Tests of Faith

Hola Familia!!!

Wow, sounds like you guys had quite the week. Thank you so much for updating me on all the exciting games. I think one of the things I miss the very most is going to my brothers' sports games! So so glad you guys are having fun, but keep it up, because when I get home, I will be at every one to cheer you on. I had the GREAT realization this week that I'll be able to watch the college football championship a few weeks after I get home next year, so that is good news :) Good luck with wedding plans, school, fixing up houses, and mom and Syd, way to go on singing in the choir! Sounds like it was a great great stake conference!

This week was a humbling one. One that tested our faith and tested our work ethic. First of all, we had a lot of people that weren't home during the week and a lot of walking from lesson to lesson. One of our investigators is also having a really hard time becasue her parents are completely against her joining the church and have told her all sorts of things like we don't believe in marriage, and no church should be allowed to have missionaries. One of our investigators right now with a baptisimal date, who is about 75 years old, got really sick this week. So sick that she had to stay in her bed, so we're praying for her and hoping we can continue to help her understand the gospel.

I think the biggest thing was that the baptism that was scheduled for this week didn't happen. It was with a man named Guido (I think I have mentioned him before) who is in a wheelchair and lives alone. Man, it is so humbling to see his life and how he lives, but little by little, the gospel has been giving him hope and happiness. He has told us more than once that he feels like Heavenly Father sent him two angles to help improve his life. I really saw this week that Satan tries hard to work with those who are progressing. The day of his baptism (Friday), we were super excited and super ready. We had spent the last few days calling people for talks, to bring food, to help with transportation, and that morning we went to the church to fill up the font. We stopped by his house about five hours before the baptism, and he told us that he was really sick and didn't think it would work out that day. Since he's in a wheelchair, everything is harder, especially when he's sick, so we ended up having to cancel the baptism and spent the rest of the day calling people so we wouldn't have a church full of people without Guido. He has some friends who are kind of bad influences on him, so we're going to have to pray and work hard this week. I may miss his baptism, which would be sad, but all I want is for him to feel ready and be sure of his testimony.

Halloween and American candy!

That being said, I also saw many many blessings this week from the Lord. Hermana Ettinger and I are really working hard on spanish, random vocab words, and I noticed a lot of improvement in my language this week. We also found a lot of new people this week, and a few of our investigators came to church that we weren't expecting. We also got Halloween candy this week from a family in our ward and that was a huuuge blessing :) The family we eat with on Sunday went to Texas for a week, so they brought us back AMERICAN candy, and boy, Reese's and Kit Kats have never tasted so good in my life!! We went to their house for dinner and they had Halloween decorations on their door! That was sooo fun to see because apparently that holiday is banned here and no one celebrates it. (But no worries, Hna Ettinger and I already decided were going to buy a gallon of ice cream and eat it to celebrate on Saturday!)Last Tuesday we found a service project (which rarely happens) with a memeber in our ward. He works as a carpenter in his house/garage and we noticed that it was very messy.. so we volunteered to help him. Yes, dad, you can be glad that all the way out here in Ecuador I'm learning how to work with wood and run a shop :) We got it spick and span and got ourselves filthy! But had fun doing it!

Cleaning up the woodshop.

I realized this week that the ward I am in is spectacular. Especially the bishop. He is the type of guy, that just does things because it needs to be done, and doesn't ask for praise or recognition. We went and visited him last night to just let him know thank you and ask if there was something specific we could do in the ward to help him. I was so taken back as he started talking with tears in his eyes, thanked us for our work, and bore his testimony that he knows the Lord has a greater plan for ourselves than we do. As we were talking, we found out that he doesn't have a very good job right now, had to sell his car, and is having health problems, but he does and does and serves and helps and serves some more. I want to be like that.

This is my last week in training and we have transfers on Sunday, so who knows what will happen. We are soooo hoping that we both stay, but we will see.

Ponderize scripture

My ponderize scripture for this week is Deut 8:2. I attatched a picture in Spanish, but here it is in English, because I'm assuming most of you can't understand that too well. "And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no."

Wow, wow I love this!! First of all, that we have SO many blessings to be grateful for. But also that our trials are like mini tests for us to see how we will respond. To see if we will face our hard times with faith and more obedience, or complain and fall to things of the world. I know that the Lord has SO many blessings for us if we continue to face our lives and the circumstances in our lives with faith and gratitude.

Thank you, thank you, for your support. I love you all and think about you often! Good luck in football this week and continue to shine your examples.

Love,  Hermana Yorgason

Face masks.

Two Little American Girls and a Baptism

Hello Family!

Well.. This has definitely been the wettest, coldest, funniest week of my mission. Maybe of my life. I don’t think I’ve ever been out in so much rain and puddles. First of all, so glad I have a waterproof bag. Second, this rain jacket has saved me. And third, I never thought I could be so cold on the equator. For reals though, don’t quite know how that works, but it was like someone turned on the switch this week and DUMPED the water!! Nonetheless, we laughed through it (especially when cars would pass and spray us with sheets of water), and boy have I never slept better in my life, that is for sure!!

RAIN!!

