Justin's Ecuador Quito North Mission

He called from the airport in Salt Lake!  He is on his flight to Phoenix now!  He is excited and nervous! He sent an email from Mesa... Well I'm allowed to email you to let you know I got here safe. Right now I'm using a computer but I think I will be getting a phone to use while I'm here in Mesa. The flight was great I got a little bit of sleep and before I called you we ate at McDonald's and then I called you, I know I sounded sad on the phone but I really am excited and ready to serve. It sounds like I'll be put together with a Spanish speaking trainer. This place is beautiful, there are cactus's and palm trees! Well I just wanted to let you know i got here safe!

Today he has been busy doing laundry and packing! He'll be going to Mesa, Arizona! An excerpt from his email... I am excited and nervous to get out into the field, it kinda feels like we just got here. The MTC has been great, I still have A LOT of Spanish to learn but I can get by I hope. The MTC has been one of my best experiences, very difficult and full of learning, but still a fun time. I will do my weekly email this coming Monday (New p-day) I don't know how much time I'll have for emailing in Mesa, I may need to make them a bit shorter. Also I found out today from an Elder that we may be in Mesa for longer than a transfer, one of his friends going to Ecuador has been out for longer than a transfer and still hasn't received his Visa. I will let you know anything I find out about my Visa asap.

Yesterday, January 24th, was the deadline to receive his visa.  It didn't come yet so he is headed to Mesa, Arizona, until it arrives.  He won't be going alone, he said there are four others going to Arizona while they wait for their visas. It looks like Mesa has a large population of Spanish speakers so he will be able to keep working on learning the language.  The weather in Mesa is going to be wonderful this coming week with highs in the 70's.

As you can see from the pictures, he is doing well.  No update on the visa, I guess it might take awhile.   Most likely he will leave early Tuesday morning for Mesa but we will have to wait and see.  He had his birthday on Saturday, he was sick but everyone there made it special for him by singing "Happy Birthday" and giving him notes and small gifts!  He got to hear from Mitch Davis and had a few sneak peeks from the movie he is putting out called, "The Other Side of Heaven 2."  Brother Davis shared multiple quotes including this one..." Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal." E. Joseph Cossman.   The missionaries in his group that were going to Spain all departed on Wednesday morning so Tuesday night and Wednesday was hard  for them, he says that they feel like family which he said isn't surprising because they have spent the last six weeks with each other, every day. He has enjoyed rec...

From his email.... Ok today I got some mail about my travel information it says... At this time, we have not received your visa to travel to your mission. We are still hopeful your visa may arrive. To allow additional time for your visa to be returned, you will be held at the MTC for an additional week. If we still have not received your visa, you will go to a temporary assignment the week of January 28th. If you haven’t received your visa by January 24th you will receive your temporary assignment itinerary on this day. Your pending temporary assignment is the AZ Mesa Mission. So If my visa doesn’t come back before the 24th, I will find out when I leave for Mesa next Thursday. I will keep you guy’s updated if I learn anything else. I don’t think my visa will come through before the 24th because it sounds like there are a lot of governmental problems right now. An elder that just got here who I was talking with earlier today, told me that the U.S government is shut down and that som...

Today is his last p-day at the MTC!  He is excited and a bit sad because he knows he probably won't see most of the people again. He looks great! He is really doing a lot of exercising so that he is ready for his service in Ecuador! A group of missionaries from his zone. Several wintry scenes from the MTC. Not sure what this one is about, looks like they are having fun! Look at these smiles! There is a new MTC President,  their names are David and Nancy LeSueur.  I just looked up their biography ( https://lds.org/church/news/new-mtc-presidents-called-to-serve-in-philippines-new-zealand-provo-brazil-and-mexico?lang=eng ) and it says he is from Mesa, Arizona! He is studying and working hard and sounds wonderful in his email! Still no definite plans for his travel to Arizona or possibly Ecuador if his Visa comes through.  I'll post on here when I hear something!

The other day I got my travel information for Ecuador, but it is dependent on me getting my visa. This is my travel info if my visa comes through before I leave. ( there was an attachment with his itinerary ) So I found out a few minutes ago that I am probably getting reassigned to Mesa Arizona Mission. If I get my visa before I leave the MTC then I will be going to Ecuador. However, there is a good chance that our Visas won’t be coming through in the next 9 days. So I will probably be serving a mission in both Mesa, Arizona, and Ecuador which is awesome! I decided to email you as soon as possible (we are allowed to email about reassignments) I will let you know if things change but as of now I am going to Mesa Arizona. Also, me, my companion, and another elder going to Quito North are all going to Mesa Arizona! I will keep you updated.                                         ...

Today is email day! I shared with him this week about one of my favorite scriptures and asked him what his is, he hasn't decided on one favorite but he really likes.... 1 Nephi 13:37,"And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be." I told him how we had a nice day temperature wise and he said it was 44 degrees one day at that it was a nice break from 30 degrees :) Last Wednesday was busy and he hopes to email everyone that has sent him an email today if he hasn't already. One of his responsibilities at the MTC is Sacrament Coordinator. They had a devotional this week, the guest speakers were Brother and Sister Bingham (General Relief...

This week's email has lots of pictures!  The above two pictures look like artwork depicting the parting of the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:13-31)  A kind and encouraging note from "Secret Santa"  Beautiful pictures of Provo including the Provo Temple A quote from this week's email... "It’s hard to believe that I’m on week 3, half way through my MTC stay,  it also feels like it’s been months since I’ve saw home. One of the  quotes I’ve been told by older missionaries basically sums it up “The  days are weeks and the weeks are days.” He says his favorite day of the week at the MTC is Sunday! It seems that they frequently have devotionals with guest speakers, after the one this week, they watched the video, "Only a Stonecutter," he suggested we watch it.  https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-07-140-only-a-stonecutter?lang=eng A final quote from this week's email, " I can really feel everyone...