But it's whatevs...

"I wish it was cold here! Haha this time of year is when it gets hottest here! We were in the Mission office last week and that`s why I didn't write. I've lost weight because of sweating and walking in the heat all day, I`m not sick. I`m not sure how the call for Christmas will be but I will let you know when I know :) I understand like almost everything but ya speaking the language is a lot harder but it`s coming along. People tell me that I`m doing WAY better than other Gringos that they've known but it`s whatevs.. (Carter's dad and older brother also didn't have too much trouble with the language, apparently it runs in the family) I just wanna know the language ya know?? Yes there`s a lot of English speakers in my zone but we all speak Spanish whenever we talk any way so it doesn't make that much of a difference. Ya the box hasn't come yet but I`m sure it`ll come some day. (Carter's mom sent him a box about a month ago, and it still hasn't made it to him yet)

This week was another week of looking for more and more people to teach. This week we didn't have as much success as we would have liked but we`ll keep trying. One of our baptismal dates for this week is proving to be a bit of a challenge because of the religious leader he had in his other faith. But we`re working hard on him along with the sisters and I hope all will go well for his baptism this week. We also have a family that is getting married today so that they can get baptized this Saturday as well and I`m really excited about it!"

Yep. That's Carter

End of Transfer 1 in Guayaquil

"Hey everyone, sorry I don`t have time this week at all. I`m in Guayaquil right now (Just for the day, I don`t have transfers) and I only have time to write to the President and to send this one email. Hope you all have a great week and I love you all!! :)

Letter to Pres:
This week we kept working with the families that we had and we also found another man named Miguel A. and we put in a baptismal date with him for the and we`re really excited about him because he has a really strong desire to learn and he`s super receptive to everything. He also asks questions so it`s a great opportunity to teach him. I`m still learning more and more Spanish, of course as I probably will be for the rest of my life and I seeing the hand of the Lord in my life in helping to open my mouth and speak a language that I barely know.

Have a great week!! :)
-Elder Wilcox"

Latest Baptism

He's been in the country for less than 3 months, already has a jersey.

October 27, 2014

"This was a really good week for finding people. We found a family on our own and we put in a few baptismal dates for the kids and we have the permission for them so we just need to keep working hard with them. The parents aren't married so we won`t focus as much on them but if they will join us for lessons it would be great. We also found another family and we`ve only talked with the parents and we've made a little progress with them but not much has happened with them yet. The District Conference was really great and I enjoyed listening to all of the talks and especially the musical numbers. I felt the Spirit so strongly during the last song. Yesterday as well we had a lot of investigators in the church and it was a great sight.

Also Pres came to our zone and gave us a training which was super awesome. He´s such a spiritual guy and I feel super lucky to have him as my mission president!!"

October 13, 2014

"We just have the assistants and the ZL`s bring the mail when there is some. I got a letter from Ensley and that`s it so far. You can look up how far away I am. I`m in Santa Rosa, Ecuador so just look it up on Google Earth. Like, the Peruvian border is about an hour away from me by bus and the Mission Home is in Guayaquil which is 4 hours away. THIS IS THE REPORT TO MY PRES. There`s not much in it:

This week we had another baptism. Her name is Milena R. and she was a reference from the Hermanas and the reason she didn`t get baptized before was because she wanted to be baptized in a river so we set it all up and she was baptized and it was a really great experience. Our numbers are low right now and we`re trying to work as hard as we can. I`m still learning Spanish and all the scriptures for the lessons and the techniques but it`s coming along and hopefully I can have them all down soon. This week was also my birthday and it wasn`t any different from another day except that it was Milena`s baptism"

¡Muchos fotos!

     This week we had another baptism! It was super cool and we went to Arenillas to baptize him in a river. The Hermanas also had a baptism this week. Their baptism was an investigator that my companion had taught with his last companion and that fell through while she was in the baptismal font but the Hermanas went to her house a lot and they helped her to get baptized. It was a super spiritual experience that I´ll always remember. Also I had my first Bible Bash this week. I didn´t talk much because I´m still learning Spanish but I understood what was going on. We left soon after I realized it was a Bible Bash because it was escalating. Our investigators are progressing well and we might have another baptism this week if Maximiliano attends Conference on Saturday.

     How´s everyone? By the way, to send packages, make sure there is the green sticker on it and make sure there are stickers of Jesus on all the edges and cracks so the mail people don´t open it and steal stuff.

Elder Wilcox

'Dem Baby Blues

¡Hola amigos y familia! This is what we got from Carter this week: 

"My comp is from Colombia. His name is Elder A. Rodriguez He speaks some English which is nice so we can communicate a little better. My apt is ok. It´s nicer than most of the buildings here but you know not like America but it´s whatevs. The area is big. My comp says that I´ll never see all of it. The ward is super nice and they all know who I am because of how white I am. Food is always soup, rice, and a little meat. And you get a spoon to eat it all. That´s everyday pretty much. The other day I drank Malta (for those of you who haven't tried malta, it's gross). Ask Dad what that is. He´ll explain. I baptized another person on Saturday. Her name is Nathaly and I think it´s really funny becase she totally has a crush on me because of my eyes. Everyone tells me that my eyes are super pretty and cool. It´s pretty funny. The showers are still cold and it´s still super humid. Everything is still in Spanish and I´m still learning... I´ll send pics"

Carter with Nathaly and Elder Rodriguez

¡Ecuador!

Carter's emails continue to be a few sentences so we're having a hard time getting long emails for actual substance. Here are some snippets from a letter we got from his mission president, President Torres

    "It was a very special experience to personally greet your son, Elder Wilcox, at the airport upon his arrival in Guayaquil. We were impressed by his great spirit and desire to serve. We are grateful and humbled to have him serving here with us. 

     From the airport we took him and the other missionaries downtown to the Guayaquil Temple for a picture.  We then went to a stake center to meet the office staff and take care of some paperwork, and orientation.  We enjoyed a great Ecuadorian dinner after which it was my privilege to interview your son as well as the other arriving missionaries.  What a nice experience it was to get to know your son and feel his outstanding missionary spirit!"

Carter was sent to his first zone, Santa Rosa South. His companion is Elder Rodriguez. Shortly after arriving he was able to baptize Myra C. in Spanish. He was pretty excited that he was able to recite the prayer in all Spanish too. That's all the details we have about the past week. Hopefully we'll start to get more consistent lengthy posts! Write him a letter and you can get your own details on what's going on in Ecuador.

Carter with the other arriving missionaries

Birthday Cake Game

Carter with his trainer, Elder Rodriguez

Aftermath of the Birthday Cake Game

Two sisters who were recently baptized.

Guayaquil Temple