Week Nineteen In Ecuador - Monday, March 31, 2014 - Happy Birthday Mom

hey guys :) haha I'm so glad that you liked my present!! :) I thought it was a pretty creative idea. I remembered how much you loved the "Flower Picking Machine" I drew you when I was 5 years old, so I thought it would be fun to draw you an updated version for your birthday.  And you definitely deserve it mom, you've helped me so much and that was my small way of saying thanks for everything! Also, I wish you a very happy birthday today! Hope all goes well and I am glad you had a nice birthday dinner and got to see the new movie.

 

Thank Debra and Kathy so much for all of the packages and letters,  haha I'm excited to get them and ya, draw me a picture in your next letter haha:)

 

I am sorta adjusted to the heat. I mean it still is terribly hot but I don't feel like I'm dying from it anymore. But I do shower every day when I get home and I drink so much water, but I don't worry about the heat anymore. I just accept that it's always hot and do what I need to to survive haha like I don't sleep with any blankets at night and with a fan blowing straight at me because the nights are like in the 80's.

 

The food here is sorta different and there isn't too much. What I have noticed here is that the people are just more poor... they live in houses that are just like one maybe two rooms and it is all cement and they just section the different areas out like rooms, bathroom and kitchen with drapes. So usually a lunch is like a giant plate of rice and a piece of chicken so that's about what I have every day for lunch. In Loja there was more variety.

 

 We have two baptism dates for next week for conference and they are great! Their names are Investigator J and M. J is 69 and M is 60 and I love them so much.  J has traveled all around the world! He has been to France, Italy, Florida in the U.S and all of Ecuador. He talks to everyone in the neighborhood and everyone knows him!  He is super funnny and for some reason I think he thinks I'm like his best friend! He constantly is asking me questions about my family and what I did before my mission, and he is always inviting us to eat food which it great! We have taught him a bunch and he is super receptive. He wants to be baptized and I am so glad that we can give him and his wife that opportunity! 

 

I have honestely changed a bunch out here and I am starting to really notice it! For instance I really have joy for the investigators when they make the choice to be baptized and it really is the only way that you can be really happy out here; working hard and then being able to see the fruits of your efforts. It is still extremely hard out here and everyday I force myself to get up and study and to work but then to be able to see the spirit change peoples lives and touch their hearts makes it all worth it. 

 

I love you all so very much and guess what? Next week I will have 6 months out here... I can't believe it!

 

Love ya,

Elder Lignell


Updated Flower Picking Machine (Drawn by Austin at Age 19)



Original Flower Picking Machine on the Left (Drawn by Austin at Age 5)

Week Eighteen in Ecuador - Monday, March 24, 2014 - Another Baptism :)

Hey Family :)

I'm so glad you got my letter!! :)

And you'll probably get the next one soon for your b-day mom.

Well another week down and I'm starting to get used to Guayaquil . Like it has been crazy hard to always have so much heat here but I think I am getting used to it by now. However, I have been struggling a bunch here being tired all the time... It's weird and I don't know if it's the heat or what but I am just always tired and I can't really snap myself out of it. Also the missionary work here is just different which definitely isn't a bad thing, cause in Loja it was so hard to get people to come to church and here it is a ton easier. I love it because we can get so many more baptisms from the people who actually commit and come to church with us! :) However the people here love to talk to you! All you have to say is one word and the investigator or member will talk for 30 minutes which is just a little different because I find myself falling asleep while they are talking to me... haha and I just have never really been the type of person who just likes to sit and talk and talk so it's been a little different getting used to that.

I'm trying to take more responsibility so that I can just do everything and I like Elder Flores and we teach pretty well together, I just have a little bit more of getting used to his personality and I guess just doing what he tells me because I'm still the junior companion.

Okay but anyways, guess what?.... I had another baptism this last Saturday!

His name is Investigator J. and he is 56 and he is great! I had the opportunity to teach him for  a  week and a half and he had already gone to church a few times before and he accepted a baptism date for last Saturday so that was great! :)

And so now I have six haha well Heavenly Father has six :)

And now I would like to talk about a family;  Sister E and Brother A. They are a couple that lives together and they have been going to church for over a year now and they are working towards getting married and they are absolutely awesome and maybe I could get to baptize them!  I will send you a picture of them. They are so hilarious and they have kinda taken over as my new family for this ward and I wish you guys could meet them!

Also, you asked what was the hardest thing I've had to eat that someone has cooked me and that would be hands down....sardine soup....I could barely choke it down.  Although, I have to say that I really like chicken feet soup :)

Well anyway, I'm doing pretty well the only thing was like the motivation to work here because I am always tired but I love you all to death and I am so glad that everyone is doing well!

Love, Elder Lignell
This picture is from a park close by our house and there are iguanas that live in the trees.



Investigator J on his baptism day.

Sister E and Brother A.

Week Seventeen in Ecuador - Monday, March 17, 2014 - Guayaquil Is My New Territory

Hey Guys :)

So guess what?! I had my first transfer this week and now I am in Guayaquil!!! I am in the zone centenario and the area Maracaibo!!! And I love it here! So now I am living in the same zone as the president so I am close to everything and Guayaquil is great, however it is extremely hot... but I'll talk about all of that a little bit later.

That is awesome about dad I am so glad his arm is getting better :)And thats cool about the two kids that you had over for the Leadership Camp at Brighton:)  I got my package and I love the ties that you sent.  Thanks so much!

Okay so now about my week...

