Week Twenty Seven In Ecuador - Monday, May 26, 2014 - Loving The Work I Am Doing!

Hey Family :)

Well I made it another week out here. And my week was good, it was pretty normal all in all but it was good, and once again we worked super hard! And it's interesting here because we aren't having very much success, but I am working harder than I ever have out here. We are doing everything that we should to be; being obedient, focusing hard on listening to the Spirit and I have been studying in the mornings better than ever before.  I'm really looking for everything in the scriptures that relates to my life and that relates to others. I have been trying to talk more in our lessons and be more out going and more socialable with the members. And I want to really help the people here to learn about the gospel and for the members to always remember why they're here in this church.  I have the faith that I'll be blessed for being obedient. Hopefully I'll be able to recieve the promise in Ether 12:6!!!!

But I am happy and we do have two baptisms for the next two weeks!!!!

So ya we are having success haha I just want more... :)

So this next week we have the baptism of Investigator F. and he is 15 years od and he is the grandson of Investigator J.  He is wonderful! He has been progressing very well and I feel like I need to baptize someone from this family haha (Investigator J. fell through with his baptism date again and was sick in the hospital for about a week... so we have kinda given up on trying to baptize him, maybe someday some other elders will baptize him but for right now I'm fine with just baptizing his grandson) Franklin is great! He went to the mutual for the church on Saturday and helped the Priest Quorum clean the church too!!! I am super excited for his baptism!

And then the week that follows, we have a baptism of another kid who is named Investigator A. He is 18 years old and honestly is one of the strongest investigators that I have had so far! His testimony is gigantic and he honestly was someone just waiting to recieve the gospel!! He will be baptized the 7th of June! Also he said a prayer in Elders Quorum and I promise you it was just as good as what the Bishop would say! He has recieved every lesson perfectly and has no other problems to work through to be baptized.  It's so great and I can't wait for his baptism and I hope so badly that after he decides to serve a mission!!!! That would be the coolest thing ever!!

So those are the two people that we are really working with right now and they keep me going out here everyday. I can't wait to actually baptize again because I don't know if you've noticed but I've gone almost two months without a baptism and I would love some more :)

But, I am doing great and I love the Gospel! I love helping people out here come unto Christ. I love teaching others how to really be happy and to be able to testify to them that I am happy because of the Gospel. I know this church is true and everyday I enjoy sharing it more and more. 

 Love you all,

Elder Lignell


                                 Me and Elder Sanchez in matching World Cup Ecuador Soccer Jerseys!
                                    

 

Week Twenty Six in Ecuador - Monday, May 19, 2014 - Work, Work, Work :)

Hi Everyone,

So this week was really great!! It was probably one of the hardest weeks that I have had for working hard, because with my new companion we work so hard! He doesn't like to waste time at all so we just work and work and work and I actually really like it.

 

So during this week we walked everywhere and searched for a bunch of new people and we hardly met anyone at all and it was super tough but we just kept pushing along and didn't let anything get us down. We have two baptism dates. One is for the 7th of June and he is Investigator A and he is 18 and he is so great! We have had some super awesome lessons with him and he wants to be baptized and says that he knows the church is true! The other one is Investigator F. and he is 14. His grandpa is  the other baptism date that we never could baptize cause he lacked a little bit of testimony but his grandson is great and we have been helping him come to church. He has been three times now and says that he knows that he wants to be baptized! So hurray!!!!

 Then this last Sunday (yesterday) was by far the best day of the week! So we were fasting as a zone and it was well really hard because it was 102 degrees Saturday and we couldn't drink anything but ya I survived through church and made it to lunch :) Then after we went to a less active member's house and their family was over for lunch. We talked to them for awhile after they finished eating and they had a ton of questions for us.  And, I have no idea how, but I answered pretty much all of their questions smoothly and I felt like they understood me clearly. Then we started to share the lesson on the restoration and I explained almost all of it more clearly than I have ever shared it before! I felt the Spirit helping me choose the words as I was saying them and I wasn't even thinking how to say it all!!!... it just all came out in what I felt was perfect Spanish!

 

 We gave the girl who had the most questions a Book of Mormon and invited her to read. But, she said no because  she said she had recieved her answer in her other religion and that she didn't need more answers..... but then I felt inspired to share my testimony and when I finished she told me that she could tell that I knew it was true she said,  "when you talk you have a light that shines from you and you can tell that you want to share that knowlege with others." She then said that she would read the book but that she still didn't want to pray. After that we closed up the lesson and left. Now I have no idea what will happen with her or if she really will read it but all I know is that she felt the same Spirit that I was feeling and that she has El Libro De Mormon and maybe we planted a seed and maybe one day something more will come of it.... but as of now we completed our pupose of inviting her and helping her to feel the Spirit and for that I loved that lesson so very much and I was so happy for the way that it turned out. :)

Also, I got your letters and the one from Aunt D.D.  And, I'm excited for my package....everything you have listed sounds perfect....thank you very much for putting it all together.

