Aug. 25, 2014 Santa Monica

Aug. 25, 2014
 Alrighty my wonderful family and friends and whoever wants this email from Ecuador!
 First Haylee and Brielle thank you soo much for your letters! I loved them with all my heart! 
 This week we had 2 new investigators!  Now we have 2 baptismal dates boo yeah!! ha ha and guess who put one of the dates oh yeah me.. ha ha I was like will you be baptized  Sep. 13th?r and he was like yeah! and I was like yeah I will  throw you in that font! No, but it was super powerful his name is Daniel Migeth! The other is Fernando Escalate! He's super cool!!

Cool foods this week were

1st I had chicken feet, seriously chicken feet like the whole leg.. yeah the fingers of the chicken.. it was alright a lot of bones!  But I just had to pretend it wasn't what it really was!

2nd I had cow knee ha ha and that was different too! Really really chewy! But it was alright!

So mother, I don't wear a watch anymore.  I leave it at home in the house.  I didn't get robbed, but there

is nothing on me that's flashy except my tie now! ha ha but my watch is sweet! Thanks to you Mom!

So, this week was a little better! We taught a lot of people and a lot of people came to church today 5!  3 are investigators and 2 have baptismal dates! Super sweet!  

So, I am doing a clase de Ingles this saturday and I need your prayers because a lot of people are coming. I had the idea last week and all the parents said yeah!! haha so  I need your prayers because I need ideas what to teach and the gift of tongues now!  The class is for us to get new referrals! aww yeah don't mess! haha

 This thursday  I went on changes with an elder named Elder Munoz and the best way honestly to describe him is the little dude off of Phineas and Ferb I think his name is balgee or something!   He looks exactly like him! He was way different then Elder Ortega but that's okay! 

The Spanish was a little bit better this week! Didn't get so down on myself for not knowing it!

Family, I need you to watch Finding faith in Christ!  Honestly the sacrament has been huge for me lately. I want my whole family to watch Finding faith in Christ and just think the next time you guys take the sacrament how cool and beautiful the sacrament is! I just love church being able to remember the blood and body that our older brother shed for us! I just love it so much!! 

To finish off,  I'll tell you a cool story! Mom will hate it but dad will like it probably!  We were going down this road and a guy with his shirt off  comes and waves at us to come and stuff! So, I did. Then it got scary he poked me in the chest and said something because he was drunk and he wanted to ask me something and he poked me in the chest hard again! I said dude como estas? Me nombre es Elder Hammond and he got mad  I was like dude I have a gift for you its a folleto! Then we left as fast as we could because I almost got punched in the face!  It was super awesome!  I love you and yeah this has been my week! I love you all and thanks for your prayers!

Love

Elder Hammond

August 18, 2014 Santa Monica

Aug. 18, 2014 2nd Month

Happy birthday to my absolutely beautiful Grandma Hammond and my wonderful Aunt Teri!!

  We had my first baptism! It was flat out awesome! The spirit was soo strong! He is a big guy so he had to do it 2 times but it was awesome! I loved it!
 I love how the people sing here! It's just awesome and so funny!  They don't really know the tune so they just sing the words and it's soo awesome because it's soo wrong and I love it! and I sing so loud and so does everybody else! haha it's so awesome! 

 I totally learned the beginning of Avatar in Spanish! haha super super sweet! Fuego Aire Agua Tierre! haha

I was a little sick on Tuesday and Wed.I am not for sure why.. but, it wasn't fun that's for sure! haha I'm better now, thanks to the Lord! Seriously! I could be sick for anything out here just breathing the air! haha so I'm grateful!

New accomplishment! I can totally flip a pancake!  yeah!! don't mess with me! haha I can flip a pancake without a spatula!! haha I love it!! 

This week we worked hard in the hot sun of Ecuador! I say hi to literally everyone here!  The best and funniest thing was... I was walking down the street and this guy saw us coming and he crossed the street so he didn't have to say hi to us!! haha I want the people to know me by the guy who ALWAYS had a book of Mormon in his hand and he had a smile on his face and said hi to me! Everybody should say that! So I am going to do it! 

 A guy we taught was totally interested until we taught him about the Book of Mormon and then he left! We were like ...what?? 

Sunday.. in the morning we like gather Israel for church. All the less activos,  all the people and cry unto the people that church is at 10:30 and still they don't come, but 6 people came today YES!! haha but after church we had  almuerzo with a lady and she made food for us that we couldn't eat.. haha so we ate plain rice.  It was soo sad because I was starving!!  It looked so good, strawberries and aww yeah we couldn't eat it! haha

I didn't realize how much  I missed music until some people across the way started listening to  burn... and dynamite.. and One Direction. Then, I was like ohhh OKAY you crossed the line!!  It was like I'm studying the book of Mormon! haha
 Spanish is super super tough! It's the hardest part! It's very hard, but I am just trying so hard to understand and do my best! haha I love it! 

