Happy 6 Months!!

Howdy y´all! Oh, I mean, Hola amigos!

It`s been another great week here on the equator! My querida companion enjoyed her first baptism this week! It was really great. His name is Roberth Malla, and his mom and sister were baptized about 3 months ago when I was here in Aurora with Hermana Cambal, but they were baptized with another set of missionaries who were living with us. Their family is very humble and I love them so much. It was a beautiful baptism :)

Other than that, Hermana Jiménez and I have just been livin it up! The other day, she saw a picture of me before the mission, and literally gasped. "Is that you??" The people here are a little blunt when it comes to a person`s weight... She was appauled at how different I look now. I will probably be enrolling in the "Six Weeks to Slim" program in the last transfer of my mission, where all the missionaries work really hard to get back to their original weight. Who knew that a pound of rice every day would do this to a person?? ;)

Other than that, the mission is treating me really well. It continues to be really hot here and the rain is starting soon, so that should be fun. I`ll include pictures. Also, I`ve learned more about the basic principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ than I even knew was possible. It`s truly incredible what Jesus Christ was able to for us, and what He is able to do for us now. He loves us so much and His purpose is our happiness. I know without any doubts that through living what He has taught, we more happiness than we thought was possible, especially with the difficulties and problems that we all face in our lives. 

I really love being a missionary. The time has flown by so fast. This week on December 5 I completed 6 months here! Does it seem that long to you all? I still remember the day I left my family in the airport literally like it was yesterday. One more year, and I`ll be seeing you all again in the airport :)

See you soon! :)

-Hermana Busath

 Roberth and his family, the one who was baptized this week (YAHOO!!) (he`s the guy on the right)

A couple funny ones of Hermana Catmull and Hermana Mosley at the baptism

 Sister Mosley

All 4 of us eating Subway today in our apartment that a guy in our ward bought for us

Sister Jimenez, me, and Roberth`s little sister

 A funny one of me that I took while my companion was writing her family because I forgot to bring my journal to write in and didn`t have much else to do, haha

Another Great Week!

Hola!

Another great week here in Aurora! We had stake conference here this week, so President Torres came and gave an awesome talk again about missionary work. He is so awesome. His words really helped in getting the members to participate in the missionary work.

Mija (mi hija) Hermana Jiménez is so wonderful! She is always so happy and cheerful, and she brings such a great, loving spirit to every home we visit.

This week, we´re looking forward to the baptism of Roberth Malla! His mom and sister were baptized when I was here before, but with the other set of missionaries. Now he is ready to be baptized as well. It`s amazing how the Lord leads us as missionaries to the homes where people are ready and waiting to have the change in their lives that the Gospel brings.

This morning I was reading the talk "For Peace at Home" by Richard G. Scott. I`m giving everyone homework this week-- read that talk! It is so absolutely wonderful, and I know that by living the principles mentioned there, each and every one of you will have more happiness in your own lives and in your families. Our Heavenly Father lives and watches over His children, I know that without a shadow of a doubt. His purpose is to help us to find happiness in this life, and return to live with Him after we die. It`s through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we can receive these blessings from Him. That is the way He blesses us-- through our obedience to the teachings of His Son. Take 5 minutes to read and ponder the message from His servant, Elder Scott. I promise you, you won`t regret it. And if you do, well, write your complaint in the suggestion box :)

Love you all!  Have a fabulous week!

Hermana Busath

Pictures:

-My new companion and me on the bus! Hermana Jiménez is so awesome.

 -What I did with the skeleton my mom sent me for Halloween....

 -I got the lady on the bus from Guayaquil to Machala to play The Testaments, an hour-long awesome church movie.So everyone travelling from Guayaquil to Machala that day got a little spiritual-upliftment! haha

 -My friend Hermana Schiller and me at the temple to together last week. She is from Chile and is so awesome.

 -Hermana Jiménez and me with our friend, the skeleton

ìQué Chevere! (Translation: How Great or Awesome!)

