First Weeks on the Job

Family and Friends,

These first few weeks in my new assignment have been very busy, educational, interesting, exciting, stressful, and spiritual all in one. This assignment has lots of mixed emotions. It is a great privilege and great responsibility at the same time. I think back on how the way that I completely admired and looked up to the assistants when I first started the mission and I feel a lot of pressure and honestly I can feel really inadequate at times... but then I remember that God is the one who makes the assignments and that if He has called me to this assignment then its because He has provided the way for me to do it well :) simple but true (1 Nephi 3:7). My companion and I have been talking about how we have to find a balance between learning from the failures and successes and past assistants but never comparing ourselves. Comparing is always wrong because either you put other people down or you beat yourself up (pride or insecurity) and both are very destructive to our spiritual progress. We've got a good rhythm going with the way were working together and its really a wonderful experience to learn from one another and grow together. Its a huge blessing to be such great friends because we really trust in each other and its natural to communicate and always give feedback on things we need to change or improve. At the end of each day in daily planning we go over what we did well that day and how we could've done better. Then we set goals and plans for specific ways that we will improve the next day. Its simple, practical, and effective. President Amaya always says that you should improve just 1% everyday and that way in 100 days you'll have become a different person, new and improved :) and after 2 years you will have become about 730% better if you do it right... thats why theres no going back to your nets when you go home. You've got to be a new person and maintain that improvement and conversion to the Lord. Being companions with Elder Magill has really helped me in that process. 

Last Sunday night, President Amaya gave an amazing talk at a fireside in the Quevedo Sur stake center (my old zone) and he decided to take us with him :) it was a wonderful experience! A few weeks before the fireside he planned something special with two zones as a little surprise for all the youth there. In the middle of his talk he said that he wanted to share something with everyone, he called up a missionary to play the piano. Right as he started to play the prelude of "Called to Serve" Elder Magill and I burst open the back door and 38 missionaries came marching in to the chapel singing with great enthusiasm the classic ¨"Called to Serve" .... wow talk about goosebumps and a super strong spirit that was felt by EVERYONE there :) tears were rolling down the cheeks of several people and everyone there had a huge smile as we sang proudly and happily with voices of thunder :) we walked from the back of the chapel up to the front where everyone could see us and then on the final verse two sister missionaries directed for everyone there to sing together... words cannot fully describe how happy I felt in that moment especially since this was my good old zone Quevedo Sur where I first started my mission (in Empalme) and where I had just barely left 2 weeks ago (Quevedo 1) therefore while I was singing I could see the faces of several converts, friends, people that I had interviewed to be baptized and seen grow, and many good people from all parts of the zone :) it was awesome. Then after singing President Amaya directed us in reciting together D&C 4 and then we all left together in an orderly manner. It was very powerful and there were several young men and young women who entered that chapel without any real desire of serving a mission and left from that experience with a fierce determination to serve a mission as soon as possible. After the talk I was able to chat with several of the people from various parts of the stake and it was a very special night for me :) Quevedo Sur will always have a special place in my heart. 

I continue to be amazed by how much this work is completely directed by the Spirit. Elder Magill and I decided the other day to go to the district meeting in Orquideas and when we got there they said that President Amaya would be arriving later that day to do interviews... coincidence.. I think not. Likewise we had transfers the other day and it was INCREDIBLE to see how inspired President really is and then later after the transfers we saw even more how every little change worked out just right for some people that were having problems and needed help. It really is a grand privilege to work closely with President Amaya. Whenever we are traveling together in the car rides I always like to chat with him and ask him tons of questions about leadership, missionary work, life skills, gospel principles, and all sorts of topics to be able to learn as much as I can from. Thats always something I've been good at haha asking lots of questions... I suppose it can be annoying to some people but personally its helped me out a lot in my life. Since I first started the mission I've always done it and I've learned a lot from simply asking questions. When I was in the mtc I'd ask questions about Spanish and talk a ton in Spanish to the workers and teachers there (thats how they realized that I should be in the advanced class and thats why I was able to go to Ecuador six weeks early), when I first got to the mission office I asked a ton of questions with the assistants there and to this day I remember very well the different suggestions and advice they gave me, in all the zones I've been in I always asked a ton of questions with my zone leaders and learned a lot from each one of them, and likewise from various members in the wards I've served that i really respect during meals with them I don't like to just eat... I ask a lot of question and learn. Its a good habit that has helped me out a lot and I recommend it to all. Talk more. Ask questions and learn. My dad calls this quality being a chatty Kathy haha but he too recognizes that it is important. 

I continue to deepen my appreciation for the marvelous book How to Win Friends and Influence People and the principles that I apply from that book continue to bring me success and help gain the trust and love of the missionaries here. They are lots of little things that make a huge difference. For example, there is a great part that I will forever remember that says "Remember that a person's name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.¨¨ That is so true. Just think about it everyone and imagine this situation. You're at a birthday party and then your friend introduces you to someone and you talk with them briefly but then they have to leave. Two weeks pass and then in the grocery store you see them and they come up to you and say ¨¨Oh hey how's it going? (awkward pause and gesture with hands) Remind me your name again¨¨ You say your name. ¨¨Oh thats right oh yeah¨¨ 

Ok now compare that situation with the following. You're at a birthday party and then your friend introduces you to someone and you talk with them briefly but then they have to leave. Two weeks pass and then in the grocery store you see them, they give you a big smile, come up to you and say ¨¨(Your name), how's it going?¨¨ Big difference huh. If they say your name it means they remembered you. It means you're important. Everyone wants to feel important and be validated. Remember people's names and it will take you far. Elder Magill and I try to do lots of little things to help the missionaries feel our love and feel and know that they are important. We made flash cards of the names of the new missionaries arriving and took the time and effort to study them all and memorize them during the week. When we were receiving all the 31 new missionaries that arrived this week we were able to give them a firm handshake, a warm smile, say their name, and welcome them to the mission :) Also we made a excel list of all the people who have birthdays this month and we call them the day of their birthday to sing to them and chat for a bit. They always smile and laugh and you can tell it means a lot to them. Who doesn't want to be remembered? Little things go a long way. 

