God really prepares the people here for his missionaries......

Hermana Lourdes, Hermana Graciela, and my companion Hermana Camacho

 

 

 

View of the Mountains of Cuenca

 

 

Hello all!

Dad I would like to tell you that I would gladly have watched the football game with you on Sunday. Hopefully it turned out well. That was one of my favorite things to do on Sundays with you! But Sundays here are crazy. Literally nuts. The hardest hours of the entire part of my mission every week are the two hours before Church every Sunday. We are soo stressed and frazzled trying to pick up all of our investigators for church. SO stressful.

But yes thank you all so much for the peanut butter and Nutella. Mom you are right a lot of the candy was melted but the best part is for some reason everything tastes like a little taste of mint. My companion asked if all Americans liked mint with everything hahaha. Yeah but don´t worry it all is delicious!

 

BEN AND DANIELLE. You guys looked like rock stars in Vitality! I wish I could have seen you. I am sure you killed it. Neil and Mike it sure was good to see the pictures of your faces! I miss you guys tons and I hope all is good. I cannot believe I have been out that long. It makes me sad. I don´t want it to go by quickly! My companion has been out 15 months and she doesn´t want it to end either. She is so close to the end. Wahhhh! But one of the elders in my zone told me he thinks this is my last three weeks in Cuenca because I have been here so long. I hope he is wrong. It really is paradise here. I don´t want to leave.

I just would like to share one really great story here. I don´t know if you guys remember one of my recent converts here named Xavier Mora, but he is amazing as ever. He is so strong. And yesterday we taught an investigator in his home for family night. This investigator is golden. Really gold. Honestly. His name is Wilson Acuña and he is from Peru and is 23 years old and will eventually be able to serve a mission. He is so great. Anyway we watched the testaments for family night and afterwards Wilson bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon and I just grinned from ear to ear. He has such a firm belief of the Book of Mormon. I love it. God really prepares the people here for his missionaries. Wilson was a hidden gem and I know there are many more people prepared for us to teach about our loving Savior. Wilson is getting baptized this Saturday and I just can´t wait. I know that when we truly have faith in our savior he provides all for us. SO true. Gosh I wish I could write more but time is short.

Just remember all is good and I love my time here. I don´t want to be anywhere else.

Con muchisimas amor,

Hermana Pack

"With these three things it is impossible to become inactive. :)"

Hola,

I watched the videos of show choir and all I want to do is fly to see it just for 15 minutes Haha! I miss it and you guys looked great!! And sounded good. I am sure you are amazing because you already have placed first. I will be thinking of you guys for Linn Mar. Mom and Dad have fun with that trip. Linn Mar was one of my favorites. Man I wish I could be there.

My new companion, Hermana Camacho has 15 months in the mission, so no she is most definitely training me. haha. She is from Bogota Colombia. Which apparently is super super cold. But she has been in Guyaquil for the last 5 months and she is freezing here. Like dying. I told her it is just preparing her for when she goes home in 3 months. She has two older sisters and only one is a member and her mom is a member as well. She has been a member since she was 11. She is much younger than Hermana Espíritu. She is 22 and Hermana Espíritu was 28. So quite the difference. She talks super fast but usually I can keep up. :) 

The other day we watched the news while we were eating lunch in a restaurant and it was about the United States or in Spanish Estados Unidos and it was a whole article about how people, who were living there, that are from Ecuador are returning because it is so cold. Apparently the entire United States is freezing. Don´t worry I am just here in Paradise. Haha! But really it is great here.

Something that has been really great to see in the Ward is how much we can strengthen the people who are already members. Last night we had a meeting with our ward mission leader and the missionaries of the Ward and three out of the four ward missionaries when I got here on my mission were inactive and with a couple lessons now are super active and bringing the church forward. It is great. I just wanted to cry last night. They all are such great people. I am so excited with what this new year is looking like. God really does have a plan for everyone. It is just great to see how it all plays out.

