And the Work Keeps Going

¡HOLA!

I am just enjoying it here in Ambato with Hna Guevara, we are working hard loving the members, and loving all the people that we are meeting. We were able to meet a lot more new people this week and we have a lot of hope for them and we are excited to see their progression! 

I finally had Cuy (Guinea Pig) this week. Guinea pigs are only food here, not pets.. It was a little weird staring at the foot of an animal that I once had as a pet, but it tastes really good! haha It tastes just like chicken.. I can now say I have had a traditional meal of ecuador.

Quillanloma - there was no one around so we decided to take a quick picture!

We started visiting Dayana this week, she is 18 and was an old investigator who was going to school on sundays, and couldn`t change her schedule, but in 2 weeks she won`t be studying on a sunday again! So we started teaching her and she has a baptism date for the 13th, she is great and has a big desire for her family to be like the family of her aunt and uncle. Her aunt and uncle are the Flia Bravo, who are recent converts, who have a ton of faith and just love the gospel and put all their trust in the Lord. And when you walk into their home you can just feel the peace and love that is in their home. I love the gospel and the influence it can have on families, and hopefully we can help Dayana to have this blessing in her life and the life of her family as well. We are going to try and get to know her parents. 

We found Miquel this week! We went to buy some food for dinner and we contacted the lady that sold us the food, and she was really nice and we felt as though we should teach her, we were headed off to another appointment, but we decided to try a share a small message and get them more interested. We asked her if she could invite her brother and her friend that were there as well, her friend is Miquel. As soon as he came over he started asking a bunch of questions and saying how he isn`t baptized and that he hasn`t really had an interest in religion. At the end of the message he asked us from what church we were from, because he forgot. And we responded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, but sometimes refer to us as Mormons. And he responded, "You guys are mormon?? Of all the churches that I have studied this is the most correct and could be the true church." That was super cool to hear! He then was saying how his mom was studying this church and thing that caught his attention most was that his mom was always super happy listening to the missionaries, he said that that was the happiest he has ever seen his mom. I know that this church brings that kind of true happiness, and I am glad that he has seen that affect in someone that he loves. We walked out feeling really good that we shared a message and we were able to get to know him. We visited him again and he had read and had a bunch of questions, and then he also came to church! He was really hesitant to come to church, because he doesn`t like churches, but he said that he felt really good in our church. 

Also Adriana we have been visiting for 2 weeks, and she is great, also came to church! On saturday we were able to visit with her and her husband which was really awesome and help him to get to understand more, he is a lot more reserved and hesitant, but it was a big step, because we were able to gain a lot more confidence. But, Adriana loved church and is progressing really well!

We saw a lot of miracles this week, and yet right now I am having a hard time remembering all of them. I wrote them in my journal, but I didn`t bring that with me, but these were a couple of the miracles we saw. I just love the hand the Lord has in the work and really good feel the love he has for every one of these people.

I love this work, I love this people, and seriously I am so grateful for the guiding hand of the Lord during this time and that we are not doing this work alone!

I love you all and I hope you all recognize the Lord`s hand in all things!

Mucho Amor,

Hermana Cordon

I had cow foot soup this week.. it was interesting.. 

My reaction looking at it.. haha

Me with the Guinea Pig

Guinea Pig...

El Libro de Mormón es la clave

¡Hola a todos!

Once again its monday, really time is flying by, a little too quickly. We had interviews with our president this week, he talked about marriage and when I get home, I think he wants me to be trunky.. don`t worry I´m not. I am convinced that I am never coming home. :) 

Me with the Waterfall

We went to Baños again for our zone activity, it is so pretty and so cool! I am in love with Ecuador. We went to el manto de la novia (Bridal´s veil) a waterfall, and it was really cool and a fun little hike. Once again we left completely soaked, but luckily Baños is humid, we were just slightly cold when we got back to cold Ambato, but I love Ambato.

We are working with some investigators that the Elders were working with before, the Flia Zambrano. They are from the coast, they moved because of the earthquake. They are really interested in our message and we are excited to see their progress. The kids are really smart and they all really listen to what we have to share, they are great. I just love how excited they get when we are in their house, hopefully they come to church next week. We started working with a less active this week, Jessica, who is really great and really searching to understand and have a reason to come back. I have learned about the importance of being humble and ready to learn from her, she is amazing and commited to come to church this sunday! I truly love this sector, ward, and these people!! I am so happy to be here in Barrio El Recreo!

My Companion & I in the bridge by the waterfall.