I have lots that I want to write this week. Lots happened, including a baptism of two investigators that we have had for quite a while. Yay!!!! It’s this adorably cute older couple, who learn slowly but have suuuch funny and sweet personalities. Their problem in the beginning was that they weren’t married, so last week we had their marriage, and this week, their son (only baptized three months ago) baptized both of them. As they both walked out of the water I could literally picture their whole family together in the temple and it made everything worth it. All the lessons, all the details to get them married, and filling up the font. That especially was tricky :) 

We got a call from the mission leader that he wasn’t going to be able to go to the church, so in the morning, we left our studies, took the bus to the church, looked, tried, and eventually figured out that we didn’t have the keys to the gas. So... back on the bus, back to our house (about 30 min), found the keys, back to the church, and then it took us about 45 min to figure out HOW to turn on the gas. But... us two American girls eventually figured it out, started the water, and it all worked out perfectly. As I watched them be baptized, I really saw a portion of the love that the Lord has for them. They are so happy, so energetic, and show up to church early every week with smiles on their faces. Love that example!

Filling the font....was a little tricky!!

We also had a really cool experience in a lesson this week with one of our recent converts. It’s a family of a single mom and five kids (the ones that fed me guinea pig!:)) They haven’t been able to go to the temple yet because of money and time and some days it’s even hard for them to get to church because all the busing costs here. On Wednesday, we had a lesson with them about the temple and the blessings that we receive when we sacrifice to go. Then at the end we let them know that the ward wants to help them with the cost of their food so that they can keep this commandment and go to the temple as a family. It was amazing to see their reaction as they heard this. The mom had tears in her eyes and told us how much this meant to her. I love love that this church is about service and help and that the Lord will ALWAYS provide a way for us to keep his commandments. I let them know that this wasn’t us, wasn’t even people from the ward, but that it was a blessing from Heavenly Father because they are living right. Such a humbling experience.

...and MORE rain!

Well, on a completely different note... along with the rain, I think someone also turned on the switch of beetles/cockroaches. They are everywhere! (Reminds me of the locusts in the bible. If you don’t remember look in Ex 10:4-6) We find them in our house, everywhere in the streets, found one in my hair. Hermana Ettinger and I have even debated catching them and cooking them up for a nice breakfast. We figure we should take advantage of living in a third world country, right? Ha, it’s funny to see all the little kids play with the bugs like they’re toys and try to stuff them down each others backs. No thank you! :)

This week on Thursday we got Cafe Rio for lunch and ooohh man, it was delightful. We have been so lucky and eat really well here. Every day we have a "mamita", a family who gives us food, and lots of them are pretty American, so we’ve had steak, fries, spaghetti, ice cream. Very very lucky in this sector!!!

Well, I forgot to bring my scripture for this week, but I want you all to know how much I love you and how much I love this gospel. Over these 12 weeks I have seen how the gospel can help us in literally every problem in our lives. The Lord is so good and gives us exactly what we need, and I know for me right now, that is a mission in Quito, Ecuador. Thank you for your example!

Love Hermana Yorgason 

Gelado

Me and Hermana Ettinger!

Family!!!

Well well, I guess it’s that time again. Mom, you were absolutely right... Monday to Monday is fast, but I feel like I have definitely been away from you guys for more than three months. Oh well.. there are already Christmas decorations up in the stores here so I guess that means the end of the year will be here before we know it. :) Thank you for your letters. Mom, glad to hear you had a great birthday, and as always, thank you for updating me on everything football related.. Chad and Mckay and BYU. 

P-day Bowling!

This week I have really learned to ENJOY my mission while working hard. Haha, we’ve had some great moments this week. Here are a few examples...

Monday night.. after emailing and all, we decided to follow the mission president’s advice and be extra prepared for the volcano that is supposedly going to erupt sometime and buy extra water for our house. Since we’re poor (and don’t like spending money anyway) we figured that we were tough and could carry many gallons (don’t even know how many) about a mile uphill to our house. We need all the workouts we can get, right? Haha, oh well, that was a sight. I never realized that water was so heavy and jugs of water were so awkward to carry. We got maanny strange looks but laughed all the way home.

We’ve also decided that there are many phrases in English that just don’t have the same rhyme to them in Spanish. For example... that’s what I’m talking about... Esto es sobre lo que estoy hablando. Haha. That just doesn’t work when you try and say it fast in a conversation. So... as we walk down the street we’ve developed better ways to say funny things in Spanish.  We’ve got some good phrases. Haha sometimes translations can be quite entertaining.

For our Zone activity today for P-day we had a paint/chalk fight while playing capture the flag. I’ll have to say.. I’ve never had so much color in so many places and I’m really hoping my hair goes back to its normal color. Haha we sure enjoyed ourselves though. It was good to get out and run and wear sweats and let my mind have a break.