So first I had an intercambio on Tuesday which means I was with a different companion in Loja and I was with one of the zone leaders working and we were in Catamayo which is a city one hour away from Loja and I was going to stay the night with them but around 10:20 p.m. we got a call saying that I had been transferred and that I needed to go to Loja to get all my stuff together to leave to Guayaquil in the morning so we luckily caught a bus and made it to our house around 12:00 at night and I had a ticket to leave for Guayaquil at 6:30 a.m. that next morning, so I packed up all my stuff that night and then just sat around talking to the zone leader because we had eight people in our house and only four beds... So I didn't sleep at all that night. Then we left in the morning and made it to Guayaquil around 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon. I then met my new companion, Elder Flores. He is from Peru and he is sweet and I like him a lot. Then we made it to my house and I put my suitcases in the room and we left right after to start working... haha so ya it was a crazy two days!!

But now I'm settled in here and I like it. The only thing is that it is constantly like 80 degrees or higher and like 80 percent humidity. So you are honestly constantly sweating... which is terrible but I'm already getting used to it and I'm drinking a ton of water so don't worry :)

And guess what else? We had a baptism this week of a little kid named Investigator J. He is 13 years old and I actually had the opportunity to baptize him! So that was awesome. We taught him for three days before and he had already gone to church a few times before and he asked me to baptize him :) so that was awesome! And I am loving the area here! The members are super involved and they have been helping us a lot so I am super excited to keep working here.

However I am a little sad that I left Loja... I mean I will always remember my first area and I loved the families so much there... but oh well it had to happen some time and I am excited about working here :) I have a good feeling about it and hopefully I can get completely used to the heat.

Love you all,

Love,

Elder Lignell

Investigator J at his baptism



My new casa.
I'm finally with some other Gringos!









                          

Week Sixteen in Ecuador - Monday, March 10, 2014 - Interesting Week

Ok, so hi guys :) 

So actually Mom,  that is funny that you brought up the prayer thing and the importance of always asking Heavenly Father for help and I actually have been trying to do better at that. For instance this week on Saturday, I volunteered to perform a baptism on a day where it was raining like crazy and extremely cold.  However God must have a sense of humor because the church has a baptism font and they fill it with hot water that is heated by gas from some little shed outside. So, they were heating the water and the shed literally exploded and caught on fire, so the firefighters cam and put it out.  So, I had to baptize the investigator in freezing cold water, but it was a pretty spiritual experience :) 

Ok so I am glad that everybody is doing well :) I haven't got your package yet :( oh, but I sent you a letter for your birthday Mom, so if you get it before the 31st don´t open it :)

Tell Parker Breinholt I say hi and I'm doing great :)

Well anyways now about this week. So there honestly is not too much stuff that happened....like we were working hard but honestly nothing happened.  Now that I have been out here for a while I have high expectations and my happiness kinda rides on our success out here so it is extremly hard when none of our investigators work with us and stuff like that. But I am ready to work and ready to push forward :)

At the moment I am trying to really take responsibility for everything I want to be able to do on my own in Spanish and be able to be the senior companion and not have to rely on my companion to do everything :)

I realized that I want to feel the spirit more out here so that is what I will be working on this week... is to really listen for the small promptings and to be obedient enough to recieve the revalation that I need :)

You will have to keep me updated on Jacob's drivers permit :)

Love,  Elder Lignell

                                               Our Casa (Our Room is on the Second Floor)

                                                 

                                                         
                                                    View From My Bedroom Window
                                                    
                                                    Investigator M on his Baptism Day
                                                   
                                                    A Doll One of Our Investigators Made
                                                   
                                       

                  

Week Fifteen In Ecuador - Monday, March 3, 2014 - A Great Week!!

This week has been great! 

Well first off, thank you for your email....I loved the little quotes...they are great!

Anyways I am glad that everyone is doing well!

This week, like I said was very good. We had one investigator attend  church and she has a baptism date for the 15th of March :) and she is absolutely great!  Her name is Investigator B :) and I am going to talk about her for a little bit. So she is 23, she has two adorable children and a husband who is like 27 or so. Anyways so it's a funny story how we met them. First off we were contacting(knocking on doors) in an area and we met a man named Carl and he wanted to be baptized in his first lesson, so we were excited to go back and teach him more. But when we went back and asked for him his 4 year old little daughter answered the door.  When we had her go look for him she came back and said "Carl says he isn't here right now" hahaha  Then his wife came out and tells us "I don't know anyone named Carl who lives here"... hahaha so that was all hilarious. But we wanted to ask the neighbors about him so we went to the next house and that is where we found Investigator B and her family :)

Ok now about them. They are super poor right now and so we have been doing a ton of service for them like sweeping, doing the dishes and stuff like that and her husband just found a job in Quito so it is great that they are getting more money now, however we can't baptize her husband in Quito..... but she is still here so we have been teaching her and it has been wonderful! And, I just love that she seems so happy when we come over and I really feel like we are helping her! 

So this Sunday she came to church and she said that she liked it a lot and wanted to keep coming! Also her husband said over a phone call to her that he wants to go to church with us in a month when he gets back because he likes the kind of people we are and believes that the church can help their family :) 

So ya that was great!

Other than that the 1-4th of March here is a time called "carnival" which is where the whole population of Ecuador throws waterballoons and shoots foam at each other.... and not just the kids like literally everyone I saw was doing it.  I saw a 70 year old man throw a waterballoon at a car yesterday..... haha but it is so great!! And, we have a bag of waterballoons in the house to throw out the window because it is perfectly acceptable!  Yes, I have gotten hit with a few balloons and a lot of foam because I am like an attraction here because I'm a "gringo"  :) :)

And last, something funny is that the elders in my house were bored yesterday so they made a soccer ball out dishtowels and tape and the funny thing is that it actually works and so they have been playing with that the last few days :)

I'm still in Loja and loving it.

Love you all!

Elder Lignell

Week Fourteen in Ecuador - Monday, February 24, 2014 - Two More Baptisms!!

