Hello!
Well another week has gone by. This week I hit 12 weeks in Esmeraldas, a few missionaries got exchanged but I'm still here. I hope everything is going well for everyone back home. The fourth of July is this weekend! WAHOO! Too bad they don't celebrate it down here. Let me know next week how it goes for everyone. We are actually going to have an activity at the church Saturday morning. A breakfast and then a bunch of games. Hopefully a bunch of people will come. Yesterday was stake conference here. All of the stakes in Ecuador were included. We got to hear some talks from Salk Lake, Elder Packer spoke, a couple members of the 70 and the general primary president. It was really neat. It was transmitted live, just to the stakes in Ecuador. A couple of investigators came and watched, but not as many a we had hoped.
I have a video here and a couple of pictures that I am going to try to send with this letter. The video, well I explain it in the video. The pictures, after stake conference we went to do service for an investigator of another ward, they had these nifty weights on the ground. So we decided to find out who the toughest Elder was. All of the elders in my district are latinos, and not real tough. I won, but I sure am feeling it today. My arms are pretty sore. And upon lowering the bar from the air, it caught on my pen and tore my chest pocket off! oops, but its ok, i know how to sew! Anywho, hopefully these pictures and video send!
Love you all!
Elder Matthew Morris
(**Video did not transmit in the email)

Hey Family!
Well time is flying by! Happy Fathers day to all of the fathers back home. It was an interesting day for us yesterday. EVERYONE in Esmeraldas was drunk. Including a couple of investigators. So we didn't really get anything done. I got offered beer by a couple of people. It was just something new to see. Last Friday I was given the opportunity by the sister missionaries in our district to preform a couple of baptisms from their sector. It was a family of seven, the parents have a baptismal date in July (not married yet) so the 5 kids got baptised on Friday. Elder Betancourth baptised the 3 boys, and I got to baptize the 2 daughters. It was really neat to see that big family there all together. The sister missionaries in our district are Hermana Tax from guatemala, and Hermana Morris from Panama! Don't ask me, I don't know how she got that last name, she is pure latina, and even more weird, both of her parents are Morris´. So I think we´ve gotta do some family searching and figure out how we got our name in Panama. But anyways, that was a great experience. Everything is going well here for me. By the sound of all of the letter, we´ve been getting lots of rain back home! That's good, you´re learning a little bit of what Ecuatorian life is like! I was glad to get so many pictures from home in the letter this week. I liked all of them. Cole Matthew, Caleb and the airplanes, Laura and her big belly!! The picture of Laura and Chance at the zoo with Mary and Caleb caught me off guard, I haven't seen Laura with a belly like that, so it made me look twice! haha, oh well, not too much longer Laura. Dad also told me in the letter from him that they sold grandma´s buick, does she have another car? It was great to get those pictures from home. I couldn't believe how comfy and expensive our couches look! And carpet in the house! That is a luxury that is unknown in Ecuador. And the picture of Dad and Caleb mowing the back lawn! There are no lawnmowers here, there´s not even lawns here at people´s houses. we are truly blessed. Don't ever forget it, I hope that I will always remember it.
Thank you all for the letters and everything!
Love you all, take...luck!

(next email...)
oops....love, Elder Matthew Morris

Hey Family!
Its starting to scare me how fast time is going by! We are already half the way through June! I am just grateful for where I am right now. I wouldn't choose to be anywhere else. There have been some tough days, but like I said last week, I love my mission. All of the ups and downs, forwards and backwards, everything about it. Everyday I learn something new. Yesterday we were visiting with a new member family and a couple of non-members of the family. In the closing prayer the wife who is a member in her prayer, asked the Heavenly Father bless all of the people in the world who are less fortunate and don't have food to eat, or a home to stay in. Now this is a great thing to pray for, but it struck me because of their own living conditions. One of the most humble families Ive met here on my mission. Yet they are one of the happiest families I have met. Also, Dad usually always reminds me in his letters, for me to pray for little Caleb and Cole Matthew. I always do remember you all in my prayers, but something that none of you will see or hear, that I see and I hear, is the prayers of the members and our investigators here. And in their prayers they ask, not just that the missionaries be watched over, but the families of the missionaries be watched over, and protected. It always brings a tear to my eye when I hear it. People who have never met my family, only seen the pictures that I have, and THEY pray for MY family. You are all being prayed for, more than you would imagine. And by the sounds of the letters, the prayers are being answered. Its good to hear that everyone is doing so good, that we are getting lots of rain back home, that dad and the crew are staying busy with work.
I hope that this letter finds everyone well. I love you all and thank you all for everything!
Elder Matthew Morris