This week was great!

 

Talk to you guys soon....Love you all!

Elder Lignell

                                          Yes, I know we are weird but you sorta have to be weird to be a missionary :)

 

Week Twenty Five in Ecuador - Monday, May 12, 2014 - A New Companion...Working Hard and Loving It!

                                               

Okay so first off I'm so glad I got the opportunity to talk to you guys, it honestly was absolutely perfect in every way I was so glad that it all worked out!!! I really am so grateful for every single one of you and miss you all a ton but I know that I am in the place that I need to be right now and I know that the day when I do get to come home, it will be priceless to know that I served my time and that I gave my part for God.

My new companion is Elder Sanchez. He is from Mexico and the city San Luis Potosi. He's been out here for 14 months. And honestly he is great! I have really enjoyed my time with him and he has already taught me a ton. I am really excited to keep working with him because we have been working really hard and I feel like with him, we are really fulfilling our purposes as missionaries :) so it's wonderful and hopefully I get to spend a bunch of time with him! 

 

Oh and so if there is space in the package you send me,  he wants you to send tobasco sauce but if there isn't room don't worry about it. :)

I'm glad that you liked my testimony :)

I tried to really be sincere and explain some of the things that I've felt out here because it's not all easy and wonderful here all the time. I mean there are a ton of really hard parts but in the end all of those crazy hard parts really do help to strengthen your testimony and you learn how to really trust in God :)

Well anyways, I guess I will tell you about my week now. Okay so first off we have been working super hard! With Elder Sanchez we don't waste any time which is great because we are always busy but at the same time we are forced to find new people or else nothing will work out. But I have faith that we are doing what we are suppossed to and that we will be blessed for working hard and I have already seen a few of those blessings already!!

First we met this great kid, Investigator  A. and he is 18 and he went to church last Sunday and accepted to be baptized the 7th of June and he is wonderful! We taught him about the plan of salvation right before church and then that next day in church pretty much all of the lessons and topics related to the plan of salvation so I am so grateful that we taught him about it before so that he had a background knowledge.  And I know that the spirit testified that to us before and it was an amazing experience to take notice of that during church!

And also we have Investigator J. who is going to be baptized this next Saturday but we aren't sure how strong his testimony is and we want to watch him this week... So we don't know if we will really go through with the baptism or if we'll sorta just hold it off because it is diffuclt for him to show us that he actually has a testimony... so we'lll see... maybe I'll have a baptism this week and maybe not :)  

Other than that I am doing good it was absolutely wonderful to talk to you all yesterday :)

I'm excited to get my package and I was thinking last night how cool it is that Jacob learned the ukulele... I would love to learn the Uke so Bad!!!!!

Other than that I would love if you guys could pray for Investigator J. so that he can be baptized this week.

 Also for Elder Sanchez (my new companion) and his family.... that all can be well with them :)

 Love,

Elder Lignell

                                                      My New Companion - Elder Sanchez

 

Guayaquil, Ecuador

                                                                 Guayaquil, Ecuador

 

Week Twenty Four in Ecuador - Monday, May 5, 2014 - Crazy Week!

Ok hey guys I'm on the computer and this week has been interesting... but I'll talk about it later.

Our "P-Days" we pretty much just get up like normal... we study for two and a half hours then we clean the house, go drop off our laundry, buy food, eat lunch and then write our families and after that it usually is like 4 and so we sleep until 6 then we go to work... so ya they are pretty boring, but I've adjusted :) 

AND I DID GET THE PACKAGE FROM D.D. :))))) Tell her that I loved it so much!!! It was great and I have loved eating it!!

Tell Dad super happy birthday from me and tell him sorry that I didn't draw him a flower picking machine. But let him know that if he would like a gift I can draw something and send it haha :) 

But ya tell him I love him and he's the greatest Dad ever!!

That's sweet about jake's game tell him he's a baller and to keep it up. Oh and that we'll have to play when I get back to see who's better!!!

Oh and the question from Dad...I just get my hair cut wherever. The last week I got it cut from a member for 2 bucks but next time I want to go to a hair cutting place where everyone is a crazy big tattooed guy that cut your hair!

Ok now about my week:

 So the first part of the week was honestly one of the worst weeks I've had out here. And pretty much all of it was just because my companion is struggling with enthusiasm because he doesn't believe that he can have success here. So it has been crazy hard and I've been trying to help him keep a good attitude.