Anyway I love you all tons and I am super sorry that I am not able to write more. But I hope you all have a great week! And remember to read your scriptures, say your prayers, and attend Church. With these three things it is impossible to become inactive. :)

Love you,

Emily
PS- Guess what I got!! Your Christmas box!!

"La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Días"



A tradition of New Years eve is to make a doll of yourself in your clothes and set it on fire at midnight. hahaha this is Luis Zhizhpon and his Moñeco. It is exactly like him!! LOVE IT!



They´re masks for their moñecos!



Hola!!

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to write a full hour.

Me and Teresa and Alejandro Cajamaca!

Life sure it good here. Having a new companion has been extremely stressful..... Especially because she doesn´t know the area at all. But, it definitely has been a learning experience.


Everyone at the baptism of Cesar Ramón!! 

Mom, sorry but we are writing in a new location and because of this I wasn´t able to view the videos of Vitality.... But Danielle and Ben I am sure you were amazing! I wish I could see you. I love you both tons and I am so glad that the Pack family is still a part of the good ole show choir tradition. Man I love show choir!
Neil your hamsters are adorable!!!! I Love love love their names. hahahahaha hopefully Coal the cat doesn't eat them before I get home. hahahaha
Mom, sorry I never got the package you sent after Thanksgiving. But a lot of other people still haven't gotten theirs.... SO I still have hope and faith. But I am stoked to get the other package that you just sent. Missionary life is so good here. I love Cuenca.

They have corn in Cuenca :)

Outside the house of Hermana Mejia! 

I think this part of the world is perfect. Seriously though.

 

Mom, to answer your question as to what weird things I am eating.... Not really anything too abnormal. I mean the other day I ate fish head soup and learned how to make it, so that is exciting. And totally delicious haha. But other than that just a whole heck of a lot of rice!

 

 

 

This week with my new companion has been so successful and so good. I think the switch up was really good. It has also been super super stressful. Before I would only have Hermana Espíritu talk on the phone and do practically everything, but this week all of the phone talking was me and all of the planning was me because I know the people and she doesn't yet. I also had a baptism this last week of César Ramón and believe me the amount of stress I felt was overwhelming. I planned on sleeping today because of the lack of sleep and the amount stress I had last week. But it all went well and he is now a member of "La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Días"

The way that we came in contact with him was that we were teaching a girl in the farmers market and César came up to us and asked if we were vending bibles and we told him that we weren't but that we did have a message for him and the next visit gave him a Book of Mormon and he accepted a date for baptism. Yeah such a great convert! Such an amazing guy. 

Lastly, there is something that I would love to share with all of you. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. I know that when a family receives the teachings of Christ in their lives they receive blessings that they couldn´t even imagine. I know that when a person receives Christ in their life and exercises their faith in him through repentance and forgiveness for their sins through baptism they are a light for all of those they know.
I know that God blesses those who endure to the end through obedience to ALL of the commandments of Christ. God gives us commandments to complete. I am so grateful for this knowledge and I am grateful for our Father in Heaven we are so blessed to be on this earth. I know without a single doubt in my heart that God blesses those who complete his words and commandments. I know this all to be so true and I can see it testified here in Ecuador every day.

I love you all so much and appreciate your prayers. My Spanish has gotten significantly better and I can´t wait for you all to hear it one day. 

LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING.

Hermana Pack

I have a new companion!

Today is another short one because we had changes in the mission and because of this I spent a good long freaking time in a bus sitting waiting for a new companion. Yeah no more Hermana Espíritu. I am gonna miss her tons. But I have a new companion and I can already tell that I am going to love love her! So that is super exciting. Her name is Hermana Camacho. She is from Columbia and she speaks pretty quick, but I think I can keep up hahahaha. Anyway I love you tons and I am still in Cuenca and I am enjoying the beautiful weather. I have a million pictures to send but don´t have my camera to send them. SO.... next week I promise. I love you all and I am so extremely grateful to have gotten to see all of you and speak to you. I pray for you all every day. You mean the world to me. Remember in any moment of time we have an amazing Father in heaven who answers our prayers. He loves you all more than you will ever imagine. 

