Winding Things Down in Ecuador

This is Allie’s mom posting again.

Winding Things Down in Ecuador 

Just got off the phone with Allie.  We got to talk to her for 10 minutes instead of 6 and during the phone call she said we could call her back and talk for 20 more minutes!   It was the best surprise to be able to talk to her for 30 minutes!  It was the fastest phone call.  So much to say so little time.  My predictions were dead wrong and it was NOT a tear-filled phone call at all!!  (She is good at compartmentalizing her feelings and not being emotional about everything, obviously!)

It was so good to hear her voice - we haven’t heard it for at least a month or maybe two.  She was very interested in what was going on in the US because she doesn’t know anything.  She has no clue about the severity of the Coronavirus world crisis here or there!  Which is probably a good thing.  We quickly (talked fast!) briefed her on all her friends who were on their way home, the 6 chartered Delta flights full of missionaries from the Philippines, etc., and current state of affairs since last Monday.  

She specifically wanted to know if restaurants are open and if she’ll be able to have some Cafe Rio when she got back (we hope it will be open still in a week and a half, please stay open!!).   She is very excited to get to eat her favorite foods when she gets back, and is looking forward to talk to me for hours haha.  She can’t wait to tell us in great detail what getting a root canal in Ecuador is like (does fire in your mouth sound interesting?).   

They first heard about the possibility of them coming home from their favorite member who called them immediately after the First Presidency sent out that announcement on Friday, March 20th, ahead of the AP’s in the mission.  By the time the district leaders called, they had already thought about what they were gonna do about saying goodbye and packing, and just waited for the official word from the Mission President.  So far, She’s already called her investigators who had phones to tell them good bye - she was sad to tell them that she won’t be visiting them before leaving in December anymore because they have to leave in a week and a half.  There are some who don’t have phones so she won’t be able to say good bye.  

After all the foreign missionaries leave, there will only be 14 Ecuadorian missionaries to continue the work there, and missions will consolidate.  That’s one of the sad parts - to leave their Ecuadorian counterparts.  She hopes that when she gets back that she will receive her new assignment as soon as possible.  We told her to expect a delay because of the situation here. She is a little concerned that there might be too many missionaries coming back here and not enough holes to fill.  It’s a valid point and we pray she will get to serve still because she is on fire.  She wants to keep teaching and working.  

Since they can’t leave their apartments work is on pause, and they are focused on packing now and tying loose ends.   She’s also trying to consolidate her belongings into 1 suitcase - the Elders who left last week were allowed only one suitcase and had to leave the rest in Ecuador.   She is so happy that she and Lindsey Oswald are companions - it has made this lockdown a good experience for both of them.  They will always be able to say they were each other’s first and last companions in the mission.  We can’t wait to see her, and continue to pray that the airports will be on track to reopen on April 5th.