Well, I started training a new missionary this week, Hermana Jiménez! She is amazing! She is so sweet and fun and we have really had a great time together. She`s from Guatemala and has 2 brothers and lives with her mom. She is seriously so cute. And it`s been so great to have the opportunity to train! And take a wild guess where we have been assigned.... AURORA! I am in Aurora again! We`ve been here now since Wednesday, and it has been SO wonderful to visit with all my converts, investigators from before, the families that are members but aren`t attending church anymore, and all the famililes of the ward. Everyone has welcomed me back with huge hugs and have all been so happy to have me back. It`s been really great. On Sunday, the relief society president was putting together our schedule for meals with all the women in the ward, and she told me when we were at lunch at their house after church that all the women were saying, "Yes, we`ll give lunch to the missionaries if we can have Hermana Busath at our house!" (because there are 2 sets of missionaries in our ward, so we have to have 2 schedules for lunches) and that the women all came up and whispered to her, "We call having Hermana Busath at our house for dinner on Christmas/New Years´." Now I don`t mean to toot my own horn, but it is so nice to be so loved by the members, especially when you`re in a country where everything is unfamiliar to you. So mom, don`t worry, here in Aurora the ward takes really good care of me. I really love them so much. I had forgotten how much I love this ward!!

Oh and before all the trainers met our new trainees, we got to go to the TEMPLE together!! It was such a wonderful experience to be there in the Guayaquil temple again, and with my really good friend Hermana Schiller. She is from Chile and came to the mission at the same time as me and was in the other companionship that lived in our house in Aurora when I was first here. She is really wonderful and so sweet and just a really good friend of mine :)

Other than that, the rainy hot season is starting here, so that should be fun. More pictures to come of that. Our area of Aurora is HUGE, with lots of dirt roads. It`s a lot more poor than where I was in Guayaquil, and a lot bigger. 

The mission is awesome. I wouldn`t trade this experience for the world. I am so grateful to be here. Words cannot describe the types of esperiences we have here- they are so special. Before a person leaves on their mission, they really cannot imagine what it is going to be like. But it is SO worth it. It`s something that you truly have to experience to know what it`s like or understand why it`s so special. Ahhhh, I love it here.

Have a splendid week! Enjoy Thanksgiving! 

Later, gators!

-Hermana Busath

P.S. I forgot the cord to my camera today! AWESOME pictures coming next week :D

"And Just When You Think You´ve Seen It All..."

(I sent her a Halloween package, which she got last week, hence the silly glasses in the pictures)

Hola!

This week, we had an awesome baptism for Jamell Castillo! She is so amazing. She is so close to the Spirit and follows every revelation that she receives from God for her life, without questioning or hesitating. She was a leader in the Evangelist Church, but when she prayed to know if our message and the Book of Mormon are true, she received her answer and was baptized on Saturday. Her son and husband are soon to follow!

I think we should change the name of my blog to "And Just When You Think You´ve Seen It All..." There are some things that I see that I can´t even write home about, haha. But the other day I saw someone driving down the street selling trash (literally trash) out of the back of his truck. Some things I will never understand... And just when you think you´ve seen it all.... Haha. But that´s what makes this country so awesome- the people are so fun and unpredictable!

Well I won´t write much else... I know you´re all interested in seeing the pictures :) So here they are! I know Jesus Christ lives! Have a great week!

Love, 

Hermana Busath

PICTURES

-My awesome zone here in Pradera

 -Hermana Camacho and me wearing the necklaces that Jamell gave us the night before her baptism (she is awesome!)

 -A picture of Jamell and me before her baptism in her house

 -A picture of all the people at the baptism

 -We had a lot of fun with the glasses you sent me, mom!! I´m sending one of me with my zone leaders, Hermana Camacho and me with the sister we live with, and the two of us together. Oh and one of me proselyting with the glasses ;) Those glasses are awesome!

 -Me with Brother and Sister Grace. They were a less-active family that we helped return to the church. When I first arrived, Brother Grace didn´t even want to say the prayer when we visited for lunch. Now, Sister Grace is the first counselor in the Relief Society and Brother Grace received the priesthood yesterday. It was amazing. I love them both and their family so much!!

Stake Conference!

Hallo! 

What a great week! We got to hear from my mission president (President Torres), our temple president, and our stake president, along with other awesome leaders of the church here, on Saturday and Sunday in Stake Conference. It was amazing! I gotta say, my mission president is awesome. Liiiike, probably the best there has every been. (Okay, tied with Uncle Gary ;) ) In both the sessions, he asked all the missionaries to stand up as he told the stake how amazing we all were and how much we have sacrificed to be here and how much we need their help. We are the only sister missionaries in our stake, and when he couldn`t see us way in the back standing up, he asked, "Where are the sisters?" He really loves us, especially his sister missionaries, so much. I know that he sees us as children of his own, and I know for a fact that he has been called of God to play a huge role in moving the missionary work forward here on Earth, in Ecuador.

