The View from Zamora

 

This is a very strange cloud in among the normal fluffy clouds I saw the other day here in Zamora. It reminded me of an old dried out marshmallow that had been squashed flat. It rains nearly every day here during the winter. It is winter because we are south of the equator. But there is some sunshine between the showers. The temperature is just fine so far. We have been here for a week now and as Lewis has not yet returned from a District Meeting in Loja this evening, I will get back to blogging.

There were some further delays getting a front door for our apartment. They were still installing it the day we moved in and one man returned again last week to do the last remaining tasks. We are very happy with our apartment. It is a newly created space in the building owned by our landlords. Their front door is just across from ours and Mrs. Morales couldn't have been nicer or more kind the day we moved in. She invited us over for coffee and when we explained that we didn't drink coffee or tea she asked about herb tea and we we happy to accept that offer. She fed us rolls and Zamora cheese and tea, answered our questions and afterward volunteered her son to drive us to town to buy some sheets for our bed. There was some kind of a demonstration/parade on the main street so we didn't arrive downtown until the stores were closed but her son found a tiny store that sold us a big fleece blanket so we were just fine.

I'll back up a bit. We very much enjoyed our time back in the temple apartments. We connected again with the Bottorfs and met two new couples and a new single sister. Sister Chiza has moved back to Quito. She was offered a job and since her tiny pension continues to diminish because of the inflation in Argentina she couldn't pass it up. We have emailed and talked with her and hope to see each other again before the end of our mission. We were able to attend the temple and go to church with our old friends. We were getting comfortable, taking advantage of washers and dryers, enjoying the great internet service and repacking our suitcases.

We must have been too comfortable between the missionary meetings and caring for the Torres children because President Torres thought we should spend our time inspecting missionary apartments. Before we left, President Torres called Lewis as the second counselor in the Guayaquil South Mission Presidency. Grandpa will be wonderful in that calling and can help with some of the duties President Torres has as the "stake president" for the two districts in the mission. He is responsible for about 235 missionaries and also for the two districts and the Galapagos. It is a good thing he is used to being busy and is very capable and dedicated leader.

Here you can see Grandpa and Grandma, Sister and President Torres and President Pincay, who is the First Counselor in the Mission Presidency. He is also one of the engineers working in the temple.

We left with about an hour's notice but were happy to go to Cuenca again. We discovered that some of the Elders in Cuenca have an even better view than President Ghent did in Quito.They have a 180 degree view of the city of Cuenca from their apartment on the hill. The photo below is only focused on the famous towers of the old Basilica. It was so fun to meet all of the elders and sisters and get a chance to chat with them for at least a little while.

 

I was glad of the chance to break up the trip. The bus rides are 4 hours long on curvy mountain roads and my childhood car sickness problem has only increased with age. Cuenca is a stake and still growing. There is a large population of American ex-pats living here as well as European retirees. The climate is wonderful and the shopping and cultural activities are great. Our next stop was Loja. Another four hours of twisty roads to reach it. This is one of the chapels in Loja. The Bottorfs who are currently serving in the temple were here on a previous mission and have a great love for the people here.

Loja is a district with two missionary zones. We had lots of missionaries and apartments to visit. We also were able to visit the weekly meeting of the East Zone and I was impressed again with the missionaries' maturity and the quality of their meetings. Good job missionaries. The Zamora elders were not at the meeting. Turned out that there was another mudslide and they got through--but only after waiting on the bus for several hours while he road was cleared. They got to Loja but only had time to pick up some things the Zone leaders wanted them to take back, including us, before the return trip.

The last leg of the trip was shorter. It only takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get from Loja to Zamora. Again the sweet missionaries helped us with our luggage. It is a chore to wrestle with five suitcases and the computers and my tote bag. People who travel with big crock pots, soup pots, bread dough bowls and lots of scriptures do not travel light. Since we were not flying we thought we could get that stuff here. We did, but only with some help.

