Sister Dana Glanzer

Family and friends,

This week has been long and different. A lot has happened and I am just glad it is over. I am still here, working hard and doing the best I can. My sector is dangerous but I am doing the best I can.

Last Monday we went to a beach and played volley and futbol. There was no sun, but we still got burnt. My face was burnt and my lips got burnt pretty bad. They blistered a little and after the blisters popped, they hurt pretty bad. But I am okay, don’t worry.

This week we got to go to Guayaquil for a day!! Hermana Coy had a doctor appointment for her knee. I got to visit some of the families from my sector there. It was great. A fun surprise. And guess what? I get to go back for my birthday!!! Hermana Coy has another appointment for that day. I am so excited!!

On Sunday, we went into Primary to talk about missionary work. It was so fun, the kids are funny. After we talked, they got to draw themselves as missionaries. The teacher asked them how missionaries dress and to look at us and our clothes. There are pretty much all boys in there and they all looked at us two SISTER missionaries. Ha! We had to get a picture of boy missionaries for them to look at and draw.

I kind of had a “slap in the face” the other day. It was hot so we stopped and rested on this little bench thing. This man walks by and asks how long we have been in the mission. I am thinking is he a member? But no, he started asking questions about why there are so many churches, and this and that. Then he started talking about the Bible. Let me tell you, I found out that I don’t know much about the Bible. I know the stories, but really, I am useless. It kind of opened my eyes. The people here study the Bible; some are very intelligent and know it very well. I have started to study the Bible along with the Book of Mormon. I am just glad my companion knows the Bible pretty good.

We had a baptism date set for the 27th of this month for a girl who is in a part member family. The family really doesn´t have any desire to come to church, which is really hard. I am not here just for them to come to church three times and then she can get baptized and that is it, I am here to help them realize they need the church and that they want it. I am working hard with this family.

We contacted a man and his woman the other day. He has his reservations about the Church, something happened a long time ago with a member and his money, but his woman is very open and wants to read and wants to come to church. The thing is, she works in the morning and afternoon and can’t come to church. We are working hard with them too.

Also, there is a wife to a member who isn’t baptized but wants to be. The problem is, they don’t live in our sector, but the mom does and they are always over there and attend our church.  We are going to call the Stake President to see if we can have permission to teach her and baptize her in our ward. We are crossing our fingers.

Today, our p-day has been an okay day, we didn’t really have anything to do. We are going to go to the zoo next week.  The cost of using the computers and the internet at the internet café depends on where we go and for how long we use it. It is usually about a dollar for the time. That is way cheap. My US money works here. That is what they use in Ecuador — the US dollar. They use the golden dollar too. a lot. I mean a whole lot. I like that more than the bill.

It is dangerous here because there are tons of drunks in the streets every day, during the day. It is even worse on the weekends. In Guayaquil, people yelled things at me like ¨Hey you – gringa.¨ I can handle that, but here it is so different.

There is a really bad word here that they call me. I try not to think about it, but you know how it is when someone calls you a name, it hurts a little. Well, this word is horrible. They don’t even know me, so why would they call me that?

A couple of times, drunk men have tried to get me to go with them. Just the other day was the scariest for me. There is a member in our ward who brought his uncle to church. So we went by his house so visit him (he is 16). His dad and his grandma are not members, so we wanted to visit them too. The uncle at church ended up not living in our sector, but he has another uncle that goes by their house all the time. We were there and he comes out and says what every person says here, ¨Hey you, gringa.¨  But he was a little drunk and they were talking to us. He asked me if I had kids, I told him no, I was single and that I am here to do my thing. He kept telling me we should get married and we can have kids together.

I kept saying no, I can’t and don’t want to. He kept telling me I can live here or he can move to the States. I said no, I don’t want to. He kept at it, so I wanted to leave and we started going. We were shaking hands, but he wouldn’t let go of mine. He had a pretty hard grip on it and wouldn’t let go. Just the way he kept telling me we should get married was creepy and then when he wouldn’t let go of my hand, it just scared me.

Then Hermana Coy is telling me that I need to be firm. I am thinking, how can I be more firm than I was? She doesn’t know how it is because they all talk to me. Then she keeps telling me it is my fault that they are yelling things at me and calling me names, like I can do anything about it?

It just gets scary after a while and makes you not want to go to those parts of the sector — which by now is all of it. Every street and every corner has these people. How can I work hard if I am afraid? How can I have a desire to work in my sector if I am afraid? It is hard. I want to work hard and I don’t want to have these feelings. That is how it is scary and dangerous. Even the people we talk to tell us what parts are dangerous and what parts we should stay away from — so comforting.

I only prepare breakfast and sometimes a little snack at night. Most of the time we eat lunch with the members.

We have had tons of rain. It has rained about every day for the past two weeks — a lot of rain.

My companion and I have talks, spiritual, funny, good, sad, scary, we have them all. She has been out on her mission for ten months. She comes from a member family.  Her name is Silvia Coy. I don’t do jokes on her, I only did jokes with Hermana Montenegro because she was so easy to scare, it was great. I don’t talk about my companion that much because there is nothing to tell and I don’t want to talk about bad stuff all the time……

Oh, this place is smelly all right — worse than Sunnyside was. The garbage is in the streets, but you kind of get used to it after a while.

