Returning to Missionary Work......Slowly!

The week before last was quiet and slow in the mission office.  This last week was busier.  Missionaries have been given permission to teach 30 minute discussions in a chapel, with small groups of 8 people or less.  Right now, many of their teaching appointments are with people they have met through the use of their Smartphones and social technology platforms.

While reviewing and comparing mission statistics between the month of March and the month of June, it appears that the missionaries are finding and baptizing just as many people through the use of technology as they were with tracting.  Smartphones have been a blessing!

This past week, the Charity Anywhere Foundation hosted an event at the Colon Chapel, the meetinghouse where our new mission office is located.  Charity Anywhere is a non-profit organization centered in Utah that is dedicated to giving service to anyone, anywhere in the world. They have organized service projects as close to Utah as Twin Falls, Idaho and as far away as Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Mexico. They organize Dental and Medical expeditions as well as construction and re-construction projects. They have an office in Quito Ecuador which organizes Free Dental and Medical Clinics throughout Ecuador.  (https://www.charityanywhere.org/index.php/about/)

At Wednesday's event, Charity Anywhere worked with the Church to donate wheelchairs, food, medical supplies, and other equipment to local organizations, including the Red Cross.   

Food stuffs being loaded into the back of a truck as Red Cross personnel look on.

We estimate that over 100 wheelchairs were donated at this event by Charity Anywhere to local organizations.

The mission statement of Charity Anywhere is "to give 'ordinary people' the life changing opportunity to provide needed medical care, dental services, and basic shelter to less developed countries; while concurrently forever changing the mind and heart of the volunteer for good."

Pictured below is a man who was fitted for, and received, a prothesis for his lower right leg.

It was an impressive event and we were excited to see how the Church works hand in hand with other organizations in Ecuador to bless those in need.

On Wednesday, we also received permission from the operation and maintenance manager - Brother Torres, to have 6 of the old desk chairs from the old office to replace the kitchen/dining chairs in our apartment. The chairs have silver metal frames and black leather back and seat cushions.  They look kind of retro, but are a nice fit for our apartment.  AND, we don't have to worry about falling through the broken cushions on the old chairs.

Old office chairs give our apartment a new look.

Thursday morning, Max went to the new office and I stopped at the old office to confirm that the chairs were available and not locked away.  They were sitting in our old office and the custodian was wiping them down for me.  That was really kind.  I told them that we’d pick them up later in the day.

From the old office I walked to the new office.  It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the mile walk.  As I was approaching the Colon Chapel, I walked past a young man in a red shirt and jeans.  When I got to the gate and rang the buzzer for the missionaries to let me in,  the young man whom I’d just passed had turned around and was just a few steps away from me.  He said, “I want to be a Mormon, and I want to learn English.”  I asked his name (which was Carlos), and a few other questions.  We talked for a few minutes and then I asked him to wait while I went inside to get the missionaries. 

   

I walked into the office and found Elder Chepe at his desk.  Elder Fueres was out in the parking lot on a phone call.  I told him that there was a young man at the front gate who wanted to be a Mormon, and invited the missionaries to come with me so I could introduce them to Carlos.

Elder Fueres and Elder Chepe meet Carlos at the entrance to the Colon meetinghouse.

We made the introductions and I left the missionaries to do their work.  When they returned to the office, they said that they’d arranged for a teaching appointment later that evening.   

Thursday after work, we stopped at the old office on our way back to the apartment, and brought 4 of the 6 chairs home with us.  We only took 4 chairs, because it was kind of tricky to carry them to our apartment.  Max carried two chairs and I carried two.  It’s a 5 block walk from the old office to our apartment and we made it with a few struggles.  The chairs were not heavy, well not at first.  They started to feel heavy around block #3, but mostly they were just awkward to maneuver. 

After getting the chairs to our apartment, I took a walk to look for some rubber chair tips to put on the bottom of the chair legs so that they would not scratch the laminate flooring.  I found some sticky pads at a hardware store across the street from some plant stores.  I also bought a new plant for $2. 

Friday morning when I arrived at the office, I asked the missionaries how the appointment went with Carlos.  They said that it fell through, but they were going to try again over the weekend.

Saturday, we took an Uber to Cumbaya, rented mountain bikes, and took a 20 km bike ride on the 

Ruta Ecologica El Chaquinan trail.  It’s a 6 - 8 foot wide path made of dirt and cobblestone roads, grass, and some old train tracks.  It snakes through Cumbaya for 66 km connecting it to other communities in the area.  

When we started on the path, it felt pretty easy because the first 2 km we were going down a gentle decline.   BUT, that didn't last long, it was up and down for the next 8 km. The trail was curvy and rocky, so you had to keep a tight grip on your handlebars so that your bike wouldn’t be thrown off center.  It was also busy with hikers and bikers, so you needed to pay close attention to what was in front of you and behind you.  I was not interested in having a collision with another biker or a hiker.  There were a few times when my encounters felt a little too close, especially with bikers who were descending the trail when we were ascending.

Bike rentals in Cumbaya were $5/bike for 3 hours of use.

Elder Lewis waits for me on the bike trail.  

We finished the 20 km’s in about 2.75 hours.  We were satisfied, sweaty, thirsty, and hungry.  We returned our rented bikes and then decided to look for a place to eat.  We found a BBCO. around the corner from the bike shop where we enjoyed a late lunch of delicious hamburgers, french fries, and COLD water.

Lunch at BBCO. was a treat!  They literally had the best fries we've tasted in Ecuador.

After lunch, we took an Uber to the mall and purchased some rubber chair tips to put on the legs of the new chairs, a couple of chair cushions to try, and a few other items.  From there, we walked to Megamaxi and did our weekly grocery shopping.  

It was a busy and productive week.  We are grateful to see the missionaries back to work, to see the message of the restored gospel moving forward, and to feel God's love resting upon the good people of Ecuador.

Love and Blessings to All!
Elder & Sister Lewis