Appointments Failing, Miracles Happen, Progress Continues

4/3/2017

Well our last week went pretty ok. We did have a rough time with appointments as a lot of appointments fell and I believe many people didn't make it to conference as they had to go to another place. Here the thing with their elections I that when they have an election they have to go to their birthplace to vote unless they have placed their residence here. So there were many people that left. 

Despite that difficulty there were some miracles as well. Today we were heading to eat lunch at a place and we ran into an investigator that we had lost some contact with as he has been busy. So we talked about how he was an incidentally he did see some of conference and for the last month has been going to a book of Mormon institute class. That is really great and one of his friends invite him to go. So that was really cool to see. I was a little sick yesterday and this morning but I am better now. This is the last week of this change and then ther is one more change for me. We are hoping we can have some success in finding news and helping people progress. If we can pass by one family we can schedule a baptismal date.

Nancy is doing well but she didn't accept a baptismal date and feels she needs more time. We are hoping that she can come to church here. She is great it just might take a bit of work. There is a married couple that we are trying to work with called Byron and Graziela. We didn't see them in conference so their baptismal date fell. We hope to reinvite them and see them progressing for the 29th. There is also Edgar Tapia who is the young man that is going to institute. We are hoping to find and teach him to help him out more as he seems really golden now. When we started with him he didn't seem so well prepared but apparently according to his friend that gave him as a referral we were able to answer all of his questions and help him out a lot. So the spirit has been guiding in that. There is another referral that we are hoping to contact this next week. It was someone that came to church once but was a little busy. Hopefully we can see some success in that. 

Have a great time!,

Elder Throop

Baptism!, Raining again!, Working hard

3/27/2017

Well this last week went rather great for us. We did have some great success. We were able to have that baptism on Saturday which was awesome. He was super great and seemed eager to keep going. He got confirmed yesterday and that was really awesome for us. This week we had a lot of success finding new investigators it just some were a little hesitant on accepting some commitments (either attending church or with baptism) so we hope to help those people out in this next week. There was a family we found that we called and the husband said that he wasn't really interested which was not fun but we hope we can try doing something there. The biggest success was having the baptism and we were super happy about that. Elder Powell got to perform the ordinance. He did have a baptism in his first change but it was like right when he hit the mission. This one person he got to help a lot more. So we were super happy about it. 

That evening on Saturday it rained super hard. It has been raining pretty consistently with some day nicer then others. My problem is that there are holes in my shoes so I get wet feet. The hush puppies fell apart pretty badly. I am trying to get a new set of shoes as fast as possible so that I can have less worries. Quite honestly the shoes don't hold up very well here. But there is someone here that designs shoes for missionaries.

They still haven´t sent me my flight plan so that is why i asked. That is weird to hear. The one companion I had that went to Arizona had a flight and layover in Houston I think. So he got home a little later. That is weird to think about. I won´t think too much about it hopefully. 

We are working here and we are trying to help out the people here. The other elders in the district had a harder week so I hope to encourage them and help them out. Last week I talked about commitments and I think I might focus on using scriptures this week to help them with their teaching skills. They seem ok but I hope to help them out more.

Stay safe and love you all. 

Elder Throop

Almost Ready for Baptism, Cold and Snow?, Amazing Race

3/20/2017

Well this last week went pretty well. One of the investigators  that we have been teaching had his baptism interview and passed so he is ready for baptism on the 25th. We are really happy about that and I hope he gets there fine. His name is Tomas so please pray for him as well if you can so he can progress to baptism and keep going afterwards. So that was really cool. 

This last week it has been rather cold and rainy and it has snowed on some nearby mountains which almost never happens. That was cool to see here and we are happy. The last Sunday we saw the snow and it was weird as it almost never snows on one particular mountain. We did have some success finding news this week. one person that came to church last week with her ¨husband¨(they aren't married) showed up as well. She isn't a member but he is. She actually seems pretty animated about getting married to have an eternal family. He seems a little hesitant so we hope to help them out as she could have great progress. That was also great for us. We had another great experience were there were two elders that came to our sector because they had to wait for a visa. Thanks to that visit we could have a great day and we found some new investigators that Elder Powell contacted with the other Elder that we might not have found any other way. So that was really cool and that was a great experience. Sometimes there are great trials here but as we rely on the Lord and Christs atonement we can overcome all things and when we overcome that can make us happier and have more peace in our lives and we can feel the spirit more abundantly in our lives.