The stores are the same as ours in the States are with isles and stuff, but they don’t have all the options. Really, the food gets really old after a while. No, I don’t have a lot of different types to choose from. The food here is, soup, rice, and a meat. Every day, all day. But I can’t complain, food for my body.

They have clothing stores and clothing markets in the streets which are a lot cheaper, but sometimes you have to be careful because they are fake. But oh well, I am not really buying much clothing here. But I need to.

I really love my time here. I love this work and I am so glad I have lived the life I have so that I am worthy to be here today. Thank you for all the support that you have all given me. I need it all, every word you say helps a lot.

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Glanzer

Hola,

Mom, I was thinking after I read your last comment, you are my favorite mom in the whole world. And dad, you are my favorite dad.

Nothing big has been happening this week. Still working as hard as I can because this sector really needs it. They need a strong missionary who will help the members and the sector. We have had good moments, bad moments, and awkward moments, but I take them all in. I learn how the people are, what they need, and what they don’t need.

We have been contacting up the yin yang. I really think we have talked to almost everybody in this part of the world. We taught a lady yesterday lesson one and afterwards she said she couldn’t read because she is from another church. It just hurts my heart sometimes because we tell them and we testify and I can feel the Spirit so strong, but why don’t they understand? Why won’t they just give it a chance? I don’t let myself get discouraged, I tell myself that I planted the seed, and one day, they will want to learn more.

Sunday was amazing though. We were sitting in church, usually we could fill about five benches, but this Sunday, almost all of the benches were full and there are 20 benches. It was great. A lady who is less active, that we taught once, came with all of her children. Another less active family came that said they wouldn’t come to church as long as they had problems, but they were there.

Also, we have an investigator, Maria Martinez, who is the only one in her family of age who isn’t baptized. We teach the family and they never, ever show any sign of wanting to come to church. We teach – then nothing. I really didn’t think they would ever come, but I always had a little hope. I guess I need to snap out of this not thinking they will come, because in walks this family. It was a glorious day. I was so happy!

During Relief Society, that is a different story…. Maria was participating, laughing, and having a good time. I think it was good because if the mom doesn’t go - the daughter doesn’t go. It was just a good day. We are helping families reactivate and realize the things they are missing, but we always do it with love.

I love this time I have here. It is passing too fast, but I am trying to make the most of it. I am doing the things I need to and the things I am supposed to do. I am devoting all my time to my Father in Heaven, I am building His kingdom. What can be better than this? Working for Him full-time — I will never have a better full time job other than being a mom.

I LOVE THIS WORK!!

Sigan adelante con amor para todas personas.

Con todo el amor yo tengo

Chao,

Hermana Glanzer

Hola friends and family,

Machala is still hot. My sector is almost all one level houses or buildings so there is almost no shade with the hot sun beating down upon our bodies. I don’t think I have ever sweat as much in my life. (Yes, girls do sweat!) Sun means tan. Hermana Coy and I were comparing our skin tones one day. She is from Guatemala, so she is pretty tan. But here, she is almost black. We figured out that my skin color is the normal color of the average Guatemalan. Pretty fun.

This week I got sick again with fever. We were thinking that it was going to turn out to be Dengue, a sickness that is transferred from mosquitoes since I had 150+ bites on my legs and many more the following days, but after a day of fever, stomach ache, and body ache, it all went away. I took a nap the next day and woke up like I was perfectly fine, it was pretty strange.

This week in numbers haven’t been the best, but I am working hard and not letting anything get in my way.

I had a scary run-in with a drunk man in part of our sector. We were visiting Hermana Teresa, the lady that answered “Juan Martinez.” This man comes walking up to us and is standing about an inch away. I tell him to back up and he does. I move away. He tells me that his hand is for me and keeps moving it to his heart. I didn’t understand what was going on very well because he wasn’t speaking clear Spanish.

Then he was saying that his heart was beating and it doesn’t lie because it is the heart of his mother. I was still confused. Then he said that we have only one opportunity together, him and me. And then that is when it clicked, so I told Hermana Coy that we should go. We left. Then we found out that he just lives a couple houses down from there. I haven’t ever really been scared in my mission until this moment. It is hard to explain why but I don’t feel safe here sometimes. This might sound weird, but sometimes I don’t feel like the Spirit is protecting us. Nothing has happened, so I am glad.

The other day it started raining at about 2 am and didn’t stop until about 8 or 9 in the morning. This was not normal raining, it was tons and tons of rain. The streets were filled; houses were filled up to the knees. Some members were telling us that they have not seen this much water here in their whole life. This is the most there has ever been.

My sector is dirt roads, so they were filled with water and under that — mud. This was the day I was sick, so we didn’t go out and work in it, but you could see the water line in the houses and it was high. Sometimes to the mid thigh. Crazy! Where we live, we live on the 3rd floor.

With my companion it is the same. She hasn’t been talking about Peru anymore so I am going to let it go and not say anything to bring it up. But if it does come up again, I am going to be strong and say no. I mean there isn’t even an option. We can’t go. I just feel weak for not being very bold the first time.

Also, no I didn’t feel any earthquake. I didn’t even know until we went to a member’s house and they were watching it on the news. I heard that the waves here at the beach were a little abnormal, but other than that, it is all good and dandy here. No evacuation or nothing. We’re still working.

