All We Did Was Work And We Worked Hard-Bananeros Guayaquil Week Fourty Three

This week was probably one of the best weeks of my mission. And no I didnt go on vacation, or get to see something awesome. All we did was work, and we worked hard.

Exhaustion

I dont think I have ever been tired then I was during the course of this week. Everyday this week we hit the concrete and went to work. There were many times this week were we had to many appointments to handle so we had to do divisions. My companion went with someone and I went with someone else. We were literally running at some points in order to make it to an appointment on time. Crazy experiences and I am super tired because of that. We have lots of people that we are teaching that are super awesome, and the members in this ward are awesome and help us out a ton. Some of the people that we are teaching are there friends or neighbors. However, all missionary no that it is all worth it when you see the end result.

The Elders enjoying some hamburgers

Baptisms

On Saturday we had two baptisms that went a lot smoother than some of the other baptisms that I have had. We had a little setup on Saturday because Maitte hadnt had her interview yet and she was studying and working the whole week and there wasnt time when we could stop by so we did it at like 2 hours before her baptism. Interviews are always stressful but everything went well. Wladimir (Vladimir) got baptize and so did Maitte. They both are super awesome and have strong testimonies. My companion baptized Wladimir and another missionary baptized Maitte. Always nice to see the result of your hard work, and watch people make such an important covenant with God.

The baptism of Maiette

Baptism of Wladimir

Elder Shanklin, Elder Montoya, and Wladimir

Elder Shanklin, Maitte, Wladimir and Elder Montoya

Count your Blessings

Blessings seem to fall from nowhere sometimes. This week it happened to us many time. When we needed the help of a member, they would just show up. When we needed to teach someone they were always in there house. If there is one thing I learned this week is that if you really serve the Lord with all your heart, might, mind, and strength then he will bless you abundantely in secret and in public. That is something I am certain of. 

Thanks for all the love and support. The work continues to move forward here in Ecuador, and it is great to be a part of it!

Life is a sport, make it count

Elder Shanklin

With Changes Come Blessings-Bananeros Guayaquil Week Fourty Two

For those of you who remembered but just "forgot" to write me, thanks for the birthday wishes. It really does mean a lot. 

Changes

So Tuesday morning we were just chilling in the District Meeting when my District Leader hands me the phone. On the phone was the zone leaders and they informed me that I had changes and had to go home immediately to pack and get ready. We quickly ran back to the house, packed super fast and then I left Santa Monica. I am still in the same zone but just in a different sector. This sector is like 5 times bigger than the other and we share it with 2 other missionaries. My new companion in Elder Montoya. He is from Peru and is an awesome missionary. We get the work done and have a good time while doing it. My companion was in this sector for a little bit before so we use his connections to find people and with the members. It is pretty cool. We have a lot of new missionaries coming and other things going on here.  Now more than ever we have no idea for how long we will be in a sector or with a companion. 

Blessings

My companion and I were sent to open the sector. So basically we started from square one. Because of my companions previous knowledge it wasnt necessarily square one but pretty close. However thanks to the Lord we had a pretty successful week here in this sector. We met some awesome people or some that before had talked with the missionaries  and are super interested. Honestly the harder we worked the more blessings we saw. It was like people fell from the sky some time. One of the biggest blessings is that this week we are going to have a baptism. We also have some others that are preparing for a baptism. It was a successful but draining week as well. Never before was I so excited for a pday to relax. Going to keep working hard to keep the work moving forward here at the same pace. Amazing how the Lord works. If we trust in him and do his will then he is obligated and will bless us. 

Birthday

Basically my birthday has become a national holiday here in Ecuador. Now I know lying is bad but that is the truth. Birthdays actually are just like every other normal day here in the mission. The members invited us to there house to have a party, kinda. Basically just eat hamburgers and cake. Should be pretty fun. Look for it on your Ecuador Calenders tho. May 18th, Birthday of Elder Shanklin. You might need to write it in but i promise it is a real holiday. And just so all of you know it isnt to late to send packages for the birthday.

thanks for all the love and support

Life is a sport, make is count

Elder Shanklin

Do You Want To Fight Him?-Santa Monica Guayaquil Week Fourty One

First off  Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers in this world. You guys rock and I wouldnt be here if it was for my lovely mother so shoutout to her. It was great talking with the fam yesterday and sharing some experiences with them. 

Body Builder

This week we were just walking in the street and there was this huge jacked dude. And I made a joke to my companion and asked if he would fight him. My companion threw it right back in my face by telling this dude that I wanted to fight him. Thankfully he joked it off and we kept on talking. Come to find out he is a member of the church. His 3 brothers served missions but he never did because of his body building competitions and stuff. We took some awesome pictures that i know you will enjoy and then made an appointment to met up with him and take some more.

Who do you think is going to win this fight?

Talking is Not Teaching

As missionaries we are supposed to teach to the needs of the investigadors. However that is sometimes a lot harding then it seems. People get way distracted way easily. This week while we were teaching the restauration we had an investigador start to talk randomly about his ex girlfriend that he had like a year ago. The problem was we could not get him back on subject and ended up talking about this dudes girlfriend problems for like 30 minutes. Most of the time was just spent listening. Soccer, power rangers, super heros, and much more has interrupted lessons. You never know what will happen during the lessons. Pretty fun sometimes. 

Stake Conference

This week was stake conference here in Ecuador. President came and made a visit. I learned a ton. From a missionary standpoint, and from the view of a member. Presidents talk was awesome. Really felt the spirit super strong as he bore a powerful witness of the importance of missionary work. It told the members of the stake that it is no longer acceptatble to come to church with just your family. More is required of us.

Hamburgers made by Elder Shanklin

Baptism

We will be having a baptism this saturday. His name is Geo. He met the church threw his friend that lives in the north. It is great because she and her family willl be coming to his baptism this week to support him. Geo is awesome and has a super power testimony already. 

Thanks for all the prayers and love. We are working super hard here and hoping for a lot more success to come. 

Life is a sport, make it count

Elder Shanklin

Rock and Rolling This Week-Santa Monica Guayaquil Week Fourty

This week started with a shake and then we keep things rolling during the week.

Earthquake

Because of the immense heat here in Ecuador things happen. This week at 6:00 on Monday morning  we woke up to our house and beds shaking because there was an earthquake. Those of you from California -it was not a huge one but instead a small one.(Mom Note:  I looked it up and it was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake) However for the Ecuadoreans it was something huge. However us missionaries are not from Ecuador. The earthquake woke us up and within  3 minutes we were both back asleep. We still had  30 minutes more of shut eye. That has been the talk of the town tho. Since that has happen tons of people has asked us if we felt it and if we were scared and a bunch of others things. We are still alive.

BBQ FHE

This week we had an awesome Family home Evening with the youth and recent converts. We all had a bbq and watched a church movie. Good time. Yours truly was head chef because suprisingly nobody knows how to cook hamburgers here in Ecuador. We had a great time and took some cool photos. The youth here are great. One is leaving to his mission in Bolivia soon so it was like a going away party for him. 

 Investigadors

We are working super hard in Guayaquil in order to have as much success as possible.  We have tons of investigadors and lots are super excited to come to church and learn more and are working hard to help them progress and eventually take the steps necessary to be baptized. Geo is a 23 year old who has been investigating the church for 9 months and is now ready to be baptized. There is also a single mom and her 3 daughters that we are working with and some others in the mix as well. This are moving along and hopefully in the next couple weeks you will get pictures of us in white!

Thanks for all the love and support

Life is sport, make it count

Elder Shanklin