I love you all and hope you are happy. Actively involve yourself in the work of salvation and you will be truly happy :)

Elder Remington 

Happy Days

Dear Family and Friends,

These are happy times for your buddy Elder Remington. My companion Elder Muñoz and I are doing great together. We are very different from each other and at first we clashed opinions and butted heads a bit but now we have really got a good rhythm going in how we are working together feeding off each other learning from each other. He has strengths that are my weaknesses and he has weaknesses that are my strengths thus we have now mutually helped each other to strengthen are weaknesses and complement the attributes of the other in a great way to be a dynamic duo haha yeah!! Its fun. We have progressed big time and now we laugh together and really are working hard having great results for the zone here in Quevedo Sur! We are well placed to win the dinner with President Amaya and reach new heights that surpass the great Elder Vielma and Elder Linares when they were here :) Its an honor and a challenge to be working in the same zone where those two legends accomplished so much. Here in the mission you really see that the members and converts remember the great missionaries who have touched their lives... I hope to be having an impact in the lives of these precious people and that I can make a difference for good. 

We have a great family right now that we have been teaching for some time. Their names are Danilo and Corina Valdivieso and they are awesome. Honestly we have come to love them so much and we've become incredible friends with them. They have an amazing conversion the gospel of Jesus Christ. They pray daily as a family, they study the Book of Mormon daily, they go to church with their 5 little kids by themselves without any of us needing to remind them or go walk with them, and they even volunteered to give us lunch every week and they love spending time with us on P-days too or whenever they can. I never noticed it before but apparently when I'm thinking or listening intently to someone I put my tongue to the side of my mouth as if I was sucking on a jawbreaker or something haha and Danilo and I have a ton of confidence between us and so he always gives me a hard time like hey stop sucking on that jawbreaker its bad for you teeth or hey did you bring some more to share with us too. Or the other day in Sunday school he had hurt his back and was walking really stiff and when he needed to turn around to look at something behind him he couldn't just move his head but had to move his whole body like a big robot so I started calling him Mr. Robot and now almost everyone in the ward calls him Mr. Robot as a nickname or love and kindness ahaha we love giving each other a hard time and I know that we will always be lifelong friends :) They have a baptismal date for 13th of July because they have to get married first and we are working on doing an activity to raise the money for them to get married cause its way expensive here in Ecuador. They truly are a joy to teach and we love them a ton. 

Also the other day I had the privilege to work with Elder Ayala for a few hours in Albonor :) We had just finished a leadership conference in Guayaquil and we had to stay the night for a meeting the next day in the office so I said hey while I'm stuck here waiting I might as well make good use of my time so I can go help out Elder Ayala in Albonor cause he doesn't have a companion right now and they gave me permission to do it (another blessing of obedience and baptizing lots of people is that President and the assistants trust you more so they let you do things that most can't do :) Be obedient it pays off!!). Anyway it was wonderful experience in which we were able to get a ton of referrals, new investigators, and lots of baptismal dates :) It was great working with my buddy Elder Ayala again and seeing some of our converts for a brief moment while we asked them for referrals. We saw Sophie and Leslie Gomez who are super active and super excited about the church. Leslie is secretary for Relief Society and just got her Patriarchal Blessing and Sohpie is in Beehives and loves it. We saw Roberto and his sons Junior and Jordy :) They were all so excited to see me from the street that they ran and gave me a big hug (a very manly hug I might add) and it was so good to see that they are going to church every Sunday, praying, going to Seminary, and they miss me a lot but they know we still be able to keep in touch. They've already written me a few letters and I've written back (I know its a miracle) likewise with all my other converts in Albonor especially. Junior is stoked to go on a mission now! And of course we saw Johnathon, Maria, Jose, and Luis :) They are doing so great and they're preparing to go to the temple next year and Johnathon already finished the Book of Mormon like three months ago and is reading the Bible too :) He is a stud and he just had an interview with the Stake President about a new calling!! Now that I am in Quevedo Sur again I also have been able to do some interchanges in Empalme and see Jose Gorosabel who gave me a huge hug and has been very active always bearing his testimony. The Borrero family has my picture that I sent them on their wall and they were thrilled to see me. Jorge and Maxi likewise were super happy to see me and surprised by how well I speak Spanish now haha they also had my pictures that I sent them there and said they loved getting them :) It was a wonderful experience for me and taught me something very valuable... never underestimate the worth of our efforts and service to others... NEVER! Satan is very cunning and he uses whatever he can to make us feel like our efforts weren't good enough and to try and discourage us. For months I had basically written off my time in Empalme because I figured that the people didn't really grow to love me that much cause they couldn't understand me and that the majority were probably already inactive and I doubt they really remember me. But that was not the case at all the majority are active and were thrilled to see me :) This experience reminded me of the story Elder Wadell told about a missionary from Spain in a conference talk in 2011 The Opportunity of a Lifetime. Read it because its amazing and will help a lot. 

Remember that every single one of us is valuable and are efforts are important :) Be grateful and be happy!