One thing that I learned this week, is the importance of the Book Of Mormon. The first week we met with a less active, and she told us, "in my 2 years as a member, I have never finished 1 Nephi, and thats because I don`t like to read and I never read the Book of Mormon." So we talked about the importance of the BOM and the power it has and the blessings she can recieve and we commited her to read every morning before she does anything. She, with her husband, has read everyday since :) And we have seen such a huge difference in them. They are a lot more receptive to what we have to say, they have a stronger desire to do the right things, and they really are focused on the goal of getting to the temple. We also commited Jessica to read the BOM everyday as well, she didn`t read everyday, but she was reading and she also is a lot more excited to keep learning and to keep increasing her testimony. Everytime we go into a home, whether it be an investigator, recent convert, less active, or member I ALWAYS verify if they are reading the BOM or not. And if they are not, we teach them about the BOM and read with them. I know that this is the key to having a strong testimony and that no one will be able to progress, if they are never reading the BOM. I want to encourage everyone, that if you are not reading the BOM everyday, DO IT: You won`t regret it, and you will be even more blessed and have an even stronger testimony that this really is the true church. I have seen the BOM change lives here and I am so grateful that I have grown to know this for myself.

Well I love you all and never forget that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints is the true church and that the Book Of Mormon is the word of God and has power to change your life!!

Have a fantastic week!

Love, Hermana Cordon

Buses, Buses, and more Buses

¡Hola familia y amigos!

Estoy feliz, disfrutando la mision y conociendo mi nuevo sector, es MUY grande! 

Well today we cleaned up our house fully, and now it is pretty. It was not pretty before, but you can now tell that Hermanas now live in this house :) haha I also had to cut the grass today, and I used a machete.. picture included. It was quite the adventure, I am just happy I didn`t accidentally cut myself :) 

We are getting really good at using buses. In every other sector I have had, I could walk really easily, we never used buses. Here we ALWAYS use buses. We have taken the wrong bus a couple of times, and have gotten lost a couple of times, but now I would say we are basically experts at buses. I never thought I would use so many buses in my entire life. The reason we use so many buses is because our sector is GIGANTE, in a week we have only went to about a 4th of our sector. We are going to need to learn how to sectorize, I don`t think that is an english word, but I am not sure. We are just going to have to figure out how to work one day in one part and another day in another part. So we aren`t using so many buses.

I am loving being with Hna Guevara, she is great! We are always laughing and enjoying the work and we work really great together as well. It is nice being with a companion that has the same time so that we can work and use the knowledge that we have together and get things moving along in our sector. We love this ward and we are getting to know the members, less actives, converts, and finding investigators. We are working hard and we are seeing success. I know the Lord is blessing our efforts.

Yesterday we had a first lesson with this family that we contacted the other day. They are really humble, but content and happy with their life, but have a lot of worries. When we shared the first vision, we asked the mom how she felt, and she responded saying that she was really worried about something, and that worry went completely away, she felt relaxed and a happiness, and she started crying while she told us that. While listening to that I felt the spirit so strong confirming to me that this gospel truly is the only gospel that can bring that kind of instant peace. Tears came to my eyes with a feeling of gratitude knowing that I was able to be an instrument in the hands of God to give this wonderful sister a message of hope and comfort. Everyone has different problems in this life and everyone has different experiences, but this gospel is for everyone and can help everyone. I know that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, I know that He is our Savior and Redeemer and through Him and His gospel we can find true peace and joy, where we really can`t find in any other place. 

I am loving this time I have to serve the Lord and boy do I wish that the time wouldn`t fly by so quickly. I am just happy for the time that I do have. 

I love you all and remember that if your feeling down, turn to the Lord, He will take your worries and problems and make them lighter so that you can bear the burden. You don`t have to do it alone.

Tengan una maravillosa semana!!

Les Quiero,

Hermana Cordon

El Recreo (The Recess)

¡Hola!

Me and Hna Guevara

Well this week was changes, and both me and my companion left MIra Flores, and they closed our sector and now that ward only has one companionship of elders. I was sad to be leaving everyone without either one of us, but I know that the Lord knows what is best for this sector and that He will guide the Elders. I am now in El Recreo, the ward that touched my sector before, so basically I just stepped onto the other side of the line. Here there hasn`t been Hermanas for over 15 years, so the members are probably going to be really excited to see Hermanas here again. And so, as you probably guessed, I am opening a sector with Hermana Guevara. She is from Peru and really nice! She has the same time as me and so it will be really great to just get out and work and get things moving along here. Today we spent a lot of time organizing our house, because elders were here and a elder that just finished his mission was here, so it isn`t very clean. Hopefully by the end of this week we can clean it up and get it all organized. 

