Tuesday, September 21, 2010

SEPT 20, 2010

Hey! Everything is great here. Just working, we didn´t have any baptisms this week but this Saturday we are gonna have two so that should be fun. We are working with some awesome families, and almost all of our investigators have baptismal dates, it´s going way good here.
Today we went hiking in the mountains to find some waterfalls. We found 2, it was fun. I will try to put some pictures up. Nothing much to new though, sorry I am kind of being boring in the letters.

Man we got our butts kicked what happened? I am glad that I am not playing for Semore this week of practice.

About the sweatshirt, one kind of like that and make sure it fits please.

We are going to Quito this next Monday to go to the dentist so I´lñl write you from Quito and probably to tell you whats going on with that.

I can´t imagine Tanner like driving with girls in the car ha it´s funny.

How is work going with Willie is he working a lot?

I know Kellin has been emailing me a lately he gets home in like 3 weeks thats crazy. I am almost at a year thats even more crazy to me. It´s not that wierd now though being a missionary it´s just normal. it´s wierd, before I would wake up and think about where I was for a little bit and now it´s just normal. Spanish is coming along good too since my comp speaks zero spanish, absolutely zero. He tries though but it´s impossible for him. I feel like I can´t speak spanish or english very well right now it kind of doesn´t make sense, but it´s hard to talk both right now for some reason.

Thats awesome about Duskin Bolivia is a sweet place I now a lot of missionaries from there they are way cool people, I am excited for him. What else is new?
When are Willie and Kalicia going to get hitched? Does she like it in RV? Anyway, I better get going. Thanks for everything and I finally got that package. Thanks a lot mom.

Love you guys all and I´ll talk to you guys next week.

Love, Elder Hamblin.

SEPT 13, 2010

This week went by so fast it seemed just like the other day I was writing you. Everything is good here just working like normal, we haven´t had any baptisms for a couple weeks now it gets frustrating but thats how the work is hopefully we are going to have a few. This week we traveled a lot we had to go to Otavalo a few times and it´s like 4 hours it´s pretty annoying. We shouldn´t have to travel for at least 2 weeks so thats good. The sweatshirt at the bottom of the page it says Brendon Black Hoodie, but yeah I wanted the whiter of the two it´s like grey and white but if you can find it in the valley that would be cool remember extra large.

The football game sounds awesome. I don´t know what I want to do when I get home I want to play something but I don´t know if it will be football or basketball though. I just don´t want to give up on those things it´s a dream I have had so I might as well give it a try.

Thats cool that you get to work with people like that.

I will be sending grandpa those letters hopefully this next week.

My feet are fine, the camera is good, I will try to put some pictures up today, I haven´t been sick, everything is fine.

I talked to the orthodontist today and I have an appointment on the 27th in Quito so I´ll let you know what he says about what I am going to do. But other than that everything is good. But please get thos pictures up if you can. Thanks for everything though. I miss you guys like crazy. It has almost been 11 months, it´s wierd. I better get going, we have a family home evening. Tell everyone I said hi.

Con amor,
Elder Hamblin.

Monday, September 6, 2010

SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2010

Wow sounds like a crazy game. Semore always gets blamed like that that´s the life of being the RV football coach. Thats good that they won though. Tanner sound like he´s doing good too. Is he throwing a lot? It´s so weird that it´s football season. I love it. Ha Rylee lookes awesome. What position does he play? Thats sweet that he´s number 10 too. I want to see some videos of him send some please.

This week was good my new companion is Elder Choez from Guayaquil, he´s cool. We get along really well but he talks so fast, ha so fast. He´s way cool though. We didn´t have any baptisms this week. This next week we should have a few though and I will send you some pictures. I would send some now but my camera died. Today we went to a place called La Paz. It is like a giant river, it was pretty tight we took some cool pictures. I´ll try to send some next Monday. Nothing much new happened this week kind of a boring week.

How´s everyone doing at home? Thats cool that Kalicia got a job too. It sounds like everyone is doing good. You have to teach at the high school? How many times in the day? The Pattons moved into that house, thats cool they will be good neighbors. I will definitely write Grandpa a letter I wrote him one like a week ago I just haven´t had time to send it yet so I´ll send him too hopefully here within the next couple weeks.

Well not much to talk about. I am doing good. My feet still annoy me a little bit but they are getting better. My teeth are alright I guess. I have to talk to a nurse today and see what she says about the orthodontist, so we´ll see. It´s been so annoying trying to deal with this whole situation. I will write you with a definite answer this next Monday on whats going to happen. I don´t need anything I am perfectly fine, just that sweat shirt cause it´s freezing, and the pictures of the family. Nothing else. But I better get going but I love you all so much and tell everyone hi and I´ll talk to you next week.

Elder Hamblin

Friday, August 27, 2010

AUGUST 23, 2010




Thats crazy whats going on in our town. How could someone just kill someone else. Thats scary what if someone we would have known would have been up on the mountain with these guys it´s like something off of a scary movie.
This week was kinda boring we were sick almost the whole week me and my companion, so we didn´t leave the house much we basically stayed home Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and half of Thursday. It´s because we were stupid and drank the tap water without our filters but yeah now we know and we aren´t going to do it anymore and we are feeling better now.

So not much new happened this week. Just working when we could. There is only 1 more week this change, and than I think that my comp will be out of here. We´ll see though anything could happen with Pres Sloan.

So today we went and played basketball with 2 missionaries from our zone because they thought that they would beat us. So we first played with some members then we started with to just play us four. We bet pizza on this game and it was tied 1-1 and one of the other missionaries stepped on my toe and it killed and it was bleeding pretty good. So I think I am going to Quito again this week to see the doctor. I have to send some pictures to the nurse and call her tonight. I think that they are infected pretty bad, we´ll see though. I just don´t want to travel to Quito again. Oh well it´s life though.




So whats new? How´s football going along? Is Tanner a pocket passer or a athlete quaterback? I wish I could watch by the time I get home he´ll be on the varsity. Ha it´s so wierd. How´s everyone else doing? Everything is going good here. I am for sure putting some pictures up from the baptisms we´ve had here. But I better get going.

Thanks for everything, and don´t forget about the family pictures.

Love you guys,
Elder Hamblin



Sunday, August 22, 2010

AUGUST 16, 2010

Well this week was pretty cool. We first started off going to Otavalo for Zone Conference with President Sloan it was way good. The only problem is is that we stayed up til like 2 playing uno with some of my friends from Santo Domingo that are now in Otavalo. We stayed in their house and they have a whole building to themselves. 2 missionaries and this place is so nice, ha there are 12 bedrooms 3 bathrooms 3 kitchens, it was way cool. We were pretty whipped after staying up and than starting zone conference again at 7. So we got back home from Otavalo to Tulcan at about 12 on Wednesday night and then on Friday we had 4 baptisms. I will try to put some pictures of it up it was awesome. We weren´t sure that we were going to be able to do it because the family had some problems. I don´t think I have ever been more stressed out in my life we talked to them for about 3 hours and finally at about 7:15 they said, "yeah, we want to get baptized tonight". The baptism was suppost to start at 7:00 so you can imagine the rush that we were in. It turned out being really good though we had about 60 members there to support them. I had to spend about 15 dollars to buy stuff to eat after so I was pretty broke this week but it was alright. So it was a good week until yesterday after church my comp felt horrible after lunch, so we went to a lesson and than went home and he went straight to bed. He was so so sick so I went to sleep too and than all the sudden I got sick and we both were pretty sick, my comp more than me though. We brainstormed and figured out why. It´s because we have been drinking out of the faucet here without our filters for the last week and we think that it just killed us basically. But we should be fine within the next couple of days hopefully.

How´s everything going at home? I finally got the package with the camera, thanks so much, wow I needed it. I shared a Mountain Dew with like 5 guys from my zone because they have never experienced the amazingness. They loved it. Thanks so much mom.

I talked to Pres Sloan about the teeth and he said he doesn´t recommend it, but he said that he knows of a good orthodontist so I am going to ask him for the number today and call and make an appt.

Sounds like everybody is doing way good. Man camping would be so nice.

I just passed 10 months, 2 days ago crazy huh? I am almost to the halfway point and time goes faster and faster with time. It´s kind of scary I wish that time would just slow down sometimes. I am loving it though. Yeah I need those pictures I don´t have any of you and dad to show people.
That new package sounds perfect thanks and I will talk to Willie about the Ipod for sure and it will be good music, I promise. I have too big of a conscious to listen to anything very bad. I hope grandpa starts doing better, I def will pray for him.

Well I better get going a lot of my friends wrote me and I need to write them. But thanks for everything that you guys do. I miss you all like crazy. And I will talk to you next Monday.

Love, Elder Hamblin.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

AUGUST 9TH, 2010


I am in between Colombia and Ecuador, almost in the same house as you guys. I was thinking to get from here to the house it would take me about 20 hours, and that´s not very long.

