Hot, Humid and Humbled

Buenos Dias,

Well It has been my first week in iquitos, and it has been quite the adventure. Full of ups and downs, but regardless, I am so happy to be a missionary and to have the opportunity to serve. So, I have not stopped sweating since I got off the plane. It is honestly a sauna here. Im always dripping sweat, haha its funny, my investigators look at me like I'm dying. Its great though.

I have been very blessed this week. My trainer,  Elder Plaza, is from Ecuador and is a great missionary and super nice guy. We work very hard and it is nice to have a 100% obedient companion. He has been able to help me out a lot. We also have probably the nicest house in the area, which isnt saying much but it is ok.. So I am serving in Iquitos, in an area just 15 mins outside of the city called Seceda. It's very humbling, the people here live a lot differently then back in the states. They have wood houses, dirt floors, and not much of anything. But they all seem to be happy. I was definitely humbled this week because I dont know any spanish. Everyone just laughs at me and when they ask me something I just nod my head, say si and hope that yes is the correct answer. I really hope to pick up on the language soon, its hard not having anyone to talk to. I want to help these people very badly, but dont have the vocabulary to say what I want to say. But i know it will come. I need to be patient. We have two baptism dates for the end of October which is amazing, I was able to ask one of them to be baptized and he agreed and said he would really like that. Things are going well here, and I know they will get better. Keep me in your prayers and I will do the same for all of you. We are also in a very blessed ward. Every night we go out on splits with some return missionaries from the ward, and they are awesome. They treat me very nicely and help me out with spanish. I miss everyone and hope you are all doing well. I have a lot to learn and adapt to out here, but I know I'll be fine. Ether 12:27 is my scripture for the week. Be humble, trust in him, and he will provide the way. Much love!

ELder Droubay

                                             Elder Droubay and Elder Plaza (from Ecuador)

                               All of the new missionaries with Presidente and Hermana Gomez

                                                                            Elder Droubay

Last week in the CCM

Hello Everyone,

It has been another great week here in the CCM. It is crazy to think that I leave to Iquitos on Tuesday next week. I am so excited, but also super nervous. I  feel good about teaching the basic principles of the gospel in spanish, but I am sure that I have a rude awakening coming to me next week. But it will be awesome and I'm so excited. This week has been great. Nothing too exciting, just a lot of hard work and studying. We have had a lot of laughs and good times as a district and have just been trying to make the most out of our limited time here. It has been pretty cool, every monday wednesday and friday, the elders in our District have a testimony meeting and it is amazing to see how much everyones testimony has grown and it is cool seeing the spirit that we bring. I love being a missonary.

So there was a sister companionship that was not getting along and really struggling so they decided that everyone in our district would switch companions so that the Hermanas didn't feel bad. So my new companion is Elder Horton, He is a stud, and we have a ton in common. He is from Syracuse Utah, and played baseball, basketball, and football. I feel like we have been able to help eachother out a ton here, and it has really been a blessing. He also is going to Iquitos, so who knows maybe later in our missions we will be companions again. 

We still have had the same food here everyday, rice and chicken, and we have toast and eggs for breakfast. It´s great though. P days are the best. We go to the temple, which is gorgeous, and then go shopping and then come back and email our families and play soccer. It is a blast. My Spiritual message this week is to have faith. Sometimes I struggle with believing that I am good enough or that I can do this, then I remember that I am not good enough alone, but with Christ I am good enough and I can do this, and I will help many people, with Christ working through me. He is real, he is there, and he loves you more than you could ever imagine. Keep me in your prayers this week as I start my new adventure into the rainforest. I love you guys, and hope everyone is doing well!

Elder Droubay

                                         Elder Droubay and Elder Horton

                                        

Time is flying at the CCM...

Hey Everyone,

I cant believe its already Wednesday. This week has been awesome and has been full of so many great experiences. I´m doing well, and time is flying here. Now that I´ve adapted to being here at the CCM it has gotten a lot better, and I love the spirit that I have felt here. I also love the guys i´m here with. They are all studs.

