Right now it just feels like a really long summer...

November 30, 2009

Family! Friends!
Hey family! How are you? I got a letter from you this last Tuesday and it sounds like you guys are doing great! Thanks for the pics and the letters. I don’t remember if I told you this, but thanks for the CD’s. I love them! Thanks for everything. Hey mom so guess what? I met Elder Holiday today! Anyway, so to answer some of your questions. So my new roommate is a gringo, or is white and speaks English. But he has over 17 months in the mission. Even though he speaks English we never talk in English with each other. For I think two reasons- first, I need to learn Spanish, and second, he says his English is not too good now. Which I don’t blame him because I found out that it’s so hard to say a prayer in English now, because everything I do is in Spanish, even my personal prayers. It’s probably the worst Spanish ever, but I still try .lol. I wrote you guys a letter today and sent it out. In the letter is a letter for Cody S, Taylor W, and Justin Michado. I also sent out a letter for Lili. Hey, I have a question, when does Jake Storm enter the MTC? I know you already told me, but I forgot… ok Thanksgiving, actually they don’t celebrate it here and also no Halloween. It's weird because I don’t even know when they are and if they passed here in Ecuador. Right now it just feels like a really long summer. I think my whole mission is going to feel that way. It is getting so hot here it is crazy. Really almost the entire day we sweat. The only nice time of the day is in the evenings. The evenings are always so nice. Actually, the air here is always really nice and cool, it’s just the sun that kills you. Oh, so I had an intercombio for one day this week with the new roommate. So me and Elder Gale went to my district. And the thing about Elder Gale is, he is way quiet and doesn’t hardly talk. He is way nice, just really shy. But so when we went to the member’s houses and our investigators, pretty much I had to do all the talking beforehand. Which was way hard, because really my Spanish is so bad. Lol I tried to carry on conversations but it was so difficult. So with my lack of Spanish and Elder Gale’s lack of wanting to talk, it was kind of awkward. Lol but overall, I think it was pretty good because I had the opportunity to talk a lot. Normally my comp does most of the talking, and I sit in the back trying to follow the conversation. Lol ok, so dad asked my in the last letter if I was doing things to stay in shape. So dad just wanted to tell you that I am still doing pushups, sit-ups, and bicep workouts every other day. We don’t have a lot of time to run or anything like that, but I think I walk like 100 miles a day, so my legs are feeling pretty strong. Also I think that I am eating the healthiest I have in my whole life. Lol no really every morning for 2 months now I have 2 or 3 eggs and like five little loaves of bread. For lunch we have rice and some kind of meat. Also, I think I have had every kind of homemade juice you could ever have. Really they have so many different kinds of juices and they make them with so many different kinds of fruit. We eat bananas and mangos all the time! I cannot tell you how many bananas I have eaten since being here. Probably 3 a day, and so many other fruits. As much as I love the food, it never adds up to mom’s cooking. Oh how I miss your cooking, Mom. Hey so a few nights ago I had another cockroach crawl on my face in the middle of the night. Lol I hate bugs. Lol Ryan thanks for the letter that you sent me, I really enjoyed it and don’t worry about your handwriting because its ten times better than mine. O and I love the name Rencer! Melissa tambien thanks for the letter. It is so good to hear from you and hear how things are going in your life. Mom I laughed so hard when you told me about Ryan saying we have had some good times in the Jetta, and I totally remember wanting to drive down the street with his feet hanging out the window. Ryan we will do it when I get back, I promise. lol Ok so I told you about the baptism that we had set up for this last sat. Well once again José never showed up to church, so we couldn’t have it. Yesterday we had church again and we told José that he had to go to church this time or we couldn’t have the baptism. So we showed up to church and he wasn’t there. All through Sacrament Meeting he never showed up. Me and my comp were feeling really discouraged because this would have been the third time we couldn’t have the baptism, but in the second hour of church he showed up. We watched a movie with him and another investigator. For the third hour we had a lesson with him about the Family Proclamation. I think I have not felt the Spirit more in any other lesson. I forgot to tell you that José is in his late 20’s and has two kids. After the lesson, all three of us were in tears. With tears rolling down his face José said he knows without a doubt that the things we have taught him are true. He said that he always feel so happy when he is with us, and when he does the things we ask him to do. I wish I could tell you all the things that he said, because it was really an amazing testimony. I wrote it in my journal. I’ll have to share it with you sometime. But Jose is doing really well now. We are going to have to baptism this Sat. I think I get to perform it too, so I am way excited. It’s amazing to see the difference in José from the time we first met with him to right now. I can’t wait for the baptism. Oh, and we have another baptism set up for the 12 of December. Her name is Carmon Cortes, and she is 18 I think. We have two weeks for the baptism and we still have to teach so much, almost all the lessons. So I’ll tell you more about José and Carmon next week. Anyway I gotta go now, I hope that this letter makes since, I think my English is getting worse as my Spanish is slowly getting better. I hope all is well with you guys. I love you all so very much and miss you all so very much!!! Oh and mom I’ll find out about the phone call. Wow I cant believe I get to talk to you guys in 25 days! Yahhh!!!! Love you all!

Love,
Elder Keables