June 29, 2015 Machala

June 29, 2015 Machala

Wow!! Seriously I am just tired! ha ha and literally where in the world did June go?!!  Wow, It's July this next week!!! HOW CRAZY!!!   I will tell you a little about what happened this week!!!

SO,  this week started out good! We had a lot of work to do on our own.   But some missionaries had changes.  As zone leaders we have to go with them, so on Tuesday we had to wake up at  3:30 in the morning to see if they were there and good!  Turns out that 2 of the Hermanas weren't there! We were waiting and waiting and waiting and they never came so we had to take a taxi over to their house and ALL of their lights were out! haha  So, we started yelling and  throwing rocks at their window and finally they woke up!!  They BARELY made the bus by 2 minutes!  We were back in our house at  4:45 I was soo tired after that! haha

Then on Tuesday it was super super cool!  We found a super super poor family that lives literally in a shack of bamboo and their house is literally literally crawling with spider webs everywhere!  She is a single Mom and if you guys saw her living conditions you would tear up because I almost did.. but we started teaching her in her humble home and at the end of our lesson we offered help and decided to clean her house for her and we cleaned literally spider webs   just sheer spider webs for about  30 minutes wow!!  Such a life changing story! I will ALWAYS be grateful for how I live in my home!! 

On Friday  I had such an amazing experience too!  The sisters called us and asked if we could see one of their fetches to get baptized she was supposed to get baptized this Saturday but got dis animated and didn't want to. So we went to rescue her!  Well,  when we got there, her husband is a RM but went inactive!  We started talking and listening!  The spirit really touched my heart and I shared a scripture in Mosiah 18!  When I was speaking to her my words were super clear and powerful and I started bearing testimony of the church and Joseph  Smith.  Soon you could see tears falling down her face and she started to cry and her words were... it's true it's true.. so right their I did the baptism interview and she passed and then her husband turned to my companion and said well, I didn't want to hear that. But I had to and then he said in all my time as a missionary and here in this ward I've never seen or heard such power in all my life!  Thanks so much! Wow! What a blessing to be here in the Lords hands!!  I Love it!!

The Lord blessed us with such a good week! We brought 2 complete familias to church in total 15 people and have 8 progresando!  We taught over 60 lessons this week! along with helping and lifting our zone!! wow!! I LOVE THIS WORK!!

IT TRULY IS THE WORK OF THE LORD!! I love this church and this country!! and these people!! HAPPY 4th!!! 

OF JULY!!

Love, Elder Hammond

This family that we are teaching is the best, they are super poor!

   

                                         This is the family that we saved!!

June 22, 2015 Machala!

June 22, 2015 Machala!!!
Wow!!  So this week was awesome! And a little tough! We have had some challenges in the zone with some disobedient missionaries.  It's tough because my comp is new and doesn't know how to react or do anything in those situations. So I was doing it alone!  It's  hard, but we took care of it! This week was super cool, we got to go to Guayaquil  and listen to our wonderful President Torres! He is  just awesome!  During the meetings we had the chance to have a seventy come and talk to us so that was fun!!  We came back on Tuesday night at like 11 at night I was exhausted!!!  But well, whats new!
 So, it was super cool. We were working and found this house that has a shoe factory behind their house that makes super super good shoes.  Their shop and house are just terrible but to get them to go to church we helped them A TON!! We  made shoes!! It was soo cool to see how they were made and everything! They came to church for the service that we gave them! I love serving our Lord by serving other people! I honestly don't have anytime this week to tell you what I've learned, but honestly I love this country and these people!  Every day I  learn so much!  Something new and something I need to do better. But that's why Gods great atonement is sufficient for all of us! I love my Savior and I know that He lives!
 A shout out to my wonderful Dad for fathers day!! Just remember what I said for my farewell talk for fathers day! But really Dad thanks for your amazing and perfect example you've set for me!  I want to be just like you! Humble, hard working and just amazing and how a father should be! Thanks soo much!  I love you soo much family! Your amazing!  This week some stats:  we invited 46 people to be baptized and we have 11 baptismal dates  so we are cooking and 14 people came to church! FUN!! love you!!! 1 YEAR DOWN!!!

Love Elder Hammond

 

June 15, 2015 Machala!!

June 15, 2015  Machala!


