WEEK 20: Achievement Unlocked- Gang Violence

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 Yep, you read the title right so lets get right in to it. 

Basically this past tuesday I started my exchange with an elder in Ancon. We just got to our area thats 30 minutes away from the ancon house. We started walking to lunch and we get a message from the mission president saying that everyone had to go back to their houses Immediatly. Shortly after we got this message, an alarm started going off in Atualpa (The town we were in) And it was an alarm for gangs. 
Eventually we made it back to the ancon house and we found out that the president of Ecuador waged war on every gang here to try and exterminate the gangs and the violence. So in response the gangs started fighting back and lighting cars on fire and holding people hostage and all sorts of stuff. So now im serving in the middle of a Civil War. 
I am still serving in the Peninsula so I am a lot safer than those missionaries in Guayaquil but we have restrictions. When we go to eat lunch with members we have to pick it up and come home. We also cant leave our house to teach unless we have a confirmed visit. Every missionary has to be in their houses at 6pm every day.  And, we're not allowed to go anywhere commercial like shopping centers on the off chance it gets bombed. 
Because of this happening the work has gotten pretty bad. We try and confirm visits with people but no one answers so we cant go out of the house to teach them. And when we try to setup videocalls with people sometimes they confirm, sometimes they dont, but once we call then there happenes to be no response every time. 
Because of this the elders in my house have started to play a lot of games. One elder has Skull King, 5 crowns, rook, and I just bought the game Clue the other day as well. 
We finally moved to a new house which is the house downstairs from the other elders and its nice finally having more space.
Spiritual Thought: Alma 38: 4-5
4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee. 
5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day
Sometimes in life, there are going to be trials that we dont understand. In our trials, we need to continue to have faith that things will work out. and eventually they will work out. 
For example, I remember some hard stuff that happened in high school and in the moment i thought, " bruh, this is never going to end" But now im 4000 miles away from home and that trial is just a memory. 
Eventually, it will all just be a memory. So live it up while you can. 












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