Quevedo!

Hey Mom and Dad,

That´s great it sounds like it´s been a good week back at home, with the weather getting good and everything. Ouch that’s no fun to hear about Ryan and Robbie going through finals. Yeah, that´s definitely one part I don´t miss about school, lol. I always enjoy learning new subjects and materials, but man the stress of finals is never very fun. But I´m sure Ryan and Robbie are both studying good and are well prepared. And that´s kool you´ll have to tell Elder Fuller hi for me. That´s too bad his companion was transferred after only 6 weeks, I know how he feels. But that´s nice they get a few days notice in advance to be able to say goodbye.

Well this week has definitely been an extra crazy one. So I don´t think I told you last week but this was the last week of the change, and you know what that means, crazy random transfers at any day of the week for any elder of the zone. Well this week it was Tuesday. The day went by normally with Elder Cruz. We were especially excited because we had comité with the bishop Tuesday night (the Bishop is so awesome how he is a very active person, as in when there´s an idea to do something he gets it done, and he´s been way supportive in missionary work) where we set goals to bring investigators to a ward activity we were planning for Friday. Well as we were planning that night is when the phone rang. I got up to answer it and felt my heart jump to see that it was President Gamboa. I answered and we started talking. As soon as Elder Cruz and the others heard me say “hi President” they came over to see what it was, lol. It was kind of funny because the first thing he asked me was how I was doing and my health, but then he asked if I was willing to accept whatever assignment he gave me, even if it were junior companion. I told him of course whatever he says I´ll do it. He told me good answer, lol. Then he told me that he had a new assignment for me to be zone leader, that he appreciates our work and has a lot of confidence in me. Yeah, I didn´t know what to say. I think I told him thanks and I´ll do my best. He told me that the assistants would call later to tell me where I would assigned to be. Yeah, all four of us in the house went wild (well, not really wild, just wild for missionaries:) lol. A little later Elder Anderson (the zone leader) called because he received the transfers and told me to be in Terminal at 8:00 the following morning but that he didn´t know where I would go or who would be my companion. Yeah, crazy!! Yeah it was way exciting and crazy but sad at the same time. I told Elder Cruz I´m getting tired of being transferred after just 6 weeks in a sectorl. There are so many awesome families and we were working so hard with some. But ah well, as is life. I´d say it was way better this time though, because it wasn´t actually like I wasn´t expecting it at all. When I was transferred from Quevedo after only 6 weeks I had no expectations at all of being transferred. But this time these last few weeks Elder Cruz has been joking about me moving up to Zone Leader. I always told him he´s silly and there´s no way that´s gonna happen but in the back of my mind I knew there was a large group of zone leaders going home this change that will have to be replaced so it wasn´t like it couldn´t happen, lol. Luckily, this time we prepared and, knowing it was the week of changes, we brought our cameras and took pictures with some of the families. One family in particular on Tuesday, the Ramoz Gamboa family, we visited Tuesday afternoon and told them that there might be changes so we wanted to take some pictures, they told us it couldn´t be but we took some pictures. I left a picture with my email and everything with them and several other families so it was all right. I´m definitely going to miss that ward though. It´s amazing how you come to love every ward you serve in and find the best parts of each.

Well the next day I got up a little early because I had to go pick up my clean clothes before going. It was nice being so close to Guayaquil because we just took a taxi to Terminal, nice and easy, lol. When we got there first thing I saw Elder Rojas who I lived with in Quevedo. He told me that he heard I was going to replace him in Quevedo as Zone Leader. Though I was confused because I knew his companion had just gone home finishing his mission, so how would it work with both leaving? Well a little later the Assistants got there, Elder Sanchez and Elder Aguirre (yeah, I guess Elder Sanchez got a one change extension of his mission!) but, as their custom, waited as long as they could to hold the suspense before telling us where we were going, lol. When I talked to Elder Sanchez I confirmed I was going to Quevedo and he asked me if I was ready to open a sector. That idea made my heart jump as well, lol. But yeah I guess both elders were leaving the sector so technically my new companion and me would be opening it again. He asked me how well I knew the zone leaders area when I was in Quevedo. I told him I only went to the zone leaders twice on interchanges. He said “well, you´re gonna be the guide, lol.” My new companion was to be Elder Barrientos but he was coming from farther away so we had a little to wait, which was nice because it gave us a chance to chat with the other Elders there. But soon enough my new Companion came, Elder Barrientos from Chile. It´s cool he has the same time as me 14 months in the mission. He is an excellent missionary. I remember hearing a little bit about him before. I guess he´s been zone leader for three changes now. On his third change in the mission he trained. So yeah, very obedient and a very good worker. I guess he only has a little over 2 and a half years of being member. He´s the only member in his family but still is very good. Yeah just after these last few days I know this is going to be a good change. I think I´m going to learn a lot from him. It´s crazy thinking I´m new zone leader but it´s nice having Elder Barrientos who already knows the ropes a little bit. Here in the sector it´s fun I´m living in the same house I lived in 2 months ago, just now in the other ward. I´ve already run into some of the youth and people I met here. I´m way tempted now though to just go by all of my old investigators and converts, lol. The ward here is awesome. A new Bishop and great members. I think we´re going to have a lot of success here. Elder Barrientos is hilarious, lol. He has a very calm, smooth voice and very professional. But he still knows how to make jokes and just his way of being is hilarious. Like once on Sunday before church we were walking to lunch and he put his hand on my backpack and told me he was now going to walk eyes closed following me. Lol I had some fun walking around guiding him around for a bit but then after a bit he said “ooh, pisé algo suave. ¿no era crap?” (ooh I stepped in something soft, was it crap?) just the way he said it made me start laughing uncontrollably. He actually said the word crap that he must´ve learned from another gringo companion because that´s not Spanish at all, lol. But yeah that´s Elder Barrientos.

Ok well I´d better get going. It´s been a crazy week and we´re working hard to get to know the sector. It´s crazy because we don´t really have much of a program at all. The few investigators that the elders left we don´t know yet. But it´s all right we´re still excited. It´ll be a good change here in Quevedo again.

Thanks for everything, love you!

Love,
Elder David Frome