Here in Ecuador, in the Quito Mission, there were two sister missionaries that were killed in a bus accident. The bus rolled and killed six people including them. Sometimes it does feel like they are going to roll, they are crazy drivers here. It is crazy, so close, two hermanas died. It could have been me. But I know I am safe.

We found a new family. Again, we were visiting Hermana Teresa and she was visiting with a neighbor girl, Diana. We talked to Diana and asked if we could visit her family. She said yes about 7 in the nighttime. So we go to the house and meet them. At first, the mom is saying that they are Evangelicos. We said cool and keep talking. We start teaching them and she is just sitting there participating but you can tell when they aren’t really listening. The girls and one of the boys are participating, and the grandpa, but he isn’t all there. But towards the end of the lesson, when we were talking about the grand apostasy and Joseph Smith, her whole figure changed. She was listening. I hope the Spirit was working within her and she was really listening with her heart.

We asked if they would read and pray and they said yes. We have another appointment with them on Wednesday. I really hope they read and pray and give Heavenly Father the chance to testify to their hearts that this is true. I am praying will all my heart that they have some curiosity in their hearts. It all depends on them. They have to take the first step and then we can help them from there. I can bear my testimony as pure and boldly as I want, but it is their decision. I can invite the Spirit unto their hearts, but they have to open the door to let him in.

I can’t express how grateful I am for my Father in Heaven. Also, for the faith of my parents in staying faithful to their covenants and staying active. They didn’t just do it for themselves. They did it for their children also. I am here now, sharing these things with the people here in Machala. I love my family and grateful for the one I have. I love each and every one of you, Dad, Mom, KT, Camille, Andy, Allison. I can’t say it enough. Seeing some families here breaks my heart. I want them to have the joy and closeness I have in my family and I know they want it too, but they have pride or something and won’t accept it.

I listen to what people say about all these things about the devil and how easy it is for them to believe and read the bad things that are not even true. But when we have a message that is so wonderful, they won’t give us ten seconds. It is hard sometimes, but I need to find those people that are willing. They are here and most of them, if not all, are not going to come to me. They want to be found, they just don’t know it. I am looking.

Keep your heads up and look to the future.

I love you all to pieces!

Until next time, CIAO!!!

Hermana Glanzer

Hola!

A week has passed here in Machala. Hotter than ever, but great. The new companion is great, but there are just a few things that if I am not careful, they can turn into big things.

We were out working one day, visiting a less-active family and were talking to the dad when all of a sudden his dog comes running out of the house and attacks my companion. It was like the dog was going for her jugular but got her arm instead and ripped her shirt and made a little mark on her skin. It was really fast and it just happened. It was pretty great, I won’t lie!  But now, her and a member go on and on about how I don’t protect my companion. It is rather annoying, but oh well.

For my birthday, you can do what you want. A package or money, whatever is easier for you, I like both.

This past Sunday, I gave my first talk in Church!!! I spoke about prayer and it was bomb com!!! I will not tell a lie. I prepared well and the Spirit did help me. The people were attentive, only because there aren’t very many kids.  :-)  But it was fun. I wouldn’t mind doing it again…

This past week, we were waiting for a bus one night and we were kind of by this muddy watery place and the mosquitoes ate me alive!!! No joke, I stopped counting at 150. Really, my legs have been killing me for about three days. I sleep with menthol on my legs and get up about three times to put more on just so I can sleep. The mosquitoes here are mutants.

We have a recent convert who is really less-active. We want to teach her daughter because she is nine years old, but this girl doesn’t talk for anything. It really gets to you after a while. She was answering our questions for a while, but we asked her and her mom, ¨What was the question that Joseph Smith asked?¨ The mom answers, ¨Joseph Smith.”  That’s not the answer, so we repeat the question and then she answers next, ¨Juan Martinez.¨ I was so caught off guard that I actually said out loud, “What?” Then in my mind, I am thinking, what is she thinking?  It was a very strange moment.

This lady has no desire to come to church, so it is really hard to teach her daughter. They can’t read either.  We went by their house on Sunday to get them, she says yes, they’ll come to church but she needs to get ready.  We were waiting for about half an hour and I am thinking, did she die?!  So I look a little further and I see her leg and she is sitting down on a chair — doing nothing!! So we call her name and the daughter — who doesn’t say anything — comes and goes to get her mom. We do this about 1,000 times and then finally an hour later, after church has started, the girl says that the mom isn’t leaving. It got really frustrating, but I didn’t let it get to me.

But I am here, in hot Machala, working harder than I ever have. I have never sweat as much in my life either. I really do work hard because my companion really doesn’t have the desire to work. I am pushing her because I want to work. She hates contacting but I love it.  :-)   But we do have good times together.

Thank you for all you support and remember that God loves you all.

With all the love I have!

Hermana Glanzer

Hola!

Okay, like Andy put it, I bet you are dying to know how transfers went. Well, I think they went a little better than Andy’s and the story is great.

There is a holiday here for the 14, 15, and 16 of February called “Carnaval”. Everybody says, “Feliz día, día de amor y amistad.” — day of love and friendship. Yeah, well the way they celebrate these days is by throwing water, water balloons, and paint at passersby. Not just any water, some people take the water out of the gutters, some mix it with eggs, oil, and flour, and some just throw eggs. It isn’t that lovely?! You have to walk around town with your eyes wide open. The first day is pretty calm, Sunday, but the other days, they take no prisoners!