So Grandpa seems like he´s been in and out of the hospital a ton, poor guy. I hope that he starts to do better. I have been praying for him a lot.

The camera I haven´t gotten, but I talked to the ZL´s and they said that they have a package for me so we´ll see. I am going to Otavalo tomorrow for Zone Conference and I will see them, so if it´s in this package, I will have it tomorrow. I don´t know about the cards just send copies of them in this next package and that way I have them if I need them. President Sloan hasn´t written me back yet he´s been on the road doing Zone Conferences so I don´t blame him, but tomorrow I will talk to him or his wife about the whole thing and we will know for sure after tomorrow.

I don´t need much but I was thinking though, for my birthday a sweatshirt for but I was going to find a sweatshirt on the internet and send you the link because they have no sweatshirts my size here and it´s not exactly warm here and Quito even is pretty cold at night but I will send that link to you at the end of this email.

Everything here is going way good though we are having four baptisms this Friday night, so that should be pretty cool. Our district is doing really well this change. We are baptizing a mom of four and two of her kids that are 14 and 15 and than hopefully within the next couple of weeks we can work with the dad more. He finally started to talk to us the other day but he´s hard to understand because he´s kind of deaf so he talks somewhat funny and you have to yell so that he can hear, but he´s hilarious. He says he wants to follow his wife and kids example but he´can´t leave the house on Sunday because they don´t have a door to their house and he thinks that people are going to rob him. They have really nothing to rob ha, so me and my comp are brainstorming thinking of things that we can do to help. So we might be buying and installing a door so he can start coming to church. The mom was so excited when he started listening to us, so excited it was cool, and the kids and the mom basically taught him, so we hardly have to do anything, it was cool to see.



So tomorrow we have Zone Conference so that should be cool to listen to President Sloan. I am pretty excited about that, then we probably have to stay the night in Otavalo so we don´t have to leave here at 4 in the morning. It just stinks because no one is going to be able to visit our investgators for 2 days.

So Willie is coaching the JV, that´ll be cool. And Chase is starting out at the plant. How long will the job out at the plant last? Tanner is finally about to start good ole football again? Man I miss football, hopefully he does pretty good at QB. And Rylee is playing too? I can´t even imagine how funny that is to watch, seriously. How are you and dad doing? Still working a lot? Whats this thing that you´re doing in Greer? Is Dad almost done with his books?

So nothing too new, just freezing still, but it´s alright though. I am getting used to it finally and just my luck I was in Santo Domingo when it was the hottest, in the hottest city and then I get sent here when it´s the coldest, in the coldest city. Ha ha, but it´s alright though, I love this place and the people are so awesome.

I better get going tell everyone that I love them.

Con amor,
Evan

AUGUST 2ND, 2010


That car looks awesome. Please tell me that you aren´t going to let Tanner drive it a lot to school? He´s going to hit another elk, just kidding.

So we didn´t have any baptisms this week one of the girls didn´t pass an interview with the Zone Leader so we are waiting 2 weeks but we have a ton of investigators with dates right now, so within the next month I should be sending some good baptism pictures. Everything is going good here.

Our shower head just sucks so thats the only problem. I have tried every trick that missionaries know. They say you have to turn it on to where there is any power and it suppose to leave it hot, but that doesn´t work. I´ll just suck it up I should be out of here by October even though August and September are the coldest months that there are here, ha, oh well.

Wow sound like your guys summer has been crazy. It´s about over though, crazy huh? I almost have a year in the mission. It´s flying by, the time, seriously. I went to Quito this week to see the doctor and he cut the ingrown toenails out so I think they should heal a 100% by the next month. It only took about 6 months. It was horrible. I hate that trip but I shouldn´t have to go back for at least a month now.

I haven´t gotten a camera yet in the package that´s all that I am worried about. Hopefully within the next couple weeks we should get pouch.

So whats Willie going to do for work? And Kalicia? Everyone is going to be back in RV but me. Ha man before I know it we are going to be at Christmas again. Then the next one I will be home. I wish I could stay in this town for Christmas but I highly doubt it. The people here are so awesome. I am sure they are all awesome in all of Ecuador.

So how´s the football team looking? Is Dad almost done with his tests?

So we completely teach different right now it´s awesome. They put a new chapter in Preach My Gospel and it´s amazing we just ask a bunch of good questions and go from there. We are having so much more success doing this, seriously, we have had a ton more in the past week. It´s because the spirit does the work and they basically teach themselves. Being a misisonary has changed so much in the last 10 years, so so much, it´s awesome.

I am going to put some more pictures up today a few because I don´t want to steal my comps camera for too long. Anyways sorry it´s so short we didn´t do much. But I better get going.



Tell everyone that I love them and always think about them.

Tengo que irme.

Con Amor,

Elder Hamblin

Monday, July 26, 2010

JULY 26TH, 2010

Well not much has happened this week just work. We had to go to Ibarra which is about 3 hours away and on the way back up here there were no more seats so we had to stand for three hours I have never felt so sick, I have no idea how I didn´t throw up.
We didn´t have any baptisms this week. We put them off til next Saturday because we wanted to prepare this family a little more, but next Saturday for sure. So the little boy from this family likes to come with us to lessons, so we have this 14 year old kid, who is tiny, who just goes with us to lessons, almost all of the day. His mom told us that he wants to go on a mission and help people like we do so that was pretty awesome. I am going to Quito tomorrow to see the foot doctor one last time and I will talk to President Sloan then about the whole teeth thing.

So man time is flying, it´s weird people that had a year to go when I got here are going home this cambio and the next cambio. It´s kinda scary. You kinda wish that the time would slow down but it doesn´t, it speeds up with more time.

So how´s everyone doing? It´s so weird that it´s summer right now. I don´t even think of it being almost August cause it feels like December here.
So on Saturday we had to basically plow a field with this family that we are baptizing and man it was hard work we just used shovels and picks. They are starting a potato garden. Then we went and helped one of our members teach english at a school. I am sure glad we know english it is so hard for them to learn, so hard.

So I hate our shower I don´t know if I have told you guys but it´s freezing cold absolutely freezing. I wake up and work out, then I absolutely dread getting in the shower. It´s like torture. Seriously, once like every 2 weeks we have warm water and when we do, we take like hour long showers. It dosn´t help that it never gets warmer than 60 degrees here and in the morning it´s about 40 and it´s a wet cold, so it just hurts your body. I can´t feel my toes half of the time here, seriously, I am just used to it. I should feel lucky though we have investigators that have to shower outside with buckets of water and walk to the outhouse to use the bathroom. The sad part is, I am in one of the richer parts of Ecuador. Here we eat potatoes, always, always, always. I hate potatoes now with everything in me and the sad thing is that I am barely half way done with the time that I have here.

The other day we ate Cuye. It´s hampster but like giant ones and ever since I have gotten to Ecuador I have heard of them, but never have at them until the Otavalon family, that we baptized, gave us some. It was pretty good. It´s very similar to chicken, just harder and in the shape of a giant rat.

What else have I ate thats weird, oh yeah, I ate a cow hoof with soup it was about as nasty as it sounds. I am so sick of juice too. The juice in Santo Domingo was good, but here it´s nasty and thats all that anyone gives us is juice. This stuff called aguita is like some herbal tea from here and with bread, always, about 5 times a day. Thats about it for food thats about all I have eaten for the past 2 months and McDonalds once. Man, I took McDonalds for granted in Springerville. This place is cool though. Every night the streets are completely crowded with people from Colombia and Ecuador. They just like party and you can hardly walk through the city on Friday nights. And then every morning, we wake up to the same song that the trash guys play so people will know that they are coming, so we hardly ever set our alarms, we just wait for the garbage guy to wake us up. I know that when I leave this place that I will miss that sound though for sure.

So Tanner is about to start football pretty soon. Is he gonna play any varsity? Man I miss football so much it was the best time of my life. It´s so wierd Kellin will be home in just a little while man. How´s willie doing? Is Chase working a lot? How´s dad doing with all of those tests that he has to do? I bet he´s so sick of them. Rylee, whats that kid up to? I bet no good since he has no school. Who watches him? Does Tanner work? Get me caught up..... freak1 I know nothing! Where are they going to have school at? This email is kind of everywhere but things are just coming to my mind.... Is Willie moving back? Whats he going to do for work? Has Chase been dating anyone?
I still haven´t gotten any of the packages you have sent but when I go to Quito I will try to get them, how many have you sent since the one with the ties and Mtn. Dew?
So we have basically 2 days straight of meetings and since I have to go to see the doctor President Sloan gave me permision to go and listen. This man is seriously the smartest man alive, he´s so awesome. But 2 days of meetings could get old, but it´s life right?

