February 28, 2011

Dear Mom and Dad,
Haha, hey, yeah, everything is ok. We have had a little more success this week. Nothin really interesting has happened, really. Well, that I can remember.
First off, the Jazz traded Dwill? Wow, I never woulda thought of that. But its all good. I’m sure that it was more or less his time anyway. Oh, I was excited that mom was pregnant. That would be such a good present after the mish to have another little brother or sister! Haha, I dunno, we´ll see. Madison’s takin the ACT, that’s good, and the kids sound ok. I’m glad for all of that. Haha, its glad to hear that there are people out there supportin us. I already knew it, but its still always just good to hear. Thanks for sending out the packages. They are really appreciated. I always am excited to get one. I got one from Grandma and Grandpa Giles this last week, and it was good. I was happy for it. Macaroni, and trail mix! Ah! Haha, good times. Well, thanks for all the help and prayers and everything. Keep them comin. I really need it. I can’t believe that it’s already almost 7 months for me. These last 4 weeks have been so ridiculously fast. Like, crazzzzy, crazy fast. Especially these last two. Honestly, it feels like just two days ago I emailed. Cool, but fast. What else? Oh yeah, you guys gotta start writing down every movie, EVERY, that comes out in the theaters, and when I get back, there will be a big ol list ready. Haha, I dunno.
Well, let’s see. First off. The food. Yeah, that’s about the weirdest its gotten. I had some more cow stomach Saturday. Its got kinda a weird texture, but it really doesn’t have a weird taste. I’ve tried some more fruits too. Lets see, the ones native here. Well, there’s maracuyá, my favorite ever, tamarinda, naranjilla, guanabana, and yesterday bobaco. They are all decent. There’s a juice called "Tomate de Arbol" or Tree tomato, and it sucks. I don’t like it at all, and there is SO much of it here. Freak. Don’t really want none of that. But other than that, nothin, really. Rice, Chicken, Sauce, tomato, and lettuce. And millions of kinds of soup. And all are good, haha. I hope to have some more of a different one, but we´ll see.
The nuns. Well, the Catholics really never wanna fight. Ever. The majority of the people here are just fine and don’t wanna fight at all. But the Catholics, never. When we contact them, haha, its great. None of them know anything of the Bible or anything like that. They just don’t wanna take time to listen. "See, the thing is, I’m Catholic." Oh, so you know a little about the Bible? "Umm, sure." Yeah, they don’t. It’s my favorite when we ask, "So, are you religious at all?" "No, I’m Catholic." Hahahaha, just goes to show you how fake it really is. I always laugh hard. That, or when we talk to people, and ask "So when can we come visit you?" and they say "Well, I have a friend that lives like three houses down, and he really needs it. He’s not a good person, and he drinks." That’s fine and dandy, but you? Haha, everyone is like that here. Oh well. The ones that fight are the Testiguos, or Jehovahs Witnesses. Freak, those people have been brainwashed. Like Dad said, they’re TAUGHT in their church that they should argue. That they SHOULD. Wow. I like to read 3 Ne 27:19, wait, say something short, and then just leave. It really helps. But sometimes, haha, I really just like to show them how wrong they are. With the Catholics, well, its easy. It’s one of the ten commandments not to worship idols. And the virgin is. . . . Oh, and they worship the Baby Jesus. Didn’t know that. Here, he’s called "El Divino Niño." Hey, that rhymes! Lets worship! It’s really sad. Everyone only does it because of traditions. "See, we´re catholic, and we´ll never change religion, because my parents were catholic and their parents and theirs and theirs." Cool. But something I’ve learned. We´re not here to change the religion of these people. I totally thought that before. We´re here to invite people to come unto Christ, and by doing so, they´ll see the importance of the church and its ordinances, and they´ll want to come to the church, because we have the truth. It’s hard, but I’ve learned so much. I love it!
Haha, well, there’s that ramble. This week, nothin has happened. I hardly took pictures, and we contacted for a total of 12 hours! Yeah, and we found like 3 people. Whoo, it’s tough, but we found a really awesome family, and we´re excited to see what happens with them. I think something good. But we even had a zone leader, well, I did, and we contacted for all that time, and didn’t find anyone. The people here just don’t wanna listen. Not sure why, but they don’t. All good. This week, we should have a couple more people, and shouldn’t have to contact for that long. I sure as heck hope not, at least.
Haha, the experience of the week. Yeah, ok. Well, apart from the regular stuff thats happened, nothin big. My comp had contacted a family from Esmeraldas, who are black. We went to the house of the girl, just invited her to church, and she came. Cool, no? So we went to teach her, but she wasn’t there. But. . her older sister, who we didn’t know, was. And she is really, really, really pretty. Haha, and so we taught her, and she was interested. We went back on Friday, and they both were there. They were acting a little suspicious, and at the end, they asked us if we could have girlfriends in the mission. Oh. Ummm, no? Haha, no, we said no, and they invited us to a dance, as well. Super flirty. Super awkward. Super not good for this 19 year old guy with a pretty girl. Nah, it didn’t phase me, but it was just funny. The older sister came to church too this week, and are gonna come the next, too. Awesome.
Well, that’s about it. I can’t remember what goes on during the week, the funny things, or anything, really, for that matter, but its ok. Poca a Poca, I think in the end, I’ll have a lot more than I thought. And if I don’t, its ok. I will have learned a ton, and I’ll be a lot happier. Anyway. This church is true, pray, read the Book of Mormon, go to church, and do it all as a family. Oh, and like Madison, get your patriarcal blessings! It will help you guys a ton! It’s never too late. I would suggest it. And, well, I’m a missionary, so do it! I love all of you guys and miss you a ton, and I’ll talk to you in what will feel like 2 days, haha.
Love,
Jace
Elder Reber

