Elder Galloway--This Week in Atahualpa

This Week in ..... Atahualpa! Hello, family and friends! I am super excited to write to you this week -- I have a lot to tell. Today were changes, and thankfully neither Elder Salazar nor I were changed. Sister Figueroa flies home tomorrow, and some more of our zone are training. Things are interesting, especially as we prepare for the stake conference with Elder J. Devn Cornish this weekend. On Saturday morning he will direct a meeting for new converts and investigators. We are happy for that, as are all of the new converts. Responses of the Week: That´s super wonderful about Megan Maddox´s mission call! Columbus Ohio is where Ben Metcalf, the elder´s quorum president from my BYU ward is serving. I´m sure he´ll be gone by the time she arrives, but I´m sure his legacy will live on. Also, about the t-shirts we made as a zone... uhh.. well, we did things a bit rushed, and we trusted a member family to go and order the shirts for us because we didn´t have time. Good intentions, but BAD IDEA. Really, when it comes to art and stuff, never trust anybody! The shirts.... leave much to be desired. But, oh, well, you get what you pay for. They cost $4.00 apiece for a two-color print. But, even then, they´re not worth it. Yeah. Quito Sightseeing of the Week: Like I told you last week, we tripped around historic Quito to see some churches and stuff. Expect pictures from our expedition, including: La Iglesia La Compañía, the church built by Jesuits and masked by pure "pan de oro" -- "gold bread," or gold leafing; the Presidential Palace; Quito´s main library (it was strangely unvisited) and it´s beautiful, turn-of-the-century artistry; and the famous Iglesia San Fransico, whose builder supposedly made a pact with the devil for his soul when it was finished. He hid the last cornerstone and it still remains unfinished to this day... or so they say. This Week in Atahualpa II Baptism of the Week: We had a baptism! Martha, the woman we met walking with her daughter a couple of Sunday afternoons ago, progressed, came to church, gained a testimony, and GOT BAPTIZED! She was so very very happy. The baptism came out almost perfect, too! It was well-attended by the members, the water was the perfect temperature (which was important because Martha had knee surgery recently and can´t stand cold nor hot). Her older daughter, Jenny, came too! I hope she was able to feel some of the happiness that was there. My companion and I even made chicken salad sandwiches as a refreshment. Martha couldn´t help smiling from ear to ear. A touching moment was after she, and then her daughter came out of the water, they hugged and hugged. The Spirit is a wonderful feeling; it makes you want to hug the entire world. They were subsequently confirmed on Sunday morning. There is an activity almost every night in the chapel, and the Relief Society sisters have invited Martha to almost every one of them, culminating in the new-member meeting Saturday morning --- whoooo! New Investigators of the Week: Well, we have also seen quite a few miracles in response to our diligence and effort this week. We had met a woman, Ivette, last week, and she wasn´t there for the appointment we had set (don´t worry -- it´s common). We went another day, and wasn´t there. But we were walking down that road Saturday morning, and saw that the door was open. We decided to stop by and converse a bit. We ended up teaching a lesson with her and inviting her to church. SHE CAME! It was a whim that turned out very well. Also, Sunday, a woman in the ward came up to us and presented her husband. They are expecting a baby in 4 months. Luis had received the missionary lessons a while back, but never really took interest. Recently, they have conversed, and he came to church, too! We set an appointment for that afternoon, where we learned that they are both computer programmers, great people; that he has read almost half of the Book of Mormon already, too! We used that as a jumping-off point to teach the Gospel with the Book of Mormon. It was a powerful lesson, and he accepted a baptismal date for the 16 of March. This Week in Atahualpa III Lessons of the Week: I asked you last week some of the lessons you think I have learned on my mission, and I think they are all true. Thank you for helping me analyze a bit, Dad. I was thinking this week about some other lessons I´ve learned, and one that applies to right now especially. I have learned by my observations here that the Lord rewards His faithful servants. As Doctrine & Covenants 106:3 says, "the laborer is worthy of his hire." In other words, you get what you pay for. If you don´t pay much, you won´t get much out. It´s the law of the harvest. I´ve seen missionaries waste their time here, make a mistake, and get sent home without honor or glory. But I have also seen the fruits of other missionaries´ diligent and obedient labors in the Lord´s vineyard. But it goes deeper than that. The Lord actually prizes His missionaries with blessings beyond description. He is the perfect Giver of Gifts, and I´ve seen that. Let me give some examples: · When Elder Johnson ended his mission in Ambato, not only did he go home with wonderful converts there that loved and respected him, he was able to witness the "changing of the guard" of a stake: he met a couple of seventy, including Elder Pino, the Area President, and work with the stake in a lovely manner. · Elder Schomburg was known for his strict obedience. Accordingly, the Lord rewarded him. One of his most converted converts, Diego Tigre (from this ward) works in the airport, as a maitenance guy. Astonishingly enough, things worked out so that Diego was the last Ecuadorian Elder Schomburd saw before he boarded his aircraft home. I´m sure they shared a tender goodbye moment. · Thirdly, Sister Figueroa, from Honduras, was blessed not only to spend her last change with the three sister missionaries that she trained (her "daughters"), but she will be priveleged to attend, with her family, the open house and dedication of the first temple in Honduras in March when she gets home. Again, I repeat, the Lord rewards His faithful servants. This Week in Ecuador IV To end, I wanted to explain the epiphany in the Isaias chapters of 2 Nephi that I hinted at last week. Isaiah uses a lot of metaphors, especially the kingdoms around Judah, to describe his prophesies. In these scriptures, he talks about the King of Assyria who leads his nation against Israel. 5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is their indignation. 6 I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but in his heart it is to destroy and cut off nations not a few. It´s a little obtuse, but the Lord is clear that, even though we don´t understand everything (in this case, the King of Assyria had no idea he was acting on a prompting of the Lord), He will always guide us to fulfill His purposes. I have seen that time and time again on my mission. Like President Monson says, our lives include something just so natural and normal it´s hard to make mention of it. When we are attentive, it´s only afterward that we can see the big picture unfurled and recognize that "Even despite our imperfections, we have been instruments in the Lord´s hands to accomplish His designs" (it´s a favorite saying of my companion). I am grateful to be a missionary. I am grateful to be called worthy enough to wear this nametag and represent my Savior Jesus Christ in carrying His Gospel to people who really need it. Martha is now part of the fold. She belongs to the Lord, and has promised to serve Him. Only thus can we prepare to wear out our lives in His service and merit being called His sons and daughters. Eventually, we, normal, every-day, run-of-the-mill people, will be formed and shaped so that we, too, can dwell in the presence of Adam, Abraham, Jacob, Abinadi, Mormón, Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ, and, yes, our Heavenly Father. How great is the mercy of our God! May we all be tools in His hands this week! Love, Elder Andrew Galloway P.S.: I would be crazy not to mention the text we received from the assistants Friday night, that the Mission Ecuador Quito will be divided into TWO MISSIONS! It will happen the week I go home. It´s marvelous to see that our labors have brought great fruit. The work goes forward! I love you!