There were a few random interesting experiences this past week or so. A dog tried to bite me, but didn't puncture my suit pants. In one appointment we had new people who insisted we drink the coffee they offered us, and we had to politely (and firmly) tell them we didn't drink coffee.
I forgot to show the cool new Ecuadorean tie I bought (picture below), as well as that my 6-mo. old watch fell in the shower and the glass shattered. (picture also below) RIP My watch.
One of the Peruvian Elders knows the "Once there was a Snowman" song, so now whenever he sees me he calls me "Elder Tall, Tall, Tall."
I also had my 2nd Terremoto. It was a 4.6 in Quito, but we were just chatting in the chapel hallway after a Ward Council meeting, around 7:30pm, when car alarms started going off and everything started swaying. I heard there were a lotta earthquakes in California and stuff, so whether it's a lotta seismic activity or what not, I don't know. But it definitely keeps things interesting.
To be completely honest, a mission's very hard, missing a lunch appointment because I didn't know the area well enough during exchanges, as well as not learning the language as fast as I want to has made me feel pretty lonely and homesick. But I just had to finally stop and say a prayer for help, and had to remind myself of why I was here, my commitment to Heavenly Father, how this would help me understand the difficult experiences investigators/new members faced, and that I'd keep persevering because of my faith in the Savior.
I was grateful I had this experience, cause we went to an appointment a little later in which I was able to help a less-active lady who was feeling depressed, and encourage her to build faith in Christ.
This week as I have worked hard to look each day for the Lord's hand in my life, I realize more and more that as lonely and incapable as I felt, he was there helping me, every step of the way.
Especially yesterday. We had a baptism for the children of a part-member family, and they were redy and very excited to do it! They even invited some of their non-member relatives. It was all going perfectly...and that's what scared us, cause we knew that there would be opposition. The next day they came to church ready, early, and sharply-dressed. We thought maybe nothing would actually happen. Then we went to fill up the font, and...discovered that the well was dry, and no water was coming out. Which was kind of a major problem, since you kind of need water to baptize.
We prayed for some sort of a miracle, and a little after tinkering with the valves and pipes, we were finally able to get enough water going to do the baptism after church. I was blessed with the opportunity to baptize them (my first in Spanish and in the mission), and the boys were laughing when they got in the water because they were so excited.
It was truly a tender mercy, and it showed that even though adversity will always oppose, the Lord's work will still progress, and that he watches over and directs his Kingdom.
Until next week,
Elder Stolle
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