"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God; That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord....." (bold emphasis added)
This reference has been meaningful to me because of the incomings and outgoings that we experience everyday at the mission office. As you can see from the photos below, the mission office is a secure building in a very busy part of Quito. You enter the building and to the right is a Church distribution center or store. It is well supplied and a blessing to local members.
Front view of the Quito Mission Office
As you proceed down the hallway you come to a foyer where there is a uniform guard who stands by the elevator and maintains a record of anyone who makes a delivery to the building. He greets us every time we pass - "Buenos Dias" in the morning and "Buenas Tardes" in the afternoon. As you turn the corner there is a staircase that leads to the upper 6 floors of the building. The Ecuador Quito Mission office is on the 2nd floor. Incomings and outgoings of the mission office are monitored and regulated by the guard downstairs.Monday is preparation day for the missionaries and we have a steady stream of missionaries coming and going from the mission office for a variety of reasons -- interviews with President Barlow, medical questions for Sister Barlow, picking up packages, etc. With their missionary tag on there is no concern about them passing the guard and coming up to the office.
This past week we had some exceptions. A shoe vendor made his bi-weekly stop to deliver some custom made missionary shoes and to take orders for shoes from interested missionaries. We were impressed with the quality of shoes for $35 and we look forward to the next visit so we can order our own pair of custom made shoes for $35. As a regular vendor, this individual is welcomed by the guard and the mission office.
A few days later, two couples from Mapleton, UT came to the office to deliver a package to one of our Elders. The Utah visitors are friends of the missionary's family and had been traveling in Ecuador for the past 2 weeks. It was their final day before flying back to Utah and they stopped by to deliver the package. Elder Lewis and I were the only ones in the office at the time and we enjoyed visiting with them and hearing about their travels. They didn't have any trouble passing the guard.
The third visitor was the most interesting and we have no idea how she talked her way past the guard. She is Armenian and a refugee from Syria. Her refugee papers had taken her and her brother to Peru. She left Peru in late August, traveled to Ecuador, and was seeking asylum in the United States. I have no idea how she ended up at the mission office, but somewhere along the way she had been told that that the Mormon missionaries would help her get to the US.
When she approached us she had concluded that we could write a letter stating that she was a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and assigned to work (our terminology says "labor") in the United States.
We listened to her request and then started asking questions like - where was she from, how did she find the mission office, who was she with, etc? The most obvious question on my mind was, "How did you get past the guard downstairs?" But, after listening to her for a few minutes I concluded that she could probably talk herself past about anyone.
We explained to her that it wasn't possible for us to write a letter that would establish her as a missionary for the Church in the US. The process for calling and assigning missionaries was complex and require first and foremost "membership in the Church." We recommended that she go to the Peruvian and/or US Embassies for further information and direction, and we offered to give her the addresses of both embassies. We also asked to see her passport and documentation papers. She showed them to us and they did not look anything like the passports we have of Peruvian missionaries. I'm not sure her documentation was legal. However, I did feel a great sense of empathy for her and her desire to immigrate to the US.
Our conversation continued for about 15 minutes and then she said, "just a minute," walked out, and we didn't see her again. I hope she finds what she needs.
Our incoming and outgoing experiences of the week culminated this morning as we attended sacrament meeting. We went to our Sunday worship service with a sincere desire to renew our baptismal covenants at the sacrament table. Our "incoming" was in the name of the Lord. With broken hearts and contrite spirits (repentant hearts and obedient spirits) we took the sacrament as a witness that we would remember what Jesus Christ has done for us, we would bear His name through our words and actions, and we would strive to keep His commandments. Our "outgoing" from this worship service was a renewal of body and soul, energized and eager to begin another week of service.
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This past week I also started teaching piano lessons to an investigator -- Carlos. Carlos is probably in his mid to late 20's. He's excited about the gospel of Jesus Christ and eager to learn to play the piano. He definitely has musical talents and I'm looking forward to our lessons. Elder Lewis and I go to the chapel on Tuesday evenings where I currently teach 2 student - Ashly and Carlos. I may also start teaching piano lessons on Thursday evening to another interested individual - Lorena.
Yesterday, we enjoy a visit to the Virgen De El Panecillo monument in central Quito. The monument represents the Virgin Mary as she is described in the biblical book of the Apocalypse; a woman with wings, a chain that captures the snake that lays underneath her feet which represents the beast. The majestic monument is made of 7,400 aluminum pieces, each piece is about 12 x 12 inches and was number allowing the monument to be assembled like a jigsaw puzzle. The brochure states that this monument is the biggest representation of aluminum in the entire world.
Virgen De El Panecillo
The Virgen sets on El Panecillo, a natural hill that resembles a small loaf of bread (panecillo) in the heart of the Quito. Due to its central location it provides a beautiful visual of urban Quito from the north and the south.
A view of North Quito from the Monument
In the base of the monument, there is a small museum that gives a history of the purpose and construction of the monument. It contains 15 stained glass windows depicting the Virgin Mary and the Christ child. They were all beautiful, but here are two of my favorites.
Stained Glass at Virgen De El Panecillo
As a tourist I had to take the horse ride to the front of the monument. Elder Lewis thought it was a little overboard, but for $2 I could have a moment to remember the ponies and horses of my childhood and youth. It also gave me an unexpected opportunity to share a pass-along card with the guide. He told me that he didn't speak any English, but as we arrived at the point of observation he asked in Spanish if I was Christian. I told him that I was and asked if he was Christian. He nodded "yes." I then asked if he was Catholic (Catolico) and he said, "No, Christian." I explained as best I could that I was a missionary for La Iglesia De Jesucristo De Los Santos De Los Ultimos Dias and that we believed in Jesus Christ. I then gave him a pass-along card with a picture of Christ on it. He graciously accepted with a sincere, "Gracias."
A Horse Ride De El Panecillo
After we finished our tour of the monument we decided we would walk down the mountainside staircase until we came to a main road and then we would take a bus back to our apartment. We easily walked down a 1000+ stairs before finding a main road. We then walked at least a mile to a bus stop, boarded the bus and thought we were headed north to our apartment.The bus we boarded was not crowded and I actually got a seat. At the next stop I gave my seat to a young mother with a fussy 2 year old boy. The mother looked spent and the little boy looked unkept, tired, and hungry. After they were seated, the little boy continued to fuss so I reached in my purse and pulled out a picture of the Guayaquil Temple and handed it to him. He didn't stop fussing immediately, but after a minute he was sitting on his mother's lap and looking at the Temple. When we got off the bus a few blocks later, the little boy was still quietly studying the Temple picture. It appeared that the picture offered both the mother and little boy a moment of peace.
We are striving to create missionary opportunities during our "outgoing" experiences, and we feel blessed when they do occur.
Love to all from Quito!
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