Much love,

Elder Remington 

Learning and Growing :)

Family and friends,  

Here are the pictures from the baptism two weeks ago :) I forgot to send them but here they are better late than never... this was a truly special baptismal service because we got to see Roberto (who just barely was baptized and received the Priesthood) baptize his son Roberto Junior :) they are a wonderful family and they are so excited about living the gospel its inspiring every time that we visit them to see that they've been studying the scriptures together, praying together, learning new hymns together in the car and often times when we walk by their house we can hear them playing church music and we can hear their little son Jordy singing at the top of his lungs very off key but with great enthusiasm, much like the way my father sings :) love ya dad!  

Roberto's wife Miriam is great and we've really made great progress with her and gained her trust but she is one tough cookie. She's a psychologist, has lots of doubts, and says that she won't believe something if she can't see it... that makes developing her faith in Christ a bit tricky as I'm sure you can imagine. We've been applying Alma 32 and trying to help her understand that she has to give the gospel a chance. She has to go to church, read the scriptures, and pray sincerely (nourish the seed) so that she can gain a testimony of this gospel (the seed will grow and bring forth fruit). It's not going to be easy but I know as we keep working hard and having patience and having faith that she will be converted and baptized. To be honest this was a tough week with lots of frustrating challenges and investigators that aren't progressing but I'm learning and growing from these trials :) my good friend Jamie Smith wrote me a letter a while back and she shared a great quote that I still remember and think about often. She shared with me a trial that she had been having and shared these powerful words, ¨I've experienced a completely different side of the Atonement, and I appreciate my life and having the gospel in it so much more. I know that the Refiner's fire will always burn brightly, and it is the way we handle our trials that allow it to create or consume us.¨ Wow! I especially love that last part because it is so true! All of us will have tough times and we get to decide whether we will turn toward Christ or turn away from him, whether we will redouble our efforts and work harder or get overwhelmed and slack off, whether we will endure or give up :) we get to decide if the trial will create or consume us. I know that when we maintain an eternal perspective in confronting our trials that we will be able to overcome our trials and learn from them. Part of enduring to the end is never getting discouraged and always facing adversity positively with a determined smile :) Thanks Jamie for your words of encouragement and thanks to everyone who has written me and supports me :)  

Keep enduring joyfully to the end! Have patience and have hope. Life is good. Remember that God wants us to have joy :) 

Love,

Elder Remington

Lots of Changes :)

Family and friends,

This week we had transfers in the mission and I've been transferred to a new area with a new companion. I am now serving in Albonor (a sector in Guayaquil) with Elder Garcia. I don't have much time today because we had to travel and unpack and all the jazz but I'll be sure to send photos of Elder Garcia and Albonor next week. To be completely honest... I'm definitely going to miss Empalme. We had tons of investigators that we're progressing, the ward was very supportive and we had great relations with the members, I made lots of great friends there, and most of all I'm going to miss Elder Lopez. That guy is amazing and we really worked well together. However, I am happy and I am excited to serve in a new area with a new companion :) this area is kind of struggling right now and hasn't had a baptism in over two months but I see that as an opportunity and I'm excited to get to work and really turn things around here :) I know that my Mission President is inspired of God and I know that this is exactly where the Lord needs me to be right now. I trust in the Lord completely and look forward to learning and growing from new experience here. 

Whenever there's big changes like this in my life I like to remember the quote, ¨Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened.¨ Rather than being sad that I'm leaving Empalme, I am very grateful for the incredible experiences I had there and I'm looking forward to having great experiences here in Albonor. I know that there are things the Lord needs to teach me here and I look forward to learning and growing. 

Also thank you very much to everyone who has written me :) its great to hear from friends and family back at home and read about what you're all up to. I definitely recommend using DearElder.com because then I'll get your letters in about a week as opposed to about a month. I love hearing from you all and hope you are all doing well and are grateful for everything you have. Pray as if everything depends on the Lord and then work as if everything depends on you. 

Love,

Elder Remington

P.S. In my last email I said that the weather is only hot but that's not true lately there's been a lot of days with overcast and a nice breeze. And when it rains its very refreshing :) the weather is pretty nice right now. 

Best Week of the Mission

Family and friends,

I haven't sent any pictures in a while so here you go. The first picture is the baptism of a great man named Luis Ramirez. He is honestly one of the most humble people I've ever met. He has had so many trials in his life (divorce, drugs, alcohol, depression, tough tough stuff) and yet he has never doubted or lacked faith in the Lord. He made some incredible changes in his life and now he truly is a completely different person. The Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms lives and literally saves people. I distinctly remember that in his baptism when he came out of the water he paused for a second... had an indescribable look of satisfaction and joy and then gave me a big hug. Wow! It truly is a privilege to serve these people and watch every single aspect of their lives improve. The second picture is two goofballs trying to cook lunch together. Elder Lopez is hilarious man. I really love the guy. He's always got a smile, he's positive, he truly loves the people, and he's a powerful teacher. We really feed off each other and have a great chemistry working hard together we're almost always on the same wavelength and both communicate together really well and that's crucial in a companionship (marriage and any other relationship too).

Elder Remington and Elder Lopez

I realized the other day that I haven't shared much about what its like to live in Ecuador... so here I go :)

Food- Ecuatorianos eat a ton of rice with every single meal, a mean a ton of rice every day and every meal. If you're in Ecuador serving food and you're not serving rice...you got problem! haha but its great because I'm always hungry and eat a lot and there's always plenty of rice :) they eat lot of sopa de pollo (chicken soup technically but its much better than your average can of Campbells trust me) and they eat bananas in every single way, shape, size, and form that you could possibly imagine. Haha and they have like 5 different names for every type of banana depending on how you prepare which was very confusing for me at first but I got it down now. Lots of vegetables and lots of fresh fruit :) its great! 

