Merry Christmas!

Hola Familia!!

First off, I love talking to you guys. Love love love. I had a huge smile on my face all day on Friday. That was without a doubt the best Christmas present I could ever ask for. Man, why are you guys so cool? It sure makes being away a bit harder. But... at least we got to talk. It really really sure made me happy :)

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! To be honest, Christmas isn’t a very big thing down here. It’s sad because most of the people we asked said they weren’t going to do anything for Christmas... just a normal day. (Makes me grateful for fun family traditions). But.. it was still a good day, and I definitely got to focus more on WHY we have Christmas and the amazing gift of Christ’s birth and atonement.

Homemade Christmas in Ecuador

My companion was really excited for Christmas because she wanted to learn how we do Christmas in the United States. She said that she always sees cool Christmas in movies, but other than that, she hasn’t really celebrated much either. So a few days before, we went and bought colored paper... made a tree, stockings, and bought candy for each other. I even found M&Ms and Skittles so I got something American! Whoot. (So mom, don’t worry. I did get something for Christmas and when the package gets here it will be an even bigger plus :))

This week we also had a baptism to end our month of White Christmas. A kid named David who has had a super hard life. Grew up without parents and has lived all over the place. At the end of the baptism, he bore a really strong testimony, and I could just see in him how much the gospel has changed his life. Really, really inspiring.

Baptism!

We were also super blessed this week to find a really awesome family of four.. That’s the number of people we’ve decided to pray for in this sector, and we had a lesson with a family that has so much potential. The grandma of this family is a member and both the mom and dad said that they want to find more to life and more peace in their day to day living. We had a lesson with a great couple in our ward and we’re really excited to go back to visit them. I know Heavenly Father answers prayers!

A few random things that I’ve realized from the past few weeks...

-Our ward mission leader here is exactly like the Polynesian guy from 50 first dates that has a glass eye. He has a twin!

-People here are trying to catch onto the whole fry sauce thing because at every meal there is a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of mayonnaise. Maybe one day they’ll realize that putting them together is much easier :) But it sure makes me happy because fry sauce is my favorite!

-Now instead of only not having water at night, we randomly don’t have water in the morning and during the day. That can make things interesting...

-My companion got sick yesterday, so we had to go home early so she could rest. I read the book Our Search for Happiness, and loved reading more about what we as a church believe. I also realized that it was the first time I’ve finished a book all the way through in quite a while. That was exciting :)

-Things here in Otavalo are really tempting to buy. We went to this open air market today and I could have spent all the money I brought with me. I guess it’s especially hard because when people see an American walking through they automatically assume you have a lot of money and offer you everything in their stand. But I was strong and only ended up buying one bag :)

HEAVENLY banana split!  I have found my new favorite ice cream place!

Oreo Ice Cream with Oreos!  I gave myself the BEST present for Christmas! :)

But on a more important note, like I said earlier, I hope everyone had a great great Christmas. I found a quote this week in the Christmas Liahona that said "Christmas isn’t one day or one season. But it’s a condition of your heart and of the mind". Although we have one day designated to Celebrate Christmas, I know without a doubt that it’s a message we need every single day of our lives. That Christ lives. That he was born, died, and lives again so that we have hope for a better future. So that we know that in times of heartache, sadness, homesickness, happiness, and success, there is someone who knows exactly how we feel. I have held onto that knowledge a lot on my mission and that’s why I am here. To share that joy with people who don’t know that they are loved and understood.

Thank you thank you for all of your examples and support. Love you and hope you never forget how important each one of us is to the Lord.

Talk to you soon!!!

Hermana Yorgason

It's Christmas Time!

Feliz Navidad Familia and Amigos!!

My favorite week of the whole year is here and what makes it 10x better is that I GET TO SKYPE MY FAMILY!!! Oh man you guys, I am super excited for Friday. Can’t wait to talk to you, and hear your voices. I already know 45 minutes is going to FLY. But get your questions ready and man, really just can’t wait. 

