Week Eighty Eight In Ecuador - July 27, 2015 - A New Companion :)

 Hey family I'm here again. 

 This week has been great, we worked hard... yet again. haha I fill like slowly every week I get more and more tired but I keep working just as hard, and it's great! I feel good, but definitely tired! haha I'll be sure to take a long nap when I get back to make up for these two years.

 

Anyways I'm glad everyone is doing well. Make sure you take more pictures... I like seeing you guys.

That's awesome about Dallin Latimer. Wow I had no idea he was 18... in my mind he's still like 12 years old haha don't tell him that. But do tell his family that I'm sure he will be an awesome missionary. I'm so glad he could go into the mission knowing what the Spirit is and how to listen to its promptings, that's like the most important thing to learn as a missionary. So he's already one step ahead!

SO this week we had changes... my companion Elder Smith left... which was sad cause he was definitely one if not my best companion that I've had. However my new companion is named Elder Forrest! He's from Ranchocucamanga California!  (didn't we know someone from there?) Anyways he is also way cool, he has about 21 months in the mission so we have a lot of time put together but we're both excited to work so I'm pumped :)

 We also had two baptisms this week!!!! one named A.  where her whole family is members and she was the last one to ge baptized and the other is named Y she is 37 years old and lives with her husband and he two little kids. Her and her husband have had a few problems but they are trying to work everything out, she explained to us that sometimes they fought and she would sit alone and just feel horrible but the Saturday before her baptism it happened again and while she was sitting alone she read out of the Liahona and she said the terrible feeling wasn't there. In fact she felt good, and safe and happy. Despite all of her other problems and from that moment on she knew that she had to do it. That she needed a baptism. I had the wonderful opportunity to baptize her and wow,  I felt the spirit so strong and she had the biggest smile on her face as she left the font.

I was thinking a little bit about our job as a missionary, and we have all these people that are progressing towards a baptism and every night we plead to God that they can recieve their own testimonies and be sure of what they are going to do. It's amazing how he not only answers their prayers as well as he answers ours in helping them make it to the waters of baptism.

 I love this work! I'm happy. I can't believe this time is coming to an end. I just hope I can finish strong and give all I've got :)

 Love you thanks for always being so supportive!

 Love, Elder Lignell

                                                        Our Recent Baptisms :)

 

Week Eighty Seven in Ecuador - July 20, 2015 - Great Zone Training Meeting

Dear Family,

I'm so glad you had a good time at girls camp! That's awesome. And I'm planning on Jake waking up early with me to do companion ship study together in the mornings... he'll have to start preparing now!

And I would be stoked to be Jake's home teaching companion.. we'll reactivate the whole ward!! 

Oh and of course mom... Being with God comes before everything but being Mormon shouldn't make you lame... unfortunately a few people take religion to an extreme and start bad stereotypes for all from our religion. God wants us to be happy and love life but obviously following his commandments as well. 

Anyways this week has been pretty crazy, first off we had a great training meeting with all of the zones here in Guayaquil and the president talked a lot about our purpose as a missionary and also talked about 1 nephi 3:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. 

 I think we have all heard this scipture a million times  however our president explained that verse 7 is great but really verse 15 is a lot better. "But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth,and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.

In this verse it happened after their trial. He explained to us how it is easy to be excited to work or follow the comandments when everything is easy but then when it is hard or when we don't have success the first time is when it all really matters. The brothers of Nephi lost their faith and claimed that it was impossible but Nephi states, I wont go back until I've completed what God sent me to do!

It was super sweet.

Also this week we had a baptism named K. And wow his baptism was super spiritual and he was sooo excited to take that leap of faith.

Right before his baptism we found him sitting in a room in the church meditating and we asked him what was wrong and he said nothing just that he was thinking about all that would change, all of the old mistakes and the new person that he wanted to become. After he was baptized he just looked at us and said "gracias" It was I felt the spirit so strong, and I know he could feel that same spirit testify to him of what he was doing.

Then on Sunday night we stopped a robbery haha A lady was walking on the street and a kid was trying to yank her back pack away from her but when he saw us he ran away, haha I didnt even realize it was a robbery beforehand because no one was even screaming, but then the lady started to thank us for coming just in time!

 Also during planning last night I heard three different gun shots outside the house, woohhooo. 

Oh and today me and my comp. went to Chilis, it was amazing! I ate bbq chicken wings and a bacon burger. It was just like being in the United states again.

I'm also super excited for this up coming week! We have a few people that we want to help make the descion to get baptized. Please pray for them all! 

Love you guys hope you all have a great week oh and send pics of whats going on!!!

