Oct. 24, 2015 Guayaquil

Oct. 24, 2015 Guayaquil-office

THIS WEEK HAS BEEN CRAZY!  It's been awesome!  Honestly, I'm just doing soo great!! I love this work and I know it's the right thing to do!! We are tearing it up!

This WHOLE WEEK we've been giving the whole mission training mtgs.  We've been in Machala and Santa Rosa and then Cuenca and Naranjal and now we just barely gave one in Loja that's where we still are.  There is so much stuff to do this week!

For the usual we get like 2 hours of sleep.  We were soo blessed to get 8 hours last night! I was soo grateful to the Lord for that blessing!  We have been visiting and helping and training missionaries this whole week! It's been really stressful and soo fun. I'm learning soo much from our amazing Mission President!!

Honestly, I love this work soo much!!  The gospel is just the best thing in this whole world!! I love it soo much! I am reading soo much in the Book of Mormon about  how they had the chance to preach the gospel and defend the truth!! I get to do that NOW!! I love it soo much!!

Elder Soto! My new companion is literally soo awesome! We are twins! We get along soo well and we both are soo ready to tear it up over here! He's from Utah and he's a boss and were ready to get things done! For example assistants usually Never have baptisms. But we just had a baptism this sunday!!  It was awesome. I would send you a picture but I can't because I don't have a place to put my memory card! But honestly I am doing good!  SO happy all the time and really loving my mission! My time is going by soo fast!   We HAVE SOO much to do here in the mission.  I apologize if I don't get to email you that much.  I love this work!!  soo glad to be a disciple  of Jesus Christ and be a true defender of the Lord and the Gospel on the earth today!! LETS GOOO!!

Elder Hammond

Oct. 17, 2015 Transferred A P

Oct. 17,  2015  Transferred


Well family, I have some news to give you guys! 
This week has been CRAZY!!!  It was all regular,  we had a huge multi zone conference on tuesday.  It went really good.   I was the zone leader of 18 missionaries and it went really well!  Then we kept working that day and all that kind of stuff.  All was really well! 
 Wednesday we get a call that I have changes ha ha so shoot I started calling all of the members saying good bye and all that stuff.  I was nervous because I haven't been here for very long!  But I have learned soo much and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve here. I got a call from the assistants - I had to be in the terminal at 9 in the morning and there were only 2 people and 1 assistant which was kinda weird and they were like Elder Hammond what did you do?  Like you need to tell us now what you did! Your not going to be a zone leader anymore.  I have no idea what you did! They were  freaking me out like crazy!  They were saying I have so much to do!  Then after like 1 hour my new companion Elder Soto gave the keys to the office home to me and said Elder Hammond your my new companion!  He is the Assistant.  I have just been assigned to be the Assistant of this Mission in Guayaquil Sur! My companion Elder Soto is from Utah Spanish Fork! 

 I have  a lot to do!  I can honestly say I have given it my all I could!  But I honestly cried because I was soo nervous what they were saying and scaring me!   So I had 2 hours because we were going to go to Machala  and a place called Santa Rosa for meetings with President Torres!  We traveled with him! We didn't plan much!  We had to get everything planned!   So we went and there were about 100 missionaries and I still hadn't had a day as an assistant and we had to talk and everything to pump  everyone up and tell them whats going on! 
So we're going to tear it up! It's been hard!  I haven't been sleeping much! My pdays are going to be on Saturday!  And yeah! So HERE WE GO!! hah I am ready to help the missionaries and learn more!  Serve in every way I can!! I love you all so much!  I don't have much time! Because as assistants we don't have much time to do anything!    Pretty much never have pdays! Please pray for me! I love you my family!!! The new AP

Elder Hammond in Mission Guayaquil SUR!!!