We were working hard on Sunday, Laura was confirmed in sacrament meeting, lovely. Then after the day, at 10:30 pm we receive the call for our numbers for the week and for changes. Hermana LeCates is talking and then she says “Yeah, okay.” She then hands me the phone. I have been nervous this whole week because it was very good chance that I was going to leave. I say, “Hola Elder Kjar.” He says, I have your changes. AHHHHHHHH!!!!! I am leaving Hermana Montenegro!! But he can’t tell us on the phone where we are going, we don’t find out until we are in the bus terminal about to buy our tickets.

I am all excited and have to pack all my stuff, wash all my clothes, and get ready. I got to bed about 11:30 pm. It rain A LOT all night. I mean the most I have ever seen. So when I get up at 5:30 am, because we have to be at the terminal at 8 am, I went into the front room and there is water all over the floor from the space under the door. No biggie. I am ready, we leave and all the floors are flooded. I mean flooded!! We are pulling my luggage through these puddles, which I didn’t like but we had to.

We were looking for a taxi to bring us to the terminal, but being a holiday and early in the morning, there are pretty much none. The first few taxis have people or don’t want to go to the terminal. Finally, we found one and he just put the luggage in the back and didn’t close the trunk, entonces, someone could have stolen my bags when we were stopped at the light, the rain was pouring down on them, and they could have fallen out, but we made it all in one piece.

We got to the terminal and the zone leader told me my change…… Right now, I am in Machala, Ecuador, a city about three hours from Guayaquil. It is a little hotter and a ton more mosquitoes — but I think I can handle it. I haven’t seen my sector yet. I just got here.

The ride was beautiful; I saw some mountains and a lot of platanos farms. There are a lot of little towns on the way too. You wouldn’t believe how these people live. They have the houses on stilts and the boards for a little bridge to get to the other side. It is really cool. I took a lot of pictures.

Carnaval is ten times worse here. A man came running after us with a bucket of water, telling us we can’t sleep walk around this time. Luckily, I got behind a pillar just in time, but the other Hermanas got some water. It was pretty funny. I just hope it was clean. But the drive was amazing.

When you think of this area, the jungle area, you might think of dirt roads with holes, you are right. Naked kids running around, you are right. People sitting around, you are right. People carrying things on their backs and heads, you are right. Kids playing soccer in the streets. You are wrong, they play pool — but it was great anyway! 

Last week, we had two days of splits, Hermana Montenegro and me and I got the chance to work with Hermana Wise. She is from Spokane and in the same ward as Katie. It was fun getting to know her and talking about things. We worked hard together and found a lot of new people to teach.

Hermana Haz, a member from my ward in Guayaquil, is a crack-up. We were sitting in Gospel Essentials class waiting and she is talking to me and then all of a sudden she asks me what my name is and that she only knows me as Barbie. So I say, Hermana Glanzer. She says Hermana Cancer? Then Hermana Pacheco says, “No, she doesn’t have cancer, her name is Glanzer.” It was so funny. Then she told me about a dream she had. There was a really tall penguin in a white dress, so she said it was me because it was tall. Then she randomly said, I need a white dress so I can go to the temple. She is pretty great.

Oh, you will never believe what happened the other day. I was in a laughing mood or something because everything was funny. We took Laura home and then we were crossing the street. I was laughing for some reason so I wanted some ice cream. So we go to the store and there is this cat that is just sacked out on the counter. I laughed even harder. And then this dog walked by that had a bowl cut!!! His hair was cut like a bowl cut! It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Then we were walking down the street and this homeless man just took off his clothes and was naked just standing there, so we crossed the street. Then just a little further down, we were just walking and there was another homeless man sitting down and he had a pot on his head. Hermana Montenegro, says calmly and seriously, “Just in case…” It was great. It was a strange day.

My time in Guayaquil was great and I look back on it fondly, but I look forward to my time here in Machala. I will work harder than before and sweat more — but with love in my heart.

Thank you everyone for your support.

Con mucho amor
Hermana Glanzer

Hola!

LAURA GOT BAPTIZED!! FINALLY!! It was a great day. Went to church and right afterwards, had the baptism. There were a few little things, but it went perfectly otherwise. We had let other elders borrow the jumper that she was going to use for their baptism the day before and they said they would have it back to us right after sacrament meeting, so we are waiting and waiting and they never show.  Luckily the ward had another jumper, but it was really big for her.  She didn’t want to leave the bathroom, but we told her that shouldn’t be a worry for her.

We went, took pictures, then started, but the door to the font was locked and no one had keys. The bishop didn’t, the lead missionary didn’t have his keys, go figure. So the bishop just climbed through the font and opened the door. It was all great and dandy.  She was baptized and then we helped her change back into her clothes.  While she was changing, she told us that she felt something in her heart, like it was beating really hard and she thought she was going to die.  We chuckled a little and she said, no, she is still alive.  She is great and I hope with all my heart she keeps the excitement and never falls away.  I will help her all the time I have with her, but we need to fellowship her into the ward. We have a pretty good ward that helps with the missionary work.

