Week 51

Patacones, perhaps the most amazing thing I´ve learned to make on my mission. When I get home your going to love me for making them. If we can find Platano...hmmmmm. Yes I actually made them myself, my Thanksgiving treat.

I love the Coast, it´s stunning.

Don´t worry they don´t actually live there...Elder Matsen and Elder Aguilar.

Can ya feel the comp love?

Everybody-

Ecua-fact: Patacónes, made from Verde, which is a type of non-ripe, non-sweet banana. They are eaten like french fries and totally amazing. I learned to fry things on my mission...not a great habit to get into.

Another killer week in the life of me, Sister Tanner. I think you all know how much I´m loving the coast. I may have done a little gushing.

The bad news is that our baptismal list fell through for this month, we did a little trudging and felt sorry for ourselves for a day or 2 but now are looking forward to December because it looks like it´s going to be a successful month for us.

Henrry and Yomaira will be getting married Friday, we´ve already got their documents and just have to leave them at the Registro Civil this week along with ours because we get to be the witnesses. I don´t feel old enough to be a witness to a wedding. We aren´t one hundred percent that Henrry will be getting baptized this Saturday. All things are go for Yomaira though, she is so happy and ready to be baptized.

Julio Cedeño is also really making progress, he is looking forward to his baptism on the 12th of December, we might have to move it back a bit though for another interview. He´s agreeded to give my companion and I each one of his earrings for Christmas. They are pretty horrible spikey things, that look like they could do a great deal of damage. He´s one of my favorites though and is pretty funny too. He did have a little fall with the Word of Wisdom this week. He´s had a tough life though and pretty much raised himself, he´s studying in the University and everything. He´s strong and I´ve no doubt that he can conquer his temptations (it´s a long list too).

Rosa and Vidal are making slow progress, but it´s progress. Rosa is really great, but we are having a hard time getting them to attend church. I´m sure that is every missionaries problem though. Attending church seems to be the last thing anybody seems to want to do. Working on it though.

For Thanksgiving I ate rice and fish, it was cool though. Mostly because fish is becoming my favorite food and quickly. I know you are all shocked. Don´t you love it though. I still hate with all the passion that I posess Shrimp. Ewww. The texture alone.

Love from Ecuador,

Hermana Whitney Tanner

Ode to My District and My Companion

Freaked me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Can you tell that I really love Hermana Del Águila?


Super District, we are pretty rad. Elder Matsen says hi Mattaya Pitta...weird how small the world is.

Baptism de Geraldin

She was pretty happy!
Geraldin and her family, Alejandro is missing because he doesn´t like pictures.
We had a pretty good turn out.
Felipe, brother of Geraldin, he´s just so cute.
Geraldin with the Primary.

Week 50

Everybody-

Ecua-fact: Uh-uh is yes here, it really throws one off for a couple of months. You have to say it with your mouth open, and to say no it´s with the mouth closed. Might throw some of you off when I get back home.

Wow my time is really flying by, it kinda makes me want to have a companion that I don´t like so the time drags...NAH, so not worth it. As you can see I´m still deliriously happy here in El Carmen! I love it, and have I mentioned the banana trees? How great is my life? I love my companion, and I love my investigators.

Julio Cedeño is one of the best. He´s doing really well and even cut his long hair, it really looks so much cleaner. He´s totally ready for baptism in December, we´re shooting for the 12th. I´m still working on getting him to take out his earrings, really horrible spikes. He also likes to go dancing, trying to get rid of the whole bar scene thing too. He´s not drinking though and things are good on the Law of Chastity too.

Gabriela is still progressing too, she just seems so sad lately because her husband doesn´t want to get married. I think a lot of women really feel hurt when they find out that their boyfriends don´t actually love them enough to marry them. It makes me so sad for her, she really wants to be baptized. She also got really mad when we didn´t visit her Saturday, she totally loves us! We feel the same way.

Henry and Yomaira aren´t doing all that well, we are still on for the wedding but it looks like Henry´s got a few hang-ups still. He´s also got some problems with the law of chastity. MEN. We are ready to go ahead with Yomaira, she´s so ready.