 

 

                                        Our Zone

                                            Notice How Swollen Our Investigator's Knee Is,
                                            But He Still Came to Church on Sunday!

                                      The Recent Baptism of "K".

                                         Me and My Companion At Chili's ....So Good !

 Love, ELder Lignell

Week Eighty Six in Ecuador - July 13, 2015 - Busy But Fun P-Day

Dear Family,

We are having a great P-Day however it has been super busy! We had to go all over the place today and hardly had very much time to rest. But it was an awesome day! We went thrift shopping at a flea market and we ate McDonalds and bought matching ties.

That's sweet about girls camp!! You'll have a blast, and hopefully there aren't very many girls that cry this time :)

Give Jake props for me, but tell him to write me. :)

That's sweet you saw the article of the pope... I bought a shirt with his picture on it today... hahaha

Now about my week, it has been really sweet. We worked like crazy, and I hardly even had time to work with our own investigators. I was going all over the place helping the missionaries in the zone. But it was awesome because I had some sweet spiritual experiences and we have some awesome investigators getting ready for their baptisms. For instance we have K who is 20 years old and is a friend of a recently returned missionary who is preparing to be baptized this Saturday that is coming up. But on Wednesday we went and talked with him and we asked him if we could move his baptism date up a week because he was ready to take the step and he told us, "I already said I would get baptized, it's your decision on when you want to baptize me" haha it was great. He is sooo awesome, He told us yesterday after watching a video that he would like to be a missionary as well!!!

Then on Sunday after church we had a super odd lunch, it was cow foot soups with a main course of cow stomach in peanut sauce and a nice cup of warm water to drink. Probably the greatest lunch I've had so far!

The flea market was awesome today, I bought a Levi button up and also an American flag vest for 4 dollars and another t shirt for 2 dollars more it was so great! I'll send pictures next week.

This week was wonderful, I read a lot about trusting in God this week and how we can truly follow him in every moment. I know that if we really give everything to follow him he'll help us be an instrument in his hands and he will free us from our difficulties and temptations. Alma 38:5 "And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day." We need to completely rely on God in every moment and he will be our light and our anchor and our support in all that we do!

I love you all so much have a wonderful week.
                                                            Our Purchases At The Flea Market :)

 

Elder Lignell

Week Eighty Five in Ecuador - July 6, 2015 - I Got My Package :)

Hey fam! I got my package!!! wooo! It was perfect! I love the ties and all that was in there! I didn't even know they sold peanut butter jars sooo big... wow peanut butter is cool!

That's nice about Carol Williamson, that makes me happy to know that she liked what I said.

That's awesome about your girl camp I hope it's a giant success. I'm really glad you like your calling.

Thank you sooo much for the BYU application. I will be praying to get in :) 

You're right dad is awesome.Tell Jake hi for me :).

Alright now about my week.This week has been amazing! We worked like crazy again. And yet again the lord has blessed me and my companion in sooo many ways it is unbelievable. I honestly love being a missionary more than anything else and I can't believe how much stronger my testimony has grown since I've been out here.

First off this week was the 4th of July! We celebrated having hamburgers for lunch and then at night we had a barbeque with our investigators and played games. They're this family that is just perfect. I feel like family around them and they love listening to our messages. And they have been going to church for the last two weeks. We had a lesson with them this week where, we shared about the word of wisdom and got them all to commit to obey the word of wisdom, and one of the little girls said the prayer and in her prayer she asked God if we could keep visiting them and if it could be more often. And I don't know I just felt super loved. And I felt like we were fufilling our purpose as missionaries. I could feel the love that they had for us, and the love that the Savior has for them. It truly is amazing to be able to find families that change just from us two 20 year old kids teaching them about God. I've learned in the last few weeks that God is preparing peple for us to teach and being obedient and diligent helps u s to find them. 

The Pope is visiting Ecuador right now and it's the first time in 30 years that he has come here, so it's pretty sweet. It's pretty much the only thing people are talking about right now.

Anyways, this week has been great, we have been so blessed and I just can't wait to keep working here and helping everyone we find. It's crazy to think that I have about 3 months left... and I honestly dont want this time to end. The Spirit is one of the coolest things on earth, and before my mission I didn't really know too much about what the Spirit was or how it worked and how to feel it. I'm still not perfect at being able to feel it at every moment or know exactly what I need to do in every moment. But now I know that the Spirit is real and that God does answer us and give us impressions. I love a talk that I think Elder Bednar gave where he talks about three ways that we get answers through the Spirit. 1. Like a light in a dark room and everything is lit in one moment. 2. Like how the sun comes up in the morning and little by little it gets brighter and brighter until all is lit. 3. Like on a foggy day where you cant see hardly anything infront of you but there is a small light in the distance and you hae to just take steps of faith until slowly you get to the light.