Culture- Extremely friendly, down to earth, and humble people. Empalme is a little tiny town and so some of this might be more Empalmeño than it is Ecuatoriano. Yes its cliche but its still true, the people here have almost nothing but they give you everything. They are givers and they just want you to feel welcome and they want to know how you like their country. The majority of people have lived in the same place their whole life and their family for generations and generations has lived there as well so they know their town very well. Also there's lots of people that when they see me immediately want to try to speak English with me, ask me questions, tell me about their family or friends that live in the US, or just stare at me with a fixed gaze (gasp) gringo! I've heard that in big cities like Guayaquil there are more Americans so its not quite as intense but here in little Emplame its pretty funny just walking down the street and getting lots of shouts of "Hey you my friend!" 

Fun Facts- The doors, buses, and lots of other things are not built for tall people...thus there have been several times when I'm not paying attention and then...¨Whack!" I hit my head on something haha but no worries its much more funny than it is painful. There's a lot more to tell for sure and I'll be sure to include more fun facts or stories about Ecuador in future emails.

This week has been the best week of my mission. We had lots of lessons with members, tons of referrals, lots of investigators that attended church, and we surpassed nearly all of our goals for the week. We're happy working hard, being obedient, and enjoying our mission. 

Remember to do the little things every day (study the scriptures, pray sincerely, and serve others) its constant diligence in doing the little things everyday that allows us to continue growing, progressing, and improving and eventually become who God wants us to be.

Upward only :) 

Con amor,

Elder Remington

Poniendo Nuestra Confianza en Dios :)

Familia y Amigos,

Ahora solo voy a escribir en español. Entonces les aconsejo que ustedes aprendan y puedan entender español si queiren leer mis correos electronicos :) van a ser bendicidos por su esfuerzos de entender un otra idioma de los hijos de Dios. ¡Jaja bromeo no se preocupen! 

{Loosely translated:
From now on, I will only write to you in Spanish. Then I counsel you to learn and understand Spanish so you may read my emails :) You will be blessed for your efforts to understand another language of God's children.  Don't worry, I'm just teasing!}

No don't worry I won't do that to you. But I realized the other day that I now officially think and have dreams in all Spanish! At first it took a lot of effort to force myself to try and think in Spanish because I knew it would help me learn faster but now it comes naturally and its strange to think and speak English. The weirdest thing is that if I remember something that happened back home, I remember what happened and what was said but translated to Spanish. It's really strange and I'm not sure if that's something that normally happens with foreign missionaries but it's pretty intense. 

Anyway this week we had a conference for all the new missionaries with President Amaya that was incredible. I learned a ton and have been putting into practice a lot of the insights I had there. Something that really hit me was that we need to focus on teaching the doctrine. One of the Assistants Elder Hansey taught that the doctrine=why, the principle=what, and the application= how. Often times we focus on the principle but we don't help them understand the doctrine of why that principle is so important. For example, in Ecuador its very for couples to live together, have kids, and live like a normal family but they never get married and therefore we often have investigators who want to get baptized and have testimonies but they have to get married first. Many times as missionaries we just focus on the principle or the ¨what¨ they need to do... Get Married!! We just keep telling them that marriage is important and they need to get married to be baptized and we try to commit them to do it. Much more effective than that is teaching and helping them understand why marriage is important and why they need to be married and promise specific blessings of how it will bless them. We need to teach them the fundamental doctrine that the power to create life is a sacred gift given to us lovingly by our Heavenly Father and that this gift is so sacred and special that it should only be used in the bonds of marriage or we are misusing this power that God has entrusted us with. We need to teach the doctrine that they will be blessed with more peace, self-confidence, and inner-respect by keeping this sacred commandment and being married. If we teach them and promise them that they will have more love in their home, be better examples to their children, and be blessed with greater capacity to raise their children in righteousness by being married then we won't have to try and convince them to get married. If we teach true doctrine and they understand the true doctrine, they will have a sincere desire within themselves to make this change in their life and keep this commandment of God. As President Packer said, ¨True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.¨ Helping people understand the doctrine is key. 

For all the future missionaries out there remember that and apply it in your missions because it will help you be much more effective and it will bless your investigators. And really this can be applied to any situation. Future missionaries, Sunday school teachers, parents, and anyone else who wants to teach effectively. Teach the doctrine. If you have a child who won't share his toys with his brothers rather than just trying to correct the behavior by telling him ¨what¨ to do... ¨Share with your brother!¨ instead focus on the doctrine of ¨why¨ he needs to share with his brother and how it will bless his life. Teach him the doctrine that when he serves his brother by sharing he is serving God (Matthew 25:40 and Mosiah 2:17). If the child comes to understand this fundamental doctrine you won't have to force him to share... he will want to share with his brother and he will want to be better. 

In our ward we our having some problems with a lot of people gossiping and saying negative things about leaders. Remember that leaders are called of God and that we need to support them and love them. Also remember that we should never gossip AND we shouldn't listen to gossip. I know that its natural to want to know what happened because we're curious but we need to not gossip ourselves and we need to not encourage gossip but not listening. It's hard but its important. 

Something else a leader said is that there is never a good reason to raise your voice and raising your voice never makes things better it always makes things worse. No matter how upset we are it is much better to pause, take a walk, take some time to think, get a better perspective of things and then communicate calmly with love. I think that if we put this principle in practice it will greatly help us in all of our relationships. 