And on Saturday, I was feeling worse then ever, but then something happened. The husband of one of the members came running up to us and he was at the point of crying... he explained to us that his wife was in the hospital and in a really critical state.

Ok, so first I'm going to explain a little bit about this family. They are extremely poor.... like they sometimes don't have food to eat. All they have in their house is a bed, a toilet, a tv and a fan. Nothing else and there are 6 of them....the mom, dad, three daughters and a son. The mom is pregnant with another child and has been having a ton of problems with the baby and it may not live. 

 

The husband has hard a super tough life and lived a very hard life before. He robbed a bunch of people and stabbed them when he robbed them. He also was addicted to drugs but has recently overcome the addiction. He has been listening to our messages because he isn't a member.  

So on Saturday he came running up to us and told us that his wife was in the hospital and that the baby was really bad and that most likely either she or the baby will die. 

He needed money to buy pills and I helped him buy the pills that he needed and payed for a taxi. I used 20 bucks for that out of my own money and it felt really nice. It changed my whole mood about everything.

Then yesterday we went to visit him and he told us that everytime we come to his house he feels something amazing. He said he knows that we have been called of God and that were called to help him. He told me that he believes that God sends angels to the earth to help others and said that he believes that we are those angels :) 

Those two days changed my whole perspective about being out here and I am so happy I had those experiences. I love being out here and I love that I can help so many people in their lives.

 

I love you all!

Elder Lignell

Week Twenty Three in Ecuador - Monday, April 30, 2014 - Happy Almost Mother's Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecuador Guayaquil South Mission

 

Week Twenty Two In Ecuador - Monday, April 21, 2014 - Semana Santa Celebration

 

First off I am glad you guys had a great time in St. George for spring break it sounded like a blast!  

So this week started off great and we were working crazy hard and we got a bunch of stuff done and it was really nice to be having success and new investagators and to feel good about the way that we were working. However as the week went on it seemed like we just slowly had less and less success and our investigators sorta just dissappeared and were lost. Which is something you learn really fast on a mission. That somehow some people can just disappear..... like they'll be in their house all day everyday and then one day you'll never find them again..... maybe they just leave or maybe they just get really good at hidding from the missionaries :) but all in all the week went pretty well. 

 

Ok, so this week was the famous "Semana Santa" which is the traditon of the catholics to celebrate Easter but they celebrate it the whole week. So one thing they do is make this soup that has every sort of bean in it like kidney bean, lima beans and all the other ones that I dont know the names of. And it usually has fish too which is scary because they don't take all the spines out so you have to eat it very carefully. Well anyways everybody makes that soup and they eat it pretty much all week! So I ate it all week too and it wasnt my favorite but oh well it was an interesting experience. Also on Friday before Easter they all march in the streets representing the time when Christ marched with his cross. I have a picture I will send it to you guys.

Then something funny was that we were with our baptism date at his house and he was watching a movie about Christ that was on so we sat down and were talking to him and watching a little too and it was obviously a Catholic version of the movie cause at the part of the baptism of Christ, it shows Jesus go to John the Baptist to get baptized and he just kneels down in the shallow part of the water and John sprinkles a little water on his head to baptize him... haha so our baptism date was eating a little soup while this was happening and his wife was watching and she says "hey look how Jesus was baptized!" and my companion goes "oh no just keep eating your soup don't worry about it" haha I laughed so hard afterwards.

 However, the sad thing is that our investigator yet again didn't go through with his baptism and we are thinking about letting him go because he keeps saying yes yes yes and then the day of his baptism he comes up with something that he has to do... so ya I'm a little sad about that :( 

But other than that all is well and I had a great week!

 

                The march in the streets to represent Christ when he carried his cross

 

 

Love, Elder Lignell

 

Week Twenty One In Ecuador - Monday, April 14, 2014 - Finally Have Mastered Spanish :)

Hi Mom :) and Family!

I am doing well! 

Ok so first off yes Kathy's present was great!! I've loved it and the eggs are good too....I have been eating them and they taste the same as the real things! :)

I haven't received any of your letters yet or anything from D.D. recently :( 

Thank you for the five little tips I really enjoyed them!

And okay now about this week........

So first off, we didn't have the baptism of Investigator J this week either... :( he has been having a bunch of problems; The first week was because he got a stomach virus and was in the hospital and then this last weekend he had to travel to another city because a family member passed away. So we are still hoping that he can be baptized this upcoming Saturday but we will see how everything goes. 