I love that example and it is so true! There is a mormon message that I would love you guys to watch, its called "The Hope of God's Light and it's on youtube on the mormon channel and it is awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w49_1a9X0Q

Love you all to death and hope you have a wonderful week.

Love, ELder Lignell

Week Eighty Four in Ecuador - June 29, 2015 - New Technique To Find New Investigators

Family!!! ThIs week was great! We worked hard... really hard, I was tired everyday but it was awesome!

 

I'm glad everyone is doing well, that makes me so happy to hear that you guys are safe and healthy and loving life :) you and dad looked great in you anniversary picture! Honestly I have the best looking parents! And tell dad his shorts are pretty sick hahaha 

Grandpa looks awesome. Tell him hi for me and tell him that I love him.  

That's so crazy that Davis got home! Tell Davis thanks for saying hi!

 

And props to jake for winning the tournament.

Alright so now about this week. It was great!!! We invited all the Ecuadorians to be baptized haha and we were sooo blessed! We found a bunch of people that were just ready to accept our invitations.

 

Fist we made up a new technique on how to find people to teach. Its called the "Can I use the bathroom technique" So me and my companion both had to use the bathroom way bad and decided that we would ask someone to let us in to use their bathroom and then we would sneak in a quick lesson while the other person was using the bathroom. It worked pretty good. So we both used the bathroom and explained a small lesson. The greatest part was that after we finished and were leaving he thanked us for teaching him haha it was great, we also thanked him a lot for his bathroom :)

Next technique was the "free food technique" So we eat lunch with a lady that doesn't have male members of her family living with her so we always have to bring a member to eat with us, but on Thursday we didn't have a member so we used the technique of trying to invite someone to come eat with us off the street to obey the rule of having an adult with us. We asked like 6 different guys until finally we found a guy that was 20 to come with us and eat. Haha...we also taught him a lesson during lunch so it worked out pretty good! 

We also had a reference this week, from a member that is a little bit, well he's not all there in the head but he's cool. And he is like 70 years old and he gave us a reference of another old guy who is 82 his name is G. and he accepted to come to church and to be baptized but not only him but his whole family who are like 6 in all! We taught them yesterday after church and wow it was such a powerful lesson. We were probably there for 2 hours just talking and answering their questions. I felt the spirit so strong, to be able to testify that our church is true. And the lady that was making the questions, said I feel like I have more questions but from the way you talk about what you know they go out of my mind and I feel like what you're saying is true. She said I want to follow God and I think what you've told me is the truth. Her daughter and her dad have baptism dates for the 25th but hopefully soon the whole family can progress together to get baptized! I need your prayers for them. 

Now lastly this week I have been studying a lot about the conversion. And what it truly means to be converted to the gospel and as a missionary how we can show to God that we are converted to this work. First in the scripture guide in spanish it explains that conversion cannot come before baptism and the gift of the holy ghost. So we talk a lot about baptism but that's why, because without it someone cannot truly be converted.   Now lot of times as members of the church we have a testimony but we aren't trully converted. For example when someone bares their testimony and says "I know the book of mormon is true." Or when some says "I know the book of mormon is true because everyday I read it for an hour and I feel God's hand in my life as I search his guidance through the scriptures." A lot different right? Well anyways to be truly converted we have to both know and act. And the same goes for a missionary; if you want God to see that you are converted you have to show him that you want the salvation of others and you have to work hard! Alma 29:4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. 

If we show him our desires he will help us succeed in every aspect of our lives!

 Love you all,

 Elder Lignell                Me and Elder Smith...Looking Good :)

                                                             Preparing for Any Weather!

                                                                A Recent Investigator

                                              Ahhh...Nothing Like American Food :)

                                                      City Where We are Working in Guayaquil

Week Eighty Three in Ecuador - June 22, 2015 - Always Improving

Hey family!

Well another week down in Guayaquil! And its been an absolute blast. Me and my companion are working crazy hard and it's been exhausting, but so very rewarding spiritually, emotionally and well not really physically cause I'm wiped out!! haha  

Thanks for your email I'm gad everybody is doing great! I can't believe Davis got home... that doesn't even seem real. I hope his homecoming goes well you'll have to congratulate him for me.  

Glad jake had a good time at EFY. And at least he's got his hopes set high by having a crush on his counselor, it's better than just settling haha :) 

That's too bad for the Williamson Family. You'll have to tell them that I always loved being around Boyd, even though he didn't talk he just had a nice light about him that I think everyone could feel.