I´m learning a lot from these humble, happy, friendly people in Ecuador. I can feel the Lord shaping me and molding me into the person that I need to be. For any of you out there considering going on a mission I have three simple words... just do it. It has blessed my life in so many ways and already in just three months I have made incredible changes and overcome major weaknesses like my impatience, inability to remember directions, and my pride just to name a few. On top of that I have been able to strengthen my talents even more and use them to bless the lives of others. I promise that the decision to go on a mission is one you will never regret :) 

Love,  

Elder Remington 

Messages from Elder Remington

Dear Friends & Family,

The past two weeks Jacoby hasn't written a general email message to everyone. And since many of you actually wait for his Monday letters to arrive, and want to know how he is doing, I decided to put together an email that has messages that he wrote to his sisters these past two weeks.  I asked Jessica and Eliza if they were ok with me sharing this advice that Jacoby gave to them, with everyone, and they said yes it was ok.  So just remember as you are reading the messages below, they were written to Jessica and Eliza, but I think it's good advice for all of us.  Enjoy:

"Keep being a good example to others and keep learning and growing every single day. Improve everday. Remember that the Lord wants you to be better next year than you were this year."

"Make scripture study a daily habit that you keep with you for the rest of your life. It will get you through any hard times you have and will make your high school years much more happy and secure :) I love you lots little sister!" 

"Reading the Bible is a great idea and if you want to do it...do it! But make sure that you always read the Book of Mormon along with reading the Bible, as they are both testaments of Jesus Christ and work hand in hand.  Remember that the Old Testament of the Bible was written for the children of Israel and the New Testament was written for the saints following the time of Jesus when the Apostles were ministering in different parts along the Mediterranean Sea. The Book of Mormon was written specifically for us. It was written for our time in these the latter-days :) President Ezra Taft Benson has several great talks that emphasize specifically the importance of the Book of Mormon (I highly recommend looking them up and reading them on lds.org) in one of them that I'll never forget he points out something I hadn't thought of before that made me really appreciate the Book of Mormon even more. In restoring the Gospel of Jesus Christ back to the earth one of the first things the Lord did was reveal the gold plates to Joseph Smith so that he could begin translating and eventually publish the Book of Mormon. Before the Aaronic Priesthood was restored, before the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored, and before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized with its first meeting, the Lord began the translation of the Book of Mormon because it is the convincing evidence of the truthfulness of the Restoration. As the last paragraph of the Introduction to the Book of Mormon clearly explains that by gaining a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon we can know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet called of God and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's Kingdom once again established on the earth. Essentially, reading the Book of Mormon everyday fortifies our testimony of the Book of Mormon and thus our testimony of this gospel. And on top of that it brings the Spirit of God more abundantly into our lives to lead and guide us, helps us feel inner peace, and when we apply it to our lives it provides answers to our everyday problems and trials."

"A mission is a lot of hard work, has lots of ups and downs, is extremely spiritual, an experience in which you can feel the Lord molding you into the person that He needs you to become, an incredible adventure, the best two years of and for my life, and an experience that I want my future wife to have because I don't care who you are you can't tell me that 1.5 years of service dedicated 100% to the Lord isn't going to make you a better person (spiritually, mentally, emotionally, etc) than you were before your mission. Yep. That just about sums it up :) "

From, Elder Remington

New Companion!

Family and friends,

Elder Lopez and Elder Remington

This week we had changes and I got a new companion :) His name is Elder Lopez from Reu, Guatemala and he is incredible. He's hilarious, positive, upbeat, works hard, loves the people, teaches clearly and with the Spirit, knows his scriptures like the back of his hand, and he is obedient. I love the guy and we get along great! He also knows quite a bit of English too which is fun because we can have little discussions sometimes if necessary and no one has any idea what we're saying. We are very similar in that we know how to work hard and enjoy ourselves at the same time. He has a good sense of balance with that and a great sense of humor. I never realized how important having a good sense of humor was to me but it seriously makes a huge difference in a companionship. It's especially helpful during tough days when there's a lot of rejection or investigators that aren't progressing. It helps you stay positive and keep going with a smile :) I'm very grateful to the Lord for blessing me with Elder Lopez as a companion. The best thing about him is that he is completely focused on his purpose as a missionary. He is here to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them received the Restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, BAPTISM :), receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. He's a great example to me, I'm learning everyday from him, and I'm enjoying it. 

I don't have a lot of time to write this week unfortunately but one thing I wanted to share with everyone is that I've been learning to not worry about what other people think of me and just focus on what God wants me to be. A big weakness of mine is that I often worry way to much what others will think or say about me. I'm improving on that and I sincerely want to make that weakness a strength of mine because the truth is that it doesn't matter what others think. I encourage everyone to really sit and ponder and ask yourself if you're doing things for other people or for God. Focus on God. When we put Heavenly Father as the first priority in our life then every other aspect of our life will improve. It's that simple. 

I love you all and wish you the best :) Remember to be grateful for everything that you have and smile :)

Elder Remington

Upward Only

Family and friends :)

I'd like to share one of my favorite quotes from the book Our Search for Happiness by M. Russell Ballard that describes the blessings a missionary receives through his experiences as he continues to learn, "Weaknesses become strengths, challenges become opportunities, trials become triumphs, and adversity becomes an adventure in the service of the Lord- another fruit of gospel living." Wow that quote really hit me! It is such an accurate description. And it doesn't just apply to missionaries it can apply to all of us in our everyday lives. Everyday we can learn from our mistakes and become better and more like the person God wants us to be. Heavenly Father truly wants us to be better this year than we were last year. He wants us to learn and progress every single day. This quote reminded me of something my great friends Drew and Ashton Hosford shared with me. Their phrase is "upward only" and what it basically encapsulates what Elder Ballard was saying that as long as we're always repenting and learning from our mistakes and trying to do better than our lives will be like a steady incline going upwards only. Eternally progressing and becoming more like Jesus Christ. Through the Atonement and our desire to change, literally being perfected and molded by the Lord into the person that we need to be. Upward only. There's power in that phrase and power in living with a mindset like that.

