¡Cuídense mucho!

Hello all!

So, I am doing pretty awesome as of right now. Also, my new companion, Elder Papworth, is pretty awesome too. He's from California and he already speaks Spanish pretty well. He took some classes in high school, so that helped a lot. He's also a really quick learner, and I've learned a ton from him. Something that I really like about him is how obedient he is. He's been helping me be even more obedient in ways that I didn't even know that I was being disobedient (even though I've read the Manual Misional several times, I seemed to have missed a few smaller things). But I'm being even more obedient now! We're working on something called exact obedience, and it's been really good so far. One of the things that I had kinda fallen behind on is speaking Spanish in every opportunity that I have. It's really easy to speak English when you're with a bunch of North Americans, but Elder Papworth only speaks English when he's asking for the meaning of a word. I'm rather blessed to have Elder Papworth as my "son". Also, I may or may not be just a little proud of him and how well he's doing so far. Another thing that I've realized in this time that I've had with Elder Papworth is that I can do this. I can be a trainer, and I can do a good job at it, too. I'm finding that teaching comes pretty naturally to me. Words just seem to come to my mouth, and they make sense and help him learn! That's quite a miracle, and I know that it's because Heavenly Father is helping me out.

I've been asked about what we do for service here in Ecuador. Well, here in Quito I really haven't had many opportunities for service, but in La Concordia or Santo Domingo we did a bit of grass cutting (with machetes), clearing paths that were a bit rundown, and we even helped a few people move houses. We haven't done much here in Quito, but we can always ask more.

I definitely was very happy to hear about all of the things that Elizabeth is doing right now in school. That part in the musical sounds pretty big indeed. Good job Elizabeth! I know you'll do excellently. And also yay for Stake callings! That's going to be a wonderful opportunity to be able to learn how to manage tasks and...stuff like that. Haha I don't exactly know what all is involved in being on the Stake Youth Committee (why are there so many unnecessary letters in the word "committee"? English is so weird.), but it probably involves managing many tasks and the like, and I'm sure Elizabeth will do a wonderful job at that.

I am also very proud of Jeffrey and all that he has become since I left. He really has grown into quite the young man (Madre, he's gonna be 18 in a month!), and I know that he'll grow to be even better. Keep on staying strong Jeffrey! Remember, the Lord blesses those who are obedient, and obedience really is the only commandment that we have. Like it says in Mosiah 2:22, all the Lord has asked of us is that we remain obedient, and we will be blessed by the Lord. And, in the words of Mad-Eye Moody, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!"

Robby is basically a genius is sounds like. He really is rather smart, especially in...well, everything. Hopefully you can find a school program that's better suited to his needs and helps him learn even faster.

So, I have a challenge for you guys, and it's not one that you're going to like. I would challenge you to keep the Sabbath holy. You might be thinking, "But we do that already! We go to Church, we fulfill our ward and stake callings, we don't buy things on Sundays, and we even observe Fast Sundays! What can we do more?" Well, it turns out that something that just about every American likes happens on Sunday: football. The Sabbath isn't really a day to be watching football, or even to have the TV on for any reason. The Sabbath is the day to remember our Heavenly Father, to remember His Son, and to remember all that they have done for us. We have been commanded to keep the Sabbath holy by the Father and by His Son. It's one day of the week out of all of the other days in the week. Remember Doctrine and Covenants 59:9-13. To remain unspotted from the world the rest of the week, we must uphold this one day. True, football is pretty much the best thing to have ever graced television, but eternal life is a tad more important. I would challenge you all to keep the Sabbath holy and to remember on this day who it was that gave you this chance to live here on earth and who has given you everything. Also, you know who plays on Saturdays? BYU! Goooooo Cougars!!

Well, I don't have a lot more to say this time around. Oh, turns out that when you have a "child," you have almost no time to do anything else, so responses to letters might be a little bit late, as in no sending of a package next week. I'll do my best, but with 4 hours of required studying every day (if you don't finish in the morning, you do it later), it's gonna be tough. I'll do my best though, and I always appreciate hearing from anyone. I hope every continues to do well and to have a wonderful life. I love you all and am so very proud of all the good things that you're doing. Keep on doing your best to be obedient, and don't be afraid of repentence. Through repentence we grow even stronger and closer to our Savior and our Father. I love you all, and I wish you the best of weeks. ¡Cuídense mucho!

Love,
Elder Schomburg