I felt like a ninja turtle in there...

November 29, 2010

My Beloved Family

Hello there my beloved family!! How art thou in thy days? ok wow it’s way to hard to write like that. That’s just another proof that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God because any other person I know would get tired of talking like that in less than a page of writing. And just think, I could barely write two sentences and people think that Joseph wrote more than 500 pages. I don’t believe so. Actually, I know that he couldn’t do that, and that he didn’t do that because he was called of God and ordained of God to bring forth his Gospel in these days. I’m just saying… Anyway so how are you all?? I am a little bit surprised that I haven’t gotten a letter from you today yet. I imagine that something happened and you don’t have enough time to write me. But don’t worry about it- no big deal. I am doing just great here with my comp. We are just loving the mish every single day of the week. Hey so you said that Beth was getting baptized on the 11^th of December- that’s pretty cool because we are going to have two baptisms that day too. We are really excited because it’s going to be a white night o noche blanca which means that it’s all the stake and that all the missionaries are going to have a baptism or a few that night. So we are really excited and also that means that Cody will be getting here in just a few more days after that. Gosh, I love the mission. Hey remember that video that you made of Jordan’s mission? Ya well I just showed it to my comp and after watching it I always feel so lucky to be here in the mish and having so many experiences. I really can’t explain in words how great these last months have been of my life. They are times I will never forget for all my life. Also, I have made so many friendships that I will cherish for all my life and for more than that. It’s true- time goes by so fast, and I don’t want to waste any of it. This last week was really a good week. Yesterday in Ecuador they had this thing where they go by all the houses and license all the people, or they ask questions about so many different things. It’s the same thing that they do in the United States but they just do it through the mail there, but here we had to stay in our house all day until 6pm. There were people from the marines walking around outside with FAT guns!! They didn’t let anyone leave their houses and they had students enter the house and count the people and ask questions. lol me and my comp talked like the whole time and also read in the scriptures and all that good stuff. lol it was a very long day in the house, but we still had a good time. OH mom, before I forget, I have a question. Have you put that 40 bucks on my card because only two more weeks and Elder Halls is going home and I want to buy his camera. Let me know by next week so I can take it out and buy the camera. Man I miss my camera so much. Even more after seeing all the pics that Jordan took. Another question. Mom how are the pics that I have taken so far? Have a taken a lot?? Are they good pics that I will enjoy after the mish? I feel like I haven’t taken any pics at all. Sometimes it’s just hard because it so dangerous here. Anyway, just tell me what you think and I’ll try and do better. ok so two things happened this last week. First we put another baptism date with Antonela Vargas, and she is going to get baptized on the 11^th of December. She will turn 10 on the 7 of Dec. so she is excited to have her baptism right after. Also, for Thanksgiving me and my comp bought a hamburger and they were pretty dang good, if I don’t say so myself. lol hola soy jhon un futuro misionero de la estaca pradera muchos saludos de mi parte bendiciones. lol y seguro que el va a ser un buen misionero. lol That was one of the guys in my ward. He said that he is future missionary from our ward and he says hi and gives you blessings. lol they are sitting right at my side on the other computer and wanted to say something. lol but anyways that is pretty much all we did for Thanksgiving. oh also all the youth in our ward came by our house at night to bring us food that they had made that night at an activity. lol did I ever tell you that here we can’t eat lettuce and also pig and strawberries? There are a lot of things here as missionaries that we can’t eat because in makes us sick or it’s not safe. We have to be very careful with what we eat here and what we drink. Oh one more thing that happened that was interesting this last week. So on Thursday me and my comp went to do service at a member’s house, and we worked all the morning. After we got finished with that service, which was scraping paint off of a wall. After that we went to our momasita or the lady that we eat with on Thursdays and we went in regular clothes. When she saw us she was so excited because we came ready to do service. Somehow she had it in her mind that we were coming to paint her house, and she was so excited that we had remembered about the service, which we didn’t. We had no idea that we were going to help her out, and it was already like 1:30 in the afternoon. lol so after we ate, I asked her if we could come on Sat in the morning and she was like ya esta buen. lol so when we got there on Sat, she had a new job. lol this job sucked soo bad. She wanted us to clean out her water tank that is underground. lol she opened it up and it was so sick! It’s the water that they use to clean and shower and everything. Like water from the spicket. lol it was so sick. When I saw it I thought, “Are you joking? I am going to get a worm in my foot or something” No joke- when I got down in there, I saw like so many worms and stuff. I was sure that I was going to die. No joke- and the worst was that she told me to take of my shoes and I was like esta loca. lol but after she convinced me for a few minutes I finally realized that there was no other way so I jumped in. The good thing is that I have looked at my feet almost everyday now, and I haven’t gotten anything. lol so I think I am going to live. lol I really thought that I was going to get a worm in my foot or something like that. Everything just turned out great, and I felt like a ninja turtle in there. lol but ya that’s about all the stories that I have for this week. Well, I think that it’s time to go now because it’s almost 6 o clock. lol anyway I just want you all to know that I am doing great here in the service of the Lord. I love you all and I am looking forward to talking to you in just a few more weeks. I hope you all have a great week. Love you all. les quiero y estoy muy agradecido por todo lo que hacen para mi.