He, and almost all the other speakers, talked about how the missionary work is moving along rapidly-- how we are putting forth the final efforts to prepare the earth for Christ`s coming. He told the stake that the days of missionaries on one side of the ward and members on the other have passed, and that we are all one in this effort of preparing all men everywhere for the coming of Christ.

If I had to guess, I would say that in all parts of the world, the leaders are extending the same invitation to all members of the church, and this is the invitation I would like to extent to all of you-- Now is the time to show your love and appreciation for the Gospel that God has blessed you with and to share it with everyone you know and love. We have been chosen to live in these last days because we have the ability and responsibility to invite all of the people living today to come unto Christ and "aprovechar" the eternal blessings of living the Gospel of Christ-- having faith in the Savior and in His Atonement, repenting of the errors we make here on earth, being baptized as was Jesus Christ, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost to be our Guide, Comfort, and Teacher, and actively serving and strengthening our testimonies for the rest of our lives. I know the Savior lives, and that He will come again to the Earth. That all my friends and family whom I love may be prepared and look forward to greet Him in that glorious day is my deepest desire. I bear testimony of Jesus Christ and of His role as Savior, Redeemer, and Friend. I know that there is more to this life than we can see here on Earth, and that we each, as children of God, have a specific purpose and plan from God. He knows you, each of you, and He has taught time and time again that the only way to truly have joy in this life and the next is through His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the message of the Gospel-- that is what I am here to share with the humble people of Ecuador.

I love my calling! I am so happy to be here. I love you all, and hope that you really take my invitation and testimony to heart. Pray to your loving Father. He hears your prayers, and He can speak to you through His Spirit and the scriptures. I love you all!

-Hermana Busath

Pictures:

-Sometimes, when your towel is with the laundry lady,
 you have to use a pillowcase as a towel.

-Rice, rice, everywhere! Even with pasta, these people can`t live without their rice! 
It`s incredible.

-The flowers here in Guayaquil are amazing. 
I`ve made a little collection of dried flowers :)

Shawty

Hello! 
This is going to be short and sweet (shawty). Missionary work is so awesome. It´s tough sometimes, but totally worth it. If you´re preparing for a mission, keep on keepin' on, and know that no matter what you have to leave behind, it´s all worth it. God will make up the rest.

The only picture I have to send home today is one of a plan that we make with every one of our investigators to help prepare them for their baptism. I secretly love making them, haha. And I love working with my amigos here to prepare them for this important decision in their life.

Thanks for the Halloween pictures! Halloween here isn´t as big as in the States, but the next day, the Day of the Dead, is huge. The people go crazy this day. I don´t know why. But I´m really glad we weren´t out on the street much that night, haha.

I love you all! Thanks for your support and prayers! Ecaudor is so awesome. I love the culture and the people here, and I can´t wait to show it off to anyone who´s willing to travel here with me ;) 

Jesus Christ lives, and He knows us. If we work hard to become like Him, we will be happy.

-Hermana Busath

I ate cow tongue!

Hola!

First....the pictures!!!

-The food I bought the other week, all for under $25. I don´t even remember how expensive stuff is in the United States... How much would all of that cost there??

-The member that we live with. She is a hoot. I think she loves her dogs more than her family members... hehehe

-BAPTISM! The man in the middle is my bishop, Obispo Pable Litardo. Next to him is Raul Pita, and next to him is Eduardo Dueñas. (And pay no attention at how gordita (fat) I am right now. It´s impossible to be in this mission and not gain weight. Here´s my excuse-- we don´t eat here like in the United States. The mamitas prepare the plates in the kitchen then bring it out to everyone. So whatever is on your plate, you have to eat. And some of the families, especially the poorer families like in Machala, give the best of their food to the missionaries, so it´s extremely rude to leave anything on your plate. I leave every lunch STUFFED, like Thanksgiving stuffed. And not only do they always give us a huge plate of rice, but also soup before every meal. And lots of times it´s a really hearty soup! So there´s my excuse.)

On to my email....

This weekend was great! We had 2 baptisms, mentioned above. They both bore their testimony at the baptism at the end, and it was really sweet. They´re awesome! After his baptism, Raul said to us, "Nunca pecará otra vez!!" (I will never sin again!) He is so awesome. He´s going to be a lifelong member for sure.

In other news, I ate a fat slab of cow tongue the other day. Thank goodness they didn´t tell me until after I ate it! (And thanks, McKay, for the practice in eating cow tongue before the mission!)