Javier… well, things aren’t so great with him. Well they are, just not how we pictured them to be. We taught him the best we could, but he is a man that has his beliefs and that is what he thinks. We would teach him and even have proof that his theory is not correct (the Darwin Theory), but he is a little stubborn.  He had his interview and the elder told us that he needs another interview with the president.  We went by that day to bring him to the church and he told us the same line he has been telling us this whole time ¨No, next week¨ it gets a little frustrating, but at the same time, maybe he isn’t ready. We still visit him and are teaching him. We still have a goal to have him ready for baptism. He just doesn’t understand a few things.

We were teaching him about the Trinity one day, he has problems with this.  I still can’t really understand him perfectly, but I get the gist of what he is talking about and he mumbles. He was going on about something about Jesus the Nazarene and Jesus Christ being two different people for about 15 minutes, so I decided to look around his house at his things (I know, I should have been paying attention, but this was our second lesson on the Trinity).  My eyes rested on a little statue. It was a squirrel with a collar and I was thinking in my mind, a squirrel with a collar… how random.  Somebody had to have made that and then somebody had to have bought it.  :-)  Then I put my attention back into the lesson, which wasn’t going very well.

Other than those few things, this week has been pretty low key.  Actually, we were knocking on doors; we usually don’t really get any new investigators doing this here, but it was my turn to knock and you have to knock hard on these doors because they are so thick. I knocked twice and it opened and a lady was sitting in her chair and I told her I was sorry, but buenas noches, we are missionaries…. and she said, and I quote, ¨Entren¨ and we looked at each other, okay. We have never been invited in on a door knock. So we taught her the first lesson and she wants to hear more — so it was a good day.

At church on Sunday during Relief Society, Hermana Castillo was giving a spur of the moment lesson because the teacher didn’t show up and she was talking about blessings and asking for help. She then said, ¨Christ isn’t sleeping.”  I love that. He is always there, always listening. He will never leave for a few hours to take a nap. We can call upon him whenever we are in need.

I love this work like no one could imagine. The time is passing too fast.  I already have about six months in my mission I want it to go slower, I want to enjoy these experiences.

I love you all to pieces!

Hermana Glanzer

PS  No mom, I am not acting like a granola bar. 

Dearly Beloved, as you gather here today, to read my letter, I would like to share my gratitude to you for attending this day. Hermana Glanzer was a hard worker, strived for the Spirit to guide her everyday in this wonderful work. But it wasn’t enough. The mosquitoes got to her and there was nothing that anybody could do.

We went to the zoo this past p-day. It was so fun!! There were some strange animals, but pretty much the same thing you see anywhere else, but you could touch some of these animals. Like the monkeys. They were so cute. They would just sit there, hold your hand, and make this sad little chirping sound. It was great! But there was one downfall. The pathway for the zoo was a tunnel of plants and the mosquitoes were trapped in there with you. Oh, oh, oh, let me tell you, it was hard. We finally got out of the tunnel and then the tour lady gave us some bug repellent. I guess I should have been prepared, eh?  Later that day, we got back and I counted all my mosquito bites. On my right leg there were 54 and on my left there were 32. Yes, 86 mosquito bites in about two hours — that isn’t counting my arms and neck — but it was all for a good cause. That night was hard. I had to whip out my handy no-itch cream. It works wonders.

When I first got here in Ecuador, I ate some cereal. Hermana LeCates warned me that the milk is not the same here. Oh boy, was she ever right. I dont´know what they do, but this milk is not milk. They have cold milk that you can buy in bags, which is what we buy. The gross stuff. And then they have cartons of milk, which are not cold, sitting on shelves. I am thinking, liquid milk sitting there — not good.

I was thinking, how am I going to go 18 months without milk, but I can do it. The cheese is made with this milk, so you can imagine that that was also not very good. I go about my days, then all of a sudden about three months into my days here in Guayaquil, we were at a member’s house, Hermana Vardellini. She always gives us something to eat.

This day, it was a little thing called Pan de Pascua. No, I don’t like it, but I was ever so grateful for it. (Just for a side note, this was the best pan de pascua here). So, we are eating this bread and she asks if we want some milk. Hermana Montenegro says yes and in my mind I am screaming, please no!! No! but my mouth says yes. She brings out glasses of milk. I take a sip waiting for that horrid taste to come — but wait…. it didn’t come. I take another sip, just to check and see if I was dreaming. Lo and behold, I was not. I drank that milk like there is no tomorrow. Then I asked her where she bought this piece of heaven. It was the stuff in the cartons, warm, on the shelves!! So now we drop the bagged stuff and buy the cartons of milk. And get this, it is cheaper too!!! It was a miracle.

The cheese is still gross. But you get used to it. Also, we were buying the best kind of cream cheese they have here and yes, it is made with this same milk. So it doesn’t have the best taste. Last week, we were doing our shopping and Hermana was looking for cheese and I was just scanning the shelves. But what I found was so amazing. I was looking at the cream cheese and my eyes caught hold of a familiar shape. I looked closer at this thing and it was Philadelphia Cream Cheese!! I offered up a silent prayer of gratitude in the store that day. You don’t really know how much that means to me. I have good milk and cream cheese. And to think, I was going to say no to the milk and not know of the goodness I could be having.

This story does have a moral. Think of this milk as the gospel. If Hermana Clara had not shared it with us, we would not have taken it, but she did. And if we didn’t say yes, we wouldn’t have known of its goodness. Be like Hermana Clara and share your milk with everyone. If you don’t, they won’t know of this wonderful thing. (Does it make sense?)