Love, Elder Keables

Really my comp is really a cool guy and I am loving the time I have with him...

Dear fam!!! and friends!!

Hey wow thanks mom the for packages! I got my Christmas packages on Tuesday and now I just have to wait forever to open them!! No joke it such a big temptation to open them early but then I know that Christmas would really just suck, so I think I will wait. Wow that’s only like a few weeks away! That’s so crazy! lol anyway so we had a really good week. We had a lot of lessons and we taught a lot of people. We also but a baptism date for the 11 of Dec and we are going to try putting a few more in this week that is coming. The girl who has a date is named Adriana. She is catholic and has had trouble changing her ways. She has been going to church with her boyfriend who is member for quite some time so she knows a lot about the church and I’m pretty sure that she has felt the Spirit more then a few times while in church. It’s funny her and her boyfriend are pretty serious so she always has questions about the temple and and marriage. I think the sound of being together for time and all eternity with her boyfriend really has a big impact on her interest in the church. In the last two weeks of church we have had classes about families and also marriage in the temple and I really have learned so much and now have a better understanding why marriage in the temple is so important. It’s hard to explain why it’s so important in a letter but I really have a testimony of that. But at the same time it’s so scary to think about the two next big steps in my life, marriage and getting a job!! loco!! I think I am going to just stay in the mish for a few more years!! lol but ya anyway moving on. So we have more people that went to church and we are going to invite them to get baptized in the week so I’ll let you know how that goes. ok so me and my comp have been working a lot with the members and they have been helping us out a lot. I think we are slowly gaining their confidence poco a poco. lol but really things are going great.

ok that is the best news that I have heard in such a long time that Taylor will turn his papers in this week and that Cory already has his in. man when I get back they will both be in the mish. Tell Cory that I said, “That a boy! Keep up the good work!” And when he gets back we’ll go fishing!! Also tell Taylor that I love him!! lol but, N.H.!!! lol wow that’s so cool that Jordan is going to Mexico! I know that he is really going to like that!! Learning Spanish is the bomb!! I love Spanish and just want to get even better after the mish. ok before I forget I just want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and want you to know that I’ll be thinking of all the good food all day and even probably week. lol

ok one last story so my comp was going to the bathroom, so while I was waiting a really good idea came to my mind. I thought it would be funny to hide in the apartment and see what my comp would do. lol Sooo funny. I hid where I could see him come out of the bathroom were he couldn’t see me. I thought for sure that he would be able to find me but I think my spot was better then I thought. lol he came out, dried off his hands and walked out to the other room to look for me or talk to me. when he realized wasn’t there he returned way fast into the room where I was and started looking under the beds. There are only two rooms and the bathroom in our house and he couldn’t find me and I could seem him perfectly. It was sooo funny until I started to see the panic in his eyes as he kept looking but couldn’t find me. lol but you know me, I am too much like mom that way, and I hate to see people suffer. or better said that when she plays a joke she is already admitting to joking before you even realized that she was playing on you. lol pretty much I had to jump out and show myself before he got too scared. lol it was soo funny though. It turned out better than I thought and he took it pretty well. lol really my comp is really a cool guy and I am loving the time I have with him. Really, I am just loving the mish. Anyway I think I am going to let you guys go because I really don’t know what else to say. I will say this though, that I love you all and miss you all. I’m looking forward to opening those packages and calling you all in a few weeks. Love you all. The church is true!!