Our Baptisms are really lining up for December but it looks like we will be losing a few for November. I´m not going to feel too bad about it as long as December is amazing. I completely forgot that this week is Thanksgiving...weird. I´m going to spend Christmas in my Hamock, jealous?

We got quite a few new investigators this week and are excited to get to know them all better. I´m still dying of heat and dirt, I´ve never felt this dirty in all my life.

Love ya lots,

Hermana Whitney Tanner

PS. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving. I had a really sweet day of the dead, so I´m not sweating it.

Week 49

Ecua-fact: I have yet to be in a home that doesn´t have a television...sometimes they are houses made of caña, or bamboo. It´s crazy the value placed on electronics.

Everybody-

Your girl is good! I am really loving the coast it´s totally amazing! Crazy hot, and humid, and loaded with mosquitos. It´s also everything I could have hoped for. The poverty level is a bit higher and there are definitely some dangerous parts of town. It´s crazy that I love it so much! It could be in part due to my companion, Hermana del Águila. She is so much fun, and I absolutely love her.

Ecuador is having a bit of an energy crisis because of the lack of rainfall. They have been cutting the power daily for about 8 hours, on a national level. It´s pretty disorganized and is really making things hard for the mission work because we have to be in before it´s dark when there isn´t power in the night. A little dangerous in El Carmen. They say it´s going to be cut down to 2 hours a day, we´re really hoping.

This week was great, Geraldin (Herald-in) Esterilla was baptized this week! Her mother Estefany really would like to be baptized also but her husband isn´t too fond of the whole Marriage idea. Go figure. I´ll have to post pictures next week...sorry! It was a pretty flawless baptismal service, which is pretty great because they usually have some pretty high levels of stress.

My companion and I are also planning the wedding of Henri and Yomaira for 27th of November. I still think we are more excited than they are. Yomaira is so excited and we are trying to get Henri excited as well, he´s a bit more hesitant about baptism. We have an appointment with them tonight in the shady part of town. They are so great and really are gaining strong testimonies of the gospel.

Gabriela Loor is also really progressing well, she really wants to be baptized. Unfortunately her "spouse" isn´t too fond of marriage either. Men...we are on it though. She is so different now than when I met her just 2 weeks ago. I can hardly believe the change. She really loves the missionaries too.

Rolando Chango also has a baptismal date for the end of November. I never cease to be amazed when a young, 20-something, male reads his pamphlets about the law of chastity and all the chapters we assign him in the Book of Mormon. It´s awesome. He really is great and has so much interest. He feels a little unprepared for the end of November but he´ll get there, I´m sure of it.

I would like everybody to know that for the first time in my life I have completed a journal. That´s right, all 304 pages and I´ve started my second. Looks like I can stick with my goals when it´s really important to me. I´m glad I´ll always be able to remember my mission so well, it really is a unique time in your life.

Love ya,

Hermana Whitney Tanner

Ps. I´m going to harvest Cacao this Saturday... jealous?

Week 48

Everybody-

I couldn´t be happier here in the coast, I feel like the adventure in my mission has really kicked in. I love El Carmen, it´s beautiful and super amazing and every day I wake up to Banana trees which reminds me of my favorite childhood song. Wow is it hot though, we only sleep with our sheets and mosquito netting. I´m not a huge fan of the cockroaches though and they really freak me out. Fortunately for me, my companion doesn´t have a problem killing them...

Hermana del Aguila is amazing, definitely one of my favorites I feel like I have a real friend. We are always talking about everything. I love having her!

We are having a lot of success here in El Carmen! We will be having 5 baptisms at the end of this month, it was a week of baptismal challenges. Gabriela Loor is one of them, she is so much fun. Always completes her homework and really has desires to be baptized. She just has to get married first! Jomaira and Henri are also going to be getting married and baptized this month. Hermana del Águila and I are planning the wedding. Should be awesome!

Marriage is not a very popular word in the coast and NOBODY is. It a great thing that I love to teach the Law of Chastity.