Hi Everyone:

Hey guess what....I have a huge suprise for you guys!!!!

I got two baptisms last Saturday!!!

We baptized the two sisters that I was talking about and I got the chance to baptize one of them :) Her name is Investigator M and she is 11 years old and the hillarious thing is that she looked up Jacob on Facebook and  was talking to him the other day. I baptized her and my companion baptized the other sister, Investigator E who is 17! So I now have four baptisms here in Loja and I am so very happy!

It was an absolutely amazing experience to baptize her and it was all in Spanish and I don't know I just loved it. I'm so glad that I got the chance to baptize her and I love the fact that Jacob was talking to her on Facebook the day before her baptism! :)

No I have not gone to the Ecuador temple yet and I probably won't get the chance until I train someone new because I will have to go to Guayaquil and stay there a night if I get that opportunity.

We haven't actually done any service projects yet but we have done a ton of service. For instance on Saturday after the baptism we helped a member's husband, who isnt a member, move these giant bags of cement into a truck and then dumped them off a cliff. It was crazy hard but it's sweet because if we can gain his confidence maybe one day we can baptize him :) and other than that I just pretty much do everybody's dishes everyday... haha... something I thought I would never do :)

I only talk Spanish to my companion and we talk a lot. He doesn't speak any English so I can't really speak English to him... but ya, I can speak Spanish pretty well now. However what I am lacking is being able to understand other people... it is so hard with all the words there are and if you have any advice I would be happy to listen :)

Yes it is a million times easier right now with my companion and I enjoy my time with him. He is a great kid and he tries to be obedient and work hard but he is also fun and wants to have a good time here so I think it is pretty much a perfect balance! 

And with me I am doing great and I love it out here. I am excited to keep helping people and learn so much more!

I love you all.


Elder Lignell

Investigator M and Investigator E on their Baptism Day!!

A "mini me"

Week Thirteen In Ecuador - February 17, 2014 - Still in Beautiful Loja

Dear Family:


Ok so I will update you however not too much is new. I am still just hanging out here in Loja and I am loving it here however like I said earlier, Loja is literally the hardest place in the entire mission to baptize. It has the lowest average for baptisms for every month and year.  I didn't know that before but I guess it is good that I am here for my first area so that I can really learn how to handle a hard area. Also it´s cool because I do have two baptisms here so if I can get a few here then I can baptize anywhere!! :)

Yes I am still with my same companion and he is from Colombia and from a city that is one of the most dangerous in the world! I love him and we are getting to become better and better friends which is nice and I am really enjoying my time with him!

Okay other than that, the week was good but we didn't have any of our investigators come to church, but Investigator M and Investigator E are progressing right along and have a date for the 1st of March so I think I will get my third and fourth baptism then!!! I am so excited they are just great girls! I don't know if I told you but Investigator M is 11 and Investigator E is 17 and they have been going to mutual and everything and I love the fact that they are progressing and that we can just be their friends and help them along!!

Valentines day was good. I gave my companion a big kiss when he woke up..... hahahaha ......just kidding..... it was normal and I didn't have anything to celebrate :) haha

And a funny story for the week was that I was walking on the side of the road and I wasn't looking where I was stepping and I literally stepped into a giant pile of mud and sunk in about a good foot or so and was completely covered in mud!! We weren't  close to our house so I talked to people like that for a good hour or so and got some pretty funny looks :) haha ....ya.... not too funny but oh well :)

Love you guys so much! 

Elder Lignell

Week Twelve In Ecuador - February 10, 2014 - No Transfer Yet

Dear Family:

Ok so thank you so very much for sending out that package and I will be so happy when it arrives! Haha I love you guys so much you all truly are the best. 

Ok, so last week I talked about having transfers and I am not sure if I am going to have them at the moment I am still in Loja. Nobody knows anything about the transfers. For instance our whole zone hasn't had anyone call them or anything so we will see what happens.  I might get tranfered tonight and be in a new area for next week! And I kinda hope that I do get transfered because I would like to get to know a new area and meet new people and also have more success. Loja is a very difficult area in this mission. In fact I have heard that it is the hardest area to get baptisms.  So it is cool that I have at least two here, but I want a lot more! I want to be able to help as many people as possible and at the moment I have decided to put a goal of 50 baptisms in my mission ( haha so I have a ways to go :)

All in all this week was good. We have two investigators that are progressing, Investigator E and Investigator M and they are two sisters. Investigator E is 17 and Investigator M is 11 and they are great! They have been listening to the lessons and have both gone to church two times Investigator E had a really serious relationship with her boyfriend and just barely broke it off hopefully because she realized through our teachings, that it was for the better. They both say that they want to be baptized and have dates for the 1st of March. Whether I am here or not, I am pretty sure they will get baptized, and oh well, if I get transferred, they will kinda count as half baptisms :) haha What matters is that they go through with it and I think they will so I am very happy about that!

Two quick funny stories: One morning I guess the Elder in my house had switched his name tag with mine as a joke and I didn't even take notice and had no idea until we were contacting on the street and I went to introduce myself and said something along the lines of " Hola, much gusto, mi nombre es Elder... aww crap..." haha because the name tag said Elder Casteñeda who is native to Ecuador haha. I know kinda lame but I thought it was funny. So anyway I was a native Ecuadorian missionary for half the day before I got the opportunity to switch back for mine.