Alright now about my week, so it's been great. We truly have been working hard, but it's been crazy because with me and my companion we have an extra companion named Elder Hunt and he is stuck with us right now because he doesn't have a companion but he does have his own ward to work in, and obviously we can't just leave him alone to work, so he always has to be either with us or we have to drop him off with a member and pick him up after. So trying to be zone leaders and work with the other missionaries and in our own area and also in his area all at the same time is super crazy, but we're figuring it all out. We had a few baptisms this week with Elder Hunt and this Saturday we're going to have a few more.

 We had the baptism of a couple that are about to get married named J and E, the crazy thing is that J is 14 and E is 18 and they are going to get married!! This week they are going to try to do it, and on Sunday they got baptized!!! It was amzing because the mom shared a story that after she had been baptized she began to pray that the rest of her family could also get baptized. And it was sweet because yesterday those prayers that she said got answered! 

We also have an investigator named C and she is an older lady who has been going to church with us for the last few weeks. She has a problem with her knees that makes her hurt a lot. I'm pretty sure she said it was arthritis, but I'm not positive. Anyways the first time she went to church she explained that her knees were killing her and that right when she left to go home she layed down in her hammock and said a prayer to god asking him if he could take the pin away and right after her prayer she felt relieved and from then on knew that the church was true and that she had to continue to go. We are trying to help her to get baptized this saturday!!! I'm stoked. 

Also in this last week, I've been talking a lot to my companion and we talked a lot about the mission, like why we are here, and what God expects from us and like what we can become in these two years if we really are diligent and faithful. And I came to the conclusion that God needs us to change! Always! It doesn't matter what point we are at in our lives, but we can't stand still we always have to be improving. A lot of times in life we are going backwards and God is the only person that can help us to turn around and start going forward again to truly change. If we don't use God and if we don't understand the atonemnt of Christ, we won't be able to change, we won't be able to move forward and the devil will have more power over us. "The only thing that is constant in life is change. If we want to have success we have to be willing to change, in order to reach our highest poential."
​God always wants us to be better and he will always be willing to help us succeed.  Ether 12:27

                                            Recent Baptisms :)

​

Love you all,

 

Elder Lignell  

 

Week Eighty Two in Ecuador - June 15, 2015 - A New Companion From Utah and One of the Greatest Weeks of My Entire Mission.

Hey family


That's sweet that everyone is doing well! Tell Dad to have an awesome Father's Day.  I'm looking forward to working on the jeep with him and doing all sorts of projects with him when I get home.

That's awesome that Jake is going to EFY! I cant believe it's summer and that Davis is coming home soon...

Now, about my week, this week has been one of the greatest weeks of my entire mission. So first off, yes I still am zone leader and I got switched to a zone that is also here in Guayaquil called Puerto Nuevo. So all of the seniors are hanging out in new port right now, I'm also in new port, just the spanish version hahaha.

My new companion is from the United States! wooo hooo a  Gringo! haha It's sweet to have a comp from the United States and he was born in Utah. His dad lives by the old mill and his mom lives in Tennessee and so he spends half the year in Utah and the other half in Tennessee for school. And I'm pretty sure he's the best companion that I've had so far. We get along way well and he's way obedient and he loves to work. That is honestly nothing more I could ask for! I'm way glad I got to stay as zone leader. There are a ton of new missionaries here and it's sweet getting to know them all. Our zone is a lot bigger now;  there are 18 missionaries and it is the zone that has the most success in the whole mission! They baptized 52 people here in one month about a year ago. And the president today told us the he thinks we can beat it. So we gotta work like crazy! 

Anyways in my old area this past week, one of my investigators that I found got baptized! She is super awesome. I was so happy to hear that she got baptized!

We also had a crazy cool experience this week. We went to another area to help them with one of their investigators that was going to get baptized and her mom at the last minute decided that she didn't want to give her daughter permsion to get baptized. So we had to go and help the other missionaries get the mom to sign the baptismal sheet. And we had a 4 hour and 30 minute lesson with them explaining why she should let her daughter make that decision.  It was insane... we just kept giving examples, sharing scriptures and for nothing she wanted to sign that paper. We were praying like crazy to get her to change her heart and after 4 long hours she accepted. It was sooo amazing to see her change just a little by little and I was shocked to see her hand at the end, sign the paper. Miracles do happen, and prayer works. Honestly I was just about to throw in the towel and walk out of the lesson but something made me stay and wait.

