Elder Galloway's week in Ambato

This Week in Ambato Well, this week has been a bit difficult, but I´m happy to say that Elder Lopez and I are together again. He and Elder Schneider came from Quito on Wednesday. Elder Schneider had two infections: one in his stomach, and one in his intestines... I´m sure that wasn´t fun. He was on a liquid diet for a whooooole week, with a bunch of tubes and things connected to him. But he´s better now, even though a lot thinner. Elder Lopez is well, too. We´re trying to work, and are pleased to announce: Baptism of the Week (this Saturday): Well, Gloria is very happy with the things we´ve taught her. Even though she didn´t attend church a week (her brother was in a car crash in Quito and she had to go there; he was in a coma for a few days, but now is recovering, and can recognize his family now -- blessings), she came this last Sunday and felt very happy in the ward, where she was very well received. She and her 12-year-old son, Alexander, are going to get baptized. Cesar... didn´t attend church becuase he went to a party Saturday night with his friends, and, even though was strong and didn´t do anything bad (we sent him periodic texts reminding him), he came home a little more surly. 16-year-olds are delicate things. But he came to the movie night last night and still wants to get baptized. He´ll just have to show it by coming to church next week. Gloria came to a baptism of another ward in the zone. We went together, explained some things, and she enjoyed it thoroughly. It´s so interesting that, certainly, in the "ordinances of the Gospel is the power of God manifest" (somewhere in the Doctrine & Covenants). Even though we didn´t feel anything particularly powerful in the baptism itself, when the brother who got baptized gave his testimony of what he experienced afterwards, we enjoyed a powerful manifestation of the Spirit. I asked Gloria if she felt it too, and she said she did. It was something she had never felt before; I explained that it was the Holy Ghost, that testifies of the truthfulness of what we witnessed. How glorious it is to know that this is the true Church. As Joseph Smith said, the presence of the Holy Ghost is the most important thing this Church has, and is evidence that it is of God. No other organization in the earth has that witness that these things are not of man nor of men, but of God. Spanish Joke of the Week: For a change of tone, Elder Papworth (from my group -- now the finance secretary), sent me this joke in an email: Pregunta: ¿Cuál amigo tienen en común Harry Potter y el Capitán Jack Sparrow? Respuesta: ¡el Ron! Stake Video Night Turnout of the Week: Last week the seven people who came to the new Sunday night stake "tradition" saw the life and times of Joseph Smith. This week, a lot more people came to the activity (see photos), including Gloria, Cesar, and Alexander. We were happy. Until there were technical difficulties. I wanted to see Legacy, but my copy of the Doctrine and Covenants seminary videos was... scratched. So one of the young women in my ward lent the disc of The Errand of Angels. And, even though it was in English (and Germans) with Spanish subtitles, we all enjoyed it. Even though sister missionaries have another "ideal" of "the mission," and even though it was "romanticized" quite a bit (who wouldn´t want to serve a mission if you went to all the upscale sectors of Austria?), it had a lot of truth, and is quite more emotionally correct than, say, The Best Two Years. I would recommend it as a great movie for anyone. Movie Posters that Caught my Eye of the Week: Here in Ecuador little shops-on-the-corner-that-sell-pirated-videos abound. You can buy a collection of at least three movies for... a dollar. I would say that it´s almost imposible to buy original videos. At least I´ve never seen any -- even of the mormon-themed videos they sell near the temple!. Anyway, so, it´s interesting to see what movies have come out recently. And I just wanted to say that the two recent biopics look very interesting. The Iron Lady about Margaret Thatcher, and the one about Abraham Lincoln by Steven Spielberg. I would like to see them when I get home. That´s basically all. We´re working. This weekend there are changes, and I know that one of us will be leaving Ambato. I hope it´s not me, and not just because the famous Celebration of Fruits and Flowers is in February (I hear glowing remarks about everything). I´ve grown attatched to the people here, and I feel that I can do a lot of good to help them be more, as you say, "missionary-minded" and tighter. We´ll see what happens. Whatever happens, I´m happy to have served here. This Church really IS true. If you don´t know, find out for yourself. It´s the only way to live life. With love, Elder Galloway