Halloween & All Souls Day

We mentioned in our last blog the celebration of "All Souls Day" or "Day of the Dead."  The office missionaries were eager to celebrate.......something. So, Elder Flint and Elder Martinez (Assistants to the President) asked the spouse of a new member to bake a cake for Halloween and for Elder Burga's birthday.  Elder Burga works in the office and oversees about 90 missionary apartments.  We celebrated both with a delicious homemade chocolate/nutello cake.

Elder Burga celebrates his 20th birthday - 28 octubre 2019

When transfers occur in early December, Elder Burga will be leaving the office and going out into the field.  He is currently training his replacement - Elder Fueres.  Consequently, he has a little extra time each day.  Never one to waste time, Elder Burga asked if I would read the Book of Mormon with him in English so that he could work on his English pronunciation.  We have been spending about 30 minutes a day reading.  At first, he was just reading out loud to me.  However, after a few days I realized that this would be a great opportunity for me to improve my Spanish pronunciation. So, I'm also reading out loud to him in Spanish.  Its a great exchange!

I'd like to say that Elder Lewis and I are getting better with the language, but it feels like the more we learn the less we know.  We will just keep working at it.  Sunday's at church are always humbling language days. We listen for 2 hours and seldom understand more than a small portion of what we hear. 

Today, I was asked at the last minute to play the piano for sacrament meeting.  It was fast and testimony meeting, and because of the large number of people who shared their testimonies the meeting went past the hour.  The counselor conducting the meeting announce the closing song and prayer.  I wasn't sure, but I thought he said that we would just sing the "primo" verse of the hymn.  Apparently I had heard correctly, because the young woman conducting the music finished the first verse, turned around, and sat down.  Anticipating that we were just going to sing one verse, I followed her lead and stopped playing, but the congregation continued and started to sing the "segundo" verse.  When they realized that there was no conductor or accompaniment, everyone eventually stopped singing and a slight chuckle rippled throughout the congregation.

Recently, I've had the opportunity to help some Pathway students edit their English essays. For the past 3 weeks, I've also been helping a potential BYU student with her college application essays.  Missionaries are encouraged to do 10 hours of service each week, and I'm enjoying my service hours assisting with English and teaching piano lessons.  This past week, I lost one piano student who went to work full-time, but added two new students - Camila (age 13) and Daniela (age 11).

A block down from the mission office is the Basilica of Saint Teresa.  We've had a desire to visit this basilica since we arrived in Ecuador.  On Saturday (officially All Souls Day). we stopped by the basilica and found that the main floor was locked, but the back entrance was open for those who wanted to go into the basement, tour the crypt, and pay homage to the deceased.  We decided to go inside and we found it to be fascinating and beautiful.

Basilica Saint of Saint Teresa

Basilica front courtyard.

According to Spanish Dict.com the little book above the front doors reads:
"I want to go into my Heaven, I am doing good on earth."

Crypt corridors........

You may have noticed the beautiful fresh cut roses in the Basilica photos.  Ecuador is a leading global producer of premium roses and you will find beautiful freshly cut roses everywhere.  A bouquet of long-stemmed roses cost about a dollar in the local markets. 

We are looking forward to the next two weeks, touring the mission with President Barlow, and meeting the missionaries.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf.  Love to all from Ecuador!

Elder & Sister Lewis