The Husband Named Hugo

This week was super amazing! I'm in a new area with a new companion and I love it! Here in Manta there is no rain or clouds and just straight sun. It's a lot of sweating everyday, all day long.  My comp always walks around with this huge sombrero.  Sometimes from behind he looks like a Chinese guy.

Last Saturday we had 3 baptisms! 4 in the ward.  There are 4 missionaries in the ward.  The zone leaders and us.  It was such a cool experience. So last Friday this couple, where the wife had been listening to the missionaries for 8 years and the husband who's been listing for 4 years got married on Friday and on Saturday got baptized.  After they got married, the husband named Hugo said that he feels the same haha.  He's super cool and never wears a shirt unless he has to go somewhere important.  Also, a girl who has been listening to the missionaries for like 2 and a half weeks.  This next week her sister said that she will get baptized.

I love this new area and I'm looking forward to what is coming up. Oh yeah, I went running with my comp on the beach one morning and there were tons of fisherman with their catches from that morning.  They had all the fish on the beach. There were tons of sharks like bull sharks and other types, but I don't know what they're called.  Also these swordfish but aren't swordfish, but pretty much the same. And barracuda and tons of big fish.  It was awesome. I know I didn't spell some of that right, but that's not too important.

Anyway everything is going good and just taking advantage of our sector and finding new people to teach and help and do all that we can to find more people to teach.  Love you guys so much.  Sorry I can't send pics, but this computer doesn't have a spot for my flash drive and it's been like that the past couple of times... sorry.

Hope everyone has an awesome week!!

Love,

Elder Pollock

Transfers!

Hey guys!!!

This week went by super fast.  I'm in a new area in the mission, but now I'm back in Manta!  It's super cool cause now I'm back at the beach haha.  My comp says that he wants to go for runs at the beach in the mornings, so I'm pumped for that! Finally, I have a comp that wants to go for runs.  Sorry I haven't been able to write the past couple of weeks cause things happened and I didn't have any time to write, but today I can a little bit!

So in my new sector I guess, we have a baptismal date this weekend for the 7th.  So yeah I'm pumped!  I'm living in a house with the zone leaders too, so that should be pretty fun!  They are super cool and good missionaries too, so I'm excited.  My comps name is Elder Acurra and he is from Peru.  This is his last transfer in the mission so he's almost done!

Anyways, thanks guys for everything and all the support!  The mission is a wonderful place.  Always listen to the missionaries and always read the Book of Mormon and pray daily and I promise that you guys will find a lot of happiness.
Bye!

Elder Pollock

Hey guys,

Sorry about last week!  I didn't have any time to write a group email.  But yeah, this week I have a little time.

Well, this week our Branch President gave us a reference for a family.   It was Sunday and we went that afternoon to find them.  They lived in the middle of nowhere pretty much.  It took us three hours to get to their house and back to Santa Lucia.  It was so cool though.  To get to the house we had to cross a river.  We were in a members car.  There was this small boat that takes cars across the river.  Well, we did that and I'm pretty sure we can't, but my comp said yes.   I love it so much and it was the coolest Sunday ever.  We got to the family and they were super happy to see us.  The wife was sick and we gave her a Priesthood Blessing.  She and her husband had been married for like 70 years and their son was there too.  The Spirit was super strong while we were there to get to know them and teach a little bit.  They want us to come back.  The thing is that it's very very limited to get a car ride out there and we can't walk unless we want to walk all day and waste a lot of time but we are going to do what we can.

Well, not much else happened.  One of the other Elders in the house killed another bat.  When he hit it with a role of paper, a baby flew out of the moms tummy.  Dang, well there's probably a thousand bats in the ceiling and they are planning to attack us I think.  One day they will attack, but oh well, I'll be ready with my broom.

Anyways, love you guys so much and remember to always keep Christ in your hearts.  My mom told me something that she learned in a conference that Cristo is the center of all healing.  It's the truth and as we study the scriptures,  pray, and repent daily, then we can know for a surety that that is true.

Alright bye!

Elder Jackson

Family of Bats!

This week was so amazing!!  One of our investigators were able to get baptized!!  Her name is Tania Ruiz.  She is so amazing.  She has 19 years old.  She loves reading the Book of Mormon and it really helps her everyday.  She's always wanting to learn more everyday.  One day I ask if she's been reading and she said that day she read all of Moroni.  I was so surprised haha.  But yeah, the baptism was very special and she was crying and her mom who's not a member who is a strong Catholic was crying too and the Spirit was super strong.

But yeah, we have others we are teaching and they are progressing.  It's also a really poor country and there is always tons of problems that we have to help with and show them how they can get around these things.  Some lessons we think will go like 15 min., but end up going like 45 min.