This wood carving is on the outside of the bus terminal. They say that Zamora is the home of waterfalls and birds. We have not been outside of the city yet to see many birds but I have heard bird calls that are definitely different from Idaho or California birds. Can't wait to look around some more. The Zamora river runs the length of town and there are two other rivers that join nearby. We got a map but it doesn't show all the things I have questions about. This is a view from our front window.

There are buildings and houses on either side of this view but we are in a green valley that is very beautiful.Right next door to our building is a tiny store that sells bread and eggs and toilet paper and several things that have come in handy. The elders are showing us around. First they showed us a pizza place because we were all hungry. I thought it odd that the waitress made a phone call to order our pizzas. We waited quite a long time but they were delivered to our restaurant in regular cardboard pizza boxes and we were happily surprised that it was quite good.

We have discovered the mercado with all the open stalls selling meat in one section and produce in another section and then little stalls with hundreds of other things. There is one supermarket in town that has some imported goods. We have looked all over for cookie sheets and can only find one that is too big. Discovered that after we bought it, naturally. Finally found a "sort of" 9x13 inch baking pan. Bought two bread pans and Lewis made bread yesterday. There are little stores all around the center of town. Eventually we will learn where to find stuff. One of the elders mentioned that he likes spaghetti so we made a big batch (with fresh tomatoes as the only option, we had brought the spices and seasonings from Gayaquil) and had all four over for dinner. It was fun. Elder Aguirre will leave to go home this next week. He is the one on the left below. His father worked with us in Quito. He is in charge of Welfare for Ecuador and had responsibility for PEF during our last mission. It is great to have so many connections in Ecuador these days. Elder Carmona, third from left below was born in the Dominican Republic but moved to the US when he was six. His family now lives in Salt Lake. He needs Jacey to tell him what his native country is like. He can't remember very much.

We have a lot to learn about Zamora and the members. It will be fun to become acquainted and make friends and build memories in this new location. Stay tuned for further adventures.

Love to all of you from Elder and Sister Pettingill in Ecuador.

New adventure next week - Zamora

When our newly rented apartment is ready early next week we will go to Zamora. That is our new assignment from President Torres. We came back from the Galapagos Islands last Friday. 
On Saturday we had a great mission meeting that was supposed to be with Elder Oaks. 

The three Guayaquil missions were assembled in a stake building at 8:30, anticipating Elder Oaks to arrive at 10:00. His plane had mechanical difficulties the night before and Elder Oaks and his wife and the Claytons of the Seventy were delayed, missed their connecting flight and would not arrive until the afternoon when they had other meetings scheduled with the local Stake and Ward leaders.

Elder Waddel of the Seventy who is serving as a counselor in our Area Presidency presided at our missionary meeting. Our mission president conducted. They had each of the three mission presidents and wives give a short talk. Also Elder Vallejo (who we worked with both in Quito and in the temple here) and his wife spoke. Sister Waddel spoke with a translator. Then Elder Waddel  got up to speak. He said he had been unsure of what to say in this meeting ever since the phone call. Elder Oaks just said to tell the missionaries that he loves them. He said we know that the Lord was not surprised that Elder Oak's plane had difficulties. The Lord had a reason for things to work out the way they did. He felt the weight of responsibility to say what the Lord would have us hear. (In my opinion he did that extremely well.)

He said that Elder Oaks wanted to come to Guayaquil and had organized this meeting because the three Guayaquil missions are the highest baptizing missions in the world (Sister Torres said that that was news to them.) and they need to also become the most effective missions in not only converting but also in retaining and reactivating the less active members. He said that the world changed a bit in July of last year when President Monson spoke in the broadcast about Hastening the Work. He said, "You are not on the same mission that your fathers were on. This is Mission 2.0. We not only baptize. We convert. We retain. We reactivate. You will teach the world, not only to be baptized, but prepared to continue on their way to seal their family together for eternity in the temple."

He reminded us that Joseph Smith's second vision was with Moroni in his bedroom and he didn't mention baptism. He quoted Malachi and spoke about the sealing powers. Baptism is very important. It is the beginning of the path. But it must be only the beginning and not the ultimate goal. It must be followed by keeping covenants and commandments and receiving additional ordinances and blessings. He said one stake in this area had more than 50 adult convert baptisms within last year but only 4 of those 50 were paying their tithing. Tithing is important because it is a requirement to receive a temple recommend and further ordinances and greater blessings. He said our goals must be greater than numbers and that our goals reveal our faith.