Oct. 12. 2015 Guayaquil

Oct. 12, 2015 Guayaquil
Familia,
I honestly can't believe that this week I will have 16 months in the mission.  The time is literally flying before my eyes!! This week has been such a good week full of miracles and full of hard work and sweat and being very very tired! ha ha but I love this work soo much! I am soo grateful to my goodly parents says Nefi of teaching the great principle of hard work!! Here, I see kids well jovenes (youth) and stuff that really don't know how to work hard and it just hurts me to see that some missionaries are just out here taking their time doing what they want!   I'm like come on man!! Lets go to work!! Let's get some baptisms! That's why were here! 

Well it was awesome this week. On tuesday we had leader training with President Torres.   In the morning we had the great opportunity to go do a session in the temple!  I have done 4 sessions now in my whole life!  In order to go to the temple we had to get up at 3:30! Ohh my gosh that was a killer.  Especially getting and taking a cold shower at 3:30.   (was not that fun at all!)  In the shower doing the hoki poky- right foot in right foot out!! ha ha so funny! Then we had training/counsel and it was awesome!! So espiritual and just so powerful.  We have  a lot of work to do!!  A lot to baptize!  I love it!! After, I was soo tired!!! ha ha

On Wednesday I wasn't feeling too well.  It's the food I ate I think.. but its alright!! I felt better thursday!

During the days wednesday and thursday we worked with the missionaries helping them to realize the importance of this great work which I love! Everyday I LOVE getting up doing a....  (barely any exercises because I am so tired but I do a little)  but then to study the scriptures!!  I LOVE studying them!!  The hour that I have!! I love it soo much!! I wish every single person had this chance!! I love reading the scriptures every day!!

Then saturday we had our reunion (meeting) with our missionaries it went really well I thought.   In our zone there are only 5 gringos and the other 13 are latinos!  It's funny! From all  lugares (places) of the world!  After it was SUPER COOL!! What was happening was that there was a HUGE thing going on in our sector.  ALL of a sudden comes a super nice black car with TONS of security and out comes President Correa!! The president of this country!! He was 1 block from where we live!!! WHAT!! I wanted to shake his hand, but i didn't!!  So that was super cool!!! 

 Sunday.   Turns out we had to give talks again.  It went really good, I shared my talk on the sacrament and the importance of it!! I hope it went well! It was funny even the bishop of the ward was taking notes and writing down the scriptures I shared with the ward!! ha ha  Super cool!!  Then  I made patacones and they were delicious!! ha ha.  I love this work and love being a missionary!! Thanks for all your prayers and support!!

Elder Hammond

Oct. 5, 2015 Guayaquil

Oct. 5, 2015 Guayaquil

Mi Familia!!

WOW!! This week went by way too fast!   I cant even tell you!!! WOW!! it's crazy!  How fast the time and how my life is changing every single day! i love this work!

It was such a blessing to go to conference this weekl! 

Here in our mission it's a rule that you have to bring investigadores to conference if you want to go!  So I MADE SURE...that we had investigadores every time!!... because ..like I wanna go and stuff!!  I was so excited to hear who were the 3 new apostoles! I think that's soo cool!!

This week our whole zone was kinda low!   Our numbers.. and the missionaries weren't doing much! I was soo looking forward to conference .. that we could enjoy it,  and take advantage of conference to inspire us  to get more baptisms!   In order to baptize someone they have to assist the church 3 times!   Attending  sessions on  Saturday and Sunday  both count as an assistance.. so we really needed to take advantage of conference so that we  could have more baptisms this month!

Last month we had 18 baptisms as a zone which is not very good!  So we need more!  So what we did this week was worked A TON!!... with  all the elders!   We went and just worked our brains off and helped every one of them reach their maximo potential! 

We really need to help the missionaries to not be afraid to talk to everyone!!   That's what I tried to do, because I think the lord has blessed me to be able to talk and not have fears to talk to groups of people !  So the WHOLE WEEK,  we were just working , helping and visiting our missionaries!!  That's probably why the week went by so fast! haha

Then conference came!!  We got to go every session!! SOO AWESOME!!  I love it!!   Something that hit me, ( I don't remember who said it). but he said,   Pray about  what is holding you back, to have success  and then just give it your all I LOVED THAT!.. So I acted upon that!.. and I will study the scriptures super hard this week to find the answer!  I love you soo much my wonderful family!!   I LOVE THIS WORK!!  I love being a defender of the truth!!...and bringing the world his truth! 