So mom how have you been? How´s work going? How´s everything? How´s grandpa? How was Rylee´s baptism?

Well I definitely post more pictures this next Monday because we will have the baptism and I will hopefully will have my new camera.

Anyways I better get going but tell everyone that I love them and that I always think about them, especially grandpa. And tell him that I will be writing him a letter asap. Tell Brad, what the heck? for not writing me, Willie, Chase, Tanner, Rylee, and Dad they all are slacking.

I better get going but I will write you guys more on the next Monday for sure.

Love you all.

con amor,

Elder Hamblin

JULY 19TH, 2010

Wow this week flew. We had changes last night and Elder Hilden, one of my good buddies left, it was pretty sad. It was a good week though. We challenged a bunch of people to be baptized and they all said yes. We´ll see how it goes, we have to still teach them some commandments, so hopefully it all goes well. We have a family of 4 scheduled to be baptized this Saturday so I will let you guys know how that goes on Monday. Other than that, not to much new. I am done with 5 changes it´s weird. I stayed with Elder Walker, which is awesome because we get along really well. We are having a lot of success here. We finally drank that Mountain Dew that you sent me last night. We just drank it, it was amazing.

So today we had p-day and we ran into some new members that just moved here from Ambaoto. They asked us if we could help them unload there stuff into there house and we thought it would take like 2 hours, maybe, but it took us about 5 hours. So we didn´t really have a p day and we are exhausted because we had to walk up and down 3 flights of stairs. It seems like every p day we just get more tired instead of resting.

President Sloan was sick again, so I doubt he´s going to email me back so I will just have to wait til next week or the next couple weeks. That poor guy we all thought that he was over his lung sickness and we found out this week that they had to do another surgery on his lungs. This man is seriously one of the toughest guys in the world. He´s so awesome, so strict, but I love him. And he loves us more than we can even imagine. We have been praying for him alot. I will let you know about the dentist when I find out though.

Rylee is getting baptized thats awesome. Are you doing it in Utah? Everyone is all scattered around for a week. The car seems way nice. What ever happened to the truck? Tanner still getting bigger? Man, I remember this time last year and it seems just like few weeks ago. Has Willie has asked her yet? Well everything sounds good and hopefully everything, work wise, will get better.

I went to the foot doctor like 3 weeks ago and have to go again in like a week or two. He says he has to help my nails grow in right or they can stay bad for a long time.

The packages, I will probably get in like a month or two since I am basically cut off from the whole world and mission here. But thanks mom thanks for everything. I will try to post some pictures up so you guys can see.

I put some more pictures up and I want my big picture on the top of my blog to be the one with me and the missionaries and that family. I only put like 5 up but thanks.
Oh and you guys need a family picture of everyone so I can show people my family. So take some and put them up when you can with everyone, you, dad, Tan, Rylee, Chase and willie. Put it up and I can take it off and put it on a flash.

I love you all so much. I better get going though.

Elder Evan Hamblin

JULY 12TH, 2010

Well this week went by way way quick. It was good though. It is the last week of this change coming up and it went by way way fast. I think that me and my companion are staying together another one, I hope at least. Thats what President Sloan told us. Nothing very interesting has happened this week. Evan though we didn´t have any baptisms, hopefully this next one or the one after we can get some. We are working hard so I know that they will come.
Anyway what else? Oh yeah so today we were like going to have a p-day of rest, but we went to playing basketball with our bishop who´s like 25 and two other members. We ended up playing about 4 hours so I am completely dying, but me and my comp won. They had to buy us sodas and our bishop owes me pizza and a soda because we made a bet on the Spain Holland game.

So my health is getting better. We have to go back to Quito one more time towards the end of this month to see the doctor again for my feet because he says that he has to reshape them my nails so that should be fun. What else? not much here, my hands are good though. I will have some cool scars on them but they are basically healed.

Freakin Rylee, i miss that kid, he´s gonna be huge and not as funny when I get home.

I hit 9 months in like 2 days, crazy huh? Time really does fly out here, but I am loving it. I am having fun for sure. My spanish is getting a little better and better everyday, I just need a latino again, but I have a bunch of time left so I am not to worried.

The Mountains are beautiful here except they are better down a little lower like in towns like Otavalo or Ibarra. Because the mountains look a lot bigger because it´s lower elevation. Here where we are, we are like on top of the mountains.

I heard that LeBron James went to the Heat with D Wade and Bosh. Thats gonna be a crazy good team.

Anyway I better get going though. I will let you know when I get that package and everything else when I find out, and I will put more pictures up next week too.

Love you guys,

Elder Hamblin.

Monday, July 5, 2010

JULY 5TH, 2010



Well it´s nice to finally have time to write.
So this week has been pretty good we had a baptism on Saturday it was awesome. It was of a man who´s whole family are members, so they were all pretty pumped. My trainer Elder Caresia baptized the kids 2 months ago so it´s pretty cool. We still are hoping for a lot more success this month we´ll see though.
So another funny thing that happened this week ha so we went into a investigators house and they were watching the Uruaguay vs Ghana game, it was in penalties so it was on. Awesome game and after, the kids wanted to play soccer in their house with a little rubber ball, so I was the goalie and the kids scored twice on me. So the third time I wasn´t going to let him make it, so he kicked it and I reached my hands up real fast to block it, and yeah, well the roof isn´t very high so I jammed about every finger on both hands. The paint drippings on the ceiling were hard and dried so it´s pretty jagged and my right hand is cut up bad. I got 3 fingernails peeled back, it was horrible. I dripped blood all over the floor. She wanted to take me to the hospital but I just asked her if she could do it and she cleaned it and bandaged it up. It´s pretty hard to type right now, but I will send put some pictures up on my hotmail thing so you guys can see.

So today I was about 16,000 ft up. It was awesome. We left at 7AM this morning and we took all 4 of the missionaries in this town, 6 members, and we got a guide. We hiked it but litle did we know that it was suppost to rain, ha, but it doesn´t rain at 16,000 ft, it snows ~slash~ hails. It was so cold. And it takes 2 1/2 hours to climb up and go down. But it was pretty awesome. It´s so hard to breathe at the height and I now have a massive headache because the lack of air up there. I will try to put more pictures up of that too.

So the 4th was boring? I don´t believe it, you are just trying to make me feel good. It kind of sucks that it landed on a Sunday. We had a missionary and future missionary breakfast to celebrate on Saturday. They all thought it was ALL for future missionaries, because they are from Ecuador and have no idea what the 4th is but us gringos knew. It was fun though.

So Chase got the surgery how much was it? Thats cool though. About grandpa I will definitely keep him in my prayers for sure. Man it sounds like he´s having a rough time. Anyways yeah I finally got my package with ties and the Mountain Dew. Ha, we are saving it until the end of this change to celebrate me and my comp. but man it´s tempting to drink it. I put it in our fridge so it´s just chilling in there but I will stay strong only 2 more week before this change is over, and thats freaking crazy huh? It seems like I just got here. Anyway I better get going.

Oh yeah I went to the dentist and they said braces would be 1000 so IDK I have to talk to our nurse about it still so I am going to email her today but let me know what you guys think I should do.

I love you guys all so much and don´t forget to check my pictures and tell everyone, "what's up?"

Love your son

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

JUNE 28TH, 2010

Hey, man, I have been trying to email you guys back for like an hour the email thing has been messing up so it´s gonna be short.
Todd Bosen died? That man was awesome he would do anything to help anyone he will definitely be missed.

Whats up with Tanner hitting elk? ha! I could just see that happening I am glad everything is alright. You scared me mom, you had me hanging by a cliff in your email. You write novels or something, cause you didn´t get to the point of him being okay until at the end of the email. Man, its sound like just crazy things have been happening in that little town.

Well everything is good here. We are baptizing a guy from Otavalo on Saturday and than on Wednesday we are off to Quito to go see my foot doctor and the dentist again, so we´ll see whats going to happen. I´ll let you guys know more next week.

I have some awesome pictures to send home but we haven´t had much time on the computer lately so I will send them next week hopefully, if not the one after.
I still haven´t gotten my packages I don´t know whats happening so when we go to Quito we can go and get them from the offices.

Anyway, I am glad that everyone seems pretty busy with everything.

Tell everyone that I love them and always think about them.

I love you guys and I will write more next week I promise.

Love, Elder Hamblin

Monday, June 28, 2010

JUNE 21ST, 2010

Sounds like a crazy time in Round Valley. Yeah this place is pretty awesome but man it is freezing cold here. I have the pictures on my memory card so thats all good but they should get us a refund on this camera, it´s way nice it just wont turn on or anything so i don´t know whats happening. I will send it back and you can talk to the people from where you bought it. So what else is new? Its crazy that it´s almost July. It feels like winter here so I hardly even keep track of the months. Man I am bummed that the 4th of July is coming and I wont be there thats my favorite time of year by far, oh well only one more than I will be home for the next one.