I sincerely recommend that everyone read Our Search for Happiness. It's brief, clear, spiritual, and powerful just like we try to be as missionaries. It teaches the doctrine of Christ plainly and it isn't just for members of the church. For those of you reading this email who are not members of the church that have wondered what it is that we believe and would like to know more about our beliefs I'd recommend that book its perfect for you. Also while I'm recommending books I realized the other day how much a certain book has helped me here in the mission, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Now I realize that as a missionary it isn't the most common book to recommend but seriously it is incredible. I read it my senior year of high school and I use principles from that book every single day. It teaches fundamental principles like the importance of smiling and how much of a difference it can make, expressing sincere appreciation to everyone, and precious pearls of wisdom like the importance of remembering people's names. Remember that to everyone the sound of their own name is the sweetest sound in the English (or Spanish) language. Little things but they make a huge difference trust me :) as missionaries we meet tons of new people everyday and there is such a huge difference between the Elders who always say "Oh sorry remind me your name again" and the Elders who testify of gospel truths and apply them personally to the investigator while using the name of the investigator (while having a big smile on their face). These are all small things but remember Alma 37:6-7 ;) 

But of course of all the books that I can recommend by far the most important book that anyone can read is the Book of Mormon. Read it everyday. And don't just read it. Study, ponder, pray, feast upon the word, and really submerge yourself in the Book of Mormon and apply personally to your life and problems that you're having or questions that you need helped with (1 Nephi 19:23). While at BYU the year before I left for the mission I had the privilege and opportunity to read the Book of Mormon everyday for thirty minutes. What a blessing! That strengthened me so much in my life, helped me overcome great struggles, and prepared me substantially for my mission. Remember that reading the Book of Mormon is like brushing your teeth. I used to have the attitude of "Oh well if I don't read it today I can read extra tomorrow or extra on Sunday its no big deal." Wrong! That's like saying oh I'm not gonna brush my teeth this week because I'll just use seven times the toothpaste on Sunday and it'll be the same I'm still brushing my teeth its all good. No way! That would be disgusting and your teeth would rot and your breath would stink horribly. The same principle applies with reading the Book of Mormon. Our teeth have plaque that builds up everyday and so we brush our teeth everyday. We sin and make mistakes and have temptations every single day and so we need to read the scriptures and pray everyday. It strengthens us and keeps us protected from the onslaught of temptation we have to face everyday. When you don't brush your teeth you have dirty teeth. When you don't read your scriptures and pray its like having a dirty soul. Which is more important to you?     

Study the Book of Mormon every single day and it will bring great blessings of protection, spiritual strength, peace, comfort, happiness, and joy in your life. 

I love you all and hope you're happy and learning and growing everyday :)

Upward Only!

Elder Remington

A Marvelous Work

Dearest family and friends,

Greetings from Ecuador! Another fantastic week here. We had a baptism for a very humble and hard working man named Jose Gorosabel. Also, two young girls named Joselyn and Nataly Borrero were baptized. Friends of Jose were there and the whole family and several friends of the Borrero family were there it was amazing! The ward mission leader is the uncle of Joselyn and Nataly and his daughter gave an amazing talk about how much the gospel has really changed and improved her life and her family. We have high hopes for the Borrero family that they will get baptized as well because they've already listened to several of the lessons and are very interested as well. I know that especially as they see the change in their daughters they will desire the same joy for themselvese personally through baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

I also sent a picture to show the various types of places we get to see out here in this mission. In this mission we get to go to places like that out in the middle of nowhere and we also get to teach people in the busy city as well. I love the contrast and the variety! I was going to send a picture of me in the city as well to demonstrate the stark contrast between the different places in our sector but its not safe to take pictures in the middle of the city because other people might want to kindly borrow the camera we use haha! 

This Wednesday was an amazing day for me that really taught me about the importance of always having a good attitude and having faith. We had to travel about an hour to get to the house of Johanna and Shandry, two investigators who are very interested and really want to be baptized, but first we need the permission of the dad. The dad works every single day from about 6:00 am to 9:00 pm needless to say he is very busy and we usually never see him because he's always gone while wer're there. We were hoping that somehow, someway he would be there when we arrived but when we got there... nope he wasn't home. At this point I was feeling really low because I was already feeling very sick that day and I felt we had just traveled for over an hour for nothing! But then as we began to teach a lesson, the dad showed up! We talked with him and told him that as servants of the Lord we had the responsiblity to disern who is ready for baptism and we testified that his children were ready and that baptism and the Holy Ghost would bring great blessings into their lives and it would bless every member of their family. He signed the form and we got the permission!!! Woohoo! I was so happy and I learned to never give up or lose hope. As long as we are doing our part the Lord will bless us. 

Love you all,

Elder Remington

Saving Souls and Loving It!

