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