Viva La Musica

Hey if anyone from Encore is reading this do you remember that song we sang? haha Viva La Musica?

Anyways, this week was special because I got to participate a lot with music. This old lady who is less active physically cant leave her house, because her husband is like critically sick and needs her there every second, so she doesn't get many visitors. I felt impressed to sing a hymn for her, my companion doesn't like singing, so I sang a solo, I did the first part in Spanish and the second part in English. She was crying and I felt glad that I could do that. I got to play the Violin twice this week. We had like a branch family home evening on Saturday and I played a medley of Come Come Ye Saints and I know that My Redeemer Lives, and then the Branch President asked me if I could play something on Sunday, so I played I need thee every hour. I love music so much, I know that music can be just as sacred as prayer and I am so blessed to be able to share my talents with the beautiful people here in Ecuador.

This week I had some pretty humbling experiences, we met some really poor families. Probably some of the poorest families I have seen in my life. Like you can see poverty and stuff on the Internet, but you don't really know what the word means until you see it with your own eyes. My companion and I were contacting a pretty rich neighborhood and as usual everyone was catholic and didn't want to listen to us and I saw this little hut in a field probably like a 7 minute walk away, I said lets go there. We went there and there were these 2 little kids who were super surprised, I think it was their first time that they had seen a gringo. Anyways, we asked if their parents were home and the dad came out and pulled chairs out and helped carry his wife out and it was obvious she was sick. the problem is they are too poor to go to the hospital and stuff, so we gave her a priesthood blessing. The next day she was feeling a little better and we were able to share a little bit of a lesson, and she told us her life story. Holy Cow, I have so much respect for her, everything bad that you could possibly have happen to you during your life has happened to this woman and I don't cry much in lessons, but I started to cry. This family literally has nothing, nothing, nothing. both the parents are handicapped and cant work and the kids are too young to work, so my companion and I did a little grocery shopping and spent like 10 dollars buying some basic foods and stuff, but I cant believe I was like sad in high school for not having a car. Seeing people here that don't have anything temporal but are still soooo happy happier than us in the U.S. Money doesn't matter at all.  I would have an infinitely more happier life living on a dirt floor and wearing the same clothes every day and only eating rice and living with my family with happiness in the Gospel than having all the cool new things of the world and not having the inner happiness of having a happy family. I love my family, I am grateful for humility, my parents have always been great examples, and I am grateful for this mission and so much it has taught me.

Love,
Elder Roberts

Lots of pictures from Ecuador!!!

These mountains are in Colombia 

 My old sector is that mountain