February 28, 2011

Madison,
They got rid of Derrin? Are you serious? Why? Anyway. That’s that. Yeah, I’m really missin the snow. It rains like its nobody’s business here, but its all good. I think some dude robbed me of my umbrella too, but that’s life. It sounds like all of life is
good.
Haha, the ACT. This is when we find out that Madison really is smarter than Jace. A couple a things you gotta know.

1. I’ll be prayin, so that´ll help a lot.

2. Bring my calculator. The big one. It’s allowed, and you can do a ton

of math on it. I’m serious. Bring it.

3. Don’t stress. Just go, don’t think about time, and just do it. If you

get stuck, leave it and move on.

4. It’s just a test. The thing I sucked on was English, but if you got

27, that’s really good. I got like 23 or something. Science, all it is

is graph reading, and the reading one is really super easy. Trust me,

you´ll do fine.

5. The preps will help too. Just keep doing them, and if you suck it

up, hey, I took it three times. So no worries.

Anyway, that’s all that’s new with me. I am really lackin on interesting stuff in my life. I can never remember any of the cool stuff thats happened, mostly because nothin cool has really happened. Haha, someday, though, it´ll all be ok. Everyone will forget that I was in the mission after about 1 week, and everything will be back to normal. Well, I love you, and hope you just have a really super cool week.
Love,
Jace
Elder Reber

February 28, 2011

Haha, hey, Brooklyn,
It sounds like you just had a really cool week. And, almost, happy birthday! Wow, I can’t believe it’s almost that time. I have been out for a while! Almost seven months. But it sounds like you will be having a good one. Just keep up the good work, and I know that God will bless you and help you out. I don’t really have a lot of comments on the clothes, because of two reasons:

1. I’m a boy!!!!

2. I wear a white shirt and church pants and a tie every single day,

and will be wearing it for 17 more months. Haha, yeah.
Well, have an amazing birthday, and buy a present from me with my money! Tell mom I said that.
Love,
Jace


Dear ñaña pequeña Whitney,
¿Qué dices? Everything here is good! I have learned a whole lot of Spanish, and I can understand almost everyone perfectly! Not really, but a lot better. This week was good for me! Well, more or less. We had more people, and that made me really happy. Despicable Me? No, I wasn’t there. It was in the movie theater, but I never could watch it. Oh well. I hope you guys have fun and do a whole lot of fun things this week!
Love,
Jace