Family and friends,

Holy Smokes! This week I learned that missionary work is hard work. It's hard work but well worth it. I remember before the mission I used to only get about 4-6 hours of sleep (I know its terrible) and could do just fine with that for the most part so when I heard that in the mission we get 8 hours of sleep everyday I was stoked and thought I would never ever be tired while getting that much sleep everyday! And in the MTC that was correct because the MTC is mostly just sitting in a classroom studying and learning. I was never very tired and most of the nights I would lay there for a good hour before falling asleep because I wasn't tired at all. But here in the field I've been working like a dog and even with 8 hours of sleep I'm tired a lot cause its hard work! Some nights after planing, getting ready for bed, and saying our prayers I literally fall onto my bed and I'm out cold the second my head hits the pillow. Although I'm dead tired and there are a lot of challenges in missionary work, I'm loving it! I'm tired sometimes but its the result working hard to bring about the salvation of souls and bring joy into people's lives, thus its a good tired and I'm loving it. There are many challenges but I'm learning and growing from each of them. With each challenge, I'm able to show my faith and then increase my faith as a result of overcoming that challenge. Missionary work is exciting :)

I've really seen that there's a huge difference between working hard and working smart. Both are important and I always try to make sure I do both because the time I have here on the mission is the Lord's time not mine and it's sacred time so I want to use it wisely and efficiently. My companion and I have started planning out our weeks so that MWF we're in one west part of our area and TTHS we are in another east part so that we can be more efficient and save both money and time. On Sundays we go to the most important people like those with a baptism that week. We always try to schedule appointments with people who live close to one another on the same day near the same time. If any of you have any tips on how to be more efficient and how to work both hard and smart then I'd really appreciate it :) also tips on how to work best with a companion would be nice :) you can send them to my mom and she forward them to me or just send them straight to me :) thanks! 

I don't have much time today and I couldn't write as much because I literally have wanted to write in Spanish quite a few times. Its like having writer's block but times 10 haha. Anyway, this is God's true church and it blesses lives. As a missionary I have the opportunity to see first hand how those who live the gospel are happy and those who don't live the gospel are miserable. So choose wisely! Remember you can be smart and happy or stupid and miserable the choice is yours :) I hope you all choose well and hope you all are happy and find ways to draw nearer to God this week :)

Love,

Elder Remington

Another Amazing Week in Ecuador!

Family and friends,

Jorge and his wife getting married

Empalme, Ecuador is such a blessed place and I'm so very grateful to be serving here. The first picture is of Jorge and his wife getting married so that Jorge can be baptized. And of course the next picture is Jorge (the one wearing white next to my companion haha) with his family before the baptism. Exciting stuff! Jorge is a very humble and kind man. He sales juice on the street as his job and has very little temporal things but since his baptism he has so much spiritually. It's been such a privilege to see that change that the gospel of Jesus Christ has brought into his life. He has more peace in his home, his relationship with his wife has greatly improved, and he has the light of Christ in his eyes :) he's happy and his family can see the difference. They were all there at the baptism as well as lots of his friends and they were all truly touched! I have great hopes for them all especially his wife and daughter, they will be baptized this month if everything goes according to plan! Missionary work is so exciting because it keeps building on itself. One baptism is a great finding opportunity which leads to more baptisms and those lead to more and more and the cycle continues. But its important to remember that we're not just here to increase the number of members in the church. We're here to serve the people of Ecuador both physically and spiritually and bring them peace, happiness, and joy into their lives by coming unto Christ and accepting the Restored Gospel. I'm so thankful to be a part of this work, bringing about the salvation of souls :)

Something fun that happened the other day; we were at a member's house running late for our next appointment and one of the members offered to give us a ride and of course we accepted but then we found out that all he had was a rather small motorcycle but we didn't want to offend him and we didn't want to be late so we both hoped on the back and held on for dear life! It was pretty crowded but it was lots of fun :) I was surprised that it wasn't against the rules but my companion said in our mission there are some sectors where the members only have motorcycles so we can use them. The drivers and motorcyclists here are crazy! Not quite as crazy as they were in Thailand but crazy nonetheless!

Jorge with his family before the baptism

We're teaching a 21 year old young man named Jofre (pronouced Yofree – haha I know dad would butcher his name if I didn't do that) and he is very ready for the Gospel. He's excited to learn more every time we teach him and his baptismal date is June, 23rd he's a great young man. In our last lesson he had a question that I have asked myself several times before and I´m sure all of us have wondered this at times. He basically said, "I know that it's important to have faith in Christ, but how do I gain faith in Christ? And how do I increase my faith in Jesus Christ?" When he asked this the Spirit burned within me and I shared my testimony with him of how we can build our faith in Christ everyday by doing the little things. We opened to Alma 37:6-7 (scripture mastery and one of my favorites) and I shared with him that in my life I have truly seen that the little things like praying sincerely everyday, studying my scripture especially the Book of Mormon everyday, and serving others have helped my faith to grow everyday and have solidified my conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ little by little everyday. I want to share with all you that truly by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. We can't just pray for faith and then the Lord will snap his fingers and BAM our faith increases. We have to demonstrate our commitment to Christ by our works everyday. Faith without works is dead and good works allow us to preserve a living and burning faith in Jesus Christ. Always remember, that everyday of our lives we are either getting worse or better. There isn't a single day that we just stay at the same level of spirituality. Everyday, based on our works, we are spiritually progressing or spiritually digressing. Or better said, everyday our hearts are drawing closer to God or pulling farther away from God. We have our agency, we get to decide which it will be and we get to make this decision everyday. The way we spiritually grow, develop, become more Christlike, and have our hearts nearer to God everyday is by doing the little things. I encourage every one of you reading this email to decide everyday to give quality time to the Lord by praying fervently, studying the word of God, and doing good works for God's children. I promise you all that as you give quality time and quality works to the Lord, the Lord will give you quality blessings and will increase the overall quality of every aspect of your life.

Wow its weird to be writing in English, I've gotten really used to speaking, hearing, and even thinking in Spanish its pretty crazy. Oh and speaking of English, I'm going to be teaching an English class once a week every Saturday :) my companion and I were trying to think of other ways we can find people to teach and we prayed about this and we know this will be a great opportunity. The Bishop announced the class in Sacrament meeting and we're going to tell all our street contacts and investigators about it and all the youth in the ward are excited to attend and bring their friends along too!! Oh and dad you are totally right about working with the members it works way better :) we've had a lot of solid references from the members especially the new converts because they're way fired up about the gospel! I'm excited to use English as a means to find more of God's children to teach them the gospel and bless their lives :) I'm hoping that the English classes are fun, spiritual, and educational. Most importantly, I hope it leads us to find and teach the elect of God.