Also something else sorta funny is that for one lunch we had what the people here call spaghetti and  it was just the spaghetti noodles without sauce and with a mountain of rice... ( I don't know if I have said it before but here in Ecuador they eat so much rice it is a joke.... definitely more than in China so all the rice jokes about China should get switched around for Ecuador... ) anyway, the noodles with a ton of rice and a tiny piece of chicken on top and that was their version of spaghetti.  And I know I have been here for too long cause I actually really enjoyed it... hahah :)

Anyway, I love you all! I am so very sorry about Miles Lignell and I will pray for the people that were close to him. I am glad Dad is healing and hope that he can get back to work soon! Also I hope you can find someone for Tracy´s spot. I will pray for both of you and I guess for Jake too since he is my brother :) haha 

Love,

Elder Lignell                                                




The Fajardo Family.  They have
have been like my second family while
I've been here.  Sorry Mom....you've been
replaced for a bit :) :) :)

                                                                        

Week Eleven in Ecuador - February 3, 2014 - Feeling Much Better!

Dear Family:

So you honestly all are the greatest and I am so very thankful for every single person in our family :) haha.....I am alive!! I survived and it was definitely the hardest week that I have had out here with everything. I literally felt like I was dying but I am alive and I made it and I feel good right now so don't worry :) 

I had the worst stomach pains of all time, however I never threw up once so I take a lot of pride in that! And after the pains went away it was the weirdest experience of all time because I literally had no energy. Like it was so weird I couldn't do anything at all. But I have slowly been getting all of my energy back and although I don't believe I have absolutely all of it back, I feel so so so much better today!

Again, thank you for everything you do Mom, you are truly the greatest and I am sure that your prayers helped because I am better now.

You are right about the struggles and it is true that it did make me stronger and I feel stronger now in my testimony.  I can make it through anything out here and you`ll just have to keep missing me for 20 more months or so :)

While I was in Guayaquil I got your Christmas package. No, I did not get the birthday card from Aunt Kathy and Grandpa :( I also did not get the Christmas package from Aunt Kathy :( but I did from Aunt D.D. :)

Yes, I did get the Christmas package from you guys. Thank you so very much and I loved it. You know me too well that I was going to ask for you to send me cliff energy bars! So thank you so very much. I loved it all and I am still eating it :) the cliff bars and the jerky and the trail mix and the Mike and Ikes were my favorite ;)

My companion was good while I was sick. Yes and I still like him (haha). Elder Quintero is great I am really enjoying my time with him.

I have no idea how I got sick... also they don't know for sure if it was Salmonella they don't really know too much. They had me do a bunch of tests and lots of my blood was drawn (my favorite!)

 

Thank you for the package and I would love some new ties and don't forget the socks cause I am getting holes in the ones that I have. 

I would stay away from eggs and buy cereal but it is like 4 bucks a box and I am so hungry in the mornings I need the eggs... so I think I am going to keep eating them and hopefully I will be okay.

Okay so now I will tell you a little about the week. I didn't actually do too much because I was sick and I was at the zone leader's house for that. But then I started working Thursday and we worked very hard... haha sorry mom I didn't really rest the whole week. But the thing that was so hard is that we hardly had any success. Everyone here is Catholic and that is all that we got: "Yo Soy Catolico" over and over and over I swear I am going to have nightmares of that saying... haha.

 

 But then Friday I just randomly decided to try to be more obedient because when I was sick it was easy to fall out of my routine. For example, after my morning prayers I would lay in bed until the last possible minute and I wasn't exercising and on Friday I still felt kind of sick so I just thought to myself that I should be obedient and even though I don't feel 100 percent, The Lord will bless me for being obedient. So,  Saturday I got up at 6:30 and didn't go back to bed. I did 25 push ups and studied a little Spanish before my actual study time and that day while we were working I felt a million times better! And, the best part is that we made two new baptism dates so it was absolutely awesome! It strengthened my testimony of obedience with exactness!

All in all I am doing okay out here. I have a lot of ups and a lot of downs but it´s okay cause I am doing it one day at a time. Right now the things I am struggling with is really being able to speak Spanish. I can understand about a good 50 percent and I can get across a message to anybody about what I want to say, however it is very hard to really participate in conversations and understand jokes and also just to understand everything that people say and I hate when I just don't understand anything for like 10 minutes....so that stinks.

Also it is very hard for me to thoroughly teach the lessons smoothly in Spanish and I am struggling with being fast in speaking and not having to think about every word beforehand.

However, other than that I am doing okay and I am excited to learn more and progress!   This next week is my last week that I have a "Trainer" so I will probably get transferred out of Loja and have another new companion and if it all happens on Monday I may not get to write so keep that in mind.

 

 I love you all so much I am glad everything is well at home.

 

Elder Lignell                                         
                                                    Me and Elder Quintero

 

 

At a park in Loja

 

Week Ten in Ecuador - The Trials of a Mission - Monday, January 20, 2014

Dear Family:

 

Ok, so I am on the computer and this week has been absolutely crazy and hopefully I remember to put everything in. 

 

I went to Guayaquil on Tuesday and I was extremely sick so that was terrible to have the 9 hour bus rides (both ways) when I had a terribble cold.  But, I had a meeting with my mission president while I was there and he is awesome and I just love him. 

But then after that after when we got back to Loja my stomach started killing me I had so much pain and Thursday night I called the missionary nurses and told them what was going on and they were very worried so they checked me into a hospital. So, I had my first experience in an Ecuadorian hospital and I ended up staying there over night which was a pretty crazy experience. Anyways they diagnosed me with salmonella and I still am not better today and I feel pretty terrible actually. It has been really hard this week to be so sick.....I have no energy whatsoever!

However some cool scriptures that I found yesterday were 2 nephi 31:19,20 and D and C 121: 7-9.

I didn't work really at all this week because of everything.

I love you all so much but I don't have the energy to type more so hopefully I'll hear back from you quick!