Today we had a rather fun activity. The zone leaders called it the amazing race were we went around Quito (mainly just parts in La Colon the stake that we are in) visiting different cites and taking photos there which was pretty cool. We went pretty fast and I was hurting a bit from all the running but it was a fun experience. We went by the presidencial palace, basilica, ejido. We took a photo with president in a food place and a few other places. That was pretty cool. The objective was to learn how to plan well in your day and to diligently study the scriptures. I haven't received my itinerary yet but they were talking about that to me. What time do I arrive? It just feels very weird for me to end my mission. Sometimes I have had hard times but there have also been very great times being here and experiencing life and helping and serving people here so it is a great experience. I hope you have a great week.  I do look forward to conference as well and I hope it is great. 

Stay safe!

Elder Throop

Pics from the Amazing Race Competition

Looking at the Panacillo (one of the requirements)

Presidential Palace

Ecuadorian Presidential Palace

metal ball structure

Arch in the Ejido

With President Christensen

Ecuadorial flea market

popular eating spot for missionaries

With Zone Leaders

Catching his breath in the "Q"

End of challenge!

Rain Again, Possible Baptism, Bowling!

3/13/2017

Well I am not sure if you remembered but I am still in the same zone that I was in when I was in El Dorado Vargas and Santa Ana. Those are all part of the stake La Colon. The sector is new and has a hill that just goes from the bottom all the way up. It isn't flat in any part so another big hill. The sector is pretty ginormous and we still haven't gotten to know all the sector. Still we have found one new in this week which was rather cool. They were a contact and they seemed pretty interested.

This last week it rained very hard which wasn't fun. Since Friday it has been really hard on Friday it got so hard that it caused that there was like a river in the streets for awhile.We had divisions that day so we managed to avoid it and I got to go with another Elder. They are doing pretty well and need help with teaching skills and finding new people. We know the sector  a lot better now which is great.

Our problem is that a lot of the families that were left behind can't progress very well for one reason or another. There is one person progressing really well right now who is called Tomas. He has a baptismal date for the 25th. The zone leaders want us to help him with Sabbath day observance that he can understand it clearly. Other then him no one quite yet. The people we visited last week went to church in another part which was a little ironic as they went to church just in another city. WE will teach them today so hopeful we can help them out there.

Today we went to go bowling. Our big goal right now is to find new investigators and to help people progress.

Have a great week,
Elder Throop

It's all lined up

There they go!

Strike!

Hanging at the bowling alley

Rain!

Area Book Not Too Good, The Lord's Timing

3/6/2017

Wow that sounds like a great week for you guys. Glad to hear everything went well in rugby. This last week was rather interesting for us. We were trying to find new investigators and also find out were everyone lived. We received our area book on Thursday but it resembled the last area book we had which isn't too much fun. 

Fortunately we could find some of the investigators that they had left behind but it was a process. We did have a big miracle last week though. when we were going through a street looking for former investigators we ran into a bishop from Ambato which is also in our mission. He talked with us and told us that his niece was very interested in wanting to get baptized and also his sister. We taught them that day and they indeed did seem very interested. His sister had a lot of questions for us but she also understood very well and accepted the teaching. 

That was a very spiritual experience as I try to stay encouraged and not be discouraged from some of the struggles of the zone sometimes. Still I have learnt a lot it just can be hard waiting on the Lords timing and waiting for his blessings to come. We had a service where we dug a canal for a tube that he wanted to place. That was a lot of fun. We also have an appointment set up with our bishop to gain his confidence so we are hoping to help the ward out. so we are hoping to see some success there. We have had some success and we hope that we start to see some investigators start to progress here.