Other than that I just wanted to share a few funny things about out here. First, I was thinking about how part of the word of wisdom talks about how we can't have tea and the funny thing is that we literally drink hot drinks almost every day down here because we have to boil our water! haha 

And it is so terrible when it is 100 degrees outside and we are drinking a hot drink too... haha but it makes me laugh.

Also this week I had the interesting experience of eating a cow elbow or some sort of cow joint and what it is, is just a bone that is surrounded in like 2 inches of pure fat... nothing else and you just eat the fat off and the people here enjoy it... It was probably one of my least favorite treats here so far haha. Other than that, we've been having sort of a hard time here in our sector in finding new people. We just pass by the same people everyday out here and it is too bad cause we just slowly keep losing more and more people.

But I have faith that we can find new people to teach and I have been studying in Preach My Gospel everyday to find out how to do stuff better out here :) that book really is amazing! Have Jake start reading it if he has time :)

Also I don't want to brag but I feel fluent in Spanish now!  I still miss a few words here and there but I can pretty much understand everything when I am reading in the Book of Mormon and when people talk. I can also say just about anything that I want to! I never thought this day would come when I first got here 6 months ago, but I really feel very comfortable with this language!

Love,

Elder Lignell
                                       Another 6-Month Missionary Like Me :)

 

Having a Little Fun At Conference

 

 

Week Twenty In Ecuador - Monday, April 7, 2014 - Yes, we had to evacuate for the Tsunami.

Hey guys :)

 

So first yes, we did have to evacuate for the tsunami!! But I will talk more about that in a sec.

 

And yes, conference was great. I enjoyed it a lot and yes it was all in Spanish :)

 

I'm glad everyone is doing well and yes I got the package from Kathy with the eggs and candy and stuff and I love it! Thank her so much for me!

 

And yes,we take our laundry to a Laundromat right now that a member owns and it is great. She folds it all up nice for us after too :)

 

Okay now about the week!!

 

So first it was pretty crazy because last Monday we had an announcement in the mission that we all had to put together 72 hour kits with food and clothes so of course, with everyone being missionaries we were all freaked out about revelation and stuff.  But then Tuesday night at like 10:00 p.m. we got a call saying we had to get our 72 hour kits ready and all the missionaries in Guayaquil had to go to houses that were three stories up or higher! So, since we live on the third flour we didn't have to leave but we had ten missionaries come to here to sleep. And guess what!? One of them was Elder Myers!....my friend from the MTC. He came and slept over and I was so happy because we just got to talk and I relate to him a bunch so it was awesome! I just got to sit and talk to him and we ended up talking until like 3:30 in the morning and like usual woke up at 6:30 so I only got 3 hours of sleep that night... haha but it was worth it. And the tsunami obviously didnt hit :) so everyone is fine but the President of the mission definitely did have a crazy revelation because he told us to put together those kits before the earthquake in Chili.... 

 

Ok now about confrence! its was great we brought 9 investigators in all to confrence and I enjoyed it a lot. There is actually an odd rule in this mission that if you dont bring investigators to the session you cant watch it... but luckily we got at least one person to each session and I was able to watch it all. Although I didnt understand all of it cause it was in spanish I was able to pick up all the simple messages and I enjoyed just listening to the choir haha

 

Then yesterday we had the two baptisms that I told you about last week... and they actually both fell through. The wife had a hard time with the Word of Wisdom and then yesterday we couldn't find the husband anywhere..... he honestly just disappeared so that was pretty tough... I was super disappointed and my companion had a hard time and he is still kinda having a hard time. 

 

So I was feeling kinda down too... but then this morning in my personal study I was reading about the Sons of Mosiah and I wanted to quickly share the story with you. Okay so first the Sons of Mosiah were terrible people "the vilest of sinners" but they were given the chance to repent and they took the chance and through that they had a wonderful knowledge of the atonement of Christ. Then they had the desire to share the gospel with others. (Mosiah 28:3) They went out to preach and brought 1000 souls unto repentence. (Alma 26:22) But it wasn't all easy for them and in (Alma 26:27) it says that at one point they wanted to go back but the Lord spoke peace unto them and told them to endure their afflictions and they would have success. Then in (Alma 26:30) it says that they did suffer all manner of afflictions to do the will of the Lord and to help others to find the light that they had. And finally in (Alma 26:31) it says that they did have success and that they suffered those afflictions but pushed forward and endured and they were blessed with 1000's of converts!! And I love that story and I know that I can do the same and I realize that I have to endure a bunch of sadness and afflictions out here but it isn't all in vain and I will be blessed if I endure my trials well and always remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for me :)

Tell Dad and Jake and Grandpa and Kathy and DD and Bob and Grandma and everyone that I love them :) haha chao

Love,

Elder Lignell

 

 

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