Haha, Hunter, mi hermano,
Whats up, pana? Pana here in Ecuador means friend. You can tell that to your teacher, because it only exists here! Cool, huh? Haha, it sounds like you had just a really fun week, too. I hope that it keeps stayin that way. That would make me really happy. Oh, and yes, you have had a priesthood blessing. I give blessings all the time! I don’t know how good they are, but I always feel good after. Well, have fun, buddy, and keep up the good work! Love you guys and miss you!
Love,
Jace

February 21, 2011

Dear Mom and Dad,
Hey, it sounds like you are all just having the time of the year. That’s good to know. This week, well, we didn’t do so hot, haha. I think I might be destroying this sector, and President is gonna destroy me pretty soon I would imagine. We just haven’t had too much success here, and I think we gotta make some changes, and we gotta make them fast. We´ll see how it goes.
Hmmm, the only interesting thing. Well, we went to a wedding of two of our investigators. It was actually really super cool. I couldn’t stop smiling during it. We were way excited, because they were gonna get baptized this next week, but yesterday, didn’t come to church, and now are doubting a ton. Freak. As of now, we have almost nobody. Really, almost nobody. I don’t know what we are doing wrong, but we gotta do something. But the wedding was really cool. We went to a party with them after, and they freakin had alcohol and they drank it. I think it’s just a tradition, well, probably a big one outside of Utah, too, but all good. They gave us some chicken foot soup, finally! I’ve been waiting for that one. You just kinda eat the skin off the foot. It actually isn’t bad. Doesn’t really have flavor, so maybe that’s why. We played a couple of games, and then left. That was fun.
Haha, Saturday basically was the only good day. We did another Plaza Presentation, where all the missionaries go somewhere and then contact everyone. Freak, one guy sellin newspapers comes up and slams us, and then just leaves. Tells us that we suck, and that what we are doing is \evil. Thanks, buddy. Go off on your crazy way, and we´ll see how it goes at Judgement day. And, wouldn’t you know it, another one. I was alone with this guy, so it was a lot better. He told me that we are false, about false prophets, and about how only the Bible is good, and where does it say in the Bible that we got authority from God. Oh, man, I wanted to destroy this guy. It’s so easy with the Catholics. I can just win anyone, but my comp elbowed me, and I simmered down.
Haha, last, and best, some nuns pass by, and my comp just says “Good Afternoon. Have a good day.” And one turns and says, "Good afternoon, convincing the idiots, eh?" and just keeps walking. Haha, what? Are you serious? Excellent. Nuns. Who woulda thought?
We had a baptism that night too, and it very well could be the only one for the rest of this month or for the entire month of March. I hope not, but its lookin like a possibility. Pray for us. We really need some new ideas and some help. People here like to contend a lot more than in Santo Domingo.
Last night, we contacted some dude in a store. We told him about our message, and he called us out. To the max. Told us that we were confusing the people here and preaching false doctrine. We basically pulled a ton of scriptures, and he just kept doing loops. The freakin testiguos, they don’t know what they’re saying. Its ridiculous. We told him that we wanted to come back, and if he had the truth, we wanted to hear it. He agreed, but he wanted to put the date for a week from yesterday. Haha, he was afraid! But I really think we can help him. It’s very clear. All we need to do is show how the Bible was changed, and then that´ll be done. I dunno.
Anyway, thanks for all the support. Really, pray, and hope the best for your son. He doesn’t wanna be "that" missionary who doesn’t know what he’s doing or how to do it better. Well, love you guys and miss you a lot, and have a good week.
Love,
Jace

February 21, 2011

Brooklyn,
Wow, yeah, you had a pretty busy week. Mine was pretty boring, and we almost didn’t do anything. But what is Fergos? No sé but that’s ok. I hope that this next week too is just super awesome and amazing. I miss you guys and love you lots!
Love,
Jace


