Who Let the Dogs Out?

Hola!

 

There are some wonderful people here. They are so loving and generous. I am not exaggerating when I say that nearly every day someone gives us some kind of fruit, vegetable, juice, etc.

 

The work is sooo good here. The main challenges seem to be in that often the youth and kids get baptized, but their parents do not. The parents have more challenges----they need to get married,  word of wisdom, work on sunday, etc. Even those who are of other faiths are welcoming, loving, and often are happy to listen to us. I think the key is in the DAD. DADS are SO important. With the support of the Dad, everyone jumps on board.

 

I am loving being at camp. They sell bug repellant here, but it does not seem to be as effective. It is beautiful in Las Avispas (which means The Wasps) and I feel like I have been transplanted as a character in a few of my favorite novels. 

 

Remember how I used to be absolutely terrified of dogs? And I would run like crazy as they chased me around? I think I am finally overcoming this fear. Every house in Las Avispas has a dog or two or three. These dogs are intended to protect the house and scare any one off.  Truly, I have never prayed so hard to be protected from dogs, and it seems my prayers are being answered. :)

 

 I am thankful to be here in Ecuador. I have fallen in love with the gospel, the people, the food, the nature, and practically everything else here. I know this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Heavenly Father knows each one of us and loves us so much that He sent His Son. Just as Christ fulfilled the will of the Father in all things, as we follow His example, we will also return to our Heavenly Father`s presence. He demonstrates His love for us in so many ways. One of the ways is that we have prophets to guide us and His power is on the earth today. It is through His power that we can be a family forever.

 

I know the Lord`s promises are sure. As we make promises to people, I feel the reassurance that it is true! The Lord blesses us as we do what He asks. He will never ask us to do more than we can, and He always makes a way to complete with His will. I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and will eternally be thankful for His Infinite Sacrifice.

 

 

love,

Hermana Garlock

 

Officially Transferred!!

I would like to report that I have been transferred, YES I OFFICIALLY HAVE BEEN CHANGED!!!! Starting of course with the mosquitos, but more importantly in the sense of the people here live like we are camping. Cold showers, kids running around without shoes on outside--I would like to note that the parents in Guayaquil freak out when their kids don´t have their flip flops on inside the house whereas here the kids are rolling in dirt and the parents are asking me to take pictures. haha. Seriously.

 

I think I have been transferred to my new home. And I am ever so so so happy. I wish I could express the joy I am feeling here. I am in Milagro, milagro in English means miracle. It is quite a fitting name. There are MANY people ready for the gospel here. The people are just really loving and happy. They are so easy to love, which I am thankful for because this change could have been really sad with leaving what felt like my home.

 

Thursday morning, was an emotional morning to say the least. Leaving so many friends, who feel more like family, not to even mention leaving the easy bake oven and washer and dryer, sent me straight to tears. I know I should have been expecting to be changed at some point from Bolivar, but I was so confident my time had not come to an end. 

 

Surprise! The companion waiting to meet me, was Hna Lara! We just had a week or so apart and now are back together. I am thankful for her friendship during the transition time of leaving Bolivar. I feel somewhat how it feels to have broken up with your first love. After eight months in the same place, the people there are my family and friends! I love every one of those converts soooo much and it broke my heart a little to leave them. I will continue to pray for them and for the members.  

 

It is like a dream come true. Huge guava trees, avocados, zapote, mangos, chocolate trees, bananos, etc.

I am excited for the harvest time. Right now there are a lot of fruits, but the best fruits (MANGO) is yet to come. The people here are so generous and receptive to the gospel. Every day we have been given fruits. Ohhhh I am in love. The lifestyle here is completely different. It is just relaxed and peaceful. The houses here are small but very well organized. This really impresses me. The houses are decorated and swept and washed clean. The floors of most of the houses seem to be some kind of pavement or cement.