Well.. on the note of exciting things... completed my first week in my new sector. And it was a great week! At times it was long, and very tiring... because new people, new area, and lots to learn. I literally felt dead every night when we got to our house, completely exhausted, but I’ve just decided that that’s mission life for ya. It makes the eight hours of sleep heavenly. (The sound of the alarm isn’t so heavenly. You guys know how me and mornings are:)) But yes, all in all, great first 7 days.

So.. to explain a little bit about my new sector. I’m in Otavalo (which is the area in the mission that everyone wants to be). This place is how I imagined Ecuador. Like I said in my last letter... its a lot less city than my last sector. There are lots of dirt roads, pigs, people with long skirts, blouses, hats, carrying kids, animals or food on their backs with some kind of big scarf. It’s a super cool culture :)

The bishop's wife and me.  This is what most of the women here wear...and I love it!!
I promise I don't usually look so tall.  Don't know why I do here...

My area is HUGE. I left a ward that had 6 missionaries, to now only my companion and I. I don’t think I’ve seen all of my sector yet, but I know it takes more than 30 or 40 minutes to ride the bus to other side. It makes it somewhat hard to plan and organize our time, but at the same time it’s great because we definitely won’t run out of people to teach :)

It is sooo pretty here. It reminds me a bit of Guatemala.. green mountains, trees and fields. Our area also surrounds a huge lake which you can see from almost anywhere. The mountains are beautiful (sorry Utah, you’ve been beat). Which.. also means lots of walking and good leg workouts during the day :) I haven’t gotten a really good picture yet of all of the great views, but I’ll try this week.

It is also very unsanitary here. Haha, I’ve decided that if I can live here, my immune system will be able to take on anything. (Don’t worry, I’m trying to be careful and use my hand sanitizer often :)) But for example... we were in a lesson a few days ago. The mom of the family was on her porch with us cutting meat and there were flies everywhere. Literally. I had to try really hard to ignore them and not swat them off every part of me. And.. I had to try really hard not to think about everything (all of the germs) that were being spread... everywhere. The next day we went to a family’s house for our lunch. They brought out the food (rice, potatoes and chicken:)) and when I went to eat the chicken.. or whatever it was (haha probably not chicken), I saw that there were tiny hairs all over it. Inside and out. So.... my companion and I got really good at throwing pieces of meat to the dogs right as no one was looking. People here feed you lots and get offended if you do eat it all, so you either throw it, hide it, or just scarf it down. But we are blessed that every day we get at least one meal with the members. I’m learning to eat what I’m served… and not think about all the carbs that are going into my body :)

Something else here is that everyone has long hair. The girls and the boys. Sometimes I have to be really careful, especially with the little kids so I don’t mix them up. So far so good.

The community the we're in goes to sleep really early. At about 8, the streets are empty and everyone is inside.

I’ve also found once again that just because you’re on the equator doesn’t mean it’s going to be hot. It’s freezing here!! During the night I sleep with tons of blankets, sweats and a sweatshirt and we always are bundled up during study time in the morning. I actually would rather be cold than super hot though, so I don’t mind it too much.

I went to the ward for the first time yesterday and got welcomed by being asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting. First talk in Spanish... without a microphone (don’t know exactly what happened), but I felt like I had to yell for everyone to be able to hear. I got to speak on missionary work.. obviously I have lots to share about that.. But it wasn’t bad. I was really blessed to be able to talk and say pretty much what I was needing to say in Spanish. I have a super strong testimony that the Lord really steps in to help when we need it and when we seek for the Spirit.

We’ve seen lots of potential in our area this week. When I got here, the area book was almost none existent and there was lots of confusion with the investigators, but we’re excited to visit who we can find and really help this ward out. We saw miracles every single day. So many people are stepping in to help and most importantly, the Lord is helping us find the people we need to in this sector.