Dear Madison,
I don’t have a whole lot to say this week, only that I am destroying this sector, in a bad way. Dang, its hard here, but we have some stuff that we wanna work on. A couple of funny experiencias, but that’s about it. Anyway. Keep up the good work, and remember, if I would do it, its probably the best thing to do.
Love,
Jace

February 14, 2011

Dear Mom and Dad,
Whooo, lots of stuff has happened this week. Really full, and a lot of really cool stuff. Tambien, a lot of really trying stuff, too, that has pushed me a little bit further each time.
Hmmm, where to begin. Quito is ok. I know my sector a whole lot more now, and I’m not quite as worried, that’s for sure. But yeah, it was good for that. It is a little cold, and I honestly miss my Santa Domingo. I think that it´ll be my favorite sector in all of the mission, forever, just because it was the very first of them all. Here, though, its not so bad. The nights are a lot better, because there aren’t freakin roosters crowing at 1:30 in the morning. So that’s good. Me and my companion get along really well. The only thing is that we both really suck at teaching, but its all good. We have some baptisms planned for the 26 of February, and we should have one this week too. Just a kid of some members, but hey, it counts I think. Other than that, nothing really with that stuff. As for Senior comp, there isn’t a difference. This little guy kinda leads, and I just talk to the District Leader at night and get freakin cussed out if something goes wrong. So that sucks, but I cope. You know how I am.
Well, yeah. A story for everyday. Monday, it rained so ridiculously hard. Like, insane. Wow, we had to run home. We were only out in the rain for about 3 minutes, and I was completely drenched. I took a video of it on my camera. Oh, ps, I’m putting all of my photos and videos on a disk right now, and I’ll be sending it out to you guys. I have to take 20 bucks of my personal money for stuff here, cuz I’m broke, but I think it’s ok every once in a while. Haha, so much rain.
Tuesday. We taught a lesson to some lady, and there was a craaaazy member there. She was so energetic, and just loca! "All of the other churches in the world are 100% false! And you wanna know how I know? Because nobody knows anything about baptisms for the dead!" . . . . . What the crap are you talking about, lady! She was just yelling at this lady, who is a missionary for a different church. But she took it all. Hahaha, and apparently, this member has given the investigator books from our church, and this lady has been teaching her church with them! Haha, so cool and crazy. She told us a story, where in Quito some girl went into the cemetery with her cell phone, and put all of them up against the tombs. She took it home to her computer, and heard distinctly, "Baptize me. Baaaaaptize me." Haha, so crazy, but it was a really good lesson. The investigator prayed, and she said Señor every other word, which is Lord. In English, it would be, "Oh God, Holy Father, Loving Creator, we ask, Lord, that you help us, Holy God. Please, Lord, we want, dear Father, that you bless us, Lord, with what we need, Holy Lord." Freak, I’m serious, and it was like that for 4 minutes.
Wednesday. We had a zone conference. I realize that I still can’t teach to save my life, but I had a really good time there. Learned a lot, and saw some missionaries that I hadn’t seen for a while.
Thursday. Really spiritual lesson with some members. Really cool. We were gonna talk about them getting married to be baptized, but they are already gonna do it. Talk about prepared.
Friday. Haha, we were eating lunch, and my comp eats some meat, and it falls down, and he starts choking. I wanted to do something, but he was runnin around the room like a psycho. The bishops wife comes out, and just grabs him, and does the heimlich. Haha, he chokes it up, and I was a little freaked out, but he busted up laughing, and so did I. This freakin Guatamateco.
Saturday. Freak. We contacted for 2 and a half hours, and nobody wanted to listen. Nobody. We had one lesson, and the lady was crazy. It was really humbling, though. I felt really good at the end of the day, and I know that I did all that I could. It really opened my eyes to the phrase "Talk with Everyone." Good day.
Yesterday. Well, nothin, really. There were changes, but the both of us are still here. Oh, and the mamita made roast beef, potatoes, rice, and green beans. Ohhhhh, it was Heavenly. She is a teacher of English, so that’s fun to do, too. Talk every one in a while. Haha, excellent week.
Well, that was that. There were some other funny stuff, but I can’t remember everything. I got the packages from Grandma and Sam, and that’s good. I think the ones from Jen and Candace might be in the mail jail, but I don’t know how to find out. I guess just by asking. We´ll see. Oh, and you guys gotta tell Madison to tell Monty that yes, I got his letter. Haha, excellent.
Well, that’s about it. I had a heck of a week, and I hope that this one goes well, too. I’m dead exhausted, and will be having a nap later today, so that´ll help.
It sounds like everything is going good at home, and that’s good to hear. I hope that everything keeps runnin like it should, and that everyone just has a way good week. Keep prayin for me and all that stuff. I know it helps, and I still need it a lot. I am growin, and pretty soon, I’ll be home. Well, before I even know it. I love you all and miss you a ton, and I hope you keep movin along.
Love,
Jace