So the work here is awesome we have a goal of 11 baptisms for the month of July and it really is possible, heck we might get more.
Thats so wierd about the school. I can´t imagine it for some reason. Were there a lot of news stations there?

Is tanner gonna be on varsity this year? and is he driving?

I haven´t gotten the package yet but we have zone conference so I should get them than. Man I swear I am so sick of riding buses. Seriously imagine riding buses through the salt river canyon but instead of 40 minutes, it´s about 2 hours of that. And we do it like 3 times a week. I get annoyed I see a bus and I get a headache, but there are some ups and downs to every place you go i guess.

So nothing much new. I am so exhuasted here. We seriously work so hard here and than on P day we don´t really rest, so it´s pretty rough right now. But I am having a blast here.

I have to head out, but thanks for everything.
I will talk to you on Monday again. Love you guys.

PS - tell all those guys congrats that got married.

Elder Hamblin

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

JUNE 14TH, 2010

Wow how crazy is that? (Plane crash and School burning) Thats sad. Poor family. And Rylee, I can just imagine how scared he was. Man thats so wierd that they are going to have a new high school when I get home.

So my new sector is the bomb it´s the best sector in Ecuador it´s amazing, but it´s freezing though. There are a lot of Octavalins here so they have about 3 different languages. Everyone speaks a little different because the people from Colombia talk wierd, the Octavalins speak Cetchawa, something like that, and than there is Ecuadorian Spanish. It´s an amazing place though, we are the highest city in Ecuador. The members here are awesome too. They help a ton and yeah, just everything about this place is bomb.

So today we went to climb this mountain with Washington and Dario, two kids that are about to put there papers in. Washington is de Octavalo so he is teaching me a little bit, so I will know spanish and a little Cetchawa. On the mountain, I bet we were 14,000 ft up, crazy huh? I got sunburnt this whole week. The sun is so so strong here, I look like an Indian haha. Next week we are climbing a mountain called Los Chiles, it´s about 16,000 ft., so I will take pictures and show you guys how high we are, higher than I will ever be in America.

The work here is amazing too because the members help so much. The church is so young here, it seems like everyone has been baptized within like the last 2 years. My comp is way way cool. We work so hard together and we have like the same personality, so I am having a ball. All my companions have been awesome and plus Elder Hilden, he was in my MTC district, he´s here with me which is tight. The downfalls of this place is that my comp is a district leader so every week so we have to travel 3 hours to Ibarra and 3 hours back through horrible mountains in horrible buses. And to get to the leader meeting it takes an hour than turn around and come home. Then we have to go to Quito like 2 times this change and thats like 6 hours there and back on horrible buses, through horrible mountains.

So I just got an email from one of my investigators from Santo Domingo. She just got her temple recommend and is going to the temple on Thursday with the ward. I am so excited for her. She has come so far and had the roughest life, but yeah she´s doing way way good. I will tell you guys more about her someday. So this next week I am going to Quito to get my feet checked on and go to the dentist so hopefully I get that paqckage before than.

Nothing much to say. Oh, my camera broke. I don´t know what happened so I think I will send it back and see if you guys can use the warranty to get a new one. But I love you guys so much and thanks for everything that your doing for me.

Tell everyone that i love them and miss them. Bye.

Love, Elder Hamblin

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

JUNE 7TH, 2010



Hey I finally got changed!! I am in a town on the border of Colombia and Ecuador called Tulcan. It´s freezing because we are way up in the mountains. We are around10,000 something feet. I think it´s the highest elevated big city in Ecuador. It´s beautiful here, the only thing was I had to travel 9 hours from Santo Domingo. It was horrible, ha, but my companion is way cool. We already knew each other from Santo Domingo. His name is Elder Walker and he´s from Seattle. I was kind of bummed that I didn´t get a latino for my spanish, but it´s all good because me and him get along really well. You should see the people here, they wear all that old school clothes like the miniture cowboy hats ha and blankets over them, it´s weird.

About the dentsist I am gonna schedule an appointment in Quito probably in like 2 weeks and I´ll have more to say about that after the appointment. It´s just a pain because Quito is around a 5 hour trip from here and it´s only like 100 miles, but it´s through the Andes, so it´s a pretty rough trip. I´ll let you know more about that later, but it´s fine with the mission. I talked to our nurse and she just said I would have to pay for it, but yeah I could do it.

So how was the big bad trek for Tanner? I remember how hungry I got on that thing and it was miserable, but definitey cool. It´s so weird that I almost have 8 months in the mission, it´s insane.
I don´t have to much to say, sorry, but I will write more next week and hopefully have some cool new pictures of this place.

I better head out. I love you all so much and thanks for everything.

Elder Hamblin.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

MAY 31ST, 2010

Hey!!! Guess what? I walked in shoes this whole week. It feels so good. And we played basketball today and it didn´t hurt at all. My feet are just peeling because they were pretty sunburned. But it´s all good just annoying.
I am in pretty good health but the only problem is my teeth so they are moving to the side where i am missing that one and i am just noticing it right now, but I told our nurse and she gave me the number of some orthodontists in Quito so I am going to call them and see what they think. I should be going to Quito this next change so I should be able to get an appointment. The dentist told me this might happen, he said probably not, but it is happening. I know they are just going to tell me I have to get braces, but I think that braces are really cheap here, so that wouldn´t be too bad. I don´t know? What do you guys think? We because it´s kind of your money, but I know some members that have them and they have hardly any money. One of our investigators works at a dentist office and she said braces, until I left here, would be about 800 dollars. I guess I will just have to talk to the orthodontist, but probably next week sometime. I will let you know, but probably not this upcoming Monday but the next.


Enough about that. I saw that the Suns lost. One of our rich investigators has espn, so we watched the highlights. Wow, Kobe Bryant is a beast ha.
So I should have been leaving Santo Domingo today, but this change is weird because we have 7 weeks instead of 6, but it´s all good. We are just trying to do a bunch of good paper work with our investigators because they are going to take all 4 missionaries out of our ward and put in sister missionaries. We have to draw a bunch of maps of where everyone lives. We are pretty bummed about this because we have like 3 families that are on the verge of being baptized and we aren´t going to be here when it happends. I will continue to hope that they keep progressing and get baptized.
Grandpa, man that stinks. I will definitely will pray for him.


Anyway, nothing much new here. I just have heard about the volcano but we haven´t had any effects of it here. I think that it was pretty far south and we are in the north. I have some friends in Riobamba and Ambaoto, which is pretty far south, but I think they are fine or President Sloan would have told us something. Volcanoes are really the only thing that scare me here, unless I am in Quito, and than earthquakes scare me because the building are so old and made of bricks.


So wow, summer is already happening in the US. Man it seems just like not too long ago it was last summer and I was moving home. I almost have 8 months in the mission. It´s crazy.

I better get going. We got on the computer pretty late, but we had a busy fun p-day, but I love you guys all so much and thanks for the package I loved it.


Love you all,
Elder Hamblin

Monday, May 24, 2010

MAY 24th, 2010

Thanks for everything and sorry for not emailing you for so long. We had to do some service at the chapel, than we had lessons, and it´s 9 o clock right now, so I am in a hurry to write. We have to be home in like 15 minutes.
Yes I got the camera it´s an awesome camera seriously thanks ha this one will not get stolen, I promise. I will be more careful with this one.


I went to Quito to get my ingrown toenails out and they couldn´t put anestesia in them because it was so swollen, so it hurt pretty bad. I had to tough it out and they were huge. The doctor was amazed that I was even walking with them, but man my feet feel good now. I can walk with shoes on for once in like a month and a half. I got to eat at papa johns ha it was sweet.


Not much has happened this week. Our trip to Quito took up 2 of our days so we didn´t get much done this week. We are teaching people with problems right now but it´s awesome, it makes us work harder to teach them and it´s changing their lives. Seriously, there is no greater feeling in the world than that.


What else? So when we called the nurse she said to pack all my stuff because I was going to stay in Quito for an emergency transfer so I packed all of my stuff and it´s hard to haul 3 huge bags on these buses and around Quito. So we finally got to some other missionaries house where we were going to stay, and the next morning we went to the hospital. Then the nurse is like, "well you can go back to Santo Domingo", so we had to get all my bags and go back to Santo Domingo.
I told our next door neighbor, who is our momita, she cooks our meals every saturday, and she was crying. So she was pretty happy to see me again.
My toes are close to 100%, so I am happy.


Anyway I better get going, we have to be home here pretty soon, but I love all you guys and hope everything is going good with everything.

Love Elder Hamblin

Monday, May 17, 2010

MAY 17th, 2010



I am perfectly fine mom I promise. We are going to the doctor again today and he´s going to call the nurse and they are going to discuss wether or not to remove my toe nails. I want them gone, they are annoying and I think they are just getting worst. I might get back on later tonight to tell you what happends if not you will know next Monday.