Con lots of love,

Elder Keables

I love the mission!

November 15, 2010

Dear Fam!!!

I’m great! How are all of you? How is life going back in the Good Old U.S.A? Is it starting to look a lot like Christmas?? Because it’s starting to look like it here, and it’s freakin me out!! lol Hey so mom yes I did get a message from Cody, and it sounds like he is doing great in the MTC and seems way excited to come here! oh and don’t worry about the camera money too much because Elder Halls is not going to leave until the 12 of Dec so you have some time!

ok so it sounds like things are just moving along as normal there back at home! It’s good to hear a little report on the life of everyone in the family to see how they are doing. ok Jordan going to Mexico? That is soo sick, and to tell you the truth since the time you told me that Jordan was going to do that, like a few months ago, I have really thought that would be so sick to do! I am not even home yet and I already am thinking about taking trips to other countries to get to know more and learn more. lol I’ll wait until I get home to think too much about that, but yes that would be so sick!! That is so weird that there won’t be any Keables in the primary when I get back from the mish, and that Ryan will have the Priesthood! Loco!!

ok so what’s new here in Ecuador or what’s happened in the last week since the last time that I have written you all? Ok so my companion continues to make me laugh so hard. Today for p-day we went to go eat lunch at a local restaurant and we got rice and this meat and some soup and my companion looked at me out of disgust and told me that he was kind of hoping for a break from eating that kind of food. lol something that I have found out is that he is a very picky eater and doesn’t like a lot of stuff like rice or beans, which is what we eat here every day! lol it’s so funny to see him trying to force the food down. As you can see in the picture, my comp is super thin, so he has no room for the food. Sometimes when they aren’t looking I have him shovel some of his rice on my plate so he won’t die. lol In this last week he has been coming out of his shell a little bit more and talking, so that’s been nice. lol He is really a funny guy!

Talking about the work- It is going good. It’s been hard because the missionaries before us weren’t working very much, so when we got here it was like starting from ground one, but things are starting to get a lot better and our numbers should start going up in this week that’s coming. We have some really good investigators, and we are planning on putting dates with them in this week that’s coming. As of right now, we don’t have anyone with a baptism date, but after this next week, I am sure that we will have a few that will have accepted. But really the work is going great, and my comp every day is learning and getting better at Spanish. The mission is making a few changes in the way that we teach, so we are just trying to put all these things to practice so that we can have a lot of success. Really we are working hard and trying to be as obedient as possible. I really love our new sector and I hope that I have some time here to work and have baptisms. All the members are really cool and they are always trying to help us out. Right now what my companion and I are trying to do is gain the confidence of all the members and motivate them to work in the missionary work or to share the Gospel. We want there to be more than just two missionaries in the ward; we want all the members working with us, so instead of having just two missionaries we will have 100 and something. That is our plan. hey you guys should do that same thing at home. Remember that every member is a missionary and start helping the elders at home out find and teach people. Really do it! Give them references, then go with them to teach!! I promise blessings!! And so does the Lord!! We NEED to share the Gospel, and we should always look for opportunities to share with our friends. Because what we have is true and no one else has it or knows it, but they can if we open our mouth!! I love the mission!

ok well I don’t really know what else to write to you guys about so I think I am just going to end it here. I love you all and I’m so thankful for all the things you all do for me. I feel so blessed to have friends and family like you all, and I feel even more blessed to be here in Ecuador and share what I know to be true and represent the Lord our Savior Jesus Christ, to be in his work and have his name over my heart everyday! I love you all and miss you all!

