Elder Roberts in Ecuador: ODIO LOS INSECTOS

Well this last week was filled with a lot of great experiences. Things are going good here in the coast, but we have change in 2 weeks and I think my time here in Quininde is going to come to an end and then I am going to get to know a new sector. So yesterday as it was testimony meeting I decided to share my testimony. I love this place so much, it surely is going to be hard leaving whenever it is time to leave.

Everyone here says you shouldn't eat food in bed because where there are crumbs there are ants. Anyways, I have never really eaten anything in bed.....until this week. I just ate some like sugary bread and I woke up in the middle of night in a ton of pain and realized there were a ton of ants in my bed biting my legs........But now it is a lot better, but still it was pretty irritating the whole day.

SO yesterday we went to a new mamita for lunch. I advised the mamita ahead of time that I am allergic to peanuts and as we walked in the house there was this beautiful looking crab. I was so excited to eat crab. Anyways, as I got closer to the food I smelled peanuts. And I asked if there were peanuts in the food and the mamita felt so bad, she was like I am sooo sorry I totally forgot. So she made me a fried egg and put it on top a mountain of rice and I was there eating a fried egg with rice while everyone else broke their fast eating really good looking crab........It reminds me of a time when I was little and I was being disobedient in the house and dad made banana blue berry pancakes and the whole family ate pancakes while I was only allowed to eat cereal....but life goes on.

This week I went on divisions with one of the zone leaders, Elder Pereira from Guatemala. We had a great day we were able to dedicate a lot of time just to contacting and looking for new people and in the evening just as the sun was setting we found this super cool family that lives on the bank on one of the rivers here. Anyways, we were getting to know them and we taught them the restoration and the spirit was there and the sun was setting on the river and I was just in paradise I didn't think it could get any better in missionary life than what I was living. Anyways we finished the lesson and the whole atmosphere of the visit changed. The dad told us to get off of his land and never come back that he didn't want to see us there and that we dont have permission to talk with anyone from his family.......he is like, yeah we are catholic here and we dont want to have anything to do with you.......so that was fun....

I think the highlight of my week this last week was giving a very special priesthood blessing. The hermanas are teaching the familia Quiñonez. they are all recent converts and recently rescued less actives. Anyways, living there is a great great grandma. This sister is 116 years old. I didn't know it was possible for people to live that long, but she is the oldest looking person I have ever seen in my life. For the last 8 years she hasn't been able to walk and just passes the day laying down and suffering on a pretty bad couch. She is super sad and desanimated and she just wants to die already to not live the lifestyle she is living. Well I went there with Elder Pereira and with a member of the bishopric and we gave her a priesthood blessing that she had asked for. It was the first time in her long life that she had received a priesthood blessing and we asked her who she would like to give the blessing and she asked me to do it. I was super nervous, I was thinking, what do I say to a 116 year old lady, but I definitely felt a strong spirit in that blessing and I think she really appreciated it. After we finished blessing her, the other members of that family, there were 6 generations there, told us that in their whole lives they had never received a priesthood blessing besides when they were confirmed members of the church and they asked us to give them blessing. There were a lot of them, but one by one we blessed every one of them, we took turns blessing and the spirit was there. A lot of us left that visit with tears. I truly felt like a disciple of Christ in that visit doing what he would of done. I thought of his ministry when he blessed the children one by one and I am blessed that I could have such a special experience.

The missionary work is going well here. We are having a harder time than we were thinking it would be to get la familia Cagua to progress, but we are praying for them and we are looking for others who the Lord has had prepared to be baptized. We are working so hard and even though I may not finish my time here in Quininde with a mountain of baptisms, I feel like I am completing my mission here.

I love you all and want to thank you for your love and support. I love getting your emails and seeing how you are all doing and I hope you all have a great week. I know this church is true without a doubt, and this knowledge means everything to me.

Love, Elder Roberts

My shoes are dying

I love patakones! (Here in Ecuador there are green platanos called verde and patakones are like fried green bananas, it is a typical food here in the coast. We eat them like every day and they are super easy and cheap to make.)