He said number of baptisms is not the measure of your mission. Some missionaries have no baptisms on their mission and perhaps they have been more successful than other missionaries with many baptisms. Just to be on a mission is not your goal. Your goal should be to finish your mission as a disciple of Christ and prepared to live the rest of your life as His disciple. Have we learned to serve as he served? 

He told all of us that the Parable of the Talents should teach us that it is not about the numbers. The numbers are unimportant. The message is to improve what we have to work with. We must improve ourselves and offer the love and blessings of the Gospel to others in such a way that they will see that their goals lie far beyond the baptism font. True converts begin at the font and continue to the temple.

"It was difficult." is not an excuse that the Father will accept, Elder Waddel said. He reminded us of Luke 22: beginning at verse 41 and D&C 19: beginning at verse 16.  Even when it is very difficult we must fulfill our responsibilities. We cannot accomplish what Christ did but we can fulfill our own responsibilities in the same manner. 

How do we serve? We all need to become more like our Savior. We need to be disciples of Jesus Christ. This will be the measure of our mission.

Convert our investigators. Retain the recent converts. Reactivate the less active.

It was a blessing to be in attendance at that special meeting. 

We have spent most of this week staying with the children of President and Sister Torres while they attended a mission president seminar in Lima, Peru. That has been fun and Lewis's math skills have come in very handy since they are home schooled.  

Lewis found us some information about Zamora on the internet. Here is what he has found:

Zamora is nationally known as the mining capital of Ecuador and also known as the city of birds and waterfalls. It is located at the convergence of three rivers. It has a long history as it was founded by Hernando de Barahona of Spain, on October 4, 1549. The city is proud of its huge clock regarded as one of the largest in the world with a diameter of 30 meters (approx. 100 ft.) on a green hillside.

Zamora is considered a jungle paradise with its tropical flora and fauna. It is a stunning attraction from the floors of its valleys to the green foothills of the Andean mountain ranges. There are several rivers and innumerable waterfalls. In recent years Zamora has become a city of great urban development while its geography preserves the forest vegetation that welcomes a diversity of animals including: tapirs, spectacled bear, jaguar, capybaras, agoutis (they look like a very big guinea pig), pumas, birds and insects. Zamora is rich in metallic and nonmetallic mineral resources, which has attracted the interest of both the business and the artisanal mining sector.

Zamora offers several domestic and foreign tourists attractions including the Podocarpus National Park. Here you can find 360 varieties of orchids, many of which are very impressive. There are 560 registered species of birds living here, which is 40% of the bird species living in all of Ecuador. You can also find tasty food and traditions that keep alive the indigenous cultures of the past. Zamora Chinchipi is the name of the province and Zamora is the name of the capital city within the province.

As I mentioned in my last post - The photos I have taken in the Galapagos are now posted on PettingillPages.shutterfly.com . You can click on the album Galapagos and see the picture postcards I have made (so far) about our experiences there. 

Last snippits from Galapagos

Our taxi driver back to Puerto Ayora was very interested in Lewis' explanation of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the gospel. He said he would come to church on Sunday at 9:00 to get a Book of Mormon. His name is Hector. He seems like a person who is genuinely interested. We shall see. Lewis went back to the church to train Marcello Herrera as membership secretary. He is doing great. They even got the membership audit done. Lewis said that there was a missionary prep class tonight with six students. Nori got her call to Chile and Tania is going to Peru. How exciting to have four missionaries from Galapagos Branch. There was another young man and also Carolina in the class as well. Marianita is teaching the class.

Brother Calli from Cuenca and Brother Jorge Poma from Quito came to visit the building and determine all the repairs needed. Lewis and President Calapucha accompanied them for a couple of hours. The PM guys came back with the man who built the building and discussed all the work that they want done. It will be nice to have everything is top shape again. Brother Calli said he will see us in Zamora because they will be getting a new building as their current rented facility is too small.

