November 10, 2014

    I am so sorry for always being so repetitive...but once again...this week was AMAZING! How is everyone? I sure hope you are all doing great!

   
   Well there is another Gringo in the house! Hallelujah! His name is Elder P...he is from Logan, played football for Skyline, has been in the mission for 15 months, and is a STUD! And we are basically the same person...I guess minus the stud part! Haha! ;)

We went on an exchange his first day here in Ventanas and it was awesome! I learned SO much from him. He is an awesome Elder.
   
   I am starting to get used to the purple goop stuff...it is not too bad actually! And I didn´t eat Chicken Noddle "Intenstine" soup, so that was a plus!

   
   This week was FILLED with so many miracles! I don't even know where to begin!

One of the families we are teaching committed to be married next week! So they will be baptized the following week! How cool?! In our last lesson with them we asked the mom to pray and she said that she couldn't because she is pregnant and didn't want to wake the baby...is that even a thing? Haha! I guess you learn something new every day! But they are an incredible family none the less! Even despite her "Condition" ;)

   
   We got a hammock in our house. It was so neat...while it lasted. Elder G was chilling on it and I attempted to do an "underdog" thingy like you do on swings and at the tip of the parabala of the Hammock the rope snapped in half and Elder G FLEW across the room! It was hysterical! The only thing that came out of my mouth was ´´NOOOOO!!! Mi Hamaica!´´ Haha! Karma will get you eventually! ;)

   
   Friday and Saturday were a bit crazy...we were all over the place!

   
   Oh Yeah! Just a random fact and something that was cool! It is not everyday you see your best friend since Kindergarten in another country!!!!!!!!!!! What are the chances?!?! Elder Johnson is looking great. You ladies are like "LOL. What's new?" Haha! But he is an incredible missionary! And is already a trainer! Such a stud! And it was so good to see him!

   We were tracting on Saturday and Elder G ran into a family that he baptized in his first sector! They were visiting their family here in Ventanas! So that was a good conversation starter! Now we have a progressing family preparing for baptism! The Lord works in mysterious ways! It was definitely a tender mercy from our Savior.

   
   It is the 67th something of Ventanas so it has been absolutely NUTS for the past week. Carnivals, parades, concerts, and beer. That pretty much sums it up! Haha! There is one dude who is passed out every single night right in front of our door with a bottle of booze in his hand. So, stepping over a drunk guy is kind of the norm right now! The streets are flooded with so many people though. On Saturday night especially! We were all up on the balcony of our house at night and we started wringing our wet clothes on people. That led to dumping little cups of water on the people walking by...which eventually led to me retrieving the Gallon sized pitcher of water and SOAKING people! It was awesome! We were even getting the people driving past on their motorcycles! I decided to do just one more...when I was just about to poor it I looked over the ledge and there were probably 20 motorcyclists and 10-15 people with FIREWORKS! They all lit them and threw them at me! Explosions left and right on the roof of our house! I was literally in the front lines of battle! But I managed to make it to safety! We called it a night after that! Haha!

   
   I saw a giant. Literally a giant! She had to have been 12 feet tall...and the uni-brow and deep voice didn't make her any less scary! So that was interesting!

   
   One of our Investigators is named Delyla. She didn't like it too much when I told her she shared a name with my dog! I probably should have left that out! So she went on to name her newborn puppy, "Noll". Haha!
   
   Entonces...ALL IS WELL HERE IN ECUADOR! I am loving every second! But boy is it hard! But hey...we can do hard things...it is what we were made to do!
   
   So my spiritual message has a little bit of a background story...that 12 foot giant who I mentioned earlier...she was my doctor...and Thursday and Friday were so crazy because they were spent in the hospital.

    
   I guess you could say I have been leaving some minor details about my experiences here in Ecuador out of my emails. For those of you who have seen my pictures I am sure it is apparent that I have lost quite a bit of weight. It doesn't matter how much...but it was enough to land me in the hospital on Thursday and Friday. You could say I have been pretty sick. On Thursday we had to take a trip to Quevedo where they ran a variety of different tests and found out that I am having some problems with my heart. From there, another appointment was made in Guayaquil with a more advanced clinic where they were able to come up with a diagnosis and find a way to make me and my heart all better :)

1) I am okay. No worries.

2) I only tell you this because I think it relates very well to a very important Gospel Principle.

   " 
   And Jesus went about ALL Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing ALL manner of sickness and ALL manner of disease among the people."

   
   Aren't we all sick? In some way, shape, or form? If you think your not "sick" then the fact that you think you are not sick, perhaps, is your disease!

Brothers and Sisters, we are all sick. Every single one of us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Hospital. Jesus Christ is our doctor.

   We don't have the capacity to know what our spirits need. For the same reason that I didn't have the capacity to know what my heart needed. Jesus Christ KNOWS! He can heal you! But we have to accept Him as our doctor and His gospel as our hospital.
   
   We learn all throughout the scriptures that Jesus Christ is the "same yesterday, today, and forever." If The Lord healed the sick and afflicted during His earthly ministry He will continue to do so! Now and for forever! For those of you who are active members in the Church...KEEP RECEIVING YOUR  TREATMENT! KEEP FOLLOWING THE DOCTORS ORDERS! No matter how strict the demands. No matter how hard it is. Salvation was never easy for our suffering Savior...so don't expect it to be easy for you. Rather, accept the Lord's treatment and stay healthy! For those of you who are not active...it is my deepest desire and crying prayer that you make it to the hospital. Your heart is starving whether you know it or not. And Christ has the ability to heal your problematic heart. He can treat you, but you have to be willing and accepting of His treatment. He has the ability to heal ALL! Spiritual and Physical...and He wants nothing more than to mend your heart. His gospel has the ability to bless you and your family more than anything in the entire world. The entire universe. You and those you love the most will receive blessings beyond your capacity to imagine only in and through The Hospital of Jesus Christ and by accepting Him as your Doctor and Healer. He will never leave and has never left you alone...don't ever feel like there is not an entrance back into His presence. There is always a way. His office hours NEVER close. For those who are not members of this church...thank you SO much for taking the time to read this first of all. Secondly, and more importantly...The Lord has a treatment for you too! I have seen his treatment in the lives of so many! Especially here in Ecuador and it is the one of the most beautiful things to witness. Your heart needs the spiritual nurturing that ONLY this gospel and the Lord, Jesus Christ, can provide.
   
   There is no way I would still be where I am at this exact moment if I did not KNOW that this Gospel is true. There is no way I would be here without the Lord's treatment.

Give him your heart Brothers and Sisters...give Him your soul. When we do that, all He is going to do is give it right back...but when He does it will be healed. It will be whole. It will be strong. Strong enough to do whatever you were made to do. Strong enough to help you accomplish the things you were foreordained to do in this life.
   
   I love this Gospel with all of my heart, Brothers and Sisters. All of my weak and problematic heart! Haha! and I have faith and testify that The Lord can make a weak heart strong. Physically and Spiritually.

   
   He is the Christ. He is our Savior. He is our Shepard. He is our LOVING BROTHER who wants nothing more than to strengthen you.

Love you all so much!

Elder Noll

GO HAVE A STELLAR WEEK!