 

The ward here is wonderful too. I am excited to get to know the members. There is a big task ahead to get to know all of the members and the streets and everything. The great difficulty been that here the streets do not really have directions. The houses do not have numbers and there are no signs with the street names. One member told me the directions to her house and that is what it says on church records.....hmmmm....This should be interesting.

 

Love,

Hermana Garlock

By their Fruits...

Hola!

 

The fruit here is unbelievable. There is a huge meat and produce market by our apartment. I REALLY wanted to take a picture today for you to see.  However, you will just have to imagine beautiful designs of papaya, pears, bananas, pineapple, granadilla, melon, etc and stacks of tomatos, avocados, brocolli, beets, limes, etc. For three dollars, I came home with two bags full of produce!

 

This week was a bit of a whirlwind. I absolutely love Hermana Arias. We were having a splendid time together this week--really enjoying ourselves and working at the same time---when we received a call that her visa arrived. Before I knew it this morning, she was packed up and shipped off to Venezuela to serve her mission there. 

 

Jonaton  was baptized Saturday!!!!! This was a miracle. He decided for himself he wanted to be baptized. His mom, loves the Book of Mormon and the gospel. She has really felt a change in her life. She wants to be baptized but is in somewhat of a situation. His dad, has listened a few times and has a desire to change, but he has a lot of challenges to face....They need to get married....etc.... All I know is that if he is going to change, it will only be through this Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are truly forgiven when we repent and I know this applies to us all!

 

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support!!!!

love,

Hermanita Garlock

Moved

 HOLA!

Well I have spent the morning up to my elbows in Clorox bleach. I am actually happy to report this. We moved houses this week!!!!! YES I actually had somewhat of a change in the mission!!! Haha....The funny part is that we changed houses to live in the bordering ward to my current ward (it is still the same stake). And although we changed houses, we have not changed sectors. I am still in Bolivar! So now we take a bus for 10-15 minutes to our sector. The miraculous part is that Hermana Salmon and I still live together. I believe the plan was that just the nurses would change houses, but plans change. I will definitely enjoy this new house--- we have TWO bathrooms, a small air conditioning unit in the main room, and we go on the roof to do our morning exercises. I can see mountains from here as well. Love it. I will send pictures soon.

 

Contributing to the change is that I have a different companion! Hermana Arias from Quito, Ecuador. Quito is the capital, north of here. She is actually assigned to serve in Venezuela but is waiting for her visa. Hna Lara is in Milagro and I will miss that girl. It has been an exciting week. I actually got to leave Guayaquil for the first time! We traveled in bus just one hour to Milagro. But it was like a whole new world. Ecuador is so beautiful! I saw pigs, horses, and stuff. Lots and lots of palm trees and other foreign looking trees. Many of the houses were built out of thin wood planks and are held tall off the grass on stilts. It was a fun experience.

 

As we talked to a taxi driver this week, I realized once again how important and necessary the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ was. He was convinced God is a spirit and could hardly believe we thought anything different. Surely it is the Spirit of God- the Holy Ghost that has made it known to me that God is my Father. That He has a glorified body of flesh and bones and that we can become like Him. He loves us and knows us and cares about us. I know that He works miracles in this day according to our faith. I know He listens to our prayers and wants us to talk to Him. Not just say recited words that sound all nice and worshipy, but actually communicate with Him. Learning to pray is a process I am working on so that I can always communicate love and adoration to my Heavenly Father. It is something we all need to do, daily, always, in private, and with our families. 

 

I am thankful for the wonderful parents I have. You have always shown me such love and care. I hear awful stories and meet people here who have experienced such hard things in their homes. I cannot even imagine it. It fills me with such sadness, but also opens my eyes to the way I have been blessed. I am incredibly thankful for the parents I have. I hope I can always find ways to keep the commandment to honor my parents, because you both surely deserve it!

 

With lots of Love your daughter, sister, granddaughter, etc,

Hermana Garlock