Tuesday, December 30, 2014

El Fin!!

Sorry I have been slacking on posting Ben's letters the last couple of weeks! I have been busy getting ready for Christmas and counting the moments until he will be home, which is actually 34 hours from now! I just want to say how grateful I am for having such an amazing son who served with all his heart, might, mind, and strength! I am so grateful that he has been a representative of our Savior Jesus Christ! I know that the Gospel he has been teaching is the true Gospel upon the earth and that the Gospel brings true happiness! This is a bittersweet time! It has been such a blessing to our family to have a missionary serving in Ecuador! We have all come to love this country and its people! Thank you to all of you who have suppported Ben through your prayers and letters! He had been protected and watched over! I know there have been angels on his left and his right as he has been about the Lord's work! Here are his last 3 emails and many pictures!


12/29/2014:


Hola Familia, 

Thank you so much for all of the love and support you have always given me. I am eternally grateful for you and the help you always give me. I am so grateful for the oportunity I have to be here in the mission. I know that it is the Lords work. I love you all so very much!! Anways I will see you guys on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Love you all!!!!

Con Mucho Amor, 
Elder Duzett



12/22/2014:

Hola Familia, 

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful wonderful week. This week has been a pretty good week. We have had a great week. One highlight was that for Christmas we got to go to the temple. It was so awesome to go the temple and to feel of the amazing spirit that is there. It was so awesome to be able to learn and to be able pray. It was awesome. We even got to eat in the temple cafeteria. It was pretty good. It was a great experience. 

This week we are also very excited becasue we are going to have a baptism. Here name is G. She is 86 years old. She is so awesome. She lives right accross the street from the church and has been going to church since the first week we got here when we met her and invited her to church. But she has never wanted to get baptized. She always said she needed years of preparation. We had basically dropped her but we felt like we should go see here one day. We invited her to be baptized and she kept on saying the same as always, ´´´mas después, mas después¨ We told here that there is not really later that she needs to act on her answer now because she has felt the spirit and always goes to church. And then something changed. She say alright lets do it. It was like wow!! It was so awesome. I know that Lord is great and blesses each and everyone of us. I am so happy that we are going to have a baptism this week. It should be an amazing week. We are going to work super hard to find new families in this christmas season. I taught elders quorum yesterday and I taught about how the two ways we can look at christmas. One edifies us and the other does not edify. If we focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ and sharing it with others and the importance of the gospel during Christmas I know that we truly can have some of the most edifying experiences. I know that to be true. I hope that I can do that this Christmas season.

Yesterday was also pretty crazy because it was the Ecuador Soccer Championship. It happened that the two rival teams from Guayaquil met in the championship, first time ever that had happened. It was like BYU and Utah in the national championship but a lot crazier. It was crazy so we had to be inside the house at 6 pm but it was all good. It was a good experience to see more of the culture here. They really do love their fútbol. 

Well I love all of you so very much. I am very excited to talk to you guys. I will be skyping around 1:15 pm here (don´t know what time it is there) Christmas day the 25th. So that should be great. Well I love you all so much and have a wonderful wondeful week!!

Con Mucho Amor, 
Elder Duzett


12/15/2014:

Hola Familia, 

Okkkkkkkk!!! Nope did not know that!!! That is very soon. But I will have to just make the very best of these last couple of weeks. This week was pretty great. We are going to have a baptism on saturday of a young man named Israel. He is pretty cool. He is 16 and like one fo the best friends of a member in the ward. We are praying that everything will go well with him. This week we have made some progress with La esposa de Luis. I am praying so hard to be able to have that batpism before leaving. We need to work hard hard hard to acomplish it but I know that we can see that miracle. Well sorry my letter is not very long because I am going to write my testimony but we will talk next week! 

Les Amo, 
Gracias por todo lo que siempre hacen por mi. Son los mejores. Siento tan agradecido por tener una familia tan especial como ustedes!! Me han ayudado mucho mucho en estos años.!!!

Con mucho Amor, 
Elder Duzett

P.S 13th in the nation! that is sweet!


















From Cuenca where Ali was this summer!

The orphanage where Ali was this summer!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

A Baptism!!


Hola Familia, 

Muchas gracias por sus correos. Estoy muy agradecidos a ustedes y por todo lo que hacen por mi. Esta semana fue muy especial por que tuve algunos experiencias especiales. Uno fue el bautismo de Luisa. Fue un servicio bautismal muy especial en lo cual pude sentir el espíritu. Luisa estaba muy muy feliz y emocionada en su bautismo. Ella es muy obediente cual es excelente. Ella quiere ir a la misión. Ella será un gran misionera. Su papa Luis esta progresando. Estamos cerca. Solo tiene que casarse y esta cerca. Un poco mas trabajo y muchos oraciones por su esposa y todo saldrá bien. Esperemos ver esto progreso en este semana. 

También el sabado tuvimos un devocional navideño hecho por la mision en lo cual cantamos 2 canciones y hubo un coro de misioneros en lo cual estaba hermana whitmore y hermana muri. Fue muy especial y el espiritu fue muy especial. Estoy muy agradecido por la oportunidad que tengo para poder recordar de Jesucristo en esta año. Yo se que Jesucristo vive y que el es nuestro salvador. Espero que puedo ser un mejor discípulo de Jesucristo esta ultimo mes. Espero dar todo lo que puedo en esta ultima mes. 

