Hey Family!
Well this week has been a LONG week. I had been feeling sick to my stomach at the end of last week and it started getting worse, so we went into town to a doctors office and did a test. I have to tell you about that office. It was not as clean as the barn back home, and the bathroom had no door on it. Anyways, later in the afternoon we went back for the results and they came out positive. I had some parasites from dirty water. So I called the mission nurse in Quito and she brought me some pills to our zone conference the next day. So I'm already done with the pills now, I'm feeling a lot better. I would not suggest to anyone to ever suffer that illness. So that made the week go by pretty slow. The weather hasn't been so well here. There have been of couple of days of rain and so its muddy everywhere. The sun dries it out within a day or so, but it is a nasty sticky mud when its wet. One funny story for you all. Yesterday at church a member lady was giving her talk,and at one point in her talk she started to tell a story she had heard. But to start the story she said, Now with all the respect of our gringo Elder here I'm going to tell this story and hope that you wont take offense Elder. And she began to tell this story of how there was this contest with four different contestants all of which were from different countries, one was from the states, one from Latino America, one from china, one from Russia. And so she starts to say how all of the countries had it out for the arrogant gringo, because EVERYONE knows all of the gringos are arrogant, well not ALL of them, and she smiled at me! And then the story went on that the Latino beat the gringo and everyone was happy. But through the whole story like everyone was looking at me and I felt so dumb! I couldn't believe she would use that in her Sunday talk! Oh well. The price you get to pay to serve a mission.
Sounds like things have been going good for everyone back home. Up until that snow that came yesterday! The random snowstorms are always irritating. But summer will be there before you all know it. For me, Ive still got another 17 months of pure summer. Speaking of which, I complete 7 months this week. Its true how the time gets going faster and faster now, that last month went by quicker than all of the others. Mothers day is coming up pretty quick already. I will be calling that Sunday sometime in the afternoon. Next Monday or during next week one day they are letting us call home just to be sure on the time and everything for Sunday, so don't be going to far from home next week. That's everything for me this week though. I hope everyone is all doing very well, thank you all for the letters and all of your love and support. Dad, I got the package from you and Jeannie today that has the Dr Scholls in it. WAHOO! New insoles for my shoes, I will get a picture of the old ones for you for next week. Anyways, thank you all for everything. Love you all.
Elder Morris
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Don't Ask? Don't Tell?
Something scares me about these pictures....
I sure hope he didn't eat that!!
Hello! Another week has gone by quickly. I'm getting used to the weather here. Although it is still hard to get a good rest at night. We have been teaching alot and getting alot of new investigators here. We taught a lesson yesterday after church to a guy we met in the street a few days ago. He is a member of a church that I don't remember what its called. But he has 666 tattooed on his shoulders and stickered all over his motorbike. The basic beliefs of the religion is that there is no devil, nor sin, because of the atonement we are all freed completely from sin and can do whatever we want. So it was a rough lesson, it didn't go anywhere so we ended up leaving a bit early. It was an interesting thing to see though. I have never before in my life heard of such beliefs and I was quite surprised by them. We did have a few really spiritual lessons during the week and have some investigators that are progressing rapidly. I am loving it here. Although, the last few days I haven't been feeling very well. Sick to my stomach. I might have ate some bad food or something. But Zone conference is this week so I will talk to the mission nurse on Wednesday. No worries though, just a little stomach ache. Today we had planned on going to the beach again, but we had to help a couple of sister missionaries move their stuff to another apartment. So we have just been running circles all afternoon today.
I love getting all of the pictures from home! The Moab pictures of Jared and Zach motorbiking almost brought me to tears. But Moab should still be there when I get home. One suggestion, if you send pictures, don't send large file pictures, my mailbox memory is filling up pretty quick. Dad you can ask Mary how to downsize the pictures. And Mary thank you very much for setting up that page for me! It looked pretty good to me. I will just leave that up to you. I think I will copy my pictures onto a CD at a members house this week and send it home. I'm outta time here, but know that I'm doing good and being safe. Love you all and thank you for everything!
