I'm getting behind on Nathan's mission - time to update the last few months. He's been in Quito from April to the present, although he moved areas within Quito. He started with Elder Kowallis in Bellavista area and then got transferred to Calderon area. Elder Lyman was his companion there until his mission was done, and then Nathan got to train Elder Ramirez from Peru. They've had a few baptisms - Olger, Jairo, and to be part of a baptism for 9 people from their zone on the same day. He's been currently serving the past 6 weeks as a "finder missionary". His role, along with 3 other elders, is to find people for other missionaries to teach. They're out contacting, knocking on doors, and teaching an introductory lesson. They then pass those people who want to continue learning to other missionaries. It's a pretty hard role, as they don't get to finish teaching anyone. They also don't have visits or meals with the ward members, so they've been cooking their own food or eating out. They've done lots of walking and come across many dogs. They have to use their umbrellas to ward off the unfriendly dogs. For an idea of the walking, one day he and his companion walked an hour, only to find a gated community where they couldn't get in, so they had to turn around and walk the hour back.
They got their phone pick-pocketed one day. There was some rioting in the streets when the to-be-impeached president dissolved the government. One of the other companionships was robbed at knife point in the middle of the day while eating lunch in a restaurant. Nathan claims he's in one of the safer parts of the mission though.
He's meeting tons of people and the language is coming along well. While meeting someone in the street, the person mentioned they were on their way to church. Nathan and his companion asked if they could join and attended another church service and got introduced to the bishop / pastor of the church.
He's learning a lot while out there, about personal revelation, self-reliance, his own weaknesses, serving others, and the Savior and God's plan for us. Here are a couple of the things he wrote about:
"I loved that this week we had the opportunity to remember the Savior and his resurrection. When we read about his life, we see just how important his resurrection was for us. Through him we all will be resurrected and gain a perfect body. Then through his atonement and gospel he taught, we will be saved from sin. To missionaries, the gospel is super important. We strive to live every principle so that we can help others change their life and live the same principles. Both the investigator and the missionary learn how we can be like Jesus Christ together. It has been a great blessing to see people strive to be more like Christ and make great changes in their life."
"We did a lot of finding this week. We went up to parts that are outside of the city and so we knocked a lot of doors and dealt with a lot of dogs. We started teaching a family that is super prepared. Apparently they had been attending church in the past, but the missionaries stopped being in contact with them. The wife expressed how she was waiting for another opportunity to meet with us. We ended up knocking their door and talking to the husband! The wife also mentioned to us that her husband didn't mention to her we were coming and so she didn't know we were coming but she felt someone important was coming over. She had this anxious feeling. She told us that when we entered the house she was completely calm. Her story strengthened my testimony about the spirit we have as missionaries."
"I just want to share that if we want to start to do the Lord's will in our lives, prayer is the best way to start. Prayer is a way we can come unto to Christ. Recently I have been praying for that change of heart and it's already been an amazing journey so far. I have felt my heart change. I have seen greater control over my thoughts and actions. And I have seen the power of the spirit as I work. It's accepting God's plan for you and accepting that your thoughts, ideas or beliefs could be wrong. Honestly, I have felt such a great change already and I know that we can become instruments in the Lord's hands as we act on this desire."
First picture: No one showed up for their class!
It was fun to talk to Nathan when Jared was in Scotland - from 3 different continents. Nathan got to talk to Jared's seminary class one morning as well (I joined in of course).
