Good Times

Family and Friends,

I am very happy and have my heart full of gratitude these days. I am so happy and thankful for all that my Heavenly Father has given me. He's blessed me with a wonderful companion that is such a positive and humble hard worker, a zone full of good happy and hardworking missionaries, a powerful and inspired Mission President, two greart leaders and friends as APs who always give great advice and guidance, members that support us and love us, chosen investigators that are so wonderful, and powerful converts that share the gospel and have powerful testimonies. Alexandra (a convert from last month) is already in Alma in the Book of Mormon and she sits right next to our investigators that we bring to church and in the lessons with them she straight up motivates them and tells them not be scared, to trust in the Lord, and to be BAPTIZED. She shares how much her baptism and this church have blessed and changed her life for the better. Today I was singing all afternoon in the house very happy and I hope to share this happiness with everyone!

There are quite a few pictures so just to explain a few of them we had 3 great baptisms of Joselyn, Joshua, and Adrian. Joselyn is a single mom who has great neighbors that are members and really welcomed her in to the church and we're already teaching a few of her friends and they have baptismal dates :) Joshua is the nephew of some members that we're less active but we rescued them and baptized him :) two birds with one stone and now they all go to church together and they're quite happy! Adrian is the younger brother of a recent convert named Andres and he is super solid and is one of the few kids here who likes basketball more than soccer wow! It was great to see his big brother baptize him.

The picture of two crazy guys hugging each other is of Elder Rallison and I just before Elder Rallison left to Guayaquil for transfers. He is an AWESOME missionary and great friend and it truly was a joy to have him in the zone and work side by side with him. He will be missed but we know that he's doing great things where he is and it's the Lord' will so its whats best :) also the Lord blessed us greatly as a zone and we were able to pass the goal and we will be celebrating with President Amaya and the APs soon :) good times! 

We worked our tails off as a zone and it paid off :) There were several keys to our success this month and many are found in the 8 Attributes but here are a few that stand out in particular. We followed all the instructions and guidance of President and the APs especially about being submerged in the Work of Salvation with lots and lots of lessons with members, referrals, and rescuing less actives. We were like pilots looking at the gauges and levels of the planes making sure the planes flies smoothly and successfully. We did the same every week and every day with the Key Indicators. Every Sunday night we counted the totals and compared with past weeks and were attentive to tendencies or weak points or progress to help keep improving every week. We focused on the spiritual growth and progress of every individual in our zone, especially with the district leaders in making sure that they became strong lions of leaders confident and capable in what they were doing so that they could then take good care of the missionaries in their district. There are many more but I'll have to share next week! 

Something that I felt would be important to share... many members and missionaries think that it is just plain evil and wrong to talk about numbers and goals and that you should just focus on people. It is natural to think that at first but its important to remember that when used in the right way numbers and goals are a powerful instrument in bringing about eternal salvation to more people. Of course we need to be focused on people and make sure that we don't get to carried away with only wanting to have impressive statistics. But when used with a proper balance and an understanding that like PME teaches each number represents a son or daughter of God, then numbers and goals are necessary and valuable. As President Monson taught, When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.  And he is a living example of that as the Prophet of God. What was the first thing President Monson announced at General Conference? Numbers! He said that there are currently over 15 million members and over 80 thousand missionaries serving. The Lord has said that He has His sheep counted and it is important to count for Him so we need to follow His example. (3 Nephi 18:31). 

Remeber to be humble and make changes when the Spirit gives you whispers of correction. 

Love,

Elder Remington

I'm alive and well :)

I am not yet dead. There's just less hair on my head  

I am not yet dead. I'll soon have to go to bed haha

Hey today was a crazy day and with President's permission we had to travel to Guayaquil and back for some appointments and office things that you can only do there. Long story short I don't have time to write much today but just so you know I'm all good and super happy with Elder Galvan and the wonderful zone that we have here working hard :) we passed our goal by 5 this month and we're well set for next month woohoo! Also President said he already did the endorsement so you should be good to sign me up for classes.

Hahaha yes yes I already knew that Connor's mom was famous lol, for me the most impressive is that his dad was a mission president! But yeah, for many reasons they really are an incredible family and its a privilege to have Connor as a friend. Thanks for all the updates on the Utah trip :) You are wonderful. 

I sure love you all, and next week I'll have lots of cool pictures and stories to share! 

Your son,

Elder Remington

Elder Remington's Mother: For those of you who grew up in Utah, Jacoby's friend that he will be rooming with at BYU has a famous mom....at least she's known in Utah.  You may have watched her on channel 2 news as a KUTV anchor woman for 30 years.  Her name is Michelle King, and her son Connor is Jacoby's great friend.  Anyway I thought it was kind of cool to be talking on the phone with Michelle King as we set up housing for our sons to live together at BYU in the fall.