Elder Morris
I love getting all of the pictures from home! The Moab pictures of Jared and Zach motorbiking almost brought me to tears. But Moab should still be there when I get home. One suggestion, if you send pictures, don't send large file pictures, my mailbox memory is filling up pretty quick. Dad you can ask Mary how to downsize the pictures. And Mary thank you very much for setting up that page for me! It looked pretty good to me. I will just leave that up to you. I think I will copy my pictures onto a CD at a members house this week and send it home. I'm outta time here, but know that I'm doing good and being safe. Love you all and thank you for everything!
Elder Morris
Monday, April 13, 2009
So I forgot to put the pictures with the other letter, but here is a couple pictures from the beach! This is ´Las Palmas´in Esmeraldas Ecuador! I havent baught a camera yet, these are off of my comps camera, Note that I am the only gringo in the district, and one of 4 in the zone of 24! To be a gringo in esmeraldas is a lucky opportunity!
Elder Morris
Hello!
To start this letter off, I got some pictures from Jared, and one of them was of dad on the fourwheeler with caleb, and I dont know when Dad started wearing suspenders, but I had to look twice because the first time I saw it I thougth it was Grandpa Morris sitting there! It through me for a loop. This week was a pretty good week. The coast is amazing. I think this is the most beautiful place on earth! The ward the we are working in is ´Eden´ another one here is in Esmeraldas is ´Paraiso´spanish for Paradise! Our sector isnt very big and its basically all flat. The people here live in Bamboo shacks that are elevated up off the ground. Some have the normal concrete houses the are throughout ecuador. Alot of people just have dirt floors. But the people are GREAT here! Everyone is happy and listening to music sittin in the shade of the palm trees all day long. Thats just the overall attitude here. We cant be out teaching in about 90% of the sector after dark. There is alot of robberies and just drugs. But we are safe and smart, we are always back to the house at a safe time, and our house is in a very safe area with a police station out our back window. So I HAVE to tell you all about the temperature here. My first day was one of the most horrible days of my life! I have never felt such heat and humidity before! It gets so hot and humid here its almost suffocating. I am constantly sweating, every pore of the body, it runns down my face and neck without end! And thats is even on cloudy days, when the sun is out..... wow. I cant even explain it. Its just way different than anywhere I have ever been before. One good thing is that comming from Tulcan and Quito, my heart is very strong and used to high elevation, here we are at sea level and I never get short of breath while walking. It rained a little the other day, I thought it might help cool me down, NOPE! It just rains hot rain and makes it even more humid! When we get back home at night, we shower, when we get up in the mornings, shower again! At night I dont think it cools down past 85* so I usually sweat throughout the night as well. We sleep with mosquito nets over the bed. But Im getting used to it better than I thought I would, Im really enjoying it here. A few days ago in companionship study a big fat cockroach went running across the floor by my desk..... They are bigger than the big fat mice back home. I did not enjoy that. There are little lizzards always running on building walls, inside and out of houses, but they are good they eat the mosquitos! Its just a whole new world to me down here! I love it.
The people here are EXTREMELY open here and accept the gospel very easily. Everyone is friendly and willing to listen. Just walking down the streets here little kids will be playing and see us and say hi to the ´mormons´or the ´missionaries´. Its fun. The food is GREAT here! All of the fish and shrimp is fresh and just so so good. You can buy a whole branch of bananas for 1.00, they have all sorts of fruit here. In every direction you look there are all kinda of fruit trees. Tonight we are going to do a family home evening with a family that has been gone to their fruit farm for a few days, they are bringing us back food! Fresh banana, mango, papaya, coconut, and other stuff that I dont know what it is called!
My companion is Elder Tirado from Lima Peru but has lived in Guyaquil the past four years. He has the exact same time as me in the mission but is 24 years old. We have a good companionship. We work hard but dont kill ourselves, teach by the spirit, and just watch out for each other. We had a really successful first week, and this week should be even better, as we now know the sector better. We are both new to this sector, so we have had alot of help from the members.
This part should make you all very jealous, this afternoon for p-day our district went to the beach (20 minutes in bus) and we played soccer and just goofed off. It was AMAZING!! I enjoyed myself. There is an Elder in our district that has 2 months in the mission, he is from Guyaquil, bishop Klinglers son Kelley served in his home ward and visited his family alot. There is also a new Sister missionary that just got here when I got exchanged here, Hermana Morris from Panama! She is pure latino, but somehow got the last name Morris! Pretty coincedental.
Anywho, I think im all out of stories for this week. Hope you all enjoy, and im sorry its so long! Love you all.