We worked our butts off this week and we were sooooo blessed! I'm stoked to keep working here with my companion and I know we are going to have so much success. Oh and there is some crazy virus that is going around here in Guayaquil called the chikencumbia or something like that. You get it from mosquitos that bite you and it makes you have bone pains and all your muscles hurt and your face inflates like a balloon, and everyone is getting it... but I'm holding strong I still haven't gotten the chikencumbia :)

Love you guys!

Elder Lignell

Week Eighty One in Ecuador - June 8, 2015 - A Simple Testimony

Dear Family,

 

Thank you so much mom for the box I can't wait to get it!!! You guys are the best.  

Tell Jake I'm proud of him for surviving another year of school! Only two more to go before he graduates!  

So glad that everyone is doing well. Wish everyone the best from me. 

Now about my week. We worked super hard and we found a ton of people this week. It was amazing just how much God has blessed my companion and I. We have found so many people who were just ready to recieve us and who have so much faith. For instance we found a family the C. family who are a mom and dad a girl who is 11 a son that is 8 and twins that are 4. We taught them one time and invited them to go to church. On Sunday the whole family went to church. However on Saturday night it just so happened to be a birthday of a family member that came over to their house and brought alcohol but the dad told me on Sunday when he came over, "I remembered that you  had told me that satan would put obstacles in my path so that I couldn't go to church so I decided not to drink because I knew it would not help me go to church on Sunday! so cool :)  

Then we baptized D. on Sunday after church (yesterday). He is the greates kid. He has soooooo much faith it is unreal. He had only been to church those 3 times counting the day of his baptism and after he was baptized he bore his testimony saying that he had read a little bit of the Book of Mormon and he felt that it helped him to be a better person. He said he liked to go to church and decided to get baptized here because he saw changes for the better in his life. Wow, it was such a cool testimony because it was real. He didn't say a bunch of really big words or talk about every part of the gospel. He simply explained what he felt and what he knew. I'm so greatfuñl to have been able to see him recieve these blessings in his life. And now I've just gotta help him so that one day he can be a missionary too. :) 

Well all in all I'm happy. I love my area that I'm in and even though I have like 5 months here and it's like the most dangerous part of Ecuador, I hope I don't leave soon. I love the people here... they are so amazing and I hope to be able to help so many more!

 Thanks for all you guys do!

Love, Elder Lignell                           My Notes From A Meeting

                                                The Baptism of "D"

                                        Getting Ready for the Baptism ("D" not pictured)

                              Elder Narro (my companion) with D. and I on D's Baptism Day

                          I'm just a little taller than every one so I have to lean down :)

                                       Yes, I'm the tall one on the left :)

 

Week Eighty in Ecuador - June 1, 2015 - Keeping A Positive Change In Our Lives

Hey family.

 

All is well down here in Ecuador and my new companion is great! We work really well together and I'm doing great with my health...I feel fine. 

No worries about the packge, and I don't know if you'll be able to if not don't worry but I would love a small package of protein powder if you can to stick in. :)

Alright well now I'll talk about my week a little bit. It was great and we worked hard this week and spent  lot of time visiting the other missionaries and doing small divisions with them to get to know who they are working with and in what ways we could help them to work better. It was interesting and I had the opportunity to go with my old companion Elder Quintero from Colombia and work in his area. And it was so wonderful.  We put 2 new baptism dates and helped a guy get ready for his baptism that will be this next Saturday. It's awesome to be able to work with the other missionaries and be able to see people that literally just get put in our path when we look for them. And it talks a bunch about that in D&C 123: 8-17.   

In our own area we have a kid that we found named D and he is soooo awesome! He imediately accepted the challenge to be baptized and has come to church twice now! It is so cool to find people that just have faith. They listen to what we say with real intent and they follow the impressions that the Spirit gives them. A friend went up to D the first Sunday afrter he went to church and told him not to go back with us again because our church was false and that he wouldn't be following God if he goes. D responded that he felt good inside and that he knew it was the right thing to keep going back. It was so awesome to hear him explain to us that he felt good and knew what he had felt came from God. The world needs more people like D!!

 This week I have been studying a lot about change and how we can keep a change for ever. It all depends on our ability to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit which means to be meek humble and repent daily, doing those things you will be receptive to the Spirit and that Spirit will stay with you and guide you to keep the change that you've had. :) 

Love you all so much wish you the best in all that you do!

