January 31, 2005 Portosi

hello everyone          January 31, 2005

This week went by really well. We´ve been working with some cool people and this week we baptized one. Here name is Rocio Quiñonez. She has accepted everything we have taught here and put it into practice. She helps you with the missionary work more than the members she has given us tons of references and accompanied us to there appointments. On Saturday she was baptized. So out here in Catarama/Ricaurte we don’t have a chapel we meet in a big house and we don’t have a place to do baptisms in this house so we do our baptism in a river. So I had my first baptism in a river.
So I was really sick Tuesday night till Thursday. I don’t know what I had it was like a bad cold/fever. I had like headaches hot and cold sweats, stomachaches, drowsiness. But no stuffy nose. Weird, I donno it was horrible though. But no rest for the wicked I guess my comp just dragged me along.
So there have been a few more earthquakes this week. One on Monday, well two but what happened is there was a small one and a few minutes later a bigger one. Now if ya remember we were in Guayaquil on Monday which is 2 hours away. So we didn’t feel anything. Anyway im told that the second one was so strong that people in the street fell to their knees and started praying for forgiveness of their sins. And we missed it.

Oh we are working with this guy named Rolando Bricio. He is awesome. When we taught about the Sabbath day he had a problem because he worked every Sunday. We went back to his house a few days later and asked if he was going to be able to come to church with us on Sunday, he said “no, I have to work. But next Sunday and every other Sunday.” He fixed up his schedule so he didn’t have to work Sundays, we then found out that he was not married. So we taught about the law of chastity and told him he needed to get married. He said so if my wife doesn’t want to get married I cant get baptized. We told him just to talk to her and trust in the lord. We came back the other day and he said he knows he has to get married he just needs a few days to get the money cause right now he has to buy a new house. He is living in a school as a guardian, making sure it doesn’t get robbed. Anyway the owner of the school doesn’t like us coming over to teach him, so he is going to move out so he can keep listening to us. He is so cool. He is changing everything to do what’s right.
Well that’s about all for the week. Oh as we speak we are in the process of getting Johanna married so she can be baptized this Saturday. So cross your fingers.

Well I love you all
Love Elder Jarom Brand


Ps. Timmy so you said you are in The Restoration. What part, what’s going on when you show up? Just wondering. oxoxoxoxoxoxoxox