So our chapel is in a really sketchy part of our area-- the most poor area. Sometimes it´s really smelly around there. But the church has a big gate around it, like all the buildings and houses here, so no one can ruin the building. But anyway, there are always homeless men sleeping across the street in front of the building. One day Hermana Camacho and I were leaving the building, and this scragly woman who was standing next to the homeless drunk guys started calling to us and saying, "Vengan y prediquen a sus hermanos! Vengan! VENGAN!" (Come and preach to your brothers!) And we called back at her and said that we had an appointment to get to, and she pointed her finger at us and yelled, "Mentiras! Mentiras! MENTIRAS!!!" (Liars, liars, LIARS!) It was exactly like in that one movie (The Princess Bride? I think not... I don´t remember) where the girl has a dream and the scragly old lady yells, "LIAR! LIAR!" I guess you could say that living in Ecuador is just like the movies... hahaha

Well, I´m loving it here! It´s starting to get really hot, and the rain is going to start soon. But everyone is telling me that it´s not a cool, refreshing rain, but more like a sauna every day. And sometimes the rain hits the pavement and evaporates there. Can´t wait! Thank goodness I¨ve got rain boots. It´s incredible how fast the work moves here. I hope you´re all having a great week!

OH YEAH! To everyone: If you or your kids are dressing up for Halloween, send me pictures! I want to see what costumes everyone is using on Thursday! :)   (angela.busath@myldsmail.net)

Chao!

Love,

Hermana Busath

LOVIN' LIFE!!

(Apparently, her camera battery died and she will hope to have pictures next week.)

What a wonderful week! I have had some amazing experiences this week-- some really amazing miracles happened. If I could describe my week in one scripture, it would be 2 Nephi 5:27 in the Book of Mormon.

First of all, I will say that as missionaries, our purpose is to invite others to come to Christ by helping them prepare for and be baptized. Here in the city, it´s a little harder to find people to teach who are ready to take this step in their lives. Usually we have 1-3 people at any given time that we are teaching who are working toward a baptism date. Well, right now Hermana Camacho and I have 10 investigators with baptismal dates! One will be baptized this Saturday-- Raul Pita. He is amazing. He has a stronger testimony of the Gospel than many who have been members their whole lives! He loves to read the Book of Mormon and learn from us and from the Spirit. He´s really excited for his baptism. For lack of time, I can´t tell you about every other investigator that we have. But the week of their baptism I´ll write more about each one!

On Saturday night, we visited with a less-active member Vilma and her 14-year-old son Gabriel. Gabriel was baptized about a month ago, but didn´t go to church the next day to be confirmed. He changed his mind and didn´t want to be confirmed. So when we were at their house, they were fixing a grill to use the next day. They were trying to bend a clothes hanger to use in the grill, but couldn´t bend it. Gabriel said, kind of sarcastically, "Maybe Hermana Busath can do it with the strength she gets from God." I totally fixed the thing in 2 minutes, haha. Apparently that was the miracle that Gabriel was waiting for, because he said that if that was possible, he would be confirmed the next day. And he was!

Also, we had an amazing experience on Friday. We were walking to lunch at the bishop´s house, and there is one route that we always take to get there. But I had a small thought to walk a different way, so I told my companion. She asked me why, and I told her that I just felt like we should walk that way. We turned the corner and saw a guy painting his gate around his house. After teaching him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ for 15 minutes, he accepted a baptismal date! Yahoo!

I know that the success we´ve had this week has been a direct blessing from Heavenly Father because of our obedience and hard work. President Torres changed one of the mission rules last week-- now we can´t bring just a male member to teach with us, but he has to come with a woman. We have a lot of men in our ward that help a lot with teaching, but most of the women don´t have time in the week to come teaching with us. We knew this change was going to mean that we´d have less members to teach with us, but we made a goal to follow all the mission rules. And look what happened! Now we have 10 people working toward baptism.

I have been reminded again this week that we can do more with the Lord´s help that we can ever do on our own. By following the rules and keeping the commandments, I couldn´t see how it was possible to have more success than before, but I had the help of the Lord, and that is more powerful than anything I could ever do by myself.

Also, I have been contemplating how wonderful it is to have been born into an amazing family with awesome parents who always taught us to be faithful to God and follow His Son, Jesus Christ. Especially here in Ecuador, I have seen very personal consequences that come from following the temptations of Satan. I know that there are 2 very real and powerful forces that we cannot see, but that influence us every minute of every day. Our decisions determine which influence has more control over us.