Something I learned this week..

Agency is huge.. we can't make people come to church, to listen and it just makes me realize how much the Lord gets maybe frustrated when we know what is right and we don't make the right decision.--- also I learned in a scripture in Alma 59.9  It's so much easier to keep a member in the church active than to let fall into the hands of the world or the lamanites! haha

My week was amazing and good but hard! I love it here! I love the hard things that come and I just say Bring it ON!!

Love

Elder  Hammond

                                             At the baptism of Fernando Nath 

                                       

Fernando & his wife

                                            Fernanado

                                             Elder Ortega

                                        This cute family at church wanted a pic of me & my comp

August 11, 2014 2nd letter

August 11, 2014 2nd letter

I am here in Ecuador in Guayaquil! a place called Santa Monica! It is very very HOTT!! like very hot! the days I just sweat and sweat its awesome! ha ha but at night time its like 80 degrees! and we have to sleep with mosquito nets because we could get sick or even die if we get bit by a certain mosquito they say! ha ha yeah soo it's hot and its hard to fall asleep sometimes! but ha ha

This week has been crazy! Mom and family and everybody- Mom it was soo amazing to have that miracle with the family you converted!! It was one of the happiest but craziest things in the whole planet to meet your convert! It was soo amazing I love them soo much and I barely know them!

This week has been super super hard! ha ha because

1. The Spanish... the Spanish is the hardest for me.. at first it was kind of a joke because its like ha ha yeah I have noooo idea what your saying but I'm going to keep a smile on my face and say SI every time but now.. its real and I HAVE to know what they are saying and its soo hard! ha ha not only that but when I speak the people don't understand what I'm saying and they make fun of me... yeah.. its really hard!... but I just try to smile and laugh it off!

The animals here are sooo gross and its soo sad.. you don't know if the dog or cat is dead or not.. they are limping and some have blood on their legs and they are just terrible looking its soo sad...

Quite honestly I cannot describe it here! The people are amazing and I love them so much!  They are very very different from u.s. haha I love it though!

 The living conditions are very difficult and hard because everybody lives in a concrete house ... everybody with concrete floors and their is just soo much dirt!  Literally dirt is their carpet! haha its awesome!  It's been a long week! I got sick last week so it was hard but I'm getting better!

The food! okay the food ..all we eat is   rice... and rice hahah and rice and beans!  We drink a lot of coca cola because we can't drink the water its the best ever! haha but my nose always hurts after I drink it! haha

Worst part of my day is the shower though... why.. because I literally do the hoki poki in the shower it is SOO COLD!! Like put your right arm in! Right arm out! And you shake till you can get your left arm in!! I'ts soo cold!!  but gosh it wakes you up! that's for sure!!

The smell it reeks here unless you pass a bread shop and oh my gosh the bread here is to die for I love it!!

This week we have a baptism!!!! YEYA!!!  My first baptism his name is Fernando Nath!  I don't even know what he says but he seems legit!  We also gave a woman a blessing here too!

People here dress very immodestly.. like the women...  oh gosh you just can't look down!  just don't look down and you'll be good because I feel sometimes they want us or something and will come up to us and I'm just like buenos dias AND run  Off. Totally pulling a Joseph there.

  It's awesome here and I love it! Even though its super hard! I love it! The best part is the night time! haha These huge guys come out with their shirts off and they are completely DRUNK!!  They are huge too! these guys are big and just drunk and its sooo funny but honestly its quite scary but don't mess with me!  Today was cool we got to go to the mall and that was way fun! haha but yeah super cool!!

I do want to apologize for not writing all my family 1 by 1  I love you all soo much family is the world over here!! I seriously have the best family ever!!!!!!! seriously ever ever ever!!!!

The church is true and I love you with everything with all I have!!

Elder

Hammond                            This is our church!

This Is Eliza! Mom's first Baptism! With her husband 2 kids & Presidente y Hermana Riggins.

This is my zone-----The lizard that goes in my bed! Then it's my backyard, trash on the streets

     

August 4, 2014 Well, here it will be small and simple because I have to be obedient..

August 4, 2014


Gosh, where do I even start like seriously! I'll start with the plane so we got on and I can say I've been to Columbia because I've smelt and breathed the air in Columbia so that's cool!  okay first day pretty much was just like... okay new people you don't know any Spanish, so were going to make you feel worse and rap in Spanish! ha ha it was long and hard and I had a headache after because I didn't understand a word they said at all! ha ha but it's okay! My companion is elder Ortega  he is good he is a native and he's cool and I like him!  He is like an older brother and he will mess with me and everything!  Ecuador is insane.. soo much to write soo little time! ha ha  but okay!!