President Calapucha said that Lewis should skip the Presidency meeting at 7:00 and go to the movie about the history of the Galapagos islands that was being shown down near the government building tonight. The sisters came over, had some cheese and crackers and told us that Medardo was sick and needed a blessing. We waited for the Elders to come and pick us up and they took us to his new house and gave him a blessing. He was grateful and said he would be at church on Sunday. It made us a bit late for the movie and they were full and would not let us in. We went walking a bit with the tourists and ran into the family that has been at church for the last two weeks. They had saved up and decided to live in Ecuador for two school years so their children would learn Spanish and have a wider perspective on the world. I think it is great. The older kids seem to be having a great experience. I think the youngest is a little less enthused. Good for them to have a super family experience. They were out shopping for a present to take back to the person taking care of their dog while they are gone. They said she deserves a nice present because their puppy is a lot of work.

We decided we needed another tourist day to finish up our time here in Santa Cruz. I insisted on eating something before we went. I had some yogurt and toast. We walked down Seymour to the Ceramic Arch and saw the ceramic garden and the view of the ocean beyond it. Lots of crabs and pelicans. Then we walked to the muelle and took a water taxi to the Angermayer Waterfront Inn and walked to Las Grietas. There was no one on the Punta Estrada beach. We went past the salty inland lagoon and all the way to Las Grietas. It is a huge crevice filled with a mixture of salty and fresh water that is very transparent. There was a beautiful young girl with long curly red hair with a guide who went over on the same water taxi and to the same location. She said she was from Michigan. She looks too young to be on her own but the fatherly guide seemed nice. Thank goodness because she stripped off her shorts and top and went swimming in a tiny bikini and looked like an amazing mermaid with her hair streaming behind her. She climbed up on the rocks and jumped into the middle and swam the distance that we could see. She was the perfect adornment for the setting. I felt very grandmotherly and didn't even want to go down the steps to the water's edge because I would have to climb back up them and we had already hiked for about 45 minutes. I am so glad we went. It was amazing. This is not the scenery we will see any place else but I am glad I will not live here forever. It is green but it is cactus and rock and hot. We did sit and soak in the view at the beach for a little while. There is something soothing about watching the waves and the birds floating on the currents of air along the shore. There were pelicans, frigate birds and some lovely narrow white birds with a bit of yellow on their undersides.  I have not seen the white birds before and I only saw them overhead.

We stopped at the Fisherman's port to take some more photos. Lots of pelicans but the first time I didn't see the sea lion begging for a handout. There were five sea lions on a covered dock nearby and three marine iguanas as well. We walked back to go home but were near the Charles Darwin Station and I wanted to see the beach that we missed seeing there before. We walked to that beach and found about 40 elementary school kids having a wonderful time with their teachers frolicking in the water on climbing on the rocks. It would have been so much fun when we were kids but we were very happy to just watch. There were more pelicans and black crabs as well as the red ones. I wanted to see if there were exhibits in some of the buildings that were closed on our first trip there. I didn't realize that Lewis was running out of energy. Fortunately we found a little store and bought some drinkable yogurt and oatmeal cookies at the Charles Darwin station. We were both very tired by the time we got back to our apartment. In fact we took a taxi at the first opportunity even though there were only three blocks left to get home.

The Elders asked Lewis to accompany them this evening. They like doing splits so they can visit more people. He visited one of the families we found in Las Cascadas but the parents were not at home when we visited. He was able to participate in a lesson on keeping the Sabbath Day holy. One of the children is a member but the parents and the rest of the children are not. The member comes to church about half the time. Hopefully the whole family will see the opportunity to join and participate in the church as important. Lewis was tired but enjoyed his experience with Elder Espinoza.

We went to our Compromiso meeting and acknowledged that there are now only four missionaries in the middle of the ocean. The two Elders that were in San Cristobal have gone back to the continent. Since approval for splitting our branch was not given they cannot continue to proselyte where there is not an organized branch. They expect to have 25 people coming to church who are investigators or less actives. I bought some bakery items for a treat but they were neither sweet or salty. They were twisted rings but had no flavor at all. Oh well. Not buying those ever again. Don't come to Ecuador just for the food. 