Hello Everyone!
This week was a less productive week for us. We had zone conference one day and interviews with president another day. So we were traveling around a bit. It was a fun week though. Today for preparation day we went to the chapel, played ping pong and then some volleyball. Today was a HOT sunny day all day long! We played ping pong in the stage area at the church, with air conditioning on full blast, then to go outside to play volleyball in the sun.... oh it was killer! But we had a lot of fun. Before I forget, Laura Happy birthday last month, I have forgotten to write it every week since, but I promise I didn't forget when it was your birthday! And little Cole Matthew just turned one month old yesterday! WAHOO, hes probably growing in a little bit to those nostrils that Jared gave him, but maybe give him till hes about 14 before he really fits them! Just kidding, I'm sure hes a handsome little guy, with a middle name like that he has to be cute!
So how is everyone doing back home? I heard that the rain hit pretty hard this last week. Gramma was sure excited in her letter to me that everyone is keeping up on her yard work for her. Thank you all, don't you let her go without attention. I miss being able to go up there and mow or weed wack. That is one thing that I really really miss about being at home, is the actual hand labor. I know that I have to go into some type of profession or hobby with hands on labor when I get home. ONLY because missionary work is so spiritually rewarding can I handle it, I know I wont be a salesman that's for sure.
The work here is progressing bit by bit, the problem here in the coastal area of Ecuador is that nobody is married. Of our 10 investigators that are really progressing and keeping commitments, 2 are eligible for baptism, the rest are not living the law of chastity. So its a bit slower here in that since.
One new thing in the mission that President Sloan has changed, before, exchanges were every six weeks, if he wanted to change someone he would do it then, but now there are no longer 6 week changes. He will just call up any day of the week if he wants to change someone. This way it keeps everyone more in check and working hard ALL the time. Before the numbers always would droop off the last week or two of each change because missionaries would say ´well I'm gonna get changed, what does it matter' and just glide the last couple weeks. I personally am really excited for it. So who knows when I will get an exchange. I was in the MTC for my first 2 months, then Tulcan 2 months, then Quito 2 months and now I have just over 2 months in Esmeraldas! So I finally broke my record! I like it here, i wouldn't mind staying longer. But I trust President if he does exchange me. I have learned things in all of my sectors that I wouldn't have learned had I stayed in the sector before!
I'm outta things to say for this week. Thank you all for everything. I'm doing great and loving it here! I love you all and I hope to keep hearing from everyone!
Elder Matthew Morris

Here's a couple pictures.

all of the missionaries is my zone, zona esmeraldas.

My companion, President Sloan and his wife, and me!

And me dominating at ping pong!

¡buen provecho! Elder Morris

Hey Family!
I LOVE MY MISSION! I don't think I could say that enough. We had a good week this last week, and a really good day yesterday! We had some really good lessons and a lot of investigators came to church yesterday. This week we are going to try to get a family married so that they can get baptised in the next 2 or 3 weeks. The investigators are all progressing a lot right now! We were teaching a lesson to a kid the other day, his name is Roy. We were teaching about the plan of salvation and we had him read a scripture in Alma 40, when he had read it we began to explain a little bit, and he stopped us. He then just asked us, what do you feel when you read the scriptures? and we told him that a good feeling comes, its the holy ghost. And he got a BIG smile on his face and told us all of the feelings he felt and that when he even reads just one verse he wants to just keep reading and learn more! It was a great lesson with him. This week we are probably going to put a baptismal date for him.
Last Wednesday we went to a city a couple hours away for a little conference, a general authority came to speak to us. Elder Pino from Venezuela. It was pretty neat, good talks. This week is Zone conference for us again. Tomorrow are our interviews with President Sloan. A couple of new things in the mission; 1- No more going to the beach on preparation days. Not even to go and sit in the sand..... it was a sad day when we got word of that. 2- No more mission-wide changes every 6 weeks. It is not, whatever day of the week, if president decides to change some missionaries he just calls them up and they have to be in the new sectors the next morning! So that's gonna have everyone more on there toes now. I think it´ll be better, I just hope I don't get exchanged. I am used to the hot weather now. I can sleep just fine at night without the fan or anything. I'm just loving it here. Last night I dreamt that Dad came to Ecuador to pick me up and take me home for a 2 week visit with the family. I ran away from him telling him I didn't want to go home yet! That's just how I feel. I love my mission so much! I hope that everyone has a good week this week, that you always for all of the letters of encouragement!
Elder Matthew Morris

OK the pics are 1st, the chapel where we go on Sundays,
2nd me and my comp now Elder Flores at the conference last week,
3rd me and my last comp Elder Tirado walking to an appointment!
Enjoy!