The Power of One

Family and Friends, 

Over the past few weeks I have had several exeriences that have really blown me away and showed me how much a difference one can make. I am thoroughly convinced that all of us have a much bigger influence and impact on the world than we will ever be able to truly comprehend. We need to be sure that everyday we are giving our all and being the best we can because we never know how much good we can do and how much of a positive influence we can have. 

The other day Elder Galvan told me that his companion had given a great training session on how to have a successful zone and he wanted to share it with me for our zone... he pulled out the 8 Attributes of a Successful Zone (his companion had been a district leader in one of my zones). I laughed and said yeah sounds like a good idea. Another day we were in a district meeting and an Elder started sharing the importance of giving daily follow up and shared the brushing teeth example and said that when he heard that it totally changed his perspective and helped him out big time and that we should all use it. A sister missionary from my zone a while back has a phrase that I said (that I didn't even remember) written on the front of her daily planner as her mission motto to motivate her everyday. Various of my old district leaders or Elders or Sisters that were in my zones have told me how much they used various tips or strategies that they learned with us and how much its helped them. Converts, members from old areas, and various other people and circumstances will help one's name live on forever. And there are so many things like that in which I would've never known. The other day I asked an Elder who was one of his best converts and what was it like to teach him and when he was baptized. And he told me that his best convert was someone that they found through a referral by Elder Magill when he did an interchange.. I said wow sweet (that gives me hope that some of the referals and things I did in interchanges also lead to baptisms) did you tell Elder Magill about that convert?!? He said no. Elder Magill has no idea. There are so many things that we do and ripple effects that we can have and not even realize it. I'll never forget the first assistants that were here when I first arrived on the mission Elder McGinn and Elder Hancock. There are things they did and things that taught me that I'll never forget and that I used as a assistant that helped me a lot and they have no idea. The best part is that Elder McGinn had already been out on the mission for about 23 months when I got here and he was about to finish but he still kept going strong and giving it all until the end. Can you imagine if he had been trunky and not taught me those things I would've missed out on a great learning experience that has helped me for all my mission. Its so important to go hard and finish strong until the end because you never know how much you can influence someone and how much of an impact you can have and then they will bring many souls to Christ thanks to what they learned from you. 

Elder Randall shared a powerful phrase with me. He said, "You have two years to serve a mission and you have the rest of your life to think about it." That's why you need to serve the best you can and give it all. This work is true and its glorious. D&C 128:21-22 Let us go on in so great a cause! 

Love,

Elder Remington

Baptisms and Happy Times

[Editor's Note: The other photos mentioned are forthcoming].

Family and Friends,

We had a lovely baptism this weekend with 5 investigators from our sector and 2 from San Camilo 1. The first picture is of Alexandra and her daughter Daniela. When we first got transferred here the missionaries that had been here before told us about her and gave us a general description of where she lived and wished us the best of luck in finding her saying that she was a great person and super interested but... they hadn't updated the area book and hadn't made a teaching record for her so it was very difficult to find her and for the first week we searched and searched and searched but we couldn't find her. On Saturday we spent a good long while looking for her and asking people nearby where she lived and finally we found her. Hallelujah!! It was awesome when we found her because, after so many times of asking for an Alexandra Cortes and not having any luck, she opened her door with a big smile and when we asked her name she said ¨Alexandra Cortes¨ Wooohooo!! We taught her and put a baptismal date in that same day and she accepted and progressed very well the whole time. She reads the Book of Mormon like crazy and she absolutely loves it. She's already finishing off 2 Nephi and she says every time she reads she feels like she gets taken away from all her worries and feels great peace inside. Her testimony is super strong and she's already sharing the gospel with her family and friends. One of her nieces will soon be baptized and when she shares her testimony it really invites the Spirit because she talks about how her heart was full of anger and sadness because of a lot of trials she had gone through but that ever since we started teaching her and she's been praying, reading, and going to church that everything has changed and her heart is full of happiness and gratitude. I'm sure this sounds cliche and exaggerated but literally that is exactly what she says and you can feel the truthfulness of her words and you can see a light in her eyes. She is awesome and is already making lots of friends in the ward and will be a great member missionary and leader in the church. 

