April 16, 2012 - Dear Family

April 16, 2012

Dear Family,

Well, family and friends. It has been the fastest week of the mission and we have been working wayyy hard. We are going to have 3 baptisms this week and I hope 8 more on the 5^th of May. Field is white all ready to harvest here in La Chala. We have more investigators than we can go for in a day and that helps the time go fast. Can you guys believe I almost have got a year??? The time is blowing my mind.

So I got a funny story this week. We were walking past a pharmacy and some guy call us over and starts letting us listen to “queen” and ACDC and all that good music from the states and he gave us a CD for free. He said that this was proof that people in Ecuador actually listen to good music, it was way cool. I hope to teach him but I don’t know if he lives in our sector but I think he might have a problem with the Word of Wisdom. So this sector is so crazy. Thursday we had 5 baptism dates in one day and before Thursday, we didn’t have that good of a week but then God just dumped a ton of people on our shoulders and a gift of baptism. Our sector alone, right now, is carrying the whole zone. But it’s not because we are doing anything, but really just being obedient. God is blessing us soooo much. Really, I am so happy here, guys.

Well, just so you guys know. I wasn’t in the water in the baptismal font picture and we didn’t do anything we weren’t supposed to do. We may be young men, but we have common sense. What a blessing it is to be in this mission. I have learned so much. I can’t wait to get home and really go into details of all these stories. There is some real crazy stuff that goes down here in Ecuador really and some crazy drunks. A guy has come up to us 3 times telling us about himself and his life. He was drunk each time. We gave him a Word of Wisdom pamphlet and he shoved it in his pocket. Another drunk came to us with blood all over his face. He wanted to talk to us. That’s when you just take off walking super fast so you don’t get touched. Sometimes you really have to be on guard here at night. We get into some really ghetto places here where people are drinking and smoking weed and partying. The people look at us but we have never been touched. We just follow the rule book and even if we are lost, it says to walk “with direction” so even if we are lost, we knock on a door so it looks like we know where we are going. We never get messed with, but you never leave the house with more than a couple of bucks for a reylleno or something because if you have more, you are going to get robbed. But don’t worry, God protects his missionaries!

I love you guys so much. Thanks for everything. I hope you guys like the pictures.

Thanks for sending those pictures to Kirby. I sure miss that guy. He writes me sometimes and lets me know how the shop is doing. I hope I have a job with him when I get back and a lifetime friend. He really was very good to me.

I love you all and I love you Sarah!

Love, Gringo Loco Elder Profaizer

P.S. Some of the latinos think I’m crazy but a little advice to the future missionaries BE CRAZY because if your not you will go crazy in a worse way. Have fun, work hard, never doubt the spirit because sometimes it puts crazy ideas in your head but every time you do them, they work! The law of God is obedience. All of you guys remember to keep the commandments and you will be blessed with strength at all times and all places and protection.