 

Lots of love,  Elder Lignell

Week Nine in Ecuador - January 20, 2014 - A New Companion :)

Hi family,

This week was interesting because on Tuesday I had my first transfer. I left with Elder Castillo for Guayaquil Tuesday morning and got my new companion in Guayaquil and then went back to Loja so I have a new Companion!!!!!! His name is Elder Quintero and he is from Cali, Columbia. He is 19 years old and I like him a lot! He has a very weird accent which is hard for me to understand but it is helping me learn more Spanish and I am so very happy! 

I now have a ton more responsibility because I know the city and my companion does not so I have to remember where everything is and be able to tell cab drivers the directions to different places. I first discovered this new responsibility when we first got to Loja and I realized that I didn't really know the street names for our house so I somehow explained to the driver where to go and we made it, but it was a big eye opener. haha 

 

We haven't had very much success this week, which has been too bad. I want to really have a ton of investigators and baptisms but at the moment we are starting out fresh and it is hard. Also, I've realized that I really have to take responsibility out here and do things for myself rather than just letting my companions do the talking all of the time because I do have a lot to share. I just need to take the courage in every moment to act on my promptings and be outgoing. 

 

So I had a great week in all but at the same time I have a ton going on and I am a little stressed.

Oh, by the way, I can make omelets just as good as mom´s so I am officially grown up and mom you won´t be able to make jokes about me and my cooking and not knowing how to take care of myself :)

 

Also, I got some packages.....thanks everyone!!!

 

Love,

Elder Lignell                       Maria L. and Cristian L.



                                       (My shirt looks puffy....that is not my tummy :))

 

 

 

 

 Proof that I can now make an omelet :)

 

Week Eight in Ecuador - I Have My First Two Baptisms !!!! - Monday, January 13, 2014

Dear Family:

 

I got my first two baptisms on Saturday!!!!!!!!! :)))

 

Which is absolutely awesome I am so very happy!!! It was the greatest thing ever! Their names are Maria L. and Cristian L.  Maria is 65 and Cristian is 11 and he is her son. And funny thing is that she is the one that gave me the banana that killed my stomach! haha....but it was worth it for a baptism!

 

It was so very great that we had the opportunity to help them and it was so wonderful after the baptism Maria gave me and my companion both giant hugs and I got a little kiss on the cheek.... haha so 3 months down and I got my first two baptisms and my first kiss in my mission :) 

 

After the 12th of February, we all change companions. I love Ecuador so so much! It is such an amazing beautiful country and I learn so much new Spanish everyday which is awesome because I truly believe that I can do it out here and be happy and love this life with all my heart and it really can be the best two years!!!!

 

In answer to your question, yes I have spanish scriptures and they gave them to us at the Mexico MTC.

 

That was really nice of Mitch to go up to Jacob at the Brighton game and give him a big hug.  Mitch is awesome and I love him!

 

I'm glad you were able to go to Elizabeth Young's farewell and that is so true about what she said about being in the majority if you are in God's church!

 

I don't have much time to be on the computer today, so I'll have to send you pictures of our Baptism next week.

 

 

Love you all so so so much I miss you all to death!

 

Elder Lignell

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Week Seven in Ecuador - Happy New Year

Dear Family:

 

I'm glad you enjoyed my pictures.  When we went to Guangora last week, we realized that it was too late to take a bus back and so we were afraid we would be stuck 30 minutes away from home, but we found a taxi heading to Loja and he gave us a ride for one dollar so we really really lucked out!!

 

Ok now I'll tell you about this week as there is a lot that went on :)

New Years was crazy and it is extremely different here than in the United States. For instance they make these paper mache dolls that are life sized and they make them to look like different people like family members or celebrities and the ward made one that looked like my companion.  Also, on New Years Eve the men dress up as women and stand in the streets and ask for money. I didn't understand why but if you don't give them money they will, to put it nicely,  bother you. At 12:00 a.m. they light off a ton of fireworks and light all of the dolls on fire, so it was really cool. 

Then on Thursday we had "intercambios" which is just when we work with a different companion. So, at first I was with Elder Huamani who is one of the Elders who lives with us. Everyone thinks he isn't the most obedient but only because he isn't so worried about the rules. Anyway,  at first I was thinking, "Oh no, I wonder how this is going to be." But, it turned out amazing!!

 

We were in a member's house and we were just talking to them like normal people and I wasn't worried about everything I was saying and we were laughing and enjoying ourselves. Then I shared a scripture and Elder Huamani shared an experience relating to the scripture and it was amazing!! The spirit was so strong and we worked perfectly together! So I realized that is how missionary work needs to be; it needs to be normal because we are people but then have a spiritual side too. So I was so happy that I had that opportunity to see that!

 

 

 So then after that I was trying to do the same with Elder Castillo and it sort of worked but I realized that out here I just need to be myself and joke and be happy because when I am happy I want to work and share the gospel :)  I think that is the key and I have been doing so much better this week!!!

 

 

 On Saturday I was given a free banana from a street vendor so of course I ate it.. worse decision ever!  It absolutely destroyed me.... My stomach was gone it was the worst pain of all time! So lesson learned...... don't eat the bananas from the street vendors! 

 

 

Then Sunday was the greatest day of the week this week :) We have three investigators that have baptismal dates and all three of them were in church on Sunday.  There was a mom and her son and another guy and it was fast and testimony meeting.  I bore my testimony which was sweet because I said a lot of stuff that I didn't know that I could say but I did :) Then our investigator wanted to bare his testimony and talked about how he liked the church and wanted to learn more about it. And then after him the woman, Maria, wanted to bare hers too!!! She talked about how she knew the church could help her with her trials and how she believed it was true!!! So hurray!!! It was awesome and the spirit was so very strong. It was really cool and I think it was one of the most spiritual experiences I have had here so far because the investigators did it all on their own!  Also, the mom and her son have a baptism date for this week so I think I am going to get my first two baptisms this Saturday!!!! I am so excited!!