Oh, by the way, you guys should get your patriarchal blessing. We were talkin about it yesterday, and it would be a really good idea. To help with everything and whatnot.

February 14, 2011

Dear Brooklyn,
It sounds like you have had a full week. But a good full week. I’m glad. I never really liked the dances at the schools, but I’m kinda a party pooper. That’s ok. I, oh, and I call in May, I think. On Mother’s Day. Ha, ha, but ok. Anyways. I love you and miss you, and hope you have a good Valentines day.
Love,
Jace

Cómo te vas, mi hermana Whitney!
Hey, Whit, it sounds like you had a really good week. Lots of new stuff thats happened, and that’s fun, right? I think so. Well, I’m glad you were able to give a talk in church. I have to give one every single month, and in Spanish, too! Loco, no? Well, keep doin fun stuff, and I hope that you have just a really super fun week. Love you!
Jace

Oyé, que más, bro?
Hey Hunter, wow, you had a good week too. It’s cool that you are learning so much Spanish! We can probably talk a whole lot when I get back home! That would be super cool, huh? Well, I can’t believe that Jerry (Sloan) quit, but it was bound to happen, sometime. I love you, and I hope you have a super fun week!
Love,
Jace

Madison,
Yeah, six months! It’s gone by like nothin. Pretty crazy, life is. Preeeetty crazy. But, I like it. It sounds like everything is going excellent at home. Well, good. It’s pretty interesting that even Whitney is into sports, but cool in the same time. And I completely forgot that it was Valentines Day. Like, completely, completely. Crazy. But oh well. I can’t do anything about it, either.
Well,. I don’t got much to say. I got a lot of stories from this week and a lot of growing experiences, but other than that, nothin really. Why do you wanna go to UVU or USU? Go to the good ol SUU! Have you taken the ACT yet? If you get like 30 and have a GPA of 3.9 or something like that, you can get a full ride to Utah State, and that’s excellent. Then you just gotta find an apartment for really cheap. I dunno. Well, I love you and miss you. Have a super week.
Love,
Jace

January 14, 2011

Dear Grandma,
Hey, it’s really good to hear from you. I’m glad to know that everything has worked out and that you’re doing a whole lot better. God really can work miracles with all of us, no? I know that for sure. I usually just put all of the stories in the big one to mom and dad, and they send it out or something, I don’t really know. If not, just tell me, and I can put some in this one too. But anyway, I’m glad that you’re better. I miss you a lot and love you both, and thanks for all of the support and everything that you guys do for me. Have a good week.
Love,
Jace