Other than that everything is good, walking gets a little annoying in sandals, ha, but it´s alright. I feel like a prophet from the Bible. We should have 4 or 5 baptisms this next Saturday. We have to wait for a family because the mom has to be interviewed by President Sloan so we have to wait til he comes to Santo Domingo for interviews, but this family is pretty excited about it, so it´s pretty awesome.


What else? oh yeah, ha, so we were in church yesterday and right before the Sacrament one of the counselors of the Bishop comes up to me and my comp and tells us that the people that were suppost to talk didn´t show up and asked if we would both give a 10 minute talk. Ha and I was first, so I had about 5 minutes to think and give a talk in Spanish. It was pretty scary but I think it turned out alright, the Lord definitely helped me out.


So this investigator has espn with American sports, so I was reading the newspaper and the suns play tonight and we are going to eat dinner there tonight! Hopefully they have something about the Suns up there. That would be sweet, but i doubt it because TNT always does the nba playoffs, but we´ll see.


Nothing much else going on here. I put some pictures of my foot up on the hotmail thing. So the trek is coming up? Tell Tanner to go, it really is fun. You don´t get to eat a whole lot and it´s hard but it´s definitely worth it when it´s over I am glad I did it for sure. Rylee hit one out of the outfield? Nice ha, but not good enough, he needs to hit them out of the park. Ha jk. Well hope everything else is good, I should get going to the doctor. I will take some cool pictures if they have to remove my nail it should be pretty cool.


Love you guys,
Elder Hamblin.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

MAY 13, 2010 (hospital visit)

Hey, well my lds mail isn´t working but I have to tell you guys, I took out almost all of that 100 dollars because I had to go to the hospital last night. The church should refund me all the money, but it´s nothing bad. It´s not at all. I have to go back later today. I just stubbed my toe on the sidewalk right in front of the hospital. Luckily we were right in front of the hospital cause i passed out. I don´t know a lot right now. I have to go back today and than the doctor is going to talk to our nurse. They will pay for everything I am pretty sure. I have some pictures too. I´ll send them on Monday and let you know more on Monday about what they are going to do. I am fine, don´t worry, this hospital is pretty nice and the church works with it, so everything will be fine.
Love you bye.

Monday, May 3, 2010

MAY 3rd, 2010

Hey!!! Everything is going good! My feet are getting better. On Tuesday I went back to the lady and she cleaned them and cut the ingrown toe nails out more and gosh it hurt bad, I hated it, but they are getting better. I have worn sandals for the last 2 and a half weeks. I wore shoes 1 day because we had conference with Elder Nash of the Seventy when I got home they were killing and bleeding so I am just going to wear sandals as long as I think I need to because if I don´t, they will just get worst. I had to buy like 10 pills that cost 2 bucks a piece so thats why I have been using money from that account, sorry.

So yeah, this week Elder Nash of the Seventy came and talked to all the missionaries in Santo Domingo and Esmeraldes. It was awesome, he´s an awesome guy. He asked me if I was a descendent of Jacob Hamblin and talked to me for awhile longer than any other missionary it was kind of scary.

What else? nothing much really. We didn´t have any baptisms hopefully the next couple of Saturdays we should have a lot. I am excited for the next couple of weeks and the next change. I want to leave here. I will almost have 6 months in the Santo Domingo.

Yeah about the Mothers Day call we don´t know a whole lot yet we are trying to go to the central, there is a members daughter and her husband is loaded and they have nice computers and video cameras and my comp wants to skype with a video camera, but I don´t know. I think it might be too much trouble but we will see. I will email you on Thursday for sure with what we are doing and than I get to call on Saturday to confirm, so be checking your email and waiting for my call.

My package, I don´t need as much as skittles, ha, and thats it, a ton of skittles, and whatever else you want to send maybe a Mormon Tabernachle Choir CD if you can get one.

So dang it´s still snowing I have forgoten that snow has even existed. Hopefully this next change I will be in the Mountains and maybe see some. I am almost at 7 months, crazy huh?
Anyway I better get going but tell everyone that I love them, and I am always thinking about them.

Love, Elder Hamblin.

APRIL 26th

K, well this week has been pretty good. We challenged a full family to be baptized and they accepted but the thing is that we have to wait for the dad to get home from the jungle from work which is 20 days, so now we just have to wait and teach them a few more things. Families are the best to baptize and this is my first family so I am really excited we came just in time too they were going to get a divorce too but she said ever since we came that he´s been 100 percent better.
We met them in one day too. My comp wanted to buy a kite and we saw some in the air so we followed them and we were talking to the boy flying the kite and I saw the dad sitting there thinking and I started talking to him and I asked him if we could visit him and his family, he said yes so, ha, just because my comp wanted a kite we found this family.


My feet are doing a lot better. I had to use some money this week for the medicine that cost $30.00 and than I had to pay the lady 10 for her to work on my feet but it was definitely worth it she saved my feet. I have to go back 1 more time tomorrow and than I am going to try to wear shoes on Wednesday I have been wearing flip flops for the past week ha my feet have bad tan lines. I saw like a giant lizard too ha in the middle of the field by this river. It was huge! We tried to get a video of it chasing me but I was too scared with only flip flops on to do it. This Iguana could have ate my leg. It probably weighed 50 lbs. It was huge.


On Friday we have a conference with Elder Nash from the Seventys and President is going to pick 3 people to talk. Ha I really hope it´s not me. It should be cool though I might get to see some of my friends because there are 2 other zones going.


School is almost over thats so wierd. It seems like it just started, So Tanner is doing good in basketball I heard thats good. How´s Rylee doing with baseball? So I will give you more info on Mother Day next Monday and than I will probably call the day before to make sure we are on the right page. I better get going though. Tell everyone that I love them.

Love,
Elder Hamblin

Monday, April 19, 2010

APRIL 19th, 2010

This week is going good. We had 3 families come to church this sunday and they seem promising too so we have a lot of work to do this change.
Yeah I am staying here another change in Santo Domingo so I will be here until May 31st. Crazy huh? I will have almost have 8 months by then. I just passed 6 months this Wednesday and we burned a tie, ha it was fun. So I have been in Santo Domingo longer than any other missionary here now.
What else? Oh yeah, we get to call for Mothers Day in 2 or 3 weeks so we have to get that set up over the next couple of weeks. I am excited to talk to you guys though. It seems just like a few weeks ago I was talking to you for Christmas.
What else? Oh yeah, this week has been pretty painful for me I had 5 ingrown toe nails so we went to a nail cutter ladys salon and she cut them for me because thats what the nurse of the mission told me to do. Ah I was seriously in so much pain because they were infected but I am taking some antibiotics and pain reliever stuff that helps a bunch. I have to go back tomorrow so she can check them and she did it for free because she felt bad for me ha. But I´ll be better, hopefully within the next couple of weeks.
So how´s everything going at home? With everyone? I want to know everything.
I put some more pictures on my hotmail but I better get going though.
Love you guys.
Elder Evan Hamblin.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

APRIL 12th, 2010

Hey Family,
Everything is going good here in Santo Domingo, Ecuador. Just the same old rain and scorching heat. Ha I am pretty sure that I am out of here the next Monday but I don´t know President Sloan does some wierd things so we´ll see.
So on Wednesday I will hit 6 months crazy huh!! Me and my comp are going to burn a tie and drink a coke, ha oh no.
Everything is good though. I have been pretty bummed about something that happened yesterday but I will tell you about it later.
This week has been crazy.
So we didn´t have a baptism this cambio, but we have one planned for 2 weeks so thats good, I just won´t be here.
So what else is new? Was there an earthquake in California? I have been hearing that.
Rylee is already starting baseball crazy! Ha tell him he better be the best player on his team, ha is it pitching machine?
I need a camera ha but if you send it you have to be 100% sure it´s under 4 lbs or it´s gone, someone will steal it. Just candy is good, there is not much that I need really.
Thats good that TJ is okay he´s a stud. When can he leave on his mission?
Tanner, he´s gonna win state in pole vault! Why the heck isn´t he on varsity? (basketball) ha jk, tell him to keep working at it and maybe by the time the season starts he can be.
Willie and Justin went to conference? ha, man they are lucky. I did get to watch it in english so I don´t mind.
I got the packages thank a bunch I loved them and tell Grandma and everyone thanks.
Well I better get going but tell everyone that I love them. And next Monday I might not be able to write it, depends where I get transfered and who my comp is. So if you don´t get anything thats why, but love you all!
Elder Hamblin