Lewis went out with the elders at 4:00. He got back at 9:30. He did a lot of walking and some teaching. He enjoys being in a teaching situation and he must be an asset because the Elders like to have him come with them when they do splits.

We have 154 people in Sacrament meeting just here in Santa Cruz. There were 30 more in San Cristobal. Presidente Calapucha was very pleased . The missionaries are doing a great job. I think they did reach their compromiso goals. The family of six who had been here for the last two weeks had gone home so there were no tourists to augment the count. They have been working with the less actives and are making progress. They brought one couple that distressed one of our active single men. He told us later that his ex-wife was there with her new husband and it made him want to run and hide. He didn't. Lewis told him that it is very possible to be divorced and find happiness again. We will pray he can find happiness again by remaining faithful to the Lord and waiting for his blessings. 

We bore our testimonies and said good bye. The testimony meeting was especially good. Perhaps because I finally know so many of the members and care so much about them. They do a good job of bearing a testimony in this branch instead of giving a talk and preaching at people. There has never been a time when they lacked people who want to bear testimony. In fact they have to stand up and say that there is only time for the people on the stand before the meeting is over. We did go over time but it is great to have people wanting to express their testimonies.

Julia started her second round of family history classes. Janeth Palacio gave the RS lesson and did a great job. At the beginning of class she had us all stand in a circle and hold hands. Her lesson was from the RS history book that was a gift to all sisters a couple of years ago about a circle of worldwide sisterhood. At the end of the lesson she asked everyone to write the name of at least one sister who was not in attendance that they would bring next week to join us. The ladies next to me were writing more than one name. The names were posted on the bulletin board so everyone can look forward to getting to know more sisters. These wonderful people are loving and willing to serve. They are doing a great job.

The branch council meeting went very well. One person admitted that not all of the assigned visits were made but there are appointments for next week. The others did make the visits assigned and they were all happy that a couple of families that they had visited were indeed in church and seem happy to be back and said they will continue to attend. They are feeling that their efforts are important. We know that there are additional problems and strains that several families are challenged with but they are doing their best to press forward. Satan is working too but the Saints are not willing to let him win. They are pulling together to strengthen the members and fellowship all of the new converts. It is a big job. They will also call the youth presidencies this week and move forward with their new emphasis on the Aaronic Priesthood and Young Women. They haven't made that a branch presidency priority yet but they know now that it needs to be a primary focus. Neither of the counselors were in attendance at the meeting. Must be lots of challenges are currently being raised for the members here. The presidency knew that President Torres wanted to make changes and there is the temptation to be a "lame duck" presidency but they are trying to keep everything moving forward and make additional progress. They can do it.

Sister Angela Calapucha came to the chapel to have Lewis help her get into Family Search again. She had forgotten her data and couldn't get in. With the internet so slow it was a long project but were able to recover her info and get her into the program. She had both her ancestors and some of her husband's ancestors on her page so it took a while to get it all straightened out. Because her mother is still alive the program wouldn't show those beyond her mother. Something wasn't working right. So they sent an email and they will respond to her. Hopefully she can begin searching for the data for those further back on her tree. She has a good start and was able to do quite a bit of work in the temple on their last trip. She wants to get more names to take on their next trip as well. I so enjoyed talking with her. She told me that she has had dreams that are very significant to her. She was praying about Joseph Smith many years ago and wanted to know for certain that he was a prophet and she had a dream where she saw him speaking. She was behind him and when he turned around and she recognized his face she had a witness that he was and is the prophet as she was taught. She has also had dreams about the second coming. She is working diligently to insure that her family is saved and can abide His return. So many people are close to the Spirit and received personal messages that are helpful and motivating to them.