Love you all,

Hermana Tanner


There are also a good number of you who speak spanish so I´ll be posting in Spanish now too.

Saludos Todos-

No puedo ser mas feliz (como misionera) aquí en la costa! Es bella y es cheverisimo que cada día puedo ver arboles de platano. Hay calor y solo dormimos con savanas y mi mosquitero. Es la misión que yo esperaba en mi casa cuando tenia mi visión de Ecuador. No me gusta las cucarachas...son grandes y ya saben que me da muchisimo miedo, lo bueno es que mi compa no tiene este miedo!


Hermana del Águila es chevere también, estoy muy agradacida que tengo la oportunidad de ser compañera de ella. Somos bien amigas y siempre estamos charlando. Ella es una grande alivio para mi.


Es duro para mi estar tan lejos de Ambato (por un solo razón) pero estoy muy feliz y contenta con mis nuevas circunstancias.


Tenemos 5 personas con fecha bautismal y cada uno es muy especial. Tengo muchos animos para nuestra programa. Gabriela Loor es uno de ellos y una de las primeras personas que yo pudia conocer. Es muy especial y necesita casarse. También tenemos Jomaira y Henri, quienes van a bautizar, también necesitan casarse! Eso es el gran problema de la costa, ley de castidad, que bueno que me encanta enseñar este principio.


Se cuida,

Hermana Tanner

Retakes

Marina Jeréz in Picahua.

Maricela and Doménica.

It´s the Day of the Dead here the 1st of November and in Ecuador they eat Wawa´s de pan, or bread babies. It´s kinda mortifying but I had to try one. They also drink the Colada Morada which is a hot fruit drink. It´s pretty delicious and purple!

Javier FINALLY let us take pictures, and in his uniform!

Because I´ve already said goodbye to Ambato once.

Week 47

Everybody-

Wow were we rained out this week, soaked! Of course that was Ambato and I´m certain that I´m going to miss the cold now that I´m in the coast! Transfer time is here again.

EL CARMEN, SANTO DOMINGO!
COMPAÑERA: HERMANA DEL AGUILA

Ambato is my favorite sector but who am I to complain, I finally get the area of my dreams. There is absolutely nothing here but humidity and my hair is already curling. I´m really looking forward to my time here, especially because I know that I have a great companion. Things are already looking good.

I´m loving Carmen though, the nauseating 6 hour bus ride down the winding Andes mountains was pretty un-fun experience. Wouldn´t trade it though, my mission is pretty unique.

I did have to leave Javier Jojoa. Fortunately, yesterday he was ordained to be an Elder in the Melquisedek (Yes, I´m aware that I spelled it in Spanish, but I don´t remember how to spell it in English...) Priesthood and this time I was present. Both he and I were crying. In just 2 months he has progressed and surpassed all of my expectations. He was the only person in the Stake to recieve the Higher Priesthood.

It´s also going to be hard to leave the Borja Family behind, Monica accepted a baptismal date for November and I can´t believe I´m going to miss it. She is an amazing person, she would sacrifice anything for her family. Her only reserve is that she wants to be baptized with her husband. Javier isn´t progressing much, or at all really. She wants it so badly though. It gives Jacob 2:35 a whole new meaning.

Veronica Santana will also be staying behind in Ambato, I know she will get baptized someday, because she wants it so badly. Sad that I won´t be here to see it either. I´m not worried either, her day will come.

Marina Jeréz also, we got to say goodbye! She wrote me a sweet letter and said that because she could know the gospel through us she is the happiest woman in the world. I wish with all my heart that she could have the support of her family!

Wish me luck in the coast (I´m so out of the Andes).

Hermana Whitney Tanner

Ps. I get to sleep with a mosquito net! How rad is my life? That might sound sarcastic, but I´m dead serious. This feels strangely like an adventure...stay tuned.

¡ME VOY!

I have to say I´m not to torn up...

I´M OFF TO SANTO DOMINGO! My companion is Hermana Del Aguila a really good friend of mine.

It´s going to be really hard to leave my favorite sector though! Not to mention the 6 hours I get to spend in a bus!

Chao.