APRIL 5th, 2010

Hey!!!
This week has been pretty boring just because we had to sit through basically 4 hours of meetings. Thursday we had Zone Conference, Friday we had Interviews with President and presentations by the assistants, and than all Saturday and Sunday was conference. I got to watch in English it was awesome though, wow. I have no doubt that those men can recieve revelation. They are so powerful when they speak.
President Sloan is doing better from his surgery too, so thats good. He´s such an awesome guy me and Elder Segura think that he´s going to be a Apostle some day.
It´s been blazzing hot this week because the winter here is ending so it´s not raining as much. Man I am sick of sweating, ha seriously! I should be out of here in a couple weeks though. So I am excited for that big time. I have lived here almost 4 months it´s weird it seems like I just got here.
Thats cool that dad got a raise man i bet those book are annoying to do everynight.
Anyway, not much to talk about because we just had a bunch of meetings this week but tell everyone that I love them and think about them always.
Especially Ry, man I miss that kid.
Love you all.
Elder Hamblin

Monday, March 29, 2010

MARCH 29, 2010

I just wrote the longest email ha and than we lost electricity ha im so mad right now.
I know I heard about Steve Brown right when I had to get off on Monday. It´s been bugging me this whole week. When I found out I cried in front of everyone in the computer place. But than I realized that is why I am here to teach people that there is so much more after this life, and that this life is our time to show our love to Heavenly Father and Steve Brown did that better than anyone that I have ever known. He was an amazing man. Tell the whole Brown Family how much I love them if you can.
So mom im perfectly fine. Don´t worry. I did get bitten by some spider and my leg swolled up but now it is perfectly fine. And our next door neighbor is like the best lady in the world if anything happends we can go over to her house and she will do what ever she can to help us the people here have our backs don´t worry.
My new companion is really awesome. I wish that I had my camera so that I could show you the hieght difference between us ha he´s probably 5´3´´ but he´s awesome we get along really well. The mission is frustrating about 80 percent of the time but the other 20 percent is amazing you jus have to find joy in the work and make it fun, and work hard if you don´´t work hard it´s no fun. I heard about Ethan too that stinks oh well he´ll be alright he´s awesome guy. Tell him I love him if you see him.
Grandpa he´s gonna be fine he told me that he would come to my homecoming talk. He´s gettin old he´s what 81. Ha I miss that man he always gave me the hardest time but in reality I think that he liked me the most.
I haven´t gotten the packages yet from you or grandma but we have Zone Conference on Thursday and I should get it from the Zone Leaders then.
Ha so has Willie proposed yet? Man I miss everyone but I ha and tell everyone that I love them, especially the Brown family but i have to go. But I love you all

Sunday, March 28, 2010

MARCH 22, 2010

Everything is going good here. Just teaching and walking, ha I am pretty whipped out this week. I am tired but i´ll be fine. My companion and I got gym memberships at this gym and we are going to start working out at 6:00 every morning. So this morning was the first day, and the guy who owns the gym is a BOSS ha seriously killed me. He lifted with me and I have never been so tired but I feel good, it´s kind of pointless to start right now because I will leave here in like 4 weeks but hopefully it just gets me into a good habit of working out everyday. My comp ha he´s never really lifted before so he was way way tired ha.
We contacted a bunch of people this last week ha it´s pretty fun with my new companion because we just make up off the wall names and ask people if they know where they live ha and thats how we start our conversation with them. It´s tiring to contact though cause that means that your in the sun for a long time and walking a lot too. But it´s worth it to find people to teach. We have found 3 or 4 awesome families through contacting.
I got the package thanks so much. I think we are going to watch that movie with a family for family home evening tonight. The shirt is awesome too and all the fruit roll ups. And you sent another ha thanks. I appreciate all that you guys do.
Anyways I better get going.
Love you guys so much and thanks for everything.
Tell everyone that I love them. Everyone.
I gotta go bye.
Love, Elder Hamblin.

Monday, March 15, 2010

MARCH 15th, 2010

Everything is going great! My new companion is sick, I love him. He´s been out for awhile so I am learning a lot we´re working really hard right now. Seriously I get home and I just want to pass out, ha, but we have a good time he can speak about 60 percent english so he helps me a lot with spanish. If i don´t know a word he can tell me, but we never talk in english because he´s not good enough, ha. He´s way way cool though. This week seriously has been weird, like 3 or 4 times we have randomly had impressons to contact certain people and they turn out to be people who really need it. So we have some awesome people that we are teaching right now because of this. It´s crazy how much the spirit helps you out if your working hard. Anyways Spanish is coming along, so much better, and I am getting more confidence every day. I learned more this week than I did the first 12 weeks here.
I can´t wait to leave this place, ha, that sounds bad. I love the people and my companion and everything, but I´m so sick of being uncomfortable. I have sweated every second that I´ve been here. It´s annoying. But I´ll suck it up because I am almost positive I will be out of here after this cambio.
Anyway, have you guys seen Justin and I think Ray gets home pretty soon too. Man I miss those guys.
Well I love you guys all so much,
Elder Hamblin

Thursday, March 11, 2010

MARCH 8th, 2010

Tell the Springerville Post Office workers, THANKS! (*they are the bomb when I mail out packages)
So this week has been pretty crazy we had one lady not even show up to her baptism so we looked kind of bad there, but we can´t do anythying about it so hopefully we can find her tomorrow with my new companion and get back going with her. Other than that, we had the most awesome baptism ever in this ward. It was a lady and she´s had a rough life but it was awesome. There were about 40 members there and that is so much for here, heck thats so much for anywhere. But yeah I had to confirm her in sacrament this Sunday and I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous. I was nervous about if I was doing it in English, than have to switch to a language that I don´t know very well, ha yeah, you can imagine how I felt. But it turned out good because I don´t know how I did it, but I think it´s because I prayed like crazy before. Actually I know thats what helped me.
So I will tell you more about this lady in a letter if I can ever get one sent.
So the rest of this week we just visited all of the people we were teaching so my comp. could say good bye to them. He´s been here 4 months so he´s pretty close to a lot of them. I just started my 3rd cambio here and I´m about to hit my 6 month mark this cambio. I am stoked to burn up a tie.
My new companion name is Elder Segura and he´s from Coasta Rica. He seems way cool and I am glad that he´s my companion. I don´t really know him to well because today is my first day with him but he seems awesome, so I will write more about him next p-day.
I put up some more pictures up, so if you want to put those on my blog that would be cool. The lady in the pictures is the one that we baptized this last week.
Oh, and I should get the package this week and I am excited for that.
Anyway, not much else to say this should be my last cambio here in Santo Domingo and finally it is with a latino, so I should be pretty good at Spanish by the time this one is over.
I love you all.
Elder Hamblin

Monday, March 1, 2010

MARCH 1, 2010

Hey Family!!
how´s everything going everything is going good in Santo Domigno!!! Just work work and work. Ha it´s tiring but fun!!

This week has been pretty hard and frustrating and stressful. We could either have a really good change and we could have 4 baptisms or we might just have 1. We just have to wait and see what going to happen.

One lady has snake problems in her house so she might have to move. She has around 6 little kids and she might have to leave to work in Esmeraldes which is a coastal town 2 hours west of here. It´s in our mission too. The population there is mostly black. Anyway, she might have to go there to work to pay for the first couple month payments on the house which would be no more than 50 dollars a month. She is so so poor but still gives us pineapples everytime that we go over there, which the pineapples here are amazing! I mean absolutely amazing! I have never tasted anything so good in all my life but they make gringos sick so we usually end up giving the pineapple away or we just eat them and then suck it up when we get sick. It´s seriously almost worth getting sick for a couple days. Ha, ha. The one girl that I was suppost to baptize, well her cousin that she´s living with jumped off a bridge into water. They didn´t know that there were rocks down there and she busted up her knee on a rock. This was like a week ago and she barely got the surgery yesterday. It took a week! The hospitals here are horrible! So horrible, about every week we give someone a blessing that is about to die or is basically dead. It is then that we get to see all the hospitals. Seriously there are rats running around, dirt and blood on the floor, it´s crazy. I am so grateful to be from America, so grateful. So now they can´t go to Guayaquil because they have no money besides they are kind of occupied with this so we have to wait. They might just call and see if they can get it authorization over the phone.
Then this one other lady she might have cancer and have to go to Quito to get some medicine this lady is amazing i will tell you more about her in a letter.