Zone activity - Paint/chalk fight and Capture the Flag

Reunion from the CCM.  Hermanas Anderson and Jueschey 

We also have spoiled ourselves and make DELICIOUS breakfasts every morning (after we do abs or run). Mom, its not quite the same as it was with you, but it’s pretty close. It’s so nice to have a companion who likes the same things as I do, likes to be healthy, but will also NEVER turn down the opportunity for an ice cream cone. We found some pretty superb spots if we need a pick me up during the day :)

This week we also had our zone conference with Hermana and President Richardson in Quito. It was all about the Doctrine of Christ and how that... faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end... is really what we’re here to share with people. We’re here to invite people to Christ and share what he would share if he was here. Something I loved that Hermana Richardson told us is... "That you can literally be the Lord’s hands, his mouth, his eyes and feet as you follow the spirit and look to serve others."  She went on to tell us that whether we’re here in the mission, in college, a mom with kids at home, a neighbor, what ever we may be, we can do what Christ would do. Hearing this gave me such a desire to lose myself and look at people through the eyes of our Heavenly Father. THAT is why we’re here on this earth and wow, that’s such a great feeling.

My Ponderize scripture for the week.

I love love love you all! A mission is hard. Very hard and I miss you guys lots and lots. But... I know that we are all in this together. Sharing the gospel and helping people around us whether it’s in Ecuador or Hyde Park, Utah. Love you all and talk to you in a week!! 

Hermana Yorgason

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!
I hope it was such a great day!  Even though I couldn't do much,
we celebrated it here with a cake in your honor.  Love you lots! :)

General Conference!

Family and Friends!!!

Wow wow, I feel like I just wrote to you. This week definitely went by fast and there were lots and lots of great moments. It’s good to hear from all of you (as always). Thank you, thank you for writing me and updating me on your lives. Its never too much or too long. Don’t worry guys, I love it all :)

I love, love, LOVE my companion!

This week again we had lots of appointments, lots of people to visit, busy busy. I am learning so so much from my companion and we are having a really great time together. Already we are NOT looking forward to transfers in four weeks. Haha fingers crossed that we have one more change together :) We’ve figured out that we are so much alike and always have Something to talk about. Haha we both are careful with our money and time, so it was fun to see how we planned our P-day last night, so we could make the BEST use of our time. We’re learning lots from each other. 

She was a saint this week when I got sick one day and had to come home early. We decided it was probably a meal we had with a member, but I was NOT feeling good for about 24 hours. She cleaned the house and made me smoothies. I’m completely better now and was so grateful to be feeling fine for conference, but I really learned from her selfless service. We also saw a dog die during the week. Its was so random and unlike anything I’ve seen. We opened a gate to leave one of our lessons and right then a dog flew into the door and was shaking really bad.. having a seizure. We think that it got hit by a car right as we were opening the door, but wow, we just stood there for about 5 minutes and didn’t know what to do. Sad sad, but the owners eventually came out and took care of it. That was something you don’t see everyday.

We found PARADISE!

We had a few lessons (quite a few lessons) this week where we could really feel the Spirit really strongly and I could tell without a doubt that our investigators could too. We have a few people with baptismal dates right now and it is so cool to see how different they are because they have felt the Spirit. As members of the church we are soo so blessed to have the perspective of the gospel and TEACHING the gospel really drives that into my mind and heart. That we are SO blessed to know why we are here and really that our goal is to live with our Heavenly Father again. That being said, we have also seen this week how powerful the adversary is, especially with people who are TRYING to do what is right. One of our investigators can’t come to church right now because her parents won’t let her and don’t like the thought of missionaries coming into their house and a few others have felt the thoughts of Satan creep in because he knows the great change they’re making in their lives. Seeing this has really helped me realize the importance of ALWAYS being on guard because Satan DOES NOT want us to succeed. 

GENERAL CONFERENCE!! Well I never knew two days could be so enjoyable. I’ve always loved it, but I think its at a different level on the mission. Maybe one reason is because its ACTUALLY a break where we can sit and think for more than just a few minutes, but I love loved hearing from the prophet and apostles and was amazed at how many talks really touched me. Also, we got to watch it in English!! There were about 7 of us American missionaries from our zone that all got a room in the church and TV for all four sessions! My companion and I even took it upon ourselves to make and bring fun food for Sunday (because obviously we couldn’t leave and buy something in between sessions). So we really had our own little party in a room in the church. 

So many talks that stood out for me! I wrote down a few questions before it started and I felt like every talk was jam packed with answers! Like you said mom, I loved the talk about Ponderizing a scripture and my companion and I are going to start doing that :) I think my favorite session was Saturday morning. Something that I felt like was talked about A LOT is that life is hard, and is supposed to be hard at times, but that there is so much good, happiness and hope through the gospel. We have families, we have the power of the scriptures and we always always have prayer. I loved president Uchtdorf’s talk about simplifying and starting where we are now to improve step by step. I also loved Elder Lawrence´s talk that we can ask "What lack I yet" and the Lord WILL show us where we can improve. Sis. Marriott’s talk was so encouraging that everything WILL WORK OUT and everything is for our good. 

I love the beauty here in Ecuador.

I know without a doubt in my mind that this church is true. I am so grateful that we have a goal of becoming like our Heavenly Father and are NEVER alone in this journey. Thank you thank you for the many examples I have of faith and truly following the right. I know that there are so many great things waiting for us as we following the teachings of this gospel.

Love you all !!!!

Love Hermana Yorgason

Our Zone :)