Honestly, Wow!!  I can't believe it!  I have one year out here in the amazing Country of Ecuador!!  Literally it has just FLOWN by!  Here we go the second half! When you need to play the hardest!   I'm ready to tear it up!   Wow, awesome!!
 So this week has been cool and some new experiences! My companion had changes and I don't know where he went but I got a new companion.  His name is  Elder Jenkins he's from almost Sacramento California! A place called Auburn!  He has my same time here in the mission.  We're from the same group.  I am training him to be a zone leader. He's super super great! We get along great!  We are super excited to work and have great plans to help the zone out! I'm super excited!

This week was cool, we have a family that we're teaching that has galleos! They train them to fight so we had the chance to see them battle and see  how they train the chickens to fight.  It was super super cool! But super sad because they train them to just tear them apart.... but yeah!!

This week we have definitely seen the hand of the Lord in our work!  We brought over 10 people to church and they loved it! We are working with families and so I love it!   Machala is super super cool, super dangerous where we live and work,  but I love it! I am ready to show my new companion  and teach him all I know so he can be a  great leader here in the mission.  I know he will!!   Thanks soo much for all your support this year that I have had!! Seriously LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! 1 YEAR DOWN!!! Half time starts NOW!!!! We are off to Guayaquil for a training!! 

Love, Elder Hammond

                                                My new comp!!!!!  

                                               I got to eat at Carls Jr.!!!!

June 8, 2015 TORNADO IN MACHALA?!!!

June 8, 2015 TORNADO IN MACHALA?!!!

 Honestly honestly these weeks have gone by soooo fast!! I can't even tell you!  We are just tearing it up over here working our tails off and I absolutely love it!! We are just helping our zone out and trying our best to support them and build them up! ...... It's a little hard because they are being super prideful but  that's alright! 

So, story time!!  We go to teach in Africa a part in our sector that is super super poor !   Wow,  you guys just need to see how these people live! We were teaching a lesson and we were bearing testimony about Joseph Smith and all of a sudden outside it just gets super super windy!!  Dust is EVERYWHERE!!  Just everywhere and the trees are just moving up and down.  We were looking out the window and people's tin roofs were just getting TORN off and flying more then 50 feet in the air! A house just got blown over! And it's new!  We were absolutely fine in the house that we were in.  NOTHING, I mean NOTHING Happened to us! We couldn't even feel the wind outside!!! WHAT?!? What a miracle!!  When it stopped,  the mom of the house said, Oh  what  a miracle I am going to your church!! Si o Si! This week wow what a miracle ! She did a little sign of the cross!   My companion and I were like wow! Did that really just happen!?   Later, tons of ambulances came and everything it was crazy!! What a miracle!! 

This week we've had the chance to help soo many youth who need help here.  So  we are working our tails off!  We've given blessings to people and I love it here! I'm sorry I don't have pictures because I can never take my camera outside the house... ah aha or my watch or anything so yeah its fun! I love you sooo much everyone! I hope you have a great week!  Love you all so much I'm doing great here in Machala the zone of ORO ! ! 

Being strong and defending Gods faith!!

Love, Elder Hammond

June 1, 2015 This week in Machala!

June 1, 2015 This week in Machala!
 Wow!!  Honestly this week went by super super super fast!  Like seriously I feel like yesterday I just was writing you guys!! But first of all.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE AND BRIELLE!! WOW, YOU GUYS  ARE ALL GROWN UP!!!!!!!! YOUR AMAZING!!!!!! I have the best sisters ever!!! Happy Birthday my amazing sisters!! 

Congrats everybody on getting through school that's the best thing ever!! You guys are just soo funny I love reading your letters!!

Well, this week honestly we have only spent 3 hours in our whole week in our sector!  Wow! because we've been out doing interviews for our whole zone. In total this month of June we had 22 baptisms! So that's good!  So we have just been helping out everyone and everybody! It's been super amazing to help the missionaries and see what they need to do better and how we can help them as zone leaders! It's super fun! So like honestly we don't have many stories to tell but the one from   Sunday because it was the only day we worked in our sector! We were going out to get our investigators and a black man just totally drugged up came at us and asked us for money and we said we don't have any money we have our scriptures and nothing more. He got soo mad that he went right in the middle of the street and almost got killed by a bus! Wow... freaking drug addicts!  We also have a super super dangerous part in our zone called Africa because honestly it's just like Africa... has the dirt houses,  the wood houses...everything!  If there were giraffes and lions and stuff there wouldn't be a difference! But I love you all soo much and I'm doing great!! I'm working so hard!!

Love, Elder Hammond

This week from Machala!!