 

Elder Lignell 

 

 

Week Seventy Nine in Ecuador - May 25, 2015 - A New Companion From Peru

Hey family! Well this week was great :) Just so you know I had changes of my companions again. My new companion is named Elder Narro and he is from Peru, Chimbote. He's great! It's been fun getting to know him and I feel like working with him is gonna be great. He has been a zone leader before so he knows what's going on and it means I don't have to teach him too much and he helps me out a lot with all of our responsibilities. He is 27 years old which is cool. He was a convert to the church when he was 23 and left on his mission when he had just passed his 25th birthday! Cool story huh! But he's a great missionary, but I do feel a little bit young next to him... hahaha 

I'm glad everyone is doing well and thanks for keeping me updated on all the stuff that's going on, I enjoy hearing about it.

Now about my week. This week was great, we worked super hard. Sometimes I feel like all this mission focuses on is working. And it's probably a principle that I needed to learn for my life. To be able to work hard and focus on my work and love it. We connected with so many people and invited them all to come unto Christ, and ya know what. We were blessed. We found an investigator named D that is super excited to get baptized and went to church yesterday.  And we found two young men that have family members who are baptized and want their kids to get baptized! It was sweet to be able to find those small little blessings that God gave us for being diligent in our work. 

 I'm doing great, I'm happy. I'm trying not to think too much about home, and focus on what I have left to do here. I hope you all are doing well and I wish you the best in all that you're doing. 

 

Love,

                                                            Recent Baptism

Elder Lignell

Week Seventy Eight in Ecuador - May 18, 2015 - One Of My Most Successful Days As A Missionary!

Hey family, well I'm glad everyone is doing well. Glad you're all busy and happy :) 

I wrote Cameron mom. Tell Kristen that's sweet he's gonna go on a mission! I'm proud of him.

Tell Jake he's a stud :) I'm glad he enjoyed my testimony. Don't worry about the eagle scout, just take a video and send me lots of  pictures :)

Thanks for aplying to BYU! I hoe they accept me!! hahah I'll pray this week that they do :)

And lastly about my package if you haven't already sent it. put some fizzy drinks in. I ran out again.

Alright now about my week. Alright so it has been absolutely crazy! So much stuff happened this week. First off I told you that we had nobody come to church the week before... well, we got super excited to go out and work on Tuesday and I had one of my most successful days as a missionary!! We put 3 new baptism dates, contacted 11 references and rescued 2 baptisms for the zone to get baptized that Saturday. And it was awesome!! I felt the spirit so strong, in just being able to forget overselves and work hard. I felt like God was putting people in our path because he saw our diligence that day. And I believe that there is a principle that every missionary should know. That God trusts in us to convert his children. If we are not worthy or not obedient, he won't trust us to convert very many of his children and they won't be placed in our path. But if we are obedient and diligent in our work, God will trust us and we will have the wonderful opurtunity to teach and help many of his children come back to him.

Next my companion got way sick during the week and Thursday night he got really bad and wasn't responding like he should and he started shaking really bad. I had to take him to the hospital at 12 o'clock at night and we were there until 3 in the morning. (The Ecuadorian hospitals are really slow at attending to people) But thankful my companion is now better so no worries.  He was dehydrated.

Then we changed houses this week and we found a way cool house that isn't above a chicken coop and the has windows that I can actually stick my head out of so I'm pretty stoked.

Lastly we were so blessed to have the baptism of V!! He's 83 years old and he's awesome. It was so cool to be part of his baptism and he was so happy. He's a great little guy. He walks just a little bit slower that turtle, and his baptism was the first time he had bathed in the last 4 months! He loves little kids; he pretends to throw rocks at the little kids around his house and they all scream and run and they call him grandpa :) I love him and it was wonderful to get to know him and really feel love for him and his family.

Well I'm doing well family. I love this work and hope all is well in Utah!

Love, Elder Lignell

Week Seventy Seven in Ecuador - May 11, 2015 - Recognize God in Your Life Everyday

Hey family!

Wow it was so awesome to be able to see all of you guys yesterday! And we were so blessed to be able to have the skype work this time. I could see you all and you could see me ¡¡¡Que bendicion!!! haha but honestly it was so great to see everyone and know that you are all doing well. Thanks for always suporting me and helping me to stay animated out here.  

Tell Jake not to worry about his test because his seminary won't affect his grade point average. What should matter for him is just to learn the scriptures because  that is what will benefit him most in the mission! :)  

And yes we were able to do a little bit of shopping today. We went to a place called the bahia which is like a giant strip mall with thousands of little tents all selling different things. However they have way to many clothing tents and not enough typical stuff from Ecuador, but I was able to find a cool hammock that I bought. So when I get back we can set it up underneath the tree house! It'll be way cool! We also took some cool pictures, I'll send you them in a sec. 