Everything here is great. It's a lot of work and at times it's sad to see people you love and care for that use their agency to make poor choices but the good times are well worth the bad times!! I'm having the time of my life here! It truly is quite the adventure to be here and everyday see sights that I had only previously seen in movies! I'm adjusting to the culture and to the weather haha you pretty much just accept that fact that you're going to be very sweaty all the time! I have truly the happiest that I've ever been in my life!

I love you very much :)
Elder Remington

First Week in Ecuador!

Hello family and friends :)

Elder Remington & Elder Alvarez

Wow where do I even begin... so much has happened in the past week its crazy! So first of all I finally brought my camera with me for email writing time so I have some pictures of the mtc and Ecuador. The first two are my two companions in the mtc (the white Elder was in my intermediate class and obviously Elder Jarquin was in the advanced class) they're both great and I was super close with both of them. Then the picture of Elder Alvarez and I was taken outside of our house. That's the only picture of Ecuador that I have so far cause I haven't had much time to take any but don't worry mom I will take more and send more next week :) Elder Alvarez is a great trainer, obedient, hardworking, and funny but he doesn't speak any English! This has made communicating and working together effectively very difficult at times but luckily my Spanish has been improving tremendously and whenever there's a word I don't understand he's really good at either acting out the word or describing it in a way that I can understand :) we make it work! His patience, his ability to teach me well, the fact that I'm surrounded by people who only speak Spanish, and above all blessings and strength from the Lord have all helped my mastering of Spanish accelerate at a phenomenal rate! Elder Alvarez says that I speak fluent and my accent is solid I just need to improve my ability to understand everything that I hear because when they get going super fast I only understand about 50% haha but luckily I can almost always say what I want to say. I was talking with the Bishop's wife when we had lunch at their house and she said that I speak the language as well as some American missionaries do when they've been out a year in the field so that made me feel pretty good :) I know that it truly isn't me though all credit goes to the Lord. When we put our trust in him and do our part by being obedient and working hard then the Lord blesses us. I've learned this week that the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation are real and they really can bless our lives if we put our faith in the Lord and are in tune to the Spirit :)

Oh also before I forget I want to apologize for some of my comments in the last email. After having written that I realized that it's not my place to judge, people aren't perfect, and I need to focus on seeing the good in people not harping on the negative things. Those missionaries that goof around during study time are human and they have a lot to learn but I shouldn't have been so hard on them. And I'm no where near perfect either. I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go so I wanted to say that yes there are missionaries who mess around during study time and they shouldn't do that but I need to focus on the positive things. The truth is the majority of the missionaries in the mtc and the field have burning testimonies of Christ that they want to share with the world and they're doing a good job :)

Anyway, I also wanted to say that it was great chatting with you mom and dad at the airport and congrats to Jessica and Eliza on their graduations :) exciting times and lots of changes for all of us! Thanks for keeping me posted on how the family's doing and what's new in America haha. Oh also in answer to your question I found out that anyone can send me emails but I unfortunately cannot write emails to anyone except for family. So if you could tell Tyler Lythgoe, Russell, Arianna, and Aunt Tami that I can't write them back but that I really appreciated there emails and it was great hearing from them :) oh and Russell or I guess Elder Fischer was asking for my address so if you could let him and anyone else know that it's this below that'd be great thanks :) love to hear from anyone who wants to email or write a letter.

Mission Ecuador Guayaquil Norte
Edificio Mallorca 4 Piso
Casilla 16160
Guayquil- Ecuador

An amazing quote that I heard was "Obedience brings blessings and exact obedience brings forth miracles" BAM! Is that powerful or what? I love that quote and here in the field I've been doing my best to apply it everyday :) also in the field I have found scripture mastery to be incredibly useful in multiple teaching situations. I am sad that I didn't take scripture mastery very seriously with Old Testament as a freshman but I am extremely grateful that I worked hard and focused on knowing my Book of Mormon scripture mastery inside and out because that has paid off big time! Scripture mastery is very very useful not only as a missionary but in our daily lives whenever we have a trial or a question. So Eliza and anyone else that is in seminary take scripture mastery seriously and work hard because I promise it will be well worth.

I'm sorry I don't have as much time as I wanted to describe Ecuador but let me give you a brief overview and I'll go into more detail next week. Ecuador is incredible! I love it here! It truly is a completely different world here. Words cannot adequately describe the poverty we see here everyday and yet these people are so happy. I know its cliche and cheesy and utterly unoriginal but its so true that I have to say it... money does not bring happiness. The most important things in this life are the gospel and our families and when those are the first priorities in our life then we'll have peace, joy, and happiness in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come :) it has been a wonderful experience already to be immersed in a new culture and share precious truths with the people of Empalme, Ecuador (Empalme is the name of my first area) Empalme is a small town and one of the poorest areas in the mission but one of the highest baptizing areas in the mission :) cha ching! I love it here! I am literally the only white person in the entire town and I am at least a foot taller than everyone here so needless to say I stick out big time! It's pretty funny to see the look on people's faces when they see a giant gringo in a shirt and tie walking up to their house hah a especially the little kids because some of truly have never seen an American before in their entire lives! Anyway it's great here I love learning more about Ecuador and the people love to hear stories about the United States and my family :) its amazing!

This is the true church of Jesus Christ established on the earth and we are all so blessed to have it in our lives to bless and protect us everyday. Never forget it!
I love you all very much :)
Elder Remington