The second picture is of Carlos Romero and the third is with his wife Cristina Romero and his brother Ricardo Romero. Ricardo Romero is the first counselor in the bishopric and is a very happy and positive man. We shared a message with his family after lunch and motivated them to introduce us to one of their friends to share the gospel with and he mentioned his brother and sister-in-law Carlos and Cristina. He said they had already listened to tons of missionaries before for years and that they always would listen for a bit, go to some church activities, but then stop listening and never wanted to get baptized at all. We encouraged him to introduce us anyway and set a date to do so. We went to their house on the same day that just so happened to be the birthday of Carlos and they received us very well, we taught the Restoration, and put a baptismal date and they accepted. They are super smart and they read and mark up and think about the pamphlets and the chapters in the Book of Mormon like crazy its awesome! They learn super well and prayed and know that the Book of Mormon is true and that the church is true. They are such good students that sometimes we show up and they've already read everything and they basically just teach themselves sharing everything that they learned and then we focus on some key points, share a scripture, testify, and commit them to live those principles. They are a joy to teach and its a privilege to know them. 

Carlos shared with us the other day an awesome experience he had a few weeks ago. He said that on the morning of his birthday he was feeling like he was missing something in his life and that he needed to do something different and have some change because he was turning 33 and he felt something was missing. He said that for the first time in years he knelt down in private and prayed out loud asking God to help him know what he needed to do differently and show him the way and he would follow... that same day later in the afternoon guess who showed up at his door? His brother with the missionaries. He said that the answer from God was very clear to him and that when we taught him it just motivate him even more and so he was baptized. It was great to see his brother baptize him and we're excited to see Carlos baptize his wife next week! 

Cristina has a baptismal date for next Saturday and is still a little indecisive but we have faith that she will do it! She knows it true she just has to be brave and do it!

The fourth picture is of Maria Monserrate. She had all the lessons taught and everything ready to be baptized when we got here a month ago but then she got discouraged by some of her friends from other churches and we hadn't seen anything of her since then all the sudden this week out of nowhere she decided she wanted to get baptized so we reviewed what she had learned, had her interview, and she was baptized! 

The fifth and sixth picture are of Maela Espinosa and her family. She had always gone to church and was nine years old and still not baptized because all the men in her family were less active. We were fortunate enough to be eating lunch with them and find out about her situation and were very happy to help. She is a great kid and super smart and now her family is going to church again its great! 

I am out of time but I love you all very much and hope you have a great week!

Elder Remington 

Busy and Happy

Dear Family and Friends,

A few weeks ago President Amaya told me, "Elder Remington, you can't even imagine just how many people in Quevedo are there waiting to receive the gospel from you... and there is little time." Those words of President Amaya, as always, were inspired and are coming true. The Lord really has been pouring out His blessings upon us this week with over 10 investigadores with a baptismal date, attending church, and progressing and many many more investigadores and referrals  coming along our way. We are so grateful and happy and they are such chosen and receptive people and families in which the parents are married (hard to find here in Ecuador) it's awesome! We're going to start doing a lot of splits with members in order to give a daily follow-up to all of them. We really have to use our time wisely these days! It is such a blessing to be here! 

This week I had the chance to interview a man named Pedro who has made huge changes in his life and was just baptized it was great! The first time I interviewed him  he still had some issues he had to work out so we postponed the baptism, put some goals with him, assigned him various scriptures to study and apply, and we scheduled another interview to see how he had progressed. The second time I interviewed him he had a completely new light about him and you could see in his  eyes that he had changed and was ready. He said he was excited to be baptized and born again with a new start. The gospel is true and its wonderful to see the blessings that it brings to so many people. 

Decide to have a good day and it will be a good day. 

Love,

Elder Remington 

Don't Cry Because Its Over, Smile Because It Happened

Dear Family and Friends, 

As a new year begins and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives.

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Those 9 wise words above and the great quote by Elder Holland have helped quite a bit in these past two weeks. For those of you who don't know, I had transfers two weeks ago and I'm now in the Promised Land of Zone Quevedo Sur 2 in sector San Camilo 2 with my great companion Elder Galvan from Buenos Aires, Argentina. This transfer came as a great surprise but has been and I know will continue to be a great blessing. To be honest at first it was really hard. I was with Elder Magill and all the great Elders from the office for 6 months and I really grew to love them and love being with them. As I was saying goodbye to them all one of the Elders (who is usually the tough guy and the one always making a joke of the group and rarely shows emotion) broke down in tears and said ¨Thanks so much for everything. I really love you.¨ Then Elder Magill said, ¨Don't you cry, cause then if you start crying, then I'm gonna start crying...¨ haha no one else really cried but we all felt a little strange and it was a very emotional day to say the least. Although it was very hard saying goodbye to Elder Magill and I still miss him a lot, I feel very grateful for all that we learned from each other and all that we accomplished. We really were like big caring loving brothers for all the missionaries here, they loved and respected us, with lots of hard work, prayers, fasting as a mission, and the help of the Lord we broke the record for most baptisms in a month as a mission in December with 331, we became more Christlike together, we had incredible learning experiences and conversations with President Amaya that I will forever treasure, I learned how to be a peacemaker something will truly bless me and my future family forever, we gave several great training sessions together one of which President asked for an unheard of encore and it was so great that even 4 months later President still quotes it and reminds missionaries of those principles that we taught, we both became stronger, better, and more Christlike leaders together, and many more things we were able to achieve that can't fully be explained. I know that it was no coincidence that we met before the mission and we're companions for 6 months and I know that we will be lifelong friends. 