I Love you guys!!

Elder Hammond

Sept. 28, 2015 Guayaquil

Sept. 28,  2015 Guayaquil

Mi Familia!

Because i don't have too much time..here goes  how this week went!! it was sooo AWESOME!! We worked our tails off just trying to find new people and talking with everybody!! So i love it! I honestly 

 love talking to people, finding out who they are, and the problems they have...because 

anything they say, or problem they have, a principle of the gospel is going to help them in their life!!!

     We have definitely  seen the hand of the Lord in the work this week!!  We were planning to have 3 baptisms, but it turned out that with the help of the bishop, we were able to find and have 1 more bautismo!!  So we had 4 bautismos!!  It was so cool and awesome to have them!!!!

     This Saturday we had our meeting as a zone, and we just talked about the things we have to do

better!  ...and that we really need to be converted to the gospel first, to be able to preach it to other people!!   I hope it stuck with the missionaries!!

     Afterwards, one of my old companions from Argentina who served with me in the Galapagos

talked with me.  He was super disanimated!!   And I talked to him for about 15-20 minutes about

my mission and the things that I have learned to do when troubles come!  He had tears streaming

down his face, and he thanked me for my words!  I was really cool!!  Really!!  I love this work!!

     It truly is the work of the Lord, and we are so STOKED to listen to God's chosen prophets who guide and direct us these latter days!!!

     I love you so much, and am praying for you daily!!  Have an amazing week!!!

Elder Jacob Hammond

Sept. 21, 2015 Guayaquil

Sept. 21, 2015 Guayaquil
FAMILIA!

Wow!  This week went by sooooo fast!!!  I can't even tell you guys!!!  Here in the coast, the

weeks pass by like water running through your hands!!  It's been nuts!!  I love it!!  I've been

studying my brains off, and really I am learning so much and having so many experiences

that are so amazing, and have seen so many miracles this week!!  i love my MISSION!!  My 

mission is literally the best mission in the whole wide world!!

This week...well, on Tuesday we had a good study and then went and checked up on some missionaries and it was really bad.  They weren't doing anything.  They weren't studying and 

they weren't even in mission clothes and we had to reprimand them pretty good so that they could

have a change of heart and keep working hard in the Lord's work!!  Because it's not our time it's the

Lord's time so if we waste one moment we're not even wasting our time, more important we're wasting God's.  And that's what we talked about to them, and really this next week I hope they

do better!!

Then this Wednesday we worked our tails off so we could have a BAPTISM and WE DID!!  We found a couple that have assisted the Church a few times, and yeah, they got married on Thursday

but on Wednesday we found it all out, and we were like, 'Would you like to get baptized like

Jesus Christ?  and they were like, "yeah! let's go!!  So right then and there we started talking and

teaching ALL they had to know because the next day on Thursday we're going to have her interview!!! DOPE!!!

On Friday  our missionaries that I was talking about earlier, well they didn't get better and the

assistants had to come talk to them and I felt so bad for them because they aren't converted

to the gospel themselves yet!  They can't teach others the gospel of Christ because first of all they

THE MISSIONARIES aren't converted to the gospel!!  We really have to help missionaries to convert

themselves!  For the least when I come home I wanna have 1 convert!!!  And that's gonna be me!!!

On Saturday!! We had our reunion de conpromeittos!  And we talked about being unidos with our companions and teaching with power and authority!   And I hope it went really good!  After that we

had the BAPTISM!!!  IT WAS REALLY COOL!!!  I would send pictures, but this computer has a

virus and I'm really scared with what happened last time with the virus I had!!  Sooo sad se fue

400 pictures!!!   hahaha

Sunday was awesome!!  I love church and I didn't have to give a talk!!  ESOO!!

I love you all soo much my wonderful family....Brittany, Mom Dad and Haylee  you guys have a

blast in Europe!!!  I love you guys soooooo much guys!!

Elder Hammond