Elder Morris
To start this letter off, I got some pictures from Jared, and one of them was of dad on the fourwheeler with caleb, and I dont know when Dad started wearing suspenders, but I had to look twice because the first time I saw it I thougth it was Grandpa Morris sitting there! It through me for a loop. This week was a pretty good week. The coast is amazing. I think this is the most beautiful place on earth! The ward the we are working in is ´Eden´ another one here is in Esmeraldas is ´Paraiso´spanish for Paradise! Our sector isnt very big and its basically all flat. The people here live in Bamboo shacks that are elevated up off the ground. Some have the normal concrete houses the are throughout ecuador. Alot of people just have dirt floors. But the people are GREAT here! Everyone is happy and listening to music sittin in the shade of the palm trees all day long. Thats just the overall attitude here. We cant be out teaching in about 90% of the sector after dark. There is alot of robberies and just drugs. But we are safe and smart, we are always back to the house at a safe time, and our house is in a very safe area with a police station out our back window. So I HAVE to tell you all about the temperature here. My first day was one of the most horrible days of my life! I have never felt such heat and humidity before! It gets so hot and humid here its almost suffocating. I am constantly sweating, every pore of the body, it runns down my face and neck without end! And thats is even on cloudy days, when the sun is out..... wow. I cant even explain it. Its just way different than anywhere I have ever been before. One good thing is that comming from Tulcan and Quito, my heart is very strong and used to high elevation, here we are at sea level and I never get short of breath while walking. It rained a little the other day, I thought it might help cool me down, NOPE! It just rains hot rain and makes it even more humid! When we get back home at night, we shower, when we get up in the mornings, shower again! At night I dont think it cools down past 85* so I usually sweat throughout the night as well. We sleep with mosquito nets over the bed. But Im getting used to it better than I thought I would, Im really enjoying it here. A few days ago in companionship study a big fat cockroach went running across the floor by my desk..... They are bigger than the big fat mice back home. I did not enjoy that. There are little lizzards always running on building walls, inside and out of houses, but they are good they eat the mosquitos! Its just a whole new world to me down here! I love it.
The people here are EXTREMELY open here and accept the gospel very easily. Everyone is friendly and willing to listen. Just walking down the streets here little kids will be playing and see us and say hi to the ´mormons´or the ´missionaries´. Its fun. The food is GREAT here! All of the fish and shrimp is fresh and just so so good. You can buy a whole branch of bananas for 1.00, they have all sorts of fruit here. In every direction you look there are all kinda of fruit trees. Tonight we are going to do a family home evening with a family that has been gone to their fruit farm for a few days, they are bringing us back food! Fresh banana, mango, papaya, coconut, and other stuff that I dont know what it is called!
My companion is Elder Tirado from Lima Peru but has lived in Guyaquil the past four years. He has the exact same time as me in the mission but is 24 years old. We have a good companionship. We work hard but dont kill ourselves, teach by the spirit, and just watch out for each other. We had a really successful first week, and this week should be even better, as we now know the sector better. We are both new to this sector, so we have had alot of help from the members.
This part should make you all very jealous, this afternoon for p-day our district went to the beach (20 minutes in bus) and we played soccer and just goofed off. It was AMAZING!! I enjoyed myself. There is an Elder in our district that has 2 months in the mission, he is from Guyaquil, bishop Klinglers son Kelley served in his home ward and visited his family alot. There is also a new Sister missionary that just got here when I got exchanged here, Hermana Morris from Panama! She is pure latino, but somehow got the last name Morris! Pretty coincedental.
Anywho, I think im all out of stories for this week. Hope you all enjoy, and im sorry its so long! Love you all.
Elder Morris
Monday, April 6, 2009
Hey family
Well to start this letter off, I must let it be known that we received the notice for changes today. I am being exchanged again....... ESMERALDAS!!! So just a little info about this city, it is on the coast of Ecuador. It is always hot, even through all of the night, most of the population is black, and they speak a completely different dialect of spanish. The coastal spanish here is hard for even latinos to understand. I cant really express with words how scared I am right now. If the spanish doesnt kill me im sure the heat will! Thats a joke, but I would ask to please remember me and missionary work in your prayers. I will be needing it.
