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"

'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