I hope you have a great week,

Elder Throop

Transferred but Not Far, Same Comp, Carnival Mess, Birthday

2/27/2017

Well as you can see from the subject headline I did receive transfers. So to tell you a bit about that we got transfers on Thursday instead of the usual Sunday that we normally receive it. That was due to carnival. I have gotten transferred to a ward called La Gasca which is also in the stake La Colon I am staying with Elder Powell which was a little interesting. The zone leaders were here beforehand and they went to El Dorado which was rather interesting. 

On Friday we had to do the transfer but it was a little complicated as they had to be in the terminal for awhile and then we could transfer. So we had our stuff ready but we tried contacting and working a bit without knowing when we would transfer. To explain a bit about carnival it is a big water fight essentially in which they use cans of stuff to spray foam at each other throw powder eggs flour etc, throw people in bodies of water sometimes throwing mud and water balloons. They started to play that in our sector on Friday and it was a big huge high school that was throwing people in the man made lake they had over there. So that was really interesting and basically killed our day. 

One of our zone leaders had finished and the other showed us a bit of the sector on Saturday. His companion had been a bit trunky so didn't do very well in the area book so his companion took our area book to revise it. They didn't have much program so we will see how that goes. 

We have been trying to get to know the sector a lot here and so far it seems like there is a good potential and we will have to work hard. So those changes were a little interesting as I am  staying with Elder Powell but in a new sector. In our district are two other elders one who is gringo and one latino. It is a little interesting taking nightly reports as there is absolutely no signal in our house so we have to go to the roof to take a report and give a report.

The last week in El Dorado went fairly well although little success. We will see how it goes in this new sector.

For my birthday I bought a chocolate bar to eat but nothing much more. I will see about doing something. Due to carnival we have to stay inside today and tomorrow unless we have a set appointment. It was like that last year. Last year when carnival happened I was in Santo Domingo with Elder Paul which was my second area Today was pretty calm which I found surprising considering all the playing going on. I believe due to the rain and cold some didn't want to play here and might be playing in other parts. Just a precaution. We will see how the ward goes. It seems like they have good members. We have some services planned for this next week and hopefully we can gain the bishops confidence here. As for when I leave is May 23rd I believe. I do have some photos to send form the camera that my companion got. We took a lot of photos I will just send a few. 

Have a great week,

Elder Throop

Elections and Missed Appointments, Carnival Craziness

2/20/2017

Well that sounds great about your week. I am glad that the rugby practice went well for the kids. I hope they keep having a good time. This last week was a little hard for us as we had another week with appointments that fall and people that don't want to listen. The elections messed us up on Sunday as no investigators showed up (they had their elections here in Ecuador yesterday it wasn't too bad just everyone has to travel to were they were born usually so a lot were gone) so that was a little hard. Still we had some good experiences with investigators. One who is named Kevin is very great and seems to be progressing rather well. He has felt the Spirit greatly in the appointments and incidentally after someone attacked the Book of Mormon he realized it indeed is the word of God as he saw that it talks of Christ and not the devil. So hopefully he can progress well.

I am trying to stay animated and I am trying to work hard. My companion can be funny but sometimes that can be hard if we are trying to do something important and so I try insisting to focus just a bit more and work a bit harder. he has improved a lot in different aspects and that has been a great sign. I just hope to help him with taking more initiative.

This next week we get changes however we will get changes on Thursday as this Monday and Tuesday coming up is an event called carnival which is a big water fight. Just judging from our sector they will go crazy as there have already been people that are throwing others in pools of water and also there have been people that throw water balloons(including at my companion one time) and using something called karaoke or a sort of foam that comes from a canister to spray at people. So because of that our mission president will give us changes Thursday and we will have to travel (if changed) on Friday so we will see how that goes. We are hoping to work hard and end this week well. It can be hard and sad sometimes but it can be a great experience here as well.

I do hope to celebrate my birthday in one manner or another.

Elder Throop

Right before rain storm

panorama of city 

Studying

B&W with comp's new camera

Partial zone

resting?

hanging out

rain

Minion that comp wanted to take a picture of on Tyler's head