Letter 16 - 6/22/10

...so here's the general update.

Here's how cool the robbers are here. At least the ones that aren't in gangs. On Saturday, while Elder Robinson and I are getting ready for the baptism, This guy jumps off a bus and comes up behind us and says,"Remember me? I robbed you." (way to make an entrance) so this guy is nagging us for a dollar while we're trying to go drop off our stuff at the church building. We both had our cameras on us, but we just told him we didn't have anything. I told him again that we were broke and he just yelled, three inches away from my face, "AMERICANO!!!" All I thought was, "You have a very flawed argument ,sir." so I just sarcastically told him I'm Ecuadorian. He kinda looked at me confused for a second or two and called me a liar. To show that we really didn't have any money he pulled out his pocket. The guy nearly jumped out of his skin and told us not to do that because he didn't want it to look like he was robbing us. So I thought, "Oh, so you don't like that do you? Well take this." And I just pulled out all my pockets and was like, "See? We don't have anything." He got all miffed/scared and then left. It was pretty funny.

*Side note. Along with my "Costly Apparel" franchise (all rights reserved). I´m going to open up an "Exceedingly Fine Footwear" sister company. I know, I know totally brill.

So this week I donated blood..... in a third world country. The grandpa of a recent convert in the other ward is dying and he needs a blood transfusion. The family can't pay for it so they have to donate enough blood to match the amount he'll receive. The other missionaries donated and we were asked to help. So what the heck. The mission president already said it was ok, but I don't think I can ever give blood in the US or ever donate an organ. Which really stinks because seven pounds really inspired me to do so. Sorry everyone, but believe me you may not want my kidney. When I was going through the questions with the guy in charge and I was laughing while he was asking me if I had any "relationships", diseases, drank or smoked. He kinda did a double take on the alcohol one. So I finish the questions and he said I'm not supposed to give blood, but he's going to let me because of my religion.

(strike one)
If they're willing to let a foreigner break the rules like that who knows who else's blood is there.

The place looked and felt like a WWII army hospital. When she went to put the needle in my arm she just took the bloodstained gloves she had for someone else and turned them inside-out

(strike two).
Then she took scissors and cut the tubes into an an open bin filled with other bloody tubes

(strike three).
I probably have a jungle disease, but I'll just find out when I cough up my liver. Fun stuff.

(Mom's note: Please pray for Adam that there will be no lasting effects from this!)

So to end the week was really cool. We baptized Ana Bermeo. She's so awesome. I think I already talked about her, but she has an ability to understand the scriptures that blows me away, and she's 15. It was such a privilege to teach/be taught by her. She also was asked to give her testimony after the baptism, and she was really nervous, but I told her to just say what she knows and how she felt after being baptized. She bore a powerful testimony. You'd never ever think she'd had only been introduced to the Book of Mormon only two weeks ago. She really knows it's true to her core.

There's something I've really learned from the sector. I've looked at these people for six weeks and wondered how can you allow yourself to be stuck in a life like this? Then I realized that all people are stuck like this who chose to not follow the commandments of God. Until this society chooses what is right they will forever be stuck in non-progression. It's so sad to see, but they have no value for marriage, the Sabbath Day is a joke to them, and they live under the influence of instant gratification.

(Steve's note: Sounds like a lot of Americans ...sadly.)

It's really sad, but I value obedience to God's laws even more now, and want to be able to help them understand the importance of it.

So the scripture is Jacob 4:6 I don´t know if I already shared this one. If I did than will you delete it mom? but it´s about how studying the words of the prophets increases your faith.

Wherefore, we search the prophets,
and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.

So everyone search the words of the prophets
(the scriptures and the Ensign.)

I love you all, have a great week!