Where do I even begin? So on Saturday, we got to go out into the field on splits in the Lima East Mission with a fluent companion. It was so cool I was actually able to get my point across. I was super scared at first because I know my spanish sucked, but I was able to do my best, and then my companion just took over the conversation. I learned what being a missionary is like. We knocked on about 25 doors, talked to 7 people and had 18 doors shut in our face. But it was still awesome, and I loved the experience. It was nice to be able to get out of the CCM. We were able to teach a member family, and I bore testimony, but before I did, I apologized in advance for my poor spanish. The lady in the house quickly stopped me and gave me a big long lecture. What I could understand was something along the lines of, It doesnt matter what your spanish sounds like, because the spirit is the one who is teaching and leading and guiding the conversation. It was awsome to hear, And there was a lot of truth about what was said. I just need to do my best, and Invite the spirit, and he will be able to enter the hearts of the investigators and tell them what they need to hear. Lima is crazy, there are so many people, cars, and stray dogs running all over the place. The companion I was with said he had been bitten three times. Haha kind of funny. But one very valuable lesson I learned just while out in the field for one day was that you dont need very much to be happy. As long as you have your family, and the gospel, the rest will fall into place. 

My spanish is coming along, sometimes I beat myself up about it, but I just need to be patient. I know that I was called to serve here for a reason and I know that Heavenly Father will help me a ton along the way. I have only been out for 4 weeks and have had many struggles and many difficulties. However, I have had many great things happen to me as well. At times I think as members of the church we focus too much on the bad rather than truly looking around and noticing everything that we have truly been blessed with. Attitude really is everything, Right when we wake up in the morning we decide whether or not it is going to be a good day. So my advice to everyone reading this is that you stay happy, and realize all that you have been blessed with and how fortunate all of us really are.

Another cool thing. I was having a hard time on Monday, it was just a rough day. I was able to recieve a blessing from Elder Obrien, A highschool friend. He is a stud and the blessing he gave me, allowed me to feel so much better. I testify the the priesthood is the literal power of god, restored to the earth in this generation of time. Im grateful to be here with Colin, He has helped me a lot and its been nice to have a familiar face here. I love this gospel and love the opportunity that I have to serve. 

I hope everyone is doing well at home, I really miss you guys and would love to hear from you all! Email me! Thanks for being great influences in my life. Everybody read tonight Alma 7:23. Its amazing and we receive some great council in this verse. It gave me a lot of comfort this week and overall helped me out a lot. I love you all, and cant wait to hear from you next week. Thanks again for everything.
 Mucho amor,

Elder Droubay

                                Austin and Colin Obrien with new hair cuts?

Elder Bednar comes to visit...

Hola, 

Everything is going well here in the CCM. Listening to ELder Bednar was the coolest experience ever. As soon as he walkeed in the room, I could feel the spirit so strongly, and new without a doubt in my mind that he was an apostle of God. The overall message of the meeting was to act, and not be acted upon. This concept is so true. We need to go out and act, and make good choices, and be good examples, rather than sitting back and waiting for everything to be done for us. If we want to be in tune with the spirit, we need to work for that. It was a great talk, and I loved it. Sorry, I dont have much time to write this week. 

Spanish is a struggle, but is coming, slowly. I taught my first lesson without any notes this week, and I felt pretty good about it. My companion and I do a good job at teaching lessons and bringing the spirit. Its pretty amazing to feel the spirit so strongly, because I am sure we are speaking like 3rd graders. This week has been good, however it has had its challenges. I get super homesick at times, and got a little sick this a week, but I am good. I will keep putting my trust in the lord, hoping and knowing her will deliver me. I am sorry for the lame email this week. I'll write more next week. I know without a doubt in my mind that this church is true and that God loves each of us so much more than we could ever imagine. I listened to a very cool talk this week that I would encourage you all to listen to, speaking of gods love and Christs atonement. It is called "his grace is sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. I love you all so much, and you are all in my prayers everynight. Please keep praying for me as well. It means a lot. I love you all! 

Elder Droubay

                           Elder Droubay and Elder Yates at the Lima Peru Temple

                                          Elder Droubay, Elder Yates and Elder Green