We were helping Gabriela alot this week, by sending her chapters every night to read, and she has been reading them all! She really does have a great desire to follow this gospel and to have a strong testimony. I know that with the Elders help she can be guided to baptism to recieve all these blessings. With our other investigator Stanley, I think it is going to be really great that there is going to be elders teaching him now. I am sure they will be able to relate to him more and guide him to baptism. We also found a new investigator this last saturday, Cecilia, and she is really great and really open to hearing this message, she even came to church! She came by herself and on time, it was awesome! The elders should be passing by tonight to visit her, hopefully they don´t forget. We were able to get something rolling along here and I know that the Elders will only be able to keep working and helping this area and this ward. I really fell in love with this ward, the members that come every week are really faithful and really willing to help us missionaries in every aspect of the work. The bishop is really involved and always looking for more ways to help us and everyone just supported us and helped us. I really do love that ward and really appreciated all that they did for us. 

The US beat Ecuador in soccer this week and the day before the game we were joking with our pensionista and her husband that the US will win and then we made a wager with them that the losing team has to buy the others ice cream. So they bought us ice cream!! (Picture included). Everyone was mad with us, but we were happy! haha I was sad and happy at the same time, they are both my homes. 

We tried doing a weekly scripture study class with the ward so they could bring their friends, and only the bishop and his family showed up.. hopefully this week more people will show up to that class. 

Yesterday me and my companion taught the primary class for kids 8 and older, it was a great practice for how to teach really simply and keeping their attention. It was fun!

I am excited to see what this next change will bring, I love being here and being able to work for the Lord, the best job there is! :)

I love you all!

Hermana Cordon

Me and Hna Vicky, she is the president of the primary and she was always willing to go to appointments with us, she is the best! 

My zone last thursday, we are crazy

This is a photo  I took in my last sector and I had taken a picture of my new sector, everything on the other side of the river is my sector now.

El Gozo de la Mision

¡Hola a todos! Espero que encuentren bien y feliz y estén disfrutando su verano. Está haciendo mucho frio aqui.. jaja There was my little spanish for you guys :)

My group!

Well we had to travel to Quito this week so that I could renew my visa, but it was really cool, because I got to see all the gringos from my group, which was a lot of fun! It has been a year since we had all been together, so it was fun seeing the change and reflecting back on the year that has passed behind us. I have learned a lot and grown alot as well, and hopefully I can just keep growing and improving for these next couple of months. 

My group with there companions

This week we had a cool experience. There is a girlfriend of a member in our ward, and no one ever told us that she wasn`t a member and we saw her a lot at church, so we both figured she was a member. Until we were talking to her and we asked her and she wasn`t a member.. and she lives in our area! So last sunday we set up an appointment with her to visit and talk with her. She has come to church 4 times, is reading the book of mormon, thinks it is the true church, and just loves anything and everything about the church. She is so awesome and has a ton of faith. We have had some cool experiences with her this week as well. The first lesson with her, we talked about baptism, to gage what she was feeling and where she was at, and she said she didn`t feel ready yet, because she wanted to know more. So I thought to share Ether 12: 4,6 and she was really touched by the scripture, she said that she had read it before, but it never really caught her attention, but she knew that it was a testimony that she only needed to believe. I knew that the spirit guided me to share that scripture, and I know that the spirit taught her more than our words could have taught her. Then the next day we met with her again, and we were talking about the prayer that she did the night before, about Joseph Smith, and she said that she had doubts of prophets, but as we kept talking to her we got out that her real doubt/fear was that she was scared of telling her parents that she wants to be baptized, so she was searching for a doubt to have to keep pushing back her baptism. As we testified to her that she will find true happiness in this gospel and that you need to choose God over family, the spirit entered the room testifying. We also shared with her Mosiah 2:41 and she really felt super happy by that scripture and commited to talk to her family on sunday about her desire to be baptized. She did talk to them yesterday, and they reacted really badly, she got annoyed with their reactions. But when we called her to talk about how it went, she sounded like she had a really big desire still to be baptized and to follow through with her decision to be an example to her family. She is a really great example to me and I am so grateful for this chance to help her progress to baptism and to have this happiness with her. We are going to put the date of baptism for the 25th, I am so excited for her!