On a lighter note, how about that conference this weekend!? I would have to agree with what dad wrote me, that talk by Elder Holland was one of the best talks I have ever heard! Everything was great. We had to go to the stake center here to watch it. We were in a seperate room watching in english. The couple missionaries from the offices here in Quito, President Sloan and his family, 3 other gringo companions and I all watched conference together. It was great. One thing I will really miss about Quito is being so close to President Sloan and being able to see him and talk with hiom frequently. It was just a great weekend. I loved conference. And it was great to see some familiar faces in the choir. If any of you missed any one session of the conference, GET A COPY! The ensign will have all of the talks, but even better is to look up the talks on the church website to actually hear the voices and testimonies of the Apostles and Prophet. We have been promised so many blessings and have been given many warnings this conference. One thing that stood out to me was the many talks that touched the topic of the Temple. Always take advantage of the wonderful oppportunity to go to the Temple. But along with all of the talks, I got the impression that the financial situation world wide is worse than I thought. We are not exposed to news or anything really so all that I know is what news I get in emails. So by the sound of all of the ´faith´ promoting talks I cant help but ask really how everyone is doing back home. We live in such a blessed time and a VERY blessed area! Dont forget it. Laura and Chance, CONGRATULATIONS! A baby girl! WAHOO! You should have named her Hunter, or Sage, something tough like that, haha. Just kidding. But I hope she gets on the ball and starts growing faster, September 3rd is MY day! Jason Cook, well I think those pictures of the antlers he found and the pitures Jared sent to me of magnum catching mice made me miss home more than I have in the last 2 months, BUT those are the best pictures to see. Jason is one lucky guy, those are some awsome sheds. I was thinking the other day about him and how dang funny he is. I just started laughing while walking down the street, tell him hello for me. If I am forgetting anything im sorry, but I love you all and I am so very grateful for everything you do for me. Be safe on the slick roads! Love you all.
Elder Matthew Morris
Well to start this letter off, I must let it be known that we received the notice for changes today. I am being exchanged again....... ESMERALDAS!!! So just a little info about this city, it is on the coast of Ecuador. It is always hot, even through all of the night, most of the population is black, and they speak a completely different dialect of spanish. The coastal spanish here is hard for even latinos to understand. I cant really express with words how scared I am right now. If the spanish doesnt kill me im sure the heat will! Thats a joke, but I would ask to please remember me and missionary work in your prayers. I will be needing it.
On a lighter note, how about that conference this weekend!? I would have to agree with what dad wrote me, that talk by Elder Holland was one of the best talks I have ever heard! Everything was great. We had to go to the stake center here to watch it. We were in a seperate room watching in english. The couple missionaries from the offices here in Quito, President Sloan and his family, 3 other gringo companions and I all watched conference together. It was great. One thing I will really miss about Quito is being so close to President Sloan and being able to see him and talk with hiom frequently. It was just a great weekend. I loved conference. And it was great to see some familiar faces in the choir. If any of you missed any one session of the conference, GET A COPY! The ensign will have all of the talks, but even better is to look up the talks on the church website to actually hear the voices and testimonies of the Apostles and Prophet. We have been promised so many blessings and have been given many warnings this conference. One thing that stood out to me was the many talks that touched the topic of the Temple. Always take advantage of the wonderful oppportunity to go to the Temple. But along with all of the talks, I got the impression that the financial situation world wide is worse than I thought. We are not exposed to news or anything really so all that I know is what news I get in emails. So by the sound of all of the ´faith´ promoting talks I cant help but ask really how everyone is doing back home. We live in such a blessed time and a VERY blessed area! Dont forget it. Laura and Chance, CONGRATULATIONS! A baby girl! WAHOO! You should have named her Hunter, or Sage, something tough like that, haha. Just kidding. But I hope she gets on the ball and starts growing faster, September 3rd is MY day! Jason Cook, well I think those pictures of the antlers he found and the pitures Jared sent to me of magnum catching mice made me miss home more than I have in the last 2 months, BUT those are the best pictures to see. Jason is one lucky guy, those are some awsome sheds. I was thinking the other day about him and how dang funny he is. I just started laughing while walking down the street, tell him hello for me. If I am forgetting anything im sorry, but I love you all and I am so very grateful for everything you do for me. Be safe on the slick roads! Love you all.
Elder Matthew Morris
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