IT'S soo different than the US! ha ha! Moms here will feed their babies right in front of your eyes and like not even cover.. you just don't look and you keep teaching! ha ha people going to the bathroom right in the middle of the street!  Its like I thought the bathrooms were in the house!   I am still getting used to the whole toilet paper in the trash thing  it just smells soo bad!! Ecuador just smells bad! But it smells good when you pass a bread place! ha ha I love it here but its hard!  Fast Sunday I bore my testimony!  You thought bearing your testimony in English is hard try doing it in Spanish ha ha yeah.. people laughed during mine.. it was just grand..  but  it's soo sad how people live here soo sad! People just live in these concrete houses and it's crazy!  The food is pretty good I am just glad I am not picky!  Ya know!  I get to sleep in a princess net because the mos

Well my big email just erased... like the whole thing and it didn't save..... wow... and I had so much to say. and I have 5 minutes left... wow...I am going to cry
haha gosh this is soo stupid... I hate this computer!

Well, here it is:

The plane ride was fun I gave away 2 books of Mormons..

The smell here is terrible but I love it when I walk by a bread place..

My companion is elder Ortega he is native and doesn't speak any English. It is very very hard but I guess ill learn faster that way..

It is sad here how the people live and the dog and cats live here...

I don't have any time gosh I'm balling why did the entire thing erase!!   love you my family!! I love you I  love you I love you! Please pray for me!!!

Love

Elder Hammond

July 29, 2014 He made it to Ecuador

July 29, 2014    HE IS IN GUAYAQUIL!!!    This is a pic that The Mission Presidents office sent us today!

                                                 The Guayaquil Temple & new missionaries that arrived today!

          This is a picture of our amazing neighbor Pres. Bill Riggins! He's the new Mission President of Guayaquil North, right next to Jacob's Mission. He saw him when Elder Hammond arrived in Guayaquil!YAY!! Pres. Riggins emailed this to me!! He said he gave Jacob a great big hug!!!

       This is Jacob's trainer: Elder Ortega. He was the A.P. He is serving in the Zone Puerto Nuevo!

Mexico MTC pics

Mexico pics
                                            His District in the Mexico CCM

July 28, 2014 Well here I go!

July 28, 2014 Well here I go!

 This week has been one with ALOT!! of emotions. Good and bad and scared and super nervous and maybe some breaking down moments! haha but that's alright!  I didn't realize how hard no.. how different of a hard the mission would be! Now if it was like outdoor work I could do it! But never in my life had I had to sit down for 6 hours in one day and just study study gah.. it's killing me, but"! I love it! haha This week not much went on besides  on Sunday  ya know?

We had in field training on Thursday it was the best thing ever you seriously sit all day and you get taught what you've learned this whole time it was awesome...But no gym! I have gained 5 pounds here! yippie! I love it!! Seriously though  I do.. its hard but I love the hard..bring it!

But I'll just tell you about Sunday because that was the most exciting part of the week!

Sunday: well since we are leaving in sacrament meeting we did the sacrament prayers and everything in Spanish it was cool but also the district that is leaving bears their testimonies and so yeah I did and everything but it was super cool! We could do it in English so i did it in ENGLSIH!! yeah! !haha but it was cool I bore witness about Christ! and everything! I loved it! I didn't know how powerful it was till I got down and people were giving me deer in the headlights looks and girls were crying and guys giving me fist bumps and everything and I got a super sweet note and it said ... quote ..You truly know how to testify and you have changed my life.... haha I was like thanks man! and then 2 other guys girls came up to me saying how grateful they were it was cool! I love bearing my testimony!  so I did 3 times that day!  We had a devotional today! haha and GUESS WHAT!=? guess who had to say the opening prayer in front of 500 missionaries? yup me in Spanish! haha I was like GULP!! surreee..  So yeah that's a once in a lifetime! cool! Then we had a great night!  Everybody who is leaving stayed  for 30 minutes for their testimonies and I felt a prompting to get up so I did and bore witness again of being missionaries and the great work and obligation to have to serve!  even more people thanked me! it was a good day!

Now.... I am just absolutely nervous to go but I know it will be good! The lord will protect! I just hope you will all pray for me! I love you guys all soo very much!  I am soo grateful to come to the Mexico city MTC!! It was an incredible experience! and I loved it!!  The Spirit  is soo dang strong here! I love it!!

Ecuador, here I COME!!

Love

Elder Hammond                         This is my amazing teacher!!!