I really can’t wait for this week. Skype, Christmas lights, sharing the story of Christ, and studying about His life. Obviously, not being with family during Christmas is different.. A little sad. But honestly, I have been so blessed to be able to see past the gifts, the ice cream, the snow, and realize how important the Savior is. Sometimes in the business of life, I think its easy to forget why we even have Christmas. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we have a Savior. Someone who knows us, loves us, and died for us so that we can improve and return to our Father in Heaven one day. I am so happy to be in His work. Reading about His life makes me realizes that our sacrifices here are so small compared to what He did, but we can show our love for Him by helping and serving those around us.

I hope you all have a fantastic week filled with fun, family, and the light of Christ. Thank you for your example.

Love you all and can’t wait to talk to you on Friday!!

Hermana Yorgason

Transfers!!

Hola Familia!!!

I don’t have loooaadds of time today, but I’ll try and write as much as I can... And you can all at least know I’m alive. And happy.

So yes, transfers came. Whether we wanted them to or not. They’re always a little sad, but a lot exciting... just to see what’s going to happen and all. My companion is staying and I... am getting transferred to Otavalo. A small city called San Pablo.

I don’t know much so far, but this is what I DO know. My companion’s name is Hermana Choque, from Bolivia. She’s been here about a year and just opened up this sector the last transfer.

Otavalo... is completely different from where I’ve been. It’s like leaving Salt Lake City to go to Preston, Idaho (relatively speaking). 

The people that live there wear these cool outfits (blouse/Skirt/shoes/necklaces) that cost a fortune but are super cool and indigenous looking.

Some apostle (somewhere, sometime) said that the people in this part of Ecuador are the people most closely related to indigenous people in the Book of Mormon that there are. YES. I’m going to teach the Laminates!

I also can judge this place from what Hermana Sanchez told me after we found out where we were going... "All I gotta say is you’re not going to get hit by cars... You’re going to get hit by pigs and cows."

So... I’m a bit nervous, but really excited. Saying goodbye to some of the members and recent converts was sad yesterday. Its crazy how close you can get to people in a short amount of time. But here we go.. It will be an adventure.

Saying goodbye :(

We had some pretty cool experiences this week. One in particular. Our president gave us a challenge to find and teach FAMILIES. He told us to pray as a companionship, pick and number, and pray to find a family of that number. Hermana Sanchez and I were way excited about this. We both felt good about 5. It was so cool throughout the week because we talked to so many people who ended up having 5 people in their family. And I KNOW that’s not a coincidence. Its so cool to see how Heavenly Father puts people in our path and is looking out for all of his children. Even though I won’t be their to teach them.. I’m excited for that. I know that the gospel blesses FAMILIES so much!

A quote that I loved from the talk "How to be A Consecrated Missionary". "Whatever the world throws at you, throw back a smile because you know you have the gospel of Jesus Christ." Throughout these 5 and 1/2 months, I’ve had some tough moments. A mission is just hard sometimes. But I’ve seen that nothing is too difficult if you have the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve seen this in myself, and I’ve seen this in other people. I really have had times of complete happiness, where I can throw a smile out there, because I know that I have been blessed with this knowledge. 

Packing and Christmas hats!

Thank you to everyone who writes and supports me. I love you all and have a great week!!!

Love Hermana Yorgason

December

Hi Family!!!

Happy December! Ah this is my very favorite time of the year. Thank you for your letters, support and love this week.. as always. So very grateful to hear that you guys are doing well and that Heavenly Father is truly looking out for you. I pray for you everyday and I am so so grateful to know that life is going on, and you guys are happy.

This week... was probably the fastest week so far of my mission. It flew! And we had a few extra devotionals, meetings, (and a party:)), so that could be part of the reason. We also had a baptism this week which was so so good! I’ll talk about that in a little bit..

One of the highlights of this week — our zone conference/Christmas party. For Christmas, President and Sister Richardson invite each zone to their house for a dinner, talking and some games. They have to get through lots of zones, so they start early, and lucky us, we got to go on the 3rd of December so we’ll be in the Christmas spirit the whole month :) Man, I love every single time that get to be around my mission president and his wife. They have such a special spirit about them, and make me want to be more like that. Hermana Richardson is one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my entire life, and has a love for every single one of us. She makes us ALL feel like we’re the most important.. Not quite sure how :)

So before going to their house we had a short zone conference in the stake center. We talked about what it means to be a consecrated missionary and also watched the Christmas clip from the church. Loved it!! The whole month of December we’re passing out cards with this website on it, and I’ve loved getting to talk to people about Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. 

