New Ecuador Quito Mission President Called

Bruce Edward Ghent, 53, and Kathryn Spencer Ghent, five children, Ecuador Quito Mission; Manhattan Beach Ward, Torrance California North Stake. Brother Ghent serves as an assistant area executive secretary in the South America Northwest Area and is a former ordinance worker in the Los Angeles California Temple, stake president, stake executive secretary, high councilor, bishop and missionary in the Mexico Villahermosa Mission. Retired owner of a construction and development company. Born in Torrance, Calif., to Robert Maynard Sr. and Dorothy Francis Sharpnack Ghent.

Sister Ghent serves as an assistant area secretary in the South America Northwest Area and is a former counselor in a stake Primary presidency, stake public affairs director, counselor in a stake Young Women presidency, Young Women president, Cub Scout leader, Primary teacher and temple coordinator in the Los Angeles California Temple. Born in Torrance, Calif., to Donald Jay and Beverly Carmen Spencer.

Open House

Buenos Dias familia y amigos!

I have just completed my second week in Guaranda! I think I´m getting the hang of how the work goes around here. It´s been a little tough though, since I´ve been having to go to so many meetings! I´ve travelled about four times in the last couple of weeks. Now I´m going to travel to Quito tomorrow for another meeting. It´s kind of tiring, but I am very grateful that I no longer have to travel from Esmeraldas to Quito. No more having to gain 10,000 feet in elevation every time I go to Quito!

Well, we had a highlight of the week, which I would like to share with all of you. This week we had an OPEN HOUSE! It was really cool, and we had all sorts of stations set up in the classrooms. The members taught about the Book of Mormon, the temple, the traditions that we have, and many other things.

I´ll have to admit, I was really worried at first! Nobody was coming! I think we had about two people for the first half hour! So we took action. The four of us missionaries went out into the street, along with some of the members. Then we went crazy inviting every single person that passed by! Nobody escaped without getting invited to the open house! It was a lot of fun, although I think we scared quite a few people! (There were some who actually ran away when they saw us coming!) Regardless of all that, we filled every single room that the members were teaching in! We ended the open house with 10 referrals. It was really amazing, considering the way things looked when we began.

So that just goes to show, the Lord doesn´t give us success instantly. We have to go and do! Even though it might seem hard, or inconvenient, or even crazy, we have to get up and work for our success. Grabbing random people off the streets seemed a bit crazy at first, but it helped us have success. I´m very grateful that our efforts were blessed so well. I´ll let you all know how it goes with the referrals! Take care everybody!

Love,

Elder Wallace

From President Sloan

14 February 2011

Brother and Sister Wallace
RR 4 Box 4680 
Roosevelt, UT 84066 
United States

Dear Brother and Sister Wallace:

It is our pleasure to inform you that your missionary, Elder Spencer Allen Wallace, has been chosen to serve in the Ecuador Quito Mission as District Leader.  He has been given the responsibility to lift, encourage, inspire and bless the lives of other missionaries.  It is a privilege to be called to serve as a leader in the mission where relatively few have the honor.  Your son has demonstrated through his faithfulness that he is a leader.

Your missionary will be expected to maintain a high standard of righteousness in order to receive revelation related to his assignment.  He, as a leader, will set a good example for the missionaries in his stewardship.  However, he will be most influential as he serves others in harmony with the teachings and example of the Savior.  In your letters, please continue to encourage and lift his spirit with your love and expectations.

It has been a joy to know your son and benefit from his service.  Thank you for the support you give to the work of the Lord and the well being of your missionary.  

Sincerely,

President Timothy Q. Sloan

Quito Ecuador Mission

Guaranda

Where's Wallace?

Hey everyone!  Sorry for not writing last week!

Yeah, the rumours are correct.  I am now in the zone of Riobamba, working in a city called Guaranda.  My sector is enormous!  It contains everything south of Guaranda, right down to the limits of the Guayaquil North Mission.  It´s a three-hour bus ride to cross my sector!  It´s a bit different from my area in Esmeraldas, where I could cross on foot in 15 minutes.  I´ve also moved from sea level to about 13,000 feet.  The trip kind of did a number on me, but I am doing well now.  We´re working with more couples now, who also need to get married.  Luckily I´ve got quite a bit of experience in that area now!  My new companion is Elder Sotomayor from Guayaquil.  He´s been in the mission for about 14 months.

So... I´m not sure what to say now, because I haven´t been in this area long enough!  I guess I can tell you a bit about what it´s like here, as opposed to Esmeraldas.

1 - It´s COLD!!!  No more sprawling out on my bed without a single sheet.  I´ve got to bundle up now!

2 - I don´t have to worry about tsunamis anymore!  I´ve got volcanic eruptions to worry about now!

3 - The members here are awesome!  They have such a great desire to help us, and they sincerely care about the mission work.  It´s a district here, with only branches.  Our branch looks a lot like a ward because it´s really successful.  A bit different than my previous ward, which looked like a branch.

4 - No more Evangelical churches on every single street.  We´re up to our necks in Catholics.  I´m pretty grateful for that because they tend to be more receptive.

5 - We found a married couple yesterday.  Imagine that!

6 - I have a bit more responsibility now.  I had to give a baptismal interview last week.  It made me kind of nervous at first, but all went well.  His name is Francisco, and he is now baptized and confirmed a member of the branch!

Well, there are some differences that I´m adapting to.  Any questions?  I hope everybody is well at home.  Thank you all for the birthday wishes!  

Love,

Elder Wallace

District Leader in Riobamba!

Last Week Of The Transfer!

Buenas tardes!

I have some more time to write this week! First of all, thank you for the birthday wishes! I can´t believe I have been gone for a year! Home is going to be a lot different when I get back! It doensn´t matter though because I´ve still got plenty of time left here in Ecuador! I got the package as well. Thank you!

We did have a different activity this week! Elder Thurber turns 20 this Friday, just one day before I do, so we went out and had pizza as a district! Good stuff. Forgot my camera though. That´s not a big deal because the event itself didn´t look that interesting. Good pizza though.

Well, as you may have guessed from the subject line, it´s time for transfers again! Elder Diaz and I are both a bit nervous about what is going to happen. I have about six months here, he has about five. So we´re not really sure who is going to get transferred! I want to stay a little longer in order to see the baptism of Llimi and Jamsin (they´re going in to get married on the 15th), but on the other hand, I am kind of ready to move on. I haven´t really moved much during my time in Ecuador. Two areas in one year. But then again, I´ll take that as a good sign because from what I´ve seen, it´s the troublesome missionaries that get shuffled around very quickly.

This week, President Sloan came out to give us some training. It all went well, and we learned a lot. Although I think next time I´m going to bed early. My area is the farthest away from the chapel where we have the training, so I´m always a bit wiped out. We learned about how God gives us what we desire. The tricky part is that our TRUE desires are shown by our actions. If we put forth a lousy effort when it comes to living the gospel, we will receive lousy blessings. If we do our very best, God will bless us with the very best. We receive everything according to our desires.

Good to hear from everyone, I hope you´re not all freezing to death too badly! At least you are somewhat accustomed to the cold. I´m going to die when I get back home! But reguardless, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Wallace