This epistle is to tell you about some very faithful Ecuadorian Saints. The first picture is of our home teachers. On the left is Brother Valero, and on the right is Brother Burgos. These fellows home teach 20 families. They are in our Alojamiento (apartment building) teaching us misioneros. They are a well organized team. Each is prepared to teach a different aspect of the lesson. They obviously spend a bit of time together coordinating the lesson before they go out. They always close with one or the other bearing their testimony. Brother Valero and his wife coordinate the baptistry in the temple every Saturday. They are there from 7:15am until 5 or 6pm depending on the need. They have been doing that for 2.5 years, ever since the temple opened. He teaches the YM and she teaches gospel doctrine class. Brother Burgos is a sealer in the temple and is there a few days a week.

Second picture. Looking off the roof of the Alojamiento are seen 5 tour buses from the Esmeraldas stake. The people traveled for 8 hours by bus to get to the temple, and were here at 6am.

In picture three you see some of the people from Esmeraldas, resting outside in the shade of the temple. Do they look tired? They had to walk 4 hours through the jungle from Chinca to get to the bus. They bring a machete to clear vines that have grown across the path since the last time the path was traveled. Chinca is not only a place, it is the name of the language they speak. In this picture their day at the temple is over. They are just waiting for everybody to be out of the temple to load the buses for the long trip home. We ran an extra endowment session for Esmeraldas for a total of 7 on Saturday, so everybody could go as often as possible. Some had to stay outside and look after kids, and then trade. There were five new endowments for the Chinca branch swelling their branch to 23 endowed members and 9 sealed families. While all that was happening, the baptistry was going full tilt all day with a one hour break at noon. Many of them come with personal files to do the work for. Upon returning home they will begin saving again for another trip to the temple. We will see them again in 6 months.

One picture I wish I had would show an old pick up truck with a home made wooden box in the back, with a board bench along each side. Climbing in were a dozen people in their Sunday best, young and old, getting ready to go I don't know where, but I surely hope it was someplace closer than Esmeraldas.

I have the highest respect for these faithful saints who seem to have their priorities right.

Pete