Then this thursday, President Christensen had a meeting with our stake, so Hermana Christensen had called us and asked if she could go to an appointment with us that night. We were a little bit surprised, but grateful for her help, because the member who was going to go with us, wasn`t able to anymore. It was fun going with Hna Christensen and we were able to visit with her a little bit while going to the appointment. She is awesome and she was a great help with all the questions she did to get to know our investigator, we were able to learn some new things.

The trees look like pineapples here

We also had a mini-conference with our zone this week. We did an activity with a game and the object was to win as much as you could. A lot of companionships were going against everyone else trying to win as much as they could, but in the end we would have won more if we would have worked together. (For record me and my companion were trying that technique the whole time, so we were losing the whole time.. haha) But one thing that I really learned and struck me was the our personal gain doesn`t mean anything if everyone around us is losing. In the mission we have to work in unity with a lot of people; our district, zone, the ward, and most importantly our companion. I also learned alot about the importance of personal integrity and the importance of always telling the truth. Everyone is always watching us, as members and as missionaries, and we need to be true to ourselves and true to God, and hopefully that is the same thing. That was just some insight from what I learned.

I truly love this Gospel, I am so so grateful for this time I have to completely devout myself to the Lord and His work and the testimony I am gaining from it, will be a lifelong blessing. The people I am meeting are so important to me, and this beautiful little country is my home. I am so grateful that I still have a lot of time left to keep learning and growing and devoting myself to the Lord.

I love you all and I hope you have an absolutely fantastic week!! I invite you all to look for ways that you can help others to win so that in the end you all will win!! 

Muchísimo Amor,

Hermana Cordon

Trusting in the Spirit

Today was a great Pday! We went as a zone to Baños! It is a cool tourist place here in Ecuador, and I haven`t had the chance before to get to know it, so it was cool to be able to finally go! We went to a waterfall called El Pailon del Diablo (The Devil`s bowl) and it was so cool!!! When we got there it was raining, so we knew the waterfall was going to be huge, but it was a lot bigger than we expected. When we got to the waterfall there is stairs to go down to get down to the bottom of the waterfall and we started walking down and within 2 seconds a huge wave came crashing down and we were drenched!! And there was a way to go up behind the waterfall and it was so cool!! Seriously so pretty and a cool experience, and we were drenched from head to foot. Also as we were taking our district photo all of a sudden a giant wave crashed in a soaked us again, we were very surprised! And the problem was, was I was wearing a sweater (Because they didn`t tell us what we were going to do in Baños, and it wasn`t raining in Ambato) and it got super stretched out and now I am going to have to wash it by hand.. Lets see how that works out for me :) But, everyone was laughing really hard and screaming about how cold the water was and because we did not expect to get soaked.. haha just a cool experience! Ecuador is such a pretty country!!

We had a really cool experience yesterday with a less active, Miquel. Our appointments that we had planned yesterday afternoon fell through, so we decided to call the Flia Baus (some members) to visit them and to get to know them better. When we got there, Miquel was there as well. He is the brother of the Hno Baus, and he is a member as well, but hasn`t gone to church in over 39 years (he was baptized 40 years ago). We were talking and then we ended up starting our lesson and we had asked him if there was a reason why he wasn`t going to church, he said that it is because he never felt the spirit and that he was expecting to feel differently, so he left, because he never felt the spirit. Then he told us a story of how he had gone to a christian church service and just had a really overwhelming feeling of happiness and he was like that was the Spirit, I know that is what I felt and it is what I didn`t feel in your church! I then shared how growing up in the church I always had the doubt that I never felt that I had felt the spirit, because everyone always explained it as a burning in your chest, but I never felt that, so I was convinced it was just because the spirit wasn`t talking to me. But, over time I began to recognize the way it talked to me and how he testified of the truth of the gospel to me. We then explained how everyone feels the Holy Ghost differently and it is different for everyone. Then the granddaughter of Hno Baus was able to share her experience as well, and she explained how she had the same experience as Miquel. She felt great in another church and she was convinced that she had never felt the spirit in our church, and she was confused. But, as she kept explaining her story the spirit just filled the room and we were all developed with the spirit, honestly the strongest I have felt the spirit in a lesson, and we all were crying. And she was saying how she began to look back at her life in the church and realized the many moments that she had felt the spirit and didn`t put much importance in it, and she had just forgotten. She explained how there were many moments that the Lord had completely lifted off her burdens when she was weighed down and she had just forgotten. It was a really powerful experience and you could feel the spirit literally confirming what she was saying was completely true. Then we were able to testify to Miquel that what he felt why she was talking was the Holy Ghost confirming that it was true. He then started crying and saying that he has always been looking for Christ and has just wanted to follow Christ. He said that what she had said really got to him and touched his heart and he felt really good. When we testified again that that was the Holy Ghost, he was like Really?? That is the Holy Ghost?? And he really changed, his whole demeanor and his outlook changed. We commited him to keep listening to the missionary discussions and to come to church this sunday. He doesn`t actually live in our ward boundaries, he lives in a different ward. But, I am so grateful for the experience to have felt the strength of the spirit and the importance of having the spirit testify in a lesson, because we can talk all we want, but if they don`t feel the spirit than it won`t change them.