The dog, Belluchin, the one that hates everybody (small white dog of familia Castillo that sits by the fan) — I have a goal before I leave this sector and it is to be friends with this dog. But it only likes one person, Nicole Castillo. If I have my hand anywhere near this dog, it will be ripped to shreds. The other day, we were teasing it like always and it was kind of attacking Hermana Montenegro so she put her shoe up to stop it, but the dog just chomps right down on her shoe and won’t let go. I am just dying of laughter and Hermana Montenegro is trying to get her shoe out if its mouth. I finally threw something at it and it let go. It was great. Later that night, we were eating some platanos con queso and Belluchin was sitting there watching me so I braved up and fed it. But the first time, I yanked back and dropped the food because I was not going to go down near that dog with my fingers. So with the next one, I fed the dog with my fingers!! And it didn’t bit me, so I did it again and again. Then I let him lick my fingers — I washed them, don’t worry.  We are well on our way to being friends.

My investigators, Laura and Javier, after rough roads and stumbling blocks, we think they are both ready for their baptisms this coming Saturday. We taught them both (not together) the lessons of tithing, word of wisdom, and chastity. It was great! They both accepted the principles so well. Javier said something about thinking that tithing is an important thing. We taught him word of wisdom and he had no problems what so ever, which we were worried about. His brother was sitting in the room, sharing things, but ¨not listening¨ to the lesson. But he said, coffee is not healthy and some other things. We are going to baptize him. On Sunday, Laura usually just sits and listens, but this Sunday, in the Gospel Essentials class, we were talking about agency, and she had an experience. She asked if she could get up and share it. Of course!! So she did and she shared her testimony with everyone!! It was the first time I have heard her full testimony. It was so wonderful. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t.

I am working hard, loving the people, shoveling in the rice, walking up a storm, and loving it. There have been little drizzles here and there, but nothing like before. I hope more rain comes and comes like a bucket. My Spanish is improving everyday. I wouldn’t say I got it in the bag because I still don’t understand everybody. I feel like I should more than I do, but it makes me work even harder.

Don’t worry mom, I have my family away from family here. I actually have three. But the Familia Castillo is like my second family here. I will miss them when I change, but there will be many more families to bond with.

If I could give any advice for members in helping with missionary work, invite the missionaries to teach lesson in your home. Help build these bonds with the investigators. It helps so much. It isn’t hard to do; it is only about an hour out of your busy day. Like any other blessing and trial (this isn’t a trial) but if you help build the kingdom of God by having a lesson in your home, you will receive so many more blessings than if you would have just turned on the TV instead. There is no excuse for not helping out. Maybe there are, but not all the time. The missionaries will appreciate it and the Lord will also.

I love you all to pieces!
And I wouldn’t regret any letters anybody writes…..

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Glanzer

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been long and probably the worst one in my mission. The Hermanas (nurses we live with) had just gotten back from Viaje, travelling with the President for the zone conferences. So they get back and Hermana LeCates had gotten sick. She then passed it to Hermana Foster and me. So we got blessings, but right afterwards, I felt worse. About Wednesday, we had high fevers and had to stay in the house; I was not complaining. It was a fever mixed with the cold, so it was miserable. We layed in bed all day, but sometimes we couldn’t sleep so we would talk to each other. That was nice, it was fun getting to know each other a little more.

Hermana LeCates was feeling better so we had splits and she went out with Hermana Montenegro. This same night, Wednesday night, my fever was breaking, so I was hot and sweaty all night. Also, Hermana Lecates has an allergy to fabric softener really bad so we can’t use it. Hermana Foster had bought this new kind of detergent that we haven’t used yet.  It didn’t have fabric softener, but a different thing that she is allergic to. So that night, mixed with her cough, she was having a hard time breathing. She would lie down, start coughing really hard and it sounded like she couldn’t breath. We told her that she needed something, but she would giggle and say “no everything’s fine.”  We had fans in our room and we figured that it was circulating this scent so we should turn them off.

I had taken a pill to lower my fever that was a nighttime pill so I was drowsy. So I am over here, so tired that I can’t really stay awake, sweating like a mad man, and we have to turn off the fans. It was hard. That didn’t really help her so we finally moved her mattress to the other room and she slept out there. I was so drowsy that it all kind of passed in a blur. The next day I was fine, but Hermana Montenegra had ¨caught¨ this sickness and needed to sleep for the next three days. You know the sound of a fake cough when you hear it, but I let her sleep because I didn’t really know — but you kind of do know.

I used this time wisely. I made some goals for myself, told myself I wasn’t ever going to get frustrated or mad in my mission ever again. I had a lot of time to study, which was nice, but after about five hours of doing this, not being able to leave, you kind of need a break.  When the other Hermanas would come to the house to get something, it would be refreshing because there was someone to talk to. So this week was not that good of one.

On Sunday we got the machete from the bishop. Our ward mission leader hasn’t been coming to church for the past four weeks, so the other hermanas have been teaching his class.  We have three surprise baptisms this coming Saturday that we just found out about. The bishop talked to Hermana Lecates and he was kind of yelling at her, but not in a yelling voice, that he needs to know these things two weeks in advance. She then said something about the ward mission leader being inactive. It was quite comical. It wasn’t like a big scene or anything.