February 7, 2011

Dear Mom and Dad,
Well, I’m here, and I’m not dead. Ha,ha, yeah, Quito it is. Anyway, things have been ok. I dunno how to explain it, but they have been getting easier. The name of my new sector is Conocoto, and the zone is Los Chillos. My comp, Elder Perez, is this tiny little Guatemalan, and he is pretty amusing. His laugh busts me up every time. And other than that, stuffs ok.
Anyway, here’s my week. I left on the bus, got to my sector at around 10, and just hit the bed hard. I was exhausted. Tuesday was really hard. I didn’t know the sector at all or the people or anything. That’s the only thing I worry about here. Like, in Santo Domingo, I knew everywhere. But, if someone gave me a reference or address, I had no idea. I never actually knew the names of the places or anything. So I just don’t want that to happen here. But oh well. We went around, and it was ok. A lot different, but it’s still decent. I don’t have too many problems. It’s a lot harder here in the Cierras. The people don’t wanna listen as much, and there are a lot less baptisms. But hopefully we can change that. Ha,ha, we have one person with a baptism date, and he didn’t pass the interview yesterday. Freak, we are gonna have to contact like crazy this week, and I don’t like to contact all that much. The life of a missionary. Anyways.
Wednesday. I got sick for the first time! Hooray! Tuesday night, I came back home, and my head hurt like crazy. I think that I had started to get a migraine, and my stomach hurt. Plus, I slept like crap, and that didn’t help. I woke up, and went back to sleep until 7:30. My headache went away, but my body hurt and I slept a lot. We went to lunch at 1 and I still felt like crap. We called the mission nurses, but they didn’t answer. So we called a missionary in the zone who’s a doctor, and he told me some pills to buy and if I got worse to go home. Ha,ha, I was really tempted to do it, but I decided that I had better stick it out. I wouldn’t have felt good with God. And it really wasn’t that hard to do it. Sure, I didn’t feel good, but that’s life.
The only other thing. We found a family in the park on Tuesday, and they are less active, well, inactive. We went to their house on Friday, and it was crazy. They had been separated 9 months, and we were there basically as marriage counselors. I had no freakin idea what to tell them. The husband basically cheated on her, and was a complete jerk, and she wanted a divorce. I didn’t wanna say divorce him, because we are supposed to be keepin’ families together. I dunno. We just kinda said, “ Come to God and try your best and whatnot.” Wow. It was the first time I had to deal with something like that. In the coast, the only problem was that the people are lazy and don’t wanna cumplir. Sorry, I don’t remember the word in English. Fulfill, maybe?
Ha,ha, that was my week. I have been really strugglin’. I feel like I don’t have any desires to help these people. If they don’t do the things we leave, I never feel bad. I feel like I’m just tryin to pass time until it’s time for me to come back home so I can live again. Pray for me, and I’m gonna be doin’ some real soul searchin’ over these days. I know that I can have this love, I’m just not sure how completely yet.
Anyway. It sounds like everything is going good at home. Well, not good, but the same. I hope that everyone gets feeling better. I know it’s hard when you’re sick, but it goes away. And I can’t believe the Superbowl already passed. That’s crazy. This Friday, I’’ll have 6 months here in the mission. It’s pretty weird to say, but yeah.
Well, that’s about it. Oh, being senior comp isn’t that hard. This guy basically leads and does everything anyway, so as long as we don’t do anything stupid, it should be ok. I had something else to say, but I don’t remember what it was. I love you all and hope that you have a really good week.
Love,
Jace

Oh, yeah, and my Spanish is a ton better. I can basically converse with anyone I want to now. Sometimes I still have to say "What?" like 4 times, but that’s ok. The only thing that sucks is that I can’t talk to people the same as in English. The questions don’t translate in my head. I wanna be able to talk, so that the people will not think I’m just some quiet dude. I dunno. On Sunday, our mamita speaks complete English, and she has a daughter that passed through Cedar all the time! Isn’t that cool? It’s a small world. I gave her our address, so maybe at some point she´ll pass by. That would be crazy, crazy, crazy. Well, love you.

February 7, 2011

Dear Younger siblings,
Sorry I have to write to you all at once, but I just don’t have a whole lot of time. It sounds like you are all not having to much fun being sick. I’ll pray for all of you guys this week, don’t you worry about that. And same with the Superbowl. I can’t believe it’s already here. That’s pretty crazy. On Friday, I’ll have been in the mission for 6 months! Wow! How fast. But anyway. Thanks for all of the news, and I hope that you all have just an awesome week. I love you all and miss you all.
Love,
Jace