We were guided to three new people and were able to visit them this week! One is Monica, who doesn`t believe alot in religions, but God is the most important thing for her. Hopefully we can keep helping her to enjoy and love even more God and realize that His was is an organized way. Also we met with Ruth on tuesday and she was really receptive and had lots of questions, then on friday when she came to our second appointment she brought her son as well!! He seems really receptive as well and wants to know the truth of all things. Hopefully we can help them to keep growing in faith and to feel the spirit. 

We contacted a lot this week, but really I enjoy contacting and I just remind byself that whether we visit them or not we are planting seeds for when missionaries come around again they will be more receptive. I love this work and I know that this is the Lord`s work so I need to make sure to give it my all and to trust in Him and give myself over to Him. I just need to forget myself and get to work!! 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!! 

Mucho Amor, 

Hermana Cordon

The Hermanas

My District

Me of course!

My companion and I

My Zone on the bridge

Temple in Quito!!!!

!Hola!

Yes, we screamed with joy when we heard President Monson announce a temple in Quito, Ecuador!! My mission, my converts are going to be within an hour of the temple!!! I was in a room with only the american missionaries, because we were watching it in english, but we were all really happy and shouting for joy! One elder said "Just think about it, our efforts have helped put this temple here." That really hit me, our work here is helping people have even more of the blessings of the gospel in their lives. Yes, there is already a temple here in Ecuador, but in Guayaguil, and it`s like a 8 or 9 hour bus ride for the members in Quito to get there. I am so happy for them, that it will be so much easier for them to go to the temple so much for frequently! It is a huge blessing for sure! I truly loved conference and recieved a lot of strength for my testimony and rekindled my diligence to give this work all my might, mind, and strength. Because, this truly is the most important work that we can engage in 

Well with my health, I feel a ton better. I got a blessing from the Elders monday night, because I did not feel good. But, during the blessing I felt the infection leave my throat, and I felt better starting from that moment, and the next day I was able to work without a problem. I was still coughing and I had a stuffy nose, but no infection so I wasn`t in a ton of pain. It made me super happy. It was such a huge blessing, I love the power of the priesthood!!

This week we did a lot of contacting, because we don`t have many investigators to work with here. But, we found a couple of people this week that seem really interested and hopefully they truly have the desire to progress and we can help them to feel and desire to have the Spirit. On saturday evening we went to go and find a contact that said that we could pass by. She didn`t answer her phone and she didn`t give a specific dirrection so we started knocking on doors on the street that she said she lived. On the second house we knocked on, we asked if she knew the person and she didn`t so we then presented ourselves with her. After I just said our names, she asked "would you guys like to come in?" Boy, were we shocked, usually we have to ask if we can come in, yet she invited us in without us saying more than just our name. It was so great, it is two sisters Valería and Veronica, and they are both really interested in learning more and really loved our message. The Lord put us on that street for a reason, and that is what I am trying to always remember. When we plan something we are in that spot for a reason, and now we just need to find that reason. I truly love the work and I truly am grateful for the little blessings that the Lord gives to us on a daily basis. 

My companion is awesome and we enjoy the work together. She is really putting things into perspective for me. I just am remembering where I was 10 months ago, when I got to ecuador, not knowing any spanish and not really knowing what was going on. Now I am training. Crazy how time has just flown and that I do actually know what I am doing now. 

One night as we were running home, because it was 9:15 and we were 15 minutes away from the house. It started DOWNPOURING. We were soaked in like 2 minutes and we were desperately searching for a taxi, I didn`t want to bring my cold back, and there was no taxis. So we kept running and all we did was laugh at how ridiculous the weather here in Ecuador is. At one moment the sky is clear and there is no appearance of rain, and 5 minutes later it is a downpour. But, boy do I love it here. Ecuador is my second home. And for those of you who don`t know, I am not a fan of getting wet, but on the mission I have learned to truly just love and laugh at the moments of discomfort or inconvenience or when someone slams a door in your face. I am doing the Lord´s work and whatever the price I am willing to pay. It is not an easy work, the road to salvation, but bringing people to this road is the greatest joy and the greatest happiness that I have ever felt. Boy do I love this work. 