It doesn´t matter how far you think you are from the help of Heavenly Father or how low you think you´ve sunken, one decision toward Him strengthens your ability to choose better the next time, then the next, then the next, until you rarely feel the influence of the adversary but have, in contrast, more confidence in your ability to choose good over evil. Most of the time, this shift from helplessness and hopelessness to confidence and happiness is a very slow one. But I promise you that it will come. I have really seen miracles from God. I know He lives. I know He is interested in our lives-- His work and His glory is to help us receive all the blessings He has waiting for us. He really lives, and He really listens to us. To all who are reading this, if you have a hard time believing that, find 10 minutes in your day to lock yourself in a quiet room and talk with your Father in Heaven. Listen and open your heart to feel His love. Take the challenge to, "Be still, and know that I am God." I testify that if you do this, you will know Him, and you will know that He is carefully watching and patiently waiting to help you. If you are consciously trying to be better and are focusing on your progress toward the Savior Jesus Christ and becoming like Him, I promise you that you will never be alone.

Keep on keepin´ on, and find joy in the journey through your relationship with your Savior, Redeemer, and Deliverer, Jesus Christ.

Love,

-Hermana Busath

Great Week!

Hello! What a great week! Highlights:

-We are teaching a man named Raul right now-- he´s amazing! He is so prepared to change his life and he understands everything about the gospel really fast. He loves to hear about the gospel and loves being at church. He is really excited for his baptism on November 2, but it will probably get bumped up to October 26. He is seriously a golden investigator!

-We got to spend 45 minutes with President Torres in his car on Wednesday night! The bad news is that we got this privelege because we were in the hospital all day and night. Don´t worry, it wasn´t for me. My companion hadn´t been drinking enough water, and she got really sick and dehydrated. It was an ordeal, let me tell you. But she is doing a lot better now, and it was so wonderful to chat with my amazing mission president. He had been up all night the night before picking up new missionaries at the airport and then having training meetings all day, then he took the time to come to the hospital and drive us home. Also, I´m pretty sure he paid for the medical bill out-of-pocket because my companion didn´t have her medical card. I am so grateful for him and his family and the sacrifices they make for us each day. And don´t worry mom, I drink so much water! I drink 2 bottles every morning before we even leave the house, then a ton throughout the day. You don´t ever have to worry about me being at the hospital for dehydration ;)

-This one isn´t really a highlight at all: So I thought it was bad in Aurora when a bird pooped on my head. Wrong. This week a bird pooped on my face. Luckily we were right next to a member´s house, so I could wash my face there. Lovin´ the wildlife here.

That´s about all I can remember at the moment. Remember that Heavenly Father loves each of you and has a plan for your life. You aren´t here to just wander aimlessly, working and studying until you die. There is a grand purpose that maybe you don´t yet know. Visit lds.org to find out what great purpose your life has :)

Love,

Hermana Busath

(This was for me, her mom, since I expressed my concern for her safety in the city of Guayaquil)

P.S. I am staying really safe, don´t worry. We always take good precautions, and we have an even greater power-- we have the direct protection of many angels and of the Spirit here in the mission. I know that there are angels around me. Thanks for your prayers; I know they bless me and my companion every day. 

Shortie Email :/

Hola!!
This is going to be a short one, sorry folks. I finished my 12 weeks of in-field training today, and transfers are tomorrow, so we`ll see if I get changed again! I`ll let you know next week. I`m loving it here and really becoming more like Christ every day. It is so important that with every decision we make, we are following the Savior`s example. THis life is meant for us to become more like Christ and to progress so that one day we can stand before Him and He will recognize us because we have taken upon ourselves His name (Moroni chapter 6).

I want to invite you all to read and listen to and re-read and re-listen to the conference talks that we were blessed with this weekend (at lds.org). Also, I would to hear from each of you which talk was your favorite and why, and what the speaker talked about. I wasn`t able to listen to all of the conference talks, and the ones that I did listen to were in Spanish, so I didn`t fully understand. I`d love to hear what was said and how it impacted your life :)

Speaking of Spanish skills, my Spanish is becoming so great! I really love the language, and I lvoe the people here.

Read your scriptures every day, love the Lord, and pray to Him to give thanks and to ask for all that you need. He is our Loving Father. He is waiting to hear from you. I know He lives, and I know that He is interested in our lives because we are His children.

¡Cuídense!

-Hermana Busath