So anyways now about this week. Well we worked really hard and it was honestly a little bit tough because on Sunday we passed by all of our investigators houses to bring them to church and not a single one was in their house! They had all left early for Mother's Day, to their grandma's house or to the cemetery or on vacation. And it sorta stunk... it was the first time in more than a year that I haven't brought at least one person to church... So I was a little bit bummed out, but being able to talk to you guys helped out a ton.

 

When I was bearing my testimony to you guys the first time in Spanish I was thinking in my head as the words came out "wow my testimony has changed, and grown so much" and after finishing the call I realized that it didn't matter that no one came to church. We tried our best and things just didn't work out. That will never mean that I am not having success. I was able to hear from my own voice the "true success" that I've had so far in my mission. And it got me a lot more excited to finish out the time God has given me here. I have five months left. Five months to give all of my heart might mind and strength to bring others unto Christ and I have to take advantage of every second.  

I love all of you to death! I love this mission and I love what I'm doing! Remember to recognize what God does in your lives everyday...Because he does a lot :)

Love, Elder Lignell

                           I was able to make a baptism date with Ronald McDonald!

                                                                      P-Day!

 

Week Seventy Six in Ecuador - May 4, 2015 - Never a Normal Day When You Are Zone Leader :)

Hey guys,

Well this week was yet again very interesting. I've decided being a zone leader means you hardly ever get normal days! It's always a mystery what's going to happen. Whether it's missionaries in need of help, or that are trying to get a long or a meeting with the President or the assistants...It's definitely never boring and it always keeps me on my toes.

For instance, this week I had an interchange with another missionary that was ordered by the President of the mission that lasted for 5 days... So when I finally got back to my real area all the members had thought that I was gone forever. But honestly, I am loving this time of my mission! I love trying to help others and getting to know the investigators of all the different missionaries. One of the greatest things is doing the baptismal interviews where I get the chance to sit and talk one on one with the investigators that are going to get baptized. It's so cool to see the conversion that so many of these people have had and to hear their small testimonies as they are just starting out in this gospel. I promise every time it strengthens my own testimony just a little  bit more.

Anyways, I am so excited to skype with you guys this Sunday!!!!!  

And I'm glad you liked the pictures of me and my companion. I do get a long with him super well, haha he's absolutely crazy. But it's great... we've had some hilarioous stories together and he makes the work a ton of fun.

Anyways I had a great week.  In the small amount of time I got to work in my own area we had a few cool experiences. One was that we went to teach a family that we have been teaching for awhile and when we got there we didn't have anything planned to teach them that day but they asked us to share something with them. So we prayed and in my mind I felt impressed to share about  Lehi's dream and the iron rod and tree of life, all of that. Anyways when we started reading I thought to myself, "why am I sharing this... and how am I going to relate this story to them...? I really didn't know why I chose that story or anything, I just felt the impression that I should. And at the end of reading and explaining it Carlos the husband said to me, "Why did you share that story?" and I had nothing to say, but I just said I felt like I needed to. He then began to explain how he felt that the entire story related directly to him and his life and he thanked us for sharing it! It was so amazing to see how following the Spirit, even when something doesn't seem logical, will always work because God loves everyone and if we listen to the Spirit we can be instruments in his hands to touch the lives of others.

I love this work... I love being a missionary and all the wonderful things I am learning. It's so amazing that God lives and loves us and shows his love everyday without ceasing...we just have to look for it and recognize it and we'll then see that it's all around us in every moment.

Love you guys,

Elder Lignell

Week Seventy Five in Ecuador - April 27, 2015 - Doing Just Great and Enjoying It All

Hi Family,

 

Anyways,  I'm glad everyone is doing well. This week has been interesting! We have found a few more people that are really great. One of them is named V. He is 85 years old and he is hilarious, he always said hi to us when we passed down his street and finally this last week we contacted him and invited him to go to church. Well he went this last Sunday and he is preparing for a baptism. But the best part is that everyday when we pass by his house to teach him, we strengthened his testimony just a little bit more. The first day we explained the gospel of Jesus Christ and he accepted his baptism date but also had a lot of excuses why he shouldn't go through with it. The next day he was worried about what his wife would think but at the end said he would just follow God and then the last lesson we had with him, we taught the restoration of the gospel and at the end of the lesson he just said,  "I accept your message to be true!" It was awesome! He is so great and I am so excited for his baptism.

 

Other than that my week has been great! We celebrated a few of the members birthdays as you saw in the pictures and we helped two people get baptized for the other elders. The two kids have a dad who is a member but he is in-active and his kids have gone to church a bunch but he didn't want them to get baptized. So on Thursday night I went with my companion and we had a super spiritual lesson about the importance of baptism. You could see the Spirit touching the heart of this and he then accepted to let his children get baptized. I was stoked!  