Miss you all dearly,

Emily

Merry Christmas from Cuenca!

Feliz Navidad!

 

 

 
 

Merry Christmas to us! Our presents for Christmas!

 

We dressed up like the people of Cuenca Ecuador to celebrate Navidad!
And had our Christmas dinner with rice of course! Haven´t gotten your box yet!

Sorry I am not going to write a huge email for everyone this week. Just don't have time with so many emails to send for Christmas.

I have learned that especially latino elders love love love new ties and clothing.

But I can promise you that they are some of the most hard working and humble boys I have ever met. Serving a mission sure has opened my eyes to what some 19 or 20 year old boys are capable of.

Mom and Dad you mean the world to me and I hope with all of my heart that I will be able to Skype you on Christmas. Tell everyone I love them and that I miss them like crazy. I just want to wish you all a Happy Christmas!
Love your hard working missionary,
Emily
aka Hermana Pack



I was CRAVING American food.......

Soooooo I want to start off and apologize. I literally have three minutes to write everyone. We had to buy gifts for our zone today and it took all of our free time!! Ugh. We exchanged names for Navidad and we both got two Elders in our zone and they are gonna look pretty dang good in the new cardigans that we bought them. It amazes me how the starting price of things are somewhat high here and we can usually bring them down a good 10 dollars. It is great. My companion is amazing.

 

 I have one more P day and then I get to talk to you all :) So excited! AAAAANNNNDD the other really great news is my Mission President is amazing and has given us one hour to call! Other missions only get thirty minutes. So that is cool.

 

 Anyway if you see that I charged my account today it is because I was CRAVING American food and I found a restaurant and drug my companion to it. Let me tell you it was pure heaven! Fettuccine alfredo and shrimp and asparagus. Holy crap so good. Happy Christmas to me! haha!

 

We had two baptisms this week. Two children of a mother who was inactive. I love them so much. Such a great Christmas present. I love you all and I hope you have a great week. Eat lots of yummy treats and remember what this holiday is really about. The birth of our dear Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Merry Christmas!  A little early:)

 

Emily

God be with you until we meet again!

HI!

I miss you all dearly!  I can´t believe you guys have snow. I was freezing yesterday and it was probably 70 degrees haha! It still rains a lot though.





I made brownies in our toaster oven because I was craving something from home! hahaha They were amazing! :)

 




Mom, I am sorry for taking so much money out. We ran out super quick because I had to buy medicine for my companion and she also needed new shoes. Her parents were supposed to send her money but it hasn't arrived yet so I pitched in until it gets here. Sorry.

Hermana Espíritu and her favorite drink. Pony malta. So nasty.
 It is literally like drinking molasses. But she loves it.

Also speaking of money I sure hope the box you send didn´t weigh more than 9 pounds. Because if it is more they said they won´t deliver it to Cuenca from the mission home...... Yikes. So I sure hope it wasn´t too much.

 

 

This dog followed us for like 10 blocks hahahaha
She was so cute! There are a ton of dogs here. It is crazy.

Anyway I want to tell you a little about this week. We were supposed to have a baptism this past Saturday but he freaked out and hopped on a bus to Guayaquil. I don´t think I could have been any more sad. We both walked out from talking with his Uncle and cried. Nothing is more devastating than those who don´t accept the gospel after we teach everything. SO heartbreaking. But this week we have 2 baptisms of two kids whose mom is a member but has been inactive for the past 4 years. I am so excited. I love them so much!!

 

Anyway  I love you all and I hope you have a great week. Sorry for all the typos I have to type quick for time.
Love you more than anything and God be with you until we meet again!
 

Hermana Pack