There's a family of bats living in the ceiling of our house. I have killed like 7 bats in our house in the past month. Well walk in the hosue and there will be one flying around.  So now I have a fun hobby of bat hunting haha.  I have a cool pic of one from today that I got out of the ceiling haha.

Anyways, love you guys so much!  I hope everything is going well and you guys are reading the scriptures everyday and praying to your Father in Heaven throughout the day.

Bye!!!

Elder Jackson Pollock

Transfers!

Hey guys, how's it going!  This week went by so fast!  So today we had tranfers!  But yeah, my comp and I didn't have tranfers.  The other missionaries in my house either. So yeah, we are just chillin I guess for another cambio.  It's been raining super hard and will be for another like 3 months everyday and it's hard.  I love it!  My rain coat and I are lovin it.

Anyway, we should have had 3 baptisms this past Saturday, but one wasn't in town and the other two who got married, well, the husband doesn't feel completely repented but the wife's fine.  She could be baptized tonight if she wants to, but they want to get baptized together.  It's just hard to get him to actually act and do the repentance process. It's frustrating when we are explaining things very clearly and at times using strong scriptures so that he will be like, oh crap, I need to do it. But yeah, it doesn't really get to him that much. Tomorrow we will have divisions and one of the zone leaders will go with me so that we can talk to them.  He's super cool.  He's from the U.S., New Hampshire I'm pretty sure. We get along really well.

This weekend we have two baptisms!  The girl who wasn't in town this last weekend and her cousin.  She's super excited, but we're just working through things so that all goes well.  I'm super pumped.   That also means that this week my comp and I have to work extra hard so that all goes good.

Anyway, love you guys so much and I love reading all your letters! And I have some pictures this week, haha, so I'll send those.  One is from my last zone before transfers and one is with the family of the mission leader in the branch here. And another is of my zone leader who finished his mission and is going home today to Argentina! He is my favorite zone leader. One of the pics is when we were on divisions and we were on a motorcycle in a members house. I'll miss him.  We got along really well together. He said I'm his second favorite Gringo haha. Another picture is of the couple that got married.

Anyway, love you guys tons!!  Bye!

Elder Jackson Pollock

Pouring Rain!

Well this week was a bit of a bummer... we had three baptisms planned for Saturday and like 2 days before, all fell through.  Danget.... well yeah, we are working with them so that they will be able to this next Saturday.  Two of the baptisms were a couple who got married on Wednesday. The husband last minute didn't think he was ready and lost his animos (courage). But the wife is ready to be baptized. But she really wants to be baptized with her husband, together.  The other baptism that fell through is a 9 year old whose name is Genesis. She went to Guayaquil and couldn't make it back. Also, her dad is kinda putting in her mind that she's not ready and prepared enough. But she is.  She is super smart and remembers everything and is really ready. So we are going to work with her a lot to help her be baptized for this Saturday also.

The past couple weeks it has been raining so so much!  It's crazy.  It's just fine one second and the next it's just pouring.  There's times where we just see a wall of rain coming for us, and we will just be in the street and look down the street and it's just pouring a block away, but where we are it's just fine.  It's just like a line of rain.  There's times where it's pretty much a river in the streets. I love it cause I get to use my rain coat.

Anyway, that's pretty much all that happened this week.  Not much, just a wedding and stuff.  I'll send a pic of that.  But yeah, whenever you guys feel down or need help, read the Book of Mormon with the desire to find an answer and help.   Look diligently and you will find one.

Anyway, love you guys so much!!  Bye!

Elder Pollock

Well, my usb thing won't fit in the computer so I'll send pics next week sorry...

Air Hockey!

Hey guys, how's it going!!!!  This week went by so fast!!  Well I don't have much time so it will be kinda short.  Anyway, we have 4 baptismal dates.  3 this weekend and one the 24th.  We are working hard with them to help grow their testimonies.  It's starting to rain so much here.  One time it rained for 10 min and it was literally a river in the streets, midway up my calves.  It was nuts, and it continued to rain all that night too.  It was so cool!!  Not much has happened this week.  Our district ate lunch with an assistant to the president who I'm pretty close to.  He calls me hijito.  He's one of my padres en the mission.  He's super cool, and yeah we ate Carls Junior.   Other than that, not much happened haha, and we got permision to play air hockey haha that was super fun.  We played with the zone leaders.  I loved it a ton!!!

 Alright, well I got to go, so sorry there's not much today.... love you guys so much and don't forget to read the Book of Mormon every day!!!!

Bye!!

Elder Pollock