Coco

The newest obsession is coconut down here, I want to eat everything coconut many would think I was living a nice vacation life in Hawaii! Fresh coconut juice is the best thing on a hot morning or even in the freezing of the night. It is scorching hot here in the morning the sun is so strong not like we are living on the ecuador  at 10k elevation or anything  and in the evening and  its freeeeezing I feel like I am in Canada. Welcome to Quito.

What else has happened this week?! We bought a 5 buck Christmas tree from some people on the side of the road, found some lights and called it a Ecuadorian Christmas. Our neighbors were so happy to find out that we are not Jehovah witnesses and we celebrate Christmas, yet they read our name tags that say Jesus Christ on them ...Ecuadorians.  My English is becoming bad, which is a good sign. And....I am still eating a volcano of rice each day and yep It’s still rainnning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! whooot whooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it.

As for the people we are teaching this week, we had 8 investigators at church on Sunday and they all came to the Christmas devotional on Sunday night!!!!!!!!! They are all progressing for baptism and we have a goal in the Quito mission to baptize 100 this month to have a white Christmas in Ecuador! Only 17 days till Christmas, and nobody even really celebrates it whoow hooo! This week Hermana Costa and I have thought and studied a lot about faith. Why is it so hard sometimes to have faith? How can we help others have faith? What even is faith? Why do we doubt our faith? But having faith is simple, faith that today we will find opportunities to grow or even just faith to say a prayer in your heart in a time of need, rather than getting mad. I hope this week we all can strengthen our faith. Without faith I would not be here in some random town in the middle of Ecuador, some random 19 year old girl. Faith can move mountains and it can give us strength to soften hearts. Miracles can happen if we let down our pride and just have a little more faith then we did yesterday.

Someone drink some extra peppermint hot cocoa for me this week, You are all in my prayers and thoughts, I love each and every one of you.

Con Amor

xoxo.Hermana Merrill

Pictures for the week...

First people we are teaching, Familia Cordoba, and us in Quito today with a Christmas tree with my Ecuadorian shoes and lastly of course a funny pic on the bus