We had Zone Conference with President Sloan too this week. That guys is a stud he looked tall in the picture but he´s really not at all ha he´s probably 5 ft 8 inches. He´s an awesome guy though. He only has 1 and a half lungs and he gets tired really easy but he stayed here and didn´t go back to the US because he loves the missionaries. He´s so awesome. He told me that he was going to give me a lazy latino this next cambio and that im going to stay here in Santo Domingo so I will leave here on like April 19th. More than likely it means that I will have been in Santo Domingo longer than almost anyone else thats here. Ha, I went from the youngest too the oldest thats been here in this city, it´s wierd.
I am excited though, he said that he wants me to push this comp that I am going to get. Im excited I like working hard and it helps with the spanish too.
Oh yeah there were some small earthquakes here just little aftershocks from the one in Chile. It was wierd I felt sick when it happened, thats really it.
This is my last change with Elder Caresia. I really am going to miss him we´re pretty tight. Oh and last night we had to walk probably 3 miles in the hardest windiest rain i´ve ever seen it was crazy there were no taxis and it was such a long walk, ah it was rough.
This next cambio I will hit my 6 month mark, crazy huh!?!?
Don´t send a camera whatever you do I can just get one if I go to to Quito. I went on splits with my ZL and he said that there are places in Quito you can get them for like 50 to 100 dollars cheaper than the US. But if you do send a package soon send some more candy. ha ha You crave stuff from America here because, there is not much from America here. But some skittles and snickers would be the best, just a bunch of those and maybe some fruit snacks too. Thanks and if you can find those movies, that would be cool, but if not, it´s fine.

How´s everyone at home doing? Keep me updated and love you all so much!!! Write me back!!!

Love, Elder Hamblin.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

FEBRUARY 22nd, 2010

Hey! Everything is good. Time is flying by so quick right now. Im almost done with this cambio only one 2 weeks now, actually less.
I have inner cambios with our ZL tomorrow that should be fun and this week It´s been way way busy. We have had some awesome investigators.
Im way way tired right now, today was long. We did a zone activity and hiked up the biggest mountain in Ecuador, in the jungle. Ha, it was nuts and then we couldn´t get back down because it was too steep. It was pretty sketchy ha! but we all ended up getting down and we made it out alive. Ha! luckily. My arms and legs are pretty beat up though, but i love the feeling. It feels like I'm playing football again ha.
So yeah, we have been running around Santo Domingo pretty crazy this week trying to get everything done to have our baptisms. It should be a good end of the cambio unless everything falls through.
Not much else, I don´t have much time because we got home late, but i love all you guys.
Tell everyone that I love them and I sent dad some pictures at his weoutdoors thing and please don´t send a camera down here it´s way to risky.
Anyway, I love you all again, and got to go.
Elder Evan Hamblin
p.s. I got the package and thanks so much I love the candy ha.

DECEMBER 31, 2009 HANDWRITTEN

Hey Familia,

Hows everything going home. How was Christmas.
Ill probably talk to you a few times through email before you even get this.. (*note: It took more than a month) but it's all good. It's New Years Eve, so we had to be back to our apartment by 4:00 because it's way too dangerous to go out past then. Christmas is like nothing here and NYE is huge. It's just like 1 big fiesta. It's pretty intense they get these dummies and fill them with newspaper, gas, fireworks, basically anything that will light on fire and light them on fire. It's pretty awesome though. I will try to send some pictures hopefully of them if we can go out. (*this is the picture of Michael Jackson dummy, it was the least vulger)
So I should have my packages from QUito hopefully tomorrow that you guys sent. I gave almost everything to this family that lives near where we are teaching. They are so awesome and they are always giving me and my companion little things so I took them almost everything in the box besides the drink mix. They needed it more than me. The dad in the family, his name is Hermano Antes, he's so cool. He's probably 4 ft, 4 " tall, he's the coolest, kindest, old man that I know. He walks us out of the Plan de Vivienda, everynight because it is so dangerous. His wife died and he is supporting the 2 girls by himself. He works all day yet he is the most active helpful guy in the world. He always pays tithing even though he has nothing. He helps us teach when he gets home from work. He is seriously one of my heroes. I love the guy. There are so many awesome people here. They crack me up. They are so small and poor, old and uneducated, yet they are still so happy because they have the curch in their lives. It is awesome. The best is when a family or people that you areaching show up to church. It is like all the work that you went through that week was workth it. It is so cool.
How is everything at home? Tanner at basketball, Willie and Chase still working? I hear we are getting alot of snow. .............
Anyways, I have got to go. I won't write many letters because we have email and it cost 2 bucks to send these. I just know handwritten letters are the best.
I love you guys!
Love Elder Hamblin

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

FEBRUARY 14th, 2010

We can´t work tomorrow or on Tuesday because of some carnival thing that goes on here. It´s too dangerous and people throw paint on you.
What else? Oh man I miss carpet so much. Ha! I haven´t seen carpet forever.
Today is my 4 month mark can you believe it has gone by so fast, for me at least, and each day goes quicker and quicker.
So I had my first actual baptism, and I am pumped! It was awesome! I´ll post pictures right now of it and we should have 2 more in the next 3 weeks so it´ll be a cool change.
I´ll probably stay here for another change with a new comp, hopefully a Latino, ha, so I can get some Spanish down and then after that, I have no idea where I will go. My guess is Quito, but who knows, I could go anywhere this mission is so huge.
But I´ll be out of here, almost for sure, in like, May sometime. It´s so weird, as missionaries, time is like nothing to us. Ha! Seriously, 4 hours seems like nothing right now and before it was a life time.
So this week we challenged another girl to be baptized and she said yes, so we just have to wait to see if she gets permission to live here with her aunt, from her dad in Guayaquil. They are going to see on Friday. She really wants to live here because she loves the church and the family she´s living with. Seriously the church has changed this girl’s life. Her whole personality has changed and I love it that she´s so happy right now. She picked me to baptize her too, and I am way, way, excited.
What else? Nothing much just work, work, work and having fun, ha, I love it.
I haven´t gotten a package yet for Valentine’s day yet, but I probably will on Friday because that is when the zone leaders go and get all the mail.
The personal side, update me on everything. How´s Willie? I heard he moved to Utah. ha crazy Mormons up there, ha, jk. And Chase, Tanner, Rylee and Dad. Ha! I want to everything!
How are you doing mom? I love you so much. I never said it enough but I do more than you know and when I get home I am going to let you know more.
Tell everyone that I love them so much and get me updated on everything.
Love your son, Elder Hamblin

FEBRUARY 1st, 2010

Thanks for Jeff’s address, I have been wanting to write him.

Um yeah, well I thought I was getting better and now I think I am getting sick again. I hate it but I took some medicine so I hope that I will feel better. Spanish still a struggle. I need a native comp but it is all good I am still getting a lot better.I can understand almost everything it is just hard to talk back. What else? um yeah so this change is looking so good we have like 10 people that want to get baptized and we are teaching them everyday. I think that is why I am getting better. But yeah so you basically see everything as a missionary. Last night we were about to teach this family and the daughter and some guy came over and they started to argue and the guys knew English good. He is the first guy that is not a missionary that I talked to here that actually knows English good and the girl ran out because her mom hit her and she is living with this guy and she is only 15 and he like 25 and I’m not really sure what going on. Ha! We kind of got thrown in the middle of it but it was awkward and we could not teach because the spirit wasnt there at all so we just left.

I am probably going to have my first baptism this week but the lady, she has a testimony, comes to church every Sunday, reads, comes to every appointment, like 10 minutes early and takes notes at every one of them too. So I am kind of scared that she is going to try to kiss me after cause that is something that she would do. Ha,

What else, oh yeah my camera was stolen sweet huh? What else nothing much oh in the package send some candy like snickers, twix, and skittles. I’ve been craving those 3.

Carpet, I am serious, I miss carpet so much the only carpet that I have seen is in President Sloans house. I love carpet.

Work is slow? hopefully things get better. I think that they will, maybe I am just so optimistic because I know how people here live and I promise no matter what happens in the US, it is worse here.

Well not much more to write about.

I am so mad about my camera, ah, oh well there is nothing I can do about it.

Anyway, tell everyone I love them and I am fine and you guys are so lucky to be in the snow it is so hot here, ha.

Love, Elder Evan Cowen Hamblin

JANUARY 25th, 2010

Hey, everything here is good. I just got through my first cambio which means that I am no longer the youngest bunch of missionaries in Quito Ecuador. Only 15 more now so every 6 week you usually either get a new comp or a new area. That is what a change is and I stayed in the same area with the same companion.

We are teaching some promising people right now and still have a few references to track down which are also promising because they already have friends in the church. So hopefully we can have a few baptisms this transfer. So I am almost guaranteed to be in Santo Domingo for 2 more transfers which means that I will hit my 6 month mark here my comp is going to hit his in like a month so we are going to burn one of his ties, ha, it should be fun. We both are so young out here.

Nothing much else new rain and the scorching sun and I am always wet, always always wet. Whether it is from sweat or rain it doesn´t matter i finally got to go to Quito on Tuesday and see all my pals from the MTC. They are all doing good I was pumped. I love those guys. My comp from the MTC has lost like 35 pounds he´s looking good.

Dang I miss snow so bad, ha, when you are in Quito you can see it at the top of the peaks. OK if I ever thought that any mountain I´ve seen in the US were tall, it wasn´t! This trip home from Quito it was actually sunny and I got to see the Sierras, wow, they were beautiful and huge.