He then called us into his office and we talk. We tell him what’s up and then he asked who makes the schedule for the baptisms.  We told him we do because we are with these investigators all the time we know what they want.  He responded and said, no the mission leader does. Then we say, well we can’t get a hold of him, so we are doing it. Then he was thinking that what ever person is going to baptize them he is going to pick the songs and speakers. But we said, hey, hey, hey, no, no, no. They are going to pick the person to baptize them because it is like a special moment and they are going to pick their favorite songs.

He then kept saying that it needs to be a certain person, he couldn’t get into his mind that they can pick this person. Hermana Foster just starts busting up laughing and I’m just sitting there quiet letting him do his thing.  Hermana Lecates cracks up and Hermana Montenegro is trying to talk to him. He was saying that he needs to make the schedule for the baptism and we are just going to go.

He asked if we had our Preach My Gospel manual, we didn’t so he said the bishop and ward mission leader do all that stuff and we just help.  Later after all this chaos was over, we go and read in Preach My Gospel and it says that we as missionaries organize it with the ward mission leader and we can invite the bishopric to attend, but one of them needs to preside.  We just laugh at this whole experience. He was making this whole big deal about the schedule. Finally during this meeting, Herman Lecates says, “you have all the stuff you need so you can make the schedule, just do it”.  It was so funny. I mean, this was all about the little program you get at a baptism that tells what songs we are singing, who will speak and when. Sigh.  The mission – it’s great.

Everything is fine otherwise. After a heart to heart talk with Laura, she is going to be baptized this Saturday (she wanted it in three weeks in the next change), and Javier is finally ready for this Saturday also. They are finally going to enter the waters. But I want to help them make sure they will stay active. I was reading in Preach My Gospel that we don’t teach them to be baptized, we teach them to stay. I am here to build the kingdom of God and to tell them about Him and help them make the first step.  Nope, I’m here for the long run — sickness, machetes, and baptisms.

The mission is great!
I love you all,

Hermana Glanzer

Hola!

I am trying really hard not to have hard feelings right now. I had this whole email typed up and I pressed “send” then internet connection closed and I lost the whole letter. It was long. So here we go again.

This week has been long, exhausting, weird, and great. I have never been more exhausted in my life. But the thing is, we walk around all day so you can´t really fall asleep, but on Sunday, there are three hours of sitting and listening at church. I can´t help it, I do try really, really hard to stay awake. Sacrament meeting and Sunday School are okay, but when Relief Society rolls around, I just can´t keep my eyes open anymore. It isn´t like the lessons are boring, that are actually quite good.

I have had some experiences this week. We received a reference from a member. We went looking for this couple and we found them sitting outside their house, so we went and talked to them. Right away he said he didn´t believe in God, but he does believe in Jesus, but not God. He gave us a reason as to why and it is because never did Jesus say “God” He always said “Father’. I am thinking in my mind, seriously, whatever floats your boat.

We talked some more to him, but he kept telling us he didn´t believe and kept telling us about Charles Darwin. I don´t think he really knew much because he wasn´t making sense. At first he would not accept our pamphlet, let alone a return appointment, but towards the end of our visit, he turned to me and ask me why I don´t talk very much. I just said  I don’t know, but in my mind I’m thinking — you don´t really give other people a chance!  The great thing was, after not accepting anything, he finally took the pamphlet and said next time I need to talk more.  I told him of course. But check it, he said we could come back. We are going to work wonders with this man. He will know of God.

This night was great. In our sector, just four blocks from our house is the Stadium Emelec for one of the soccer teams here in Ecuador. So this night, there was a game. It was so exctiing, tons of pepole gathering, tons of fireworks, you could hear the cheering. I wanted to go so bad! When I finish my mission and return to Ecuador, I will attend a game.

Javier has a baptism date for this Saturday, but we don´t think it will happen. Something just isn´t setting right. He didn’t come to church on Sunday and he usuallly accepts our teaching appointments whenever. On Sunday, when we came by he asked if we could come back later. it was strange. We just don´t think he is ready, a litte more time. He says stuff about the Bible, he believes it to be true but he says some things that just don´t fit with the church. I think he might be getting baptized for the wrong reason, so we are giving it a little more time.  All will be well and will work out.

Laura still has her baptism date for the next Saturday, but she didn’t come to church on Sunday and her reason for not coming was because she was too tired. I hate that reason. Seriously, that is the dumbest excuse for not attending church.

Sunday was a strange day. I started out with sleeping during church, then after church we had lunch at a member’s house. I guess she is on a diet  so they are eating a lot of fish, which means, that we have to eat it too. I did the best i could with it. We had fish soup, with rice with a piece of fish and some onions on top. This fish wasn´t like the fish in Tonasket, it had all, I mean ALL, the little boney things, and it still had the shiney skin on it. I ate as much as I could, which was pretty much all of it. It was so  hard, but I thank her truly for her kindness and love to help us.

Later that day, we were walking, like normal, and stopped to talk to some people. I had my hand on this little ledge thing and a man came up and grabbed my hand. My heart was pounding and I didnt´know what to do. I couldn´t get it away. They were saying some stuff that I think was in English but I couldn´t understand him only the word friend. Then he asked my name. He then kissed my hand. I didnt´know until later that he was a little drunk. It was so strange. I finally got my hand back and we skidadled out of there.

