A Message of Hope and Healing......

On Friday, November 20th at 1 PM EST, President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will share a 15-minute video message of HOPE and HEALING.  We are looking forward to hearing from the Prophet, and we invite you to join in at churchofjesuschrist.org or YouTube.com  - "President Russell M. Nelson shares a message of hope and healing."

President Russell M. Nelson - Prophet, Seer & Revelator of 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It's OFFICIAL.....our son Ethan is engaged to be married (sealed for time and all eternity), to the lovely Veronica Aragon on February 6, 2021 in the Provo City Center Temple.  We are thrilled to have Veronica join our family, and we are looking forward to this sacred event when we return from our mission.

Ethan & Veronica in September 2020.

Speaking of temples, on November 12th, Elder Lewis and I had the privilege of accompanying four sister missionaries to the Guayaquil Ecuador Temple.  Due to the closing of temples from COVID, forty-two missionaries entered the Ecuador Quito Mission without having received their temple endowments.  In our faith, making temple covenants through sacred ordinances is an essential and important part of missionary work.  We believe that sacred temple covenants and ordinances endow missionaries and members with power from on high to learn, live, teach, and testify of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Angel Moroni atop the spire of the Guayaquil Temple.

The Guayaquil Temple is an 8 hour drive from Quito or a one hour flight.  At this time, the cost of travel is about the same whether you drive or fly; so the mission opted to fly.  President and Sister Winters were at the temple with missionaries on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Elder Lewis and I were there on Thursday.  

Thanks to the office elders - Elder Chaparro and Elder Valencia, our travel arrangements were similar to an executive trip.  At 6 AM on Thursday morning, we boarded a transport shuttle outside of our apartment complex that took us directly to the Quito airport.  At the airport, a Latam airline agent was there to help us process our electronic tickets.  We went through security without any difficulty, waited for about 30 minutes at our assigned gate, and then boarded our flight to Guayaquil.

The airport's plant wall was too beautiful to pass by without taking a photo.  

We have a similar wall in the lobby of our apartment complex.

When we arrived in Guayaquil, Elder Chaparro and Elder Valencia were waiting with another transport shuttle to drive us and the sisters to the temple.  It was a 10 minute drive from the airport.  We went to the office/housing complex next to the temple where three of the sisters' parents were waiting to greet their daughters and go through the temple with them.  It was a sweet reunion to see these young women embrace their parents.  One sister's mother was unable to join her and I was honored to be her escort.

Our transport shuttle in Guayaquil.  It is a licensed school bus, but owner/operators also accept other work.

After the sister missionaries visited briefly with their parents, the Elders escorted us into another room where breakfast was waiting. We ate, and then walked across the road to the temple.  

Breakfast at the office/housing complex next to the Guayaquil Temple.  Missionaries (clockwise): Elder Valencia, Elder Chaparro, Hermana Guaman, Hermana Minga, Hermana Reyes, and Hermana Tuapanta.

The Guayaquil Temple is beautiful, and the feeling of peace and love were present from the moment we entered.  Temple personnel were prepared for us and our session went very smoothly. Following the session and photos outside the temple, we were transported to a nearby chapel for lunch.

Elder & Sister Lewis outside the Guayaquil Temple.

Sister Lewis and Sister Tuapanta at the Guayaquil Temple on November 12, 2020.  

It was an honor to be Sister Tuapanta's escort 

Standing at the front doors of the beautiful Guayaquil Temple on November 12, 2020.

While in Guayaquil, we also had the opportunity to walk the river boardwalk - Malecon 2000, ride the ferris wheel, and visit Iguana Park.  

Malecón 2000 is a promenade that overlooks the Guayas River in Guayaquil, Ecuador.  

It is a modern urban park composed of playgrounds, sculptures, gardens, a cinema, and a shopping center.  

Under normal conditions, it attracts hundreds of people every day.  It was quiet on Thursday and many of the ride

or exhibits were shut down due to COVID.

Christmas displays were being set-up on the boardwalk of Malecon 2000.

Standing in front of the Hemiciclo de la Rotonda.  This impressive monument celebrates the historical July 26, 1822 meeting between two giants of a South American quest for independence, Jose de San Martin and Simon Bolivar. While the two considered forming a grand South American nation based in Guayaquil, the project did not prosper. The monument consists of statues of the two “libertadores” backed by a colonnade of flags from the countries they liberated.

Standing at the base of the ferris wheel for our 25 minute ride through the sky.

A view from the top of the ferris wheel.

Iguanas were everywhere.  I touched one for the record while Elder Lewis opted for a proxy touch.

Large, small, and in-between sizes.

We will see more of these lazy lizards when we go to Galapagos Islands in December.

We returned to the airport around 5:30 PM for our evening flight back to Quito.  We were back to our apartment by 8:30 PM.  It was an amazing day!  

One great blessing of being a senior missionary couple is meeting and interacting with the missionaries.  We are impressed with their faith, obedience, and dedication.  They inspire us to do better and be better.

On Saturday, we said farewell to Hermana Chancay.  Hermana Chancay and I spent a lot of time together on the phone as she practiced English, passed off her 24 English modules, and took her final online exam.  She's is a dedicated learner and a sweetheart.  She's also a dentist by profession, who took an 18-month leave of absence to serve a mission.  She plans to continue learning English and hopes to study orthodontics in the future.

Saying "good-bye" to Hermana Chancay in our apartment complex.  

We send our love and blessings to all.  Thank you for your wonderful examples and your influence in our loves.  Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!  

Elder & Sister Lewis