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Hey family!  
   How have you all been?  I hope that things are going really well.  From your emails it sounds like you are all really busy. Well I am still trying to get caught up on all of the letters that I have been receiving.... If anyone has written me a hand written letter and still hasn`t gotten a response... I am so sorry... I am working on it.  But there is little time here in the mission and now that I am training a new sister the little time that I had is now gone! Hopefully I will finish a couple and get them out soon.  But thanks so much for writing me!  It really makes me so happy to read your letters. 

   This week my companion and I have been working hard to find new people to teach.  We had three baptisms this past Saturday and now we are back to the drawing board. We are teaching a teenager named Stephany but I don`t really like teaching people who are not 18 years old because no matter how strong of a testimony these kids have sometimes their parents just don`t want them to get baptized... So sometimes we are working with people who will never ever have permission to be baptized while we are in this area.  So we are still looking for more people. 

   It is pretty hard some days to keep working hard no matter what we are faced with... This last week we met a couple of people who were pretty rude to us last week.  Usually the people here are pretty nice but last week it seemed like every house we knocked on the people seemed to be really mean or upset with us.  As soon as my companion said, "Hi, how are you" to one women she practically screamed at us and said "why can`t you people leave us alone!" I then told her that she didn`t have to be rude and she then said even madder, "Well you girls knocked on my door this morning!!!"  And she then waved a Jehovah`s Witness pamphlet in our face.  

   My companion looked like she was about to cry because this lady was really rude!  But she calmed down when we apologized for bugging her.  But I just have to tell myself... You signed up for this... you signed up for this.... Just take it and smile.  So we smiled and miraculously she accepted another visit from us.  We will see if she is actually home when we go back to her house. 

   Carnival was last week we don`t have this holiday in the United States but it is when everyone gets water and has water fights for three days straight.  They also buy colorful powders and smear it or throw it on everyone or they crack eggs on each others heads.  I thought it looked pretty fun and wanted to participate but we received strict instructions NOT TO GET INVOLVED. So I couldn`t celebrate Carnival with the rest of Ecuador.  My companion and I only got wet once because as we were walking by some drunk men they all started shouting "AGUA AGUA AGUA!!!!"  I was just glad that they threw water on us and not beer or eggs or dye.  

   We have been visiting our converts lately and the Guatapi family has their family in town.  They were pretty nervous about having their family come into town because they used to get drunk with their brother... And now their brother has no one to get drunk with. Well we went over to their house and asked how they all were and if we could share a quick scripture with the family.  Well they told us that their brother was upstairs alone... Drunk and mad because he was drunk alone.  Then brother Guatapi said, "We explained the Word of Wisdom to him and he didn`t want to listen to us..."  Then I saw the pamphlet out on their table and I was so proud of our little family!  They are so great and are doing the best they can.  We told them that the Lord is probably really proud of them for sticking up to their values and staying strong.  I was really surprised that they actually wanted to share with their brother the gospel.  

   We also visited the Quintanilla family that was baptized last week. They have been receiving a lot of opposition from their family since they got baptized... But they are happy.  Carolina said that ever since we talked to them about the gospel she has been happier.  She always gets emotional whenever she talks about how the gospel has changed her life... But I am so happy that I met these wonderful people.  I am so glad that I am on my mission right now and I know that I am supposed to be here.  

   Well I love you all more than I miss you!!!! 
Love, Hermana Welch (Jess)