The Lord is so kind. Angela Calapucha is a special lady. She was born in 1971 and it amazes me when I realize I have daughters both older and younger than she is and there are so many wonderful women raising their own generation and carrying on the legacy of those who are disciples of Jesus Christ. We are so blessed. We didn't finish until about 5:00 and Seminary was beginning. There were at least 10 kids in class. Yea! These young people are great and Sister Ango is an angel to spend so much time helping them learn what is important in life...and for all eternity. 

District Meeting in the morning. We bought chocolate bread and the Sisters brought a cake that they had made. It was surrounded by almonds and had a heart and a smiley face on top. So cute. The meeting was well done. The District leaders do make the meetings worthwhile and motivating. They talked about obedience increasing faith and faith allowing miracles to happen. They are doing amazing things. The attendance at church was wonderful and they are busy teaching lots more people. They practiced setting baptism dates with investigators. I was an investigator and I was reluctant to set a date before I knew for sure that the Gospel was true. Sister Navarro was teaching me and she was encouraging and very quick to come up with great scriptures. I would use a phrase and she had a scripture to go with it. We both broke up laughing when she asked me to read D&C 11:16 and she had highlighted the phrase "wait a little season" in the verse before it! I read that phrase and she cracked up. She will be a great mother because she can teach from the scriptures and find true principles and back them up with great examples and quotes from the scriptures. Sister Schiller is still sick and now both of the Elders have a cold. Poor kids, they blow their noses and carry on. Lewis went home and got them some Vitamin C pills. Hopefully they will help a little bit.

Carolina came to begin her missionary papers. She had a problem where she can enter, and the system acknowledges her account but she can't get past the sign in. It took communicating with Salt Lake to figure out that she has two accounts and was using the one that did not have her membership number attached to it. Now she is in the process of filling out her papers. She can't leave until she has been a member of the church for one whole year but she wants to be completely ready when that time comes next February. She is Brother Palacio's niece and has been living with the Palacios and helping with the hotel for a year or so. She is a remarkable young woman. 

The sisters came at 8:00 in the morning. They got a call last night and Sister Navarro is returning to the continent. No information as to why or where yet. They are on their way to the airport. Brother Palacio is taking them. Sister Schiller will come back with a new companion. They are so sad to be losing each other. They are a great team but will be wonderful with someone else as well. Change is hard when you are unsure of what is next. We are hoping that she will go to Zamora and be there to welcome us. We are glad we will see these great people someday, even if we have to wait until the millennium.

We had a date with Yulia at her husband's restaurant at 7:00. She didn't get there at 7:00 naturally but she had to leave her work, go home and change and come back. Sister Vierra, who is Thomas' mom was there as a waitress. Her daughter Ana is a partner in the operation and she was late too. They put out big shiny red fish and langostinos on a table to advertize what was fresh and available tonight. Yulia suggested the langostino and how could I refuse. Ugly creatures but tasty. Lewis could easily refuse seafood and had beef. It took forever but we enjoyed our time at the table in the street with a slight cool breeze. There were four young adult tourists on one side of us and two men tourists on the other side. But it appears to me that until 10:00 that was the extent of their customers. Hope they can make a living. It is very interesting there are many restaurants all open to the air right here. The block is called "the kiosks". During lunchtime they confine their tables to their spaces and the street is open to traffic. At night they put the tables in the street and the cars must go around. It makes a festive atmosphere with lots of smells from the open braziers/grills and different foods on all sides.

It seems to me that running a restaurant is not an easy way to make a living. They have to be ready for whatever the customer might want but not waste time and food on what they cannot sell. They have been in business for almost two years and are surviving but not making a lot of extra money. The mom says it is a long learning process to understand what the customers want. She said sometimes the guides tell them if a big group is coming from a specific country and they will prepare potatoes for the Germans and pasta for the Italians. They are also dependent on the weather. If it rains no one comes to eat outside. They have a lot of competition with the restaurants on Charles Darwin Drive which are closer to the bigger hotels. But they are making it. The food was good and we had a great time with Yulia. She asked us a lot of questions and we had a good time together.

I have my photos of Guayaquil posted at  PettingillPages.shutterfly.com  in an album called Galapagos. You can click through the album and see the photos with some explanations as well.  

Love from Jeri and Lewis Pettingill