That picture you sent is hilarious of Jacob...the one where he was asleep on the kitchen floor after doing so much homework!  While I was studying this week I found a good scripture for him that he can use for Christmases and birthdays. It's in Matthew 7:11. 

 

And lastly, yesterday night we were at the house of our mission leader and we were just talking to him and then he told my companion that he should watch what I do because he could learn from me and I was amazed.

 

Love you all,
Elder Lignell
                                                        

Week Six in Ecuador - Merry Christmas From Loja!!! - December 30, 2013

Dear Family,

 

Our skype call was so wonderful!  It honestly was the best Christmas present I could have asked for  and I am so glad that you all are doing so well! It was so nice to just talk to all of you! And ya, it was hard after the phone call to focus because I love you all so much!

 

I am very glad that you liked my testimony. I feel like I have somewhat of a special testimony because I know this gospel is true and that is why I have a testimony but I can see both sides to everything so I understand when people have doubts about the gospel.  But I know the gospel to be true and if one church has to be true on this earth than it is this one. The world is just too amazing not to have a God that created it. 

The other two missionaries in my house are from Ecuador and Peru and I love them because they are both such great guys! So, one of them is Elder Castenda  and he is constantly making fun of me and so I make fun of him back and it is hilarious! Then the other Elder is so nice and I have had some good talks with him and it's in Spanish so I love it even more :) So those are the other Elders in our house, and it is very nice to have them with us!!

 

I'm so glad you all had a wonderful Christmas!!! Mine was good too. I got a tie from the Bishop of our ward and lots of candy from the ward so that was good :)

 

I hope Jacob is doing okay with me being gone...and I just want him to know that I really do love him so much and think about him all the time. Also, tell him that two years is nothing...I will be back before he knows it and I will have time to watch him play varsity basketball for Brighton. So I hope he is okay..... I love that kid :)

My companion loves all animals and insects so he got a little annoyed with me the other day when I killed a moth and he helped a spider leave our room by guiding it with a broom... it took like 10 minutes.... hahaha.

Ok,  so this week in general was good however, we didn't get too much work done because of Christmas Eve (which is really big here.....much bigger than Christmas Day) and Christmas so that was too bad. We had two invetigators come to church with us and they are great so hopefully we can get baptism dates for both of them!

 

Also we went to this one place called Guagora and it was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to and I will send you a picture that is so awesome. 

Also I was thinking I really do want to bring you guys back here after my mission....Ecuador is soooo cool!!! I love the city of Loja.

 

Also if I make pancakes do I use butter for the pan or cooking oil?

I can't believe it is almost 2014. The year of my mission! The only year of my entire life that will completely be for the Lord....pretty crazy. I can't believe how the time has flown! I have almost been on my mission for three months and over a month in Ecuador!!!

Love you so much!

Elder Lignell

 Christmas in our casa!

 

My new tie....a gift from our Bishop...I opened it at 12:00 a.m. Christmas morning :)

 

The Sunset in Loja 

 

 

 

We went to Guagora....one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to!!! 

Week Five in Ecuador - Monday, December 23, 2013

Dear Family,

 

So I obviously made it back from Guayaquil and the 8 hour bus ride wasn't that bad. I slept for most of it so that was good and this week was really interesting. I had a few cool experiences. One was that I really noticed that I love the Book of Mormon! We were teaching two investigators about the Book of Mormon and they were sceptical about it being about the Americas and I felt annoyed because I realized that I really know that it is true and that I want other people to know that its true too. It really is a very cool book and everyone should take the chance to read it at least once.

 

It was kind of a wake-up moment for me because I realized how much I really want to share with others and I believe that I am slowly becoming more and more of a missionary :)

 

I was also talking to our zone leaders and one of them I really like. His name is Elder Males he is from Ecuador and he was giving me advice on how to teach better and how to be a better missionary.

 

Also, this week was good and we got five more baptism dates but we'll see if they carry through. I kinda don't think they will...

 

We now have two other elders in our house and they are great! I love talking to them in the evenings and I gave one of them a blessing of comfort this morning. I did it in English but while I was doing it, I realized that I could have done it in Spanish which is awesome!  The language is coming slowly and I understand a little bit more and more every day and it makes me so very happy because I see my potential as a missionary. 

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to make an omelet without everything sticking in the pan.  We are eating a lot of eggs here for breakfast and bananas all the time!  The coach roaches aren't as bad as they were in the beginning, but there are ants everywhere.  We do have netting to use for our beds, but I haven't had to use it and haven't seen one mosquito here. 

 

We did help someone put up their Christmas tree the other day and I had to laugh because it was just like our fake one at home....the kind where you hook the branches into little slots.  Other than that, we haven't had too many services projects yet. 

 

 

I can't wait to Skype with you on Christmas!  I have the account and password so I should be all set and ready to go.

 

Talk to you soon!

 

Love, Elder Lignell

Week Four in Ecuador - Monday, December 16, 2013

Hi Mom and family. Today is really weird because I am in Guayaquil right instead of Loja.  We took an 8 hour bus ride from 10:00 p.m. last night to 7:00 a.m. in the morning today to get to Guayaquil because apparently, since I am new I have to get some paper stuff done for my visa and so all the newbie missionaries are in Guayaquil today.  We leave to go back to Loja in an hour or so.

 

Elder Myers is here today also.  He is my friend from the MTC and we talked a bunch and he told me about his experiences so far.  It was really fun to catch up.  We talked about a crazy game we made up at the MTC where the Elders would put "dibs" on the sister missionaries there after our two years were up and it was hilarious how competitive it got when it was really just a silly game, but also really funny. 