I started my mission in El Empalme ward, right before going to the office I was in Quevedo ward, and now I am in San Camilo ward. This is my third time being in the Quevedo Sur stake haha but I am so very grateful for the blessing and privilege because this is an incredible stake. Its great because I already have a good relationship and confidence with so many people here that its a huge advantage in working with them because they already trust me and I already know the most effective way of working with them and how things go here in Quevedo. 

This is the first time in my mission that I have a companion with less time in the mission than I do... weird right! So this is a new and wonderful experience for me here with Elder Galvan. Its his first time being a zone leader so he was very nervous at the beginning as all of us are but its amazing how fast he's getting the hang of things and how much confidence he has in himself. He has a HUGE desire and faith that he is here to find and baptize FAMILIES. And he has done just that in every sector where he's been so far and now we are already starting to do that here with quite a few wonderful families that we are teaching. As always working with the members is key and we've had quite a few sweet referrals and we're teaching them with their friends and its going great. 

Never underestimate the power of your example and know that you will have a great influence on several people as you truly dedicate yourself to this work. There have been several moments in these weeks where I realize how much of a difference and impact one can have :) be patient with trials and little setbacks always remembering to smile and see the eternal in things and be grateful for all the blessings that the Lord gives you. Missionaries out there, know that transfers truly are inspired and there are people who need the gospel from YOU in your sector so find them and baptize them :) 

I love you all very much and hope that you put Christ as your center and you will be happy as you do so!

Elder Remington

Christmas and New Years

Family and Friends, 

Christmas Eve was lovely at the Amaya home. They invited all of us from the office over and we enjoyed delicious food, a spiritual message, Christmas hymns, happy conversation, and lots of laughter. President Amaya has always taught and always teaches the missionaries that the three keys to having a successful missionary are 

1. Concentrate your mind on the mission 

2. Submerge yourself in Preach My Gospel 

3. Have your Missionary Purpose between your eyebrows at all times. 

Thus we decided to have a little fun and made him this Christmas card of the three pillars and gave it to them. It was a hit. He and his family died laughing and absolutely loved it. He said he was going to scan it and send it to the missionaries so that they never forget those three principles. Also, we had bought President some Chex Mix a few months ago and he LOVED them and kept saying how wonderful and tasty they were. They only sale two flavors here so I asked a favor of my family and they sent us a ton of different flavors of Chex Mix (thanks again :) very much) and we wrapped them all up with the card and gave it to them on Christmas Eve. He opened a bag up right there and couldn't stop talking about how tasty those things are haha he said that it was the great pride of the gringos haha good stuff.  

Every Christmas Eve that I can remember has had a manger scene acted out while reading the Bible and I convinced the office that it just wouldn't be right that 2013 be any different and so we had a good time acting out the nativity scene when we got back from President's house (maybe he'll join us next time) and it was lots of fun and we finished it by singing Silent Night. Great experience. 

I would like to finish with two things that come to mind. First, never give up on anyone. No matter how many times they let you down or fail, never lose faith in people. Keep following the prophetic counsel at all times to see people not as they are but as they can become. I have had many experiences in this week that have helped me remember this important principle. One of the companionships here was having a lot of problems and although we had talked with them and committed them to improve, communicate, be positive, serve each other, etc. They weren't going any where and in fact they had only gotten worse and it finally got to the point that I lost hope in them and felt that we needed to tell President that this just wasn't going to work.... but then that very same day just a few hours before I would've called President, one of the missionaries of that companionship told me that he needed help and humbly asked me for advice on how to improve. My heart melted. I was truly touched and felt an overwhelming Spirit of love and kindness and a desire to help him and a real hope that he was going to change. We went into another room and I listened to him and listened to the Spirit and we reached some important conclusions and reviewed important principles. And he HAS IMPROVED! WOOHOO! HALLELUJAH! 

Lastly please never hold grudges. It simply isn't worth it. Too many people are plagued by the justification that ¨oh but its just that for me its hard to forgive that quickly¨ ¨Oh but this is something special, my case is different.¨ Its not hard. It is much easier and less painful than holding a grudge. Don't carry that heavy weight, give it up. Let go and choose the easier way (Matthew 11:28-30). The Lord is very clear that we need to forgive easily, quickly, and always and we'll be happier (D&C 64:9-12)

Love, 

Elder Remington