So anyways I had a great week. Thank you for the skype account and of course I have not forgotten I am way excited and I will make sure that I can see you guys this time!!

 

Love to you all,

 

Elder Lignell                                         Lots of Birthday Celebrations!

                                                A Sweet Family That Feeds Me A lot!

                                            Enjoying My Own Cooking!!!

                                             Just Clowning Around with My Companion :)

                                    Making Appointments With Investigators.

                   My Companion is Great...We Work Hard, But Have  A Lot of Fun!!

                                    More Birthday Celebrations With Ward Members

 

 

Oh and mom I feel so terrible. I forgot to wish you happy birthday.... for real I feel bad, but I guess I'll wish you happy birthday now! I love you so much... you are the greatest mom in the whole world. For real and you have helped me so much throughout my life, I definitely would not be who I am today if it wasnt for you. Love ya

 

Elder Lignell

Week Seventy Four in Ecuador - April 20, 2015 - Learned How To Cook Empanadas :)

Hi Family,

 

Well fortunately I made it through another week in the mission hahaha :) actually this week has been great we worked sooo hard, and it was a ton of fun!!! We found some really cool people!! The zone has completely turned around and we have been starting to have a lot of success. I'm definitely excited cause that means that we'll start to baptize again soon! :)  

Anyways that's great about Jake Mortimer and that he had a wonderful experience as a missionary. I agree with him it is the best descion you can make in your life.  

I'm glad that everyone is doing well! I can't believe its spring, time is flying by... 

And mom I'm doing fine,  it is a lot of stress right now and I have a ton of responsibilities but God is helping me and I'm figuring it out little by little. I feel great and I'm excited to keep working.  

This week we had a few of our investigators come to church and one of them we had to go into his room and shake his bed and throw pillows at him and finely he got up, (he didn't mind :)) but it was great because after church ended he said he was glad that he went and that we had bothered him enough so that he would go. hahaha 

Other than that on Sunday after church I cooked empanadas at the matute families house (the lady who wrote you) and my companion made juice... it was fun and now I know how to make empanadas!! I'll have to cook you guys some when I get back! 

Now on the spiritual side, this week I have been noticing a lot that for me in my personal life God has acted in a lot of little tiny ways. They aren't things that are so noticable at every moment but when I look a little bit deeper I find all of the wonderful blessings that God gives me daily. In my patriarchal blessing it says "through diligent prayer I will see that God answers me and is in my life in the small aspects" and this week I really have been noticing it. A lot of times as humans we look for big answers big facts and big events to establish our beliefs and knowledge. I feel like our ability to find God, relates directly with our ability to see the little miracles in our lives, and search for him in every aspect of our lives. Because he's always there :)

 Love you all, 

Elder Lignell

Week Seventy Three in Ecuador - April 13, 2015 - Crazy Rains In Ecuador!

Alright guys well I'm here, and this week has had quite a few things
happen. But first off I'm really glad that you all had a wonderful
time in Mexico and I'm sorry I was not able to accompany you to help
speak Spanish haha :) That's crazy about the returned missionary! It
shows that you've gotta really make an effort to stay active after
your mission as well, because if you're not careful you might end up
like him.

First off  I have a new companion from Colombia his name is Elder Murillo. But the
crazy thing is that it is his first time being zone leader so I am
now senior zone leader and I'm training him as a zone leader. So now
all the pressure of the zone is on my shoulders! However this week
we worked super hard and it was a ton of fun. I am really excited for
the chance that I have to be companions with him.

Also this week we had a baptism!!! It was super unexpected because this kid never wanted to get baptized he has been going to church for the last 2 years and he knows all of the missionaries that have been  here, so it was a miracle that we were able to help him make the decision at the last minute! It was just perfect, however this week I also got way sick on Thursday and had a fever of almost 103 degrees but the weird thing was, that the fever was the only real symptom that
I had. I felt normal, but I was just burning up so for part of the week the mission president made me stay in bed all day... but don't worry now I'm feeling a lot better.

So anyways it was a weird crazy week, I have a ton of pressure right now but I feel like I'm handling it somewhat well. I like my new companion a lot, and it is a ton of fun training him, and wow God
trully does bless us for being diligent. :)

Hope you all are doing great!

Love,

Elder Lignell

                  And You Thought The Rain During Conference Was Bad There!

                      Our recent convert....we all got soaking wet with the crazy rains!

               The kids in my ward who love to come with me on my visits.

                                             A kid who I think looks like Mitch Hess :)

                                               A ward member

Our recent baptism!