Anyway, after this, we walked to President Richardson’s house and wow, so beautiful. Like I said in my letter last week, there’s just something about being in a home with a great family that is so special. We had great food!! (Thanks to Hermana Richardson. Moms seem to know how to make EVERYTHING taste good!) It was so fun to see some of my great friends there (including Hermana Nielson and Hermana Pingree). We had dinner, sang Christmas songs, Hna Richardson made us all an ornament, took pictures, and did a white elephant gift exchange. Ha that was a blast. The night before, my companion and I didn’t have time to buy anything because we were in a lesson, so right before we ran to a gas station and bought lots of candy bars (American ones!!!). Haha I actually just wanted my own gift so bad, but I got some medicine and a band-aid from the mission nurse, so I’m probably better off anyway :) We also played Christmas songs with color coded bells (kind of like our chimes at home!!) I don’t think it sounded quite as good as it does at home, but nonetheless... super fun :) It was weird because we were gone from our sector all day! But we enjoyed it. 

The other highlight of my week. Our baptism on Saturday. Ok.. meet Guido (see picture below). I know I’ve talked about him in a few of my other letters, but he is my favorite, and it was a special day on Saturday to see him be baptized. We actually found him all the way back when I was with Hermana Mortera, so we’ve been teaching him for quite awhile. I have seen such a big change over these last few months. Guido is in a wheelchair (from a swimming accident about 10 years ago), he lives alone, sells chocolate bars to earn money, and is one of the happiest people I know. His life is difficult. So so very difficult, but he has such faith that the Lord will bless him if he does what is right. He is one of my very favorite people to visit. He plays us music on his little flute that he made, we always end up buying a chocolate bar, and every time he wants me to help him practice his English. 

Our recent converts.  They are the funniest people I know. :)

Saturday. I couldn’t have asked for it to go better. Even though we don’t have a phone right now, and there were SO many things to coordinate, (including HOW to do the actual baptism) so many people stepped up to help and the spirit was really strong. I’m happy for him. Happy because I can see how much the gospel has affected his life and how much he LOVES the Book of Mormon! He is definitely an inspiration to a lot of people here in our ward!!

I’m also so happy because I got to see his baptism before transfers. Yes, that’s how missionary work goes... some teach, others baptize.. its like a big group effort. And I love that. But this baptism was extra special to me. So I was very grateful to be here for it. Yep, transfers are this Sunday night and I’ve been here in this area for awhile so most likely I’ll move somewhere else :( But I guess we’ll see. I’d be happpppyy to stay but, getting to know another part of Ecuador sounds great also. We’ll see.

I learned lots in our zone conference. Lots and lots. I recommend EVERY missionary to read that talk. It really changed my perspective of what Heavenly Father wants of us, and how I can improve to be totally dedicated and focused on my mission. Here are a few of the highlights.... One quote that I loved from the talk said… "One day we need to not only read the stories in the Book of Mormon, but live them." It talked about consecrating ourselves, not only on our mission, but all of our lives, and doing what the Lord wants from us. A good indicator of our conversion is when our will is the same as the Lord’s will. Then we need to LIVE the story of Nephi, Enos, Moroni and look for what the Lord wants from us. I really loved that thought. Especially when I think of Mosiah 3:19 that talks about the natural man being an enemy to God. And it’s pretty easy to follow the natural man. But what we are here to do, is overcome those desires and look for what the Lord wants from us. Definitely something we can always be working on.

We also got to watch a small part of the Christmas devotional last night. I didn’t hear much, but I did feel the spirit and realize once again... how important the birth and life of Christ is. 

So so grateful for this gospel and the things I’m learning. Love you all lots.

Hermana Yorgason