Sheppert, Samuel

This week we went to the "28 de agosto park" a lot. Which really isn't much of a park, just a very distinct neighborhood set aside from all of the rest. It’s especially awesome for the mud! I was walking down the middle of the street and it was completely flooded in the middle. We tried going to the sides so i stepped on some dirt that appeared dry but it really took my leg in about a 1 ½ feet in mud. I jumped across the rest with my other foot, but my shoe stayed in the mud. I reached as far as i could down into my print and got it, but my shoe had gotten some holes by then so the mud was all in the shoe! No regrets. I can’t be caught lacken like that, so I'll do better next time.  We are in the rainy season right now, but it hasn’t rained for more than a week so the heat is doing its job. I feel immune to sun burns right now. Im just tanning and cooking, and I mean of course only the arms and the face! I'm excited to see how ghostly the rest of my body will be b...

 I'm loving it here in Duran! It's been crazy to see the temperatures change here. We quickly learned that if hace DEMASIADO Calor, it will rain very hard the next day. It does feel like I'm in Washington with the rain.  We have been teaching some awesome converts. One named Ezequiel! He really wants to go to the temple. He was able to be baptized! He's now preparing to receive the Aaronic priesthood and enter the temple.  Having faith is still the way to go here in the mission. Have faith that you can win every day! "It's a great day to be a missionary," is the way I want to finish every day. I have been saying that every day in remembrance of every time the Blazers would win. I heard Scoot Henderson Low key is popping off. I don't know. Is that true?  Selah!!  In case I don't see yah Buenas Tardes, Buenas Noches y Buenas Noches, Élder Sheppert

What an interesting week. We checked just about everything on the list this week. We had 3 earthquakes, two were barely anything but one was a 5.0 so I could feel that one for 10 seconds. It got the district hyped for the Obra!!! We were teaching a lesson with a family of converts, a mom and her two sons. There was also a daughter but she was never baptized. Believe it or not, mid lesson, I hear “10 things I hate about you” in Spanish, going on in the other room where the daughter was. I really couldn't believe my ears. We got to talk to her after that about rom coms and Heath Ledger, and then a little about church and building faith. That was awesome. I'm excited to go back! We talked to our neighbors and they want to learn and progress! One day our whole street will have the gospel! We ran for 15 minutes down a massive dirt road to get to our next appointment. Boy, that was actually really fun.  This area is massive so we are walking with diligence. Most people take little mo...

The two main and most famous parts in our area are a neighborhood called the 28th of August and a massive street called the 40. I got to walk on both this week! Two very fun exchanges. I went to a place called Los Rieles- the rails, where it is literally all dirt or mush. Because it is raining very hard here at night and more and during the day, we have the honor to wear boots. We keep forgetting to take pictures in the streets, but it gets really flooded. For the first week during the rain, we didn't use boots. It was very tough to get to visits and such. But with the boots, we are invincible! No matter if the mud is 8 inches deep the boots are sufficient.  We have been teaching an awesome lady named Enriqueta and she got baptized! It has been a process but it was very joyful for her and her family on a rainy Sunday afternoon. She is fun to talk to about Guayaquil and manigotes, and has now joined the rest of her family in the joy that the gospel brings! We also have been teaching...

Nobody says Happy New Years! Only Happy Year! And wow, we are officially in the year 2025!!! That means I'm be a missionary all this year! It's gonna be good. I think an Ecuador new years gives 4 of July a run for its money. Just fireworks in all directions exactly at 12 o clock. Luckily we had permission to stay up till 12:30, so we could see it all go down!! Also burning little cardboard characters that they made. Then throwing fireworks on them so that they explode faster. We could see Sonic get absolutely demolished from where we were at. Besides that music and partying everywhere all through the night. At 10 am, still going hard.  This week was a grinder. We've been finding people to teach and help them in whatever way we can! An elderly couple came to church that we invited! They are awesome! The only downside is that they aren't married but we are working on that with them! They both are very well read in the Bible which is really cool. They asked what Bible we u...

Say Duran 10x fast and see what name you find. Merry Christmas! It happened! I got transferred. Good bye Ventanas! It was a little sad leaving the homestead but I really couldn't have been happier. I'M IN DURAN NOW and “I'm hungry like the wolf”. In an area called "El Recreo”, or in English “The Recess”. This place is crazy. It's a pretty massive area and the coolest part is there is a massive train track the whole way through the area but the train hasn't come in years so you just feel like in a western movie with the blazing heat and it's quiet somehow every time you walk down it. Lots and lots of walking cause there are so many amazing places to find. They are all just separated in sectors so it takes a minute! Something interesting is the Etapas. These streets that are all closed gated. Much of our area is the Etapas. In specific, the third and fifth. Makes it a fun challenge to find people but we have our ways.  Duran is hot! Much much much hotter than...

Another great week in the vineyard of the Lord! Nothing like a cool December week in Ventanas, Ecuador! Many miracles came to pass, got to go to zone conference at President's house, we helped many people find Christ this week, and got to dance and sing at two different events to represent!!   We were told that a little choir of the church was going to sing for a group of people and they asked us to join. Of course we did! We went and practiced for 15 minutes, and all took taxis to the main center in Ventanas. Little did we know this was for the Grand Ventanas Christmas Presentation! We got private access back stage, and got up after a huge dance number. We, a group of 12 missionaries, and 8 members got up in front of a group of about 1000 after listening to Mariah Carey. We sang the "First Noel" acapella and got down. The spirit was there, but it was a very interesting moment. I'd do it again.  But the real treat was dancing for an old folks home. We walked in and go...