Okay so this week was good and I have enjoyed it. I am trying to have more faith and be more diligent in trying to learn Spanish because that is the hardest part by far! The fact that I want to say so much to people but I just can't and it is so very frustrating.

 

Unfortunately, we are not having  much success as we keep getting baptismal dates and then they all fall through so I have been disappointed a lot this week. However, I know that it will get better and I just need to learn Spanish first so I can teach the gospel and not have to rely so much on my companion.

 

Well, I asked my first person to be baptized and she said, "no."  Well , I guess there needed to be a first.

 

Next, my companion and I saw this goat that was caught on some barbwire so we untangled it and tied it to a different fence. So I didn't get any baptisms with my companion this week,  but we saved a goat :)

 

One day we asked a member, Carlos Luna, to help us go around and commit some people to go to sacrament meeting with us.  Carlos has a little Ford runner car and he is the craziest driver ever  and is about 75 or 80 years old and considering the fact that there are hardly any traffic rules here it was pretty crazy and I'm very suprised that we survived. ( haha )

We won't be able to Skype on Christmas Day, but will be able to do it on Christmas Eve around 4 or 5 in the evening my time so I'll need to make sure it is all set up and ready to go.  I'm glad I have one more pday to get some instructions from you.

 

I'm sorry this email is so short, but we won't be on the computer terminals long today because we have to return to Loja.  Also, I can't send you any pictures today because I heard that it is really easy to get your camera stolen here and I'm at a busy computer terminal, so I don't want to get out my camera.

 

I'll have to send you a longer email next week.

 

Love you all so very much!

 

Elder Lignell 

 

 

 

Week Three in Ecuador - Monday, December 9, 2013

Hello :)  Our week was good and  I am definitely understanding a ton more Spanish,  however it is extremely frustrating when someone says something and I just can't figure it out. But all in all, I think I can figure out the language and it will just take time.

 

I miss you guys a lot because of Christmas. It is crazy to think that it is  85 degrees everyday here and it is 10 degrees there..... I'm very sorry. However, I am very excited to talk to you on Christmas.

 

Ok...continuing with the week... it has been hard because we keep getting investigators with baptismal dates and then they fall through so it's like a rollercoaster with my hope that I can get my first baptism. "Todo es possible mediante dios amoroso todo poderoso eterno" (Everything is possible through all loving all powerful god eternal) 

 

Ecuador is beautiful and I love the people! They are so kind and humble and willing to talk even if they don't get converted. I love the city Loja! There are so many little stores everywhere and it is fun to explore.

 

The Church is not very strong here. There are very few members, but they are so great and they are so friendly and help out so much that it is amazing!

 

We got to watch the Christmas Devotional from the Church I was hoping it would be in English with Spanish subtitles but nope.... all in Spanish. Anyway, what I understood I enjoyed .

 

It is very nice to know that all my friends are out on missioins with me I absolutely love it!! And this life is very hard and demanding and yes, I am constantly expected to be happy and expected to want to talk to everyone so there are a ton of things that I am learning besides Spanish. Like how to take care of myself,   how to communicate to others in Spanish, how to enjoy myself and always remember at the same time that I am a representative of Jesus Christ.

 So here is a little more detail about our days. I usually make breakfast in the morning and have been making omelets. Then we always have a big lunch at a member's house and then we don't usually have any plans for dinner. 

Apparently the water is cleaner here but I still don't trust it and so we have these water bottles that filter the water so I just use that and I survive. (haha)

And for our clothing right now, we have a member that has voluntereed to wash clothing for us. Most people here wash their clothes by hand and I guess it takes like three hours for a weeks worth of clothing,  but the member has a washing machine so I am very lucky at the moment.

Other than that, I am doing good and everyday I get a little bit more used to being out here. I know this is where I am supposed to be and if for some reason I don't get one baptism out here I know that I already have one convert which is me :)  I love the scriptures and prayer and I can see myself changing but defintely in a good way. I am still the same Austin but I have a deeper appreciation of the Church and of this Gospel, of my family and my friends and just my life in general.

I think about you guys a lot which I know isn't good but its hard not to. ( haha ) I feel bad because I brag about you all a lot which I need to not do so much, but it's easy because I am proud of my family and I love you all so much :)

 

Talk to you soon,

Love,
Elder Lignell

Loja, Ecuador

 

 

 

Week Number Two in Ecuador - Monday, December 1, 2013

Okay, so this week, I have been trying to adjust to my new surroundings and it is not always easy!  I'm in a new country that speaks Spanish and 99 percent of the time, I have no idea what is going on!!

We had our first Zone Conference, which included the President of our mission and our entire zone.  The Conference was really good.  They fed us breakfast and lunch and it was very good.  My favorite part, however, was the individual interviews because I got to talk to the President.  He was so encouraging and supportive and helped me with so much advice! 

Also, there was another missionary there named Elder Riffel who came in the same time as I did and he was very homesick and I tried to give him the best advice possible, but it strengthened my testimony that if I can be able to tell others that they can do it, I can do it too!!!

Ecuador is so cool and it fun to see the people and practice my Spanish.  The buses are always packed and on the buses, they play a lot of American music but I'm not sure anyone on the buses understand what the music is saying. 

There are a lot of stray dogs here and a lot of them look like our dog, Bella.

Before we started our fast for this month, we had lunch at President Hansen's house.  He and his wife are from Washington state and it was like a mini Thanksgiving.  I loved it and I loved being able to talk to them in English!

Also, today I got my first haircut here.....it is certainly different. 

I found some cool scriptures that I would like you to read.  D&C 122: 5-9 and D&C 109: 2123.  They are about missionary week and have helped me a ton!

Also, something pretty funny I saw was a big pig head hanging at a local shop and people kept bumping into it.  I took a picture of it for you.

