with him because none of us had family here in Baños. It was great, I loved it. 

I ate something called Chontacuro this week. Chontacuro is a jungle grub; just think of those wormy looking things that Simón and Pumba eat in the Lion King, and you have a good picture of it. We ate them live too, so you have to grab it by the head, then bite it off and all the guts squish out in your mouth and it is absolutely hideous and I hated it so much. But I'm not gonna lie, it was worth it for the video and the story. I'll try to send the video so you can all gag and feel grossed out too. 

This is the last Monday of 2019, I hope all of you make it a good one. 

Last night we went to the Rubio Family's house to visit them. Hermano and Hermana Rubio are like our parents here in Baños, they love the missionaries. They also speak really good English, so sometimes we have conversations in English so they can practice. The other companionship here in Baños is Elder Piraquive and Elder Murdock; Elder Piraquive is Columbian, but his English is super good. Elder Murdock is brand new, so his Spanish is pretty limited. We were all chatting and Elder Murdock said to his comp, "Hey when I speak English do you sometimes just nod your head and say yes?" Elder Piraquive wasn't really listening, so he just looked at Murdock with a somewhat confused look and nodded and said, "Yeah." Hahaha we all died laughing, it was so hilarious. 

I love the time of New Year because we can reflect on the past year and see everything we've done and the kind of person we've been. I always like to make goals, and this past week I found a scripture that I want to make my motto of 2020. it's in 3rd Nephi 27:27. In this scripture, Jesus Christ is talking and teaching the people in Ancient America and he says, "...Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

If we can try our best to be like Jesus Christ, we will always be able to accomplish our goals. I'm excited for the new year and the progress that I will be able to make. 

Welp, that's it for this week! Love and miss you all and Happy New Year!

Elder Spangler

I miss Christmas

HELLO TO EVERYONE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

This week was great, not a lot of traditional missionary work, but I learned a ton and had some great experiences. 

First things first, I was really excited for the Christmas season because it's my favorite time of year, but Christmas is pretty low key here, so I've been kind of disappointed. BUT, it's fine because I'm just working like crazy and loving life, so even though it doesn't really feel like Christmas, it's okay because I'm helping people come to know the real reason we celebrate at this time of year. 

Last Monday, we went to Quito for a couple of meetings and stayed there until Wednesday, it was a great time. We had Verifications, which is a meeting for all the new missionaries and their trainers, it was super solid. We then went out and worked with one of the missionaries in Quito, Elder Flint. At one point, we met a girl and her dad, and the girl asked Elder Flint to say something in English. He said, with a straight face, "I want you to be baptized into the church we represent because it's the only true church on the Earth." I died. Elder Flint is a great missionary. 

The next morning, we had a Zone Conference with our mission president and his wife, and with Elder Mathias Held of the Seventy and his wife. It was such a good meeting, I learned a ton. Elder Held talked a lot about working hard, putting in the full effort and not holding back; it helped me learn a ton. I also got to chat with Elder Muentes, my companion from La Concordia, and he told me that Angelica, Mayalin, and Annaly, all got baptized! They were from the Contreras Family, the Venezuelans that I was teaching. It made me so happy to hear that they got baptized, so awesome. 

I ate fish this week, no problem. Still don't like it though.

We had a Christmas activity on Friday, it was a ton of fun. There were a ton of members and a ton of investigators and we just had a great time. 

Recently I have been reading the Book of Mormon a ton, I am trying to finish it before the end of the year. I have read so much this past week, it's been so great. That book really is so powerful. A scripture that I love is in Helaman chapter 5, one of my most favorite chapters in all of the Book of Mormon. This scripture talks about the voice of the Holy Spirit, and it helps us remember how important it is to listen. It says, " And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul."  I love this scripture because if we don't take time to listen, we aren't going to hear that voice, and we won't have the guidance from the Lord. Take time to listen this week. 

Well, that's all I got this week!  Merry Christmas everyone, love and miss you all!!

Elder Spangler

Party Time

Hello everyone!!

This week was another goody, the mission life is good and I'm happy. December is a crazy time of year here in Baños because there is a party or parade or show or something every single day of the month, so it's pretty exciting. It's a little harder to find people to teach because everyone is in the streets having a grand ol' time, but we're working hard and loving life. 

Carlos and his family, La Familia Gomez, moved, but thankfully they're still in our area. We went to go visit them the other day and when we got to their house, all their stuff was sitting outside in front, so we walked up and went and helped them bring all their stuff down and load it in the truck. We couldn't go to their new house, but we knew that it was in Barrio Santa Ana and in a really narrow path. The next day, we went and searched for their house. We found a narrow path in Barrio Santa Ana, but we didn't see anyone in any of the houses, so we just kept walking. We ended up walking back and were able to find their house and talk with them for a second and invite them to our Ward Christmas Activity, it was sweet. 

I taught an English class this week. The Church has a program called English Connect and normally when they have class I just go and help with the pronunciation or grammar, but that's it. This week, however, I had to teach it because the teacher was traveling. It was actually really fun and it turned out really well, I was proud of myself. If any of you want English classes, let me know. 

I hit 10 months this past week, and it was on my Dad's birthday, so it was a double special day. 

I remembered a scripture that I really love this week. It talks about the power and importance of prayer, it's in The Book of Mormon, in Alma 37. The verses say, "36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

If we can pray consistently and rely on the Lord, we will be blessed and receive the help we need. Simple as that. I invite you all to make your prayers a little more meaningful, a little more personal. It has helped me a ton. 

That's all I've got this week! This upcoming week we have some exciting stuff happening, so I'll make sure next week's update has all the juicy details. 