Anyways, I better get going.
Tell everyone that I love them and I am fine.
Love you all! Bye.

JANUARY 18th, 2010

K so all that it does in this stupid town is rain and get hot hot hot. Ah, I hope I get to go to the mountains. Quito Riobamba, all those places are sounding so nice right now. Anyways everything is good. I have like 20 pictures up and I will try to put more up this week.
Anyways everything is good here we almost had Ider baptized but he said no though which was very frustrating. This whole week was really frustrating actually, ah, oh well, we have changes this week which means that I probably will get a native companion this week which will help so much with my Spanish because I am not learning to much with my comp right now. I could be going anywhere this mission is so huge. If I get to the jungle coca, or tana it´s a 16 hour bus trip from here or I could go to Rio Bamba, Octavalo or Quito The Mountains or Esmeraldes which is the beach. So who knows where I will be there is a good chance I could stay here for another transfer because I know the area, but I´ll know Sunday night.

Uncle Cowen is in the Bishopric, that is scary, ha! NO that’s awesome.

We have a really busy week this week. We have so many investigators I don´t really want to leave, but it is wherever the Lord wants me to go, so I don´t care.

I am so sick of rice and chicken ha, that is all that we have everyday for lunch. Then for breakfast, I have yogurt and granola and for dinner 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, all day, everyday, it´s the same. Ha! it´s already getting old, I never will complain about a thing when I get home.

So Tanners team is still struggling? That is too bad, that should just give him the drive to get better in the offseason. We always used to lose when we were Freshman and Sophmore’s too. I think that is why we were always good when we were on varsity football and basketball we would work harder after we would lose and improve. That is the key, just improve in the off season while other people aren’t working on it.

So that is good that they still have work. I don´t know how people here get money no one does anything at all. Other than a few members and they work hard and they are the happiest.

So we haven´t had water in our apartment for the last 2 days. I am so thankful for having a mom too, wow, she did a lot for us. It´s so annoying to clean and take clothes to the Laundromat, have good food, and everything.

(*I like Kalicia that would be good. ; )

I love all you guys so much.

JANUARY 11th, 2010

Well everything here is good though we had our first baptism this Saturday and hopefully we will get one more before this cambio. I havegotten much better at Spanish. I need a native companion, so hopefully this next cambio, I will get one. It is alright though, haha, I have 2 years to go. It is just frustrating though.
I had to teach the gospel doctrine class this last Sunday it was way way hard, but I did it. Not much else, I mailed you guys a letter this week so you should get that in a week or 2 I got the package too but I didnt get any letters hopefully next week I will though. I get to go to Quito tomorrow so I will get to eat some fast food! Ha ha. I am so pumped for that but we have to leave the bus station here at 3 in the morning which is going to suck.
So everything is good and hopefully we can get one more baptism before this cambio but I need to head out now.
I love you guys and I pray for you always.
Elder Hamblin

JANUARY 4th, 2010

This week was pretty frustrating so we had a baptism set for this Saturday but we found an hour before the baptism that he drank on New Years, so we have to wait until this Saturday if he repents, so that will be good. We also have a date of the 16th for this guy named Ider Davela. He´s so cool. He loves the missionaries. He is like he´s a guy I could hang out with in the US. He is like 25, and he has a son who´s the cutest little boy. Ha! He runs up to us and gives us hugs and says “hermanos que tal” , ha-ha, I don´t know how he can even talk he´s barely 3 he´s so funny. He talks nonstop too. But his wife is really really pretty. Easily the prettiest girls that I´ve seen here and she was baptized. He´s not. He is scared to get baptized because he drinks and he doesn´t want to get baptized than start drinking. But this week we are going to have the members help us because we both can´t speak Spanish very well ha but hopefully we can get him baptized. The missionaries have been trying for like 2 years, but he really likes us. It was awesome though, he never comes to church and this week we made him promise us to go to church. He said he would. So his wife always comes in and she walked in alone and we were so bummed. And then right before sacrament I heard the little boy outside and he came. Ha ha, she said that she didn´t even know that he was going to come, but he promised us. Just hopefully we can meet with him a lot this week. This was the first time that he´s been to church in a few months. He´s so ready to get baptized and I bet he´s read more in the Book of Mormon than half the members. So that was the highlight of the week for sure.I don´t need much I can get most of what I need on p days at the shopping center, but the little drink packets are good i love them different kinds though and maybe more oatmeal. I get sick off cereal but different kinds not just the maple and brown sugar kind. I do not spend money on much, other than I bought a watch and a tie. That is basically it and food, ha, but I will start not using as much. It is just the first week and the holidays I loaded up. You can send some more candy. The kids love American candy and maybe some CTR rings. They have Spanish ones at the book store there, I believe. If not, it is cool, just candy. They love it. We just boil water here so I don’t need anything for the water. I am getting better. I think I have felt a lot better the last 2 days, so that is good. And whatever people want to send, it doesn´t matter to me. Letters would be cool but I probably cannot write back because it´s 2 bucks to mail them back, but I will love to have something to read. And make sure to let everyone know that if they send packages, it has to be under 4 pounds or else I will have to pay like 50 bucks to get it

DECEMBER 28th, 2009

Im going to send pictures next Monday because we are baptizing those 2 guys on Saturday and I want to have those pictures in there with them all so I will send them for sure next Monday. I´ll try to take more this week of where we work alot its so so so poor its crazy. It rains so much here at night, all night, every night, until April. That is what the natives said.

DECEMBER 21st, 2009

This place is insane it´s called Santo Domingo it is so old and dirty and hot, and HUMID!! I bet I´ve lost 5 pounds this week in sweat but the good news is we have a baptism set up for 2 people on the 2nd of January, so I´ll either get to baptize a 14 year old boy named Esteven or a 21 yr old guy named Julio. The people are so poor but they seriously love us. They think we are rockstars because we are 2 gringos from the US they are obsesses with pictures. I´ll try to send you some later today through my hotmail account though. They live in a place called the Viviana Plumba. It is like the poorest place in this city, they are so humble. Ha! The kids think that I am so weird because I am tall and have blue eyes. Ha! Its funny and they think it is awesome that I play “futbal Americano” Ha! and I beat their brothers in arm wrestling so they think I am so strong. Ha!
They are so awesome though the people here are so much nicer than in America. But there is this crazy lady who tries to like hook up with us. They call her “La Loca”, ha ha, she´s this crazy black prostitute. We have to run inside the member’s houses until she leaves.
The people here live on dirt seriously everything is dirt and it rains so hard every night and it is always muddy. And then in the day its sunny and hot which is why I sweat so much and my clothes are filthy. I´ve met some awesome members though and I am going to try to take some more pictures as time goes. The food is decent, it depends, we don’t eat very much maybe 3 times a day if we are lucky and its always rice and chicken or rice and fish and they always eat fried platanas which are real similar to bananas. There are bananas everywhere here, seriously everywhere. That is what the homeless people live off of.
I´m so exhausted from the day though being out in the sun sweating and trying to translate everything everyone says. Each day I learn more and more. I can only understand probably 30 percent of what they say because they talk so fast. Tell everyone that I love them and hopefully I can start writing some hand written letters, it is just hard with time and everything and getting mail to this city is hard. We have to go to Quito which is like a 3 to 4 hour bus ride we have to go tomorrow at 3 in the morning to get my Ecuador ID. But I´ll email you more info this week for sure about the number to call to on Christmas.
Love you guys!

DECEMBER 17th, 2009

I am in Santo Domingo, which is probably the poorest city in Ecuador. My companion name is Elder Caresia. He´s from Missouri and has only been out 6 weeks longer than me and we both are white that never happens so soon, so I am kind of scared for this but it will be fun. This town is west of Quito towards the ocean it´s so hot and humid and it´s way Jungley and there are like 250,000 people that live here. They all either live in the old cement houses or in stick houses. It´s so crazy. So I got to fly first class to Quito on LAN which is like way way nice. I´ll try to send some pictures. I thought Quito was poor this place makes Quito look like the US it´s so so poor and we have the worst area. It´s so poor and they don’t speak correct Spanish because they´re uneducated and neither of us knows Spanish very well so it is going to be an adventure. The members are way way nice though I love them and I´ve oñly have met like 4. I have got to go though love you guys. I will write more on Monday that’s our p day.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Here we go ....

So, I have just started Evans blog... sorry son, but hey! its up and 5% done. Once I get to all the computers, I have saved letters, pictures, and Evan's funny news. So all together I hope we will have a pretty good blog!
So stay tuned and we will keep you up to date on all of Evan's news and other family interesting facts...
Last but not least, thank all of you that have kept Evan in your thoughts and prayers! I knew how special he is, always smiling, easy going and happy, but you all have reminded me what a great guy he is to everyone.

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First Class, long story..

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