All in all, this is very hard and I'm still not perfect and I'm still trying to grasp the language, but I have hope and faith and I know I can do this one day at a time, one week at a time and one year at a time.  I know this will benefit me so much in the end.  I will be able to live anywhere and be a much better person because of all of the experiences I will have while I'm here.

I love you all so much,

Love,

Elder Lignell

 

Pig's Head Hanging At A Local Shop

 

Sunset in Loja

 

A Stray Dog That Looks Like Our Dog, Bella!





 

First Week in Ecuador!!!

Hi everyone and family! This week has been absolutely crazy!

 

First,  Chandler... I know that he is in a better place now. I know that he is such a wonderful person and that he is looking down at all of us right now smiling. He lived a great live and he was ready to meet God, this is very hard on me and it makes me so so so very homesick and you don't know how badly right now I just want to hug all of you guys. But I think I wil be able to cope with Chandler. One day at a time...I will do better,  but at the moment I'm sort of sobbing everywhere. I know that I will see Chandler again, not in two years but it will be that much sweeter when I get to. I know that God lives and that Chandler is hanging out with him right now, cracking jokes and talking about the Jazz. I'm gonna make it through this. I know I can, "Man's extremity is God's opportunity"

Ok, so now I guess I'll talk about my first week here. Getting to Ecuador was crazy long however on my last flight to Ecuador I talked to a nice Ecuadorian man and his child, mostly about normal stuff and a little tiny bit about the gospel, but he seemed receptive and I gave him a pass along card and got his phone number so that was sweet. And, if I am ever in his area I will call him and try to set up a meeting with him.

 

Next we got to the Guayaquil temple and we met with our new companions and the mission president and my companion speaks absolutely no English, only Spanish and he is from Bolivia. 

 

My first area is Loja which is an 8 hour bus ride from Guayaquil, so we slept at the temple for one night and then went on our way to Loja. Loja is very beautiful and it is higher up in the mountains and there are mountains everywhere. I love the scenery. Our casa is pretty big actually, because it is meant to have four missionaries but we are the only ones here for now. My companion and I will have to start cleaning as when we arrived we found we have cockroaches in our kitchen and ants everywhere so making food scares me but I've got a system down for making eggs haha...

 

Mountains of Loja

 



 It was really hard to be away from you for my birthday, but one of the ward members made me the most awesome birthday cake.  It was really delicious!!!!

Birthday Cake For My 19th Birthday Made By One of Our Ward Members

 

 

 

I'm trying to work on my Spanish, but it is coming slow.  It has been a tough first week trying to get adjusted to my new surroundings, but I'm going to try to be more positive and hopefully will have a better week.

Love you all so much!

Elder Lignell

Week Six - November 18, 2013

Hello,

 

Thanks for helping out Chandler's family, I know they need soooo much help right now.

 I'll keep praying for Chandler, because I know a miracle can happen if it is God's will.

 

 Oh and by the way, I got an email from one of Dad's coworkers, Jessica Ramirez. She sent me a wonderful email about Dad.  She said that he acts really proud of me and he always tells the different things that have happened to me here. It made me smile and it makes me so happy that he is proud of me! Also, she sent me a Spanish part and I could mas o menos read it but it is very difficult and definitely humbles me with my Spanish... 

 

Thats wonderful that Jacob made the first cuts!!! I hope he can make it all the way that would be soooo awesome! I can't wait to hear what happens!

 

Yes, send me the Thanksgiving family video that you make when it is finished!!! Also today before I leave could you send me some nice pictures of our family and stuff like the one that Steve Barton took at my mission call opening, the Jr. Jazz one and maybe a few of our family. I would like to show some friends from my district. 

 

Yes I got the package of cookies... thank you so much I have loved them!!

 

No, I cant believe I'm going to be 19! It doesn't even seem real at all.. It really doesn’t seem like its going to be my birthday cause I've just been so busy I've had no time to really focus on it. 

 

I heard about Andrew Campbell's mission call to South Korea... that is so cool! 

 

Also, can you get me the Bishop's email, I would like to email him, along with Tanner's and Amy's if you can :) 

 

Well, we leave here at 9:30 at night and then our flight leaves from Mexico at 1:15 Tuesday morning. Then we fly to Colombia and have a two hour layover there we should get to Colombia at 6 or 7 in the morning. So I could call you then to if you wanted me to. And then from there to Guayaquil!!! So most likely though I would just like to call you around like maybe 11.00 o'clock tonight before we fly out. How does that sound?

 

I am very excited to leave. My Spanish is not as good as I would like but I'm as ready as ever to leave. I am going to miss my district a ton because they have been like my family for the last month or so. I have loved being district leader and it definitely has helped me to be more focused here. I know the gospel is true and I have loved reading in the scriptures so much more here. I know the gift of tongues is true at least to a point because I have learned so much and I have said some crazy stuff to investigators that I had no idea that I could say.

 

Elder Pinkston from my district told me yesterday that he was so grateful that I was here, that I've helped him in so many ways and that he has looked up to me as a person here, it made me feel wonderful. As well as Elder quilter, he said that if anyone else was district leader he probably would have gone home (cause he has a hard time being out here and I'm pretty laid back) also me and Elder Myers have come to agreement that if we both didn't have each other we may not have survived our district, because we both relate to so much stuff and it has helped me so much. So I'm going to miss my district. I have come to love them all but also it has made me excited to get out and serve. I want to meet my next companion and learn to love him and find a way to enjoy everything that I do out here. I know it will be hard, but if I try my best and forget myself, I will be able to do it and by doing it, it will definitely make me an all around better person.

 

Love you all! Email me back today when you get the chance; I would love those pictures! 

Lots of love, Elder Lignell

 Local Missionaries that became friends of Austin's and prayed with him for his friend, Chandler Webb.