Love you all!! Have a great week!

Elder Spangler

The Proudest Father

HELLO EVERYONE, I'M BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!!

This week was so awesome, I've seriously learned so much and it's the best. 

So last Tuesday, Elder Santiago and I took a bus to Quito so I could drop him off and get my new comp. I got to see Elder Azabache in the bus terminal, it was a tender reunion. 

Tuesday afternoon I spent the day with an Elder Sherman from Colorado. I love that man, he's a super solid missionary. We went out and contacted and met a man that was very firm in his Christian beliefs and chatted with him for a while. When we told him we needed to go, he asked if he could offer a prayer. We said yes, and he then proceeded to give a very kind prayer asking that the Lord would protect us and bless us with success on our missions, then finished the prayer. He then asked to say another prayer, but this time he prayed that we would know that we are sinners and in the incorrect path. I was quite confused by the rather contradictory prayers, but it was an interesting experience nonetheless. 

Wednesday morning, all the trainers went to a chapel in downtown Quito to get our new companions. After a few meetings, we got our assignments. My son is an Elder Gutierrez, from Chimbote, Peru. He's a total stud and is super excited to be a missionary and really wants to be the best he can be, I've already learned a ton from him. He did Judo, a martial art, before the mission, so I'm trying not to make him upset or mad so he doesn't destroy me. Haha just kidding, he's an awesome guy. 

Some cool experiences from this week that made me like my companion even more: 

We were walking to go visit a member and we saw a different member in a barbershop. We went to go say hi, and as I was talking to the member, Elder Gutierrez contacted a young guy that worked there and set up a lesson with him! It was his first day in the field and I didn't even have to say anything to him. We met with the guy, Johandry, a few days ago and he's super solid. 

We were eating lunch one day and the hermana brought out the soup and plate and it was a fish soup and the plate was a plate of rice and fried fish. I was quite sad, but I ate all of the soup just fine because it didn't taste like fish. E' Gutierrez knew that I don't like fish so he just said, "for me," and took the fish off my plate and ate it. I didn't even have time to react, but I wasn't complaining haha. 

We made a Christmas tree out of paper and it looks amazing, I will attach a photo. 

The other day we went out and contacted a whole neighborhood, and when we finished we still had a little bit more time. I was trying to think of who we could visit, and the name of a less active member came to my head. We decided to go visit her, and when we got there, we found out that she was sick and was wanting a Priesthood blessing, but didn't know who to call. Elder Gutierrez and I were able to give her a blessing and invite her to church, and she came the next Sunday. It was a really awesome experience and it helped me learn the importance of following every prompting we receive from the Holy Ghost. I love the mission. 

There's a scripture in The Book of Mormon that I really love, it helps us remember our dependence on God and our own weaknesses. It's in Alma 26:12. It says, "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." This scripture really applies in the mission because I really am weak, but with the strength of the Lord, I have been able to work miracles here in Ecuador. Just remember that when we rely on God and not on ourselves, we can do great things. 

Well, that's all I've got this week. Thank you to all those who wrote to me last week, I loved hearing from all of you. 

Hope everyone has a great week, love and miss you all!!

Elder Spangler

I'm Pregnant

HELLO TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY.  HOW IS EVERYONE??

This week was pretty awesome, lots of great things happened. The only non-awesome thing was that Thanksgiving doesn't exist here, so instead of eating turkey and mashed potatoes and all that delicious stuff, I ate a Rapidito, which is the Ecuadorian equivalent of a Cup of Noodles. It sure was great, I felt right at home. 

I also ate some other interesting food this past week. I was on divisions in Puyo with an Elder Felix, and when we went to lunch they served us soup with rice and a plate of vegetables. Sounds good, right?  Well, the soup consisted of what appeared to be the cartilage and organs of a pig, with a broth that tasted like stomach acid that rises up in your throat when you accidentally burp. The rice was normal, but the vegetables were just tomatoes and raw onions, and I'm still not a huge fan of those.  Ate it all though.  Normally the food here is great, it's just every so often we get something super wacky and those are the only times I share with you all. 

I mentioned a family we're teaching the other week, La Familia Gomez. This week was pretty crazy for them and every time we tried to pass by their house, they weren't there. Saturday we really wanted to invite them to come to church, but they weren't answering their phone and they were never home. Saturday evening we said a prayer before we left the house that we'd be able to find them, then went out to work. We were walking up to the center of town, when on the other side of the street we saw the mom with her son, Carlos. We ran over to them and were able to talk for a while, then asked if they were going to be busy Sunday morning. Carlos said, "No, I won't be, I want to come to church." It was awesome, it made me so happy. The rest of the family had to work, so they couldn't come, but Carlos came, all dressed up and he was really excited. He said he loved the meetings and after church, he asked me about missionary life and what our purpose was, and when I explained it he said, "Wow, I would really like to be a missionary." I was like, "YES YOU CAN BE, FOR SURE, 100%."  We have high hopes for him and his family, they're super great. 

We got transfer news this week! Elder Santiago is going back to Quito and will be companions with my trainer, Elder Azabache. Now they will be able to talk about how amazing of a missionary I am and how they miss me so much. Hahah just kidding, that was a joke. I will be staying here and I will be training a new missionary! Tomorrow I go to Quito and on Wednesday they'll assign us our new companions. I'm really excited, also terrified, but mostly excited. It'll be a great experience and I can't wait to meet my new comp. 

Well, that's all folks. Miss you all and you are in my prayers. 

Hope everyone has a fantastic week and feels the Spirit!!

Elder Spangler