I love you all and I hope you all enjoyed conference! Have a fantastic week and don`t forget what you all learned! Set goals and keep conference with you!

Hermana Cordon

My district

A cool fruit that is here

A cool fruit that is here

Getting lunch at the mall

Catching up on our journal writing today

Polaca!

¡hola familia y amigos!

Well, first off this week went by pretty quickly, because we didn´t get a lot of working time in our sector. First off tuesday I got sick and so I had no energy so I basically slept all day, first time in the mission, but it was a one day thing and I was all good ready to work wednesday. And wednesday we did divisions with 2 members so that we could get more visits in, and we ended up getting a lot done. But, thursday we stayed in Riobamba after our district and zone meeting because we had divisions with the Hermana Leaders so we were there all day with them and then friday we had a zone conference with President and Hermana Christensen, and we finally got back to Guaranda at 9 that night. Then saturday we had a service project till 1, and then sunday we went to church and then worked. So a pretty crazy week, but we are excited to get out and work this week.

A sad thing that happened this week is that Marly, who was an investigator that was progressing and loving the church and everything. Started ignoring us this week and avoiding us as well. We do not know what happened, but we are going to let her go for now and hopefully a little bit later she will come back and be stronger. The opposition that people have to accept this work is crazy, and sometimes people are still really weak and don´t want to fight the resistance. We always need to keep strengthening ourselves so that we never find ourselves on the other path. Stay on the path of God it will lead you to eternal life. Even though that this path is the hardest thing we will find "estrecho y angosto.. que lleva a la vida eterna", read in Matthew 7:13-14. It was a hard thing that we faced this week, but we found some joy in the work with Angel and Victoria! They are an older couple that loves this message, they are reading the scriptures and Victoria was able to come to church yesterday! Angel wasn´t able to, because he had work, but next week he will go to church! They are reading in the BOM everyday and really what they are learning. And they are reading a lot on mormon.org also, which is helping them answer all of the many questions they have! It is the best when we go and they always have a ton of questions that we find ourselves telling them we will get to the answer another lesson, because we didn´t have time for all their questions and the message that we were sharing that was answering their other questions. It is pretty great! Everytime we are teaching them we feel the spirit so strong and I know they can as well! Hopefully we can keep teaching with the spirit to really help them to progress!

For divisions this week I was with Hna Gardiner, who was in the MTC with me! It was so awesome to be with her for one day working and learning from her. It really put things into perspective at how far I´ve come in the last 10.5 months. I remember being in the MTC confused all the time with spanish, and going out contacting with Hna Brimhall and not understanding anything. Yet this time around with Hna Gardiner, we were in the streets of ecuador contacting and understanding everything they said and really finding ourselves really comfortable. Boy was that a reality check, I have come a long way in the mission! Also it was cool to be with Hna Gardiner for a day and to catch up and see how our missions have been different. Also with her I got to have Polaca again. It is this delicious drink that they have here made from oatmeal and milk, but delicious. It has the texture of like eggnog. And you can´t find it here in Guaranda,so I was pretty happy to have found it and I could enjoy it again. This is something that the states lack!

Hna Gardiner

Today for pday, we decided we wanted to go and get to know Salinas. It is a little town about 30 minutes away from Guaranda, and everyone says that we need to get to know it and buy there chocolate. So we went down there to get to know it, and when we got there we were very lost and confused. As far as we could see it was just a town, and nothing different then Guaranda, and we couldn´t even find where to buy chocolate. But, after we circled around the block, we asked someone where to buy the chocolate and they pointed us to the factory. But, this factory is just a room with some chocolate, that is only 5 cents cheaper then in guaranda... so we bought some and left. We were thinking that we were going to be able to find things to buy, like some souveneir stuff. But, as far as we could see there wasn´t anything. But, after about 20 minutes more of wandering around and people giving us weird looks, we found a shop that had some things to buy! So I bought a poncha and a native doll :) It was a slightly weird adventure and not as exciting as we thought it would be, but we enjoyed ourselves! 

I hope you all have an awesome week and know that I love you!

Hermana Cordon