From, Elder Keables aka Que-Hables !! lol they all say that!!!

We already had a good first week...

November 8, 2010

Ok wow where to start? To answer some of the questions that dad had. Yes there are two new elders that took our place in my old sector. My old companion is here in Guayaquil working with his new comp. I have only seen him one time since last week, but he seems to be doing really well. Ok thanks mom for the Christmas packages. I am super excited for that. I can’t believe that Christmas is coming. Yesterday I saw a Christmas tree and I thought it was a joke, but then I realized that it’s only a few weeks away. lol I am excited. Pretty sure that I will be here with my companion that I have right now. Ok so about my comp. So he came straight from Peru to here. So pretty much he just finished what Cody is starting up right now. He said that he liked Peru a lot because they got to leave the limits and go work in the street twice a week. To tell you the truth he is speaking way better Spanish than I was when I first got here. It’s still really hard for him to speak and the people really don’t understand that well, but in a few weeks he will get used to things and start speaking better. Oh, so his name is Elder Zimmerman and he is from Utah. I am way excited to be his trainer and help him get used to the mission and teach him the way of Ecuador. lol He really is a way cool guy and I am sure that we are going to work really well together and have a lot of success. We already had a good first week. I am way excited for this week to keep working in the sector and get to know the members and everything. We have a really cool ward, and the members are all way nice and always looking for ways to serve the missionaries. We have so many people that are willing to go out and teach lessons with us. This Sunday after church just about every young man in the ward came up to us after church and asked us when they could help us with lessons in the week. I really love this new sector. Also, we have the best zone leaders in the whole mission- Elder Halls and Elder Reese. They are way sick and so helpful. On Tuesday when I went to get my new companion the zone leaders went to our house and cleaned it all up and left candy on the front door step with a note for my new comp saying welcome to the mish. It was so nice of them because the two missionaries that left, left the house in a mess, and I didnt have time to clean anything up. Also, I got to go and do 2 sessions in the temple this last week. I went on Wed. with all the new missionaries and their trainers and on Thurs with all the district and zone leaders in the whole mission. It was so nice to enter the temple and feel the Spirit that is always there. Ok so more about my comp. So he is really a shy kind of guy. I am trying to get him to teach more and to talk more but he just looks so scared. He is super humble and super nice, just a little bit shy. But I was probably the same way when I got here. Something that I have noticed a difference in me is that I feel so much more comfortable talking with random people. I feel like I have gotten over my fear of talking with strangers, or its just a lot easier now. It still scares me sometimes. Anyway, so dad asked if my new area is new for me. Ok so remember when I was in Centenario? Well, actually where I am at right now is like 5 minutes down the street. It’s actually really close. Oh so I’ve got to tell you guys something that is so funny. Ok so training my companion reminds me so much of how I was when I first got here. No joke -everything he does reminds me of what I used to do. I walked around just freaked out of my mind over this place. And I am sure that it shows when you read my letters from the first month or two from the mish. Ok so something else that is funny. Right now there is this shorter fat guy sitting next to my comp and keeps asking him questions. My comp looks freaked out by the guy and keeps looking at me, asking for help or he wants me to save him. He asked my comp if he was writing the girlfriend, but I don’t think my comp understands him, so is acting like his not listening. Lol or he just smiles and looks the other way. Lol oh it reminds me of the first part of the mission. I remember when I first got here I would always look at my comp in the lessons whenever I couldn’t understand or I thought I was saying something wrong. Now it’s the opposite. My comp is always looking at me when he wants to say something or when they ask questions. Wow, it’s so weird training. Lol Man, to tell you the truth I cant wait until Cody gets here! It is going to be so sick. I am sure that I will see him soon after he arrives. It’s going to be so sick. Ok so right now I am going to send you guys a pic of me and my new comp that we took today in our house. As you can tell I just got a new haircut, and I am looking pretty DANG GOOD if I don’t say so myself! Lol jk ok well if think I am going to finish up this letter, because want to write something short for Cody! I just want you all to know like always that I love you all and miss you all very much. I hope you all have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you the next week. Love you all!! The church it true!!