The same day, we had a member with us and we were walking to another member’s house the same way we always go and we always pass by this group of old guys. We said hi, but there was some guy I’ve never seen before. He said something to the affect of why we don’t respect him. I am thinking, I have never seen you before, I have never not respected you.  He had a bat and so we walked a little faster, but then the girl we had with us kind of tripped and something happened to her shoe, so we stopped to fix it and I looked behind us and this guy was coming after us with his bat, yelling “niñas!” so I said we need to go. We took off and he is yelilng “niñas!”  We turn the corner and he finaly catches us and hits me right on the bridge of the nose with his bat and breaks it. Psych! No, he didn´t really. When we tuned the corner, I think he lost interest and went back to whatever he was doing before, but he was comng after us with his bat, yelling at us. it was a little scary.

Here are a few things I have seen this week: a lot of dead dogs in the road, which is kind of disturbing, a lot of men dressed as women, and a lot of really ugly cats — but I am still living and thriving.

And don’t worry mom, you told me you are helping the missioanries hoping that someone is doing the same thing for me — don´t worry, I am being taken care of. I will never be without food, never.

It reminds me of a story a member told us. This member gives us lunch twice a month. We thanked her for the food and she said thank you, then told us that when she was young, her family didn’t have a lot of money, but whenever they were asked to feed the missionaries, her mom always did and she said their family was never lacking food, they always had some. She said that she is feeding us as a thank you and she wants those blessings too. I know I am grateful for these members and their kindness and love for us. So, don´t worry mom, I am well fed.

I love this work and work hard everyday. I love all of you. Strive to have the Spirit with you.

With all the love I can muster!!!
Hermana Glanzer

Hello,

THE RAIN HAS COME!!!! And when I say the rain has come, I mean the rain has come. It doesn´t rain like it does in Washington. It rains buckets. It starts sprinkling and then within 30 seconds, it is pouring like there is no tomorrow. It was so fun.

We started Sunday like any other Sunday, it was pretty hot, but then after church at around 3:00, it started to rain. We stood under a building for a while but we needed to go to the church, which was lucky because it was just a block away, so we ran. We were waiting for the bishop and the rain came even more. It was so great! I think there was more water coming down than in any shower I have ever seen.

Then started the thunder and lightning. Oh, I love it here when it rains!! The lightning, all of them, were super close. If I was at the Guayas River, I would probably have seen it hit the water. The first lightning was so close to the church that the power went out and you could feel a blow on your body. It was amazing. And then for about an hour this went on. Car alarms were going off, tons of rain, no lights, what could be better? Only missionary work!

It rained for about 38 hours. It was a lot. It wasn´t tons of rain for 38 hours, but it would rain hard, stop for a few, sprinkle, pour for most of it. I Love it. But this means that the hotness is coming. It hasn´t been hot yet because it has been raining mostly, but when it stops, oh, I will be ready.

Okay, the rain has come, so this means the bugs come. Everyday for the past week, we have had grasshoppers in our house. I hate them. I made a deal with Hermana Montengro, if she kills them, I will clean it up. They are huge here and gross. It is some kind of mutant species of crickets. When I go home after my mission, I don´t think I will be afraid of the bugs, they are so tiny. We still have cockroaches too.

The other day, I got into the shower and was almost stepping into the water when I turned and right by my head on the wall was a huge cockroach (all cockroaches here are huge, but when I say huge cockroach, that means especially huge). I quickly got out and put some clothes and got the wonderful, Permetherine — a wonderful creation. Then I killed it.

This isn´t all that has happened. This past Saturday I started classes of piano. I was supposed to start about a month ago, but it never worked out. We finally started and I have about six kids that are learning. It is so fun! I love doing it and the Lord is helping me because I have never learned the vocabulary for this, but I have been looking for the vocabulary.  I know the Lord is helping me, because I can talk and explain the things and it is with fluid Spanish and the kids are understanding and doing very well. It is so fun. I look forward to every Saturday so I can teach them more. I just wish I had some books and about six more pianos. We only have one in the chapel.

We have two baptisms coming. Do you remember Laura, our investigator from about a month ago who had a baptismal date? Well, she couldn´t come to church because she had to work on Sundays through the holidays, but now the holidays are over and she can come to church so we set another date for the 30 of January.

On Sunday she came to church it was great. During Relief Society, we were sitting there and she said that she has been to many churches but she has never felt like this in any other.
Then she said that she knows this church is true. It was a wonderful moment for us. Up until now, she hasn´t said anything like that. She is even more excited now for her baptism and we are working with her.

She has a boyfriend and we were so worried there would be problems with the law of chastity, but when we taught it, she was attentive and afterwards she asked if she could keep the pamphlet, of course we gave it to her. She wanted to study more and she said she liked this and they are going to get married I think in February. It is great.

I LOVE THIS WORK!!!  I can´t say it enough.

Remember the Lord and His sacrifices for you, it was no easy task for Him, but He is loving and was able to do it. Don´t reject this gift to us by wasting time, by not performing your callings with all your heart, by asking for repentance and just doing it again. Strive with all your heart so you can stop.  There are no excuses for recommitting a sin — just stop.

I love you all and hope you are striving to become more Christlike.

With all the love I can muster in my body, ciao.

Hermana Glanzer