First Paragraph Translation by Dad

Thank you very much for your letters.  I am very grateful to all of you and for all that you do for me.  This week was very special because we had some special experiences.  One was the baptism of Luisa.  It was a very special baptismal service.  She is very obedient which is excellent.  She wants to go on a mission.  She will be a great missionary.  Her dad Luis is progressing.  We are close.  He only needs to get married and it is close.  A little more work and a lot of prayers for his wife and all will be well.  We hope to see this progress this week.  Last Saturday, we also had a Christmas devotional done by the mission where we sang two songs and there was a chorus of missionaries including Sister Whitmore and Sister Murri.  It was very special.  I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have to be able to testify of Jesus Christ this year.  I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he is our Savior.  I hope that I can be a better disciple of Jesus Christ during this last month.  I hope to do all that I can in this last month.

Well family I am so grateful for all that you guys do for me. Sorry for writing in Spanish. It is a little bit harder to write in English so sorry. Dad you will have to translate. Well it sounds like you guys had a great week. I hope you have a great week. Still don´t know if we will skype or call but when I know i will let you guys know. Well I love you all so much. Have a wonderful wonderful week. 

Con Mucho mucho Amor,

Elder Duzett

  
 
 
 
1. Bautismo de Luisa

2. Familia de Luisa

3. My cooking of Patacones!!



Charity, Obedience, Faith, Diligence, Humility


Bonus Pictures!

 

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Hot Dogs For Thanksgiving?!!

Hola Familia, 
Sorry I do not have much time this week because today I had a temple recomend interview with Presidente Torres because my recomend expires this month. It was a great interview. It is always so great to get to talk to Presidente Torres. He is such a great man. I am so very grateful for the oportunity that I have had to be here in this wonderful mission. This week we are very excited to have the baptism of hermana L T. The daughter of L.
Thanksgiving we had both of our dinner appointments fall through but one of them had us over on saturday to eat turkey!! And a great fruit salad!! It was so great!! For thanksgiving I had to cook because we did not have lunch so I cooked hotdogs!! It was pretty great!!!! It really has been a great week! I am very happy and excited to keep working this Christmas season here in the mission field. We are excited to have a Christmas devocional that the mission is doing on saturday. It should be great!! I am very excited to be able to bring investigators so that they can really feel the Christmas spirit. Especially when people have economic problems I believe that the key to their happiness during Christmas is a real focus on Christ. It will bring the best christmas! I hope we can help our investigators with that happiness. 
Bueno estoy muy agradecido por cada uno de ustedes. Son los mejores!!! Esta semana recibí un paquete!!! Fue lo mejor!! Muchas gracias por los fotos. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ali, Will and Olivia, Son muy muy grandes ahora. Pero se ven muy bien!! Gracias por todo. Les amo bastante!! 

Con Amor, Elder Duzett

He got his Christmas Package

Thanksgiving Dinner?


What a cook!!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Gratitude

Hola Familia,

Espero que todos estén muy felices!! Estoy muy feliz trabajando aquí en la misión. There was a rumor that everyone was saying that they were going to send everyone from January home before Christmas so I am so glad that I get a couple more weeks to keep working here in the mission. I am so grateful for the mission and all that it teaches. I am so grateful to be in this sector. We had to families who have invited us for thanksgiving dinner so that should be so awesome. This sector has the best cooks in the mission!! The best!! Yesterday we ate cheese potatoes and bbq sausage with rice and beans!! Fue muy muy rico!! Yesterday we also had our Stake Conference here and Presidente Torres spoke! It was really great. Hermano L T was there with his daughter L. She is getting baptized on the 6th so that should be great!! They loved the conference. Presidente Torres did a great great job. He is a great man. I am so grateful for the chance that I have had to serve in this great great mission. It is wonderful. I am so grateful for my companion and his drive to work. This week we are excited to keep on working. Hopefully we will be able to find a bunch of new families this week. Today I reorganized all of my stuff so that took a lot of time so sorry I don´t have too much time to write today. I will make sure to make more time next week. But tell everyone hi from me and tell Grandma Duzett I will write her next week and sorry I have not written back yet!! And Ali Will and Olivia thank you so much for your great mensajes always!! Sorry don´t know the word for mensajes!! Well I hope you all have a wonderful wonderful week. I love you all so much!!! 
Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Duzett
P.S Capitán Moroni es increible!! Hoy estaba estudiando un poco acerca de el!!
Mamá gracias por las recetas!! 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

God Will Find the Work!!

Hola Familia, 

Thank you all so much for the great emails. I love you all so much and I am so grateful for your wonderful support. Sorry I do not have too much time today because we went to the Mall to buy a couple of things. I had to buy some stuff to shave because my razor decided that it had had enough this week and just went out on me, but it is all good so I baught some razors and shaving cream and all that stuff which is pretty expensive in this country but it is all good. 
This week was a pretty good week. We are seeing some good progress here in the ward. I am so grateful for the oportunity that I have had to serve in this great ward. This week we were able to have 99 in Sacrament meeting which is great for here. So close to 100 but it is all good. Next week we will get it for sure. We were able to have some families in church. Hermano L T went with his daughter L that is going to get baptized on the 6th of December. She is great. She is excited. We had a couple come to church with their five year old daughter which was pretty awesome. Hopefuilly they will keep progressing to their baptism on the13th of december. Well I am so grateful for you guys and all that you do. I hope you all have a wonderful wonderful week. I love you all so much. Thanks for all of you hard work!

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Duzett

P.S new favorite quote, 
¨Get your tools ready, God will find the work¨