From, ELDER KEABS, KEABLES

I am way excited to be his trainer and help him get used to the mission...

One of My Favorite Pictures from Spencer's Mission...

I love this picture because Spencer has always had compassion for those who have hardships. This was a family that had only a small brick home with no running water and no indoor bathroom.

I am going to TRAIN!!

November 1, 2010

Hey family!!
Hey I am having a baby!!!! LOL CAMBIOS!!! ok so I have so much to tell you, because so many things have changed in just one week. But I am going to start of answering the questions that you had for me. ok first talking about the camera I have an idea. ok so I was talking with Elder Halls who is my new Zone Leader that is going home the same day that Cody is going to get here. He told me that he would be willing to sell me his camera for 40 dollars. It’s not really super nice but it’s what I need. And 40 dollars is way cheap. He bought it here for 80 because he also got robbed. So I think I am just going to buy it off of him for 40. It has videos and holds a lot of pics. So mom you don’t have to worry about the camera. I only need like 40 bucks to buy that one off of him. Ok so I really don’t have anything that I need. It would be sick to have some beef jerky again. I really don't need any clothes. Really what I would like the most is candy bars. The candy bars that they sell here that are from the U.S. like Milkyway or Snickers are more than one buck for just the small ones. So lots of candy bars and stuff to snack on. But other than that really I am good. The thing that I want most is money so that I can buy things to bring home. There are so many things here that I want to buy and bring home. I’m just waiting for a few more months to go buy. Oh one other thing that I would like is music on a CD like really good church music or Disney music. But that’s pretty much everything.

Ok so I told you that I am going to have a baby!! I think Jordan knows what I am trying to say. lol So guess what??? I am going to TRAIN!! My new companion is getting here tomorrow, in the morning. I am sure that he is a gringo because only gringos are coming in this change. I still don’t know who he is or were he is from. I’ll have to give you all the information the next week. ok so another big change. I am no longer in Catamayo serving or in Loja. Ok it’s kind of a long story but I’ll try to explain as fast as I can. Ok so on Tuesday this week the zone leaders called us and told us that we had to pack all of our stuff and go live with them, because our house was too dangerous to live in. They said we had to live with them until we found a new house in Catamayo. So we went to Loja, and every day we had to take a one hour bus ride to Catamayo and one more at night to go back to Loja. So we moved all of our stuff and we went to the house of the zone leaders. There they have two extra beds for us and we just stayed there. Every day we traveled to Catamayo to look for a new house and to keep working in our sector. Ok so on Thursday night the zone leaders got a phone call from the assistants and they said that Elder Mienter – zone leader, Elder Orozco-my comp and me had to pack all of our stuff because in the morning we had to leave for Guayaquil for an emergency transfer. So we packed up and took off the next day. Thursday night we all got assigned to our new sectors, and I ended up staying that night in the house of the office. Friday morning my two new comps showed up to take me to my new sector in Guayaquil. So pretty much I am now in a new sector that I don’t know at all, because they took those two elders out today and said that I am going to open the sector and train a new elder. So pretty much I am going to have a baby! Lol looks like I beat Whitney and Tyler and I’ll be the first with a child. Lol no, that’s just want everyone says here in the mish. Lol but to tell you all, I am way stoked. I am so looking forward to working in this ward and also with a new missionary! It’s going to be so sick!! Oh and you can tell Lili that I will be sending letters again because I have returned to Guayaquil. The president wants to see me get robbed a few more times!! Lol no I forgot how much I missed the city. Cool cool. Anyway I think I am going to go because I’ve got to write the president and the keyboard that I am using is really starting to grind my gears and rattle my cage. Lol it’s making me angry. lol Anyway I just want to say that I love you all and that I miss you all a tons. But I love the mission, and I am not ready to go home or even think of it yet. Lol - love you all and thanks for everything!

Con Amor, Elder Keables